UWSOM vs UCLA

[staygoldenpony]

Hey guys - super grateful about my acceptances but also torn between my choices. I am currently interested in some competitive specialties such as an interventional Radiology, Anesthesiology and Urology.

UWSOM - Seattle (OOS)
Pros:

• P/F all 4 years (new for the entering class)
• Seems like such a fun city to experience new things
• Lecture-based exams but similar to NBME style

Cons:

• ~54k/yr
• They require 24 weeks of clinical rotations outside of Seattle (which seems fun to explore other states/cities but also draining and lonely?)

UCLA DGSOM (IS)
Pros:

• ~37k/yr
• P/F all 4 years (I think?)
• 3rd year is “Discovery year” (a year dedicated to a Masters program or research project) - this may help if I choose to do a competitive speciality
• All my family is in Southern California
• I want to do residency in Southern California
• Lecture-based exams but similar to NBME style

Cons:

• Sick and tired of LA traffic (but this is not a huge thing)
• Clerkships start 2nd year so pre-clinical is squished to a single year? (Not sure what the STEP 1/2 timeline is for this)

Summary: Cost is thankfully not a huge factor but is UWSOM worth the extra $$ for the new experience and maybe prestige? Also, weather isn’t really a factor since I love both rain and sunshine (just not really hot weather heheh).

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[JukeBoxHeroo]

UCLA has all the pros that you mentioned for UW + some more. And is cheaper, support system around, and in the state you want to do residency. Seems like there's no reason to choose UW over UCLA unless Im missing something ?

 

[thefirerisen]

Go for UCLA! It is pretty much identical in rankings with UW including the research opportunities. Seems like you love southern california a lot too and you want to end up there which having the UCLA name will mean a lot.

Also, to address your con of a 1-year preclinical, that is usually considered to be a big pro. Since it opens up more time later on, it takes a lot of stress off of you to squeeze in research during your studies. Yeah, the first year will be pretty tough (it is usually tough regardless) but you'll be thanking yourself in M3.