Midwestern IL or Western U?

[Hi Im Dent]

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I'm from the Bay Area and I've lived in the OC for almost a year. As far as costs go, both are roughly the same from my research.

I've lived in California for most of my life and don't mind new experiences. In fact I'm excited to explore a new area so that is a big pro for MWU.

However one of the main cons about Midwestern is that the clinic is separate from the campus so I'm not sure how often I will have to do a 10 minute drive from campus after I have class. Also since I plan to practice in Oregon or California, I plan to take the WREB and for MWU it isn't offered at their clinic so I would have to go to the University of Chicago to take it.

Pros for WesternU is mainly I'll be closer to family and my SO (she's also in the bay) since I can just road trip it if I want to go back to the bay (6 hour drive or 1 hour flight). A concern for WesternU is the smaller class size of 70 people vs 120 at MWU. I know it varies per class but I'm afraid a smaller class size could make it a little more competitive.

Anyways I just wanted unbiased outside input, thanks a lot guys! Also worded input would be nice too!

 

[MBlue16]

I can't give you unbiased input lol, cuz I got offer from both and decided on MWU-IL.

But, here's what I can tell you:
I'm also from Bay Area. I was lucky, cuz my fiancee (was my GF at the time) agreed to move with me to Chicago.
The clinic is separate from the campus, but as you might have seen, it's not too bad of a drive. They are in the same town and the town is pretty chill (not as big as Chicago). You won't even have to drive there until the last quarter of your second year. Even then, it's only once a week. On the third and fourth year, you are pretty much 100% in the clinic. So, you don't have to drive to campus.
As for WREB. You are right. The school only facilitates CRDTS. However, I know for a fact that some of the new graduates (D4s at the time) took WREB successfully. There are some extra stuff they need to do, but bottom line is that it's possible. Moreover, our sister school in Arizona can be helpful too. Someone I know personally took care of his WREB in Arizona.

I'm not gonna say anything about Western, cuz I don't want to say things I'm not really sure about. But, I think smaller class size won't hurt you if they don't use curves.

You should pick whichever makes you feel comfortable. 🙂 For me, it was MWU-IL. 🙂

Btw, here's my class (we made a video for the end of our second year):

 

[Hi Im Dent]

Thanks for your thorough feedback! If I may ask, what made you pick Midwestern over Western when you were making your decision?

 

[MBlue16]

If I can be honest, I like how Downers Grove/ Chicago is more quiet and more "like a school" than Western (Pomona/ LA) to me. Plus, I like snow... I know... I'm weird.

During the interview, I was impressed by the SIM Clinic and the multidisciplinary clinic too. They have good stuff in there. Then again, I didn't get to go to the clinic during my Western interview, because it was closed at that time. I had similar feeling towards the faculty and students in both school (they were all cool).

But, my biggest driving force was probably the idea of going back to the midwest and be able to have a white christmas during the holiday seasons 🙂