Cincinnati vs. Ohio State

[akaMondo]

So, I am lucky enough find myself with two acceptances to two great schools. I have a week to decide, and I don't really know what to do! A little info about me that might be relevant: from Wisconsin, 100% intending to come back here for residency. If I can't match here, I'd probably stay where I go to school for SO's job continuity. Definitely staying in the midwest forever. Tentatively looking at IM subspecialty (hem/onc, hospitalist) but this could change. I want kids and a life, I do not anticipate heading into plastics/ortho/super competitive stuff. Boyfriend will be moving to be with me summer after M1, he is a lawyer who will need to find a job wherever I go. Hoping to volunteer next summer, not commit to research because I will (hopefully) be getting married and going on a honeymoon.

OSU:
+ Outstanding opportunities for clinical rotations with world class facilities
+ Money out the butt... Seriously. Students get iPads, building lots of new stuff, tons of research $$, etc... new, BEAUTIFUL cancer center
+ Dean Capers seems hell bent on making this a top 20 program
+ Higher ranked (34ish, from what I've gathered)
+ Name recognition, especially in Wisconsin? I feel like the Big 10 is all pretty well known here. Might make landing a residency back home easier? I could be overstating it
+ LSI curriculum is apparently awesome, I guess I don't know what makes a "good" or "bad" curriculum
+ Staff made it very clear they are like family, they want the students to succeed, and they will get to know you personally. It was very tough to feel this at all at UC, since the interview was weird MMI roleplaying
+ Family preference. For whatever reason, my parents really seem to be pushing OSU. They probably recognize the name, and I know my dad has a very close friend who lives in Columbus, he takes us out to dinner whenever we're in town.
+ Matching. OSU made it VERY clear that their top priority is to get us where we want to go. They have made sure a residency applicant with an MD from their school is well-off, that they are a name brand and residencies WANT their applicants.

- Housing is a nightmare, won't be able to live within walking distance, driving sucks because parking is a nightmare, too, etc.
- Facebook group (small sample size, I know) seems to be full of high strung, not overly friendly people. Stands in stark contrast to the Kentucky facebook group, which was full of fun, friendly, awesome people that I'd already made friends with.
- Large class size, ~200+
- Buckeyes. I'm a Badger. Screw this, who do I cheer for if I go here?!?!

Cincinnati:
+ Loved the city. Cincy > Columbus. Restaurants, museums, culture, etc. Seriously a hidden gem, I was shocked by how much I loved Cincinnati. I hadn't heard anything about it before,
+ Loved the campus. UC > OSU for me campus wise. Beautiful red brick buildings, etc.
+ Loved the building I'd be taking my classes/studying my life away in!
+ Students I interacted with on interview day seemed to be happy. Even in the MMI interview, the students that interviewed me were (relatively, for an MMI) laid back, the girl who took us on the tour ranted and raved about the school, the camaraderie, living in Cincinnati, etc.
+ Sports. This sounds pretty stupid, but honestly, I LOVE sports. I go to 20+ baseball games a year, 2+ NFL games a year, I even grace the Bradley Center with my undeserved presence for NBA games. Cincinnati allows me to still see my beloved Brewers when they're in town, go to Reds/Bengals games for fun, etc. Seriously, sports events are my favorite recreational activity, and this is (stupidly) a pull towards UC. OSU has college sports and an NHL team, so not as huge of a plus as it would be otherwise, but still big. I also don't have to betray Bucky to be a Bearcat...
+ Cool gym in like the basement of the medical school. Probably a non factor, I always think I'll be working out a lot more than I actually do, but still.
+ An hour closer to home, easier to get into town via plane ride (slightly cheaper, more flights). Not a huge deal, boyfriend and I are planning on meeting halfway driving, so it'd really only be 30 minutes less for each of us each way. Still a little thing, I suppose.
+ Smaller class size. ~170 people.

+/- Curriculum. It's not ranted/raved about like OSU's LSI curriculum, but from what I see, it's systems based with clinical courses, which is good enough for me, really. I just prefer systems based.

- Lower ranked, ~50 from what I can gather. 15-ish spots down from OSU. This seems like a bigger difference than it is, because from what I can tell, OSU is THE place to be in Ohio for medical care. Not only is it lower ranked, it plays second fiddle in the same state
- Just not as impressive resources-wise. The hospital isn't as nice, the facilities in general aren't as nice, the money isn't there for UC like it is for OSU. OSU is an absolute TITAN in the midwest, from what I've gleaned, and UC is a good school, it's just "Not Ohio State"
- Literally no housing plans to speak of. I think it's expensive to live in Cincinnati, but OSU rent isn't too friendly either. I'd love a roommate, but this could be tough.
- While I loved the city, I made a wrong turn off the campus and wound up at a gas station a few blocks down where the gas station clerk kept calling it "Cincinnasty". The medical campus isn't in the best part of town. I've also heard consensus is Columbus is a nicer place to live than Cincinnati. I didn't get to see Columbus like I did Cincinnati, so maybe I'm just missing something.

Washes/Unknowns:
- Tuition is virtually identical for all 4 years at both schools
- Step 1 scores are so tough to find! Any input on this would be great, but I'm a good standardized test taker and I think I can do well on Step 1 as long as I don't go to a school that is abnormally bad at preparing their students.
- Both expose you to patients in your first year
- Legal market. I think both cities have a decent legal market for my boyfriend to find a job in, though I need to research this more
- Match list. OSU put 5 students back to WI, UC put 7. I think this is a situation where most people aren't putting Wisconsin residencies at the top of their match list. Both schools match a handful of residents to Wisky.

Summary/tl;dr:

My heart says UC, my head says Ohio State. I loved Cincinnati as a city and a place to live. I am confident I would be happy here, which is a big deal because I am crushed that I have to leave my wonderful home state of Wisconsin. There's so much to do, so much to see, and the four days I spent in Cincinnati with my boyfriend were a blast. Museums, a zoo (OSU has this, too), sports, dining on the river, etc. I also loved the campus, so much!

But every time I say to myself, "Clearly, your heart is with UC", my head jumps in. I think I'd be an IDIOT to pass up what OSU is offering me. Talk about a polished, well-oiled interview day where I was paraded around the medical campus and shown hilariously shiny, new, funded, beautiful, etc. etc. facilities. It's a high ranking and rising school, it is unmatched in the state of Ohio for prestige, and my dad's coworkers (he's a doctor) have all commented on what a fantastic program OSU is. It's got the name brand, and UC just doesn't seem to have that.

Opinions/things to think about/input from students will be appreciated. My boyfriend just keeps saying "I'll be happy wherever we go, it's all the same to me, you make the choice"! So unhelpful...

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[Endure]

Considering the Cleveland Clinic and Case Western are both in Ohio, I wouldn't say that OSU's reputation is "unmatched." Like Cincinnati, OSU appears to be an excellent mid-tier state school that has a supportive administration and cohesive student body. I think you're grossly overstating the difference in prestige between UC and OSU.

I didn't apply to either of these schools, so my contribution is limited. However, I get that sense that your analysis of each school revolves around what shape the buildings are, whether or not they have sports, and which has better restaurants around the corner. These details are trivial compared to the following:

Are there research opportunities in fields that interest you? Do either curricula contain protected research time? What are the clerkships like? Are OSU students happy with their clinical experience at Wexner? How customizable is 4th year? If pre-clinicals are P/F, do they rank internally? Facebook culture aside, what is the student body like?

Perhaps my perspective is colored by the fact that I'm from the northeast, but I don't envision UC holding you back in any discernible way. Simply being "happier" in Cincinnati will likely contribute more to your success than any of the factors I listed above.

 

[akaMondo]

Considering the Cleveland Clinic and Case Western are both in Ohio, I wouldn't say that OSU's reputation is "unmatched." Like Cincinnati, OSU appears to be an excellent mid-tier state school that has a supportive administration and cohesive student body. I think you're grossly overstating the difference in prestige between UC and OSU.

I didn't apply to either of these schools, so my contribution is limited. However, I get that sense that your analysis of each school revolves around what shape the buildings are, whether or not they have sports, and which has better restaurants around the corner. These details are trivial compared to the following:

Are there research opportunities in fields that interest you? Do either curricula contain protected research time? What are the clerkships like? Are OSU students happy with their clinical experience at Wexner? How customizable is 4th year? If pre-clinicals are P/F, do they rank internally? Facebook culture aside, what is the student body like?

Perhaps my perspective is colored by the fact that I'm from the northeast, but I don't envision UC holding you back in any discernible way. Simply being "happier" in Cincinnati will likely contribute more to your success than any of the factors I listed above.

Yeah, it's tough to find that information. Cincinnati is P/F with quintile ranking, and OSU is satisfactory/not satisfactory with top 25% honors. Both schools have lectures recorded, neither are mandatory attendance, and both schedules look pretty similar... non-mandatory morning stuff, mandatory afternoon small group/clinical/etc. stuff. I have no idea about research opportunities. I know OSU is a better school as far as research funding goes, but research doesn't really interest me all that much. I know I will probably have to do some research for an IM match, but I plan on community outreach being my main EC. Columbus and Cincinnati both afford me that opportunity. UC has 24 weeks of clinical electives, 12 weeks completely free. OSU looks like they have 16-20 weeks of clinical electives. Not seeing a huge difference, here.

The student body seemed happy at both schools. I really didn't meet a student body I didn't like on any of my interview days. The students they put forth were friendly, seemed happy, and answered all questions very well. That goes for OSU and UC as well.

 

[seeinghowitgoes]

Didnt apply to Cinci, considered OSU a couple cycles ago (decided to go elsewhere), and went to OSU for undergrad and am still very much tied in with the med school/college of public health. So for what they're worth and from that mindset I'll offer a couple comments.

1) On OSU being a titan - I don't think OSU is the unmatched powerhouse you think it is. It is a solid school, but it was ranked near the top 25 in 2009 and has since actually fallen - I commend Dean Capers for convincing seemingly everybody he is "hell bent" on making it a top 20 school and that it is a sure-thing to rise, but frankly that is just him and the school doing an awesome marketing job. Ranking can't be willed (it's more about professors bringing in grant money than the med school curriculum and such factors he has a say in anyway), and there isn't that much evidence to suggest OSU is about to be much more than a solid mid-tier (and there is nothing wrong with that). On a side note, with regard to match lists, OSU has clearly done a great job marketing to successful applicants like yourself that they care about your residency, but what school doesn't? As far as I know, OSU doesn't do anything "unique" to absolutely GUARANTEE their students always get their top choice in the match (if they do sign me up cuz ill be transferring haha), so all they've really done is a nice marketing job.

2) On resources - There are definitely resources for med students (many of m friends have been beneficiaries) at OSU, but also consider the hospital relies hugely on their cancer center and could actually run into trouble with their new center should reimbursements change. In fact, I believe (but am not 100% sure) OSU has actually been losing market share to the Ohio Health system. Point is, they've (the med school specifically) got resources, especially for research, but I don't know the difference between them and UC is quite as drastic or permanent as you may think.

3) On leadership at OSU - they are going through a lot of leadership change at the moment - the dean of the school, the CEO of the hospital, heck the president of the university. That's a lot of uncertainty

4) On LSI - can't compare it to Cinci, but I will say several of my friends at OSU work harder and longer than most in no small part because of the way the curriculum is setup. There are a lot of tests in the curriculum, and it did not get particularly good reviews the first couple of years. Now things may have changed, but my point is the reviews are mixed at best, so don't make the decision that it's a good curriculum based on what others say, base it off if you are ok with multiple tests per week but freedom to stream a lot of lectures, get good longitudinal exposure, etc.

5) On the city and gym - cbus is actually a great city. Cinci is cool too, but cbus is not a negative for OSU at all. Also, if you want to see a sports team just make the 1.5 hr drive - I mean, how often is that really going to happen in med school anyway. Plus, you've got OSU sports, too. Concerning the gym, OSU has some of the most impressive athletic facilities in the country (the RPAC, etc, etc)...definitely probably favors OSU, but it's a wash at the very least.

THE BOTTOM LINE: if you're just going to OSU because you think it's a Titan compared to UC, go to UC (and this is coming from a person who generally likes OSU, has tons of friends there, etc). You say you don't care that much about research anyway, which is what OSU would be better in, and honestly, OSU may be that much better in marketing why they're good to prospective students, but I really, really don't think the true difference between the schools is even close to what you may think it is.

That said, both schools are great, I love the Midwestern spirit (also plan on sticking around the region for the foreseeable future), and I think you should be fine from a professional standpoint regardless of your ultimate choice!

 

[Member67988]

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[Barnosaur]

I follow the same 2 school specific threads you do (OSU and UC) and recognize your avatar so I know you've already picked UC, so I won't tell you about why you should pick OSU (where I'm going).
However as a Cincinnati native I would like to a. Welcome you to my hometown, which is a great city that I love and b. provide some clarifications on the location:
You mention that UC doesn't have as a nice hospital and while that may be true for University Hospital, but Cincinnati Children's is a freaking powerhouse that has money out of the wazoo and I would say has a superior reputation compared to Nationwide (although that might be skewed because I live here). So if you're at all thinking Peds it offers a great resource.
Housing in Cincinnati and Columbus are both relatively cheap. If I were you I'd look for an apartment in Clifton Gaslight (the nicer part of the campus area which is full of families) or Hyde Park (has a classy reputation and is currently full of young professionals, I know that many Residents at Children's live there). Don't discount NKY, when I toured UC my guide said that he got the metro rate (which is only a few thousand above in-state) by the first year rather than having to wait until second year for in-state. (I would definitely clarify with UC before taking my word for it). Newport and Covington (two towns in NKY) both are have great nightlife and cheap apartments, although traffic trying to get into the city in the morning is kind of a nightmare.
You say that UC is not in a great part of the city which in some ways is true (it borders on probably the most dangerous part of the city) but it's also my favorite area of the city because of the diverse nightlife and restaurants (Ludlow Ave has like 8 Indian restaurants).
Unfortunately you say it would be cheaper flying into Cincy and I think that's just not true, CVG (the Cincinnati airport which is located in Kentucky) is one of the most expensive airports in the country due to a monopoly from Delta. Many locals opt to drive to Louisville or Dayton for cheaper flights rather than fly out of CVG.

Sorry that was a long post, and pretty unnecessary since you've already decided. But congrats on your move to Cincinnati

 

[jmpatt29]

I am in the same boat, which did you choose?

 

[orthogenes]

I am in the same boat, which did you choose?

UC, and in my class.