Hofstra ZSOM vs University of Illinois (Chicago)

[Sonechko]

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Hi everyone! I am curious about what y'all think about these 2 schools or if anyone attended and has experience with them or maybe if you've realized which of these pros or cons are important as a medical student. I listed my pros and cons and would love any kind of feedback!

Hofstra:
Pros:
- close to home
- great residency match (interested in psych)
- great research
- tight community
- a lot of exposure to specialties and diverse patients

Cons:
- commuting might take 30+ by car in the first 2 years
- COF is expensive
- PEARLS and mandatory morning classes - I feel like this might be challenging for someone who prefers structured classes and worries about it taking up time away from independent study
- don't know much about dedicated study time for STEP 2 --> I think its about 6 weeks, not sure if that is reserved time or will have to have classes during it
- not too strong on global medicine opportunities
- owning and paying for a car and insurance + looking for parking

Neutral:
- primarily in state residency match, not sure if will want to stay in NY for that long?

UIC:
Pros:
- dedicated times for both STEP 1 and 2 and also block exams
- housing walking distance away
- only 3 mandatory classes and all classes are recorded
- multiple choice exams
- very strong scholarly pathway related to global medicine (4 year program)
- good research as well as it is very well established and you can easily shadow physicians and connect with them

Cons:
- farther away from home
- focuses on matching regionally, but I've seen some people match into California and NY
- more expensive than hofstra in terms of tuition and not as likely to give out financial aid

 

[chilly_md]

Moved to School X vs Y.

Depends how much more expensive UIC is. I know they used to charge a very high amount for OOS tuition.

Which Illinois campus is it?

 

[Sonechko]

Moved to School X vs Y.

Depends how much more expensive UIC is. I know they used to charge a very high amount for OOS tuition.

Which Illinois campus is it?

Thank you for commenting here! I was worried I would never get any movement on this thread lol. it's the Chicago campus, which I am really really happy about. I visit the school for an open house (in winter) and liked both the school and Chicago. Tuition is about 80k but I have not received any financial aid response yet and I am hoping to write a letter asking for some merit scholarship if possible (not sure if that will help).

I also feel like with COL and car in NY, loans (tuition and living) will increase to equal out what I'll have to take with Chicago ?

 

[chilly_md]

Thank you for commenting here! I was worried I would never get any movement on this thread lol. it's the Chicago campus, which I am really really happy about. I visit the school for an open house (in winter) and liked both the school and Chicago. Tuition is about 80k but I have not received any financial aid response yet and I am hoping to write a letter asking for some merit scholarship if possible (not sure if that will help).

I also feel like with COL and car in NY, loans (tuition and living) will increase to equal out what I'll have to take with Chicago ?

You are not going to save 20,000 in rent each year. Pre-clinical years will be fine without the car, but it would be up to you if you can manage going elsewhere in Chicago for rotation sites later on. UIC will not be a hindrance to matching CA or NY. If you are going to live at home with family at Hofstra, that can be a big benefit.

 

[Sonechko]

You are not going to save 20,000 in rent each year. Pre-clinical years will be fine without the car, but it would be up to you if you can manage going elsewhere in Chicago for rotation sites later on. UIC will not be a hindrance to matching CA or NY. If you are going to live at home with family at Hofstra, that can be a big benefit.

Thank you for this feedback, I really appreciate it! sadly I won’t be able to live with family of I end up with Hofstra.