Pitt vs Jefferson

[deleted1106140]

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Pitt

Pros:
- T15
- I like the heavy research component of the school.
- Neuroscience Area of Concentration looks interesting.

Cons:
- Downtown Pittsburgh looks cool too, but not as fun as Jefferson.

Jefferson

Pros:
- The location around Jefferson looks really fun.
- Digital Health track interests me.

Cons:
- Low ranked school.

CoA would be about the same for both schools for me. I have no ties to either city.

 

[chilly_md]

I think I would choose Pitt in this case. You don't seem to have much leanings to one or the other.

 

[Morningnight]

Hey! Just wanted to say that Jefferson has a nice match list even though it is lower ranked than Pitt. Their 2020 match has a good amount going to CA at programs like UCI, Stanford, UCLA, UCLA-Harbor, UCLA-Olive View, UCSD, and Kaiser. Their 2020 neuro matches are at Yale, Stanford, Duke, UPenn, UVA, NYU, and Jefferson. Also have friends at Jefferson that absolutely love Philadelphia!

Full disclosure: WL at Pitt, but withdrew my app.

Edit: This YouTuber goes to Jefferson med if you want to try DMing him about his experiences!

 

[deleted1106140]

Hey! Just wanted to say that Jefferson has a nice match list even though it is lower ranked than Pitt. Their 2020 match has a good amount going to CA at programs like UCI, Stanford, UCLA, UCLA-Harbor, UCLA-Olive View, UCSD, and Kaiser. Their 2020 neuro matches are at Yale, Stanford, Duke, UPenn, UVA, NYU, and Jefferson. Also have friends at Jefferson that absolutely love Philadelphia!

Full disclosure: WL at Pitt, but withdrew my app.

Edit: This YouTuber goes to Jefferson med if you want to try DMing him about his experiences!

Thanks. I think I’ll just take a week trip to both cities, work remotely, explore and see which city I can imagine spending 4+ years of my life at.

 

[deleted1114112]

Seems like you recognize Pitt will give you advantages as a premier research school, but Jefferson is definitely now "a low ranked" school, as someone else said they have a decent match list.

 

[mudfud26]

Went to undergrad at Pitt and worked with some of the SOM faculty. Pittsburgh as a whole is super fun; there are parks, gardens, and museums you get in to for free with free events as a student. Their Neuroscience program is top notch, but the UPMC system will also give you training in any specialty you want. Philly has better public transit, but Pitt will definitely get you a great education. The research component is VERY important to them.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Pitt unless full tuition at Jeff

But going on your initial post, I wouldn’t say that downtown Pittsburgh is “cool”. Maybe I went to wrong areas of town or something, but when I interviewed a few years ago, it seemed like at least a quarter of buildings were boarded up and vacant. Can only imagine it’s gotten worse with covid. Tough to be a steel city when the country is now world’s largest net importer.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

I didn’t mean to offend, of course there are nice areas but since 2000, Pittsburgh’s population has decreased by 95,000, despite the US population as a whole growing by 50,000,000 in the same period. So of course there will be more vacancies than the average city. It’s not a knock against the city, just what happens when an economy changes. In 1950, Pittsburgh had ~670000 residents whereas now it’s around ~300000. Pitt Campus and hospitals were very impressive and it was one of my top choices.

Other cities since 2000:
Boston +100000
Philadelphia +50000
Nashville +1500000
NYC +800000

Population dynamics are more comparable to other manufacturing cities in the wake of the free trade movement

since 2000
Scranton: +500
Cleveland: -80000
Detroit: -35000
Cincinnati: -3000

 

[hiiiiiiiiiii]

Pitt unless full tuition at Jeff

But going on your initial post, I wouldn’t say that downtown Pittsburgh is “cool”. Maybe I went to wrong areas of town or something, but when I interviewed a few years ago, it seemed like at least a quarter of buildings were boarded up and vacant. Can only imagine it’s gotten worse with covid. Tough to be a steel city when the country is now world’s largest net importer.

I can assure you that half of the buildings are NOT boarded up. Their football team may still be called the Steelers, but the city is in fact a medical and technological powerhouse these days

Having lived in both pittsburgh and philly, the burgh is a much more aesthetically pleasing place with wayyyyyy less crime and shi+ hole neighborhoods and buildings

 

[yuhh]

pitt is T15, nuff said

 

[FutureDocccc]

This thread is wild. Pitt is a true top school in a major city. Jeff is great, but it is not. Easy decision with similar COA and no ties.

 

[WaveRace]

Pitt, no contest. This is an easy decision with no ties or full-ride at Jeff.

 

[pierty]

This is a very sparse pros/cons list. Did you like either school more than the other on interview? Can you attend second look physically for either school? Jefferson and Pitt are both good schools. Pitt has a stronger presence in research and academia. But we need to have a better context for what your priorities and goals are to better help

 

[aat1221]

I compared the match lists and noticed that in recent years, Jefferson has had more matches in the surgical and other top specialities as compared to Pitt. Anyone know why Pitt's match rates have dropped in the past few years? Also, what is Pitt's grading like in pre-clinical years?

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

I compared the match lists and noticed that in recent years, Jefferson has had more matches in the surgical and other top specialities as compared to Pitt. Anyone know why Pitt's match rates have dropped in the past few years? Also, what is Pitt's grading like in pre-clinical years?

People have to want to match top specialties for there to be matches. Med school class sizes are small enough that there is some randomness on a year to year basis

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Can anyone familiar with both programs let me know some benefits that Jefferson offers over Pitt considering same CoA, no family ties, and not wanting to practice on the East Coast? Is the location of Philadelphia over Pittsburgh basically the only positive?

Nothing against Jefferson, but realistically none. You could probably even get a much nicer place in Pittsburgh than Philadelphia for the same price, maybe offsetting the location difference depending on what you find important,

I would go Pitt and never look back.

 

[sousa7]

Jeff is a great school in a great location. Great hospital/referral system, faculty/admin seems to actually care about students. That said, Pitt is one tier above and would put you in a slightly better place for residencies.

 

[effectedtag]

I would say Pitt would be more advantageous for competitive residencies. It is a top 15 school.