I interviewed at all 3 and here is my take on the programs:
George Washington: Small program, CP heavy with many attendings emphasizing the importance of CP. AP is not as strong with low numbers of specimens coming in, although this should change with the opening of the new surgical center. The AP also suffers from lack of specialty specimens such as Bone/Soft Tissue cases which they rarely get. Also, when I was there, transplant specimens were not in high volume either. Autopsy and all space for that matter is cramped. My thoughts were that the department doesn't have too much pull with the admin and hence the space situation. The people (residents/faculty) at the GW campus were very nice though. The VA portion is across from the Wash Hosp Center. You have an average load there as well, and the attending was very nice at the interview. One of the assets of the program is their affiliation with Children's National Hosp. You do your BB and Heme and some peds there. The attending again was very nice and straightforward. When I asked him about the pros and cons of the GW program, he basically laid everything out on the table. Overall, its a small program where you'll get your education and if its a location issue for you then its got a good location.
Georgetown: It is affiliated with the Wash Hosp Center now through Medstar. I didn't pay much attention at this one since I had basically made up my mind about specialty/specifics/etc. so can't give you much info here. Some pros I remember are the AFIP affiliation, CP, and relaxed environment.
UMD: This is a small program too which is over shadowed by JH in town. The residents and the PD where extremely nice. They generally take all their residents outside of the match, but that may change this year with the new rules and everything. Although the hospital is nice, the Path department is still old in many aspects. The ancillary stuff (res room, scope room, etc) is not that good, and the schedule can be hectic. What makes up for it though is the teaching. Based on what I saw, the attendings were all willing and nice about it. Didactics was well also. If Iam not mistaking, they let you be on frozens earlier than a lot of programs.
I hope this info helps you out. If you need any other specifics (i.e. housing in the area) send me a PM or drop me a line. Good Luck in the upcoming year.
