- Joined
- Jan 1, 2021
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Hey everyone! I am completely shocked, but extremely grateful for how things turned out during my application cycle. That being said, it has made for a really, really difficult decision to make between schools. With the onset of April 15th on the horizon, I wanted some help in at least narrowing down to 3 choices. I have 8 front runners at the moment (very torn between my options - experiencing a strange FOMO for each school) and would really like to hear other peoples’ thoughts on my situation!
I’m still waiting on aid for a good portion of schools, but here are my options as of now:
UCSF (full tuition + portion of COL - $12k in debt/year)
Pros:
+++Weather
+++P/F all 4 years
++Diverse patient population
++Prestige within medicine (ALL of my mentors told me to commit here)
++clinical training as a medical student seems very strong
++Has initiatives that I am interested in expanding/contributing towards
+Chill vibes
+1.5 year pre-clinical curriculum
+Feel like I would fit in great
+close-ish to family in So Cal
Cons:
-Inquiry curriculum project - seems like a cool opportunity to make an impact, but I dislike small requirements like this
-hella expensive
-No interdisciplinary collaborations that are convenient
-No layman prestige
-Have a friend that attends here who ghosted me during the app cycle - would be kind of awkward running into them haha
-I’ve heard that the mentorship/guidance here is slightly “hands-off”
-Large class size
-Housing seems like a nightmare
Stanford ($0 Debt)
Pros:
+++Weather
+++P/F all 4 years (though, subject to change?)
+++Very flexible curriculum
++Very clear institutional commitment toward their students (just as an example, they spent ~$20,000 [$40 x ~500 students] to pay for lunch during their interview days)
++Convenient interdisciplinary collaborations
++co-located with the undergraduate campus
++Has initiatives that I am interested in expanding/contributing towards
+Chill vibes
+Layman prestige
+close-ish to family in So Cal
Cons:
-Suburbs
-Patient population isn’t as diverse as some of my other options
-Feel like I won’t fit in?
-2 year pre-clinical curriculum
-hella expensive
-stereotype that Stanford med students are not very strong clinically
University of Chicago, Pritzker (full tuition)
Pros:
++++Apparently can get full COA
+++I felt my perspectives and life experiences were appreciated and I felt wanted by the admissions team at this institution
++Thought of living in a new place/state is strangely exciting
++Strongest mission alignment with this institution
+1.5 year pre-clinical curriculum
Cons:
-Weather
-far from family
WashU (full tuition)
Pros:
+++Free tuition and likely full COA once my financial aid paperwork is processed
+++P/F all 4 years (I think)
+++Really liked all of my interactions with faculty
++Thought of living in a new place/state is strangely exciting
++Prestige within medicine
++Diverse patient population
+1.5 pre-clinical curriculum
+Chill vibes
Cons:
-Weather
-Far from family
Yale ($0 Debt)
Pros:
++++No debt (full COA scholarship)
+++P/F all 4 years
+++Meshed REALLY well w/ peers at second look
+++My interviewer (high level physician at Yale) is willing to act as a mentor if I commit here
+++Very flexible curriculum
++Convenient interdisciplinary collaborations w/ undergrad campus
++Diverse patient population
++Thought of living in a new place/state is strangely exciting
++Significant FGLI presence in student body
+Students seem very happy
+Layman prestige
Cons:
-Weather
-stereotype that med students are not very strong clinically
-far from family
-Thesis requirement
Cornell ($0 Debt)
Pros:
++++No debt (will be full COA scholarship)
+++Living in Manhattan sounds awesome
+++Diverse patient population
++Pays for 3rd party step prep materials
+1.5 year pre-clinical curriculum
+Layman prestige
Cons:
-met some really cool people, but most peers didn’t pass vibe check at second look
-Weather
-far from family
-No P/F clerkships
-Weekly exams
Mayo Clinic, MN (full tuition)
Pros:
++Clinical training here seems top-notch
++Tuition free (cannot go beyond this)
++Thought of living in a new place/state is strangely exciting
+Layman prestige
+1.5 year pre-clinical curriculum
+Small class size
Cons:
-Weather
-far from family
-No P/F clerkships
-Patient population not diverse
UC Berkeley/UCSF Joint Medical Program (waiting for aid)
+++Small class size
+++Weather
+++P/F all 4 years
++Convenient interdisciplinary collaborations
++co-located with the undergraduate campus
++Prestige within medicine (ALL of my mentors told me to commit here)
++Spend 2.5 years at UC Berkeley
++Diverse patient population
++Pays for 3rd party step prep materials
++very unique public health-oriented medical education
+close-ish to family in So Cal
+Students seem very happy
Cons:
-too small of a class size? 16 people
-All PBL curriculum
-isolated from main UCSF class
-Mandatory 5th year to finish a masters degree at UC Berkeley (I kind of don’t want to be forced into this)
-One of the students kind of rubbed me the wrong way during my interview day and it tainted my perspective of the class
-pre-clinical curriculum is spread out for 2.5 years
Other notable acceptances still on the table (listing here if someone feels strongly that I should consider any of these other schools):Vanderbilt, Northwestern, UCSD, Kaiser (full COA), Rochester (full tuition), Ohio State (full tuition), Case Western (80% tuition), Dartmouth, UC Davis (80% tuition), Charles Drew University, Squidward Community College
Waitlists:Hopkins, NYU, Pitt, Sinai
Any thoughts/advice in helping to narrow down my options would be greatly appreciated!!
I’m still waiting on aid for a good portion of schools, but here are my options as of now:
UCSF (full tuition + portion of COL - $12k in debt/year)
Pros:
+++Weather
+++P/F all 4 years
++Diverse patient population
++Prestige within medicine (ALL of my mentors told me to commit here)
++clinical training as a medical student seems very strong
++Has initiatives that I am interested in expanding/contributing towards
+Chill vibes
+1.5 year pre-clinical curriculum
+Feel like I would fit in great
+close-ish to family in So Cal
Cons:
-Inquiry curriculum project - seems like a cool opportunity to make an impact, but I dislike small requirements like this
-hella expensive
-No interdisciplinary collaborations that are convenient
-No layman prestige
-Have a friend that attends here who ghosted me during the app cycle - would be kind of awkward running into them haha
-I’ve heard that the mentorship/guidance here is slightly “hands-off”
-Large class size
-Housing seems like a nightmare
Stanford ($0 Debt)
Pros:
+++Weather
+++P/F all 4 years (though, subject to change?)
+++Very flexible curriculum
++Very clear institutional commitment toward their students (just as an example, they spent ~$20,000 [$40 x ~500 students] to pay for lunch during their interview days)
++Convenient interdisciplinary collaborations
++co-located with the undergraduate campus
++Has initiatives that I am interested in expanding/contributing towards
+Chill vibes
+Layman prestige
+close-ish to family in So Cal
Cons:
-Suburbs
-Patient population isn’t as diverse as some of my other options
-Feel like I won’t fit in?
-2 year pre-clinical curriculum
-hella expensive
-stereotype that Stanford med students are not very strong clinically
Pros:
++++Apparently can get full COA
+++I felt my perspectives and life experiences were appreciated and I felt wanted by the admissions team at this institution
++Thought of living in a new place/state is strangely exciting
++Strongest mission alignment with this institution
+1.5 year pre-clinical curriculum
Cons:
-Weather
-far from family
Pros:
+++Free tuition and likely full COA once my financial aid paperwork is processed
+++P/F all 4 years (I think)
+++Really liked all of my interactions with faculty
++Thought of living in a new place/state is strangely exciting
++Prestige within medicine
++Diverse patient population
+1.5 pre-clinical curriculum
+Chill vibes
Cons:
-Weather
-Far from family
Pros:
++++No debt (full COA scholarship)
+++P/F all 4 years
+++Meshed REALLY well w/ peers at second look
+++My interviewer (high level physician at Yale) is willing to act as a mentor if I commit here
+++Very flexible curriculum
++Convenient interdisciplinary collaborations w/ undergrad campus
++Diverse patient population
++Thought of living in a new place/state is strangely exciting
++Significant FGLI presence in student body
+Students seem very happy
+Layman prestige
Cons:
-Weather
-stereotype that med students are not very strong clinically
-far from family
-Thesis requirement
Pros:
++++No debt (will be full COA scholarship)
+++Living in Manhattan sounds awesome
+++Diverse patient population
++Pays for 3rd party step prep materials
+1.5 year pre-clinical curriculum
+Layman prestige
Cons:
-met some really cool people, but most peers didn’t pass vibe check at second look
-Weather
-far from family
-No P/F clerkships
-Weekly exams
Pros:
++Clinical training here seems top-notch
++Tuition free (cannot go beyond this)
++Thought of living in a new place/state is strangely exciting
+Layman prestige
+1.5 year pre-clinical curriculum
+Small class size
Cons:
-Weather
-far from family
-No P/F clerkships
-Patient population not diverse
+++Small class size
+++Weather
+++P/F all 4 years
++Convenient interdisciplinary collaborations
++co-located with the undergraduate campus
++Prestige within medicine (ALL of my mentors told me to commit here)
++Spend 2.5 years at UC Berkeley
++Diverse patient population
++Pays for 3rd party step prep materials
++very unique public health-oriented medical education
+close-ish to family in So Cal
+Students seem very happy
Cons:
-too small of a class size? 16 people
-All PBL curriculum
-isolated from main UCSF class
-Mandatory 5th year to finish a masters degree at UC Berkeley (I kind of don’t want to be forced into this)
-One of the students kind of rubbed me the wrong way during my interview day and it tainted my perspective of the class
-pre-clinical curriculum is spread out for 2.5 years
Other notable acceptances still on the table (listing here if someone feels strongly that I should consider any of these other schools):
Waitlists:
Any thoughts/advice in helping to narrow down my options would be greatly appreciated!!
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