Mid-west and west coast schools

[Bad Mojo]

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On all of the threads, there seems to be a lot of talk about east coast schools and how selective they are, etc. How good are some of the mid-west and west coast schools (Wash U, Stanford, UCSF, Washington, Southwestern, Baylor)? Any opinions?

 

[surge]

Without a doubt, the schools you mentioned are among the best medical schools in the US.
Of those, WashU and UCSF are in the very, very top, Washington and Stanford in the top 10, and Baylor and Southwestern following closely.
I only have personal experience with WashU and Southwestern and can tell you they have some of the best organized and well funded MSTP programs in the nation. The research is also outstanding. Actually, you might find that a lot of Midwestern schools and their MSTP programs are especially good and 'cushy', as they know they have to compete for the best students with top schools on the coasts, and overcome their location.
So, if you like the Midwest, you cannot go wrong.

They are all very selective, with the selectivity approximately mimicking the rank. WashU has been called the most selective MSTP out there (and based on their numbers they are), but thankfully, they have many spots available.

 

[Newquagmire]

Ditto what surge said. My only concern is that the program at UW is definitely geared towards PHYSICIAN-scientist where others lean towards SCIENTIST-physician training.

Other schools you may want to check out: Iowa, Wisconsin, UMich, UCSD, UChicago

 

[JJ4]

I'm biased -- but nonetheless I think Mayo has a fantastic program. I too am from the east coast and chose it among other schools from the east coast. Obviously you gotta look at schools in terms of where you think your research interests work best, and I've been more than pleased with my choice thus far. If you have any questions feel free to PM me.











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Mayo MSTP

 

[Habari]

They are all very selective, with the selectivity approximately mimicking the rank. WashU has been called the most selective MSTP out there (and based on their numbers they are), but thankfully, they have many spots available.

i don't agree with this - the selectivity varies quite a bit - and the only generalizations one can sort of safely make is that those md/phd programs attached to top 20 med schools are more selective than others.

for instance - once you get an interview at washU [about 25% get an interview] - then you have about a 2/3rds chance of being accepted. sure the scores are very high etc... but this is self selection rather than the school itself selecting for you. this is not to say that they don't deal with a great population to begin with.

it really depends on the number of slots available, and sort of applicants that apply to a place [mstp applicants are a small enough group that the caliber of applicants applying to even 'top' schools is not homogenous]. comparing statistics abotu accept/interview %'s and other 'objective' factors are usually misleading, because programs/students/slots vary enough with the small numbers they are dealing with for these things to be easily skewed.

since these programs are for a relatively long duration, location oftentimes plays a greater role than one may initially imagine - even to the extent that many well-qualified candidates only apply to certain locations [west coast/northeast etc...] and forgoe others completely.

it may be hard to believe at this end of the process, when you are hoping simply to get into _a_ school that you like - but the tables can and usually do turn at the end. you should go to a school and assess it as critically as they are to you.

it is sometimes tough to gauge where one stands in this field - it may look more daunting than it really is. while people can give you an idea about what yo ucan expect given your application - there is no way to be certain [flukey interviews / seemingly arbitrary decisions process at the final stages dealing with few slots] until you get your decision [a truism, but nevertheless].

 

[Newquagmire]

Originally posted by Habari
while people can give you an idea about what yo ucan expect given your application - there is no way to be certain [flukey interviews / seemingly arbitrary decisions process at the final stages dealing with few slots] until you get your decision [a truism, but nevertheless].

and hooray for flukes because i wouldn't stand a chance without them 😉