Hi everyone!
I'm very fortunate to have been accepted into two schools in my home state: USC and UC Irvine. I know there have been posts comparing these two schools in the past but they have made some points that are no longer true (e.g. UCI no longer requires you to go to all classes and the grading is now P/F- as far as I am aware). I am having trouble deciding which one would be a better fit for me and I was hoping some current students or residents/physicians would have some input.
I am leaning towards UC Irvine because of the huge difference in price ($80k over the fours years before interest). On the other hand, I realize that USC would probably provide better clinical training due to how much LA County is integrated in the early clinical training curriculum. It also seems like USC has much greater name recognition (even out of proportion to its actual rankings). I am aiming to match into a top residency program, and it seems from my impression of UCI students, that they are almost too laid back. What worries me is: will going to UC Irvine make me a less competitive residency applicant? Is this enough to justify the difference in price?
I've heard that residency programs mostly look at Step 1, your rotation grades, and your honors. So maybe I am being too critical in this comparison but I just don't know.
Thank you!
I'm very fortunate to have been accepted into two schools in my home state: USC and UC Irvine. I know there have been posts comparing these two schools in the past but they have made some points that are no longer true (e.g. UCI no longer requires you to go to all classes and the grading is now P/F- as far as I am aware). I am having trouble deciding which one would be a better fit for me and I was hoping some current students or residents/physicians would have some input.
I am leaning towards UC Irvine because of the huge difference in price ($80k over the fours years before interest). On the other hand, I realize that USC would probably provide better clinical training due to how much LA County is integrated in the early clinical training curriculum. It also seems like USC has much greater name recognition (even out of proportion to its actual rankings). I am aiming to match into a top residency program, and it seems from my impression of UCI students, that they are almost too laid back. What worries me is: will going to UC Irvine make me a less competitive residency applicant? Is this enough to justify the difference in price?
I've heard that residency programs mostly look at Step 1, your rotation grades, and your honors. So maybe I am being too critical in this comparison but I just don't know.
Thank you!
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