First of all, so so grateful to be in this position.

I think this has already been discussed before, but I want to get opinions considering my situation.

I will be living off campus (bc of S/O & pet), and rent near UCI is more expensive, closing the gap between the COAs. I’m estimating USC to be ~60-70K more expensive over 4 years. Also I am very fortunate that I’ll have financial help from family, no private loans involved.

I want to match into psychiatry ideally in southern california or maybe east coast

UCI

Pros:

- I prefer the location given the proximity to beach and less crowdedness

- Location is very close to S/O’s family, though LA is not too far

- I get the impression students here may be more chill / well-rounded? OC is also a slower pace of life which i enjoy

- Curriculum has an ultrasound focus which is cool

- Free clinics and M1s can do quality improvement projects

Cons:

- H/P/F for M2 (M1 is true P/F)

- 2 year preclinical

- Internal ranking (based on quartile)

- Farther from LAX

- Seems to lack the unique extracurriculars that draw me to Keck. But I can do that stuff after med school too so idk

- Less national recognition

USC

Pros:

- NBME-based exams. Students say curriculum is tailored towards passing the step exams

- Recorded lectures

- P/F preclinical

- 1.5 yr preclinical

- No internal rank? (Actually I have no idea)

- Students claim their clinical training at LA General is high-quality

- Will get to use/improve my Spanish a ton during clinicals (though UCI also sees a good amount of spanish-speaking patients)

- Really excited by some of their service opportunities (robust Street Medicine Team that also does psychiatry research/efforts; asylum clinic)

- More national recognition (if I wanted to match east coast)

Cons:

- I have been living in LA and have a bit of an itch to move elsewhere

- Farther from beach lol

- More expensive (by ~70K total)

I think USC is more appealing to me as a school, but UCI’s location, vibes, and cheaper tuition are making it a tough choice. I also feel like if the cost differential was going to be well over 100K it would be an easier choice.