Case versus University of Cincinnati

[Piper2011]

Hi all,
Now, since this is my first post, please forgive any posting mis-deeds I may commit.

I've been accepted to both Cincinnati and Case. While both are great schools, Case will put me about $60,000 more in debt than Cincinnati, although it is also ranked more highly than Cincinnati according to US News. However, many people in medicine I've talked to around here (Ohio) have actually said that due to Case's new curriculum Cincinnati would be a better choice since they're not having some of the financial, administrative and other issues that Case is going through.

I think it may be easier to just list other factors:
-I live near Case right now, so I've interacted with their student body more and really like them
-PBL vs lecture (I'm not really drawn towards one or the other more. I think it depends a lot on the lecturer and the topic as to which works better for me)
-Residency matches (more in state matches at Cincinnati, and I'd really like to get out of Ohio after this)
-Case has a required four month research stint with an "MD thesis". I'm currently a lab tech and have no desire to return to a bench lab, although they said you can do lots of different types of research projects. Having a paper or project to my name may also be useful for residencies
-I may be interested in getting into a competitve residency program (ie surgery or orthopedics... but I'm not sure yet)
-Case is simply P/F, Cincinnati has honors, high pass, pass, fail
-Both have pretty good hospitals associated with them, though I think Cleveland Clinic may push Case over the edge.

I guess it really comes down to cost versus reputation, which is a common theme, though there are a few other kinks thrown in there. I am planning on visiting Cincinnati again in the coming month some time to try and get a better feel for the students/campus/program etc.

Any input you have would be greatly appreciated. Especially anyone reading this that attends Cincinnati right now and has any plugs for the school! I think I would choose Cincinnati if I was more excited about it, and had a better, more positive feel for the school. Because either way, as so many have pointed out on other threads.... you get the same education, and where you go for residency depends largely upon yourself, your boards, recommendations, and not as much on where you went. So you might as well be less in debt when you come out.

Thanks ahead of time!

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[weathertalk]

Depends on whether or not you want to go into a competitive specialty. If you want to be a pediatrician or internist, go to Cincinnati. If you want to be an opthamologist, neurosurgeon, or whatever, prestige is important for residency applicants and you'll be able to pay of your debt anyways--> go to Case.

 

[Darkshooter326]

I think Case can help you prepare better for Step 1, since they use Step 1 questions on their exams. So, you could pay 60K for those questions, or go to Cincy and take a much cheaper Kaplan course

 

[stargirl50]

check your pm's.

 

[bee3]

For 2006, University of Cincinnati had a mean USMLE Step I score of 224--which is the same as Case. So, I think that the education that you get at BOTH schools is extremely high quality. You will be able to pursue any specialty from either school. Congratulations on your acceptances.

 

[goongirl]

For 2006, University of Cincinnati had a mean USMLE Step I score of 224--which is the same as Case. So, I think that the education that you get at BOTH schools is extremely high quality. You will be able to pursue any specialty from either school. Congratulations on your acceptances.

This is a minor point, but I've been told last year's mean at Case was a 227. The figures you're quoting are from the website which says that 224 is a mean of the last 3 years' scores. *The prestige vs. money decision is a difficult one...you'll find people at both schools who made the choice one way or the other, so you'll be in good company. best of luck!

 

[IckeyShuffle]

Depends on whether or not you want to go into a competitive specialty. If you want to be a pediatrician or internist, go to Cincinnati. If you want to be an opthamologist, neurosurgeon, or whatever, prestige is important for residency applicants and you'll be able to pay of your debt anyways--> go to Case.

check the matchlist from cincinnati buddy. a fair number of neurosurgery, derm, ortho, and optha have come from cincinnati. i doubt the "prestige" of 20 spots on the US NEWs rankings is gonna make that big of a difference.
----if you cant tell, i am little biased towards UC