So, the UCSF interview last weekend went well. At least, I feel like I did well. I was very impressed by the school. The entire Mission Bay campus at UCSF is brand new; nothing there is over 3 years old, and the school has so much money it's just sick. UCSF is unusual in that there are actually no undergraduates there -- it's purely a graduate and medical school, and the med school is not part of the new campus, so basically it's an entire campus devoted entirely to graduate education in the biomedical sciences. That kind of focus is really cool, and I think that's a big part of why the faculty there are as energetic and passionate about their work as they are (or at least, that's how everyone came off while I was there). UCSF is ranked 5th in the country for the discipline that I am interested in (biophysics), but honestly, after seeing the place, I think this may be my first choice (even if I am accepted into Stanford or MIT, both of which are higher ranked). There's also some cool aging-related research going on there, which of course is neat. Plus the stipend is $26,500/year...not bad, while you're in school!
So, it was satisfying in the sense that I really felt like I did as well as I could have done. If I don't get in, there won't be any if-only-I-hadn't-fucked-up moments, because I interviewed as well as I could have, and prepared as much as I was planning on preparing. So I won't stress about it, whatever the answer is. And if I don't get in, then well...I have to go live on a beautiful beach in southern California for the next 4 to 6 years. There are worse fates, I think!
Also, San Francisco seemed really cool. I do think the whole 'SF-is-gay' thing is really overblown, too...there was a gay part of town, which Amanda actually drove me through just for the hell of it, and indeed...that part of town was really, really gay. But aside from that, I didn't get the impression that the city had more gay people there than any other big city. I did think most people there seemed unusually attractive -- weirdly so, in fact. I came to the conclusion that it's because everyone there is in remarkably good shape -- there are almost no overweight people anywhere in the city. I think this is because the weather there is so mild all the time, that outdoor exercise is really easy and appealing. (Not like here, where my 30 degrees Fahrenheit 5-mile runs this time of year start to get old pretty fast...) A few of us went hiking along the coastal trail on the northwest end of the peninsula, and damn, there were some cool views there! I could definitely see wanting to do walks like that regularly. And let's face it, northern California has some of the best hiking you can find. When Isabel and I visited the area back in '04, I absolutely fell in love with the outdoors around there. I'd love to visit Sequoia and Yosemite again.
I've got the UCSB interview next weekend. This is kind of an unusual situation, because I've already been accepted into the school, so I guess it's more of a recruitment than an interview! I am looking forward to visiting, though; the area is insanely beautiful, and if I don't get into UCSF this is probably going to be my fall-back school. Although who knows, maybe I'll get to UCSB and be so impressed there that I decide to choose it over UCSF...
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