Northwestern vs. Pitt

[weathertalk]

The schools are pretty similar in some respects (emphasis on PBL and clinical training). However, if forced to decide between the two and money were not an issue , which would you pick? Northwestern has a phenomenal location, which is a big plus for me personally and has true P/NP for both pre-clinical years. However, Pitt seems to have a stronger match list though it loses points because of location and the use of H/P/F 2nd year.

Do you think Pitt's reputation is appreciably higher than Northwestern's or are the two in a dead heat when it comes to matchign? More specifically, would Pitt's possibly better rep be enough to make you choose it over over Northwestern (which would mean giving up P/NP, chicago, and the name recognition that NW has from its undergrad and other grad schools)

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[Towelie]

I think that there are a great number of reasons to choose Pitt over Northwestern.

1) Money. I know you said to disregard money, but I'm bringing it up anyway. Pitt offers great financial aid, and Pittsburgh is a cheap and great city to live in. Northwestern offers very little aid, and is in one of the most expensive areas of Chicago.

2) Research. UPitt dominates Northwestern in NIH dollars, with Pitt at #9 in the country and Northwestern at #37. That's a huge difference. If you can see yourself in an academic career, or if you want to get in-depth research exposure, Pittsburgh would clearly be the better place.

3) Hospital system. The UPMC system is much stronger than that of Northwestern, with UPMC at #14 in the country and Northwestern's hospitals unranked. This will give you better clinical exposure, and much better exposure to specialized medicine.

4) Students. I have several friends at medical school at Pitt, and all of them are thrilled to be there. The students that I met at Northwestern didn't seem to be very happy there.

I wouldn't worry about the match list. Although Pitt students might match slightly better, students from both schools will be fine for residency.

 

[Hednej]

Although I got waitlisted at Pitt and on Hold at Northwestern, I have to say Pitt dominates this competition.

In the words of one my friends who goes there, "Pitt is a juggernut. It will stop at nothing and climb up the ranks quicker than a squirrel on ... campuse". I think this is true and will see in a couple of years.

Some of the Pros :
I think #1 in psychiatry (at least for research dollars).
Next to CMU, so probably the #1 bioinformatics program.

Cons:
Waitlisted me

 

[airshad8]

The schools are pretty similar in some respects (emphasis on PBL and clinical training). However, if forced to decide between the two and money were not an issue , which would you pick? Northwestern has a phenomenal location, which is a big plus for me personally and has true P/NP for both pre-clinical years. However, Pitt seems to have a stronger match list though it loses points because of location and the use of H/P/F 2nd year.

Do you think Pitt's reputation is appreciably higher than Northwestern's or are the two in a dead heat when it comes to matchign? More specifically, would Pitt's possibly better rep be enough to make you choose it over over Northwestern (which would mean giving up P/NP, chicago, and the name recognition that NW has from its undergrad and other grad schools)

Dude...chicago...or pittsburgh...the former city pwns.