Dartmouth or University of Chicago?

[cozmopak]

Where would you go and why?

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[blump]

Where would you go and why?

you really dont know which one you liked better? You've started like 5 of these polls.

 

[dianamd]

Where would you go and why?

I would like an OP who learns to think on his own before starting med school.

 

[schooldaze]

I would like an OP who learns to think on his own before starting med school.

Give the OP a break. He/she is no different that the 500 other posters who put up polls of X school vs Y school. Yes, the OP should be able to make a decision on his own, but obviously he is looking for a little more insight from SDNers who are knowledgeable about these choices.

 

[Shredder]

normally i avoid these threads but thats kind of a tough call. thats bc im interested in business schools too and these both have excellent b schools. ill be applying to both soon. dartmouths med school isnt quite as good but its close. dartmouth has the ivy league status, thats always nice for show. but chicagos location i think is better, dartmouth is really tucked away in that corner. maybe thats why their b school is called Tuck. i think ill go with chicago, if only because i find dartmouths name hard to say. dart mouth.

 

[dr.z]

University of Chicago. Good school and it is in a large city.

 

[jjmack]

I think U chicago is a much better school. I'd go to dartmouth only if you like the more pastoral enviroment.

 

[cozmopak]

Give the OP a break. He/she is no different that the 500 other posters who put up polls of X school vs Y school. Yes, the OP should be able to make a decision on his own, but obviously he is looking for a little more insight from SDNers who are knowledgeable about these choices.

Thanks for your defense. That's exactly what I'm looking for from these threads.

 

[CTG]

Thanks for your defense. That's exactly what I'm looking for from these threads.

Did you get into both schools or are you just wondering? If you did, congrats! They're both great places.

 

[Scarletbegonias]

I would rather live in Chicago. It's supposed to be a cool city.

 

[maygirl]

Where would you go and why?

I think I remember you being on the waitlist at Pritzker and accepted to Dartmouth right? You sent in a letter of intent to Pritzker, I remember. Basically, it sounds like you already prefer Uchicago. But regardless, I don't know whether you need someone to reassure you that if you don't get off the waitlist and you have to go to Dartmouth, that you'll be fine, but I am telling you, you will be.

I got into both. It was a tough decision. I had to send my withdrawal letter to Dartmouth using overnight mail, that's how close it was. I can tell you now, if I hadn't gotten into U of C, I still would have been deliriously happy to go to Dartmouth.

What I loved about Dartmouth: happiness of the students, helpfulness of the administration, wonderful hospital, small class time (much less than U of C, one major gripe I have), the beautiful outdoors (even though I'm not an outdoorsy person), the Center of Evaluative Clinical Sciences, the list can go on.

Dartmouth and University of Chicago, in my eyes, are both wonderful schools. So yeah, University of Chicago is ranked higher, according to the USNews, but it's not that much higher, and truthfully, with both schools, you'll achieve any of your goals.

What it came down to was location. I'm a city girl and a Chicagoan. That was it. It does have a stronger match list, but Dartmouth's match list is not something to cry about either - in fact, I would say that it came pretty close to Pritzker's. It's just that Pritzker has a slightly better reputation for academic medicine - so you'll see those academic powerhouse hospitals popping up more in the matchlist than Dartmouth's.

Don't worry. Wherever you end up, you'll be happy, I guarantee it.

 

[cozmopak]

I think I remember you being on the waitlist at Pritzker and accepted to Dartmouth right? You sent in a letter of intent to Pritzker, I remember. Basically, it sounds like you already prefer Uchicago. But regardless, I don't know whether you need someone to reassure you that if you don't get off the waitlist and you have to go to Dartmouth, that you'll be fine, but I am telling you, you will be.

I got into both. It was a tough decision. I had to send my withdrawal letter to Dartmouth using overnight mail, that's how close it was. I can tell you now, if I hadn't gotten into U of C, I still would have been deliriously happy to go to Dartmouth.

What I loved about Dartmouth: happiness of the students, helpfulness of the administration, wonderful hospital, small class time (much less than U of C, one major gripe I have), the beautiful outdoors (even though I'm not an outdoorsy person), the Center of Evaluative Clinical Sciences, the list can go on.

Dartmouth and University of Chicago, in my eyes, are both wonderful schools. So yeah, University of Chicago is ranked higher, according to the USNews, but it's not that much higher, and truthfully, with both schools, you'll achieve any of your goals.

What it came down to was location. I'm a city girl and a Chicagoan. That was it. It does have a stronger match list, but Dartmouth's match list is not something to cry about either - in fact, I would say that it came pretty close to Pritzker's. It's just that Pritzker has a slightly better reputation for academic medicine - so you'll see those academic powerhouse hospitals popping up more in the matchlist than Dartmouth's.

Don't worry. Wherever you end up, you'll be happy, I guarantee it.

Thank you so much for your post. You're exactly the person I've been looking for. I did write a letter of intent to The University of Chicago, but I was beginning to have such strong second thoughts that I considered withdrawing my application before they accepted me. I've also lived in Chicago for my entire life. My whole family is in Chicago. In my eyes, that's both a reason to stay and a reason to leave. I know that I'd end up living in a city for the rest of my life after graduation. I feel as though Dartmouth would be a fantastic way to experience country living for a few years. Are you happy with your decision? I wish the two schools could merge into one. I'm so evenly divided between them.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

My uncle is on the faculty at Dartmouth (Dennis Stokes, MD - pediatric pulmonology). Dartmouth/Hitchcock is a wonderful hospital. If you've lived in Chicago all your life, it might nice to experience living in another part of the country. Be warned: it is VERY rural. However you are relatively close to NYC and other awesome cities as well.

You really can't go too wrong with your two choices. Congratulations!

 

[SD Skunk]

dartmouth is very, VERY rural. nyc is 4.5 hrs away, boston 2.5. there's no wal-mart or mcdonalds in hanover, just to warn you. you will go nuts if you're a city type. i graduate in two weeks from dartmouth and now i am itching to bolt on out of hanover.

 

[AmyGW]

dartmouth is very, VERY rural. nyc is 4.5 hrs away, boston 2.5. there's no wal-mart or mcdonalds in hanover, just to warn you. you will go nuts if you're a city type. i graduate in two weeks from dartmouth and now i am itching to bolt on out of hanover.

I would tend to agree - if you are a real city person, Hanover is NOT for you. Take it from me; I lived in NH for eighteen years before I finally moved to DC for college.

However, that said, DHMC is the most beautiful medical center EVER. Also, cost of living is obscenely low compared to the big cities. Lastly, at least you know that there isn't much there to distract you from your studies... well, unless you're a big fan of cow tipping.

(I'm being facetious about the cow tipping..... eh sorta)

 

[bostonabe]

Hi, quick question for the OP. Isn't it kind of unethical to write a letter of intent to a school if you are not ABSOLUTELY sure that school is your top choice? If you sent a letter of intent to U. Chicago, then if you get in off the waitlist, you should go there and withdraw from Dartmouth immediately. There shouldn't be any controversy, based on the actions you have already taken.

 

[UCLAMAN]

i voted for uofc....i mean unless you have anything against their curriculum then it will offer you greater breadth of experiences i think. dartmouth is in rural new england...u of c is in chicago. social experiences excluded, the diversity of the patient population you will encounter is much much greater in Chicago than dartmouth. Furthermore, and this is perhaps bigger than the whole diversity issue...a dean's letter from UofC compared to a dean's letter from Dartmouth is more respected come residency time. Yes, yes, I know, step 1 matters too...but coming from a top 20 school carries a lot more weight than some people are willing to admit. UofC I'd argue carries more respect and also has a lot more research opportunities. And yes, research is important if say you want to do derm/ophtho/ENT/neurosurg/Rads or if you want to match into medicine at Mass Gen.

oh...and yes, i interviewed and got accepted to dartmouth so i have some perspective into your decision.

just my opinion. feel free to disagree.

 

[DMBUGA34]

there's no wal-mart or mcdonalds in hanover, just to warn you.

nope, not in Hanover, they're 5 minutes down the road in West Leb

 

[cozmopak]

Hi, quick question for the OP. Isn't it kind of unethical to write a letter of intent to a school if you are not ABSOLUTELY sure that school is your top choice? If you sent a letter of intent to U. Chicago, then if you get in off the waitlist, you should go there and withdraw from Dartmouth immediately. There shouldn't be any controversy, based on the actions you have already taken.

Yes, I agree that it is unethical to write a letter of intent to a school and then back out after being accepted. I was considering withdrawing my application before they accepted me, while I was still on the waitlist, and thus still acting within ethical territory.

 

[IgweEmeka]

U of Chicago is located in the city, but it is very close to the Ghettos infact it is right smack dab in the ghettos. Also, I heard a lot of the U of Chicago students are weird, the gunner types. The types that were Biology honors and have mother theresa type volunteering experiences. The types that don't seem to wanna hang out but would rather go kiss ass to a professor or something like that. All in all, if you are willing to look over some of those negatives, then U of CHicago is a great freaking school. My sister is a Nurse at thier hospital and she speaks nothing but praises about their hospital and facilities.

 

[bostonabe]

Yes, I agree that it is unethical to write a letter of intent to a school and then back out after being accepted. I was considering withdrawing my application before they accepted me, while I was still on the waitlist, and thus still acting within ethical territory.

Well I'm glad you understand the point I'm trying to make. But I still don't understand why you'd write a letter of intent if you were so torn between the two in the first place. That being said, I hope everything works out for you.

It seems you have two options.
1. Withdraw from Chicago ASAP, before they can accept you.
2. Stay on the waitlist and accept U. Chicago's offer if a spot opens up.

The key is you should prob decide before Monday, the first opportunity Chicago could contact you about joining their class.

Oh, and here's a third option, although it's pretty out there...don't know if it would work

3. Call U. Chicago admissions office and ask them to remove and disregard your LOI from your file, explaining your situation honestly.

 

[UCLAMAN]

as far as I know LOI's arent binding. and as far as I know admissions committees know this. while you can argue about the ethics...i am pretty sure no adcom will actually call you on this. adcoms know that people send multiple LOI's and intent to matriculate. None of that stuff is binding. the only thing that matters is if you sign their actual/official letter/form that says you will attend their university. but even then...i think u can still back out of those as long as you inform the adcom.i mean...really...if u back out at the last minute the school has tons of qualified applicants from which they can pick from.

 

[blump]

Also, I heard a lot of the U of Chicago students are weird, the gunner types. The types that were Biology honors and have mother theresa type volunteering experiences. The types that don't seem to wanna hang out but would rather go kiss ass to a professor or something like that.

I love it when people talk out of there asses having never been a student there. I didn't get that vibe at all. In fact, i got quite the opposite impression. Much less so than some of the equivalent ivy schools.

 

[cozmopak]

The key is you should prob decide before Monday, the first opportunity Chicago could contact you about joining their class.

When you say Monday, do you mean this Monday, that has already passed, or upcoming Monday?

 

[cozmopak]

I love it when people talk out of there asses having never been a student there. I didn't get that vibe at all. In fact, i got quite the opposite impression. Much less so than some of the equivalent ivy schools.

I agree with you. The students seemed very cooperative, and were some of the most well-rounded ones I met on my interview circuit.

 

[bostonabe]

When you say Monday, do you mean this Monday, that has already passed, or upcoming Monday?

I mean Monday, May 23rd...I don't think you can time travel, can you? If you can, would you go back to last year and warn me not to spend so much money on applying to the impossibly hard-to-get-in schools such as Harvard, Yale, Stanford, etc? Thanks!