MSU vs. MCPH...Need Some Help Please!

[izz-ay]

Hey everyone,
I am hoping that someone out there will be able to help me, or at least provide me with some info that may help me make a decision. I am tring to decide between these 2 schools. My gut feeling when I interviewed at MCP was that I wasn't HOT for the school, but I feel like a decision as huge as this one need depend on more than guts. Liked MSU when I was there, but it was also my 1st interview so I may have just been over excited
So clearly, I am a little muddle-headed (is that a word?)...any help/.opinions would be super appreciated. ( I know that I won't be getting back either of my deposits now, but that's OK...I also want to decide already so someone else can get off the waitlist )
Whew that was long.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[jmejia1]

MSU was also my first interview. I liked it alot. I'm not into research, so I loved the clinical emphasis. Another strength about the school is the studentbody, they favor diversity more in terms of student backgrounds.

I didn't interview at MCP, so I don't know much about it. The things I do know is the class size at MCP is about 200 whereas MSU has a class of 100. Both seem to focus on the clinical.

It's really a tough choice. I would lean toward MSU but that's considering I didn't attend my MCP interview.

 

[izz-ay]

I am also leaning towards MSU for some of the reasons that you mentioned...I like the fact that MSU has a smaller class size and that the student body also seems more diverse...I also feel as though the profs at MSU are more interested in the students. Though both do seem to have a really good clinical foundation.
Will you be attending MSU, jmejia1?

 

[aldo16]

cleopatra -

I interviewed at MCP a couple months ago too, and had sorta the same feeling too. I'm curious as to what exactly bothered you there. In my own case, all the specifics I could want in a school were there, but with the whole financial situation and looming name change, the place gave me this slightly "uneasy" feeling.

sorry but I don't know anything about MSU. It certainly possible though that since it was your first interview, you were just more fired up in general. I definitely was at my first interview!

 

[izz-ay]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by aldo16:
• I'm curious as to what exactly bothered you there. •••••I have been having trouble putting my finger on it...I think at first, I was put off by teh lengthy and trouble ridden history the adcom lady went through at the beginning of the day...with all the name changes, amalgamations etc... Then, my interviewer was, lets say, less than friendly. Then, the student interviewer didn't give me the impression that he was loving it at MCP, and I was a little weirded out by the notion of the PBL people never interacting w/ the IFM's. Finally, I think that for the size of the incoming class, I felt like the campus was really small.
All of this is, again, gut feeling kind of stuff and not really about which is a better school, so I am hesitant to base my decision on it.

 

[Mossjoh]

Hi cleo!

I will be attending Michigan State this fall. Remember when you make your decision though that CHM and COM have lectures together first year. That means that instead of 100+ people in lecture...it will be instead 200+.

I think that I got a good feeling about MSU because of the friendliness of the students and the faculty/staff. They seemed to care about me and where I was coming from..which made me comfortable. My interviewer was also very friendly and understanding.

Good luck with your decision.

John :wink:

 

[aldo16]

cleopatra -

I think you got it absolutely right. It was a "gut" feeling kinda thing. Throughout the whole day, I felt like people were constantly rationalizing or explaining away things.

But damn....there are a number of good things about the place too, and their match list for 2001 and 2002 has been pretty impressive.

Either way...I think both of us have some real tough decisions to make.

 

[moo]

Hey Cleopatra are you a Canadian?

 

[izz-ay]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Cantor:
•Hey Cleopatra are you a Canadian?•••••Yep

 

[aldo16]

CityIvy --

I PMed you back

 

[izz-ay]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Mossjoh:
•Hi cleo!

I will be attending Michigan State this fall. Remember when you make your decision though that CHM and COM have lectures together first year. That means that instead of 100+ people in lecture...it will be instead 200+.

I think that I got a good feeling about MSU because of the friendliness of the students and the faculty/staff. They seemed to care about me and where I was coming from..which made me comfortable. My interviewer was also very friendly and understanding.

Good luck with your decision.

John :wink: •••••You hit it right on the head (ouch :wink: ) mossjoh. Those are exactly the reasons why I felt more at ease at MSU. Though the joint classes with COM make them bigger, I think the opp is still there for ease amongst the med students. Do you remember if their residency matches were good? Or what their USMLE pass rate was? I seem to have misplaced the notes I took that day...moving is a drag!

hey aldo, where are you leaning?

 

[psyche]

I know nothing about MSU, but I interviewed at MCP and will probably go there in August.

But what's all this wishy-washy stuff about gut feelings and a vague unease at MCP? Could it be that the school nearly folded four years ago? That seems to be the "elephant in the room" no one is talking about. Of course that would make one feel uneasy.

To the school's credit, MCP was very candid about its recent history when I visited. I didn't feel like they were trying to pull one over me. Also, I wouldn't make too much about not clicking with the interviewer. Of the six schools I interviewed at, MCP seemed the most hospitable by far. Its arrangement with Tenet and Drexel will probably allow the school to merge stronger than ever. Finally, think about location. Lansing or Philadelphia?

 

[Thewonderer]

Hi Cleopatra,
You are Canadian? When I applied a couple years ago, MCP rejected me right away in August because I was Canadian/international. Did they change their policy in the meantime???
Sorry, I could not help too much since MCP rejected me pre-interview and I did not apply to MSU. However, I have visited Philly a few times. MCP's location in center city is very good!!! A big class size also means that you get to meet more people. It is not necessarily a bad thing.
Which part of Canada are you from?

 

[deleted9493]

MSU...hands down.

 

[izz-ay]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Thewonderer:
•Hi Cleopatra,
You are Canadian? When I applied a couple years ago, MCP rejected me right away in August because I was Canadian/international. Did they change their policy in the meantime???
Which part of Canada are you from?•••••I am canadian, but I have a green card...so I could apply to MCP. Their policy has not changed.
I live in Montreal!!! The greatest city on earth!

 

[izz-ay]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by hudsontc:
•MSU...hands down.•••••Any Reasons? or just a Spartans fan? :wink:

 

[Mossjoh]

Cleopatra..MSU said that there pass rate is 1-2% above the national average for both Step 1 and 2 or the USMLE. It hovers around 90-94%

Mossjoh

 

[Jim Picotte]

I remember when I took Step I, our class pass rate was 93%, the year before 95% and it's around this number every year. So that means about 6-7 people don't pass Step I at our school but there is also that 6-7 people who score 2 or more SD above the mean so it's really up to each individual. I don't know about Step II, but I haven't actually heard of anyone failing that exam.

For residencies, I just got the match list and unfortunately there is no link to it as I saw it for the first time when I graduated in our graduation book. You have to remember that the majority of the people here go into IM, FP, and Peds. We had about 7-8 people go into Anesthesia, 5 into Rads, 2 into Ophtho, 1 or 2 into Neuro, 1 into Path, 1 into Derm (at Mayo clinic), 4-5 General Surgery, about 6-8 Emergency Medicine, probably 5 into psychiatry and about 10 into OB/GYN (I think this was the most popular specialty this year). I didn't see anyone going into Ortho, ENT or Neurosurg this year although I know several people who went into Ortho and Neurosurg last year and one ENT. With such a small class (we graduate about 100) and the primary care majority, every class seems to be interested in different things so just because no one went into Ortho, doesn't mean that no one could have matched, just that no one was interested. In my opinion it's hard to judge a school by the match list. I'd say about 40-50% of us are staying in Michigan (but it is a state school with mostly instate students), but a good number are going all over the country.

It's a good school, I'm going into my radiology and thought I learned a lot, particularily in the clinical years. With PBL in year 2, I do agree that it probably takes more effort to do better on Step I (our school really doesn't teach to the boards) but we seem to have outstanding clinicals and Step II scores.

In the end, I'd choose the school with the students you felt related more to you and the city where the school is. Honestly, you're going to be studying the same material at any medical school, the difference is the people there and the location. I went here over the other 2 state schools because it had the most small town like feel to me (I'm from a very rural area) and the people were just so nice and that's true all through the 4 years.

Feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions. I've been through all 4 years now so I can pretty much tell you anything you want to know. Good luck in your decision.

 

[izz-ay]

Thanks Jim...I took you up on your offer and just sent you an e-mail.

 

[encee]

MSU

Plus, I hear that a lot of MCP's good faculty has left in recent years, so this might affect things.

W/ MSU, the faculty seem really approachable and there for the students. Students are happy and friendly.

East Lansing is a college area w/ not a whole lot of other excitement, and there is no research at MSU--if either of these matter.

I have not gone to MCP, but I think MSU>MCP.

 

[CityIvy]

hey cleopatra: which one did you pick?