Case Western vs Temple

Started by wearywanderer
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wearywanderer

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7+ Year Member
Hey all,

I just got off the waitlist at both Case Western and Temple and am having a some trouble deciding between them. Anyone care to share your thoughts? Thanks!
 
Congrats! Case Western is widely regarded as the stronger school. It has better clinical sites (Cleveland Clinic, UH), stronger research (several fold more NIH funding), higher GPA/MCAT, and a stronger match list. Temple is also a great school, but I would only choose Temple if:

1) You really value living in Philadelphia over Cleveland (definitely a fair reason)
2) Temple is cheaper for you

Good luck on your decision.
 
Bethany555 said:
Congrats! Case Western is widely regarded as the stronger school. It has better clinical sites (Cleveland Clinic, UH), stronger research (several fold more NIH funding), higher GPA/MCAT, and a stronger match list. Temple is also a great school, but I would only choose Temple if:

1) You really value living in Philadelphia over Cleveland (definitely a fair reason)
2) Temple is cheaper for you

Good luck on your decision.
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Ditto. My thoughts as well
 
Bethany555 said:
Congrats! Case Western is widely regarded as the stronger school. It has better clinical sites (Cleveland Clinic, UH), stronger research (several fold more NIH funding), higher GPA/MCAT, and a stronger match list.
Click to expand...

Thirded. Assuming you got good vibes on interview day from both and are ok with the curriculum styles, I'd pick case unless temple is significantly more affordable.
 
Bethany555 said:
Congrats! Case Western is widely regarded as the stronger school. It has better clinical sites (Cleveland Clinic, UH), stronger research (several fold more NIH funding), higher GPA/MCAT, and a stronger match list. Temple is also a great school, but I would only choose Temple if:

1) You really value living in Philadelphia over Cleveland (definitely a fair reason)
2) Temple is cheaper for you

Good luck on your decision.
Click to expand...

I vote Case (matriculating here barring any WL movement) also, for all the above reasons. Only reason to consider Temple is COA and location (if you prefer Philly over Cleveland).
 
Thank you for all of your input! Case seemed like the clear winner until I found out this morning that Temple is offering a sizable scholarship. Now I'm back to square one.
 
wearywanderer said:
Thank you for all of your input! Case seemed like the clear winner until I found out this morning that Temple is offering a sizable scholarship. Now I'm back to square one.
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Agree with the above that it depends somewhat on your goals, but I'll generalize a bit (and I can only generalize because we don't have too many details here, like your goals, pros/cons of the schools in your eyes, etc).

If sizable is >100k I'd take it in a heartbeat - few things are worth such a lump sum of money, and if it means you have to search a little harder for certain opportunities at Temple I'd do it for that money. If it's less than that but more than ~60ish over 4 years, I think you need to imagine where you want to be (aka do you care about research as much, are you potentially interested in a more competitive specialty, etc) and choose accordingly - essentially, if Case's strengths don't offer that much, then don't pay for them. Less than 50k I'd say it's definitely nice but Cleveland is going to have lower cost of living and the benefits probably are worth more.
 
ChrisMack390 said:
I'd go to Case for sure.

That said, I could see the 5 year thing being a deterrent.
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Might have just missed this but I think the OP is deciding between Case's university track program and Temple. That is a normal 4 year program. It's the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine ("college track") within Cass that is 5 years.
 
seeinghowitgoes said:
Agree with the above that it depends somewhat on your goals, but I'll generalize a bit (and I can only generalize because we don't have too many details here, like your goals, pros/cons of the schools in your eyes, etc).

If sizable is >100k I'd take it in a heartbeat - few things are worth such a lump sum of money, and if it means you have to search a little harder for certain opportunities at Temple I'd do it for that money. If it's less than that but more than ~60ish over 4 years, I think you need to imagine where you want to be (aka do you care about research as much, are you potentially interested in a more competitive specialty, etc) and choose accordingly - essentially, if Case's strengths don't offer that much, then don't pay for them. Less than 50k I'd say it's definitely nice but Cleveland is going to have lower cost of living and the benefits probably are worth more.
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@terra330 @bearintraining

Scholarship is worth $100K. Temple's tuition is also ~10K cheaper (IS), though that'll likely be slightly negated by living expenses.

I value Case for its great clinical sites, strong research, and better match lists as well as a curriculum that seem to be less taxing (P/F, afternoons free). On the other hand, Temple is no slouch either. They have a good reputation for producing clinicians, and I hear they are pouring money into the med school to make it better. Plus, I've lived in Philly for a bit and I really liked it and other nearby cities.

I think I'd like to be an Int Rad or Rad Onc physician, and both seem to be competitive specialties.
 
wearywanderer said:
@terra330 @bearintraining

Scholarship is worth $100K. Temple's tuition is also ~10K cheaper (IS), though that'll likely be slightly negated by living expenses.

I value Case for its great clinical sites, strong research, and better match lists as well as a curriculum that seem to be less taxing (P/F, afternoons free). On the other hand, Temple is no slouch either. They have a good reputation for producing clinicians, and I hear they are pouring money into the med school to make it better. Plus, I've lived in Philly for a bit and I really liked it and other nearby cities.

I think I'd like to be an Int Rad or Rad Onc physician, and both seem to be competitive specialties.
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I was 100% ready to say go Temple until that last line haha, because I do think Case would help make it a reality.

I'd look to make sure that you like both pretty much equally. If that's the case, I'd personally probably still go Temple because you'd essentially be paying an extra 100k to have a slightly easier path to a couple competitive specialties. I say easier in that at "higher ranked" schools you get a slight bump when applying to residency with name recognition, but more so because I think the resources at the schools/opportunities for research, etc are more obviously available and require less thought to find. However, note I didn't say more exist. I personally am of the mindset that any major medical center in the US is going to have great work going on, it may just require more effort to find it at some places. As such, that 100k isn't really buying better opportunity, it's buying easier opportunity (I have lots of caveats for this, but none really apply here, so I won't go into them). If you go into Med school knowing you'll have to be proactive (which really you'd have to do anywhere), I'd save my money and work hard at Temple. It's about the individual much more than the school in my opinion, and as such you'll likely be able to end up at the same place at the end of the day regardless.

Just my two cents - good luck!
 
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wearywanderer said:
@terra330 @bearintraining

Scholarship is worth $100K. Temple's tuition is also ~10K cheaper (IS), though that'll likely be slightly negated by living expenses.

I value Case for its great clinical sites, strong research, and better match lists as well as a curriculum that seem to be less taxing (P/F, afternoons free). On the other hand, Temple is no slouch either. They have a good reputation for producing clinicians, and I hear they are pouring money into the med school to make it better. Plus, I've lived in Philly for a bit and I really liked it and other nearby cities.

I think I'd like to be an Int Rad or Rad Onc physician, and both seem to be competitive specialties.
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In light of the scholarship/location preference go for Temple.

I have two friends at Drexel (less 'resources' than Temple) who are doing just fine finding opportunities in Rads/making connections/networking. Your step scores and personal incentive to pursue opportunities will carry you farther than prestige.

Also important to note, Int Rads may have it's own dedicated program separate from Rads in the coming years. This might change the field a bit, in what direction, I do not know, but I would imagine those with the desire to pursue Rads/Rads onc on a broader level would have some thinking to do before committing either way.

Regarding facilities, Temple's new building is fantastic and their hospitals are nothing to scoff at (as you probably know). Also as you pointed out, outside of scholarships Case is much more expensive--with your scholarship you're looking to save ~150,000 dollars here (this isn't even considering loan interest you would be avoiding).

I interviewed at both schools this cycle (for whatever that's worth) and had a chance to talk with students, faculty, etc about some of these things. I would pick Temple in a heartbeat in your shoes.
 
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