BU vs U Rochester

[JDPT]

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Hi guys!

I was extremely fortunate to get acceptances at both U Rochester and BU and I am curious about your opinions of each school.

About me: Non-trad applicant, LGBT, URM, undergrad at a liberal arts school, been an ICU physical therapist for a couple of years, love crit care medicine so I'm looking at EM/Anesthesia, potentially IM/CC (open to anything really). Not too sure what region I want to do my residency yet.

Couple of things, both schools are pass/fail, and I'll be moving across the country for either of them.

BU

Pros

• All the faculty I interviewed with seemed really down to earth
• Pretty highly ranked, at - #29 now
• Hellooooo match list
• Boston is a great city, I love the urban environment so I feel like I would thrive in the city
• BMC is a safety net hospital. I definitely like working with underserved populations
• Tons of research opportunities
• Campus was charming but old

Cons

• Boston is EXPENSIVE
• I think need based aid is somewhat limited
• Admin sounds gave off a "you should just be happy to be here" kind of vibe
• I worry about the potential gunner culture that may be lurking in the shadows; other interviewees seemed kind of pretentious?

Rochester

Pros

• Students seemed pretty happy. A lot of students kept walking into admissions and were willing to answer questions even though they had exams all day.
• Rochester COL is nothing compared to larger cities
• Trains students under the biopsychosocial model which I am really familiar with from PT school
• Seems to give much better need-based aid
• Prides themselves on being the "liberal arts" medical school which I feel like I would do well in
• Lots of Research opportunities
• Faculty seems really committed to wellness making sure their students do well
• Wegman's

Cons

• Rochester as a city is kind of ... meh. Especially because I'm (still) single
• Lectures aren't recorded which is annoying
• Not as highly ranked as BU but its still up there at #36
• Match list is okay but not great
• Dem winters tho

Ultimately, aid awards are going to be a major factor on where I go, but I still would like other's opinions

 

[TheDataKing]

Both schools are prestigious and ranked well and highly regarded in the north east. As you said, I’d wait for financial aid to make a decision. Do keep in mind that Rochester is not recording their lectures anymore so it’s likely you’d be having to go to class more often than at BU if that matters to you.

 

[tessellations]

I agree with @TheDataKing - I would definitely wait on aid packages before making your decision. It sounded like when I interviewed at Rochester that they tend to be fairly generous with aid, and they give out both merit and need based scholarships. Who knows if this is related, but their financial aid office has been super nice to me in dealing with a unique family situation.

Both are good, solid mid tier schools. I really don’t think you could go wrong with either. I think Rochester as a city has a lot more to offer than you may think.

 

[MazKanata]

BU

Pros

• All the faculty I interviewed with seemed really down to earth
• Pretty highly ranked, at - #29 now
• Hellooooo match list
• Boston is a great city, I love the urban environment so I feel like I would thrive in the city
• BMC is a safety net hospital. I definitely like working with underserved populations
• Tons of research opportunities
• Campus was charming but old

Cons

• Boston is EXPENSIVE
• I think need based aid is somewhat limited
• Admin sounds gave off a "you should just be happy to be here" kind of vibe
• I worry about the potential gunner culture that may be lurking in the shadows; other interviewees seemed kind of pretentious?

There is definitely the attitude at BU that students are already 'spoon-fed' more than is necessary, and that, yes, you are lucky to be there. The whole safety net selling point is over-rated at BU as most academic medical centers are safety net hospitals, BU does an utterly poor job of connecting students with opportunities to work with underserved populations, there is a research program, but traditionally masters students, PhD students and others are prioritized over med students, and their global health program is something of a hoax to lure in students. Even if you have a strong interest in a given specialty, and do an extra rotation, they'll still treat you like a clown and your aspirations like a joke.

 

[JDPT]

There is definitely the attitude at BU that students are already 'spoon-fed' more than is necessary, and that, yes, you are lucky to be there. The whole safety net selling point is over-rated at BU as most academic medical centers are safety net hospitals, BU does an utterly poor job of connecting students with opportunities to work with underserved populations, there is a research program, but traditionally masters students, PhD students and others are prioritized over med students, and their global health program is something of a hoax to lure in students. Even if you have a strong interest in a given specialty, and do an extra rotation, they'll still treat you like a clown and your aspirations like a joke.

Thank you for your insight. I had a meeting with the financial aid department and it definitely felt like I was lucky to just be accepted. Fortunately, URochester was the complete opposite and gave me a good enough financial aid package that I decided to go to URochester instead!

 

[tessellations]

Thank you for your insight. I had a meeting with the financial aid department and it definitely felt like I was lucky to just be accepted. Fortunately, URochester was the complete opposite and gave me a good enough financial aid package that I decided to go to URochester instead!

Congrats! Looks like we’ll be classmates - meloria! 🙂

 

[MazKanata]

Thank you for your insight. I had a meeting with the financial aid department and it definitely felt like I was lucky to just be accepted. Fortunately, URochester was the complete opposite and gave me a good enough financial aid package that I decided to go to URochester instead!

Congrats! I'm sure you'll very well at Rochester, they have a very nice campus. BU might be worth it if they got students into good hospitals for rotations, and if they improved their clinical education a lot, but they make you drive crazy long distances to go to hospitals that really don't care what sort of education you'll get.

 

[BRWN2MED]

There is definitely the attitude at BU that students are already 'spoon-fed' more than is necessary, and that, yes, you are lucky to be there. The whole safety net selling point is over-rated at BU as most academic medical centers are safety net hospitals, BU does an utterly poor job of connecting students with opportunities to work with underserved populations, there is a research program, but traditionally masters students, PhD students and others are prioritized over med students, and their global health program is something of a hoax to lure in students. Even if you have a strong interest in a given specialty, and do an extra rotation, they'll still treat you like a clown and your aspirations like a joke.

are you speaking from experience 😳

 

[MazKanata]

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