Is there any appreciable difference between UMich and WashU?

[elias514]

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I was recently offered an interview at WashU, but I'm not sure that the hassle of interviewing there is worth it. I've already been accepted to UMich, a school that I would love to attend. In addition, it would be a royal pain in the ass for me to fly out to St. Louis. I work the day before and the day after the scheduled interview, which means that (assuming that I work these days) I would have to fly out the night before the interview and return the day of the interview. And get this: my interview day ends at 3 PM, and the only flight I could catch with a reasonable airfare leaves at 4:30 PM. I could probably find a different flight arrangement, but the cost would be prohibitive (over 500 bucks).

So, is it worth it for me to not go to work for 1-2 days, in order to get a decent flight arrangement (which means that I forego $200 in income), AND pay over $400 in airfare to interview at WashU, when I already have an acceptance to UMich? I know that WashU is a top-five school, but is there a significant difference between it and UMich--a difference that justifies a major inconvenience in my life? What do you all think? Any advice would be great.

BTW: I'm damn near broke, so I desperately need money.

 

[exmike]

no

 

[No Egrets]

i don't know how to answer your question (you seem really content w/ michigan and if you're not willing to spend like a few hundred bucks to interview at wash u then why would you spend 200,000 actually attending the school?)... but just for your info, when i interviewed at wash u there were other interviewees there who already had acceptances at Michigan. so at least some other people did believe it was worthwhile to interview in st. louis in your situation. good luck, you can't go wrong.

 

[crescent fresh]

personally i would choose michigan over wash u, so i wouldn't go!

 

[Jalby]

Sure seems like you already made you mind up. I'd say go if possible. You could love the school and/or get a scholarship. And I'm sure they could move your interview date if you really asked them to.

 

[meltmyfaceoff]

it sounds like too much of a hassle for you to do that if you already have an acceptance to a great school and you'd be doing this sorta just for the hell of it, but if you do go, i already told them i'd sub for you on tuesday.

 

[jlee9531]

umich or washu?

umich. congratulations.

 

[PianoGirl04]

They're both excellent schools, and you can't go wrong either way. However, I didn't apply to UMich, so most of what I have to say pertains to WashU.

If you want to go into research or academic medicine, you should definitely go to the WashU interview if you can, since WashU is tied with JHU for the #2 research ranking. And although it doesn't have much name recognition outside of medicine, the name will carry a lot of weight for residency match in the future. Also, when I interviewed there, I got the impression that WashU really cares about its students, and the students seem very enthusiastic and happy about the school. The only negative things I picked up on were its location in the mid-West (obviously not an issue for everyone, but I love the Northeast) and the price (but there is a ton of financial aid, including merit scholarships).

I think even if you're not into research and academic medicine, it's worth the interview. Just my 2 cents' worth.

 

[priscy921]

i turned down my michigan interview waaaayyyy before i received my wash u acceptance and i'm still happy that i didn't fly to ann arbor. if you're out of state, then michigan will cost the same if not more than wash u, and wash u has tons of scholarships, the hospitals are amazing and the weather is sooo much better, i'm from california, so as far as weather goes, i felt that between wash u and michigan, wash u was the lesser of two evils 🙂 either way though, you'll be picking a great school.

 

[hypersting]

Define difference..... If you are hung up on a prestige issue, you are committing the same fallacy that most premeds do. Most medical schools will give you a good education. Having said that, prestige matters to some degree, but when the difference in "rank" is so small, the difference in prestige is neglible and certainly your performance will matter much more in the long run anyway. To quantify the statement from US News.

Washington University in St. Louis 97 4.6 4.5
University of Michigan?Ann Arbor 89 4.4 4.4

Thats overall score, peer assesment, residency director assesment.

Therefore, I think your main concern should be other issues, such as cost, location, where you want to settle, since you have best chance matching in the same hospital, etc. However, it seems to me you have already made up your mind. If you really liked Wash U, those inconveniences you mentioned wouldn't be so inconvenient. Just my take. Good luck.

 

[Gleevec]

elias, what state do you have residency for? If Michigan (for some reason I thought you were TX resident, but I could be wrong) then DEFINITELY go to UM.

If not in-state for Michigan, I would definitely advise interviewing at WashU. I interviewed at both places and they do have distinct advantages and disadvantages that you can really only see if you go to them yourself. Its better to blow a couple hundred now and know for sure that you didnt want to go there than have to deal with the "what if" in the back of your mind.

Id definitely check it out, the schools are quite different, and depending on your personal preference you might prefer one school over the other. But there is no way to know unless you check it out.

 

[morecowbell]

why did you write a letter of intent to michigan?

 

[Newquagmire]

Originally posted by Gleevec
elias, what state do you have residency for? If Michigan (for some reason I thought you were TX resident, but I could be wrong) then DEFINITELY go to UM.

If not in-state for Michigan, I would definitely advise interviewing at WashU. I interviewed at both places and they do have distinct advantages and disadvantages that you can really only see if you go to them yourself. Its better to blow a couple hundred now and know for sure that you didnt want to go there than have to deal with the "what if" in the back of your mind.

Id definitely check it out, the schools are quite different, and depending on your personal preference you might prefer one school over the other. But there is no way to know unless you check it out.

Agreed. A2 is a college town. St Louis is (theoretically) a city. I think a lot of your decision depends on if you think you might actually go to WU over UM. Another factor is your personal lifestyle and what you do for recreation. At this point in the game, you've probably already invested a lot of time and money, so another few $ and hours isn't going to be a major setback...

 

[Xega]

I was pretty sure that Mich was my first choice, but when I went to WashU I was fairly impressed. SO if you are out of state for Mich, I would go and check out WashU, plus they seem to offer a lot of scholarship money.