OUWB vs. Wayne

[MadRadLad]

Would like some last-minute input.

Wayne is obviously more well known and also about ~18k/year cheaper. I am absolutely not a fan of the location, however, and I really didn't get a great vibe there. Everything seems to be so....archaic. The school is an established quantity in terms of matching its students though, and there are a lot more research opportunities.

OUWB is pricier, but in a nicer location. The staff is by far a lot more welcoming, they seem to be much more personally invested in the students. The facilities are very nice, it seems more cutting edge, and Beaumont is a great hospital (with a history in training med students). However, the school is still new-ish and has no reputation with residency directors which is definitely an issue, plus it's not even fully accredited yet. There seem to be clinical research opportunities through Beaumont but its definitely not close to the same level as Wayne.

Any thoughts would be helpful. I like OUWB far more than Wayne, but the logical decision is Wayne. Is ~75k worth the difference? Will going to OUWB hold me back when it comes to residencies?

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[MadRadLad]

Bump - I need to make this decision somewhat soon so some input would be helpful. Thank you

 

[FA5297]

I posted the following on another thread dealing with Wayne vs OUWB vs CMU. Hope it helps:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...william-beaumont-vs-central-michigan.1071250/


"I chose Wayne. The following is a quick assessment of these programs' strengths and weaknesses:

1). Research. For NIH grants: Wayne = $70 million, OUWB = $2 million, CMU = no data. Wayne is also building a new $90 million research facility able to house 500 researchers, which should be complete in 2015.
http://www.freep.com/article/201403...y-Multipurpose-Biomedical-Research-Building

2.) Clinical Experience. First year residents affiliated with the following schools' teaching hospitals: Wayne = 570, OUWB = 104, CMU = 29. I used number of residents to approximate size of departments and hospitals. In other words, a small community hospital may have a dermatologist, but is unlikely to have dermatology residents, and therefore the complexity of the cases they see will be limited. I also used it as a rough measure of the size of the hospital systems. Check out the size of the departments you are interested in below.
Source: http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/programresults2009-2013.pdf

I also thought Wayne's clinical experience would be better due to their location in Detroit. The ER doc I interviewed with at Beaumont indicated they mostly see run of the mill cases, usually the most acute cases being car accidents. Wayne sees gunshot wounds and penetrating wounds on a daily basis. Unfortunately for Detroit, the city has diseases not commonly found in the US, such as trench foot and tuberculosis. This is excellent for their medical students. Not to mention the specialized Children's Hospital, Karmanos Cancer Center, Kresge Eye Institute, and a new Cardiac Hospital. You will see stuff at Wayne you will not see at OUWB or CMU.

3.) Location. Central Michigan is very rural. You will also have to move when you do your rotations. Oakland is suburban, though many of their students move as well. Wayne is urban. Safety will never be an issue at OUWB, but you will have to be somewhat intelligent about it at Wayne. About half the students live in the 'burbs, the other half in the city. No moving required between basic sciences/ clinical years.

4.) Residency. Wayne had an excellent match list last year. The ability for OUWB and CMU to match well is as yet undetermined. Wayne is well known for producing specialists. Only 30% of their class went for primary care this year, so if you're dead set on that, you may want to consider this focus. Ultimately, you're spending 4 years of your life and a couple hundred grand on this experience, so you want to make sure it pays off.

5.) Price. Debt sucks, and although this should not be your first criteria, understand that 4 years of say a 10k price difference plus interest throughout residency will mean approximately a corvette. Or a nice BMW. Or a down-payment on a house. The medical field is experiencing significant upheaval, and the salaries physicians have come to expect may not be here forever. Choose wisely.

6.) Attendance. I can't stand being forced to attend a lecture, especially at 8am and with a boring professor. I'd rather just stream those. I also don't like being babied. Really dislike attendance policies.


Best of luck as you (and others) make your choice."

 

[egressive]

I would go to Wayne by a wide margin. They match people all over, have an ample amount of available research opportunities, and provide you with what I would consider to be a superior clinical experience. Also, its cheaper! While some say they have administration issues (which I think is prob true), I really don't believe it can be that bad. It just may require a little more legwork on your end to get what you want done. I should add that I was a little turned off by some comments in the Oakland thread about being burdened with busy work. At any rate, I'm sure you'll be happy no matter which school you choose. Just make a decision and don't look back. Good luck!

 

[MadRadLad]

Thanks guys. Every logical factor says I should go to Wayne. I'm not sure why I have such a mental block on it. Part of it is just absolutely not wanting to live in Detroit, and another part is how much i've heard about things being poorly administered and the lack of innovation. The attendance policy is not a big deal to me because i'm somewhat bad at making my own schedule, so having to go to classes isn't a bad thing. Plus the attendance policy at OUWB is not a bad as it was for their first class, for the most part it's up to the course director.

The clinical training and lack of residents for OUWB is definitely a big factor. I know Beaumont has been a rotation site for Wayne, MSU and UM students in the past though. Not knowing how the school matches is an issue definitely.

 

[MadRadLad]

I went OUWB after being in the same boat. There are pros/cons to either. If I had to pick again I'd probably still struggle with where to go, but I'm pretty satisfied with my choice. I'd recommend getting in touch with people at both schools to figure out what's important to you and which is the better fit.

That's good to hear. If you don't mind could you outline some of the pros/cons you found for OUWB/Wayne that led you to make the decision you did?

 

[MadRadLad]

I feel like a lot has been discussed elsewhere - the really important part is for you to figure out what matters to you and then figure out which school lines up the best. I wanted to go somewhere where I felt valued, where I clicked with the students, and where I would have good academic support. For me, OUWB was a better fit in those respects. I also am interested in OUWB's longitudinal classes (the "fluff" ones), so for me it isn't a pain to sit through them. If they aren't what you like, though, or if you're going to be resentful to have to do them, you might be better at Wayne. I don't think there's a wrong decision across the board, it's just what works or doesn't work for you.

Yeah I sometimes feel that OUWB would be a better "fit" for me. I think I could do fairly well in both types of curriculum (more involved at OUWB vs. more independent at Wayne).

How do you feel about the research opportunities at OUWB? I've heard Beaumont has a lot of options but how easy it is for a medical student to go up to a physician or researcher and get in on that? Both inside and outside the Capstone.