Northwestern vs. Ohio State

[DecisionHelp2020]

Northwestern
Pros

• Prestige
• Great Match List
• Have a decent sized support system in Chicago
• Research opportunities galore
• Chicago is chicago
• Feel like this is better suited for my goals to go into academic medicine (but I also feel like OSU wouldn't be a hindrance? I don''t know.)

Cons

• Expensive as hell (~360k CoA)
• Doesn't have home program in one of the residencies I MIGHT be interested in (but I also have no idea if this will be what I want to do)

Neutral

• Big city. Not opposed to it, but anxiously excited about it? Never lived in a big city so there's just apprehension about it.
• Don't know what to think about class vibe - interview day people I met I vibed with okay, not the best

Ohio State
Pros

• Can reclassify as in-state after 1 year to take advantage of in-state tuition
• Thus, ~70k cheaper than NW (~290k CoA)
• Good match list (but not as good as NW)
• Loved the school spirit and vibe of Columbus - reminded me a lot of my undergrad setting
• Felt really comfortable here on interview day and vibed
• Has home program in a residency program I MIGHT be interested in and matched a few people into really great institutions (but I also have no idea if this will be what I want to do)

Cons

• Might be missing out in terms of professional goals by not going to NW
• Don't know anyone here

Neutral

• Haven't gotten financial aid yet from here, so still a chance at a merit scholarship

Summary: There's just a lot up in the air that I don't know. I feel like the obvious answer is NW, but for some reason there's just something about OSU that still is just making me re-think things over and over again.

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[FatherTime-PhD]

comes down to money+prestige vs happiness according to your pros and cons.

I say NW hands down if you can get past the costs. Chicago is a great city and I have friends there who love it. Lots of things to do outside of school.

plus, you may very well change your mind about what you want to do. Northwestern will get you there, whatever that is.

 

[Lawpy]

Idk they are both expensive to make a difference so it depends on what you value more. Since the costs for both are still so high, i'm leaning towards Northwestern to get the added benefits.

 

[m1redsox]

If one of your goals is academic medicine, you almost have to choose the more research-oriented institution. It will set you up for awesome connections in academia and great alternatives if you decide against it. Surprisingly, I actually don’t think $70k will be that much of a difference to you. If either one provides you with additional financial aid to make the difference >$100k, choose that one. But for now, go Northwestern!

 

[Skittsie13]

How interested are you in the specialty NW doesn't have? Because no home program can make matching difficult. Does NW match well in that specialty? Also I didn't realize NW doesn't have a home program for every residency...

 

[DecisionHelp2020]

First of all, thank you all for your responses! I really appreciate it.

How interested are you in the specialty NW doesn't have? Because no home program can make matching difficult. Does NW match well in that specialty? Also I didn't realize NW doesn't have a home program for every residency...

Not sure. The specialty is medical genetics (which is tiny), and I'm interested in it cause I met a medical geneticist at my undergrad and it seemed really interesting. A fair number of schools have a combined peds/med genetics residency program. NW does not have a combined peds/med-genetics residency program nor a med genetics fellowship program, whereas OSU has both. NW has also never matched someone into peds/med-genetics (which I don't think is a huge deal cause it's tiny), whereas OSU has multiple years.

 

[deleted911896]

I’m also choosing between NW and other schools and I noticed almost everyone is listing class vibe as a con? Can someone elaborate on what was off with the class vibe. It’s kind of worrisome because a close community is important to me. Feel free to pm!

 

[DecisionHelp2020]

I’m also choosing between NW and other schools and I noticed almost everyone is listing class vibe as a con? Can someone elaborate on what was off with the class vibe. It’s kind of worrisome because a close community is important to me. Feel free to pm!

It's hard to say. For me personally I just came from a big state school and a lot of kids here that I met were just really... preppy? I guess I wasn't sure how to feel being around so many kids from elite private schools. But I talked with a couple current students and they said it isn't a huge deal and you'll find your people regardless, so I feel a little better about it?