Residents: Help with deciding on a med school?

[JennyL867]

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I feel so unknowledgable when it comes to making this decision, but nervous at the same time that I could make the wrong choice and regret it later when matching for residency. I'd really appreciate any advice from those of you that have gone through the match already. With that said, I'm deciding between University of Pittsburgh, Hopkins, and Penn (I'll find out March 20th if I get into Penn). I'm a PA resident and live an hour away from Pitt, so it'd be really nice to be close to my family. My boyfriend is also applying to grad school, and so far, the only school he's been accepted to near any of my choices is Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh. I also really like that Pitt seems to have a compassionate atmosphere toward both patients and students. I actually went into undergrad with the goal of going to Pitt for med school, but I never thought I could get into a school like Hopkins or Penn. I'm hoping that my boyfriend will get into either Penn or Hopkins for grad school, so I won't be forced to decide between him or another school. But anyways, even with him out of the picture, I'm still wondering if I'd be selling myself short going to Pitt. Will I have the same residency options at Pitt? The thing about Hopkins is that I've never lived in a city before and what I've seen of Baltimore worries me a little. I've only seen the area around Hopkins med campus though...so I know I need to visit again to see more of the city. I'm hoping I can find a nicer area to live in...but also I've heard some things about competitiveness that I'm not sure I believe. Penn is a little farther from home than I'd like to be, but I like that it's on the undergrad campus. It kinda gives me some shelter from the city. I've also heard Penn is more relaxed than Hopkins, but again, that's just what I've heard. There really isn't anything else besides this that makes me want to go to Penn more than Hopkins. If any of you have any thoughts on these schools and whether Pitt would be a step down from the other two, I'd really appreciate your comments...sorry about the long post.

 

[Sohalia]

Hey,
So I just checked US World and News Reports (research) Hopkins is 2, U Penn is 4. University of Pittsburgh is 16, which may not seem like that much of a step down, but honestly I would go to either Hopkins or Penn if I were you.

 

[14022]

Premeds put so much emphasis on rankings, and I think it is pretty ridiculous. The most important part of getting a good residency is doing well in medical school, regardless of the school. Being happy at your school will do wonders in increasing your ability to learn and do well. So if you have a serious boyfriend in Pittsburgh, not only will you be unhappy about being hours away from him, but you will be spending a lot of time driving back and forth between Phili or Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Even if he comes visit you, you can count that weekend out for giving you time to study.

If you do well at any medical school, then no doors will be shut for you. I am a fourth year student at an average medical school that is not and probably will not in the neare future be listed on the top 50 US News ranking, no where near as well-regarded as Pitt. However, our school has a good reputation of training good doctors despite not being on the US News list. Several people in my class were interviewing at the best programs in their specialty. We will find out next week how we matched.

Also, those US News rankings are based on research dollars and reputation. Thus, they do not truely reflect the quality of education you will receive. Time and time again the people that are at the high ranked schools will tell you that they have some sort of advantage by being there, but it is simply not true. Their success is based mostly on the fact that since they were academically qualified to get into these highly selective schools in the first place, they already had the motivation and intelligence to do well. They would have been just as successful if they would have gone to a lower ranked school.

So do not get caught up in all of the rankings garbage and go where you think you will have the best quality of life. Social support is a highly underrated factor in choosing a medical school.

 

[new_avatar]

I think you can't go wrong with any of those schools. Pitt actually has a great medical school and in terms of care, they totally dominate SW PA. They are very high up in NIH funding, think they are 8th or so.

 

[Sohalia]

Time and time again the people that are at the high ranked schools will tell you that they have some sort of advantage by being there, but it is simply not true. Their success is based mostly on the fact that since they were academically qualified to get into these highly selective schools in the first place, they already had the motivation and intelligence to do well. They would have been just as successful if they would have gone to a lower ranked school.

So do not get caught up in all of the rankings garbage and go where you think you will have the best quality of life. Social support is a highly underrated factor in choosing a medical school.

I don't think I would have been able to do near as much research if I weren't at Duke, which has been an amazing thing for me. But maybe U Pitt is a better choice for the original poster than U Penn or Hopkins. I don't know.

 

[Stephanieukmed]

Premeds put so much emphasis on rankings, and I think it is pretty ridiculous. The most important part of getting a good residency is doing well in medical school, regardless of the school. Being happy at your school will do wonders in increasing your ability to learn and do well. So if you have a serious boyfriend in Pittsburgh, not only will you be unhappy about being hours away from him, but you will be spending a lot of time driving back and forth between Phili or Baltimore and Pittsburgh. Even if he comes visit you, you can count that weekend out for giving you time to study.

If you do well at any medical school, then no doors will be shut for you. I am a fourth year student at an average medical school that is not and probably will not in the neare future be listed on the top 50 US News ranking, no where near as well-regarded as Pitt. However, our school has a good reputation of training good doctors despite not being on the US News list. Several people in my class were interviewing at the best programs in their specialty. We will find out next week how we matched.

Also, those US News rankings are based on research dollars and reputation. Thus, they do not truely reflect the quality of education you will receive. Time and time again the people that are at the high ranked schools will tell you that they have some sort of advantage by being there, but it is simply not true. Their success is based mostly on the fact that since they were academically qualified to get into these highly selective schools in the first place, they already had the motivation and intelligence to do well. They would have been just as successful if they would have gone to a lower ranked school.

So do not get caught up in all of the rankings garbage and go where you think you will have the best quality of life. Social support is a highly underrated factor in choosing a medical school.

I will second that. I am a 4th year at a state school in a southern state not known for its charm, and I got interviews at multiple ivy league programs for residency. Point being, go where ever will make you happy in terms of your personal life because it won't limit you one bit in getting the residency that you want.

 

[new_avatar]

I will second that. I am a 4th year at a state school in a southern state not known for its charm, and I got interviews at multiple ivy league programs for residency. Point being, go where ever will make you happy in terms of your personal life because it won't limit you one bit in getting the residency that you want.

I disagree. I found Kentucky people to be pleasant and charming on the interview trail. I think Kentucky is known for its southern hospitality and charm. It's at the heart of America, not quite northern, not quite midwestern, not quite eastern, not quite southern, but very special.

 

[ekydrd]

... I found Kentucky people to be pleasant and charming... Kentucky is known for its southern hospitality and charm... very special.

😀

 

[EctopicFetus]

Dude.. Go wherever you will grad with the least debt.. All the places are solid but your pocketbook might not be as hurt depending on your choice. All options will be available for you from any of these places.

 

[Stephanieukmed]

I disagree. I found Kentucky people to be pleasant and charming on the interview trail. I think Kentucky is known for its southern hospitality and charm. It's at the heart of America, not quite northern, not quite midwestern, not quite eastern, not quite southern, but very special.

Thanks, that's sweet. Too bad some snobby faculty and applicants like to think we all walk around barefoot married to our cousins. I'm glad other people feel like its a charming place with charming people.

Maybe I should have used the word progressive instead of charming...oh well, hopefully after tomorrow it won't matter.