UCSF vs Pritzker

[Milotic Med]

Hey everyone! I am very grateful to be deciding between my top two choices for medical school, but am now extremely torn.

My goals: I am currently interested in academic medicine (and maybe biotech down the road) and am leaning towards adult or pediatric heme/onc, though this may change. I also want my career to be rooted in health equity and social justice — this is very important to me.

Pritzker

Pros:

• Really warm and friendly vibes from my fellow admits. This sense of community is very important to me.
• Supportive admin that seems to really value and invest in students.
• Full-tuition scholarship. Thanks to family support + low COL in Chicago, I would graduate with ~$0 in loans.
• Close-ish to my support system. Family is a 90-minute flight / six-hour drive away.
• Stronger institutional commitment to the underserved.
• Attached to a larger university. Could more easily explore interests outside of medicine.

Cons:

• Graded clerkships…
• Winters are brutal here, and the cold weather seriously affects my happiness and wellbeing.

UCSF

Pros:

• P/F clerkships with no AOA. This is HUGE for me, as I am tired of stressing about grades.
• Better weather + year-round access to the outdoors. This is also a big deal for me.
• Prestige. I wonder if the UCSF name would open more doors down the road.
• All of the current students seem very happy here.
• Better opportunities for cancer immunotherapy research & more connections to biotech.

Cons: (basically the opposite of Pritzker pros)

• It seems like a lot of the faculty here are at UCSF for research, not to teach medical students.
• I did not connect as much with my fellow admits.
• Significantly more expensive. Even with parental support, I would take out ~$180k in loans.
• Very far from support system (expensive 4-hour flight to family).
• No attached university.
• The hills were brutal lol

I just want to pre-empt a couple of points: I do not want cost or prestige to play a significant role in this decision. Yes, UCSF is more expensive, but there are several options to pay back debt (eg: NIH loan repayment during fellowship or PSLF if I stay in academia). And with regards to pedigree, UChicago is less “prestigious” but their match list is very strong and I know it would not really hold me back in my career. I just want to attend the school where I would be happiest, and where I would be best equipped to pursue my career goals!

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[deleted1158770]

This is a really though one but honestly I would probably say Uchicago based on your pros/cons. Obviously UCSF would be an incredible option which you couldn’t go wrong with, but it seems like you think you’d be happier at Uchicago because it is nearer to your support system. And the full tuition scholarship is huge. Imo both schools will prep you well, despite UCSF potentially having a bit of an upper hand.

 

[deleted1065184]

You will match fine from either school. UCSF has a marginally bigger name in medicine, but UChicago has a MUCH bigger name generally.

Since happiness is your focus (thanks for bold and underline to show emphasis haha), I have two questions.

(1) How much does the cold weather affect your mental health, and does being around family/support mitigate that?

(2) Will being away from family/support in SF negatively impact your mental health?

Otherwise, both schools have factors that will support your wellbeing. UChicago has an amazing and supportive admin with a pass now, pass later policy for preclinicals. UCSF is pass/fail all 4 years, which is a huge bonus.

 

[deleted1144897]

Congrats on such incredible options!

I do not think that the quality of education that you will receive from UCSF will be limited by faculty members who are focused on research. Most of the time you’ll be independently studying anyway. Yes, they are focused on research, and that’s why UCSF consistently ranks top in NIH funding along with Johns Hopkins (NIH Awards by Location and Organization - NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORT), click on the word funding and you can get it to be ascending/descending, I'd choose fiscal year 2022 and prior to get a better sense).

Do you think that you will travel home more often, or your support system will travel to you more often, if it were a 90 min flight/6 hr drive vs a 4 hr flight? I personally dread driving 6 hrs, and to me, 1.5 hrs vs 4 hrs is not substantially different.

With cost and prestige aside, either institution is well-equipped to get you to where you want to go professionally. I think it comes down to weather-induced effects on your mental health and proximity to support system.

 

[Milotic Med]

Just wanted to bump this in case anyone else had thoughts!

 

[EndureVascular]

In all these UCSF vs X, I’ve always said UCSF

That said, I think Pritzker might be the better fit given your pros/cons list

 

[KendallJennerSniperLady69]

YMMV with the teaching experience at every medical school, and generally what you'll hear is that teaching in med school sucks and you'll have to teach yourselves most things anyways (at least for pre-clinical)

go to UCSF where you can at least take advantage of no AOA, no grades, and unmatched research opportunities/weather

the only reason i would say to choose pritzker in this case is if the cost difference is that much of a deciding factor for you or if you think that having family nearby would benefit you a lot

 

[liao1]

Definitely UCSF

 

[pokesalmonfish]

Congrats on great options! Where did you decide?

 

[Milotic Med]

I chose Pritzker! I was swayed by the warm/friendly vibes + a feeling in my gut and in my heart that I’d feel more at home here

 

[rhomantic]

i'm from the bay area and say Pritzker. tuition free is unbeatable and being close to your support system is a plus. SF is expensive, dirty, and high in crime.

if you're into biotech you should apply to UC Davis for residency. it's a biotech hub over here.

 

[deleted1124957]

i'm from the bay area and say Pritzker. tuition free is unbeatable and being close to your support system is a plus. SF is expensive, dirty, and high in crime.

if you're into biotech you should apply to UC Davis for residency. it's a biotech hub over here.

Only around a year late mate

 

[rhomantic]

Only around a year late mate

well OP didn't give an update and i'm new to SDN

 

[chilly_md]

well OP didn't give an update and i'm new to SDN

They did in post #10

 

[ThrowAwayUICStudent]

well OP didn't give an update and i'm new to SDN

Hey, the biotech tip is still helpful

 

[theoceanman]

Pritzker due to finances and supportive administration. That alone should speak volumes about the school and what they offer to you while you are attending there. Nowadays, it's relatively difficult to find schools that have supportive and caring administration.

 

[BritainKittenMittens]

As long as we're giving advice for the past, yes I think you should invest in bitcoin at $1

 

[chilly_md]

Closing.