UCSF vs WashU vs NYU

[miyakinaki]

Hi everyone, I know there are a couple of other threads focused on these schools, but I wanted to start a discussion to help me navigate my decision.

About me:

• From CA, URiM, live in the Bay Area, have a SO that will follow me (both of us will be full time students, my partner will finish in 2 years)
• SO plans to work part time for 2 yrs. and then full time after graduating.
• Have an energetic medium size dog.
• Our primary family support is in Boston and Atlanta, rest of family is in LA.
• No family financial support.
• My background and interests are in underserved community outreach and clinical research.
• Want to match on East coast and settle down there (the dream would be Boston). SO does not want me to consider staying in CA for residency.
• Interested in surgical specialties (gen surg/CT, ortho, neuro)
• I visited UCSF and WashU during second look weekends and felt like I would be happy at both. Still waiting to visit NYU.

UCSF
Pros

• FULL TUITION + aid to cover expenses except for rent. (Currently trying to work with financial aid office for more aid)
• T-5, Exceptional match list for surgery
• True P/F pre-clerkship and clerkship
• No ranking or AOA
• Dedicated research time
• MS1s rave about their work life balance
• SF weather better than other options (imo)
• Wide range of Hospital settings (main hospital, safety net hospital, VA)
• SF > other city options
• Countless volunteer outreach programs
• Advocacy focused
• Dream school growing up

Cons

• ~20k/yr in loans for living expenses (I’m probably looking at a long training so I would do loan forgiveness), amount could be lower with work study.
• Expensive COL
• Furthest away from main family support
• Largest class size (165)
• Match heavily in CA
• I get the feeling like I would have to jump through more hoops to get research funding, opportunities, and mentoring here. (could be wrong)
• Pre clerkship not structured for Step 1 like other schools (students here do great though)

WashU
Pros

• FULL COA
• Exceptional match-list for surgery
• True P/F clerkship and clerkships (distinctions available in performance areas not in individual rotations)
• No rankings or AOA
• Beautiful medical campus, forest park
• Low COL, nicer apartment w/ less financial worries
• Exposure to a diversity of patients (2/3 of patients at Barns are underinsured)
• A lot of opportunities to make an impact on the community (start my own projects instead of simply volunteer)
• Deeper sense of community among students
• Incredible DEI office
• Slight edge for mentoring opportunities (coaching groups, easy access to faculty)
• WashU has seemingly unlimited funding resources
• Best experience interacting with school administrators than the other 2.

Cons

• St. Louis has less to do than SF or NYC
• No support near us at all
• Small Hispanic population
• Arguably the most dangerous (but didn’t feel unsafe when visiting)
• Fewer career opportunities for SO
• Variable weather, hot summer, cold winter. ( tornado warning during Second look)
• Low name recognition outside of medicine
• No dedicated research time

NYU
Pros

• FULL TUITION
• Good match list
• NYC seems like an exciting place to be
• Option to apply directly into an NYU residency after 1st year and another chance after 2nd year.
• Smaller class size (110)
• Closest option to family support
• Diverse hospital settings (Bellevue, Langone Hospitals)
• P/F pre-clerkship
• 3-year curriculum (would probably have to take a research year though)
• Dedicated research time

Cons

• ~30k loans, asked them to match WashU but the financial aid office has not been helpful or very responsive.
• Most expensive COL
• smallest and most uncomfortable apartment options
• Cross country move (but would have to do this eventually)
• 3 yr curriculum feels fast (test every other week)
• Graded Clerkship (H/HP/P/F)
• AOA
• Less recognized in medicine, but trending upward (although US news would disagree lol)
• I don’t think I would want to settle down in Manhattan, so doing a residency there might not be preferable.
• Worst experience interacting with administrators and faculty. Not very responsive or helpful. (They connected the URM admits with “mentors” and my faculty mentor has left me on read for weeks.)
• Least excited about this option but I know the least about it and have not visited.

Summary: I, like most of you, have busted my butt to get to this point. I want to go to a school that reflects that hard work and values me as an individual. I know I will work hard wherever I go, so I am interested in a school that will maximize my opportunities down the road and help me advance my interests/goals. Money is important, but thankfully I’m fortunate enough to have options that don’t make it a deal breaker. I am also on the Penn WL but doubt they will offer me comparable aid.

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[chilly_md]

I would cut out NYU. You haven’t had the best experience so far with mentorship, would have the most expenses for living costs (with less ideal housing options) and the frequent exams do not sound fun. There should be more opportunities at both UCSF and WashU.

UCSF prides itself in having a significant % of the class coming from a URiM background. Try to find out more about mentorship and research through the school-specific thread. Here is a link where a first-year student offered to answer questions:

2022-2023 UC San Francisco

Last decisions came out feb 2nd, also on a Thursday. Lol it’s all speculation tho!

forums.studentdoctor.net

Your primary support isn’t close by, but LA to SF is more reasonable than St Louis to Boston.

 

[deleted1158770]

I would cut out NYU. You haven’t had the best experience so far with mentorship, would have the most expenses for living costs (with less ideal housing options) and the frequent exams do not sound fun. There should be more opportunities at both UCSF and WashU.

UCSF prides itself in having a significant % of the class coming from a URiM background. Try to find out more about mentorship and research through the school-specific thread. Here is a link where a first-year student offered to answer questions:

2022-2023 UC San Francisco

Last decisions came out feb 2nd, also on a Thursday. Lol it’s all speculation tho!

forums.studentdoctor.net

Your primary support isn’t close by, but LA to SF is more reasonable than St Louis to Boston.

There are significant pros and cons for each so I am having difficulty. I like your assessment of those cons for NYU since it seems academically the most challenging. However, I actually think NYU makes the most sense for a couple of important reasons. If you reread the OP’s about me their primary family is on the east coast, not the west, so NYU is closest. Plus they want to match to Boston for residency. Granted, all of these are top schools that could provide geographic flexibility when matching but regional bias may hint at NYU being most strategic in their regard too/for networking. Imo the cons for NYU are the least harsh. In a nutshell, UCSF is far from family and they don’t want to match to CA. WashU is also far from family and they aren’t as high on the city as the others. The cons of NYU mainly are things that come with living in a big city, and I think that the OP could get excited about the school since they want to live in Boston which is fairly similar and close to the awesome city that NYC is. So I guess the OP has to decide how important support system is vs. potentially easier and/or stronger academic offerings at the other schools. All with provide you with a stout education. You can’t go wrong with any of these, and sorry for the long post!
Edit: I reread chilly md’s and I misread it, they acknowledge you wouldn’t be by your primary support in SF. But I think that my points still hold true.

 

[chilly_md]

There are significant pros and cons for each so I am having difficulty. I like your assessment of those cons for NYU since it seems academically the most challenging. However, I actually think NYU makes the most sense for a couple of important reasons. If you reread the OP’s about me their primary family is on the east coast, not the west, so NYU is closest. Plus they want to match to Boston for residency. Granted, all of these are top schools that could provide geographic flexibility when matching but regional bias may hint at NYU being most strategic in their regard too. Imo the cons for NYU are the least harsh. In a nutshell, UCSF is far from family and they don’t want to match to CA. WashU is also far from family and they aren’t as high on the city as the others. The cons of NYU mainly are things that come with living in a big city, and I think that the OP could get excited about the school since they want to live in Boston which is fairly similar and close to the awesome city that NYC is. You can’t go wrong with any of these, and sorry for the long post!

I don’t think Boston to NYC is something the family members will want to do very often (and it sounds like it is only one side of the family), and WashU students should not have problems matching on the East Coast.

UCSF students self-select for CA because they don’t want to leave the state.

 

[chilly_md]

Another point of consideration is that NYC hospitals are notorious for being rougher on residents. This kind of experience could extend down to med students rotating, especially since the OP is interested in a surgical speciality.

 

[deleted1158770]

I don’t think Boston to NYC is something the family members will want to do very often (and it sounds like it is only one side of the family), and WashU students should not have problems matching on the East Coast.

UCSF students self-select for CA because they don’t want to leave the state.

I’m a little confused on the family situation so the OP will have to clarify that and it’s importance to them. As I mentioned in my post, matching is likely not a huge issue since all the schools are top. I have not looked at the match lists for any of these schools so you likely know better than me I just know that there is a lot of regional bias with residency matching in general.

 

[MercifulCamper]

You know my vote already hermano - WashU. Definitely wouldn't pick NYU over UCSF either. Full COA (0 debt), more comfortable living, and just as good matching prospects as both schools at WashU.

 

[exl311]

From your options it seems like UCSF and WashU are your two most practical options. I'd pick WashU as it's much much cheaper than UCSF. Additionally, city is not as a dangerous as you think.

Nonetheless, UCSF and WashU are very similar in reputation, and the resources at either school will prepare you well to match into any residency on the east coast! Good luck on your decision!

 

[EndureVascular]

With full tuition and aid to help cover expenses. I don't see how this isn't UCSF, which is listed as the dream school. Based off your pros and cons, it seemed to have the least significant cons- research shouldn't be hard to find, 165 is a great class size, and a flexible preclerkship is awesome. Look at your options (crazy!!), you obviously aren't someone who lacks the discipline and would struggle without strict structure.

NYU and WashU are both fantastic but to be able to get that offer at a top 5 school that has an insane match everywhere- UCSF seems like an absolute slam dunk. Though if you really value having the family support nearby I understand the argument for NYU, but it sounds like you have family in California as well no?

 

[EndureVascular]

I don’t think Boston to NYC is something the family members will want to do very often (and it sounds like it is only one side of the family), and WashU students should not have problems matching on the East Coast.

UCSF students self-select for CA because they don’t want to leave the state.

Look at WashU's surgery match list this past year- seems like a lot more match in the midwest than UCSF or NYU. Not that the midwest is a bad thing- some prefer it like myself. But its not what OP described wanting

Edit: Just took a 2nd look because I was curious (and extremely bored) and looking at General/Vascular/Thoracic/Neuro/Ortho/Plastics and ENT

WashU matched 2 people into east coast surgical residencies, 6 into west coast surgical residencies, and 15 went to residencies in the center of the country.

 

[miyakinaki]

I’m a little confused on the family situation so the OP will have to clarify that and it’s importance to them. As I mentioned in my post, matching is likely not a huge issue since all the schools are top. I have not looked at the match lists for any of these schools so you likely know better than me I just know that there is a lot of regional bias with residency matching in general.

We would ideally like to be closer to family but would choose a more comfortable living situation and financial aid package over that.
My family in LA wouldn’t visit frequently but would give us close support if we ever needed anything. My SO’s family in Boston said they would visit frequently if we were in NYC but I’m slightly skeptical lol. If so, I know this would be a big plus for my SO but not more important than the two other factors I mentioned.

To visit my family in LA or Atlanta, SF, St. Louis, and NYC would all require a 6-8 hr. drive or a 2-6 hr flight to see them which to me feels kind of the same. Not sure if I’m thinking about it in the right way though.

 

[chilly_md]

We would ideally like to be closer to family but would choose a more comfortable living situation and financial aid package over that.
My family in LA wouldn’t visit frequently but would give us close support if we ever needed anything. My SO’s family in Boston said they would visit frequently if we were in NYC but I’m slightly skeptical lol. If so, I know this would be a big plus for my SO but not more important than the two other factors I mentioned.

To visit my family in LA or Atlanta, SF, St. Louis, and NYC would all require a 6-8 hr. drive or a 2-6 hr flight to see them which to me feels kind of the same. Not sure if I’m thinking about it in the right way though.

Yeah, it would be more beneficial for your SO than you and I was skeptical considering it would take around 4 hours still (for any form of transport). It seems they’d only come on 3-day weekends, and it may end up being that you would have to go down there. Winter and summer break would likely be accounted for with your family in Atlanta.

You have to deal with the living situation everyday, so a nicer place at a cheaper cost at either of the other schools seems the way to go.

 

[miyakinaki]

Look at WashU's surgery match list this past year- seems like a lot more match in the midwest than UCSF or NYU. Not that the midwest is a bad thing- some prefer it like myself. But its not what OP described wanting

Edit: Just took a 2nd look because I was curious (and extremely bored) and looking at General/Vascular/Thoracic/Neuro/Ortho/Plastics and ENT

WashU matched 2 people into east coast surgical residencies, 6 into west coast surgical residencies, and 15 went to residencies in the center of the country.

But would the Midwest matching reflect self-selection by the students like UCSF students do for CA? Regarding matching, I feel most concerned about finding mentors who are well-connected to top residency programs. I feel I will grind for opportunities where ever I go, but would love to have mentors who would be making calls on my behalf during the interview trail. I'm not entirely sure if any of these schools would have an edge in that area but that would be a major plus!

 

[miyakinaki]

You know my vote already hermano - WashU. Definitely wouldn't pick NYU over UCSF either. Full COA (0 debt), more comfortable living, and just as good matching prospects as both schools at WashU.

But what if you and @beansncheese end up in the Bay? we wouldn't get to be classmates lol. But in all seriousness, you both were some of the best people I connected with during visits. I'm hoping we end up in the same area.

 

[EndureVascular]

But would the Midwest matching reflect self-selection by the students like UCSF students do for CA? Regarding matching, I feel most concerned about finding mentors who are well-connected to top residency programs. I feel I will grind for opportunities where ever I go, but would love to have mentors who would be making calls on my behalf during the interview trail. I'm not entirely sure if any of these schools would have an edge in that area but that would be a major plus!

There definitely is a degree of self-selection for sure. WashU also connects a lot into WashU or Chicago residencies due to personnel connections.

I'm sure you can find mentors at all 3 schools who be willing to make calls on your behalf assuming you keep rocking it. I think UCSF probably has the strongest mentor network, but they're all insanely strong. If you want to match in NYC then NYU is the best for that without a doubt.

 

[lacrossegirl420]

Can speak positively to NYU, can’t speak for WashU or UCSF but honestly you can’t go wrong with any choice here

 

[miyakinaki]

UCSF and it's not even close. The best med school of the three, and the best chance of matching at MGH.

You seem very confident about this. Could you share why you think that’s the case?

 

[MercifulCamper]

But what if you and @beansncheese end up in the Bay? we wouldn't get to be classmates lol. But in all seriousness, you both were some of the best people I connected with during visits. I'm hoping we end up in the same area.

Thanks fam and likewise it was great to meet a genuine person like you at these visits. I think while we may end up in the Bay we also may end up in St. Louis. I also think WashU and UCSF offer you great odds to match to Boston for residency. NYU would as well but its more expensive and not your dream school like UCSF is for both of us. I respectfully disagree with @lone_cypress and don't think WashU and UCSF have drastically different reputations in medicine for surgery. For primary care and well roundedness, I would give UCSF the significant edge but for surgery I think both institutions are just as good as each other and that is why my recommendation to you is still WashU for the money but I wouldn't fault you for going to your dream school, UCSF. Either way you are set to make a run at an east coast residency if you and your wife decide that you want that.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

How critical is family being close by? Our only child went to east coast from CA (For undergrad they went to south). we text daily and do video calls on weekends. We typically see him every few months and so far they are doing fine.

 

[miyakinaki]

How critical is family being close by? Our only child went to east coast from CA (For undergrad they went to south). we text daily and do video calls on weekends. We typically see him every few months and so far they are doing fine.

It is not critical. My SO and I will want to start a family close to the end of med school and our major focus is being close to family for residency. We live far from family now and communicate frequently and visit when we can. I know that both of our families on the east coast will make the effort to visit us or have us visit them during school.

 

[deleted1065184]

UCSF and it's not even close. The best med school of the three, and the best chance of matching at MGH.

Hard disagree with all or this.

 

[miyakinaki]

Hard disagree with all or this.

What is your take?

 

[deleted1065184]

What is your take?

Basically same as @MercifulCamper .

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

Hard disagree with all or this.

I agree with UCSF being the best medical school but it’s not for everyone (my kid declined the A) ☺️

 

[deleted1065184]

I agree with UCSF being the best medical school but it’s not for everyone (my kid declined the A) ☺️

I disagree with that. UCSF and WashU are and have always been peer institutions. Going to UCSF won't provide any general advantages to WashU. But SDNers are very Bay Area-heavy and overwhelmingly prefer SF to STL.

 

[deleted1144897]

I disagree with that. UCSF and WashU are and have always been peer institutions. Going to UCSF won't provide any general advantages to WashU. But SDNers are very Bay Area-heavy and overwhelmingly prefer SF to STL.

I am curious why you think that UCSF and WashU have always been peer institutions. I am very much data driven.

Objectively speaking from an academic standpoint, and of course this is just one metric, UCSF consistently ranks at the top in NIH funding (source: NIH Awards by Location and Organization - NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORT)). There is one institution that ranks 1st almost every year, and that's Johns Hopkins. WashU has impressively gained momentum in the past few years though.

 

[EndureVascular]

What I'm saying is not my opinion, and rather what I've gathered from upperclassmen and residents. My opinon has always been that the best med school is the one that accepts you. OP is lucky enough to have multiple acceptances, and has the luxury of making a choice. I merely share what I've heard in an attempt to be helpful.

Edit: In case it wasn't clear, I don't mean to put WashU down in any way. It's an excellent school. It's just that I've heard people saying it's not the same as Harvard/Hopkins/UCSF. For context, those people say WashU is on the level of Penn, Columbia, Duke, Mayo, and UW. Make of that what you will

Yep you hit the nail on the head with this post

 

[deleted1158770]

What I'm saying is not my opinion, and rather what I've gathered from upperclassmen and residents. My opinon has always been that the best med school is the one that accepts you. OP is lucky enough to have multiple acceptances, and has the luxury of making a choice. I merely share what I've heard in an attempt to be helpful.

Edit: In case it wasn't clear, I don't mean to put WashU down in any way. It's an excellent school. It's just that I've heard people saying it's not the same as Harvard/Hopkins/UCSF. For context, those people say WashU is on the level of Penn, Columbia, Duke, Mayo, and UW. Make of that what you will

That’s a fair opinion. Arguments on both sides could go on forever, but I think that the general consensus in this thread is that both UCSF and WashU are valid choices for the OP, and their decision should mainly come down to personal preference between those two great schools!

 

[deleted1065184]

I am curious why you think that UCSF and WashU have always been peer institutions. I am very much data driven.

Objectively speaking from an academic standpoint, and of course this is just one metric, UCSF consistently ranks at the top in NIH funding (source: NIH Awards by Location and Organization - NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools (RePORT)). There is one institution that ranks 1st almost every year, and that's Johns Hopkins. WashU has impressively gained momentum in the past few years though.

I'm also very data-driven, which is what informs my statements. I've been using the NIH awards website to look at funding since the early 2010s. How far have you gone back? WashU has been up there with them consistently for decades.

You can go all the way back to year 2000, 23 years ago. UCSF is #4 and WashU is #5 in funding. And this is, ofc, with the caveat that NIH funding is not the end all, be all. A lot of NIH funding is influenced by very large clinical trial grants, hence NYU having an unusually high funding number for a couplecof years. Those grants can artificially inflate research prowess. There are also many factors to take into account that can determine far funding can go (including cost of living).

We could also look at something like Nobel Laureates in Medicine. WashU has 18, with the first being in 1943. UCSF has 7. This isn't to say that WashU is a bigger research institution, but to highlight that your idea that WashU has just more recently gained momentum. They were one of the first research-intensive medical schools in the US.

We can look at tons of other metrics if you'd like, but it's abundantly clear that they're peer institutions in research and medicine.

Also, having been in science since the early 2010s, it's pretty widely known that they're peers.

Oh and btw, take a look at this: BRIMR Rankings of NIH Funding in 2022 | BRIMR

 

[deleted1065184]

What I'm saying is not my opinion, and rather what I've gathered from upperclassmen and residents. My opinon has always been that the best med school is the one that accepts you. OP is lucky enough to have multiple acceptances, and has the luxury of making a choice. I merely share what I've heard in an attempt to be helpful.

Edit: In case it wasn't clear, I don't mean to put WashU down in any way. It's an excellent school. It's just that I've heard people saying it's not the same as Harvard/Hopkins/UCSF. For context, those people say WashU is on the level of Penn, Columbia, Duke, Mayo, and UW. Make of that what you will

It's interesting that you also believe Penn is a tier below Harvard/Hopkins/UCSF. There is also definitely very strong regional bias. UCSF is not as well known/respected outside of the West, WashU is not as well known/respected outside of the Midwest, Penn is not as well known/respected outside of the East.

If we're going by name recognition alone, it's definitely Harvard/Hopkins, then others. UCSF is not in the group. When it comes to biomedical research prowess (which seems to be the driving factor for prestige within medicine), all of those institutions you listed (except Mayo) are in the same tier. And they all have individual strengths. Would also add Yale to that list.

Idk, not trying to invoke the old man card lol, but this is the understanding I've developed being in the biomedical research world for a while.

 

[deleted1065184]

That’s a fair opinion. Arguments on both sides could go on forever, but I think that the general consensus in this thread is that both UCSF and WashU are valid choices for the OP, and their decision should mainly come down to personal preference between those two great schools!

Also agree with this!!!

 

[miyakinaki]

Also agree with this!!!

Thanks for all of the input! Everyone is making valid points. I agree that UCSF and WashU would offer me the most toward my future goals.

After talking to my mentors in medicine (most are in academic medicine, a few in private practice) they have narrowed it down to WashU and UCSF, but all have given the clear edge to UCSF. Many of these physicians trained on the east (MGH, BWH, Penn, Yale). They didn’t discredit WashU but brought up the cross talk and “pipeline” between UCSF and MGH/BWH and other top east coast programs. These docs have worked with me for years and know my career goals. This has made me lean toward UCSF, but am I focusing too much on this advice? Is it too anecdotal to be significant?

When I think about making a decision, it feels harder to let go of UCSF than WashU. I can see myself choosing WashU and being happy but a part of me would feel like I was leaving behind a dream of mine. I didn’t go to my dream school for undergrad because of life circumstances, so part of me sees this as an opportunity to do that now.

I’d love any input on these two factors if anyone has experience with it (@MercifulCamper, @lone_cypress, @EndureVascular) . Apologies if any of this comes off as naive or superficial.

 

[chilly_md]

When I think about making a decision, it feels harder to let go of UCSF than WashU. I can see myself choosing WashU and being happy but a part of me would feel like I was leaving behind a dream of mine. I didn’t go to my dream school for undergrad because of life circumstances, so part of me sees this as an opportunity to do that now.

With how close you are between the 2, I think it is perfectly fine to let the bolded feeling be the deciding factor for you.

 

[deleted1065184]

Thanks for all of the input! Everyone is making valid points. I agree that UCSF and WashU would offer me the most toward my future goals.

After talking to my mentors in medicine (most are in academic medicine, a few in private practice) they have narrowed it down to WashU and UCSF, but all have given the clear edge to UCSF. Many of these physicians trained on the east (MGH, BWH, Penn, Yale). They didn’t discredit WashU but brought up the cross talk and “pipeline” between UCSF and MGH/BWH and other top east coast programs. These docs have worked with me for years and know my career goals. This has made me lean toward UCSF, but am I focusing too much on this advice? Is it too anecdotal to be significant?

When I think about making a decision, it feels harder to let go of UCSF than WashU. I can see myself choosing WashU and being happy but a part of me would feel like I was leaving behind a dream of mine. I didn’t go to my dream school for undergrad because of life circumstances, so part of me sees this as an opportunity to do that now.

I’d love any input on these two factors if anyone has experience with it (@MercifulCamper, @lone_cypress, @EndureVascular) . Apologies if any of this comes off as naive or superficial.

You're from California and live in the Bay Area, I'm assuming most (if not all) of your mentors live in that area too. There's going to be some bias there, even if they trained out East at some point. It is definitely anecdotal and may not be significant, but I've come to feel you should choose UCSF.

It's your dream school, it's an amazing school, and you'll only graduate with ~$80k in debt. Most importantly, you personally have a preference for UCSF and likely would regret not going. The price difference is close enough that you should follow your heart and go to UCSF. Good luck with your schooling!!!

 

[deleted1065184]

Also, I understand that feeling re: passing up your dream school. I ended up passing up my dream school for med school, but in hindsight I'm very glad that I did. But if I had chosen that school, I'd probably look back and say I'm glad I chose it. Whether or not we believe we made the right decision usually comes down to how things go.

If things go very well, you will always feel you made the right decision. If things go poorly, you will always feel you made the wrong decision. But if things go poorly at UCSF (they won't, you're a superstar), you'll at least know you went to your dream school. If things go poorly at WashU (again, they won't), you'll probably feel even more regret. I'm changing my vote to UCSF for you.

 

[CoolBreezes]

Thanks for all of the input! Everyone is making valid points. I agree that UCSF and WashU would offer me the most toward my future goals.

After talking to my mentors in medicine (most are in academic medicine, a few in private practice) they have narrowed it down to WashU and UCSF, but all have given the clear edge to UCSF. Many of these physicians trained on the east (MGH, BWH, Penn, Yale). They didn’t discredit WashU but brought up the cross talk and “pipeline” between UCSF and MGH/BWH and other top east coast programs. These docs have worked with me for years and know my career goals. This has made me lean toward UCSF, but am I focusing too much on this advice? Is it too anecdotal to be significant?

When I think about making a decision, it feels harder to let go of UCSF than WashU. I can see myself choosing WashU and being happy but a part of me would feel like I was leaving behind a dream of mine. I didn’t go to my dream school for undergrad because of life circumstances, so part of me sees this as an opportunity to do that now.

I’d love any input on these two factors if anyone has experience with it (@MercifulCamper, @lone_cypress, @EndureVascular) . Apologies if any of this comes off as naive or superficial.

It seems like UCSF is the winner here.

Your choice is between 3 schools that are awesome in different ways but awesome nonetheless. And thanks to scholarships, the cost differences between the 3 are negligible. That means you need to go with your gut on this one.

 

[Max2022]

UCSF

 

[miyakinaki]

Thanks to everyone who provided their input on this thread! I ended up choosing UCSF and am super excited for the next 4 years. After a long back and forth with the financial aid office, I was able to get them to improve my financial aid offer significantly (close to COA)!