Yale vs UCSF

[voila]

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The difference in cost would be negligible, not sure about specialty yet and probably would want to match east coast but could very well change in 4 years

Yale
Pros: much closer to home, more laymen prestige (everyone is saying to go here but I feel ppl outside medicine just don’t know ucsf), more chance to pursue things outside of medicine (although not a huge factor for me)

cons: did not attend second look so I don’t know the vibes, New Haven lol (though it’s easy enough to get to other east coast cities)

UCSF
Pros: really liked the vibes of the study body (although didn’t explore the city a ton at second look), better name in medicine, a new experience before life get serious serious, diverse

Cons: far from home. I’m worried after the novelty wears off I might be home sick and have regret, since it’s a health focused institution not as much opportunity to pursue other things also I don’t want to be around med students 24/7

Ultimately I think I’d be at peace with either decision but I thought the answer would feel clearer at this point and it doesn’t

 

[newkungfukenny]

Honestly hard to say, with such an extensive and detailed list of pros and cons, its definitely a difficult choice

I mean . gave them way more aid. sounds like a no brainer imo

 

[Iron Man23]

Can’t go wrong with either. But if cost is the same then UCSF. Hovers between top 1-5 programs in the country. Which is just slightly better than Yale. Again, Won’t go wrong with either which can make it a tough decision. Would you rather be in the east coast or the west?

 

[hydroflaskhomie]

Yale student here.

I think UCSF is most definitely a half-step of within-Medicine prestige above most other med schools in the T10-T15 (I'd put Harvard and Hopkins even with them). I am obviously biased here, but I truly don't think it matters *that* much for most people and most circumstances. I would try to take prestige out of the picture here (including layman prestige for Yale unless you want to do like medical tech/business). I legitimately do not think you are going to have an issue matching wherever you want from Yale, doing whatever research you want etc.

However, if you told me your dream was to become the world's top academic cardiologist... UCSF is a Top 4 IM program - you'd probably be a shoo-in there and start building a dynasty from day one. Now, you could also come to Yale and match to the Top 4 programs like students do every year.

I moved cross-country for med school and think it is a valuable experience; however, if you know you want to end up with your family it can be valuable to go to medical school near them (naturally your professors will have more within-region connections and the majority of your classmates will likely stay in the region so your network will also be where you went to school - this is especially true for a place like UCSF that takes a ton of its own students for residency "U Can Stay Forever"). SF is great, but it will be a significant change for you.

My UCSF friends are super happy. Both of these schools are P/F which is a huge asset that you cannot even begin to understand until you hit clinical year and realize the randomness of the process. I don't know specifics on UCSF testing but Yale testing is very relaxed and pre-clinical is bare-minimum stress.

On your pursuing things outside of medicine point - I love the fact that YSM is co-located with the undergraduate institution and the other graduate schools. I have excellent friends in so many different fields (found through affinity groups mostly but also just from random social interactions on campus). A bunch of my medical school friends are doing cool dual degrees (I'm graduating in 4 so am not). I can finish class and walk to the Architecture school. However, I guarantee this is off-set by UCSF being in a bigger city - there's more to do in all of SF than in New Haven but I'm pretty content with Yale and definitely find more than enough to do here. Also, as you're probably aware, NYC is right there and a $19 1.5-2 hour train runs every 20 mins right out of New Haven.

Tldr: Congratulations on excellent options, you can't go wrong. Moving cross country is a great experience and SF is great. Yale and New Haven are also great. I wouldn't worry about prestige between these two options.

Happy to help with any more Yale-specific questions. Would help slightly to know if you have any specialties or research areas/dual degrees you are interested in.

 

[DoneDone3451]

Yale

 

[alphaketoglutarate_lover]

I would love more specifics… do you have a particular interest? I know you are unsure about specialty but is there a particular community that you want to serve? How much do you care about diversity? What state did you do undergrad? Have you been away from your family before or would this be the furthest you’ve been from home?

 

[deleted1141024]

I chose UCSF over Yale but they both were awesome. There are a lot of similarities in how chill the culture is. Yale is probably a little more chill with no shelf exams but UCSF offers a little bit more forced structure (you can make your own structure at Yale). The weather is way better over here and sure the in house residencies are great but Yale matches really well as well. Sure Yale is not a health science focused campus like UCSF, but if you’ve got other interests (outside of doing a profesional degree) I guarantee you’ll find them in SF.

 

[m1redsox]

I don’t think the negligible prestige difference outweighs the massive difference in your support system. My vote is Yale.

 

[Yhwach]

UCSF