George Washington vs. Jefferson

[Limbo123]

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I'm deciding who would win in a fight between these two founding fathers of America. Haha just kidding. I am torn on which of these med schools to pick. Here are some pros for each. I would appreciate any input.


Jefferson (SKMC):
Philadelphia strikes me as a better city in which to spend your early 20s.
I get a feeling (probably unsubstanciated) that it'd be easier to get jnvolved with research here than at GW.

GW:
Smaller class size.
18 month curriculum.
Seems to emphasize early clinical experiences (but so does Jeff).

Things I am unsure of:
Which patient population will be better to work with.
Which class is less competitive (both have H/P/F but I don't remember which ones are based on a curve and which ones are based on test scores).

Thanks for the help!

 

[Officer Farva]

Let me help. Who cares buddy? Both have the same rep. Which one is cheaper, do you like philly over DC?

 

[Limbo123]

Thanks for the input guys. I just got an acceptance from Temple, too, which makes this decision even more complicated!

Here are some of my pros for Temple:
Probably slightly cheaper than the other two (haven't gotten fin aid yet, so idk)
I get the impression that more emphasis is placed on research here
I'd like to work with a very disadvantaged patient population

Here are some cons:
Rough part of town (although I can live in Center City)
Relatively large class size (although some of the class leaves to the other campuses throughout the first two years)

 

[abluecrab]

I'm deciding who would win in a fight between these two founding fathers of America. Haha just kidding. I am torn on which of these med schools to pick. Here are some pros for each. I would appreciate any input.


Jefferson (SKMC):
Philadelphia strikes me as a better city in which to spend your early 20s.
I get a feeling (probably unsubstanciated) that it'd be easier to get jnvolved with research here than at GW.

GW:
Smaller class size.
18 month curriculum.
Seems to emphasize early clinical experiences (but so does Jeff).

Things I am unsure of:
Which patient population will be better to work with.
Which class is less competitive (both have H/P/F but I don't remember which ones are based on a curve and which ones are based on test scores).

Thanks for the help!

If you're set on ortho/optho probably Jefferson (rothman/wills). Spent time in both and I prefer DC but could see the appeal of philly. I interviewed at both and while the interview days were very different, the schools seemed very similar in what they had to offer. Financial aid, location, and specialty considerations are probably the relevant factors.

 

[Slack3r]

I'm deciding who would win in a fight between these two founding fathers of America. Haha just kidding. I am torn on which of these med schools to pick. Here are some pros for each. I would appreciate any input.


Jefferson (SKMC):
Philadelphia strikes me as a better city in which to spend your early 20s.
I get a feeling (probably unsubstanciated) that it'd be easier to get jnvolved with research here than at GW.

GW:
Smaller class size.
18 month curriculum.
Seems to emphasize early clinical experiences (but so does Jeff).

Things I am unsure of:
Which patient population will be better to work with.
Which class is less competitive (both have H/P/F but I don't remember which ones are based on a curve and which ones are based on test scores).

Thanks for the help!

Couple things:

1) Early clinical experience sounds nice in program brochures, but means absolutely dick. You don't know a thing as a preclinical med student, so fumbling around the hospital does you no benefit. Plus, pretty much every school has it.

2) Philly and DC both have pretty similar urban populations. Temple probably skews a bit more underserved/uninsured/underinsured, but you still get PLENTY at Jeff and GW.

3) Research is available at any of the three schools. Getting involved in research as a med student is not the same as a premed. Don't let this be a deciding factor, neither of the 3 schools are research powerhouses.

4) "Competition" is something that sounds scary as a premed, but doesn't matter as a MS. Every school will have gunner ****heads, but they'll be in the minority anywhere you go.

Bottom line, GW and Jeff are very expensive, mid-tier private schools in the Northeast. Temple is an expensive, mid-tier public school in the Northeast. All will get you where you want to go. Personally, Jeff > Temple > GW, but that's just my opinion.

 

[doctorgrey623]

in the same position except waitlisted for GW and can't decide if I like it more than Jeff!

 

[Limbo123]

in the same position except waitlisted for GW and can't decide if I like it more than Jeff!

I've decided to just go where the money is. I think an 18 month curriculum would be nice, but I also think that Philly would be a better city for me. For me, it's a three-way wash, so I'll probably go to Jeff, since I got a nice scholarship there.

 

[UCLABruwins]

Congrats on all the acceptances! I'm waiting to hear back from GW in the next couple weeks but if accepted could see a similar dilemma. While I had a much better vibe from Jeff, the networking opportunities available in D.C. (NIH, WHO, public policy) do make this a tough choice. I'm with you though...will be going where it's cheaper, and Philly seems much more affordable in terms of cost of living.

I don't know if this is of interest to you, but the international clinical programs seem much more developed at GW (Global Health Track and the opportunity to do rotations abroad). Does anyone know about similar opportunities at Jefferson?

 

[Mansamusa]

Philly is so much better than DC imho. And is much cheaper. That alone is enough to eliminate GW.

Temple vs Jeff is a little harder and probably more up to your personal preferences. Jeff is very LGBT friendly and is in the gayborhood with all the Philly clubs around it, so I'm partial to Jeff

 

[doctorgrey623]

Congrats on all the acceptances! I'm waiting to hear back from GW in the next couple weeks but if accepted could see a similar dilemma. While I had a much better vibe from Jeff, the networking opportunities available in D.C. (NIH, WHO, public policy) do make this a tough choice. I'm with you though...will be going where it's cheaper, and Philly seems much more affordable in terms of cost of living.

I don't know if this is of interest to you, but the international clinical programs seem much more developed at GW (Global Health Track and the opportunity to do rotations abroad). Does anyone know about similar opportunities at Jefferson?

So looked into this a bit today trying to hash out what it was about GW that has me checking my email every 10mins even though their waitlist won't see movement til the end of April. GW has a ton of places that you can do rotations at once you've done your core set in M3 (https://smhs.gwu.edu/imp/programs/gw-scholars/international-clinical-electives) while Jeff appears to just have the linkage with St. George's in London which is a fairly recent development. GW also has the global health track which requires an international rotation if I'm not mistaken so it makes sense that they have so many opportunities.

Anyone looking at the MD/MPH options at either?