GEORGETOWN: Pros & Cons

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UrbanRiver

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I know there have been past year threads on Georgetown vs. (some school), but I wanted some fresh and some brutally honest perspective. I've been stoked about my GTown interview for months, but I recently (and very fortunately) have been accepted to a state school @ UC Irvine. I've been still planning on doing my Gtown interview, but now, I'm wondering if I should cancel it. Obviously, a major difference between the two is the tuition. I'm definitely taking that into account, but I want to explore some other sides of the school. Here are my pro/con impressions on GTown so far. Any current med students, please feel free to chime in! Your opinion is highly highly valued. Pre-meds, please share as well.

Pros:
Systems-based curriculum. Beautifullllllll campus (I've been there before). Very diverse, underserved population. Wash D.C. (good for a public health guy like me). East coast seems like a fun place to live in for 4 years. They got a Health Justice Track, which seems cool for people who want to do advocacy work. It's got a good name reputation. Apparently, great match list.

Cons:
Despite the reputation, it's actually pretty low ranked among med schools. I know it's based on research funds, but I do think ranking is somewhat important. How do people in the med field (not the general population) view GTown SoM? Socially, I've heard students are very competitive, stuck-up, and have a superiority complex. They apparently dress well though (?).. east coast style, I guess. This culture is sort of worrisome to me actually. How do ethnic/racial minorities fare at this school? I also heard the med building is not that nice. Honors/High Pass/ Pass/ Low Pass/ Fail grading scale...

Remaining Questions:
- Does anyone know how generous GTown is in giving financial aid/grants? Especially for people who are under $100,000 family income.
- How's the school facility? Have they upgraded that lecture hall yet? etc.

I'm just being frank with everything I've heard about GTown and want some perspective. I don't necessarily think I'll get everything on interview day Thanks guys!

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I actually didn't apply to GTown, but I've visited the area b/c I was curious.

Con: East coast--living in the East coast is COLD, bro! When you're freezing Oct-Feb, you'll see why it makes the difference...

Con: The Georgetown neighborhood felt like one of those quintessential, fake college bubbles. It's cool for college & prep school, but honestly...scene gets tired.

All these comments prob won't have an impact on you, but environment is playing more of an important factor for me for grad school. Congrats on Gtown interview!!
 
I actually didn't apply to GTown, but I've visited the area b/c I was curious.

Con: East coast--living in the East coast is COLD, bro! When you're freezing Oct-Feb, you'll see why it makes the difference...

Con: The Georgetown neighborhood felt like one of those quintessential, fake college bubbles. It's cool for college & prep school, but honestly...scene gets tired.

All these comments prob won't have an impact on you, but environment is playing more of an important factor for me for grad school. Congrats on Gtown interview!!

ahh weather... thanks for the input dude!
 
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I know there have been past year threads on Georgetown vs. (some school), but I wanted some fresh and some brutally honest perspective. I've been stoked about my GTown interview for months, but I recently (and very fortunately) have been accepted to a state school @ UC Irvine. I've been still planning on doing my Gtown interview, but now, I'm wondering if I should cancel it. Obviously, a major difference between the two is the tuition. I'm definitely taking that into account, but I want to explore some other sides of the school. Here are my pro/con impressions on GTown so far. Any current med students, please feel free to chime in! Your opinion is highly highly valued. Pre-meds, please share as well.

Pros:
Systems-based curriculum. Beautifullllllll campus (I've been there before). Very diverse, underserved population. Wash D.C. (good for a public health guy like me). East coast seems like a fun place to live in for 4 years. They got a Health Justice Track, which seems cool for people who want to do advocacy work. It's got a good name reputation. Apparently, great match list.

Cons:
Despite the reputation, it's actually pretty low ranked among med schools. I know it's based on research funds, but I do think ranking is somewhat important. How do people in the med field (not the general population) view GTown SoM? Socially, I've heard students are very competitive, stuck-up, and have a superiority complex. They apparently dress well though (?).. east coast style, I guess. This culture is sort of worrisome to me actually. How do ethnic/racial minorities fare at this school? I also heard the med building is not that nice. Honors/High Pass/ Pass/ Low Pass/ Fail grading scale...

Remaining Questions:
- Does anyone know how generous GTown is in giving financial aid/grants? Especially for people who are under $100,000 family income.
- How's the school facility? Have they upgraded that lecture hall yet? etc.

I'm just being frank with everything I've heard about GTown and want some perspective. I don't necessarily think I'll get everything on interview day Thanks guys!

Definitely go to the interview to check it out. But I will try and address your points.

Pros:

The curriculum is great. I love it, and I think it is a very good one. I haven't been in anything else so I can't compare, but it was a major reason I chose the school. It is longitudinal and we do two passes through each system (anatomy, biochem, histology, physiology the first year and then pathology, pharmacology, and micro the second year). I think those multiple passes help a lot.

Location is good. DC is a very fun city. It has a great patient population for learning medicine, especially if you are interested in public health and underserved populations. Pretty hard to beat. The school also has many affiliations with hospitals in the area, so you get a lot of different exposures. From what I hear, the clinical training is outstanding, and people are very prepared for residency. This is one of the reason people say the match list is what it is, though that's a bit hard to evaluate.

Cons:

The price. It is expensive, and from what I know, they are not great at giving out aid. This is unfortunate, and you have to decide if the price paid is worth it. You may even hear on your interview day that you would be smart to take an in-state acceptance.

The campus is beautiful. Well ,the undergrad campus is. The med school is not quite as pretty, and they really have a hard time renovating anything. They are building a new lecture hall now, though I'm not sure who gets it. The facilities are rather old. However, the facilities really shouldn't be a major concern as the education and the resources are much more important. Georgetown hospital may look a bit down, but it has some top notch programs, and the med school is the same way. The town and school are definitely their own little bubble. But you can certainly escape if you put in the effort.

The students and the grading system. I too came from the west (not Cali, but nearby), and the east coast is a different vibe. Many people have money, and some people do dress really nice (but I still look trashy most of the time and many do while in school). However, I haven't really had many problems with anyone in terms of people being stuck up or competitive due to the grading system. People work hard, and they want to do well. However, I haven't really seen anyone tear down other people for better grades. They just work harder. Can't really fault them for that. And it shouldn't matter a ton since you decide how hard you want to work (pre-clinical grades aren't that important anyway). As well, you have to get along with people in your class, but you don't have to be friends with all of them. People have groups, but they are friendly, so I don't think this is a major concern. At least it hasn't been for me so far. You will find people you like. And about 35 people in our class are from Cali, so I'm sure you would find a large group of like-minded people.

Overall, I would give it a shot. As I said, you may very well end up back in Cali, but I would interview and you can see for yourself how you like the school.

Edit: I forgot to address the ranking issue. Basically, I wouldn't worry about it. It has a great reputation in the DC area, on the East Coast, and even out west. The doctors I talked to out west were all very impressed with Georgetown, and they have many great programs at the school. I'm sure you could go anywhere after Georgetown. A lot of people end up at top programs, and many end up back in California too if you are wondering about that.
 
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Oh yeah, the DC weather isn't fun. But the city has it's upsides!
 
I read on SDN months ago that Georgetown students are largely gunners who couldn't get into ivies, which is largely why so many of their students go ortho. Don't know how true it is though
 
I read on SDN months ago that Georgetown students are largely gunners who couldn't get into ivies, which is largely why so many of their students go ortho. Don't know how true it is though

Not all of us :)

Ortho is very, very popular. I'm not interested, and it doesn't really bother me much how into ortho a lot of people are. Maybe it bothers some people, but I don't know.

I feel the word "gunner" is thrown around too much. Yes, people work hard and try to do well, but I have never witnessed it reach a point where people purposely sabotage others (which is what a gunner actually does). If you are easily bothered by people caring about their grades, then you may have some issues with Georgetown. There are some competitive people. But I don't see why people seem to care so much about other people. It certainly hasn't hurt my experience at all. Most people don't make a big deal about grades.
 
I know there have been past year threads on Georgetown vs. (some school), but I wanted some fresh and some brutally honest perspective. I've been stoked about my GTown interview for months, but I recently (and very fortunately) have been accepted to a state school @ UC Irvine. I've been still planning on doing my Gtown interview, but now, I'm wondering if I should cancel it. Obviously, a major difference between the two is the tuition. I'm definitely taking that into account, but I want to explore some other sides of the school. Here are my pro/con impressions on GTown so far. Any current med students, please feel free to chime in! Your opinion is highly highly valued. Pre-meds, please share as well.

Pros:
Systems-based curriculum. Beautifullllllll campus (I've been there before). Very diverse, underserved population. Wash D.C. (good for a public health guy like me). East coast seems like a fun place to live in for 4 years. They got a Health Justice Track, which seems cool for people who want to do advocacy work. It's got a good name reputation. Apparently, great match list.

Cons:
Despite the reputation, it's actually pretty low ranked among med schools. I know it's based on research funds, but I do think ranking is somewhat important. How do people in the med field (not the general population) view GTown SoM? Socially, I've heard students are very competitive, stuck-up, and have a superiority complex. They apparently dress well though (?).. east coast style, I guess. This culture is sort of worrisome to me actually. How do ethnic/racial minorities fare at this school? I also heard the med building is not that nice. Honors/High Pass/ Pass/ Low Pass/ Fail grading scale...

Remaining Questions:
- Does anyone know how generous GTown is in giving financial aid/grants? Especially for people who are under $100,000 family income.
- How's the school facility? Have they upgraded that lecture hall yet? etc.

I'm just being frank with everything I've heard about GTown and want some perspective. I don't necessarily think I'll get everything on interview day Thanks guys!

Go to the interview if you have the money. Its always better to have more options and to compare schools.

Cons:
-Very expensive tuition (as Barcu has said) w/ little financial aid. Also, the COL for the area is also very high (apartments typically run >$1,200/mo though you might find something a little cheaper w/ roommates)
-No parking at the school and at many apartments. At apartments w/ parking its typically an extra $50-100 per month. Huge pain the the butt to get a DC parking permit for street parking.
- The undergrad campus is beautiful, the med campus...not so much. The Med-Dent bldg. is basically old and run down. DML looks like a bomb shelter and most classes are in the basement of the school. You can always study at McDonough Hall (the brand new business school building) which is beautiful. That being said, DON'T pick a med school based on the facilities, you'll be too busy studying to notice or care.
-All 4 years are graded (No P/F)
-Lottery system for clerkship schedule and locations (you may or may not get your preferred location or order of rotations)
-Independent Scholarly Project (ISP) requirement
-Compared to other schools w/ similar match lists, much fewer research opportunities.
-Students are honestly a little more pretentious and rich than other med schools, but you'll have those types at every school. Most students come from money or have parents who are physicians, which is also the same at most med schools.
-The patient population at GU Hosp. (where you will be spending most of your 1st 2 years) is NOT diverse or underserved. Its the opposite. Georgetown is the richest, most exclusive neighborhood in DC. Yes, Gtown has the HOYA clinic in SE DC, but most students only volunteer there a few shifts a year. The other main rotation sites, INOVA, Holy Cross, and Washington Hospital Center are in mostly middle class/upper class areas of DC metro. The majority of poor underserved people in DC metro live in SE DC (Anacostia and Capitol view) and around the southern beltway (Suitland, District Heights, Capitol Heights, etc...) There are poor, underserved populations at some rotation sites, but you will not be spending the majority of your time w/ these patients.

Pros:
-Great Reputation
-Excellent clinical teaching w/ lots of autonomy even as a 3rd year
(you're basically responsible your own patients right off the bat on rotations)
-Solid basic science curriculum that is systems based w/ minimal fluff and minutiae.
-Good note-taking service
-Scholar tracks in curriculum
-Cancer research at Lombardi
-Opportunities in the fed gov't (NIH, US DHSS)
-Overall some of the best med school profs I've had so far. Most are very approachable and friendly and love to teach. I've have been out to lunch w/ them at the french embassy, they do monument runs through the DC mall in the fall/spring, and have BBQs w/ students regularly. I've even been out for drinks w/ a few profs as well.
-Great match list. Shouldn't have a problem going back to cali as long as you get good grades/board scores.
-DC is a great city w/ tons of sports/nightlife/outdoors opportunities.

Disclaimer: Was an SMP and GSMI student at Gtown. Clerkship info is from classmates and friends who are M3s and M4s there now.
 
I went to Georgetown for undergrad and interviewed at the med school so I'll give my perspective:

Pros:
-curriculum is strong and you'll be sure to get a quality education while there
-opportunities to work in institutions like the NIH and so on
-Georgetown is its own neighborhood in DC, so while you have access to the city you kind of live separate from it at the same time...if that makes sense

Cons:
-tuition is very high, and the cost of living is ridiculous in some ways. food is expensive, rent is expensive (even with roommates), and having a car is not even worth it. The university doesn't provide parking for students and the local parking enforcement hand out parking tickets like they're going out of style
-their "technology center/room" or whatever they call it (I can't remember the name) is nothing more than a computer bench that no one really uses. our interviewers sort of laughed when telling us about this lol
-the undergraduate campus buildings are very nice (very old school looking architecture) but the med/dent building is drab, ancient, and not very "warm/welcoming." paint is old, lecture halls are dim, technology leaves more to be desired...
-fairly competitive atmosphere (no P/F)
-despite Georgetown being its "own neighborhood" the area has lots of crime
 
I heard they do not use real cadavers for anatomy. Or maybe it was that they don't allow students to slice. Is this true?
 
I heard they do not use real cadavers for anatomy. Or maybe it was that they don't allow students to slice. Is this true?

Not true. There are 5 to a body. You will get plenty of opportunities to cut.
 
Thanks everyone for your input! Helped a lot. I think I will still go to my interview. Based on this discussion, I'm becoming impressed with GTown's curriculum especially. I know one can learn material from any med school, but at least in my experience, a good teaching system makes studying so much easier and efficient.. reduces unnecessary stress and helps the student feel more in control. GTown's prestige seems to stand.. so does its slightly more competitive atmosphere. whatever. i guess a student body can thrive this way. if anyone can give more input.. even if it's biased (and honest) please feel free add to this thread.
 
Cons: The admissions department treats you as if you are just a number and there are thousands of other numbers just like you who would take your place. You are not a human being, and unless you are willing to write letters about how great Georgetown is you stand a much smaller chance of getting in.

Pros: I love the fact the medical campus is connected to the undergrad and you really feel like you are still in college.
 
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