CWRU vs CUSM

[lionking123456]

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CWRU vs. CUSM

Hello everyone, I am having a hard time deciding between these two schools.

Background: I am originally from California. The majority of my family resides in SoCal (about a 35 min drive from CUSM). I am currently married, no kids. My wife is graduating in May with a degree in CS. While I do not have any preference yet in a specialty, I do want to eventually match in a residency program in California.

CWRU

Pros:
Affiliated with a massive health system in Cleveland so ample opportunity for networking and strong clinical rotation spots (Cleveland clinic)
Top 25 medical school.
Better research opportunities compared to CUSM
P/F for first 2 years
Really nice curriculum
Faculty and admin seem to be very focused on their student's success
Very strong match data in a variety of specialties.

Cons:
Cold weather
Far from family
My wife might need to relocate with me.
Hassle of relocating
Worry about matching back to CA

CUSM

Pros:
Almost all rotations are at Arrowhead (ARMC), which seems like a good hospital to train in.
Faculty and admin also seem very focused on their student's success
1st-year match data seem like it went well.
Closer to family
Able to drive to school
Wife wouldn't need to relocate
P/F and no AOA
Potentially cheaper (commuting from home)

Cons:
Reputation isn't the best in the area (LCME Accreditation issues).
New school, so a lot of questions.
Shaky research opportunities.

Summary: If I were still my 18 years old self applying to undergrad this would have been a no-brainer, but currently a few years out of undergrad and currently married, I felt a bit torn on which one is the right decision. I feel that CWRU is definitely the better school and open the most amount of doors for me in the future, but CUSM's location is incredibly enticing + both my and my wife's family lives there.

What do you guys think? Can anyone, especially nontraditional folks, share with me their perception and advice please? Thanks!

 

[lionking123456]

Nontrad, married. I live ~1 hour from CUSM and am turning down my acceptance. Still deciding between two OOS schools ranked about the same as Case. Will prob come down to $. What does your wife think? Mine is game to move (otherwise, I’d be thrilled to attend CUSM). Also, wdym “My wife might need to relocate with me.” Are you considering doing LD?

You’ll be fine matching back to CA from Case.

She's fine with moving, but I'm just worried that she might have a harder time finding a job and friends in Cleveland (Asian, introverted, CS).

For job:
I was initially thinking of her first getting a CS job that allows remote working and she could just move with me to Cleveland while working remotely. However, given the tech layoff going on in the market, I'm not sure how feasible is that. So I was debating whether she should first try to find a job in CA to build some experience then when she is skilled enough or the market is better then she could find a job that allows remote work and relocate with me.

For friends:
She is pretty introverted, spent all of her life in LA, and only mainly hangs around Asians and some Latinos. I worry that she might have a hard time adjusting to Cleveland if she wasn't able to find a job or a stable social group.

 

[deleted1095841]

What do you want to do in medicine?
Private practice? Academics? Which specialty? Do you have a CS background as well? What kind of research do you want to do in medical school?
Your answers to these questions will determine whether you need the prestige/connections afforded by Case Western.

Also, there are people who go to medical school at CUSM but do research with faculty at UCLA.

 

[chilly_md]

Go to Case. If she has to work in-person, she will not find many opportunities in CS around CUSM. It will be a long commute and she likely would hate that. There will be jobs in Cleveland if the remote thing doesn't work out.