USC VS. UCSD

[jmejia1]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I know this is a personal decision, but if u had to pick between the two, which would u pick and why?

If money wasn't an issue I would easily pick USC because 1) I grow up in the area; 2) I like the new clinically-oriented curriculum; 3) plus I hear the clinical experience at county is kickass.

UCSD is reputated as an excellent medical school, it's ranked ten spots higher than USC, but I also hear that the curriculum can be hellish. But it's cheap!

any thoughts?

 

[DarksideAllstar]

I think that I would pick UCSD for more location-esque reasons. La Jolla, while expensive, is nice. The beach isn't much of a drive. The weather is fantastic year round, and well they have some good surf down there too.

Is UCSD on a P/F system? A friend of mine at USC says that they are graded on a curve so sometimes you have to get a 96% to Honor a class, which I think sucks a fat one.

I envy you having to make this decision. Good luck. 🙂

 

[mr.annoying]

If I didn't have to think about the money, I would still pick UCSD simply because it's in La Jolla! Damn that's such a great city! PLUS I love Sea World, Shamu is awesome. I had a season pass to Sea World last year, but I had to drive like 2 hours to get there! If I went to UCSD, I could go everyday! Yay! Also, you can take a short drive south of the border to get 3 fish tacos for $1 !!

 

[Hero]

I'd pick UCSD.. I just didn't like the feel of USC that's all vs. UCSD which I liked a lot.

 

[coop]

UCSD, because I'm completely unbiased

GO BRUINS!!!

 

[WaitingImpatiently]

I would pick UCSD. The only UCs that I would consider turning down in favor of USC are UCD and UCI. Of course, NO UC school offered me an interview 🙁 but I'm still waiting to hear from USC.

 

[El Jefe]

If UCSD accepts me, I'll probably end up going there over USC.

 

[hawkeyes]

I think that you should pick USC so I can get off the waitlist at SD! Just kidding. I would go for SD ... becuase it's San Diego, becuase it's cheaper. But it IS very personal. For ex: if you want to be an ER doc.. hands down, it's 'SC all the way (I think). My friend graduated from there and you get to work like an intern there becuase there is so much need. It's an awesome clinical training too and you get to see the worst of the worst. Just my take. You've got it good to make that decision!

 

[kutastha]

I've gone to school at both and I'd pick USC.

 

[meals]

I'm wrestling with this same decision and will be attending both the USC and UCSD revisit days next weekend. I want to go into emergency medicine but USC is SO expensive!

kutastha -- can you elaborate on why you would pick USC over UCSD? Any more thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[kutastha]

Since I was about 18 I wanted to go to med school at UCSD. The fact that I was rejected has nothing to do with my decision though. I've gone to USC at the HSC for the past five years and have seen how much the school has grown in terms of education and commitment to preparing med students for their careers. Plus, the experience at County is priceless. UCSD, albeit a very high caliber school, always had this air of competitiveness that I'm just not in for. Plus, with the growth of the medical school, the neurogenetics intstitute, the third Norris tower, the new curriculum, new facilities et al, USC is certainly progressing in their goal of rising in the ranks over the next ten years. When I was filling out my AMCAS, I realized that I'd much rather go here than UCSD, even though it's in La Jolla. There's also personal reasons, but I'll leave out the mundane details.

on edit: I should also mention the quality of research at USC, which I believe is highly underrated. I may be biased, but there's some excellent work going on here that I'd like to continue to be a part of.

 

[CaliBoy]

I am also struggling with this same decision right now. To be honest, there are alot of reasons why I think I would be a better fit at USC--- however I think I'm going to choose UCSD. The difference in debt load is one of several deciding factors. I'm going to both 2nd looks as well and if I find out that I absolutely despise one or or the other, than the decision will become easier, I suppose.

 

[Leotigers]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by hawkeyes:
•For ex: if you want to be an ER doc.. hands down, it's 'SC all the way (I think). My friend graduated from there and you get to work like an intern there becuase there is so much need. It's an awesome clinical training too and you get to see the worst of the worst. •••••The ER rotation at USC is pretty awesome for medical students, but you can always do an externship here. I would go with UCSD without question. If you decide to do ER, make sure to apply to USC's program, we have one of the best clinical training programs in the country. I may be a bit biased though. :wink:

 

[matthew0126]

well you already know my decision goes to ucsd

la jolla is very nice location and next to the beach; usc med is based in the heart of industrial l.a.

i too grew up in different parts of the l.a. area but i preferred my time in orange county best, which is more similar to san diego than l.a. proper

plus, you guys know that that the rumors about ucsd being hardcore are based off previous years before the curriculum change right?

ucsd is much cheaper, is ranked in the top20, in better locale (my opinion)

that being said, i *love* usc med. i turned down my interview so obviously my view of it isn't complete; but i have been there before and i know a usc med student, and the school is simply kickass. i truly believe that usc can complete it's goal of moving way up in the rankings within 10 years. i would go there in a heartbeat if i didn't have ucsd. i just like ucsd better in all categories. to each his/her own

 

[Diogenes]

You should go to USC because that is the school you want to go to (or seem to want to go to).

Don't rationalize your way into UCSD just because it is cheaper or "ranked higher." Those rankings are so arbitrary -- if you changed the weighting of variables in the mathematical formula they use, you'd get a totally different ranking.

The real question is where are you going to be happy? Because if you aren't happy, you shouldn't be doing it. It sounds like you would be happier at USC. So go to USC.