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Both great schools! Which one would you prefer to go and why?
yesterday said:I'm not a gunner. I don't particularly care about match list rankings or med school rankings or opportunities for research or anything remotely similar to that. Quite simply, I want to go somewhere where I'll enjoy going outside for the next four years. I'd also like to go somewhere where the debt wouldn't rise more quickly than my heart rate when walking by a pretty girl.
If I got into both schools and had to choose between the two, I'd go with UCSF. But it wouldn't have anything to do with any sort of list. I'd pick the UC because I wouldn't mind living in Cali for the early part of my twenties. All these numbers, numbers, numbers you folks keep putting up. Nah. I know there have to be some others like me - folks who couldn't care less about rankings, matchlists, etc. I can't be alone. If you're one of those folks, I hope to see you - wherever we both end up - sometime in the fall of our first semesters.
GALLBLADDER said:Both great schools! Which one would you prefer to go and why?
GALLBLADDER said:Both great schools! Which one would you prefer to go and why?
annamoo said:actually there is an aquarium, I think. I never went to it. The only thing we did was go to this "mexican" restaurant he liked to go to bc he missed Houston so much (where we're from) and that was after standing in the street for like 45 mins trying to hail a cab. And this was on a major street. And I don't know what kind of food that was, but it was not Mexican. My point was that there is an aquarium and I never went to it, so technically there is something to do in B town.
I beg of you not to live in Baltimore. I don't even know you but that's how concerned for your mental health I am.
riceman04 said:And San Fran is insanely expensive!
Even oakland is becoming crazy expensive!!
Rafa said:No more expensive than Boston or New York. Besides, in a larger place, you're more likely to find bargains, since you'll have a lot more to choose from. I'd rather have a greater quality of life (meaning places to go and things to do when not in class) and a higher cost of living than a dirt-cheap place with nothing to do.
Not saying that's Baltimore, btw...just saying.
browniegirl86 said:Hopkins: cold, rainy, stressful.
riceman04 said:Baltimore is not New York! Those bargains in cali are not going to be that great...do you know how scarce affrodable housing is in the bay area?
I am sure there are bargains, but they are few and far between...and most likely those bargains are being falsely advertised.
ctwickman said:I hope people know better than to judge "life" at a school by factors other than what the weather happened to be like on the day they visited.
ctwickman said:I hope people know better than to judge "life" at a school by factors other than what the weather happened to be like on the day they visited.
just so you know, sf is much different than the oc, LA area and stereotypes that you see on. You prolly already know that though. Baltimore is so ghetto!SuzieQ3417 said:They're both great schools, but I would pick Hopkins simply based on my preference to live on the East Coast over the West Coast (sorry, but it would take a lot to get me to move to California)
Rafa said:How do you know? Have you ever tried to find an apartment in SF while attending med school? What's a bargain to you? There's no telling if we're both looking at anything in the same price range. Would you be willing to live in a dorm? An apartment? A condo? With a roommate? Etc.
It may be more expensive to live in SF than to live in many other places in the country. But unless the living wages even begin to approach the astronomical amount of debt one is going to have upon ms-4 graduation, I don't think something like this should keep you from living there.
If it were impossible to find affordable housing in SF, *no one* but the richest of the rich kids would attend UCSF for graduate school. Since people *do* attend...
As someone else said above, go with your gut. In the end, you're the one who'll be living wherever you choose.
riceman04 said:1. We are comparing baltimore and SF...not SF and any other big city
2. housing in SF is insane...you will have to be flexible if you want to live in the city...I am from Los Angeles and apts down here are cheaper than they are in SF in general.
3. maybe you are wealthy and thus can afford rent up there
4. the last thing you want to have to deal with is any inconvenience while in medical school...bargains are hard to find in SF and most likely will not be found in SF proper...finding an apartment in foster city or San Mateo that is less expensive is much easier, but it is a signif inconvenience to drive in
5. debt is debt...who cares if housing in SF will not add up to be equal to or more than the debt one will accrue as a student...it is still debt....much more debt than one will have if they lived in B-more.
6. I guarantee you that students at UCSF are paying more for rent than most med students
Rafa said:First of all, I do respect your opinion on this issue (and in general) - we just seem to be on opposite sides of the fence on this one.
1. In that case, I'd pick SF.
2. I don't mind living in dorms. And yup, I can be flexible.
3. Haha - I wish. But I'm not going to let money get in the way of a place that gives me that 'gut feeling' - even if that place were UCSF.
4. See # 2.
5. I'd rather be happy in SF than unhappy in Baltimore (or anywhere else).
6. See # 5.
In the end, it comes down to how you really feel about a place. For me, vis a vis med school, my two most important things are location (meaning coast, city, and weather), and price. If I could choose any school in CA, it would be Stanford. But the more I hear about UCSF, the more I realize it's in the same part of Cali as S, and the more interesting it becomes. But generally speaking, a slightly more expensive rent/cost of living is a small price to pay for going to a school which has one of the lowest average debts imposed on its graduates:
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/grad/webextras/brief/sb_med_debt_brief.php
Also see Stanford there - two of the cheapest schools in the country, debt-wise. And since finaid and location are the two biggest things with me (to hell with rankings), I'd willingly suffer slightly more living expense. It really depends on what your priorities are - what you're looking for in a school. After talking to you guys for the past few days, I'm seriously starting to consider applying to UCSF.
Finally, I think part of why I'm so insistent on getting the idea across that if there's a place you like - a place that makes your heart flutter for all the right reasons - you shouldn't immediately reject it because it seems slightly more expensive than you'd like. I'm not talking about going to brand-name schools -- but sometimes, taking a chance is the best thing you can do in life.
I made the mistake of going to a good school in the east over a good school in the west because my folks and I decided the western school would saddle me with about 10k more debt than the eastern school - even though I was (am) in love with the western school. So I've decided that if I do get into that school again (this time for med school), I'm not going to let the devil himself keep me from going there - cost of living be damned.
Yeah, I know that...I don't even watch the OC, but I'm sure part of my reason from never wanting to live there comes from family members who do exude those stereotypes. I know not everyone is like that, but there are enough good med schools that I don't feel obligated to go to CA when there are others in the midwest or east coast that I would prefer. (although I will admit, the weather in CA is beautiful)UCDavisdude said:just so you know, sf is much different than the oc, LA area and stereotypes that you see on. You prolly already know that though. Baltimore is so ghetto!
riceman04 said:But generally speaking, a slightly more expensive rent/cost of living is a small price to pay for going to a school which has one of the lowest average debts imposed on its graduates:
Shoot, I was hoping you would not bring that up b/c that is prob the reason why people dont mind being in a city that is (in the long run) slightly more expensive...you are absolutely right...I scooted around that in all my arguments b/c I knew that tuition (i.e fees) is so much lower
I personally love SF and Palo Alto...and Los Angeles for that matter (I guess I am just trying to condition myself for when I get rejected from Stanf. and UCSF next app cycle... .
SF is definitely a much safer city than Bmore
Rafa said:2. I don't mind living in dorms. And yup, I can be flexible.