MCW vs. UVA vs. USC

[kanzeon]

I've narrowed my choices down to these three and I feel extremely lucky because I know I would be happy at any of these. I honestly enjoyed my experience at MCW the least but my best friend is going into her M2 year there next year and we would live together--which would definitely be a lot of fun. But I feel like I would be being naive choosing a school based simply on that. Here's my pros/cons:

MCW:
+Discovery curriculum (I prefer these "new" PBL/hands-on curriculums)
+Froedert hospital system
+Everyone there was super friendly
+Best friend currently attending
+Cheapest (65K)
-Milwaukee wasn't the nicest place, maybe because it was winter when I was here
-200+ class size is kind of big
-Cold cold winters
-Not p/f

UVA:
+Best curriculum out of the three ("new" 1.5 preclinical years, take home tests)
+Most relaxed student body (everybody said the first year was super chill...which I've never heard anywhere else)
+Highest USMLE average scores out of the three
+Best reputation
-Charlottesville was pretty, but I don't know how I feel about such a small town vs. like LA
-Combined grad/undergrad campuses...and UVA undergrad seemed super fratty and preppy
-Expensive! (80K)

USC:
+LOCATION! Was born in California and have a lot of family, would love to stay in California and it seems most people that go here match in Cali residencies
+LAC/USC would be an awesome experience
+Weather...
-I like the "new" style curriculums better and USC's seemed more old school with lots of lecture etc.
-Expensive! (80K)

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[byaaaaaaah23]

Wow that's a tough choice. I personally would probably pick USC in your situation since you want to match there. I think the difference in prestige between USC and UVA is negligible but they are both considerably better-ranked than MCW. How sure are you about preferring PBL curricula? I think the price difference is small enough (only $60k over 4 years) that you should go where you will be best set up to match where you want, which is USC.

Don't let the fact that your best friend goes to MCW be a major deciding factor. What if you got into a huge fight the first day? I bet you would regret picking MCW if that were the case. However, I don't think you will regret picking a school you love even if you are best friends until you're 90.

Good luck, and congrats on your cycle!

 

[kanzeon]

Don't let the fact that your best friend goes to MCW be a major deciding factor. What if you got into a huge fight the first day? I bet you would regret picking MCW if that were the case. However, I don't think you will regret picking a school you love even if you are best friends until you're 90.

Yeah I get that. We met during undergrad and lived together during that and it was a blast living with her. It would also be nice to have someone who knows the ropes and not live with complete strangers the first year. But, I know I'd make friends at other schools.

 

[Nymphicus]

If you strongly prefer to stay in California for residency, USC will have the advantage.

 

[JJMrK]

i've narrowed my choices down to these three and i feel extremely lucky because i know i would be happy at any of these. I honestly enjoyed my experience at mcw the least but my best friend is going into her m2 year there next year and we would live together--which would definitely be a lot of fun. But i feel like i would be being naive choosing a school based simply on that. Here's my pros/cons:

Mcw:
+discovery curriculum (i prefer these "new" pbl/hands-on curriculums)
+froedert hospital system
+everyone there was super friendly
+best friend currently attending
+cheapest (65k)
-milwaukee wasn't the nicest place, maybe because it was winter when i was here
-200+ class size is kind of big
-cold cold winters
-not p/f

uva:
+best curriculum out of the three ("new" 1.5 preclinical years, take home tests)
+most relaxed student body (everybody said the first year was super chill...which i've never heard anywhere else)
+highest usmle average scores out of the three
+best reputation
-charlottesville was pretty, but i don't know how i feel about such a small town vs. Like la
-combined grad/undergrad campuses...and uva undergrad seemed super fratty and preppy
-expensive! (80k)

usc:
+location! Was born in california and have a lot of family, would love to stay in california and it seems most people that go here match in cali residencies
+lac/usc would be an awesome experience
+weather...
-i like the "new" style curriculums better and usc's seemed more old school with lots of lecture etc.
-expensive! (80k)

JMO, but as somebody who is almost on the other side of things, I bolded the factors that I think are important. Wouldn't worry about preclinical curriculum, it's not that important. Don't worry about USMLE averages, that score is directly related to how much work you are willing to put in. You could do worse than picking a school based on cost and location alone. Based on your list, I'd choose USC as it seems to have the fewest "cons."