Iowa vs Wayne State University

[Dr.Ibanez]

Hello,


If you have to choose between Iowa and Wayne State, what would you pick and why?
I am a Michigan resident that has been admitted to Iowa for some time now, but last week I got acceptance letter from my undergraduate institution, i.e. Wayne State. Iowa has pretty hefty price for out-of-state students, plus you have to remain out of state for four years. Now that I got accepted to Wayne State ( the only medical school in Detroit) I have some serious doubts about going to Iowa. I know that the first two years at Wayne are probably not going to match the quality of Iowa but clinical exposure in metropolitan area with 5 milion people should compensate for that. What do you guys think?

Any input is greatly appreciated

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[kkrew417]

i think that there is a tremendous advantage to having a smaller class size, at Iowa. from friends at wayne, i've heard the bigger class size makes it more competitive and probably not as friendly a learning environment. in your case, you have been to wayne for four years, a change of scenery couldnt hurt, it would at least give you a different outlook and experience. i lived in michigan my whole life and finally got a chance to come to washington for med school and its been such a great experience. besides, detroit doesnt even have 1 million people, dont know where you heard of 5 million from.

i dont think money should matter when picking a school just because all doctors will make money, and i've never heard one say that they didnt go to a certain school because of the loans. go for quality of education rather than price.
let us know how it goes

good luck

 

[kkrew417]

you should search for iowa as well.....i just did and saw a lot of good things about them i never knew.....sounds like an impressive school with an outstanding reputation

 

[jofrbr76]

I don't know much about Iowa other than it's stellar reputation.

As for Wayne state, i was torn between them and Loyola. So i had similar qualms about paying higher tuition, etc. for a similar medical education.

In the end, i just wasn't excited about wayne like i was about Loyola. I picked a pricey school over a solid, cheaper state school.

I had many reasons, pm me if you want them. But...

Remember that quality of education for years one and two is important because it can greatly influence your performance on boards. Years 3 and 4 at wayne will be excellent, but how do you feel about the MS1 and 2 curriculum?

Wayne is somewhat competitive because you have 270 in the class and people are trying to stand out, of course that's probably at every school.

Where can you see yourself? Which place seems to have more satisfied students?

Good luck, and remember, you will be a great doctor wherever your choose to get your education.

Joe

 

[mws99]

I chose Case Western over Wayne State and I'm also a Michigan resident. I am willing to pay more money for a school I am excited about attending instead of a school I would be just happy to attend.

I think it is good to get away and try something new, so I think you should go to Iowa. It has a much better national reputation than Wayne, and that will only help you in the future. Also you have to consider the trouble the DMC is in right now. It is hard to say how that will affect Wayne, but the likely closing of at least one hospital can't be good. And with the financial problems, who knows if Wayne will have a substantial tuition hike for next year. But if you know for sure you want to stay in Michigan or don't want a super competitive specialty, then just go to Wayne to save the money.

 

[Laura JC]

The most likely effect of the DMC issue is that more students will have to do rotations in the suburbs instead of so many in downtown Detroit.
As far as Wayne State goes, I really like it there. I don't understand the theory that it must be a more competitive atmosphere because the class size is 250. I have not found that to be the case. The only thing along those lines I have noticed is a bit of frustration in the Year One class, because there is a certain percentage of students who did a post-bacc guaranteed acceptance program, where they spent a year taking a lot of the Year One curriculum before they matriculated to medical school. This does tend to skew the exam curve during Year One. But I know that happens at a lot of schools. Other than that, I really haven't felt any negatives. We all attend lecture together and small groups get formed, and we feel like we're in it together, just like any other school.

 

[Woots32]

I'm gonna be a Hawkeye! (That should seal your decision right there. 😉 )

Seriously, Iowa is a great school. I chose it over Loyola, Case Western, MCW, and UIC, even though I'm from Illinois. It has an excellent reputation, the facilities are amazing, everyone seemed really friendly, and the town has a lot going for it.

😀