MCG vs Loyola Stritch vs Wayne State

[espressodestresso]

Medical College of Georgia
Pros

• In-State tuition (COA ~ 69,000) Cheapest of the three options
• 1.5 yr preclinical is big, seems to be a major perk
• Seems to have the best match list in regard to competitive specialties
• Supportive environment, collaborative feel among the students. Nice new-ish buildings.

Cons

• Augusta; not an ideal place as I have lived in major cities for most of my life and I enjoy that type of environment
• Lottery system for clinical years, could end up in rural GA which would not be my cup of tea
• Could be less older students/nontrads, but hard to tell.

Loyola Stritch
Pros

• Near Chicago, one of my favorite cities in the country
• Think I fit in with the student body more as a non-traditional/older student
• School is directly attached to hospital, good clinical exposure
• Nice people at every step of the way

Cons

• COA ~ 83,000
• Lower ranked? idk, but of the three it seems to be less highly regarded. Could be wrong about that!
• Sometimes disorganized feeling? Could just be an admissions thing but idk, something to think about.

Wayne State
Pros

• In Detroit, actually in the city which I appreciate. Detroit seems like a great place to train
• Alumni network seems very strong, able to build connections and mentorship fairly easy

Cons

• COA ~ 83,000 (same as Loyola)
• Largest class size at around 300
• Seemed to be slightly disorganized at times from what I have heard

Summary: I am undecided on a specialty, but I want to go to a program that is supportive in pursuing a competitive field if it comes down to that. I am trying to balance prioritizing the "best" school and a nice location. MCG seems like the best school mostly because of shortened preclinical, but I would prefer Loyola's location. They are all pass/fail preclinical with internal rank, no mandatory classes. Thank you all for your help!!

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[BenzeneToluene]

Disclaimer: Current M2 at Wayne. Was a GA applicant last cycle, but didn’t apply to MCG

Congrats on your cycle! Honestly, unless living in Augusta is a major dealbreaker, or you really like Detroit, I would probably go to MCG. Similar to MCG, we also don’t have many non-trads honestly. I like Wayne a lot, but I’m not sure if the extra money in COA is really worth it. I did wanna mention that we are 1.5 pre-clinical though, just like MCG!

I also wanted to mention that I honestly wouldn’t worry much about “prestige” when comparing these three schools either, since IMO they are all basically of the same caliber. I will say that regional bias is a major thing though come matching time. If you want to match back into the SE, MCG will probably set you up better for that than Wayne or Loyola, which will both be more Midwest focused.

You can’t go wrong with any of these, but I would focus on cost, vibes of the schools, and where you want to match when making a final choice!