Comparing RUSH and UIC - PLEASE HELP!

[Its_MurDAH]

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Hey guys. I have an acceptance to both uic and rush at the moment. I was all set on going to rush but a week and a half ago UIC suddenly sent me an acceptance packet out of the blue after showing a "decision pending" on my status page for so long. I don't exactly want to dismiss uic as an option yet I am still leaning heavily towards rush. I have done some research and I know friends that goto both rush and uic med schools but I am still having a hard time letting go of the UIC acceptance.

From what i can gather, students are spoon fed the first two years at rush and the faculty definitely seems to be quite responsive. Whereas, at UIC, the students have to scrape and compete (class size is upwards of 200 in chicago) amongst each other and have to have a very independent attitude overall in order to do well. Also, the thing is, uic and rush seem to be rival schools or something. I can never get straight answers out of people that attend either school cuz they are obviously biased.

I want to know if the statement: "The clinical years at uic are far better and greater learning experiences than those compared to Rush's" is a valid one. I am posting this in the allopathic forum in hopes that someone can answer my questions as well as provide some additional insight into both schools - not just for the basic science years but for the clinical years as well. I have already decided that money is not an issue when comparing the two schools.

Any help, suggestions, or comments would be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[chitown82]

i had the same decision to make last year and choose uic. money wasn't an issue so having a cheaper tuition didnt really matter. you won't go wrong with either school. each has their advantages and disadvantages. im not going to diss rush, but i think uic is awesome. ive been able to do a ton of things this year (leadership, extra-curricular activities, TONS of clinical experience my m1 year - prolly did 35 histories, research (substantial enough to get me a publication), have fun, all while honoring most of my classes); this summer im doing an externship and i got an nih grant to do research and i can partially attribute both to being at uic as the professors helped me with my proposals/applications and wrote me great recs. to be honest, i dont feel like im competing with my classmates. i have a group of friends that i can count on to hook me up with study guides, extra practice tests, and give advice. plus, only 15% of the class can get honors so if you realize you're not going to be in that bunch, all you need to do is pass which isn't hard. next year is going to be great - we get even more clinical experience (23 credits of our 50 credits is from our clinical medicine class) and we spend 6 weeks (1 week first semester and 5 second semester) in the hospital doing a "practicum" where we sharpen our H&Ps...kinda like a mini-rotation. and there is no doubt in my mind that our clinical years are outstanding. i know dozens of graduates from uic that have landed great residencies - and many of their program directors have complemented how strong their clinical training is.

my 2 cents....hit me up with any qs.

 

[Ombatay]

Another thing that you probably should take into account is that UIC's Chicago Campus has been full since mid-january or so, and although a few randoms have gotten assigned to Chicago since then, it is a long-shot this late in the game. You will get a quick response from UIC in regards to that (about a week) to help you with your decision, and there is an appeal process you can go through to *try* to get your campus reassigned, although it needs to be for a very good reason.

So when considering clinical sites, this is something you should probably take into account, as your clinical sites may be in Rockford or Peoria. If location is more important to you than money saved or other things, Rush may provide a better option. That being said there's nothing wrong with the Urbana-Peoria-Rockford track...

 

[chef_NU]

Bleh I'm in the same damn situation but I've been holding a UIC acceptance since January (I was assigned to the Chicago campus). I'm going back home this weekend to check out the area, so hopefully that will help me make up my mind. I hate this.