last minute help: GW vs UMASS PURCH

[doingthethings]

GW vs UMASS PURCH

pros of GW:
- I am interested in health policy/public health, and this school has a lot of DC connections
- love the DC area
- lots of different hospitals to experience

cons
- not particularly well ranked

pros of UMASS PURCH
- love the premise of the program
- smaller cohort (both a pro and a con)
- higher ranked, esp in primary care

cons
- I am not 100% set on primary care, and would have limited opportunities to other specialities
- small cohort, clinicals are mainly at one hospital

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[peacepro]

GW may not be as highly ranked but it is still highly regarded regionally and nationally. It seems like you are not sure what you want to do in the future, and at GW you will definitely have more resources to expose yourself to different medical settings/specialties. If money is not a factor, I say GW

 

[doingthethings]

cost is exactly the same for both. Thank you for the help! i don't know why this rank thing is bugging so much

 

[LunaOri]

I’d consider class size and vibe in making your decision, because they are very different.

 

[doingthethings]

I don’t think ranking shluld be taken into account here. Splitting hairs and the PD rankings (likely more important than USNWR) have Georgetown at 45 and UMass at 63. Personally, I would choose Georgetown.

Sorry, GWU not georgetown. this might be a dumb question, but would you mind explaining PD rankings? i have the list but not really sure what it means.

 

[JohnJacobJingleheimer]

Sorry, GWU not georgetown. this might be a dumb question, but would you mind explaining PD rankings? i have the list but not really sure what it means.

Oh I’m an idiot and completely misread. I’d still say comparable in terms of prestige but might lean UMass in that case.

The PD rankings are a compilation of responses from program directors of residency programs that get a survey each year. Among other things, they rank schools. Take them with a grain of salt since the response rate is quite atrocious; I think somewhere around 25%, so they may not be entirely representative if the field as a whole. However, they might be more reliable than USNWR, as the PD’s are the ones choosing residents at the end of the day so their opion matters to us.

 

[TheIndianMamba]

UMass is higher ranked, both in research and primary care. Also, you don't have to go into primary care with PURCH, and lots of people match to competitive specialties (4 neurosurgery, 6 ortho, 4 derm, etc just this year). I think there's even an option to opt out of PURCH after matriculation if that's something you wanted to do. Finally, the schools may be the same tuition, but Worcester is way cheaper for housing than DC. I'd go UMass!