UCSD vs Case

[happyfeet16]

UCSD vs Case Western

Hi everyone! I’ve been torn for a while, but to be honest, I think I’m leaning towards UCSD. Attended second look for both schools. I am from Akron (45 min from Case) but attend undergrad in NC (8 hr drive from home) and am honestly only home ~3 times a year for breaks, but do a good job staying in touch with my mom. I’ve spent summers in NC and Boston and studied abroad in London, so living independently/moving/establishing and managing on my own isn’t a huge concern. I like to be outside and to be active and think this contributes significantly to my mental health (huge pro SD). However, I also have a really good relationship with my mom, and my parents are definitely older, so I am afraid of missing important years with them. I value hands-on work and collaboration, am very friendly. Interested in women’s health/REI (but not OBGYN) and in Rads, but superrr open-minded and want to explore more.

Both schools seem ~equal in terms of:

• Great faculty, strong students, strong match, etc
• Lots of research ops
• Team-based components to the curriculum
• Great mentorship from faculty, supportive peers

Differences i’m uncertain about but maybe arent as important to me: testing style/frequency

UCSD:
Pros:

• *Mental health of SD weather* and culture
• Students seem extra happy, strong work-life balance
• Very nice on-campus housing
• A bit smaller (~140 per class)
• Somehow much cheaper even though COL in SD >>> COA Cleveland (total COA for me over 4 years: $172K)
• Great diversity of experiences available to MS1s/MS2s
• Great diversity in life experience among student body

Cons:

• FAR from home/parents, expensive to get back and forth, moving is not gonna be easy. Only know one person in SD who I really like/is very supportive, but she would be living elsewhere for my MS1 year.
• Caps on MS3 ratings (⅓ high pass, ⅓ almost high pass, ⅓ pass or something like that)
• Non-NBME style exam questions
• I think this was skewed bc they try to promote it heavily at second look, but I'm not a member of an underrepresented race/culture/religion nor asian affinity group, and at second look it felt like membership in one of these affinity groups was a key part of social life/community. I loveee how diverse the class felt not just in this aspect but in the trye variety of life experiences, but I'm just afraid of not having that kind of community when I'm somewhere where I already don't know anyone.

Case:
Pros:

• Close to home (parents 45 min away) - this perhaps the key concern. My parents are 60+ and 65+ and the key difference/pro of staying home would be getting to see them more often. However, I attend school 8 hours away for undergrad (only home ~3 times a year for long breaks) and do well with staying in contact via FT. Just worried that med school won’t be the same as college, afraid of missing out on “key years” while they're still on the younger side of old age.
• Wayyyy easier to move (could drive back and forth as much as needed); very familiar with NE Ohio; the "comfy" option/path of least resistance
• Cleveland clinic, fantastic hospital systems, best and brightest resources, diversity of experiences offered through other great partners like UH and VA as well.
• Extra hands-on and group aspects
• Quite a few students from my UG come to med school here, some of my friends from childhood staying in NEOhio area
• Board style questions? (i think?)
• Everything seems shiny and new and ultra-modern, cutting-edge training tools (hence the $106k COA lol)
• Seem superrrrrr student-facing and student-oriented

Cons:

• Weather. Seems stupid, but I go to UG in NC and even the difference in mood from the weather difference in OH vs NC is very substantial.
• WAY more expensive (total COA for me over 4 years: $240K).
• Larger class size (didn't feel like this bc they make everything feel quite personal, but second look was divided across 3 months/visits so maybe feeling was not not representative)
• Harder to get into CA from out of CA (like if I wanted to move to SD later instead)
• Less to do in CLE, more indoors
• Perhaps culture not quite as work/life balanced/happy as UCSD but hard to say

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[GassedOut12]

What’s the cheapest option? You’ll care a lot about debt later.

 

[yellowarmpit47]

I’m in a similar position where my parents are mid 60s with some health issues and deciding between my state med school 30 min away and others I like much more but across the country.

I’m pretty tight with my parents and went to the my state school for undergrad, visiting every weekend. I want to be there for them when they need it, so I see med school as my last chance to really get out there and chase my own dreams while my parents are relatively healthy and don’t need me around. If you’re pretty good about keeping in touch via ft, you should go to UCSD. Especially with the COA difference. With the business of med school, idk how much you could even take advantage of their “healthy years”. Just my 2c

 

[happyfeet16]

What’s the cheapest option? You’ll care a lot about debt later.

Surprisingly, UCSD is WAY cheaper than Case, despite the fact that COL in SD is >>>>>>> COL in Cleveland

 

[happyfeet16]

I’m in a similar position where my parents are mid 60s with some health issues and deciding between my state med school 30 min away and others I like much more but across the country.

I’m pretty tight with my parents and went to the my state school for undergrad, visiting every weekend. I want to be there for them when they need it, so I see med school as my last chance to really get out there and chase my own dreams while my parents are relatively healthy and don’t need me around. If you’re pretty good about keeping in touch via ft, you should go to UCSD. Especially with the COA difference. With the business of med school, idk how much you could even take advantage of their “healthy years”. Just my 2c

Wow, thank you so much, this is a fantastic perspective. It is really nice to hear from someone in such a similar position, and I really like the way you frame it. I definitely plan on taking care of them in the future, and I've also wondered how realistic it is that I'd actually be able to "take advantage" of the time while also in medical school. Thank you!