Is Saint Louis too dangerous and SLU too catholic?

[MadHopsMD]

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I have already declined interviews at Hawaii and Albany. It was very tough decision....

Now this morning SLU decided to invited me for an interview 😀. But I am again faced with a decision which i so hate to make. Is SLU worth spending money to go and visit?

Postives:
-it's ranked in 65 in research by USnews.
I really dont know of any? NEED help! Is the curriculum awesome? professors?

Negatives:
-Match list didnt impress me that much
-It's in Saint Louis, the most dangerous city in the world . I am a Canadian dont know how to use a gun.
-It's a Catholic School and I am a hardcore atheist. This is a biggy!
-Fees: 39 (not too much difference between UVM (my current top choice))

 

[szhao]

all i got to say is: its the project yo, keeping it real.

 

[honker]

As a grad of SLU, I can tell you that there is no religious indoctrination or other such pressure. 7% of our class was Jewish and had no problems. It is an outstanding place if you want to be well-trained as a clinician. It does not have much appeal to research oriented types. Yes, the school is located in a crappy part of town, but my safety was never endangered. My wife also was a SLU grad and had no problem there. St Louis is a gritty urban area, no doubt, but that is true for a lot of cities in the midwest and east. I remember a med student being murdered by a thug a Johns Hopkins years ago. It seemed to be a very dangerous place, but the reality is that the schools really do try to look out for the safety of its students.

 

[aliendancer84]

I grew up in St. Louis, it's not nearly as bad as people make it out to be. I interviewed (and was accepted🙂 ) at SLU in October, I was concerned with the religious thing too, but most people I talked to said really the only effect it had was making the program more patient centered. They don't force religion on anybody, and the class is diverse religion wise.

 

[jbrice1639]

I have already declined interviews at Hawaii and Albany. It was very tough decision....

Now this morning SLU decided to invited me for an interview 😀. But I am again faced with a decision which i so hate to make. Is SLU worth spending money to go and visit?

Postives:
-it's ranked in 65 in research by USnews.
I really dont know of any? NEED help! Is the curriculum awesome? professors?

Negatives:
-Match list didnt impress me that much
-It's in Saint Louis, the most dangerous city in the world . I am a Canadian dont know how to use a gun.
-It's a Catholic School and I am a hardcore atheist. This is a biggy!
-Fees: 39 (not too much difference between UVM (my current top choice))

if you got into vermont and you're happy with that, then don't waste your money on the interview. as far as the danger level, i'm sure it's far more dangerous than vermont, but as others have said, all urban schools are going to be in less than perfect neighborhoods.

and i can't speak specifically to SLU's philosophy, but my experience at a Catholic medical school is that your religious beliefs (or lack thereof) will not come into play. Loma Linda is the only school where religion is directly part of the admissions process and curriculum - and they are not Catholic.

If you're happy with the acceptance you're holding, though, i wouldn't bother going on interviews you're not excited about.

 

[maestro1625]

hell I went to HS in the sorriest part of Flint, MI... (anyone remember the Flint shooting scene from Bowling for Columbine, that was a block from my HS)...

...no bullet holes in me yet.

 

[MadHopsMD]

hell I went to HS in the sorriest part of Flint, MI... (anyone remember the Flint shooting scene from Bowling for Columbine, that was a block from my HS)...

...no bullet holes in me yet.

hey i was driving along the other day in upstate NEW YORK, and noticed Alibion city. are you from there ? as your sig implies...

 

[notdeadyet]

I find the whole rankings thing irritating enough on SDN when it comes to med schools. When it percolates over to all walks of life it's troubling.

The "most dangerous city" and "murder capital" awards jump around a whole lot. A couple bad three day weekends can more a city up by as many as five slots.

It's all about neighborhoods, anyway. You're much safer in the nice parts of Saint Louis than the bad parts of very safe cities. I wouldn't sweat it much.

 

[Pewl]

SLU is fine. They don't indoctrinate you with anything other than medical science =P

Just pick a good neightborhood to live in and you'll be fine.

 

[maestro1625]

hey i was driving along the other day in upstate NEW YORK, and noticed Alibion city. are you from there ? as your sig implies...

haha, nope... we're basically the drug trafficking stop on I-94 between Chicago and Detroit.

 

[ryandote]

I have already declined interviews at Hawaii and Albany. It was very tough decision....

Now this morning SLU decided to invited me for an interview 😀. But I am again faced with a decision which i so hate to make. Is SLU worth spending money to go and visit?

Postives:
-it's ranked in 65 in research by USnews.
I really dont know of any? NEED help! Is the curriculum awesome? professors?

Negatives:
-Match list didnt impress me that much
-It's in Saint Louis, the most dangerous city in the world . I am a Canadian dont know how to use a gun.
-It's a Catholic School and I am a hardcore atheist. This is a biggy!
-Fees: 39 (not too much difference between UVM (my current top choice))

Dude, just become a republican. You will then, by extension, become ultra-conservative-christian and carry a handgun. (seriously, those things come in the mail along with your "welcome to the GOP" packet.


Kidding, kidding. I agree with the other posters about neighborhoods and rankings and the like. While it doesn't really apply to my current home in Provo, UT (possibly the safest place in the world) I served a mormon mission in Philadelphia. I spent my fair share of time in some rough neighborhoods wearing a suit and tie and explaining to people about repenting from drugs, unmarried sex, and stealing. In most of the rough neighborhoods, you knew which blocks to stay off. The rest were fine.

Good luck with the decision.

 

[DrHuang]

in terms of the curriculum...i think its pretty great

 

[Jinterpol]

Youre canadian? I'm sorry to hear that but in terms of safety, yeah, stl is bad but there are plenty of places to live that are quite safe...the campus itself is fine except at late night...QUOTE]

OKAY, so I've lived in 4 areas:
1). Rural Missouri
2). St. Louis
3). Amsterdam
4). Chicago

Chicago in its rough areas overtakes all in terms of its late night scare factor, which is merely a creep factor in A'dam. True, SLU Hospital could be better situated, but all you have to do is just cross the insterstate to the undergrad campus and you'll be fine. Compared to the southside of chicago or the sketchy parts of the northside...it's nothing. Also...you will need a car in STL or a bicycle. With either of these...you'll be fine b/c you can get away from all that stuff that will scare you in less than 10 minutes either way. Besides...I'd be just as scared crossing some gun-toting Missouran's yard at 2am as I would be walking down Grand Ave. Get a car. You'll be fine.

 

[deleted77919]

but as others have said, all urban schools are going to be in less than perfect neighborhoods.

Not ALL urban schools are in bad neighborhoods. Just look at NYU, it has Bellevue and it's in a great part of the city.

If you're convinced you like Vermont better than you would SLU I would save my money. An interview day is unlikely to change your opinion 180 degrees (45-90 perhaps . . . but not 180).