emory vs. mcg

[peachgirl]

I need some help deciding between the Medical College of Georgia and Emory. If you were in this position when you were applying, could you please tell me why you chose the school you are now attending? I'm a Georgia resident, and I'm having a hard time deciding between the two. I appreciate it!

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[Edward]

I am in the same situation!!! I have no idea where I want to go. I am leaning toward Emory because of their superior national reputation. I have heard that MCG can limit your options for residency placement. As you sure know, Emory is expensive as hell!! So, is Emory worth it?? No freaking idea.

 

[gt5045b]

I had the same choice myself. I can tell you that several MCG students have matched at very good residencies over the years. Both medical schools (pretty much all medical schools) use the same books and have the same lectures. It's up to the student to learn medicine through reading (which can be done anywhere) and interacting with patients (the patients at Emory are no more special than the patients in Augusta or anywhere else). Plus, you have your choice of several golf coarses with really cheap greens fees. I can't think of a better reason to go to Augusta.

 

[Edward]

So, I take it you chose MCG. How are MCG's board scores compared with Emory's. I see from your name that you went to GT. I am graduating this semester from there. You only mentioned that "several" students placed in great residencies over the years at MCG. To me that doesn't sound like alot. Do you know if Emory students are more likely to match at more competitive residencies? I just want to make the right decision. You're right about augusta. That's one of the reasons that I want to go to MCG. I have lived in Atlanta all of my life. I just want to get the best medical education possible, and am exploring my options.

was money a deciding factor in your choice of MCG over Emory?

 

[gt5045b]

I don't have the hard figures you want. I can tell you that the year I took the USMLE at MCG that the entire class passed. That was not true for Emory that year. It's very hard to compare USMLE scores for different medical schools. Emory accepts ~110 about half from GA and half from everywhere else. MCG accepts ~180 students 99.9% from Georgia(as mandated by GA law I believe). I think Emory usually has a higher average board score. But the real test would be to compare MCG's top 110 students'(from the admissions process) board scores to Emory's 110 students. MCG goes lower on their admissions list every year (by about 70 compared to Emory). As more students are added, the bell curve probably gets shifted to the left (no hard data on that one either). All I can really assure you of is that if you study equally hard at both institutions, you will exit medical school knowing about the same amount of material. I think the real question you want answered is if the Emory name on your transcript is worth an extra $100,000 to $200,000. No one can answer that one but yourself. I could buy a nice house for that kind of money.

 

[ghostcow]

Some examples from last years match:
Neurosurg.-clevland clinc,
IM-j. Hopkins, penn.,Rush,Cedars-sinai,Emory,Wake,UofChicago,Clevland clinic.
Ortho-U of Fla.,Tulane,Vanderbilt,MCG, U of CA-Irvine, U of TN-Chat., Uof TN-Memphis, UVA.
Radiology- MCG, Emory, UC San Fran, UVA, Mayo-Rochester MN
etc, etc, etc. Many more but let me know if you want any from other specialties.
IMHO- I don't think you will limit yourself at all, i.e. you can get into any residency from MCG. Emory may send more percentage wise to "top programs" but there is a huge selection bias in who goes to which school, (why go to Emory$$ if you want to go into Family Practice). Either way good luck.
Peace.

 

[Edward]

Those matches were from MCG?? That's pretty cool. I am interested in specializing, probably radiology, hem/onc, or man i dont know something other than gen. practice. Is there anyone out there, with the same decision, who chose emory? I really did not even consider going to emory simply because of the fact that i didn't think that i would get accepted. well i did, and i have a tough decision. so, basically the consensus that i am getting is that i will get out what i put in. meaning, i will get just as good of a residency if i bust my a$$ at either one of the schools. is that absolutely true? if i happen to finish at the same position in each class, would the emory name then look better??
ghost, could you give me a complete breakdown of the match list? that would be great.

 

[ghostcow]

Private message me with any yahoo or whatever email address and I can send you a scan of the lists. There are 180 students so I'm not going to do a breakdown of the list <img border="0" alt="[Wowie]" title="" src="graemlins/wowie.gif" />
I will send a small jpg or bmp (~250k per page, but there are 4 pages, hmm maybe a zip would be better) Just let me know.

 

[GTMD2Bee]

I would hands down choose MCG over Emory again. Not too mention the money issue again, not just tuition, but cost of living in Atl. is crazy. As I have mentioned before, I do not feel that I received any less of an education here at MCG. Like other posters have stated, if you study and do well on your boards, I don't think there is any residency program that is going to turn you down because you chose MCG over Emory. When it comes down to it, residency programs see your GPA, board scores, LOR, and all that other crap. I think they take those into consideration far before they say, "Well, they went to Emory so they have to make a good resident."

 

[phd2b]

If you have any notion that you want to practice in GA, I'd certainly suggest considering MCG seriously. I am an emory alum and had many friends who faced the same choice. NONE of them that chose MCG regretted that decision simply because the financial numbers were so much more favorable. Two of them ended up doing residency at Emory anyway (Peds and Anesthesiology), so they got the best of both worlds (low cost from MCG and good rep from Emory!).

Just do the math and you'll quickly figure that in many cases there is not a lot of difference in the education that you receive, but the cost differential is huge...

Just my $0.02...

 

[Edward]

Thanks for the replies all! I am going to do the thing that I had in mind all along....that is go to MCG. I don't know why I even humored myself with going to emory. It is a wonderful school and all, but I don't think the extra 100k will get me that much better of an education, if any better at all. To be honest, I have only met a few people who chose Emory over MCG...and their parents paid for it all!!

 

[ghostcow]

I hope you enjoy it, you will get out of it what you want/need. If you get bored in Augusta you can arrange many rotations back in atlanta at Atlanta Medical Center (i've heard good things about these rotations).
Peace

 

[peachgirl]

Thanks for all the help! I'm waiting for one more medical school, which if I got in, would make this decision obsolete. But I have a feeling that it actually will come down to these two med schools. I'm hopefully going to get my hands on Emory's match list, so I can compare. But it seems like everyone really enjoyed MCG. Is there anyone else who went to Emory over MCG? Could you tell your reasons? Thanks!

 

[Fluffy]

I would like to know what benefits are derived from attending a private med school, such as Emory, over those derived from MCG. I have a scholarship to MCG, and I am trying to decide between no debt graduating from MCG (of course, I do like MCG alot) and significant debt (upwards of 100K) from a private school like Emory, Mount Sinai, or UPENN. I haven't heard from UPENN yet, but I liked them alot and I hope to hear from them soon, and I have gotten into both Emory and Sinai. I've gotten into Chapel Hill as well, but I'm out of state...any comments on getting in-state tuition there would be appreciated as well.

 

[Edward]

I think UNC gives you in-state tuition after one year of matriculation. I heard that from a friend, who may be wrong. UNC is a hard one to pass up...a good primary care school...cheapest in-state tuition in the country...in my own humble opinion, MCG is just as good as any med school in the country if you want to work hard.

 

[Maran]

Are there advantages to going to a "big name" school like Penn or Emory? Yes. They are exactly the same advantages of going to a "big name" undergrad. A degree of prestige, making friendships and connections with people in "prestigious" circles, powerful alumni organizations, etc.

Will you get a better medical education? Not necessarily. Will the "big name" open doors for you? Maybe a few, but not as many as it would have 20 or 30 years ago. Will the personal networks you can become part of at a "big name" school open doors for you? If you put a lot of energy into social networking, probably yes. Not necessarily on the residency match, but later on in your career.

Are these advantages worth $100-200,000? Are you the sort of person who will benefit significantly from those social networks? Most people aren't.

This in no way takes away from the fine education available at the "prestigious" schools. They are prestigious for reason. If you want to pursue a research based or academic career, they might be a better choice. Of course, doing your graduate medical training with top researchers will get you most of the same advantages.

My opinion is that I wouldn't be quick to walk away from a medical school scholarship. Focus on your own learning and you rotation opportunities and you should match just fine when the time comes.

 

[red12]

I recently was put on the alternate list at Emory. Do any of you know about how many students come off of the alternate list.

I would appreciate any advice/responses.
Thanks