USC vs UC Irvine (2017 comparison)

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Barbapapa

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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!

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UCIrvine student here.
a good amount of my classmates, myself included, were also accepted to USC and had to make this choice...
bout to graduate and I can tell you my debt would be 2x-3x higher if I had gone to USC

but, money aside--this depends more on the type of career you want and your ambitions
i will say that research at USC is likely more robust, with perhaps higher standards, and with more well known names in most fields (this depends a lot on the specialty, but is generally true)
if you envision yourself as an academic in the future and would like to be involved early, you may find suitable mentors, research opportunities..etc more easily at USC
this is not to say you can't do research at UCI, you definitely can. just sayin if you absolutely love the academic world, USC may open more possibilities

in terms of getting into a top residency, top programs are aiming to select outstanding candidates...which could be associated with good school rankings but that usually isn't the reason behind their success
generally speaking, i think top candidates from UCI will be just as competitive as top candidates from USC

clinically, UCI has the potential to be a relatively chiller experience for people are more laid back. but doesn't mean you have to be one of them
i think for building a good foundation for residency....you will have plenty to learn during m3 and m4 at either institutions, if you're motivated to do so

i hope this helps. feel free to PM me for any questions.
 
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Why is UCI the definite choice? Isn't USC a top name school?
yeah tbh I would say USC by a long shot for academic prestige, but the other posters may be referring to the cost/benefit comparison - the cost being the literal cost of attendance which is insanely high. if you are willing/able to pay though, USC is a better choice (also class scheduling is HELLA better at private schools; I've heard of UCLA students graduating late because they could never get all the labs they needed in time)

EDIT: wow, I have no idea why I thought you were talking about undergrad/pre-med, so ignore some of the stuff above about class scheduling. nevertheless, I would still say USC > UCI for many reasons including research potential as someone mentioned above. congratulations on two great acceptances!
 
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