Brown vs. GW (25K/year scholarship)

[Polifonia]

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Hi everyone! I'm looking for a little help with my decision. I'm so grateful to have the choice between Brown and GW. GW would be cheaper by 80K. I really like both programs (good vibe on interview day, both have scholarly concentrations and are service oriented) and both locations appeal to me equally, but I can imagine that going to Brown opens more doors. Here are my pros and cons:

Brown
Pros:
- Higher ranked
- Better match list -> more opportunities in the long run
- Only med school in the state: opportunities for research, service and policy work
- Smaller class size
- P/F, no internal ranking

Cons:
- More expensive
- Would need a car
- No simulation center

GW
Pros:
- Cheaper by about 80K
- Great simulation center and practice over pre-clinical years in small "learning groups"
- DC: proximity to NGOs and NIH
- More service-oriented student body
- No need for a car
- Public health incorporated into curriculum

Cons:
- Lower ranked
- Not as good match list
- not P/F, internal ranking

Please let me know what you think. Thank you!

 

[DSM_302.0]

Duh go for Brown! I *loved* my interview there. Super supportive, unique program. 80k over the span of your career as a physician is peanuts.

 

[btuck]

Brown is higher ranked AND p/f - go Brown.

 

[mj2760066]

I would vote GW. GW is an incredible school with some really impressive public health opportunities. 80k might not seem like a lot, but both schools are pretty mid-tier average. After the Top 15-20, the rankings get a little iffy and really shouldn't be looked at too much. If you're at all interested in public or global health, it would be hard to compete with what the DC and GW's affiliates have to offer. Just my two cents!

 

[curbsideconsult]

• GW not P/F with internal ranking = highly competitive atmosphere (even if it didn't seem that way during interview day). If you're into that sort of thing, then I guess it's a plus for you.
  
• Brown has full access to a sim center. Did they tell you they didn't? It's a part of the hospital so it's used by everyone from med students to attendings to nurses, etc. I've been there. Several times. And I think they've had their own sim center for a few years? Medical School Building | The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
  
• DC col =/= Providence col. Providence can get pricey, but I'm pretty sure it's way cheaper than DC.
  
• You're gonna need a car at some point in your life anyway. You don't need a nice one, just something that'll get you from point A to point B without breaking down.
  
• Opportunities at both schools are going to be fairly similar. Even though GW has proximity at NGOs and NIH, there's more competition because of Georgetown, UMD, and Hopkins nearby.

In your situation, Brown is absolutely worth the "extra" $80k. I put extra in quotes because I think the difference will be much less than $80k since the col in DC is ridiculously high. It's not as high as Boston or SF or NY, but it's up there. If GW gave you even $40k/yr that would change things up a bit, but as is, $80k is not worth much in the long run.

I cannot imagine going to med school with no P/F with an internal ranking. My stomach churns at seeing my scores at a P/F school, I'm pretty sure I'd have 24/7 N/V/D if my grades were actual letter grades.

Ultimately, the choice is up to you, but now you have a little more information and some SDNers' opinions to help you.

 

[Polifonia]

Thank you so much everyone for your insight! I really appreciate your opinions.

GW not P/F with internal ranking = highly competitive atmosphere

I'm definitely NOT looking for a competitive atmosphere, so the P/F at Brown is a huge plus.

Brown has full access to a sim center. Did they tell you they didn't? It's a part of the hospital so it's used by everyone from med students to attendings to nurses, etc. I've been there. Several times. And I think they've had their own sim center for a few years?

I am surprised and relieved to know about the sim center at Brown, thank you for telling me! On my tour the student told me she didn't think they had one (well not one with manikins) and only used SP to practice doctoring. My bad for not confirming this info with someone else.

80k over the span of your career as a physician is peanuts

So true. It's hard to think of 80K as peanuts at this point in my life but you're absolutely right, I have to put it in perspective!

GW is an incredible school with some really impressive public health opportunities

It really is an incredible school. This is why I've been conflicted in my decision!

 

[Dr. Meliodas]

When I interviewed at GW they said it was Pass/Fail . . .

 

[Polifonia]

When I interviewed at GW they said it was Pass/Fail . . .

Wait what? Starting next year? I don't remember that... What about internal ranking?

 

[Dr. Meliodas]

Wait what? Starting next year? I don't remember that... What about internal ranking?

That is what the students said during my interview back in November. I just looked at their website though and it says that pre-clinical years are graded (Honors, Pass, Conditional, or Fail) So its not really Pass/Fail. Go to Brown!

 

[bb1123]

..

 

[Polifonia]

Hey! Another thing that could be useful is that Brown does not own a hospital and therefore does not have much control over the faculty they can hire and retain. I'm also deciding on Brown and a few other schools, and I think it can be tricky. It's a lot more tricky than people are suggesting, and I especially don't think someone should go to a school solely because of a grading system. (I know some people think otherwise, but you should also hear other side of the coin -- you can get screwed in your clinical years if you get a few poor subjective evaluations, and that it would make for some pretty stressful 3rd year rotations). There's a lot of factors to be taken into account here!

Thanks for bringing that up! It's true, I don't know how I feel about the affiliated hospital situation. Some current students mentioned this when I talked to them, but then on the interview day they definitely tried to spin it into a positive thing (you can learn from a larger number of faculty and in a few different hospitals serving different populations). I don't think GW is known for particularly outstanding faculty either though (again, according to current students I spoke with). So I don't know what to make of it.

I am also a little worried about the Care New England/Lifespan and Partners Healthcare merger, has anyone heard about this? How would this affect the clinical experiences or research opportunities at Brown?

 

[UTEPcummingsej]

Thanks for bringing that up! It's true, I don't know how I feel about the affiliated hospital situation. Some current students mentioned this when I talked to them, but then on the interview day they definitely tried to spin it into a positive thing (you can learn from a larger number of faculty and in a few different hospitals serving different populations). I don't think GW is known for particularly outstanding faculty either though (again, according to current students I spoke with). So I don't know what to make of it.

I am also a little worried about the Care New England/Lifespan and Partners Healthcare merger, has anyone heard about this? How would this affect the clinical experiences or research opportunities at Brown?

It's certainly an interesting situation. I think the lack of owning hospitals can be something that is risky to medical schools long-term, since mergers like this can happen which would have pretty averse effects on the networks of hospitals you'd be working with at Brown. I think the hope is that the merger doesn't go through because if it does, I can't see how it would help Brown at all.

 

[Jimmer14]

I'm also concerned about this merger. I saw one article that said up to 30% of their training programs are at Care-related hospitals and could be at risk? And apparently Brown tried to buy the Care hospital network to prevent Partners from acquiring it which makes it seem like they are at least a little concerned about it.. It seems like the fear is that they could take away physicians from RI and move them to MA?

 

[umbrellalord]

just a correction: GW is Honors/Pass/Fail for all organ-based blocks (there's no high pass, conditional, etc. their website is a little outdated). longitudinal courses are pass/fail. the admin said fall 2018 might be true p/f but still undecided. it's at 3 tiers right now with h/p/f

 

[Dr. Meliodas]

Thanks for the clarification. Appreciate it.

 

[mdcomputerwiz]

Brown. More lay person prestige, lower cost of living!