Case Western vs. Miami

[7012502420]

Hello! I am very much struggling with my decision and as a first gen I need some advice haha. I have loved Case since my interview day but I genuinely don't know what sort of factors I should be considering. Thank you in advance!!

Case Western
Pros

• I actually like Cleveland, I am much more a fan of a smaller city after growing up in Boston
  • used to winter so it doesn't bother me too much
• Ranking/Reputation
• True P/F, no internal ranking
  • I hated the competitiveness of being pre-med lol
• rotating at a public hospital (Metro), the reason why I wanted to be a doctor was that I did social work at a public hospital. Also the accessibility to Cleveland Clinic
• the admissions team is the best and has always made me feel wanted, every student I talked to is also dope
• bf's family is from Cleveland, support system there and he wants to go to Case and is applying this cycle
  • makes staying in Cleveland after med school more appealing

Cons

• 23k a year more expensive based on COA
  • based on tuition only it's 28k more expensive
• I want to go into primary care and don't want financial concerns to make me doubt that
• not as much of a Hispanic population, I'm Hispanic and I really want to use my bilingual skills in med schools

Miami
Pros

• Hispanic culture of Miami makes me feel at home
• 10k a year scholarship that makes it 23k more affordable than Case
• A lot of service options in the Miami community
• public health focus, I studied public health in undergrad

Cons

• splits the class into quartiles, more competitive with grades
• apparently, was on probation a couple of years ago for student mistreatment??
• very disorganized administration (never got an official acceptance until I inquired about it lol)
• after going to undergrad in New Orleans I think Miami might be too tempting for me to actually focus on med school haha

TLDR: I loved Case from day 1 and don't want to regret turning it down. But as a first gen who is paying for it myself, I am not sure how heavily I should weigh finances :/

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[Banco]

Lol @ inquiring about your acceptance at Miami.

That being said I don’t think you’re closing any doors at all by picking Miami over Case, and you seem to feel more at home there, and it’s cheaper by 100k.

 

[armaragon]

Miami. Cheaper and seems like a better fit. Also, it won't close any doors that Case would somehow open for you.

 

[Detailsmatter]

Hello! I am very much struggling with my decision and as a first gen I need some advice haha. I have loved Case since my interview day but I genuinely don't know what sort of factors I should be considering. Thank you in advance!!

Case Western
Pros

• I actually like Cleveland, I am much more a fan of a smaller city after growing up in Boston
  • used to winter so it doesn't bother me too much
• Ranking/Reputation
• True P/F, no internal ranking
  • I hated the competitiveness of being pre-med lol
• rotating at a public hospital (Metro), the reason why I wanted to be a doctor was that I did social work at a public hospital. Also the accessibility to Cleveland Clinic
• the admissions team is the best and has always made me feel wanted, every student I talked to is also dope
• bf's family is from Cleveland, support system there and he wants to go to Case and is applying this cycle
  • makes staying in Cleveland after med school more appealing

Cons

• 23k a year more expensive based on COA
  • based on tuition only it's 28k more expensive
• I want to go into primary care and don't want financial concerns to make me doubt that
• not as much of a Hispanic population, I'm Hispanic and I really want to use my bilingual skills in med schools

Miami
Pros

• Hispanic culture of Miami makes me feel at home
• 10k a year scholarship that makes it 23k more affordable than Case
• A lot of service options in the Miami community
• public health focus, I studied public health in undergrad

Cons

• splits the class into quartiles, more competitive with grades
• apparently, was on probation a couple of years ago for student mistreatment??
• very disorganized administration (never got an official acceptance until I inquired about it lol)
• after going to undergrad in New Orleans I think Miami might be too tempting for me to actually focus on med school haha

TLDR: I loved Case from day 1 and don't want to regret turning it down. But as a first gen who is paying for it myself, I am not sure how heavily I should weigh finances :/

Since it’s cheaper and you seem to care about the Hispanic population I would say Miami (full disclosure I’m a rising MS3 at Miami). But the support system is def something to keep in mind if you’re serious about staying with your current partner. One note about Miami is that it’s true P/F unranked for preclinical. Is Case p/f for rotations?

 

[RNARNARNA]

+1 on miami admin being disorganized. I applied to 24 schools this cycle, and miami had the most delays/non-commitments to deadlines. But it still looks like it would be a better fit fo you.

 

[dominos12345]

Here are just my random thoughts:
1) there is no prestige difference between the schools - both great !!!
2)over your lifetime, and considering your salary as a future attending, 100k difference should not be the ultimate deciding factor
3) while definitely larger Hispanic population in Miami, there is a important need for Hispanic and Spanish-speaking docs EVERYWHERE in the US! In fact, one could argue Miami has lots of Latinx providers and so you could be more helpful and unique at Case
4) don’t undervalue the family connection! It he’d will be some of the the hardest years of your life, go where you WANT to be and where you will be most supported

 

[kidddo598]

I've also been stuck deciding about these two schools lol. I'm currently leaning towards Miami but since I'm planning on going into a surgical subspecialty I'm wondering if the slightly higher prestige of Case would open any more doors for me (based on the comments on this thread, I guess not?). I'm leaning towards Miami because it also has a very competitive match list, much more diverse pop, and, frankly, Miami >>> Cleveland (for me).

 

[RNARNARNA]

I've also been stuck deciding about these two schools lol. I'm currently leaning towards Miami but since I'm planning on going into a surgical subspecialty I'm wondering if the slightly higher prestige of Case would open any more doors for me (based on the comments on this thread, I guess not?). I'm leaning towards Miami because it also has a very competitive match list, much more diverse pop, and, frankly, Miami >>> Cleveland (for me).

Lowkey, Miami has some solid surgical subspecialty home programs from what I've heard from faculty and students at a T3.