not to start a pissing contest or anything, but, having recently gone through the match process and being almost done with school here in Pittsburgh, I can offer some opinions...
1) i think the most important part of this is just going with your gut. go where you see yourself being happy not where US News tells you is the better. i completely agree with the last thing dara678 said above.
2) the clinical exposure, facilities, and resources available to you here at pitt, i feel, are bar-none. i cannot begin to explain to you the giant that is UPMC, but i assure you that whatever you are after is somewhere to be found in the system. it is just a matter of making contacts and applying yourself.
3) i posted my class' match list
here. personally, i think it is awesome, but that is mostly because i know the people behind the listed names. remember that people get tied down and have various other life-factors at play in making these decisions. not matching a neurosurg into BNI or ortho into HSS (for example) doesn't mean that was out of the question...that being said, i know many many people that got their #1, and I saw no one disappointed on match day. if you want to go from pitt to cali, then you will have no obstacles in doing that...the onus is just on you to perform.
4) the scholarly project is a pain in the *** and a joke, but, amazingly, if you are looking to apply to more academic-oriented residency positions, you'll be glad you have that work in progress. it gives you research, publications, presentations, awards, contacts, and, perhaps most importantly, something to talk about during interviews. on the contrary, if you don't want anything to do with academia or research, it is easy enough to do some study in music theory or whatever interests you...you just have to put up with the scholarly project coordinators bugging you to do the 3-5 minute update report every quarter.
5) Boards suck, and the curriculum here doesn't teach towards them (I can't speak for USC though). It is mostly an individual effort, but you are given several dedicated months to prepare. If you think you have what it takes to do integrated plastics or derm, then you should be smart enough to get a representative score. If you don't care that much, then you can probably expect a lower score. Pitt traditionally does well above average though (i'd guess mid-220s to 230)
6) SoCal and Pittsburgh are pretty much on opposite ends of the spectrum. For a med student though, the 'burgh isn't as bad as some make it out to be. It is cheap as $hit compared to LA, and there is enough to do that you can be occupied. The people are nice, and the city has a distinct personality and culture that I assure you will not be found elsewhere. Of course, if you've lived in LA for all of your life, then you'll probably need some adjusting.
. If anyone know alot about either of these schools and could give me some input or extra information, that would be wonderful! Thanks so much!
