Between GWU and IU

[aupz23]

Hello All!!
I got accepted in graduate school (master's) for healthcare management at both Indiana University and George Washington University…I'm trying to decide which of these schools to go to…Of course, there are things I Like and dislike about both places…

George Washington University
Advantages – GWU is located in DC (this is a cool, multicultural city), healthcare management program is accredited by CAHME (Commission of Accreditation of Health Management Education), program is a member of AUPHA (Association of University Programs in Health Administration), has residential/fellowship options of either financial management and information systems OR operations management OR policy, healthcare management program is ranked #28 according US News, involved with medical school, and law school, and public health, along with policy; there seems to be LOTS of research going on, program is under the School of Public Health and Health Services, American headquarters of WHO (World Health Organization) and the US Department of Health and Human Services are located in DC, has an excellent business school
Disadvantages – DC is very, very expensive (high cost of living), GWU is expensive (of course, it's a private institution), I heard that there's a lot of crime and there no more on-campus housing L, there's no health/medical informatics program, the full-time healthcare management program is approx. 3 years (almost 2 years of classwork and 1 year of resident/fellowship) 3 years is too long for me

Indiana University
The graduate and professional programs for social work, nursing, medical school, dental school, and health administration of Indiana University are located in Indianapolis on the IUPUI campus (Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis)…Indiana University in Bloomington does not offer graduate and professional programs for medical school, dental school, health administration, and the other medical/healthcare professions.
Advantages—located in Indianapolis (I heard that this is also a cool, multicultural city), Indianapolis is cheaper and has a low cost of living, has the 2nd largest medical school in the country, involved with medical, nursing, and law school, involved with research, healthcare management program is accredited by CAHME (Commission of Accreditation of Health Management Education), program is a member of AUPHA (Association of University Programs of Health Administration), is housed under the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (dealing with public affairs/administration and the law school, especially healthcare law, and public and healthcare policy), has a healthcare/medical informatics program (has the internationally renowned Regenstrief Institute and healthcare/medical informatics is one of the main things I have an interest in, besides healthcare management), has one of the top business schools in the country, Clarian Health is located in Indianapolis, along with the main international headquarters of Eli and Lilly Pharmaceutical Company and America's largest health insurer, Wellpoint; the full-time healthcare management program is approx. 2 years (summer internship between the 2nd and 3rd semesters; there a part-time option, along with the choices of either doing a research project or residency/fellowship)
Disadvantages – The healthcare management program is not ranked under the US News Rankings, Indianapolis may not be as fun and culturally diverse as DC

Both programs at GWU and IU are accredited; the concern is that one school is ranked with the US News Rankings (GWU at #28) and one school is not (IU). Nevertheless, both schools ARE accredited and seem to be very excellent. Also, I've heard people say that you can't really go by rankings very much; that is, I heard that rankings of healthcare management are basically determined by peer surveys of other healthcare management programs..Basically, I guess it's a popularity contest on who knows who…For example, Georgetown's healthcare management program just started 3-4 years ago and it's already ranked in the top 30 healthcare management programs and ahead of GWU (I wonder how that happened?!—scratching my head).If you had a choice, between GWU and IU, which school would you choose to pursue the master's of health administration (MHA)? Any comments, etc. are appreciated…Please help!!! L

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[aupz23]

Please somebody, anybody...I would really appreciate some opinions....

 

[aupz23]

please anyone, any opinions or comments would be appreciated... I really do need some help

 

[muttyguy]

based on what u said id go with indiana....i applied to GWU MPH but later stopped my app bc they wanted another 60 bucks and more essays for their secondary app (i was pissed)... i too was initially attracted to DC and its big city appeal... but it is expensive!

also, i just talked to my pre-med advisor about the us news rankings today and she totally shot them down claiming they have very little/no merit, so who cares if indiana isnt on there (jus matters if its accred and it is)

as far as fun factor, ive been to indiana once and it wasnt fun (im from la, figures) but my gf is from there and swears by her beloved state... indianapolis is a big city though so it shouldnt be terrible...

good luck w/ ur decision, im doin the same flip-flop thing w/ my programs!

 

[muttyguy]

opps double post... but i dont know how to delete it, so im just putting this in.

 

[anonymousEM]

For the most part GWU and Washington DC are safe places to live and study. Like anywhere in the nation, you have to be aware of your surroundings and be smart about where you are and whether you walk alone etc. That being said, I take MPH classes at GWU and walk home from the metro at night alone without problems.

I'm not sure how the US News rankings are compiled, but for things like medicine, they include things like the number of nurses per pt in the hospital and other things that may not influence your education in a significant manner. I think they also require significant effort from the ranked institution, so smaller or public or understaffed places may be less likely to put in the effort to compile a packet to be "ranked".

Choose based on factors important to you, not only reputation...