I've heard that the facilities and library at gtown are terrible and the financial aid office and staff are really bad. A friend of mine who went there told me he has seen better facilities at some of the third world countries he has been to. For the amount of money they charge, this is not acceptable. The school is under a huge amount of debt.
Go to USC and enjoy sunny California.
I would like to echo the sentiments of several others and say that this should really be a decision between USC / Gtown. I have no issues with MCW, but it definitely loses the reputation / opportunity / location battle with either of the aforementioned schools.
Endowment:
Speaking of debt, USC's endowment ($3.5 billion) is considerably larger than Gtown's ($1.1 billion). I know this has little direct impact on individual students, but it can play a role in the long-term financial health & competitiveness of an institution.
Reputation:
I do believe that Gtown and USC are in roughly the same tier of medical schools. The average GPA of accepted students is comparable but USC does have an edge in MCAT scores (34 vs 32). For comparison, MCW usually averages 31. I am very aware that GPA and MCAT scores are indicative of quality, but there certainly is a correlation between those factors and board exam scores.
Both schools are well-known in many fields. I imagine that Gtown will have more regional influence on the East coast and USC on the West. So this depends on where you want to do your rotations, residency, etc. I am a born and raised West (best) coaster, so the choice is obvious for me.
Sports:
Football: USC >> Gtown
Basketball: Gtown >> USC
I am personally a basketball fan, but being in LA will give you many opportunities to watch Lakers and UCLA games. Also, Lakers >> Wizards. For the baseball fans, there are Dodgers and Angels games. For soccer nuts, we have the LA Galaxy.
Location:
To be fair, both DC and LA have their "nice" and "ghetto" neighborhoods. Southeast LA is notoriously shady but DC has the highest prevalence of HIV / AIDS in North America. So pick your poison. IMO, LA offers a rich wealth of cultural diversity and host of recreational activities that is simply unparalleled. DC has its diversity as well, but it's mostly black/white as far as ethnicity goes. Within 15 minutes of USC, you will find large Chinese, African, Korean, Japanese, Mexican, Armenian, Persian, black, and white communities. So LA obviously wins the ethnic food battle. Seriously, you can go to a different restaurant every day for the next four years and not even come close to exploring half of what LA offers. DC does have nice monuments and museums, but unless you're a history buff, they get old quickly. Disneyland is about 35 mins south of USC. LA has nice beaches, to boot.
Oh, and Cali girls >> DC girls
Cost of living:
All things considered, DC and LA are within the same strata of COL. BUT, living on the cheap is more plausible in LA than in DC. How do I know this? I practically grew up in LA. Produce is cheaper, thanks to the wealth of agriculture in the central valley and imports from Mexico / Argentina. Food at most local joints is extremely affordable, as they must cater to the working population rather than lobbyists who treat congress members in DC. There are definitely expensive eats in LA, but it's your call on how you want to live. Costco, IKEA, and Walmart locations are abound in LA. Reasonable housing prices can be found in surrounding neighborhoods.
TL;DR
USC is more reputable than Gtown / MCW. LA has better food and women than DC.
And yes, this review is totally biased.
