Georgetown vs. GWU?

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cstar23

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Georgetown seems like it focuses more on community involvement, but their hospital is tiny and pretty old. GWU has nicer facilities and I've really liked the students I've met who go there. GW isn't ranked so that's no help in the comparison, and the tuition and cost of living are within range of each other. Anyone have any other opinions or help with pros and cons of each? Thanks!

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Go to whichever one you felt most comfortable at. If you liked Gtown better, then go there and you will get a great education and become a good dr. If you liked GWU better, go there and you will get a great education and become a dr. As for rankings of the school, do you know where your family dr went to med school and was what the rank of that school at the time?
 
Cost probably should be a factor. I go to gtown undergrad, and let me tell you, they are tight with a dollar (don't expect too many grants). Apparently they run credit checks on their accepted med. students (not sure how normal that is). Plus, Gtown's hospital mainly serves the affluent. If I had a choice between the two, I'd probably go with GW, though I'm sure you'd also love gtown if you could get past the finances of the university.
 
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GT probably has the bigger name recognition, but GW is climbing and has MUCH better facilities (by FAR). And I believe that if they were ranked they'd be ranked pretty similarly, but GW has better clinical stuff... So I'd do GW. Oh, and GW has one of the best arrays of electives in the fourth year, which is why I applied there in the first place. I mean, the first two years are going to be standard anywhere, it's the other opportunities that matter, and I think GW has more...
 
Yes, Georgetown's physical hospital serves more affluent patients than GW, but as a Gtown med student you will rotate through all Medstar hospitals in the Washington, DC area (including Washington Hospital Center) because Gtown Hospital is owned by Medstar. So, you will get plenty of opportunity to work outside of DC's affluent population. Plus, Gtown Med School is dedicated to serving the underserved and thus provide many chances to do so.
 
I agree to go with which one you feel you found to be the most confortable environment for you.

Having had some experience at both schools now, I can honestly say I like GW a lot better. But some people really like Gtown, so it depends on the person. They are both about the same price, are located only about 15-20 city blocks apart (though Gtown med is a little more isolated), and you would probably get a quality education at either.

Gtown seems more competitive amongst the students, and the school seems to encourage this by grading on a curve. There is also less diversity in the class than at GW, for whatever that is worth. Gtown's board scores do tend to be a bit higher than GW's. I've heard Georgetown has good connections for matching into surgery (esp. ortho), so that's something to consider if you want to do surgery. Georgetown University as a whole also probably has the better "name", at least among lay people. The schools itself, as you probably noticed, is in a very residential area that is not near the metro (Gtown does provide shuttles to the metro, but it is still inconvenient).

GW seems like the "friendlier" of the two schools, and there is a lot of emphasis on good clinical training. They also have a variety of summer opportunities available for students to participate in between 1st and 2nd years. Overall, I just think GW focuses more on making sure their students succeed vs. Gtown where it's more of a sink or swim vibe (at least I thought so during my year there in the SMP). GW also feels much more a part of DC because it is on the metro.

edit: Just wanted to add that an option for your "track" at GW (which are optional, about 50% of students do one) is community medicine, and GW definitely has connections in places that work to help the underserved community. Furthermore, 1st and 2nd year students also do a community service day each year that specifically involves working at a needy site in DC.
 
Thanks for the insight, especially tacrum43, it's really helpful in making a decision. I do like Georgetown's philosophy and their emphasis on service, and it's the school that I've heard more about, but I was pretty put off by their interview day, because it seemed to be less of a nurturing environment for students than I've seen at other schools. And I'm interested in community health, so GW's tracking system seems like something I would be interested in. Thanks again!
 
They take most members of congress to GWU when they're sick. Maybe you'll be able to save Dick Cheney's live someday in the future. As much as we all love him... he has some pretty bad heart problems. :( If you're interested in politics at all, you might enjoy that.

Not a good reason to pick GWU over Georgetown, just something to think about.
 
Thanks for the insight, especially tacrum43, it's really helpful in making a decision. I do like Georgetown's philosophy and their emphasis on service, and it's the school that I've heard more about, but I was pretty put off by their interview day, because it seemed to be less of a nurturing environment for students than I've seen at other schools. And I'm interested in community health, so GW's tracking system seems like something I would be interested in. Thanks again!

To back up tacrum's statements, I know that Georgetown's med students are at least more diverse than its undergrad, but GW would definitely win on any count.

I've heard from some (okay, two) former SMP students that the Georgetown M1s share half their classes with the 100 or so SMP students plus about 50 more from some other program. So if you care, your lecture classes are going to be enormous, and they don't really tell you that up front.

And it's not just Dick Cheney...there's a reason why all the VIPs go to GW and not Georgetown for emergency care. Still, that match list and the reputation are hard to beat. I'd pick GW, but I know plenty of people who'd think you were crazy to turn down Georgetown.
 
Thanks for the insight, especially tacrum43, it's really helpful in making a decision. I do like Georgetown's philosophy and their emphasis on service, and it's the school that I've heard more about, but I was pretty put off by their interview day, because it seemed to be less of a nurturing environment for students than I've seen at other schools. And I'm interested in community health, so GW's tracking system seems like something I would be interested in. Thanks again!

BINGO! Watch out for the less-than-true Jesuit missions! The philosophy of the school and its student body didn't seem to match well to me either...

If you didn't get a good feeling, why would you want to be there for 4 years? But I would visit them again, sit in on a class or something, and then just follow your gut.
 
So ask this to yourself. What are the important things for you and rank them and see which school matches better.

GW is nice and convenient. I sometimes go to GW library to study since it is so close from where I live. The metro stops directly underneath the hospital so that is a big plus if you consider living outside the city.

Also make decisions for the long term. You are likely to be on campus for the first two years in classrooms, then you will be rotating all over DC and VA hospitals, so classroom fanciness does not matter much.

Like someone else has said, if you are looking for surgical specialty I do highly recommend GT. Especially ortho. Apparently, GT matches over 20 to ortho residency placements, and that says a lot.

Some say that GT grading system on a curve causes stress compared to P/F system in other schools. You are fooling yourself if you think that there is no ranking within P/F system. A lot of students do not know this and it's too late when they realize that they are ranked bottom quarter of their class thinking that if you get all P's you are on par with everyone in your class. It is just an illusion.

To sum up

1. GW has better facilities and better surroundings, access to metro is a big plus
2. GT has better name recognition & residency placements
3. GT has higher average USMLE score
4. GW is more diverse and has more dinero.
5. GT you have to share many classes with SMP students. To some this is bothersome. This is only for the first year.
6. Both schools are expensive (very)

Anyhow, I suggest to you that you make your decision on a long term basis and which school provides more support for your educational goals.

Hope this helps.
 
Does anyone have a feel for which one would be better for hematology/oncology? What's the general take on the Lombardi Cancer Center? Training for clinical research? I know GW has the research track as part of its curriculum and I'm not seeing a comparable sort of thing in GT's website/literature.

Thanks
 
Well, I meant to refer to the White House, which is four blocks away, technically. And as long as we're splitting hairs, its actually only 2.8 miles from the capitol, by car. Shorter by helicopter or secret underground tunnel.

Either way, its much closer than GT.

And either way, it is certainly a very good school and hospital.

:D


if by three blocks you mean 3 miles, sure.
 
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