pritzker/vanderbilt/upitt?

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lub

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Hey all! Quick question...I am holding seats at pritzker, vanderbilt, and pittsburgh, and would love any feedback/advice anyone has to offer...(keep in mind I am from PA, so pitt would be slightly cheaper)...

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I think Pritzker is awesome. It really is
 
I hear so many positive things about Pritzker...The only problem is that I had a horrible stress interview experience at Pritzker that's totally left a bitter taste in my mouth as far as attending Pritzker is concerned...Vandy, on the other hand, has been awesome with their PR since I've been accepted...I like Chicago's curriculum more, but was turned off by my interview...
 
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I haven't visited any of those schools, so my opinion means squat. I'd pick vandy, even though the commies treated me poorly this year.
 
All three are very good schools so you can't go wrong. The decision has to come down to where you will be happiest. Also consider where you want to live - Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Nashville are all very different from one another. Another thing to consider is financial aid packages...All that said, if it was me, I would pick Vandy.
 
congrats on three enviable acceptances. I'm on the waitlist at Pritzker and Pitt and didn't apply to Vandy. If I was going to get out of FL, I wanted a big city in the north :)

In the last couple days, I've been debating between the two schools ALOT. WIth myself, by reading on threads, talking to friends, emailing my student interviews, checking out webpages.. and I've come to no conclusion. It's like the soft-spoken thin tall blonde vs. the extroverted short curvy hispanic, they both are awesome and you'll have such a great time with either one that you'll never look back. :wink:

That said, Pitt will be a little less 'maintenance' of the two with the lower price tag. As someone has said on here, Pitt is the best kept secret of the top20. Do a search for both schools in the 'subject of the thread' option. Lots of info there that I found helpful going into interviews.
 
Hi--I interviewed at both Vandy and Chicago. I was accepted by Pritzker, and was waitlisted by Vandy.

I may be able to provide some insights into Pritzker, because I have two friends on the faculty there.

Vandy seems to be very very conservative. Chicago seems much less so--even given the reputation of their other graduate schools.

Vandy is GRADES GRADES GRADES--from day 1, you are given As, Bs, Cs, etc. They are also in class ALL THE TIME for lecture.

Chicago is pure Pass/Fail--meaning, not even like Northwestern's curved p/f, where the mean is set by the curve. At Chicago, they will lower the typical 60% pass point if everyone does poorly.

Vandy's anatomy class has about 5-6 people per cadaver, and you don't have the chance to do all the dissections. At Priztker, there are only 4 students to a cadaver, and you get to do all the dissections. Chicago's anatomy labs are BRAND SPANKING NEW and right next to an advanced computer lab dedicated to anatomy study. The anatomy labs were designed for maximum student comfort--they have three separate lockers (one for their books, etc; one for their clean clothes; one for their dirty anatomy clothes).

Chicago has an awesome interdisciplinary focus, where you can design research projects with MDs and PhDs. They are really open to student ideas for research. (I came up with my own, and I was able to do it EVEN THOUGH I WASN'T EVEN IN MED SCHOOL!!!) I can't comment on Vandy's research strengths, but their undergrad/grad school is not as strong as Chicago's, IMHO.

Chicago has top 10 law and business schools where you can get a dual degree REALLY EASILY. Vandy doesn't have top 10 law and business schools.

I love Chicago/Pritzker. I'm probably not going to be attending, for other personal reasons. NOT because of the school.

Frankly, I think Chicago's match results are better. I think that Vandy's students are really hurt by the grades they get--a Vandy "B" is not a Hopkins "B"--that is a cruel but I believe ultimately realistic statement. But at Chicago, you get a P, and that's frankly harder to distinguish from other Ps at top schools.

Nashville has great music, but the city is just not kicking like Chicago is--Chicago is the third largest city in the country, has a great public transport system (which Nashville does not), and has a great music scene as well.

Chicago also has Northwestern Feinberg, and I'm sure if you wanted to do rotations through NUMS affiliates (like Rehab Institute) you could. There are just not as many TOP TOP hospitals in Nashville as there are in Chicago... Chicago has the Rehab Institute, Children's Memorial, you name it. Pritzker itself has great great hospitals, and I had the strong sense that Vandy's hospital was much smaller and less of a complex system than Pritzker's.

The students that I interviewed with at Vandy were not as interesting and diverse as those I met at Chicago.

The Vandy tour guides were not that hyped about their school. They came out and said that the lectures kill them, and that they teach toward the boards. Which I guess is good, but it's not like Vandy kids are getting matched at totally awesome places.

That's my two cents. I could type more, but I won't, 'cause I'm getting tired.
 
•••quote:•••Originally posted by vkrn:
•Hi--I interviewed at both Vandy and Chicago. I was accepted by Pritzker, and was waitlisted by Vandy.

I may be able to provide some insights into Pritzker, because I have two friends on the faculty there.

Vandy seems to be very very conservative. Chicago seems much less so--even given the reputation of their other graduate schools.

Vandy is GRADES GRADES GRADES--from day 1, you are given As, Bs, Cs, etc. They are also in class ALL THE TIME for lecture.

Chicago is pure Pass/Fail--meaning, not even like Northwestern's curved p/f, where the mean is set by the curve. At Chicago, they will lower the typical 60% pass point if everyone does poorly.

Vandy's anatomy class has about 5-6 people per cadaver, and you don't have the chance to do all the dissections. At Priztker, there are only 4 students to a cadaver, and you get to do all the dissections. Chicago's anatomy labs are BRAND SPANKING NEW and right next to an advanced computer lab dedicated to anatomy study. The anatomy labs were designed for maximum student comfort--they have three separate lockers (one for their books, etc; one for their clean clothes; one for their dirty anatomy clothes).

Chicago has an awesome interdisciplinary focus, where you can design research projects with MDs and PhDs. They are really open to student ideas for research. (I came up with my own, and I was able to do it EVEN THOUGH I WASN'T EVEN IN MED SCHOOL!!!) I can't comment on Vandy's research strengths, but their undergrad/grad school is not as strong as Chicago's, IMHO.

Chicago has top 10 law and business schools where you can get a dual degree REALLY EASILY. Vandy doesn't have top 10 law and business schools.

I love Chicago/Pritzker. I'm probably not going to be attending, for other personal reasons. NOT because of the school.

Frankly, I think Chicago's match results are better. I think that Vandy's students are really hurt by the grades they get--a Vandy "B" is not a Hopkins "B"--that is a cruel but I believe ultimately realistic statement. But at Chicago, you get a P, and that's frankly harder to distinguish from other Ps at top schools.

Nashville has great music, but the city is just not kicking like Chicago is--Chicago is the third largest city in the country, has a great public transport system (which Nashville does not), and has a great music scene as well.

Chicago also has Northwestern Feinberg, and I'm sure if you wanted to do rotations through NUMS affiliates (like Rehab Institute) you could. There are just not as many TOP TOP hospitals in Nashville as there are in Chicago... Chicago has the Rehab Institute, Children's Memorial, you name it. Pritzker itself has great great hospitals, and I had the strong sense that Vandy's hospital was much smaller and less of a complex system than Pritzker's.

The students that I interviewed with at Vandy were not as interesting and diverse as those I met at Chicago.

The Vandy tour guides were not that hyped about their school. They came out and said that the lectures kill them, and that they teach toward the boards. Which I guess is good, but it's not like Vandy kids are getting matched at totally awesome places.

That's my two cents. I could type more, but I won't, 'cause I'm getting tired.•••••wow that sure was detalied....
 
Wow! Thanks all! I definitely need to give Pritzker more consideration--Hopefully, I'll be able to revisit both Nashville and Chicago. That, and wait for financial aid packages, of course...
 
I interviewed at all 3 schools and was accepted at Vandy and Pritzker (I withdrew from Pitt before I heard from them). I will be going to Pritzker next year. I agree with a lot of what vkrn said.

Vandy: The 'conservative' rep was not as obvious to me as some peoople say. My issue was really with the diversity. I walked around downtown, got some food, stopped in to a bar for some live country music, and was probably there for downtown. I did not see one non-white person. It was a huge shock to my system. Growing up in LA, spending the last 4 in Baltimore, I just could not handle such a uniform place. My faculty interviewer admitted he thinks it is a big problem in recruiting a diverse class, they just don't want to come to nashville. I did also feel the school was too proud of the way they do things to consider alternatives. (i guess that's the conservative rap) I stayed with a guy I knew from undergrad and he said the worst thing was the grades, it made people stress out too much. He loves the faculty, everyone raves about anatomy. I think vandy and chicago are similiar in the amount of added responsibility and positive learning environment in the clinical years. That's a big plus for either place in my book. I really did like vandy, and if it wasn't in nashville and I didn't get into Pritzker I may have considered it.

I've posted a lot of what I like about chicago, vkrn hit on most of the big things, if you want more insight PM me or search some of my recent posts.

Pitt: Well I decided PBL wasn't really for me, but that wasn't the biggest deal in why I withdrew. I think it's a very supportive environment and they are good to their students but I really liked how at some places I was struck by the academic environment, I know they have decent research opportunities, but my faculty interviewer even expressed dismay over the overt opposition to research he often finds in students. I am more interested in academic medicine, and, in my subjective feelings from the place, along with their matchlist not coming nearly to the league (as far as academic medical centers) as Chicagos, which was on the hopkins/duke/UCSF level. I had problems writing this Pitt blurb. I don't wanna rag on the school, I think it's a great place, just for someone with different interests/approach to learning than me.

Feel free to ask me any questions, especially about Prizker, :clap:
 
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