Case Western vs. MCW vs. Quinnipiac (Netter)

[Developer]

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[Zen Arcade]

Are all of the schools P/F? If not, that’s something else you should consider as feeling inclined to go for honors can add a lot of extra stress. I’m really surprised Case doesn’t have online lectures... it seems like that’s is pretty standard for most med schools now days. I think that’s a big negative especially if you ever want to fly back to CA during the semester. Case is generally seen as the highest ranked of these schools, but MCW is comparable. I would say Netter has a lot of big negatives- not having an affiliated hospital is going to make things a lot more challenging your last two years. Also it’s less established in general which could possibly affect the strength of the match? With the higher COA I would maybe steer clear unless there was something else about the school that makes up for all the negatives. I would look at the amount of aid given between CW and MCW and go with the cheapest option.

 

[m1redsox]

Dude Case is incredible. Don’t pass up Case for MCW. Significantly better rotations. Significantly better for academic medicine. AND it’s more prestigious which will probably make it easier to match in CA which tends to be very competitive. Plus WI weather <<< Cleveland weather. Case hands down.

 

[Developer]

Something to consider for New Haven: it’s kind of hard to coordinate a flight out of the town

That’s definitely true and I didn’t think too much about it beforehand. Thank you.

Are all of the schools P/F? If not, that’s something else you should consider as feeling inclined to go for honors can add a lot of extra stress. I’m really surprised Case doesn’t have online lectures... it seems like that’s is pretty standard for most med schools now days. I think that’s a big negative especially if you ever want to fly back to CA during the semester. Case is generally seen as the highest ranked of these schools, but MCW is comparable. I would say Netter has a lot of big negatives- not having an affiliated hospital is going to make things a lot more challenging your last two years. Also it’s less established in general which could possibly affect the strength of the match? With the higher COA I would maybe steer clear unless there was something else about the school that makes up for all the negatives. I would look at the amount of aid given between CW and MCW and go with the cheapest option.

If I am not mistaken, all are P/F. Also, I believe there is no internal ranking at Case. As for the lectures, I found it strange too but apparently most of the teaching is done through PBL and the lectures are optional, supplemental instruction. I guess at this point I’ve mostly started to rule out Netter. I like your idea of choosing between MCW and Case based on aid packages offered.

Dude Case is incredible. Don’t pass up Case for MCW. Significantly better rotations. Significantly better for academic medicine. AND it’s more prestigious which will probably make it easier to match in CA which tends to be very competitive. Plus WI weather <<< Cleveland weather. Case hands down.

Yeah I’m leaning Case at the moment for the above reasons but I didn’t want to completely exclude MCW just yet. Although I can admit I didn’t realize there was much of a difference in weather between Cleveland and Milwaukee.

 

[FatherTime-PhD]

Case hands down. Likely also gives you the best chance name-wise to match back to CA.

 

[Developer]

Disclosure: I am a current Case student.

Wrt to your Case con- medicine is an early morning pursuit. You will eventually have to adapt to early mornings as a medical student/resident/attending, so it might make sense to build those habits now.

Case "PBL" (AKA IQ) is probably the best part of the curriculum, IMO. Everyone takes it seriously and it forces you to keep up with the coursework. It's also a nice way to get to know people you wouldn't otherwise hang out with.

I understand that, I work a wide range of shift start times (from 5a all the way through 7p) at the hospital where I currently work. I agree that these habits should be built earlier rather than later. With this specific con, my main concern is that I generally feel more productive in terms of studying later at night. This isn’t a deal-breaker for Case by any means, I can adapt to the schedule given.

I did enjoy sitting in on IQ and it looked like a great way to learn. It looks like it’ll be a good way to get to know classmates/make new friends which is important for me since I don’t know anyone in the area. Thank you for sharing your perspective as a current student!

If it’s not too much trouble, could you comment on the infrequent exams and how that affects your method of preparation?

 

[DO2015CA]

If you want academic ID go to the cheapest one. End of discussion. You can’t bank of loan repayment in the future.

 

[Developer]

I personally LOVE infrequent exams! It makes the intervening weeks low stress and allows for flexibility in research, volunteering, weekend trips, etc. I tend to cram around exam times, but other people are more diligent with longitudinal studying and handle them pretty well. IQ also forces you to keep track of material week to week.

The structure of the exams is meant to test your ability to synthesize knowledge rather than memorize facts, which is another big plus for me. The only downside is that exam week is pretty draining, with Tuesday structure exams (hololens, gross anatomy/radiology/living anatomy, and histology), Thursday block exam (5 hr written exam), and Friday 3 hr USMLE practice exam (not part of your grade, just to help you know where you are). However, I still prefer these relatively short high-stress periods to more frequent evaluations.

This is definitely helpful, thank you so much!