Ok, first of all, Rosalind Franklin has almost no chance of losing accredidation. When they were put on probabation, a lot of the causes had to do with financial reasons. There's a big inside story on that one I suppose, but what it comes down to was that they were too dependent on student tuition for financing. There were concerns about their relationships with 3rd and 4th year hospitals, which has been fixed with a partnership with Advocate health care. On top of that yes there were a few things that the LCME pointed about the curriculum, but the new head honchos, who have been from what I understand completely turned over, has gone above and beyond the requirements of what needed to be fixed. They did such a good job, as it turns out, that when the LCME came back one year into the TWO-YEAR probation, they were impressed enough that they revoked the probation and gave the school a full reinstatement, which is a very rare occurance as far as these things go. So be wary before you start knocking RFU on the probation as it may have just been the shake-up the school needed. I'm not gonna sit here and tell you its the best med school around, but it's not deserving of the reputation it gets on this board.
That being said I found myself in a similar situation this year, and I will admit that I chose UIC over RFU. The tuition increase is hard to justify, and both schools seem to be schools where you can fall through the cracks and be one of the students who only shows up for tests... It also is contingent on which UIC campus you are at. Chicago or UPR? The clinical experiences are vastly different (but good either way!) at the satellite campuses for UIC. If you are hardcore chicagoan all the way, and you're in the UPR track, you may be inclined to choose Rosalind Franklin. Sure the basic science is taught 45 minutes north of Chicago, but your rotations will be in major hospitals in Chicago, and this is what matters to a lot of people. RFU also puts together a very very nice match list, and compared to city life its a lot quieter and calm for the basic science years, which for many people would be ideal. Be also aware that Rosalind Franklin's tuition is currently frozen, and isn't even eligible to be increased until after the class of 2009 graduates I believe, whereas UIC's seems to increase substantially every year, and there's a summer semester to pay for at UIC years 2 and 3 so dollar wise its not necessarily a great save to be going to UIC (but it was enough for me =P)...Assuming you are in-state at UIC. Out of state was 50k+ last I checked, which, imho, is simply too much to pay. I think financial aid estimates this year after housing etc are coming in around 70k/year!!
If you want any more detailed advice, PM me. I can elaborate on intricacies.
