Michigan vs. Emory

[Bones2008]

Hey y'all. I'm trying to decide whether or not to accept an interview invitation. Could anyone who's interviewed at both Michigan and Emory compare the two experiences and their thoughts on the two schools relative to each other? Thanks in advance for the help.

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[jlee9531]

I personally havent interviewed at both places but I have a close friend that has and she has a hard time because she liked both schools. I can ask for specifics later if I have a chance to talk to her....

But as for my own comments...man both schools kickass. I don't think you can miss out on an opportunity to turn down an invite to one of those schools...(pending you don't have an acceptance to some place you feel is better that is.)

 

[longlakeboy]

I've interviewed at both places, Michigan back in Sept and Emory about a week and a half ago.

The Michigan interview process is 3 half hour interviews. The first one, they kind of grill you (ethical questions and the like), the second is more standard questions, and the third is basically just a laid back conversation.

Emory is a short 3 on 3 interview (each person basically answers one question from each interviewer) which was kinda tough (I got an ethical question about domestic violence, and I'm still trying to figure out what the guy was even asking), and a half hour 1 on 1 interview that is very laid back.

I go to Michigan and have lived my whole life here, so I may be biased in that I want to get the heck out. But Emory definitely impressed me more. Everyone was incredibly friendly and genuinely happy. A ton of first years there came and talked to us during breaks and they all liked it a lot and were clearly happy. The Michigan students seemed happy too, but Emory students struck me as really happy.

All told, I'd recommend both and both have their strengths (if you're more research oriented, Michigan's probably the pick, if you're more clinically oriented, Emory's probably the pick.).

 

[Gleevec]

Hi,
I interviewed at both Emory and Michigan. Before I give a description (straight from my own post-interview logbook), I want to tell you all my possible biases.

1. I am a lifelong southerner and love warm weather.

2. I am a fan of big cities.

That said, I prefered Emory simply because of the weather, the location, and the "newness" of the facilities. After the Woodruff grant, Emory started building like crazy, and it really shows in how nice the campus is. I also think Atlanta is a fantastic city, and the presence of the CDC and various other health organization is a real boon.

I also liked UM a great deal. Ann Arbor is a fantastic city. But its freaking cold. Surprisingly, the cost of living in Ann Arbor is similar/slightly higher than Atlanta, which is sorta surprising.

The students at both schools are top notch, and you will notice a definite regionality preference in terms of admissions. Both are great schools, but the weather and location made me more inclined towards Emory. Of course, the decision was made easier for me after the adcoms handed down THEIR decision.

 

[spumoni620]

I can speak to Michigan but not Emory as I withdrew my application from the latter. Oddly enough the day I went to interview at Michigan the weather was stunningly beautiful--warm, trees turning different colors (yeah, it's a strange sight where i live - we go straight from 100 degree + days to winter; no fall 🙁 ), and everyone was outside. I was wowed by the clinical opportunities and the friendliness of the students. (My host picked me up from the Detroit airport, then got up 2 hrs earlier than she had to to personally drop me at the interview room, then picked me up and dropped me back at the airport. she was so sweet!) i had an awesome tour guide who was hilarious--the tour was awesome and they really do have amazing facilities.

The changes they're making in their curriculum are also just the kind of thing i was looking for --i.e. earlier clinical experiences, room for electives, etc. Plus they are probably the most technologically oriented school I've seen yet--we went thru a tech-based exercise which, while it meant nothing to me b/c i had no training in the relevant material, I perceived as being very very helpful as an M1 (does that sentence make any sense? sorry i'm tired...) Many students told me things to the effect of "you don't have to worry when you're here; you can basically have your pick of any residency you want." One thing i learned which i hadn't known earlier was that UMich is ranked #3 by residency directors (which is arguably the most important/relevant med school ranking or benchmark). A negative point: the quizzes (although a lot of students said they actually proved helpful in the long run by keeping you on your feet; also w/the new tech stuff you can take the quiz any time you want so you can have free weekends). Also it seems like some of the m2's were a little stressed when i went there (but come on, it's med school...) Interview wise: very low stress, conversational. the 3 back-to-back was a little tiring though. overall I left with a very favorable impression. yeah the town is small but in my eyes it's quaint (if you like that sort of thing - more bookstores than bars...) and it has a definite charm.

umm...well i hope that helped somewhat in answering your question. i think emory is fabulous as well but can't give you firsthand perspective. this is sort of stream of consciousness but oh well...good luck w/your decision either way!

 

[1dharma]

I thought Emory was great. The clinical training at Emory (Grady Hospital) seems like it would be fantastic. But then again I'm interested in the experience at a county hospital.

 

[SunnyS81]

Last year I was accepted to both.

I thought Michigan had MUCH nicer facilities....particularly lecture halls (you'll be spending two years of your life in there......something to consider). I didn't see the histo labs, but they are really nice here. Many of my friends say that Emory is pretty competitive, but DW will tell you it isn't. I wasn't impressed by Emory's teaching facilities at all........what they told us is that they are trying to save money to build a new medical school building in a few years, so they aren't reinvesting in renovating. I'm a big fan of Atlanta, but I had to leave after 14 years there........I would have gone to Emory if I wasn't at Michigan.

 

[kilroth]

Michigan will send an email if I get an interview right? Im so sick of checking this status page after 3 months...

 

[Lux Aeterna]

kilroth, they send you a letter via snail mail in addition to updating your status page.

 

[elias514]

I had a wonderful interview experience at Michigan a few weeks ago. All of my interviews were conversational; in fact, one of my interviewers spent five minutes talking about how Ann Arborites cope with heavy snowfall. By interview standards, five minutes are an eternity. I didn't get any ethical questions. The toughest question in my interviews required me to discuss the single greatest threat facing physicians today. Not a very tough question for me to answer, given the fact that I had just read four books on the health care crisis in America.

The preclinical and clinical facilities at Michigan are awesome. Very clean and modern. The technology available to students is top-notch--all brand spankin new, top of the line Macs and Dells. The University teaching hospital is beautiful. Without a doubt, I was blown away by the quality of the facilities.

Ann Arbor is a great place. Plenty of cool bars, coffee shops, and other stores. Huge student population there. It truly is the quintessential college town. Another cool thing about Ann Arbor--it's extremely safe. I don't know about you all, but I sure as hell don't want the added stress of worrying about muggings and shootings while I attend med school. I think the stress of learning a mountain of information will be more than enough for me.

In short, I don't know how anyone could turn down Michigan. I didn't! I'll be there next year.

 

[Cerberus]

I *heart* UofM

 

[GoodMonkey]

i picked umich over emory. primary reason was curriculum style. (secondarily is that i don't really like atlanta) ... one of my close friends is an m3 there now... they're very traditional, non systems-based and grade a/b/c/d... three things i definitely didn't want in my med education. i wanted at least one year of straight pass/fail. *shrug* but if you want to learn urban clinical medicine, grady hospital is an excellent place to do it.

 

[Cerberus]

Originally posted by GoodMonkey
i picked emory over umich.

😛

 

[GoodMonkey]

Originally posted by Cerberus
😛

d'oh. good catch. i edited. 😀

 

[Steinway]

Originally posted by Cerberus
I *heart* UofM

yeah. what he/she said.
edit: also consider - does emory have a football team???😕 😎

 

[Rendar5]

careful, you're getting me more interested in Emory than UMich. I'm a baseball nut, not a football nut...

Emory was the toughest interview I had. The problem wasn't the panel interview itself, it was just that I got some really hard, somewhat personal questions (well, the answers were personal, the questions weren't anything out of line). They really seemed to appreciate my honesty, though, so I think that the panel interview has also been my best so far.

Michigan interviews were easy. The first interviewer was familiar with my research, which I'm not sure was a good thing (probably knowing more than me). He was working on a protein which binds to the protein that I had been working on for a year. 2nd interviewer asked me why I put academics and research ahead of community service (ouch). 3rd interview was the best. He asked me what I thought of the War in Iraq at the very end, though. Wanted to see if I knew what was going on in the world, I think (Luckily I know quite a bit of contemporary mideast issues).

 

[DW]

Originally posted by Steinway
edit: also consider - does emory have a football team???😕 😎

according to my "Emory Football: Still Undefeated" T Shirt I have from college, we did......
😛

 

[summervacation]

If that comment doesn't get you to come to UMich, I don't know what will... hehe.

Okay, so I *might* be biased because I love Ann Arbor. I was familiar with the med school, but I was blown away by the facilities that they showed us on the tour. Plus, (as Spumoni mentioned) I had the funniest tour guide ever!

The students were cool and although M2's are stressed, med schools where everyone is super chill are either fronting big time (ie. the stressed out students are huddled up in the library getting more stressed out) or nobody is doing any work, which might hurt you on the boards... 🙂

 

[spumoni620]

Originally posted by summervacation
Plus, (as Spumoni mentioned) I had the funniest tour guide ever!

heh. i bet we had the same one. (oddly enough, he was from houston 😉 see, we texans have a good sense of humor!) . my god, that guy was so funny i was in tears during the whole tour. easily my best tour ever. 🙂

 

[Gleevec]

Originally posted by spumoni620
heh. i bet we had the same one. (oddly enough, he was from houston 😉 see, we texans have a good sense of humor!) . my god, that guy was so funny i was in tears during the whole tour. easily my best tour ever. 🙂

That's funny. The dean of admissions said they can't get any Texans up to UM and asked me why. I gave him the honest answers, probably to my own detriment. And then it turns out a tour guide is from Texas for yall? Crazy.

 

[BlackstarNYC]

Originally posted by DW
according to my "Emory Football: Still Undefeated" T Shirt I have from college, we did......
😛

NYU Football shirts aren't that cool 🙁