Help please! MCW vs. Toledo

[CSnowFoxD]

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Alright, so it's the Medical College of Wisconsin vs. University of Toledo COM for me. I really need some help comparing the two schools...

Curriculum:
Actually the only thing that matters about curriculum to me is if they have recorded lectures and not too much PBL (which UT and MCW both don't really have, yay) and both interviews were so far back I'm not sure if either has recorded lectures...I know UT gives everyone a packet of notes for all the lectures. Anyone have info on recorded lectures for either school?

Both schools seem chill about away rotations 4th year, and both have basically ABCD grading. MCW has class 8-5 most of the time, but I can't find that info for Toledo.

Weather:
They're both in the midwest and I wiki'ed the weather of these two places and they seem really similar. Does anyone who's lived in either Milwaukee area or around Toledo have anything to add about this? (Yes I'm a spoiled brat from CA who doesn't know how to deal with snow ) I wonder if you can find Asian food in Toledo...=x

People:
This is pretty important to me. So I interviewed at UT back in October, and I wish I wasn't as fuzzy about everything, but I have this gut feeling that everyone at Toledo is super nice (kinda like a small town nice feel) and MCW was more of...just okay. This is really subjective, but I got a little turned off by everyone talking about bars and beer. I guess I'm more of a wine person 😛.

Research/Clinical rotations/Facilities:
I like (bench) research. 👍 But I don't think it's too hard finding research as a med student, so I guess both are fine in this matter.
Everything at MCW is more tech-y and new and in general nicer. Does this matter much?? Does Toledo have standardized patients and rooms where they record you do patient exams?

Also, rotations at Toledo is mostly at UTMC and ...Ruppert? and MCW is mainly the Froedert, Children's and VA?

Board Scores/Match lists:
MCW has around 224 average Step I? What about UT?


Oh my gosh, as much as I'm glad to have this decision to make, this is insanely hard! I'd appreciate any input so very much. 😱😱😱

 

[talbo]

i dont know much about either but i think mcw reputation is better than toledo, not trying to offend anyone here, but that's what it seems like. mcw has a relatively new dean i think who is tryin to improve the school.

what is the cost difference do you know? n i dont really know this but getting IS tuition at Toledo requires you to become a ohio resident? I dont know this either but does becoming an ohio resident decrease your chances at matching bak to CA since it makes more sense for resident directors to choose ppl who eventually wanna practice in the state or in the local area.

However it seems like you are leaning towards UT. Are you into research, it seems like MCW offers more in that area.

Also, match list is more on the individual than on the school so that shouldnt be a factor.

Good luck on your decision, it's great to have choices, go with your gut feeling is what most ppl say given that the $$ is not that different and everything else similar.

 

[sunset823]

Don't know a lot about either school specifically, but as a Midwest lifer I know quite a bit about the cities, and as a spoiled Californian (haha), by far your better bet is MCW. Toledo is dead; and this is from someone who lived in nearby Cleveland most of her life. There's not much to do around there. By contrast, Milwaukee is a relatively large city, with its amenities (including Asian food), and though I've not been there, nearby Madison is supposed to be a fun, happening place.

Also, from what I've seen, MCW has a slightly better reputation than Toledo, and is actually famous for its children's hospital.

Definitely go MCW.

 

[sunset823]

Don't know a lot about either school specifically, but as a Midwest lifer I know quite a bit about the cities, and as a spoiled Californian (haha), by far your better bet is MCW. Toledo is dead; and this is from someone who lived in nearby Cleveland most of her life. There's not much to do around there. By contrast, Milwaukee is a relatively large city, with its amenities (including Asian food), and though I've not been there, nearby Madison is supposed to be a fun, happening place.

Also, from what I've seen, MCW has a slightly better reputation than Toledo, and is actually famous for its children's hospital.

Definitely go MCW.

 

[sunset823]

woah, sorry, something wrong with my browser, don't know how to get rid of duplicate posting but if a mod can do that, that would be great

and to do something productive with this edit, here's MCW's 2008 match list (wasn't that hard to find) - quite a few people match out in Cali - in Toledo, since by far the most people are from Ohio or Michigan (possibly Indiana), most will match in that area as well
http://www.mcw.edu/FileLibrary/User/pconfer/medschool/2008matchappts.pdf

 

[CSnowFoxD]

Hmm, yeah the difference in tuition isn't substantial enough to sway me either way. MCW is around 220k for four years, and Toledo would be...210k. Wow, 10k difference.

The losing CA residency thing doesn't really bother me if I go to Toledo--I'm pretty sure if I really wanted to come back to CA for a residency that other factors would play a bigger role.

Oh, and thanks so much for the matchlist! Now I won't feel like it's being hidden or something, hehe.

Thanks Talbo and Sunset for you guys' responses! 👍 Anyone else with anything to say would be more than welcome! Time to edit the first post a little...

 

[Ashers]

Recent MCW grad here (Ashers MD...hehe)

I know nothing about Toledo except that I drove through there 4 times and spent the night there once.

Alright, so it's the Medical College of Wisconsin vs. University of Toledo COM for me. I really need some help comparing the two schools...

Curriculum:
Actually the only thing that matters about curriculum to me is if they have recorded lectures and not too much PBL (which UT and MCW both don't really have, yay) and both interviews were so far back I'm not sure if either has recorded lectures...I know UT gives everyone a packet of notes for all the lectures. Anyone have info on recorded lectures for either school?

Both schools seem chill about away rotations 4th year, and both have basically ABCD grading. MCW has class 8-5 most of the time, but I can't find that info for Toledo.

MCW's schedule is not 8-5 except for 1st semester. The schedule online give ALL possibilities. The class is broken into 2 halves for some classes (Interviewing, Psych PBL, Epidemiology), so you don't do all the classes shown, you only do 1 set of those.

For other semesters, there are occasionally some labs that go later, like CTB (Cell Tissue Bio) M1 year, but I never went to those, I chose to do that lab from home on my own time. M2 year, typically you're done by 1pm.

*Edit: The lectures are all on mp3s online.

Weather:
They're both in the midwest and I wiki'ed the weather of these two places and they seem really similar. Does anyone who's lived in either Milwaukee area or around Toledo have anything to add about this? (Yes I'm a spoiled brat from CA who doesn't know how to deal with snow ) I wonder if you can find Asian food in Toledo...=x

It's cold here. I'm a spoiled Southern California/Hawai'i brat, and I survived 4 years. I have 4 to go. Dress warm.

Ohio will be warmer since it's more south. *Edit: Compared to Milwaukee.

People:
This is pretty important to me. So I interviewed at UT back in October, and I wish I wasn't as fuzzy about everything, but I have this gut feeling that everyone at Toledo is super nice (kinda like a small town nice feel) and MCW was more of...just okay. This is really subjective, but I got a little turned off by everyone talking about bars and beer. I guess I'm more of a wine person 😛.

One of the reasons why I came to MCW was because everyone was so nice. Of course with 200 people there will be some tools, but you'll find a good group of people, and I was struck by how friendly people in Milwaukee are (in general).

Research/Clinical rotations/Facilities:
I like (bench) research. 👍 But I don't think it's too hard finding research as a med student, so I guess both are fine in this matter.
Everything at MCW is more tech-y and new and in general nicer. Does this matter much?? Does Toledo have standardized patients and rooms where they record you do patient exams?

Also, rotations at Toledo is mostly at UTMC and ...Ruppert? and MCW is mainly the Froedert, Children's and VA?

MCW has a wide choice to go to.
Froedtert, CHW, VA -- I only had 1 month at the VA thank goodness.

The good months are the private months:
St. Joe's, St. Luke's, St. Mary's, Community Memorial (more have been added) -- these are the private hospitals associated with the school.

Board Scores/Match lists:
MCW has around 224 average Step I? What about UT?


Oh my gosh, as much as I'm glad to have this decision to make, this is insanely hard! I'd appreciate any input so very much. 😱😱😱

I posted the MCW in the 2009 Match List thread.

 

[DrBrizzle]

Well, I can definitely attest to U of T having super nice students there- during my interview, I had like 3 or 4 students just walk right into the room and ask how everyone was doing and if they could help with questions or anything; in the personal regard, I got a great vibe from U of T. I didnt interview at MCW, so I can compare, but they were far and out the nicest group of students Ive seen at interviews; I really liked my time at U of T. Hope this helps!

 

[Depakote]

Alright, so it's the Medical College of Wisconsin vs. University of Toledo COM for me. I really need some help comparing the two schools...

Curriculum:
Actually the only thing that matters about curriculum to me is if they have recorded lectures and not too much PBL (which UT and MCW both don't really have, yay) and both interviews were so far back I'm not sure if either has recorded lectures...I know UT gives everyone a packet of notes for all the lectures. Anyone have info on recorded lectures for either school?

Toledo does audio record lectures. They're posted online that day.

Both schools seem chill about away rotations 4th year, and both have basically ABCD grading. MCW has class 8-5 most of the time, but I can't find that info for Toledo.

Toledo has a Honors (90%+), High Pass (80-89%), Pass (70-79%), Fail (below 70%) grading System. No curve. EDIT: adding info, class generally runs 8-12 with labs or a lecture a few days a week. You're usually out by 3.

Weather:
They're both in the midwest and I wiki'ed the weather of these two places and they seem really similar. Does anyone who's lived in either Milwaukee area or around Toledo have anything to add about this? (Yes I'm a spoiled brat from CA who doesn't know how to deal with snow ) I wonder if you can find Asian food in Toledo...=x

The weather does get pretty cold in winter, lots of ice/snow. I do know of a few good places (by my standards, anyway) for Thai and Sushi in Toledo.

People:
This is pretty important to me. So I interviewed at UT back in October, and I wish I wasn't as fuzzy about everything, but I have this gut feeling that everyone at Toledo is super nice (kinda like a small town nice feel) and MCW was more of...just okay. This is really subjective, but I got a little turned off by everyone talking about bars and beer. I guess I'm more of a wine person 😛.

I think the environment at Toledo is very supportive, both students and faculty.

Research/Clinical rotations/Facilities:
I like (bench) research. 👍 But I don't think it's too hard finding research as a med student, so I guess both are fine in this matter.
Everything at MCW is more tech-y and new and in general nicer. Does this matter much?? Does Toledo have standardized patients and rooms where they record you do patient exams?

Toledo does have standardized patients and there are a lot of research opportunities after your M1 year. I'm not too sure about the specifics for bench research since I mainly explored clinical opportunities, but I do know some people that did it.

Also, rotations at Toledo is mostly at UTMC and ...Ruppert? and MCW is mainly the Froedert, Children's and VA?

Affiliated hospitals include: Toledo Hospital, St. Vincent, UTMC... There's also St. Joseph's in Ann Arbor and Riverside in Columbus which you can request. You also do 8 (or more if requested, which many do) weeks of AHEC experiences with affiliated hospitals in smaller communities. These include Lima, Defiance and a few other places. The advantages of those are that you get more hands on experience, just you and the attending. I'll probably be doing most of my surgery, OB and family medicine rotations as AHECs to get more hands on experience.

Board Scores/Match lists:
MCW has around 224 average Step I? What about UT?

I honestly don't know the average. I can tell you I feel very well prepared for when I take the test in just over a month.

Oh my gosh, as much as I'm glad to have this decision to make, this is insanely hard! I'd appreciate any input so very much. 😱😱😱

Been studying most of the day... sorry if my answers are a little brief. Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions.

 

[CSnowFoxD]

Wow, thank you Ashers, DrB, Depakote (especially while studying for Step I!), I really really appreciate it you guys. 🙂

Man, after thinking about this for a few days it still seems like there is no outstanding factor to sway me either way...I hope my decision won't be based on something as stupid as flying to Milwaukee is more convenient than flying to Toledo from CA, but if something doesn't come up that would distinguish the two schools in my mind in the next week I'd have to decide based on that...pretty scary!

Anyway I think the questions I can think of have all been answered, but if anyone else has anything to add that'd be really awesome. Mucho thanks!

 

[Davydude7]

I think you should consider the fact that I am on the alternate list at Toledo. That should be the deciding factor for you to pick Wisconsin and open up a spot for me. 😉

 

[CSnowFoxD]

lol, I'll keep that in mind.