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EDIT: I appreciate all the insight! I noticed many of the comments are centered around finances and just wanted to be transparent about being from a privileged background and having most (if not all) of med school covered by my parents. My partner is from a low SES background, so we will still be heavily weighing different scholarship/financial aid offers, but I wanted to emphasize that this is less of a make-or-break for me.
As the cycle has come to an end I am so grateful to be in the position that I was accepted to Baylor, UTSW, UCSF, and Yale among others. I have narrowed down my 3 schools already to Yale, UTSW, and UCSF that I will be going into April 15th with. I am thinking of eventually going into oncology so would be going into internal medicine after medical school. Could also be convinced to do Neurology (passionate about muscular dystrophy research). I am also from Texas but have been living on the East Coast for the better part of 7 years now. I am not a fan of this weather but willing to suffer if need be during residency/medical school but would like to eventually return to Texas for my fellowship.
To add to the complexity of this X vs Y all my school considerations are heavily influenced by being near or going to the same school as my partner @beansncheese who received acceptances at: Harvard (near full COA - with REACH scholarship), Columbia, JHU, Stanford (likely to be near full COA), UTSW (Full COA), Baylor, among others.
I imagine @beansncheese may post their own X vs Y in the future but I would like some perspective on what I should be considering that I may not already as I ponder for the next month and a half. We would likely do any of these scenarios: UCSF/Stanford, UTSW together, Yale/(Harvard, JHU, or Columbia). I am also holding a WL at Stanford which I am not sure I would get into but there is a slim possibility that I will be able to attend there with my partner. If the choice came down to UCSF vs Stanford what would be your pick?
UT Southwestern (Full Tuition + Partner COA will subsidize my living)
Pros
Cons
UCSF
Pros
Cons
Pros
As the cycle has come to an end I am so grateful to be in the position that I was accepted to Baylor, UTSW, UCSF, and Yale among others. I have narrowed down my 3 schools already to Yale, UTSW, and UCSF that I will be going into April 15th with. I am thinking of eventually going into oncology so would be going into internal medicine after medical school. Could also be convinced to do Neurology (passionate about muscular dystrophy research). I am also from Texas but have been living on the East Coast for the better part of 7 years now. I am not a fan of this weather but willing to suffer if need be during residency/medical school but would like to eventually return to Texas for my fellowship.
To add to the complexity of this X vs Y all my school considerations are heavily influenced by being near or going to the same school as my partner @beansncheese who received acceptances at: Harvard (near full COA - with REACH scholarship), Columbia, JHU, Stanford (likely to be near full COA), UTSW (Full COA), Baylor, among others.
I imagine @beansncheese may post their own X vs Y in the future but I would like some perspective on what I should be considering that I may not already as I ponder for the next month and a half. We would likely do any of these scenarios: UCSF/Stanford, UTSW together, Yale/(Harvard, JHU, or Columbia). I am also holding a WL at Stanford which I am not sure I would get into but there is a slim possibility that I will be able to attend there with my partner. If the choice came down to UCSF vs Stanford what would be your pick?
UT Southwestern (Full Tuition + Partner COA will subsidize my living)
Pros
- Research powerhouse and dedicated research time
- Go to the same school as my partner
- Free education for my partner and heavily subsidized education for me
- Seems to be going the extra mile to recruit those that are admitted
- Great Match List (Texas centric but not a problem for me)
- Strong in-house residencies
- Closest to home (from South Texas)
- Better weather than New Haven IMO
- Great community partnerships with underserved populations (Parkland, city official support etc)
- Dallas > New Haven
- Eric Olson (Duchenne world famous researcher)
Cons
- H/HP/P/F Clinicals
- AOA
- More competitive feel amongst classmates than UCSF and Yale
- Bay Area> Dallas
- Weather is not as nice as SF
UCSF
Pros
- T5
- Research Powerhouse (Dedicated Research Time)
- P/F Pre-clerkship and clerkship
- No AOA
- Would get to live with my partner in San Mateo if they are at Stanford
- Anchor institution (San Francisco Gen and lots of community partnerships to work with underserved folks)
- Amazing match list (U Can Stay Forever)
- Excellent in-house residencies (U Can Stay Forever)
- Parents and family can visit me easier than New Haven
- Best Weather
- Bay Area > Dallas > New Haven
Cons
- Expensive COL and tuition (could go into ~60K debt if parents unable to cover all of med school)
- Commuting from San Mateo to UCSF (I know its possible but does it actually make sense with a medical students schedule?)
- Further from family
- I have a truck lol idk how I can get around SF with it but I have been able to get around Boston for 3 years with it so maybe it is possible
Pros
- T10
- Research Powerhouse (Thesis requirement will help for residencies)
- Yale System (Drooooooollllll)
- NO AOA
- P/F (Some even say its really Pass Pass)
- No shelf exams (idk is this a pro?)
- Ability to work with underserved patients in New Haven
- Very passionate about Muscular Dystrophy research - Yale has a special clinic for DMD and Monkol Lek who I would love to do research with
- Good support network of friends that are at Yale grad programs
- New Haven
- Weather is terrible (more mild than Boston but not by much)
- Expensive (could go into ~75K debt if parents unable to cover all of med school)
- Would have to do medium/long distance with my partner ):
- Match list is amazing but UTSW is just as impressive in my opinion
- In-house residencies are not as strong as UTSW and UCSF
- Very far from family
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