MCW vs. GW

[desibhai]

Looking for some advice....

I'm trying to decide if I should go to a upcoming GW interview after being accepted to MCW. I'm trying to save money and from what I saw and heard, MCW seems like a solid program. Also, some med students have told me that if possible, its better to go to a ranked school (MCW) versus a non ranked school (GW). And I haven't heard much about GW's program. But I feel maybe I should at least go to the GW interview and see for myself. Any thoughts or advice??

thanks

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[AyCaramba]

Looking for some advice....

I'm trying to decide if I should go to a upcoming GW interview after being accepted to MCW. I'm trying to save money and from what I saw and heard, MCW seems like a solid program. Also, some med students have told me that if possible, its better to go to a ranked school (MCW) versus a non ranked school (GW). And I haven't heard much about GW's program. But I feel maybe I should at least go to the GW interview and see for myself. Any thoughts or advice??

thanks

I have interviewed at both of these schools, and both were very nice. I like MCW better, personally. If I were you (and money was no obstacle), I would go to GW anyways because location-wise, it is VERY different from MCW. It's also a different type of school that is focused more on public health, whereas MCW seems more interested in biomedical research (hence the fact it is ranked by USNews in research and GW is not).

GW and MCW have some things in common in terms of curriculum, in that GW has "tracks" and MCW has "pathways." These two programs are, in my estimation, almost exactly the same. They have the same basic categories and seem to execute them in very similar ways. GW's tracks are more established, as MCW's pathways are pretty new, but they're essentially the same idea.

MCW has the edge in my mind because it has made/is making some major changes to its curriculum that will introduce more integration between basic science/clinical experience and integration between disciplines. GW's curriculum is very much a traditional curriculum and is very heavy on lecture (9-5 lecture most days if I recall correctly). Depends on what you like, I suppose.

As I alluded to above, MCW has more research, period. A couple days ago, I was looking over the NIH numbers (I realize there are other funders of biomedical research, but it's a good benchmark nonetheless) for the past few years, and it's not even close. I do think that GW does a good job taking advantage of the various opportunities in DC though, and that could be a huge factor for you, depending on what you want.

Anyways, if I were you I would go to GW to see it.

 

[desibhai]

that was very helpful. thanks.

 

[JJMrK]

I'm normally a fan of cutting your interview losses if you're in at a program you're happy with. In this case, though, since you've only been to the one school (and hopefully haven't spent TOO much money), it doesn't hurt to see what's out there. Interviews are kind of fun, if you only have to do a couple of them.

EDIT: I guess you didn't specifically say you've only been to the one interview, my bad. If you feel like you've seen enough schools to know that MCW is a good fit for you, so be it. If not, go check out GW even if it's just to compare the places.

 

[desibhai]

I've been to a few interviews so I kinda have an idea of what it entails. Although, it would have interesting and fun to go check out GW, I decided to skip it and save some money. Hopefully it was the right decision.

 

[superira]

I've been to a few interviews so I kinda have an idea of what it entails. Although, it would have interesting and fun to go check out GW, I decided to skip it and save some money. Hopefully it was the right decision.

I interviewed at GW and I was not impressed. The building are old. In my opinion, MCW wins by a long shot.

 

[alibai3ah]

I interviewed at GW and I was not impressed. The building are old. In my opinion, MCW wins by a long shot.

MCW may be more reputable, but GW's location seems far more appealing that Wisconsin. I think you might see a more diverse patient population in DC as well. I would check it out.

 

[SN2ed]

MCW may be more reputable, but GW's location seems far more appealing that Wisconsin. I think you might see a more diverse patient population in DC as well. I would check it out.

I think both cities are fairly diverse. I remember looking up information on Milwaukee and being surprised. There was about 44% whites, 40% blacks, 3.5% asian, and 15% hispanic.