People ask me this question a lot on admission days, and my typical answer is really "it depends more on you". Despite being in the general Bay Area, and being similar "on paper"...Stanford and UCSF are pretty different places. I didn't interview at UCSF, but I have friends that go there. At the end of the day, they're both great schools, great match lists, they'll get you to where you want to go. It's more or less finding the "fit" that's right for you. A quick "facts" breakdown:
Stanford
- Suburban, Palo Alto, sort of sleepy/boring (35-40 minute drive to city)
- 86 medical students (40% California Residents)
- Smaller Research Enterprise ($265 million), higher per capita lab funding
- Private University
- Low Debt: $86,000
- Access to Business School, Law School, Engineering School, Undergrad
- Scholarly Concentrations
- P/F (Pre-Clinical), P/F/Honors (Clerkship), No Ranking, No AOA
- Easier to Match at Stanford (Residency Reputation: Great clinical training, laid-back)
UCSF
- Urban, San Francisco, lots of fun
- 149 medical students (80% California Residents)
- Larger Research Enterprise ($471 million), lower per capita lab funding
- Public University
- Low Debt: $101,00
- Stand Alone Med School (Med, Pharm, PhD, and Dental Programs)
- P/F (Pre-Clinical), P/F/Honors (Clerkships), Clerkship Ranking, AOA
- Easier to Match at UCSF (Residency Reputation: Great clinical training, intense)
Outside of the most basic reality that Stanford is 86 students and UCSF is around 150 (this is a major social environment distinction), there are really two main distinctions between UCSF and Stanford. Sorry if this is skewed pro-Stanford.
(1) Location- Do you want to live in an urban setting or a suburban setting? Personally, I think UCSF wins on location. Palo Alto is admittedly boring..though entertaining enough for weekday and even weekend fun. Our weather is better, the scenery is nicer, it's easier to have a car, etc., but San Fran is a much more fun place to live as someone in your 20s. It's hard to refute this. More particularly so if you're an urbanite like myself. However, as a Stanford student, I will say that going to Stanford does not preclude you from going to SF often, or even living there. I head there or to Berkeley 2-3 times per week. And, I'm living in SF this summer and potentially next year. Sometimes I wish Stanford was in the city, but other times I like having a quiet, beautiful relaxed place to come home to. Stanford also runs numerous programs that get you "out and about" your first two years when you have the time. As a MS1, I've been to Las Vegas, San Diego, Philly, NYC, the Sierras, Tahoe, Santa Cruz, Carmel, Monterey, etc on other personal or Stanford sponsored trips. You have time for this given the P/F system and the fact that all lectures are recorded.
(2) Private University vs. Public Medical School: Stanford Med benefits enormously from being on the Stanford campus. You have access to take Biz or Law school courses (Top 3 schools in their respective fields), engineering courses, undergrad courses, fine arts courses, you name it, it's free. Our scholarly concentration program is unique and at few other schools anywhere in the US (UCSF included) would it be possible for me take a biotech Biz school course (with some of the nation's best professors and class peers), a cancer biology clinical elective, and a pediatric shadowing elective... all in addition to my normal med school load. This also opens up a lot of social opportunities. There are constantly inter-grad school mixers, Grad Student party nights, etc. I personally like having friends who aren't medical students, and it's been pretty easy for me to meet people outside the school with a little pro-active effort. You don't get this same type of diversity at UCSF, just because there are no business students, undergrads, law students, etc. On the flipside, you have all of SF if you're a UCSF student. Though, it's admittedly harder to meeting people "in the real world" outside of your graduate school when you're a student.
There are certainly a ton more differences and similarities. Your best bet is to attend admit weekend at both and see which one vibes better. I didn't interview at UCSF, and I'm a Stanford student, so I'm admittedly biased. My usual stance on debating the schools is this: If you love the city life and can't live without it, go to UCSF. From an "academic" standpoint, there are more opportunities at Stanford if you're interested in aspects of medicine outside of strict clinical medicine. Stanford grooms leaders and innovators in the medical field, from a pure "education" standpoint I think Stanford is a better experience than almost any other med school in the US. UCSF included.
to everyone for the application cycle.
i went to stanford undergrad so i'm skewed that way only because i know more about the place.
