Medical College of Wisconsin VS Miami Miller

[leatherswoosh]

Medical College of Wisconsin
Pros

• Close to home (WI resident)
• Stand alone medical school (all resources intended for students, not undergrads etc.)
• Have both family and professional connections at MCW (could help for research opportunities)
• Great clinical rotations and surrounding healthcare system (VA)
• Good match list
• Close to family and friends

Cons

• 52k/year tuition
• Same place I've lived my whole life
• Cold winters
• Not as highly ranked

Miami Miller School of Medicine
Pros

• Incredible weather
• Great healthcare system
• Higher ranking than MCW
• Lower tuition (47k)
• Good match list
• Stayed in state for undergrad, chance to move across the country to new environment and live in FL for four years

Cons

• Far away from home
• No professional connections
• Have to make new friends/support
• Harder to focus on studies with nice weather, beaches, and tourism

Summary: Both are good schools. I'm also waitlisted at the U of Wisconsin, which is better ranked than MCW, so that may factor in.
But I want to experience something new, and Miami seems like an incredible place to spend four years of my life as a medical student. Am I crazy for considering passing up a good, cozy school near home?

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[TabbyTuxy]

Your cons for Miami are negligible and it sounds like you'd regret not attending. Give yourself permission to explore! It's also the better career and financial choice.

 

[Shunsui]

If COL isn't a con for Miami, I'd pick them - idk if they have student housing though

 

[leatherswoosh]

Your cons for Miami are negligible and it sounds like you'd regret not attending. Give yourself permission to explore! It's also the better career and financial choice.

I really suppose I do make it sound like I would regret it if I didn't. It's odd, a lot of people around me just make it sound like I'd be bonkers if I packed up and booked it across the country.

But thank you for your input, I'm leaning towards Miami as well

 

[leatherswoosh]

If COL isn't a con for Miami, I'd pick them - idk if they have student housing though

They do have student housing, and housing costs are somewhat similar to Madison, WI, which I'm used to.

However, I presume food and other service costs are higher in FL than WI.

 

[Putkernerinthehall]

Depends on what you personally want, but Miami sounds like it would stretch you some which might be good. A chance to get out of Milwaukee and see the world a bit. Miami has a very diverse patient population and expansive facilities (Jackson Health, I think it is). You might want to compare curriculums in terms of lecture style (small group, etc.) and the duration of the pre-clinical phase. I'd go to Miami. Now if you get into U. of Wisconsin you might have to think about that one. It's probably the strongest of the three schools.

 

[leatherswoosh]

Depends on what you personally want, but Miami sounds like it would stretch you some which might be good. A chance to get out of Milwaukee and see the world a bit. Miami has a very diverse patient population and expansive facilities (Jackson Health, I think it is). You might want to compare curriculums in terms of lecture style (small group, etc.) and the duration of the pre-clinical phase. I'd go to Miami. Now if you get into U. of Wisconsin you might have to think about that one. It's probably the strongest of the three schools.

Great, thanks for the reply. Do you have any pointers as to how students may view a shorter vs. longer pre-clinical phase?

And in your opinion, do you think I'd be restricting myself from more competitive specialties if I ultimately decided to go to Miami instead of U if Wisconsin (if I get off the wait-list)?

Thanks for your input, I really appreciate it.

 

[deleted1017749]

Miami 100%. It sounds like you're making up cons for Miami (besides far from support system)

 

[Putkernerinthehall]

Great, thanks for the reply. Do you have any pointers as to how students may view a shorter vs. longer pre-clinical phase?

And in your opinion, do you think I'd be restricting myself from more competitive specialties if I ultimately decided to go to Miami instead of U if Wisconsin (if I get off the wait-list)?

Thanks for your input, I really appreciate it.

Length of pre-clinical curriculum can vary from 18-mo to 2-years, generally. Some students like to get it over with and get into clinical ASAP. I don't know the specific curriculum durations of these 3 schools. Probably a minor factor. Miami would be strong for competitive residencies. I'm not knowledgeable enough to compare them in this regard. You've got two (and maybe 3) great options!

 

[mcatstudent1]

I have met people from WI who chose u miami and then matched back to chicago. i would say staying in your apartment and taking study breaks is fine, so distractions is not a thing. Ranking, minimal tuition difference should not matter. miami is really strong for optho (#1?), some of the surgical specialties due to patient population/diversity, if you would be willing to stay there for residency, although it is competitive. I think MCW is a superb gem actually not to be discounted and if proximity to family/home cooked meals is a thing for you, may be a big pro. Presumably you know how to live there with the weather. They are strong in many specialties and were realistic match for you coming from the region/mid-tier all around. They have a great student body, cool location near chicago, and hospital all in one place. Based on the amount you will save on travel and ability to spend time at home during board exams and preclinical, I think the difference in tuition evens out. If you were really itching to go to miami and kind of leave the region, that could be one way to do it since living in miami is awesome (costs more than mcw). residency matches are mainly regional to undergrad and med school region, if you plan to match back around there/have SO, etc. it can get costly flying from miami back to Chicagoland area for residency interviews unless you rig it so that you have months off and can stay near family there.

 

[leatherswoosh]

What sort of competitive specialties are you interested in? Plastics vs Derm vs Ophtho vs Ortho may differ from site to site. I know MCW has strong derm resources, while Miami has the #1 ophtho program in the country. Surgery opportunities may be more robust in a bigger city too.

My brother is an M1 at MCW and LOVES it. I was accepted to UMiami in October and am 90% sure I'll go there in the Fall of '21 because I have been interested in ophtho since freshman year of college, and I am very impressed with the diverse/rigorous clinical training at Jackson. If it weren't for my strong ophtho tendency, I mayyyy have picked another school -- however the more I learn about UMiami the more I love it. The only thing that concerns me is the one-year preclinical year, as it seems aggressively short.

Hey, thanks for the info. It's wild that we're in a really similar situation. If you don't mind, I'll shoot you a PM so we can talk about the pros and cons of each school!

Edit: for some reason, it's not letting me PM you. Feel free to shoot me a message if you're able.

 

[Banco]

"Harder to focus on studies with nice weather, beaches"

LMAO this is a huge pro.


In your position I would stay at MCW if staying near fam/friends is very important for you. Its a good school and will get you where you need. But if you really have an inclination towards living somewhere else for a structured time, I'd go Miami - you'll have no problem matching near your home base from there. You'll get regional preference come residency app time because your permanent address will still be from WI. I'd say go for it and get out of your comfort zone a bit.