USC vs UCSD

[a_student]

btw i'm not planning on attending either one of them i'm just really curious what sdners think

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[a_student]

and if any of u hate these types of threads, u can not answer it don't rant about how u hate these threads

 

[Eraserhead]

this one has been done before i think...

 

[Pinkertinkle]

UCSD cuz its cheaper.

 

[a_student]

do u know the link?

 

[mikeyboy]

Ask Jalby if you want a nice, unbiased answer.

 

[Eraserhead]

Ask Jalby if you want a nice, unbiased answer.

I don't have the link... search...

there was my uci vs. ucsd one... then a uci vs. usc one i think? not sure.

 

[docmemi]

Ask Jalby if you want a nice, unbiased answer.

 

[Ryan]

(chanting) USC, USC, USC! 😀 😀

 

[Jalby]

Ask Jalby if you want a nice, unbiased answer.

Hey, I do back everything up with facts. For example, facts:

USC
20 hours lecture max a week (+2 hours touchy feely +4 hours clinical in hospital)
Curriculum: Systems based
Pass/Fail
No Thesis
Los Angeles
Largest Trauma center on west coast
Medicaid patients (you get to do a lot more)
Rankings: 43rd to 37th to 35th to 32nd
Boards: 220 (not great, but it was the new curriculum which had a lot of kinks that has been worked out, the avg MCAT and GPA of this class was 31.4 and 3.53, and it was previously a 215) (I think we have 2-4 people not pass the boards each year)
Time to study for boards: step one, finish new material Mid March, start rotations July 6th, ~115 days. Step 2: Take it whenever you want. If you want to show off for res directors, early fourth year. If you accidently did extremely well on step one and want to hide your step 2, after you have already matched.
Match List: Not that many family med or psych.


UCSD
28-32 hours of lecture (+4 hours manditory elective)
Honors/Pass/Fail
Curriculum: traditional
Thesis (one of seven schools)
Rankings: 20-20-16-19 (rough estimates)
Boards: 225 (with a class MCAT and GPA of 33.1 and GPA of 3.73) (But they do have everyone pass the boards)
Time to study for boards: Step 1, ~3 weeks. Step 2, 2 weeks and must take at start of fourth year so res directors would see your boards regardless.
Patients: Mostly private
Match List: way to many FP and Psych




Alright, I think that's my listing of facts.

 

[supersunny]

UCSD
Match List: way to many FP and Psych

it IS a state school... and UCSF has more psych/fp matches

 

[Jalby]

it IS a state school...:

Ahhh. That explains it. So if a student goes to a state school then they should lower thier own expectations. My bad. But you are right. UCSF has more FP and Psych matches. Of course, it also has a lot bigger class.


I'd say just go on the interviews to the two schools and you'll see the biggest difference.

Ohh, I looked up info on what schools had how many Psych and FP.

UCSD- 98 matches, 13 psych, 6 FP: 18%
UCLA- 160 matches, 6 psych, 18 FP: 15%
UCSF- 160 matches, 17 psych, 6 FP: 14%
USC- 185 matches, 13 psych, 10 FP: 12.4

I'm actually quite surprised by the numbers. Wasn't expecting UCLA and UCSF to have as many and definately wasn't expecting USC to win. USC has so many students b/c we accidently over booked that year.

http://uscnews.usc.edu/hscweekly/detail.php?recordnum=10024

 

[supersunny]

Ahhh. That explains it. So if a student goes to a state school then they should lower thier own expectations. My bad. But you are right. UCSF has more FP and Psych matches. Of course, it also has a lot bigger class.


I'd say just go on the interviews to the two schools and you'll see the biggest difference.

Ohh, I looked up info on what schools had how many Psych and FP.

UCSD- 98 matches, 13 psych, 6 FP: 18%
UCLA- 160 matches, 6 psych, 18 FP: 15%
UCSF- 160 matches, 17 psych, 6 FP: 14%
USC- 185 matches, 13 psych, 10 FP: 12.4

I'm actually quite surprised by the numbers. Wasn't expecting UCLA and UCSF to have as many and definately wasn't expecting USC to win. USC has so many students b/c we accidently over booked that year.

http://uscnews.usc.edu/hscweekly/detail.php?recordnum=10024

i think the debt incurred at usc would deter some folks from going into fp/psych.

 

[exmike]

UCSD is much more prestigious. I'd go there and get stressed to death 🙂

 

[Jalby]

i think the debt incurred at usc would deter some folks from going into fp/psych.

Yeah. I totally agree. I thought about that yesterday and was going to mention it, but I forgot. I think it is accurate for FP, but not so sure about psych, since it seems to be something of last resort.

But for the people in that class, the difference in the amount of debt was a lot more. UC's were 10K a year, USC was 35, so 100K difference. Now, UC's are 22K this year (with 10% raises each year) and USC is 36K. So the difference is ~50K.

 

[exmike]

true, jalby, but inevitably USC's tuition will rise also, but probably not at a 10% clip.

 

[samurai_lincoln]

Ohh, I looked up info on what schools had how many Psych and FP.

UCSD- 98 matches, 13 psych, 6 FP: 18%
UCLA- 160 matches, 6 psych, 18 FP: 15%
UCSF- 160 matches, 17 psych, 6 FP: 14%
USC- 185 matches, 13 psych, 10 FP: 12.4

I'm actually quite surprised by the numbers. Wasn't expecting UCLA and UCSF to have as many and definately wasn't expecting USC to win. USC has so many students b/c we accidently over booked that year.

http://uscnews.usc.edu/hscweekly/detail.php?recordnum=10024

"To win"?! I would chalk it up as simply a poor choice of words, but you have already mentioned that you believe UCSD already has "way to (sic) many psych and FP matches." And then you top it off by calling psych a residency of "last resort." God forbid someone should actually select their specialty based on personal interest, rather than economic reward or the elusive concept of prestige. Did you feel sorry for your family doctor growing up?

Oh, and I love your justification for USC's lower step one scores (the new curriculum), despite the fact that USC students have the advantage of nearly three extra months of study time available. While this makes the boards a pain at UCSD, it completely undermines your theory of USC superiority, since the latter students couldn't score higher even with the advantage.

If you are going to be a homer (which is fine, everyone should be so lucky to love their school), at least make out a cogent argument why your school is "better" next time.

 

[exmike]

I dont see how %FP match has anything to do with the quality of the school. 😕

 

[pekq]

If I am correct, USC is located in a ghetto that even JHU students would not be envious of. I'd choose UCSD just so I wouldn't be in a ghetto. Not to mention the weather is a lot nicer year round.

 

[pekq]

I dont see how %FP match has anything to do with the quality of the school. 😕

Sure it does. It'll rank higher in the primary care ranking in US News.

 

[Pediatron47]

This entire thread is stool...
I'm a third year at UCSD, sitting in my call room, and laughing at the "facts" presented.

Hey, I do back everything up with facts. For example, facts:

UCSD
28-32 hours of lecture (+4 hours manditory elective)
Honors/Pass/Fail
Curriculum: traditional
Thesis (one of seven schools)
Rankings: 20-20-16-19 (rough estimates)
Boards: 225 (with a class MCAT and GPA of 33.1 and GPA of 3.73) (But they do have everyone pass the boards)
Time to study for boards: Step 1, ~3 weeks. Step 2, 2 weeks and must take at start of fourth year so res directors would see your boards regardless.
Patients: Mostly private
Match List: way to many FP and Psych

Alright, I think that's my listing of facts.

Hours of Lecture: No one said you HAVE to go
Honors/Pass/Fail: First year is pass/fail only
Curriculum: Yes...traditional
Thesis: AKA ISP...it's a pain, but you get 2 months off your 4th year to do it.
Rankings: Yeah..it ain't bad
Boards: 225...no, not everyone passes..that is on the first try.
Time to study for boards: You do get 3 weeks for step 1. Step 2 you're own your own.
Patients: WHERE DID YOU GET THIS "PRIVATE" STOOL! If by private, you mean VA patients...then yes. If you mean private as in "cash pay" brought up from the border..yes..private. The truth is, I rarely see a "private" patient. In fact, we aren't allowed to see the ones with insurance in Labor and Delivery.

As for the "too many FP/Psych" whining...what does anyone else doing have to do with you? Did you mention the 2 neurosurgeons? If you knew this class personally, you'd understand. UCSD is not a "primary-care" school. It's just this class's personality leant itself to those things...especially psych.

Now do I like it here? No. Weather is great, chicks are hot, but the school is rough. I can't say what USC is like, but I wish I had more options when it came to choosing medical schools.

 

[mikeyboy]

Now do I like it here? No. Weather is great, chicks are hot, but the school is rough.

Can you elaborate on "the school is rough"?

 

[Jalby]

true, jalby, but inevitably USC's tuition will rise also, but probably not at a 10% clip.

300$ a year. 4 years ago we were the third most expensive school. Now we are the 15th because so many schools passed us. And our income is pretty much set, so I wouldn't expect any major changes.

 

[Jalby]

"To win"?! I would chalk it up as simply a poor choice of words, but you have already mentioned that you believe UCSD already has "way to (sic) many psych and FP matches." And then you top it off by calling psych a residency of "last resort." God forbid someone should actually select their specialty based on personal interest, rather than economic reward or the elusive concept of prestige. Did you feel sorry for your family doctor growing up?

Oh, and I love your justification for USC's lower step one scores (the new curriculum), despite the fact that USC students have the advantage of nearly three extra months of study time available. While this makes the boards a pain at UCSD, it completely undermines your theory of USC superiority, since the latter students couldn't score higher even with the advantage.

If you are going to be a homer (which is fine, everyone should be so lucky to love their school), at least make out a cogent argument why your school is "better" next time.

Some people do like pysch. And some people absolutely love FP. But the fact is most people would choose to make double the $$$ that they would make in these specialties if given the option. Not everyone, but most people.

My justification for the lower step one scores is the fact the that USC class isn't as smart as UCSD's. Not even close. Hence, the fact that they are close to UCSD's score is quite amazing. And my class is the one with all of the free time. They had to do a ton more useless stuff the first 8 weeks, so there will be a huge difference in the scores. My class isn't as smart as a whole as UCSD's current 2nd years, but I would be willing to bet even money we will beat them on the boards.

 

[Jalby]

If I am correct, USC is located in a ghetto that even JHU students would not be envious of. I'd choose UCSD just so I wouldn't be in a ghetto. Not to mention the weather is a lot nicer year round.

Yes, it is. Hence, we get a lot more interesting patients and we get to do a lot more interesting procedures than you can anywhere else. The good news is, 3 miles away is Monterrey Hills, 6 Miles away is Pasadena, and 10 miles away is Hollywood. So nobody who goes to USC actually lives in the ghetto, but they do work their.

That being said, I think UCSD has a much much better location than USC. I wish there was more major events in San Diego, but most of the other things has USC beat. (I do like the fact that you can see famous people when you go out here, though)

 

[Jalby]

This entire thread is stool...
I'm a third year at UCSD, sitting in my call room, and laughing at the "facts" presented.



Hours of Lecture: No one said you HAVE to go
Honors/Pass/Fail: First year is pass/fail only
Curriculum: Yes...traditional
Thesis: AKA ISP...it's a pain, but you get 2 months off your 4th year to do it.
Rankings: Yeah..it ain't bad
Boards: 225...no, not everyone passes..that is on the first try.
Time to study for boards: You do get 3 weeks for step 1. Step 2 you're own your own.
Patients: WHERE DID YOU GET THIS "PRIVATE" STOOL! If by private, you mean VA patients...then yes. If you mean private as in "cash pay" brought up from the border..yes..private. The truth is, I rarely see a "private" patient. In fact, we aren't allowed to see the ones with insurance in Labor and Delivery.

As for the "too many FP/Psych" whining...what does anyone else doing have to do with you? Did you mention the 2 neurosurgeons? If you knew this class personally, you'd understand. UCSD is not a "primary-care" school. It's just this class's personality leant itself to those things...especially psych.

Now do I like it here? No. Weather is great, chicks are hot, but the school is rough. I can't say what USC is like, but I wish I had more options when it came to choosing medical schools.

I must say, the women at UCSD med school is hotter than any other school by far, and the women in San Diego in general. But your last paragraph says it all.

But it sure seems like most of my "facts" were actually facts. I thought it was only the first semester that was Pass/Fail, and I also thought it was 4 weeks for step one, not 3. The Step 2 thing I heard from Kenisho2004 that you have to take it before residency aplications. And I was under the assumtion that the majority of patients you see at UCSD (not just the one VA hospital) are private patients, especially since San Diego doesn't even have a county hospital. They all actually make the cummute to the nearest county hospital, which is harbor, or the second nearest, which is County-USC
As for the other stuff. More hours of lecture means more notes and pieces of useless information that has been kept in the curriculum for historical reasons and not relevant to modern medicine. More Embrylogy, histology, biochemistry, etc, etc. Stuff you never really have to know.

 

[Pediatron47]

I must say, the women at UCSD med school is hotter than any other school by far, and the women in San Diego in general. But your last paragraph says it all.

But it sure seems like most of my "facts" were actually facts. I thought it was only the first semester that was Pass/Fail, and I also thought it was 4 weeks for step one, not 3. The Step 2 thing I heard from Kenisho2004 that you have to take it before residency aplications. And I was under the assumtion that the majority of patients you see at UCSD (not just the one VA hospital) are private patients, especially since San Diego doesn't even have a county hospital. They all actually make the cummute to the nearest county hospital, which is harbor, or the second nearest, which is County-USC
As for the other stuff. More hours of lecture means more notes and pieces of useless information that has been kept in the curriculum for historical reasons and not relevant to modern medicine. More Embrylogy, histology, biochemistry, etc, etc. Stuff you never really have to know.

UCSD is rough because you recieve zero support from the administration. The current dean of students should be called the dean against students. She is known as one of the most evil and unhelpful people in history. She has zero sympathy for the troubles of medical school. Luckily, she is being "promoted" after this year and will be replaced by someone new.

Case in point, my mother died during my first year. She told me that "I was not in a unique position" and to "get over it." Therefore, I am one of the more embittered students here.

As for how UCSD is rough, let me give you a few examples. A surgical attending grabbed me by the collar of my white coat and told me how stupid I am simply because I found evidence that his attending note may be wrong. The nurses down here suck arse. I have rolled into the hospital (@ 3:30am) to find numerous signs posted on the computers that this certain computer is reserved for nursing only, not for medical student use. Let's not mind the computers for med students are currently in use by nurses that are eating breakfast.

As for the stool as that UCSD students primarily see private patients, you are a ***** that should give up now, as you are too stupid to be a colleague of mine. The UCSD system has 2 hospitals. One of them has the county contract as there is no "county" San Diego hospital. UCSD Hillcrest IS the county medical center. That is where you do the majority of your rotations. The rest are done at the VA. UCSD has stopped having peds, so Children's San Diego is the county children's hospital. The other UCSD hospital is a rich persons hospital. You rarely go there, and are treated as lower than dirt by the patients. Even the residents are treated like dirt.

So there you all go, the truth at UCSD. Questions and comments are welcome.

Oh, Jalby. STFU. "cummute." Are you really in medical school, as you can't spell worth a crap. Or you an FMG or going to med school in St. Kitts? Give up dogging on UCSD. I have plenty of ammo against UCSD, but you should really STFU, as it's clear you don't know what you're talking about. And more "notes?" Whatever, the first year is a bunch of useless stool anyways..

 

[Jalby]

lol. You sure are doing a good job promoting UCSD, so if you want, I'll leave you to debate USC v. UCSD. I've always heard that they train arrogant doctors at UCSD, and I guess you are one more example of it (although I'm not sure what you have to be arrogant about). You sound like one of the many UCSD students who have told interviewees to go to any other school.

As for me and who I am, yes I can't spell worth ****. Luckily for me, I have plenty of other things that I am extremely good at. If you ever want to just whip them out and get a ruler, I'm not to worried about how I will measure up.

 

[exmike]

I dont get this debate. If you want to go to the "better" school then it is UCSD hands down, I really don't think USC is the same caliber school as UCSD, although it is a great school.

If you want to throw in other factors like location, teaching style, admin, then its personal preference and only the person making that decision can decide that!

 

[Eraserhead]

The Dean he's talking about gave a speech at the second look about how all of the rumors were exaggerated and such... she was pretty damn cold... I mean I was trying really hard not to be afraid of her and like her but geez I believe him 100% when he describes his interaction with her regarding the family death... luckily for the next set of 1st years, she is leaving the position.

I think the chief problem with UCSD is a lack of care for the health and well-being of students overall, whether its responsiveness to complaints about the curriculum or things like the nurses treating the students like dirt and hogging computers... its just doesn't sound like a nice place to be, it sounds like a place that breeds misery and stress for stupid, uneccessary reasons.

Its funny that the one person defending UCSD gives the caveat at the end of the post saying that he doesn't actually like it there... I think he's pretty representative of the impression I formed from everyone I talked to... I don't think he is an outlier and people should take his comments seriously.

 

[hoping2004]

The Dean he's talking about gave a speech at the second look about how all of the rumors were exaggerated and such... she was pretty damn cold... I mean I was trying really hard not to be afraid of her and like her but geez I believe him 100% when he describes his interaction with her regarding the family death... luckily for the next set of 1st years, she is leaving the position.

I think the chief problem with UCSD is a lack of care for the health and well-being of students overall, whether its responsiveness to complaints about the curriculum or things like the nurses treating the students like dirt and hogging computers... its just doesn't sound like a nice place to be, it sounds like a place that breeds misery and stress for stupid, uneccessary reasons.

Its funny that the one person defending UCSD gives the caveat at the end of the post saying that he doesn't actually like it there... I think he's pretty representative of the impression I formed from everyone I talked to... I don't think he is an outlier and people should take his comments seriously.

weird - people i talked to liked UCSD. and talkign with people who have friends there in clinicals were enjoying it too... (well not so much enjoying it as in time of their life, but saying it was better than the basic science years and was happy). well, how about this, i'll let you guys know how it goes!

 

[Medikit]

This thread made UCSD change from my first choice UC to my last choice UC 🙁

 

[hoping2004]

awwww...that's really too bad. it is a great school with lots of resources (and amazing free health clinics). don't let the rumors get to you. check it out for yourself, talk to people, see what changes they've been making. ucsd has been recognizing recently the "rumors" and have been trying to change it. seriously, check it out and then decide if it's a good fit for you. good luck!

 

[dreghsSC]

USC!!!!!

 

[samurai_lincoln]

USC!!!!!

Do you have a fetish for dredging up old threads or something? That is two in the last few minutes.

 

[Dr. Chiquita]

I dont get this debate. If you want to go to the "better" school then it is UCSD hands down, I really don't think USC is the same caliber school as UCSD, although it is a great school.

If you want to throw in other factors like location, teaching style, admin, then its personal preference and only the person making that decision can decide that!

👍

 

[Jalby]

Do you have a fetish for dredging up old threads or something? That is two in the last few minutes.

I think she even got the wrong USC. Or maybe all of us did.

 

[WillHague007]

Just a quick question...where would you guys rank UCI out there with UCSD and USC. I was accepted to all three and ended up picking Irvine for a variety of reasons. I think based on 1)Cost, 2)Location, 3)School Matching Rep UCI is the best...but that's just my opinion.
Also, someone told me that UCI averaged the highest on the boards the last couple years out of the SoCal schools. Is there any truth to this?

 

[Newquagmire]

So there you all go, the truth at UCSD. Questions and comments are welcome

Wow 😱 The MSTP M1s seemed pretty happy...

 

[Jalby]

Also, someone told me that UCI averaged the highest on the boards the last couple years out of the SoCal schools. Is there any truth to this?

I have heard before that UCI has the highest avg board scores in the nation, which I don't believe at all. I can believe that they have the highest board scores in the So Cal. UCSD doesn't do well on the boards, and until recently UCI students have been a lot smarter than USC. UCLA had a bad curriculum, but that changed recently.

So what I'm saying is I'm betting three years from now, UCLA, USC, and UCI will be fighting for the best board scores and it will be close (surprisingly, USC will be the school with the smartest people coming in. We almost had the highest MCAT and GPA last year. We should get it is this year or come extremely close)


As for your question, I'd put USC, UCI, UCSD in that order. The differences between USC that would sway me towards it is the clinical training which is a lot better thn UCI, the fact you are in Los Angeles instead of Orange County, linkage to the undergrad (sports and other advantages), grading the first two years (P/F)and it's a lot bigger with more opportunities to do stuff outside of school. I'd choose UCI because of cost, nearness to the beach, and that's about it. I'm sure there might be other things, but I can't think of any right now.

 

[WillHague007]

Does anyone know where we can find a list of board score averages?

 

[Jalby]

Does anyone know where we can find a list of board score averages?

Nope. They don't really publish them. I know USC had a 221 last year and UCSD had a 225. UCI, nobody knows.

 

[gschl1234]

btw i'm not planning on attending either one of them i'm just really curious what sdners think

So where are you going or would like to go?

 

[JR]

In 2002 UCIs step I avg was 227. That is because they gave us plenty of time to study 🙂