Emory or Northwestern?

[cowboy22]

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Which one is better? Emory or Northwestern?

They're both equally ranked. Is there any legitimate reason for choosing one over the other?

 

[mdeast]

Which one is better? Emory or Northwestern?

They're both equally ranked. Is there a legitimate reason for choosing one over the other? (maybe given the money is the same)

I think the best reason for choosing one over the other is location. Do you want to be near Atlanta or in downtown Chicago?

Your pick. Everyone will have a different preference, it's very personal. Otherwise, but have good reputations and excellent opportunities. I'd personally choose Northwestern just because I'd love to live in Chicago, and I'm more of a big city person.

I have friends at Emory Med though that love it there. So really, you can't lose. Just pick where you'd rather be.

 

[ontheroad86]

If you are interested in health disparities, I'd definitely say that Emory is the way to go.

 

[bonsaitree1]

I much prefer Northwestern. Chicago is a greatttt city to live in.

 

[topsurgeon2010]

copying and pasting information from my thread

(NOTE: most of this information is second-hand information that I either got on the day of interviews and i have friends who attend Emory because I grew up in atlanta who gave me some interesting tid-bits so current Emory students please correct me if anything is wrong..most of these are just interesting tid-bits)

Emory

Pros: attached to a university and its right on campus, located in Atlanta which is a great city with nice weather, brand-new facilities (absolutely gorgeous new building with marble and granite lining: http://www.flickr.com/photos/donalrey/3529699263/, http://www.flickr.com/photos/donalre...n/photostream/), 1.5 yr basic science curriculum with 6 month "discovery" phase to do basic science research or public health research, pass/fail curriculum, Emory University Hospitals the one on campus and the one in midtown are nice (Muhammad Ali regularly visits Emory neurologists for his Parkinsons treatment), Grady Hospital will provide a lot of good exposure to urban cases, a lot of international opportunities in public health (guaranteed admission into MPH program as a medical student, Centers for Disease Control is on the campus of Emory, Carter Center internships, Institute for Developing Nations, Emory has created a new Global Health Institute, etc etc), amazing research opportunities in neurology, ophthalmology, transplant surgery, microbiology and immunology, and cancer (editor-in-chiefs of some big journals are associated with Emory School of Medicine..including Journal of Immunology and American Journal of Transplantation are some that were mentioned by my interviewer who was a surgeon...has the Yerkes Primate Center, Vaccine Center (top leaders of research in HIV/AIDS and T cell memory are at Emory), the Winship Cancer Institute has the highly competitive National Cancer Institute designation), the university itself has cool faculty-members too (Dalai Lama, Jimmy Carter, Sulman Rushdie, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, etc etc), has one of the highest endowments in the nation (jokingly called the Coca-Cola University because Coca-Cola gave it a **** load of money and still does so thats why you supposedly only find Coca-Cola products on campus no Pepsi), its improving A LOT in terms of marketing its name (I feel like it will eventually take the path of WashU which was not well-known just a couple of decades ago), president of emory was recruited by the Obama administration to co-chair a committee, while the economy has impacted plans a bit, expect a lot of changes in terms of the layout of the campus in the next few years according to the university master plan

and my friend sent me this..great stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuN_mc8vzkc


and supposedly leaked US News say Emory SOM is now back in the top 20..Northwestern is 18..not sure how credible the source is but we will find out for sure in a few hours

UPDATE: yup the 2011 rankings have been officially posted and the leaked source was accurate

 

[souperjim14]

These are also two of my top choices - right now I'm leaning towards Emory. I'm from the Midwest and kind of want to get out, and I really liked the vibe I got at Emory at my interview and talking to students. Also the warmer weather is a factor. However, I'm still waiting to hear about financial aid, so that will also play a big factor

 

[coookiecrisp1]

congrats on the acceptance for both. i would go with northwestern.

 

[Steeler7588]

Does Northwestern have a condensed curriculum? Because 1.5 years of preclinical education like Emory has is awesome.

 

[dmblue]

Does Northwestern have a condensed curriculum? Because 1.5 years of preclinical education like Emory has is awesome.

it doesn't, but you have the 1st summer off at northwestern. Unsure about emory's summer

 

[Rzarecta]

Does Emory still have A-F grading in preclinical years? When I interviewed (years ago) that was a deal-breaker for me.

 

[Steeler7588]

Does Emory still have A-F grading in preclinical years? When I interviewed (years ago) that was a deal-breaker for me.

No, they're P/F.

 

[drdywlkr]

The relative strengths and weaknesses of academia-related issues between these institutions have been laid out already. I offer another perspective -- the weather. I grew up in Atlanta, moved to Chicago for undergrad, and am matriculating at Emory this Fall. For the student who is unsure: Chicago winters are no joke. They are cold. Really cold. And they are loooong. Take today as an example. It's nearly the end of April, and the high downtown will barely get above 50 (w/ the lake having a cooling effect as it often does). Atlanta -- 80s all week. The weather in Chicago is dicey from October to May. Atlanta? Cool weather sure from November - February. But come Masters weekend you can count on comfortable conditions for the next 6 months. Not so in Chi. Chicago is an awesome town, much more opportunity for finding a good time than Atlanta, but with it comes a brutal winter season that will test anyone's resolve. Good luck w/ your decision and congrats on acceptance to both schools.

 

[dmblue]

The relative strengths and weaknesses of academia-related issues between these institutions have been laid out already. I offer another perspective -- the weather. I grew up in Atlanta, moved to Chicago for undergrad, and am matriculating at Emory this Fall. For the student who is unsure: Chicago winters are no joke. They are cold. Really cold. And they are loooong. Take today as an example. It's nearly the end of April, and the high downtown will barely get above 50 (w/ the lake having a cooling effect as it often does). Atlanta -- 80s all week. The weather in Chicago is dicey from October to May. Atlanta? Cool weather sure from November - February. But come Masters weekend you can count on comfortable conditions for the next 6 months. Not so in Chi. Chicago is an awesome town, much more opportunity for finding a good time than Atlanta, but with it comes a brutal winter season that will test anyone's resolve. Good luck w/ your decision and congrats on acceptance to both schools.

chicago also has nice comfortable summers versus atlanta's very hot humid summers.

 

[cowboy22]

So my conclusions so far have been:

Emory has much more NIH funding, more hospitals including the large public Grady which provide greater exposure to a greater variety of patients, more faculty, a 1.5 year condensed curriculum, six months for research, warmer weather, and a lower cost of living.

Northwestern is in downtown Chicago and has a regular 2 year curriculum but with less lecture time because of PBL, and first summer for research.

What else?