Pitt vs Emory

[radrak]

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Hey everyone! I'm having a really tough time deciding between these two schools. I really loved the vibe at both, and if I dont get any financial aid, the total cost will likely even out because Atlanta has a higher COL. I'm from Chicago and am potentially interested in Optho, ENT, and IR. I'm also interested in Bioethics and Palliative Medicine. I Ideally want to stay in academic medicine for my future career. I'm really not leaning one way or another...

University of Pittsburgh
Pros:

• Great research opportunities with strong NIH funding and faculty support
• Prestige/Match (T20 school) with historically strong placements in competitive specialties (Optho, ENT, IR)
• UPMC hospital system, one of the best academic medical centers in the country
• Flex weeks after exams, allow for self-driven learning, shadowing, research, or vacation
• Group learning environment aligns with my preferred learning style (same as emory)
• Closer to friends/family in Chicago (1-hour flight / 8-hour drive / 9-hour Amtrak train)
• Walkable city, so no need for a car in the first two years

Cons:

• Don’t know anyone in Pittsburgh → No existing social support system there
• Don’t hate Pittsburgh but I much prefer Atlanta as a city
• Weather → Cold and gray winters (but Im used to it as a chicagoan)
• Mandatory in-person sessions (8 AM - 12 PM, Mon-Fri) → However, a current student mentioned they are becoming more flexible and reducing in-class time. I’m not sure how much of a con this is for me because I like when I have a forced structure

Emory
Pros:

• 18 month preclinical (same as Pitt)
• Grady Memorial offers strong training in a major public hospital with significant exposure to underserved medicine
• Dedicated 5 month Research period
• Would love to experience warm weather for a change
• More flexible schedule with no mandatory 8 AM classes
• Larger city with more things to do outside of med school (imo)
• Have a few friends and a support system in Atlanta, including a close uncle
• Clerkship grading is Pass/Fail,
• Love Atlanta as a city
• Greater focus on service, public health, bioethics, and underserved populations

Cons

• Farther from home, making visits back home to Chicago less convenient
• My dad hates flying, so my parents would not want to visit often either
• Need a car, as it's less walkable than Pittsburgh
• Fewer matches in Chicago compared to Pitt (though still has solid match outcomes, not sure if this will matter to me in the future)
• Less Research funding/opportunity (not sure if it will be noticeably less)
• Less prestigious/Not ranked as high as pitt

 

[reactionarydisservic]

Congrats on your acceptances! Both are great options!

I dont really have anything to add in way of deciding but i did want to throw out there that as someone that has lived in Pittsburgh, I wouldn't exactly say the city is walkable. It is possible to get by without a car but life will be exponentially easier if you have one. Only certain areas of the city are walkable, esp when you consider needing to get groceries, going to gym, and other daily tasks. The bus here is alright, but becomes less dependable outside regular hours and if you aren't located near main routes. Taking the bus to class and campus is absolutely the move since parking in Oakland is a nightmare, but most other things are WAY easier if you have a car. With that said, it is doable car-less! I did it without one but heavily relied on friends that had one.

 

[radrak]

Congrats on your acceptances! Both are great options!

I dont really have anything to add in way of deciding but i did want to throw out there that as someone that has lived in Pittsburgh, I wouldn't exactly say the city is walkable. It is possible to get by without a car but life will be exponentially easier if you have one. Only certain areas of the city are walkable, esp when you consider needing to get groceries, going to gym, and other daily tasks. The bus here is alright, but becomes less dependable outside regular hours and if you aren't located near main routes. Taking the bus to class and campus is absolutely the move since parking in Oakland is a nightmare, but most other things are WAY easier if you have a car. With that said, it is doable car-less! I did it without one but heavily relied on friends that had one.

Thanks for the input! Do you think being car-less would be easier if I lived close to the school?

 

[Hollow Knight]

I was going to say Emory because family support and mandatory class is awful. However-

You say you need someone to force structure on you which may be the one reason mandatory class is good.

Also, you say you want to stay in academics long-term. Well, if that’s the case, having that fancy med school name might actually help you become the dean of something or the other one day.

Just make sure you can succeed in Pitt’s environment with the mandatory class and no family and all. That’s a bad idea for most med students but maybe you’re a unique one. Just my 2 cents.

Forgive me if this is a stupid thing to say (I grew up on a farm lol) but can you catch an 8 hour train ride and just sleep on the train? If that’s normal and safe than you can catch a Friday night train from Pittsburg and visit family all the time. But I don’t know if that’s safe or not, I’ve never lived in that large of a city.

 

[Hollow Knight]

BTW, congrats on your acceptances, those are two fantastic institutions.

 

[radrak]

I was going to say Emory because family support and mandatory class is awful. However-

You say you need someone to force structure on you which may be the one reason mandatory class is good.

Also, you say you want to stay in academics long-term. Well, if that’s the case, having that fancy med school name might actually help you become the dean of something or the other one day.

Just make sure you can succeed in Pitt’s environment with the mandatory class and no family and all. That’s a bad idea for most med students but maybe you’re a unique one. Just my 2 cents.

Forgive me if this is a stupid thing to say (I grew up on a farm lol) but can you catch an 8 hour train ride and just sleep on the train? If that’s normal and safe than you can catch a Friday night train from Pittsburg and visit family all the time. But I don’t know if that’s safe or not, I’ve never lived in that large of a city.

I do want to stay in academics, but thats mostly cuz I enjoy teaching lol, don't think I'll ever become a dean or anything haha

So although I have an uncle and some friends out in Atlanta, I feel like that'll be more of "social support" rather than "family support". I definitely think I'll have more of a familial support being closer to home in Pittsburgh because its just so accessible both ways. And yes, I have slept on an Amtrak like that before Lol.

And from speaking to a current M3, apparently the mandatory class isn't as bad as it seems. 1) they have a very lax absence policy. 2) there's no lectures, its mostly group learning so I won't have to sit through something that I'll go and self study again. 3) its usually not the entire 8-12 time block (she told me that most days they start at 10 or if they start at 8 they usually end at 10).

Aside from that, I guess everyone adapts their schedule once they're in medical school but idk, I feel like the built in structure that Pitt gives might actually benefit me? Plz lmk if im thinking about this the wrong way though, and if non-required classes are the way to go.

 

[Hollow Knight]

I do want to stay in academics, but thats mostly cuz I enjoy teaching lol, don't think I'll ever become a dean or anything haha

So although I have an uncle and some friends out in Atlanta, I feel like that'll be more of "social support" rather than "family support". I definitely think I'll have more of a familial support being closer to home in Pittsburgh because its just so accessible both ways. And yes, I have slept on an Amtrak like that before Lol.

And from speaking to a current M3, apparently the mandatory class isn't as bad as it seems. 1) they have a very lax absence policy. 2) there's no lectures, its mostly group learning so I won't have to sit through something that I'll go and self study again. 3) its usually not the entire 8-12 time block (she told me that most days they start at 10 or if they start at 8 they usually end at 10).

Aside from that, I guess everyone adapts their schedule once they're in medical school but idk, I feel like the built in structure that Pitt gives might actually benefit me? Plz lmk if im thinking about this the wrong way though, and if non-required classes are the way to go.

There really is no right answer. It’s whatever works for you. The reason most med students don’t like mandatory class is if you’re like many of us and your best study strategy is doing flashcards and UWorld questions for hours, mandatory class takes time away from doing that/grinding out publications. But I have classmates who love the learning environment you describe and go to every class because that works best for them.

Given what you’ve said I’d probably go with Pittsburg. Like you said the mandatory class thing doesn’t sound too annoying. And being at a T20 helps career wise even if you perform like an average student.

If you were telling me you hate group learning maybe it would be a different calculus but you’ll be closer to family at Pitt and they have better resources than Emory

 

[reactionarydisservic]

Thanks for the input! Do you think being car-less would be easier if I lived close to the school?

Of Course and great question! It depends on your definition of close. If you mean within walking distance to campus in Oakland, then no. I would even argue that may increase the need for a car given that most things are located outside of the Oakland neighborhood apart from social activities (but even then it skews heavily undergrad, which may or may not be a bad thing for you, but for me it was loll). If you're thinking of some of the closer neighborhoods like Shadyside, Squirell Hill, East Liberty, etc... then it is more possible! It really ultimately comes down to convenience and time since relying on the bus will eat into more of your day, but it is doable. If you do ultimately end up choosing Pitt, feel free to DM me and I can give you some recs on where to live that are more suitable for a car-less lifestyle! But I would caution against factoring walkability/ability to do car-less into your final decision since you may end up wanting one after a few months anyway since life here is much more convenient with a car, but thats my two cents lol congrats again!!

 

[radrak]

Of Course and great question! It depends on your definition of close. If you mean within walking distance to campus in Oakland, then no. I would even argue that may increase the need for a car given that most things are located outside of the Oakland neighborhood apart from social activities (but even then it skews heavily undergrad, which may or may not be a bad thing for you, but for me it was loll). If you're thinking of some of the closer neighborhoods like Shadyside, Squirell Hill, East Liberty, etc... then it is more possible! It really ultimately comes down to convenience and time since relying on the bus will eat into more of your day, but it is doable. If you do ultimately end up choosing Pitt, feel free to DM me and I can give you some recs on where to live that are more suitable for a car-less lifestyle! But I would caution against factoring walkability/ability to do car-less into your final decision since you may end up wanting one after a few months anyway since life here is much more convenient with a car, but thats my two cents lol congrats again!!

Thank you for the info! I can definitely see myself trying to tough it out without a car and then giving up after a few months Lol

 

[JungleTrouble]

Emory sounds like the better option for a typical med student who wants time as their own, but considering that you do not mind the schedule, have family nearby, and that they are both great schools, Pitt definitely works. It's ultimately gonna come down to time vs support network. In my experience so far, you can adjust to your schedule but the family is a hard adjustment.

 

[yellowarmpit47]

Current pitt student here

Mandatories are absolutely atrocious here. Idk who you talked to that said they are decreasing mandatories, because they are definitely not and may even be bumping you guys up to 4 days of mandatory small groups next year.

Mandatory small group in theory is a great idea, the only problem is when you have computer science PhD's who don't even know where the right atrium is leading small group for 15 hours a week (amongst many other incompetent small group leaders here). I have a lot more qualms about our preclinical here, and although I'm sure its pretty ****ty at most med schools, I'm confident Pitt is easily one of the least conducive to helping you pass step 1. (but good trauma bonding/complaining material with classmates)

In addition, most of my class does not have a car and public transit is fantastic as long as you aren't trying to get out to the suburbs for some odd reason.

That said, the research and shadowing opportunities are tremendous and flex weeks are absolutely amazing. I am loving my time here and would not have it any other way.

Feel free to DM.

 

[skedaddleduck]

Current pitt student here

Mandatories are absolutely atrocious here. Idk who you talked to that said they are decreasing mandatories, because they are definitely not and may even be bumping you guys up to 4 days of mandatory small groups next year.

Mandatory small group in theory is a great idea, the only problem is when you have computer science PhD's who don't even know where the right atrium is leading small group for 15 hours a week (amongst many other incompetent small group leaders here). I have a lot more qualms about our preclinical here, and although I'm sure its pretty ****ty at most med schools, I'm confident Pitt is easily one of the least conducive to helping you pass step 1. (but good trauma bonding/complaining material with classmates)

In addition, most of my class does not have a car and public transit is fantastic as long as you aren't trying to get out to the suburbs for some odd reason.

That said, the research and shadowing opportunities are tremendous and flex weeks are absolutely amazing. I am loving my time here and would not have it any other way.

Feel free to DM.

Sorry to hijack—but hoping you could elaborate, sent you a dm!

 

[radrak]

Sorry to hijack—but hoping you could elaborate, sent you a dm!

i sent one too, they didnt get back to me😭

 

[skedaddleduck]

i sent one too, they didnt get back to me😭

I got a reply so happy to share🙂 looks like the mandatory classes are a con for those trying to grind out early on. The attendance policy is realllly lax (minimum is 50% attendance for no penalties) and classes are small group discussions. Personally, I’m ok with this as I do like some core times to get to see my classmates. Main con seems to be implementation of the group discussions as most facilitators are PhDs who lack the relevant clinical knowledge. Looks like admin is receptive and is changing out faculty but tbd. Those who get MD facilitators seem to have a good time (asked about this in second look).

Also, residency.admit.org recently ranked the top 20ish school match lists so I advise you check out emory to see how you like it🙂 I checked out Pitt’s and it seems half the class matched into residencies ranking in the top 30s, with significant ties to Chicago, NYC, and UPMC of course. Have you been to Emory’s second look? How was it?

 

[radrak]

I got a reply so happy to share🙂 looks like the mandatory classes are a con for those trying to grind out early on. The attendance policy is realllly lax (minimum is 50% attendance for no penalties) and classes are small group discussions. Personally, I’m ok with this as I do like some core times to get to see my classmates. Main con seems to be implementation of the group discussions as most facilitators are PhDs who lack the relevant clinical knowledge. Looks like admin is receptive and is changing out faculty but tbd. Those who get MD facilitators seem to have a good time (asked about this in second look).

Also, residency.admit.org recently ranked the top 20ish school match lists so I advise you check out emory to see how you like it🙂 I checked out Pitt’s and it seems half the class matched into residencies ranking in the top 30s, with significant ties to Chicago, NYC, and UPMC of course. Have you been to Emory’s second look? How was it?

Hey thank you so much for the info! So i also knew about the lax attendance policy, and apparently theyre also really flexible with accomodations as well in case life is crazy. Im ok with it as well i think because i sometimes need a structure to build my own structure. And yeah at second look a lot of the faculty seemed okay to me at an initial glance...

Oh snap, i didnt know admit had a residency page lol. Ill def check it out, thanks! Emory's 2nd look is this upcoming week so ill see how it goes!

 

[radrak]

Wanted to update in case anyone thinks this should sway my decision:
Emory's gonna end up being a total of $85k more expensive for me to attend. Its pushing me towards pitt, but some ppl say that a number like that will be negligible in the long run