Please help me decide between UIC and PITT!

[Mr. H]

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Hi everyone, well, I need to start narrowing my choices to the magical number 1. For backgroud, I am an IL resident, so tuition at UIC will be incredibly cheap.

I'm looking for current med students who could give me their impressions on the both schools. I only had a very short time to look at each school, so I don't feel I have enough knowledge.
What are the + and - at the respective schools? Student body makeup? Clinical exposure? Opportunities for "free" research (i.e. grants,etc...) City?

Any help would be appreciated and I thank you guys for your time!
H

 

[FZISHN]

Look, I think the reason no has answered your post is due to the fact your medical school decision should be obvious.

I am all for public schools and the cheaper tuition, etc, but come on, it's Pitt!

You should definitely check both match lists (UIC and Pitt). I interviewed at Pitt for residency and met many med students from there. The energy of the place is astounding and the caliber of the faculty and students is amazing. You get 7 strong hospitals to rotate through in your clinical years (at least I heard something like that).

If you are looking into research at all, I am sure you know Pitt gets one of the top NIH endowments in the country.

There are alot of opportunities at Pitt if you want to take advantage of them. If you don't care for the research and connections, then maybe Pitt is not the school for you.

 

[toblerone]

hey there,

i don't know about PITT but i do go to UIC

first of all, i'll have to say that i don't particularly like it here.
the first year is kinda fractured (meaning a traditional curriculum, learning a little bit about something in physiology, anatomy, biochem at different times). and they give lots of tests, especially first semester -- i think we had like one test a week for like 7 weeks and the last week we had 2 tests or something. they definitely make it more stressful than it has to be

also, one of my friends, a 4th yr, said that the office of student affairs is notorious for making errors -- i had a student loan deferment form i needed signed and i've had to ask them to do it 3 times (first time they had no dates of enrollment, second time no official seal)

i think 3rd/4th years are much better -- like my friend (the 4th yr) said, he was miserable the entire first two yrs but then on the first day of rotations he's loved it ever since.

so if you can find a better program, you should definitely consider it. but then again, if you want to be a doctor, you can get what you want out of UIC

 

[ForceField]

Originally posted by FZISHN
Look, I think the reason no has answered your post is due to the fact your medical school decision should be obvious.

I am all for public schools and the cheaper tuition, etc, but come on, it's Pitt!

You should definitely check both match lists (UIC and Pitt). I interviewed at Pitt for residency and met many med students from there. The energy of the place is astounding and the caliber of the faculty and students is amazing. You get 7 strong hospitals to rotate through in your clinical years (at least I heard something like that).

If you are looking into research at all, I am sure you know Pitt gets one of the top NIH endowments in the country.

There are alot of opportunities at Pitt if you want to take advantage of them. If you don't care for the research and connections, then maybe Pitt is not the school for you.

I agree with FZISHN. Mr. H, are you insane?!

 

[surge]

It depends on what you want to do after med school.

UIC will most certainly make you into a good doctor (provided you take advantage of resources offered). However, UPitt has an excellent reputation (far above UIC) and research (this is what determines a school's value in academic circles). So, if you want to go into academic medicine, do research, or simply get into a competitive specialty, go to Pitt.

And before someone brings up the kid from Finch who matched in neurosurgery at MassGeneral a few years ago, I'm not saying it will be impossible from UIC, just harder.

This is not the time to be cheap (if you can get the loans, get them).

Good luck.

 

[Mr. H]

Hey, everyone. Thanks for the comments, I really appreciate them all. I know PITT is incredible and I'm lucky to have gotten in, but it is soo far from home, and it is quite expensive.

I realize money shouldn't be the issue, so I'm not really going to worry about that.

But for those living far from friends and family, how do you cope with it? Have you found the change easier than expected?

Also, does anyone know where I can get a list of the match lists of each school?
thanks!
H

 

[NYGirl12]

I'd choose Pitt handsdown 🙂 If you need loans, then take 'em...But then again, the decision is up to you 🙂

 

[ForceField]

Originally posted by Mr. H
Hey, everyone. Thanks for the comments, I really appreciate them all. I know PITT is incredible and I'm lucky to have gotten in, but it is soo far from home, and it is quite expensive.

I realize money shouldn't be the issue, so I'm not really going to worry about that.

But for those living far from friends and family, how do you cope with it? Have you found the change easier than expected?

Also, does anyone know where I can get a list of the match lists of each school?
thanks!
H

Family is a very important consideration, and it would be perfectly understandable if you chose UIC for that reason. Provided you work hard and do well, you will have flexibility in specialty choice. Like others have said, Pitt may give you slightly better opportunities, but I don't think the difference would be so great that you'd make a mistake by going to UIC instead. If you're happier at UIC because you have the security of being close to your family, then you could very well do much better at UIC than at Pitt, and would have better opportunities for residency. If you're unhappy at Pitt because you can't see your family, then all that prestige is garbage, because you may very well be unhappy. It looks like you'll have to make this decision on your own, but ultimately, I don't think you'd go wrong either way. UIC is a good school too, and tons of people would die for your spot at UIC if you choose Pitt.

 

[Fermi]

Originally posted by Mr. H
Hey, everyone. Thanks for the comments, I really appreciate them all. I know PITT is incredible and I'm lucky to have gotten in, but it is soo far from home, and it is quite expensive.

I realize money shouldn't be the issue, so I'm not really going to worry about that.

Also, does anyone know where I can get a list of the match lists of each school?
thanks!
H

Mr. H,

I was considering UIC a couple years ago. To address your financial concerns, UIC is definitely not cheap as public med schools go. I believe the tuition was around $20K in-state. Pitt is more expensive than that, but keep in mind that some private schools can be quite generous with grants and scholarships such that your overall debt could be about the same.

As for the education you get: I had several friends who went to UIC and the consensus was that the first two years are definitely nothing special, but the clinical opportunities are excellent. They matched into great programs in IM, urology, surg. I also had a friend who went to Pitt and matched in dx radiology. You can find match lists for UIC at: UIC Match List Page

Good luck with your decision--we know it's not an easy one!

 

[pinbor1]

Mr. H

Good luck with whatever you choose. As for all those interested, check Fermi's UIC match link some time next week after Tuesday. UIC had a great match this year. Just about everyone matched, I think six scrambles total, and three of those were for prelim spots. All ER, Radiology, Ortho people matched. We even have someone that matched Hawaii for ortho, they only take to spots and one is given to an instate and the other is up for grabs to out of staters and we got it!

Still getting over my post match day hangover, peace...

 

[imtiaz]

If you want UIC's match list PM me.

 

[pinbor1]

Is that match list for the urbana campus? The Chicago campus' has not been officially compiled yet. I believe that the peoria match list can be located if you do a google search.

 

[imtiaz]

Originally posted by pinbor1
Is that match list for the urbana campus? The Chicago campus' has not been officially compiled yet. I believe that the peoria match list can be located if you do a google search.

I have the lists for the Urbana/Peoria/Rockford campuses, no Chicago list yet but it should be coming soon.