Anyone out there know a decent amount about both Keck and Rochester to compare and contrast a few points?
1) It is my impression that Rochester students are in class all day leaving little time to study on their own and less flexibility for other activities, both scholarly and otherwise. On the other hand, I've heard that Keck students have relatively abundant "free time" to self-study and participate in varying activities. Does this sound accurate or no?
2) I expect that students at both schools are very intelligent and hard-working but are there any generalizable differences between student bodies? Like is one student body particularly competitive/intense, does one have happier students, etc.?
3) So far I have been advised that I will not be limiting my options for residencies in the NY/Philadelphia areas by attending USC Keck. Does anyone disagree? Anyone have relevant personal experiences they can share about this?
My direct knowledge of both schools isn't much more than the fact that I interviewed for residency at UR four years ago, but...
1. I'm not sure you could answer the first question without knowing if class is mandatory. If it isn't, the difference is probably negligible.
2. Gonna depend on your individual experience moreso than the reputation of the school. My own school has a SDN rep for "happy students" but honestly my happiest moment was probably getting to say "goodbye, good riddance, and f-ck this place" once I finally finished.
3. Probably not an issue given the similarity of reputations between the two. As stated elsewhere, the NY/Philly area has probably the highest concentration of residencies anywhere. The biggest downfall would probably the $$$ that multiple interviews on the East Coast would set you back during interview season for residency.
