Hey, there--
I withdrew my invitation from Loyola when I got accepted into Rush. I agree that they are both great schools with many similarities. For me, there was one big factor that you didn't mention in your analysis above: Location. I live in Chicago, and I wanna stay here. With all else equal, I would rather not have to commute an extra 30-60 minutes (round-trip) every time I go to school. My only other option would be to move out to Maywood. I love that Rush (and UIC, to be fair) are located in the city proper, and, from what I understand, they generally serve the urban population here. The resources, the bustle and the overall heartbeat of the city are readily noticeable at Rush, and you can literally feel them and see them (have you checked out the views from the Rush buildings?!).
Rush students who I've spoken to have had only great things to say about the current block curriculum. Finally, if you're interested in academic rankings at all, somebody recently pointed out that Rush enjoyed the second-largest jump (8 spots) of any school in the newly-released U.S. News list. I personally don't lend too much credence to those lists, but I suppose it could be viewed as a reflection of the upward trend felt at Rush, most likely surrounding the spectacular new hospital. I wouldn't be surprised to see Rush climb further upward in the years to come.
My opinions are also naive, as I'm only an M0 (i.e., I'll be starting there in the Fall).
Re: Second Look days, that's interesting that Loyola's and Rush's are competing with each other. Thankfully and awesomely, we've been working on making ours into a whole crazy weekend, so if you miss Rush's school-sponsored events, we'll still be getting together for plenty of other tomfoolery all weekend.
You should come join our facebook group to meet other potential classmates and hear about our Second-Look day plans!
http://www.facebook.com/groups/273020109430891/