Drexel vs GW vs Wright State

[MomJeansandDadJorts]

So I have been accepted to Drexel and WL at both GW and Wright State. I have another IS interview coming up but I am trying to decide on which school I prefer. I am planning on writing a LOIntent later in the cycle if I decide either of the WL schools is better than Drexel (or if I get an acceptance to the other state school). I probably have some more pros and cons but these are what I could currently think of.

Drexel

Pros:

• P/F, no rank given to deans in MSPE (do use certain adjectives but dont describe what they mean)
• Seemed like a very friendly and progressive school
• Matches a good amount in competitive fields and also matches all over the country
• Philly is cool and also close to NYC (I also snowboard so the cold weather is nice)
• Possibility to do research at Penn (dont know how common that is but looking at gaining some connections there)
• Have Monday off for "Independent Learning" and there are no actual lectures
• Philly has a lot of culture

Cons:

• Very expensive ($86k/year, avg debt $237k)
• In-house exams (written in a similar style to NBME questions tho so more of a neutral point)
• Lots of schools in Philly so lots of students fighting over limited resources and Drexel seems to get the short end of the stick at times in term of reputation
• Lottery system for rotations meaning I may have to travel to different cities and towns for rotations
• Seems to have a lot of PBL/TBL/Mandatory stuff
• Heard the clinical years are eh
• Doesnt have residency programs for some competitive fields (ENT, Derm, Plastics, IR) which may make it more difficult to match if I decide on one of these fields

George Washington

Pros:

• Probably the best overall reputation
• Just changed to P/F, no class rank in MSPE (similar to Drexel)
• Uses NBME exams
• DC seems like a really cool and diverse city. I like that the school is in the middle of the city but close enough to the metro to live a couple stops away
• Better job opportunities (my partner is moving with me)
• The student I talked to talked about note sharing and the school trying to make thins less cut throat
• 8 weeks of STEP dedicated
• TONS of opportunities. Can take different specialized pathways in things like research, entrepreneurship, health policy, global health, etc.
• Best research opportunities out of my options.
• Seems to have the least amount of mandatory stuff
• Has ENT, Derm, Ortho, and IR programs

Cons:

• Expensive ($82k/year, avg debt 189k)
• DC has a very high COL
• Didnt get to interact with many students so hard to get a feel for the school just from talking to 1 person
• Warmer weather
• Doesnt seem to match many into competitive fields compared to my other options

Wright State

Pros:

• Cheapest option ($58k/year max COA, avg debt $186k)
• Have mandatory research thesis (am planning on doing summer research anyways)
• The most friendly and laid back interview. Know some people who went here and they all said the school tries to make it very non competitive and treats you more like family instead of as a student.
• Matches really well for being a small state school
• NBME exams
• Set you up with an upper classman who mentors you and helps you get adjusted to medical school
• Dayton is a very cheap city. Has enough to keep you occupied but not too distracting. Close to Cinci and Columbus for day trips when theres time.
• Anatomy is split up so you dont have a dedicated anatomy block. Usually 1 days every 2 week IIRC
• Apparently its one of the best schools for setting you up for clinical (one of the guys I talked to was an old PD and said some stat about WSU being top 5 in clinical preparation)
• Friend support (have friends in the city and also my current city is pretty close)

Cons:

• Dayton isnt as fun as Philly or DC
• No home hospital but have a lot of affiliations
• Very primary care focused and really emphasized they want people to stay in Central Ohio for residency (think I got WL because I showed more of an interest in specializing and maybe they werent convinced I wanted to stay in OH)
• Dont know if I like the flipped classroom idea because it makes for more TBL/CBL stuff which can be pretty messy
• Ranking students into quartiles which includes pre-clinical grades as well. Ranking is described in MSPE letter.

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[MomJeansandDadJorts]

Bump with extra info:

I may be eligible for scholarships at GWU because I meet the requirements for a couple (descendant of WWII vet, LGBT stuff, etc).

Drexel doesnt offer many scholarships and WSU said about 1/3rd of their students receive some type of scholarship. I dont think I would qualify for Need Based scholarships which I think is the majority of whats given at WSU and also the state school where Im interviewing this month.

 

[Kingsmen2018]

GW and its not even close

 

[ciestar]

given potential scholarship def GW