Haha you're right! I glanced at cases thread and it seems like a much more happening place. carving eggplants?! what?
I have a couple friends at case and they love it there. It's pretty different tho in terms of feel and I don't think I would have fit in there as well. It's true what they say...the med school that suits you the most will find you. I'll mention what little i know about case...i'm not bashing it by any means but I just want to contrast because i think it's a close call for a lot of people.
let me break OSU down for you:
what I like:
1. cheap- no.1, hands down, biggest reason to come here. You don't realize it when you are applying but money is a huge huge factor after graduation. it affects your choice in specialty, what you can do (global health when you have 200K in debt anyone?) and your lifestyle. by the time you are out of residency and in a position to pay off your debt, you want to be thinking more about spending your attending pay on a house for you family, cars and kids...not your debt.
at OSU you can get in state after a year and save 15K at least a year over most other schools. hey that's a 15K scholarship if you want to put another spin on it. If you are top 25% in the class at the end of each year you can get a extra 5000 dollar merit scholarship thrown in too. columbus is a cheap town.
2. anatomy is taught really well here. dr.dephillip, the division head...all he does is teach, or do research on teaching.
3. community feel. I don't feel like a number here at all. there are 220 of us, but we have a group of 12 called a learning community that meets with a doctor every month for dinner. he/she is kinda like a mentor/guide for you and helps make sure you aren't lost in the shuffle. Every month there is also a school wide Dean's dinner which is kinda like a town hall meeting with all the bigwigs so you can voice concerns. they usually bring someone in to talk as well.
4. tests every 3 weeks. I know Case has them at much longer intervals. personally i couldn't imagine that at all. there is so much material that my brain can't handle more than a months worth before exploding.
5. football (and being good at it)
6. lots of students=lots of interest groups=lots of free meals
7. there is an interdisciplinary global health program here. you take 14 credits your first two years in various global health classes. 4th year you do an away rotation abroad or even more if you want.
8. Big on ultrasound here. it's emphasized in anatomy and you can get some extra training throughout your four years. it's a big big plus when applying to certain residencies. OSU is only one of 3 schools in the country with something like this and I think the only one where you can get a rmds as well.
9. that little sumthin sumthin. I can't really put it into words...but when you are walking in the grassy area in front of the main hospital and it says "THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY" in big bold letters, all you can think is..."damn straight"
what I don't like:
1. CAPs- kinda like the practice in medicine, you know history taking, physical exam. coming in i thought great idea! in practice they have it regularly for 3 hours every week. I feel like it's a waste of time and really breaks up the flow of the day/week. and it's hard to focus on it when you have a test coming up so often. would prefer if they did something like at michigan where it is all compacted into one week chunks.
2. lectures- once anatomy was over i realized how great the lecturers were. the Cell block lecturers...let's just say some are excellent and others don't suit my style. I'm only a first year so maybe it gets better.
I don't go to lecture anymore and podcast the lectures i know are good. Can't say that this is a problem that only OSU has though. Also I know that all Case lectures are mandatory attendance and only if you are sick can you access the podcast.
3. They hit you hard with the coursework as soon as you get here. I know at Case they ease you in with some of the more nebulous topics in medicine like ethics etc. Which is why school for them starts in July. That is pretty awesome actually because the class gets to party together for a whole month and I think they are a little closer as a class then OSU is.
4. you don't get your own assigned carrel like at case (unless you are ISP)......i'm a little bitter over this.
what I'm ambivalent about:
1. If you have a family or just study better on your own, there is the whole independent study program thing here. It's great for those who want to do it...i'm sure you heard it on interview day a whole lot. You probably won't see these people that much anymore haha.
2. senior partner's project- pair you up with a geriatric patient and you develop a relationship over 2 years with them. has not started so can't really comment.
3. OSU is shooting up the rankings. It was 40 something not too long ago. 27 this year vs 25 for case. considering that OSU just decided to spend 1 billion dollars on a new hospital i think it'll hit top 20 pretty soon. but then again...only your mom really cares about this thing. residency directors don't. and you definitely don't after you get in.
