Emory vs GW

[sp0375]

Emory:

+ More prestigious
+ Dedicated research period
+ Potential to do research with faculty who work at CDC
+ Top-notch clinical sites/training
+ Service/social justice oriented
+ Nice campus and med school building
+ Closer to family

- No summer break between M1 & M2
- Not too excited about living in Atlanta (I think I would still enjoy it, but not walkable and traffic is a nightmare)
- Students say anatomy is unnecessarily difficult (but are overall still happy with curriculum)

GW:

+ Scholarly concentrations program allows me to pursue secondary interests
+ Clinical public health curriculum
+ Great opportunities for health policy
+ Potential to do research with NIH
+ More extracurriculars that interest me
+ Children’s National is one of the nation’s top children’s hospitals
+ Lots of friends in the area
+ Love DC, think I want to end up there long-term

- Lower ranked
- Building/facilities not as nice

Personal goals: Likely interested in peds, but definitely open to other specialities. Not likely to want something competitive. Interested in public health/health policy and want to incorporate this into my career eventually. Want to match in the NE and end up in a big city, likely DC because of interest in policy.

CoA would be the same. Both have very good match lists, but not sure how GW will be impacted by Step 1 P/F. Students seem very happy at both. Biggest draw to Emory is prestige. Biggest draws to GW are public health/policy opportunities incorporated into the curriculum and location. While I might like GW slightly better I would still be happy at Emory and am hesitant to give up Emory’s prestige, as it would be more beneficial in the long run than the pros for GW. Very torn on this so any thoughts on the two are appreciated!

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[25th_bam]

I think what this boils down to is where do you think you'll be happiest spending the next 4 years? From your pros/cons that looks like GW. If you're thinking about peds, then the difference in prestige likely does not matter unless you wanna go into academic medicine. I also find that in health policy, connections and who you know matter a lot more than anything else, so perhaps it'll be easier to network in DC if you wanna get into that field for your future career (even more so if it's built into GW's curriculum). Go with your gut!

 

[idiotreinventor]

children's hospital in DC is fantastic, just FYI

 

[u_raptor]

If you are truly set on peds and public healthy policy, GW would be your best bet imo. Normally I would vote Emory as it is a great school with great opportunities, but GW is probably one of the best bets for someone who wants public policy. Just being in DC alone is helpful, nevermind the opportunities GW helps to provide.

 

[Yhwach]

Disclaimer: Emory A, GW WL

Emory public health is way stronger than GW imo. Emory is ranked high in public health, lots of public health research going on, and the CDC.

I think Emory will give you way more opportunities for good public health, after all, there is protected research time.

In both interviews, I had the feeling that Emory's connection to CDC was stronger than GW connection to any governmental institute in DC. Getting a CDC experience is probably easy in Emory. Getting a public policy experience probably can happen but I think it requires more legwork from you. This is just based on my opinion on the schools.

I was not partially fascinated with GW at all and I don't think GW will uniquely enable you to get into those public policy experiences outside of just proximity.

 

[future_peds_doc99]

I agree with the above poster as well! Similar to above: Harvard A, GW WL

Both Emory and GW are amazing schools and I really loved my interview at GW. While both will provide you with plenty of opportunities to do what you want to do, I truly believe that Emory will provide you with better opportunities due to its prestige and "networking".

Since COA is about the same, I really think choosing Emory over GW is the move. Both are great, but Emory is just a bit better. Forgive me if I am out of line, but after looking over your pros/cons list, I think that your cons for both does not justify choosing GW over Emory.

 

[sp0375]

Thank you to everyone who has shared their thoughts! I hadn’t considered the importance of connections in policy, which is a good point. I think GW might be better for that because of location but as others mentioned Emory is still very strong in public health and of course stronger in medicine. I’m wondering now what would be more important down the line - the school or the connections. Emory is obviously the bigger name but does that matter beyond matching? Because GW does have many competitive matches every year, so if I could potentially match at the same place regardless of school would Emory still be the better choice? I feel like Emory is probably the smarter choice, but I love GW and DC so I’m still uncertain. Any input is greatly appreciated!

 

[Yhwach]

Thank you to everyone who has shared their thoughts! I hadn’t considered the importance of connections in policy, which is a good point. I think GW might be better for that because of location but as others mentioned Emory is still very strong in public health and of course stronger in medicine. I’m wondering now what would be more important down the line - the school or the connections. Emory is obviously the bigger name but does that matter beyond matching? Because GW does have many competitive matches every year, so if I could potentially match at the same place regardless of school would Emory still be the better choice? I feel like Emory is probably the smarter choice, but I love GW and DC so I’m still uncertain. Any input is greatly appreciated!

Here is what I am trying to say.
Emory would be better for public health
GW would be better for health policy

Emory itself is one of the strongest public health programs and on top of that have faculty and strong connections in CDC. Emory has built a reputation for this

GW connection to health policy from my interview is mainly just from proximity. The programing from health policy I don't see it being uniquely strong. It is just lucky enough to be close to DC. Out of the metro DC schools GT historically IMO has a better and stronger history in policy or law.