Dartmouth/Geisel vs. GW

[GiveittoBEASTMODE]

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Hi All,

I'd appreciate some insight on this decision im fortunate enough to be making...I know at first glance it may seem to be an easy choice, but I'm really looking for some feedback from people who are at least relatively familiar with these programs or from those who could comment on going to schools in similar environments.

Obviously the Dartmouth/Geisel name will sound better (but in reality carry little weight). While the name isn't itself important, there's a reason that the school is as impressive as it is...Despite this, I'm really torn because of how great of a geographic location GW is in and how well their residency placements seem to be.

I'll do my best here to outline my major "concerns"...

1) I've seen the Dartmouth match list and it is super, super impressive, but I'm tremendously interested in a residency at a NYC hospital/program. While Dartmouth seems to be extremely well connected with the Boston area, I don't see as many NYC residencies...whereas GW sent almost 20 students to NYC residencies last year (Is this more likely due to the small class size at Geisel and perhaps a lesser interest in the NYC programs or do these programs typically not like Geisel students?). The part I could really use some feedback on is whether going to one school over an other will significantly enhance my chances of getting a NYC residency.

2) I also went to a very small liberal arts school in upstate NY for undergrad and I'm torn about whether I want to do the whole rural thing for another 4 years vs living in a major metropolitan city. As I mentioned, the chance to live in DC sounds really exciting (both on a professional and non-professional level). DC has great research institutions close by (i.e. NIH) and the location of the school within Foggy Bottom really seems awesome with plenty of ways to de-stress and have a good time when time permits. At the same time, Dartmouth is Dartmouth so there are still going to be plenty of research opportunities and Hanover is a beautiful college town. I realize this question is more of a personal preference, but my concern is that studying in the middle of no where will make it harder to have some semblance of a normal lifestyle. Curious on others thoughts on this.

3) My last concern piggybacks of this rural vs. urban debate...that being the impact of the areas population demographics on my medical education. Dartmouth is in a rural location with a relatively homogeneous population, whereas GW would give me the opportunity to learn in a city with a diverse socioeconomic and culturally/ethnically diverse population. While I know Dartmouth does a decent job sending you to hospitals around the country during MS3 and MS4 to engage you with a more diverse group, it still does not seem to be the same as GW. Does anyone have any feedback on whether I'd be at a true disadvantage not interacting with a diverse group of patients in medical school?

Sorry for the numerous questions/concerns...I think I'm learning towards GW at this point, but I'm worried I may be making a really stupid decision passing up on Dartmouth.

Thank you in advance for your feedback.

 

[Bottle]

Why are you leaning toward Geisel? state the factors that attract you, write them in piece of paper/white board and state that you will choose Geisel over Dartmouth. Give it a week or two of updating the list/testing if you made the best choice. Honestly, other than the residency question, none can give you an answer.

 

[TxC]

Why are you leaning toward Geisel? state the factors that attract you, write them in piece of paper/white board and state that you will choose Geisel over Dartmouth. Give it a week or two of updating the list/testing if you made the best choice. Honestly, other than the residency question, none can give you an answer.

Geisel is Dartmouth lol...GW is George Washington.

 

[Bottle]

Geisel is Dartmouth lol...GW is George Washington.

For real? I swear I saw them listed in MSAR as two different schools. W/e at least I learned something new today

 

[TxC]

I'm in somewhat of a similar situation. I've lived in a small town for a while and now have been accepted to a school in a big city and one in a small town (and the small town school is apparently better than the big city school).

I don't think it'll be "wrong" to choose GW. At the end of the day, you want to be happy and be able to de-stress in med school when you need to. As long as you perform well in med school, you'll be able to get the residency at a location that you want. BTW, DC is great, I was so sad about being put on hold at GW haha.

 

[3108]

If only we could travel back in time and give it to BEAST MODE.

 

[Omppu27]

If only we could travel back in time and give it to BEAST MODE.

Lol.. Was so confused until I realized OP's name

 

[GiveittoBEASTMODE]

I'm in somewhat of a similar situation. I've lived in a small town for a while and now have been accepted to a school in a big city and one in a small town (and the small town school is apparently better than the big city school).

I don't think it'll be "wrong" to choose GW. At the end of the day, you want to be happy and be able to de-stress in med school when you need to. As long as you perform well in med school, you'll be able to get the residency at a location that you want. BTW, DC is great, I was so sad about being put on hold at GW haha.

Yeah I agree, I'm just worried that despite the non-ideal geoghrahpic location, Dartmouth is still Dartmouth and that it is an opportunity that you don't turn down.

 

[karayaa]

Yeah I agree, I'm just worried that despite the non-ideal geoghrahpic location, Dartmouth is still Dartmouth and that it is an opportunity that you don't turn down.

So to you, which one matters more, the location or the opportunity/name?

 

[GiveittoBEASTMODE]

So to you, which one matters more, the location or the opportunity/name?

Hhah thats the problem I'm struggling with/why I'm writing this post...I'm looking for insight to help me determine which factors I should value the most in the long run. I haven't been to medical school yet or applied to residency so I was hoping someone whose been through this could share some valuable insight.

 

[justadream]

If only we could travel back in time and give it to BEAST MODE.

If Seahawks are looking for a new play-caller, I'm available 🙂

 

[JPA178]

One more thing to keep in mind, Dartmouth has a very dominant undergrad culture as it is a liberal arts college first and foremost. I have heard from people that attended as medical/graduate students that it's easy to feel a bit left out from the campus culture because the school pretty much revolves around the undergrads. It's even worse because you're in middle of nowhere, so there aren't many opportunities to make friends outside of school. Still, you'll have great educational opportunities at Dartmouth. But unless you're very outdoorsy, you will probably have a better experience living in DC for 4 years.

 

[Chemdude]

GW is a great place to learn. Our Step 1 averages are well above the national mean. We have an excellent match list every year. However, don't forget that life at GW is extremely expensive. I currently pay around $1800 for a studio in Foggy Bottom. Foggy Bottom is great at first, but it sort of becomes a pain in the ass by 3rd year. For example, it costs $300/month to park your car in Foggy Bottom. The awesomeness of living in DC wears off after a couple of months; you can only see the Lincoln monument and White House a couple of times before it becomes boring lol.

PM if you have any specific questions about the program.

 

[miszfifi820]

i have the same concern...

GW or my state school or another state school - all which will be around 15k cheaper a year.
the money is the only issue.

i guess i just have to wait and see my financial aid packages

 

[SpartanWolverine]

I would personally go Dartmouth 100%.

For me, this comes down to knowing that the clinical education is top-notch, the Dartmouth-Hitchcock medical center is a fantastic level I trauma center that gets all the interesting cases for the area, and the area is great to live in. Anyways, of course it's not for everyone and it sounds like you're kind of having issues with the rural-ish environment.

In the end, you can't go wrong with either but it sounds like GW is more the fit you're looking for. Either can and will get you into a NYC hospital if you do well.

 

[Earl Simmons]

Seems like you want to go to GW at heart and are hanging onto Dartmouth because of the name. The name won't mean much if you're not happy and successful at the school. I thin you already know which school you prefer based on your initial post. Good luck!

 

[Slack3r]

First off, match lists, especially the way you're using them (ie what CITIES people match in) should ABSOLUTELY NOT factor into your decision. AT ALL. Both schools are in the northeast, neither will provide any significant edge for trying to match in NYC.

Second, which is cheaper? I'm almost certain it's not GW. So you're passing up an Ivy League name (hooray for lay person prestige!) with cheaper CoL for a decidedly middle-tier school that's more expensive? Hmmm...

Third, which has more flexibility during the third year for scheduling electives? This is arguably the most important factor in selecting schools and almost NO pre med thinks about it. My schools gives two 3 week electives during third year. That's crap. I wish I would've paid more attention to third year scheduling when I was selecting schools.

As for the "diversity", I assure you Dartmouth's hospital affiliates sees poor/black/brown/whatever color people. Are you really going to care what color skin that ruptured appendix has at 2:30 in the morning on your gen surg rotation?

Personally, I'd go for Darthmouth.

 

[miszfifi820]

First off, match lists, especially the way you're using them (ie what CITIES people match in) should ABSOLUTELY NOT factor into your decision. AT

Third, which has more flexibility during the third year for scheduling electives? This is arguably the most important factor in selecting schools and almost NO pre med thinks about it. My schools gives two 3 week electives during third year. That's crap. I wish I would've paid more attention to third year scheduling when I was selecting schools.
.

@Chemdude How is GWs flexibility with electives? are you part of the new curriculum?

 

[miszfifi820]

I recently talked to a friend of mine at GW med. He says if he could go back in time, he would have waited another year and applied more broadly (he only applied to 6). I have quite a few friends at Geisel and they all really like it, even though they are struggling to find a girlfriend. I tell them that it's their problem, not the location's.

Last but not least, congrats on your acceptances! GW accepts only a 2.3% of their ~16,000 applicants, and you are one of them!

Any specifics on why he would have waited? what about gw does he not like?

 

[miszfifi820]

That's interesting because at my interview, one of deans came to give a presentation to our group and the very first thing he said was 'if you are here for a focus on research, this is not a school for you... Go to hopkins, gtown etc not here'

 

[moop]

I see it more simply. Screw the location, clinical training, name, whatever. I'm not seeing any cogent argument being made for the quality of GW's hospital training over Geisel's. (I don't think there is one; both have their obvious ups and downs).

So forget it. F*ck all that. Are you interested in the research at Dartmouth? So far it seems that is the only substantive difference between the schools. If so, go for it (and the "name" lmao as if Dartmouth boonies are really on a different scale in prestige; pls dude don't buy the hype). If not, go to GW, where they don't care about research.

I would also add that if you have ANY, and I mean ANY FLEETING INTEREST in ever getting involved in health policy research/implementation, you'd be an idiot to turn down the opportunity to be at the Dartmouth Institute. Google this if you don't understand the gravity of the situation. But it's a long shot that this applies to you.

 

[moop]

he wasn't happy with the school's capacities for research. I think that was the main reason. Plus he was being very lazy with his secondaries when he had nothing else going on besides his application.

Yeah GW openly does not give a buffalo's anus about research lol

 

[Chemdude]

@Chemdude How is GWs flexibility with electives? are you part of the new curriculum?

No, the new curriculum just started this year. TBH, I haven't been following the changes that are happening with the new curriculum. Currently, we have about 14 weeks of elective time and 14 weeks of vacation time during 4th year.