Indiana University vs Wayne State

[mootpoot]

Indiana University - Gary Campus
Pros

• smaller class size (25-30 people)
• rotation sites are not big academic teaching centers, so I would get to work more one-on-one with attendings and get more hands-on experience during rotations, which could help with getting quality recommendations for residency apps
• I would be able to do a "scholarly concentration" in healthcare disparities
• IUSM as a whole has a somewhat louder name in medicine/higher ranking based on what I've heard, for whatever that's worth
• Chicago is 40 minutes away

Cons

• Gary, IN is not a safe place to hang around. I would be commuting into Gary for classes/working with the community, and then leaving to go home. I can find safe places to live in around Gary just fine. Also, I am used to living in cities, not suburban areas. I would rather live in a city area.
• Getting science research in the regional campus may be difficult, and I would have to apply to go to another campus/another institution most likely
• For now, I am interested in IM/IM specialties. The best IM exposure would likely happen at the Indianapolis campus, not in Gary. I may be able to apply to go to Indianapolis for my IM rotation.
• While I am pretty sure that I am not interested in specialties like plastic surgery or orthopedics, I am in that stage where I am still interested in everything and don't want to rule anything out. I wonder if being at a smaller regional campus (while also pursuing a concentration in healthcare disparities that, naturally, has a slight focus on primary care) might make it more difficult for me to pursue a specialty like one of these in the future.
• Even though I thrive academically in smaller settings, I would also like to meet new people and make friends. I'm not sure that being at this regional campus will allow me to meet as many new people as I would like. I worry I will socially stagnate. I'm not sure how important this is, however, as my main goal in medical school is still to get a medical education--not socialize.

Wayne State
Pros

• I prefer living in a city, and Detroit is safer than Gary overall. There are far more people to meet and make friends with, and a lot more things to do.
• The school is connected with big academic teaching hospitals, so I would likely get to see a lot in my rotations and get lots of exposure.
• Along these lines, I don't worry about the breadth of opportunities around me. If I wanted to pursue a very particular specialty, I would be able to reach out and find opportunities--at least as much as any other medical student at WSUSOM, as there is only one campus.
• Having 250+ classmates means lots of opportunities to find my people

Cons

• Being at a big, academic teaching hospitals means I'll be trained by residents a lot of the time. This has its benefits, as it may be less intimidating, but I think I would rather get more time with attending physicians to develop relationships that can be used for residency apps.
• Not a HUGE con, but it will be about 10k more a year for me (I'm OOS for both schools, all loans)
• Not quite as big of a name in medicine/not as well known outside of Michigan, compared to IUSM
• Having 250+ classmates means I could get lost in the crowd

Summary:
The main points I am struggling with are:

• Whether I should go for smaller hospitals or big academic teaching hospitals (e.g., is it more important to get face-time with attendings in a smaller setting? or to see more "stuff" at bigger hospitals like those around WSUSOM? Of course, as a student IUSM, I still have access to many of the same resources as students at the main campus, I just need to go through some extra steps at times.)
• Whether it is more important to have a small group of close classmates or to have hundreds of classmates/an entire city of people to make friends with. This is mostly a question for me. I worry I will not connect with anyone in my small cohort at IUSM, although I've never had such problems before.
• Any overall opinions of these schools that people have to share? Do these schools have a significant difference in their "name impact factor"? I might not want to stay in the Midwest after medical school.

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[MCATSCRUBS]

I would say IU. I had the option of deciding between IU med and another school, but I choose the other school cuz I wanted to live in Chicago lol even though I live 15 min away from the Indy campus(my placement). You can transfer to IU indy campus for your 3rd and 4th year if you want, so that would provide you with more access to research. One of my friends is at the Gary Campus and he likes it a lot. He was initially worried about safety just as you are, but he hasn't had any issues in regards to safety when he is going to class or going home. You learn the same thing and are tested the same across all 9 campuses, the only difference is maybe the research, but again, you can transfer to the indy campus for 3rd and 4th year.

 

[mootpoot]

I would say IU. I had the option of deciding between IU med and another school, but I choose the other school cuz I wanted to live in Chicago lol even though I live 15 min away from the Indy campus(my placement). You can transfer to IU indy campus for your 3rd and 4th year if you want, so that would provide you with more access to research. One of my friends is at the Gary Campus and he likes it a lot. He was initially worried about safety just as you are, but he hasn't had any issues in regards to safety when he is going to class or going home. You learn the same thing and are tested the same across all 9 campuses, the only difference is maybe the research, but again, you can transfer to the indy campus for 3rd and 4th year.

I’d actually commit to all four years in Gary, as I’d be doing the Urban Medicine Program. I didn’t include that in the original post. I’m glad to hear your friend has enjoyed his time there. I think I’ll have a good time there as well. I just worry slightly about access to things like research, as you mentioned.

 

[MCATSCRUBS]

I’d actually commit to all four years in Gary, as I’d be doing the Urban Medicine Program. I didn’t include that in the original post. I’m glad to hear your friend has enjoyed his time there. I think I’ll have a good time there as well. I just worry slightly about access to things like research, as you mentioned.

Oh, understandable. Research might be hard to come by, but you shook be fine considering you will have access to professors/physicians that would be willing to connect you with others in the IU network. Your pros for IU outweigh the Pros for Wayne State, so I would say go with IU.

 

[chilly_md]

The pros aren’t worth much for IU. You should have experience at an academic teaching hospital actually, since that’s where many residencies are at.

There is no difference between the names of the schools. If you don’t like Gary, don’t roll the dice with it.