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MadStork

Full Member
7+ Year Member
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UF

Pros
-Cost: CoA is significantly cheaper 50K
-Great Fit, all current students seem very welcoming and easy to get along with.
-Very good match list, but perhaps the weakest of the three. Interested in a competitive specialty.
- Administration seems very supportive and mentorship seems strong.
- Very good research
- Scores 250+ avg for step 2

Cons
- Gainesville; a fun place but not as desirable as Atlanta or DC.
- Rank (however it is continuing to improve)
- 2 Year Pre Clinical

Georgetown

Pros
-
DC; most desirable place to live of the three locations. Amazing opportunities associated with being in DC.
- Able to do research a the NIH
- Strong Name; Matches above their weight.

Cons
- Cost: 100,000 COA
- Rank? (lower according to US News, but high PD rank (more important))
- 200+ students, the other two are closer to 140 and I prefer a smaller school

Emory

Pros
- Prestige: top 20 school (or so)
- Research: Amazing faculty mentors with dedicated 6 months for research. + CDC
- Atlanta, a great southern city, (not as desirable as DC)
- Clinical rotation; the other two hospital systems are very good but Grady is special. Will see a lot of Zebras here.
-Faculty was very welcoming and seem to be very receptive.

Cons
-
CoA is 85K. Is the prestige difference of UF vs Emory worth 140K?
- Not DC.
 
Sounds like Emory is your favorite. Highest prestige of the 3, amazing hospital, amazing research and faculty, AND you'll be living in Atlanta which is a really cool city (much better than Gainesville). Since you're planning on doing something competitive the 140k can be paid off much easier than if you were going Peds, etc. It's 4 years of your life so you want to be at a school and in a city that makes you happy. But thats just what I would do in your position. I could also see a case for UF since its the cheapest option and still a very respectable school. But I think Georgetown should definitely be out as it is lowest ranked of the 3 + most expensive.
 
It seems like based on your pros and cons that Emory > Georgetown > UF to you since Emory and Georgetown have stronger research as well as better match lists and locations, and Emory has a higher rank. I would not worry as much about the extra 140k if that’s all that is holding you back from Emory because I think the opportunities (research, faculty, hospitals) at the school are much better than UF (although UF is still a very good school!!!); it seems like you won’t enjoy living in Gainesville (definitely has a small college town feel and not as much going on as Atlanta and DC unless you drive 2 hrs north to Jacksonville or south to Tampa/Orlando); and like the user above said, if you are interested in a relatively competitive specialty, 140k can easily be repaid. I’ve also heard that based on STEP 1 going pass fail, people have said 1.5 year preclinicals are more favorable and research and rank will be weighted more,but I’m not sure how true all this is.
 
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Thank you all for your input! What I am mostly trying to gauge is how significant the prestige difference is among them, especially w/r/t matching, clinical rotations, and research/mentorship. Secondary to that, I have location preferences, but I am not sure how much $$$ these should be worth.