uic or rush?

which UIC campus would you be at?

awesome! congratulations...

both are pretty solid schools, i kinda wish i went to the uic interview but with the lack of funds i couldnt make it out...

i think uic might have some more amenities like a gym for the med students and things of that nature...

if you want insights from students that attend there...you can ask the member ForceField since he is a student at the Chicago campus as well and has always been informative when talking about UIC-Chicago.

UIC... People know UIC for its size, but when you take into consideration that there are the 4 tracks, then the number is not that great at any one of the tracks. (I believe Chicago has around 175 M1s). I'm going to be doing the combined MD/MPH there.

I got a better feeling from my Rush interview. The facilities seemed a bit nicer at Rush, and at my UIC interview, our student tour guide told us that some things had been taken away, such as class notes, because of funding. I'm sure it's a toss up though. I am still on hold at UIC, but accepted to Rush, so it's not a choice for me Good luck deciding!

http://www.amsa.org/premed/medsurvey/

Scroll down to UIC and Rush to compare them.
Hope this helps

Blister, where did you go for undergrad?

Definitely UIC. They get their hands dirty and learn a lot more.

blister said:

Hi everyone,

I've been reading here for some time, but this is my first post. Anyway, I'm trying to decide between UIC and Rush, and I would appreciate any thoughts. FYI, the cost difference seems to be pretty minimal with financial aid, so I'm hoping for insights on other areas. By the way, I enjoyed my visits to both schools, so going with my gut isn't quite so easy. Thanks!

Click to expand...

Def. UIC...Rush always makes me think my days as a frat boy.

I have narrowed it down to these two. I am pretty sure I am headed to UIC b/c of the research opportunities and better clinicals.

Blister, are you who I think you are?

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=107576

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=59245

With the facilities at Rush, a lot of students at UIC simply go to Rush's library to study right after classes... you pretty much have full access to Rush's facilities even if you don't go there. The only time we can't study there is during finals week for Rush's medical students.

blister said:

Hi everyone,

I've been reading here for some time, but this is my first post. Anyway, I'm trying to decide between UIC and Rush, and I would appreciate any thoughts. FYI, the cost difference seems to be pretty minimal with financial aid, so I'm hoping for insights on other areas. By the way, I enjoyed my visits to both schools, so going with my gut isn't quite so easy. Thanks!

Click to expand...

i too have to make the same decision--rush or uic. I've been taking EVERYONE'S opinion on this..and it's confusing me even more. I know that Rush doesn't have much research but UIC is better. How important is research in obtaining a residency? Is that what everyone does after their first year? I would rather have more clinical experience

khooby, are you in the Chicago track?

Anyone need a roomate next year, or have a room for rent?

has anyone filled out UIC on campus housing form??

Yeah, I signed up about 2 weeks ago to live in SSR (the 2 bedroom apt style graduate dorm) I haven't heard anything about it yet though

Zurich, are you from Chicago? I'd say there are plenty of apartments around the UIC area. Some people choose to live in up north, but I think that is basically a social life choice. I live in the UIC area, and feel very safe at all times of the day (Walk down Taylor at 3 in the morning and such). At the same time, I wouldn't feel completely safe about letting my girlfriend walk around at late night by herself around here (but I wouldn't feel safe about letting my girlfriend warlk around by herself in any big city no matter what neighborhood she's in). Either way, many of the apartments here are very nice and some are the average college student apartment. Rent can be kind of pricey, but that's Chicago. Also, there are plenty of people around looking for roomates. I don't know what kind of assistance UIC COM gives to students trying to find roommates, but there are websites here where people post looking for rooms and roommates.

Good luck finding a place...

Found out today in the clinical rotations forum that UIC doesn't care if you miss a few days here and there on some rotations. Something about the peds rotation being disorganized and how some students take advantage of this by taking some vacation days. Needless to say if I were an illinois resident my choice wouldn't be hard.

sorry, but i wanna bump this up to the front o' the line

Skiz knot... are you considering other schools besides UIC or Rush?

I tried to pm you, I don't know if it worked. The answer is yes.

bumpity bump

Hi Guys, I meant to reply earlier, sorry, but anyways, I'm in the Chicago track for UIC which makes my decision even harder. Everyday I go back and forth. I don't know if anyone saw my last post, but I was wondering about how important research is for getting a decent residency (optho, dermo, etc). I've talked to various doctors and they say that UIC is the better option, all the students I've talked to said Rush is, so far its like a billion for rush and like two for uic. I'm leaning towards rush, but then I remember that the doctors speak so highly of uic. I'm not downgrading any school, I just want to go to the best one that I can, since I am fortunate enough to have the option.

khooby said:

I know that Rush doesn't have much research but UIC is better. How important is research in obtaining a residency? Is that what everyone does after their first year? I would rather have more clinical experience

Click to expand...

khooby said:

I don't know if anyone saw my last post, but I was wondering about how important research is for getting a decent residency (optho, dermo, etc). I've talked to various doctors and they say that UIC is the better option, all the students I've talked to said Rush is, so far its like a billion for rush and like two for uic. I'm leaning towards rush, but then I remember that the doctors speak so highly of uic.

Click to expand...

DISCLAIMER: I am just over a week away from graduating from UIC, so take my words with a grain (or more) of salt.

Research is by no means "necessary" during medical school. I didn't do any but my numbers were strong enough to get into Stanford for anesthesia. But, if you're already set (or just considering) on one of high-powered specialties (derm, ophtho, ortho, ENT, rads, urology), it would behoove you to try to do some research during med school to show your dedication to the field. I personally wouldn't consider ophtho or derm "decent" - I think they're very cush specialties. I believe UIC has the most reputable ophtho department in Chicago so research with them should help for an ophtho match.

Like you mentioned, different people have different opinions on the two schools. UIC students tend to think that we get better clinical training/hands-on experience, though it obviously varies. I don't know how much time Rush students spend at County, but UIC students can spend a lot of time at the Westside VA. IMO, time spent at the VA is one of the best learning experiences on how to really get stuff done at a hospital (mainly because it's so inefficient and frustrating) in addition to procedures that you may be asked to do as an intern.

I believe Rush pampers their students more, which may be why students you've asked have preferred it over UIC. One thing you learn at UIC is how to be independent and self-motivated. Quite a few of the administrative staff in the college are unhelpful and sometimes downright belligerent. However, you're bound to be required to work with such people at some point in your life, so you might as well learn how to deal with them now. My personal opinion is that UIC breeds "tougher" students.

I don't know off-hand how Rush matched this year, but UIC did pretty well. 10 radiology, 9 ortho, 3 ophtho, 2 ENT, 2 derm, 1 uro. additionally, we have people going to MGH, Brigham & Womens, Mayo, Hopkins and Stanford nationally and Northwestern, U of C, Rush and Loyola locally.
UIC 2004 Match results
Previous UIC Match results (click on UIC Match Results in the left frame)

I would go to UIC again for the clinical training, even though I complain loudly about the administration and the ever-increasing tuition. If you're from out of state, however, it's a tougher choice because UIC is ridiculously expensive for out-of-staters.

How do you register for the grad student housing? It looks like I will most likely be going to UIC - Chicago as well. PM me if you guys will be my classmates!

-Jeeves

Oh yeah, about UIC housing. As you guys probably know, a fair number stay in SSR for the first 2 years because it's hard to beat being able to roll out of bed and walk 1 block to class. You can even go most of the way indoors/underground for those blustery winter days. Always go for the apartment-style units as opposed to the suite-style units as you get more space. And IIRC, the *12 units on each floor are handicapped triples, with even more space. It's not horrible, but it's not that great either. *shrug* Stay above the 5th floor or so and you should be free of most bugs and stuff.

Anyone with the Rush match list??

I've posted before about Rush and UIC. I interviewed at both last year, was accepted ot both and chose UIC.

In any case, regarding the matchlists, it seemed to me that Rush really tried to hide their matchlists (UIC's, Northwestern's, U of C's, is right on the internet for you to view, yet Rush's is nowhere to be found, nor is Loyola nor SIU). Rush wouldn't release the statistic of X% of students get their top 3 choices, and after acceptance, I had to hound the admissions office to send me some matchlists in the mail. It took about 2 months to finally get some matchlists.

I don't remember the specifics of the matchlists, but I showed them to my sister, who is a currently a resident, and she said that UIC by far trumps Rush's matchlist.

Hope this helps.

hi,
I visited rush last week and I picked up their match list (copies were available in the ad office) I don't think they post online. The match seems similar to the one at uic..(when I looked at it online). Who on this post has decided on rush?

I just dropped Rush today, my last school aside from UIC and a Pitt waitlist. I chose UIC over Rush b/c the better clinical and research opportunities. Although people claim UIC has a harsh administration, they have been more than helpful thus far. Hope to see some of you folks as my classmates next year.

khooby said:

hi,
I visited rush last week and I picked up their match list (copies were available in the ad office) I don't think they post online. The match seems similar to the one at uic..(when I looked at it online).

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Agreed. They don't post it on the internet but there are plenty of them in the admissions office.

Oh yeah, one more thing that factored in my decision. Rush has a goal to put more than 50% of its students in primary care. UIC didnt seem to promote anything of my sort, and that fit more with my philosophy.

Anyone know the average board score of the Chicago schools--specifically UC, UIC, and Rush... I saw NW's was 233...

Thanks

GBFKicks said:

Anyone know the average board score of the Chicago schools--specifically UC, UIC, and Rush... I saw NW's was 233...

Thanks

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Good question. I know Rush does not report this along with the other statistics. I just know they pass step 1 at the 96% (way above national averages).