Rush Vs. GW

[drgweeds]

Rush Medical College
Pros

• In Chicago and I have always want to live in this city
• Nice (new) hospital and affiliation with Stroger
• Really love the Dean of admissions and pretty much everyone there
• Very Strong sense of purpose and mission to serve marginalized communities
• They had hot food during the interview day (lol)
• Cheaper tuition and CoL
• Same research rank as GW, and a higher PC rank (not sure it matters)
• Chicago area is a great place for medicine and clinical research

Cons

• No significant research resources
• Not a well-known place on the national stage
• Not sure they match well, possibly better than GW

GWSMHS
Pros

• Accepted to the METEOR Research program.
  • Pre matriculation program where I get a $4000 stipend, free housing, and an opportunity to begin developing a research project with s GW faculty member
  • $2,500 stipend for research between year 1 and year 2
  • 4 years of close mentorship
  • networking with NIH, FDA, and VA
• More recognized name on the national stage
• In DC and natural fit with health policy
• Family will be close by
• SO works in DC and its the best place for career
• Know the area well
• Was told classes are P/F and unranked
• In the nice part of DC

Cons

• Expensive tuition and CoL
• Not sure it has a great rep for matching well
• I've been in the area all my life and really want to experience something new

Summary:
I was waitlisted at BU ans not really sure there will be a lot of movement since its a very selective program. I like the two schools but right now GW is flashing something shiny and its pushing me to commit. Need to make a decision by April 1st, since that's when I need to tell GW if I accept my METEOR fellowship. Definitely want to be a clinician-investigator and don't simply want to practice medicine.

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[Stuck on CCL2]

Rush Medical College
Pros

• In Chicago and I have always want to live in this city
• Nice (new) hospital and affiliation with Stroger
• Really love the Dean of admissions and pretty much everyone there
• Very Strong sense of purpose and mission to serve marginalized communities
• They had hot food during the interview day (lol)
• Cheaper tuition and CoL
• Same research rank as GW, and a higher PC rank (not sure it matters)
• Chicago area is a great place for medicine and clinical research

Cons

• No significant research resources
• Not a well-known place on the national stage
• Not sure they match well, possibly better than GW

GWSMHS
Pros

• Accepted to the METEOR Research program.
  • Pre matriculation program where I get a $4000 stipend, free housing, and an opportunity to begin developing a research project with s GW faculty member
  • $2,500 stipend for research between year 1 and year 2
  • 4 years of close mentorship
  • networking with NIH, FDA, and VA
• More recognized name on the national stage
• In DC and natural fit with health policy
• Family will be close by
• SO works in DC and its the best place for career
• Know the area well
• Was told classes are P/F and unranked
• In the nice part of DC

Cons

• Expensive tuition and CoL
• Not sure it has a great rep for matching well
• I've been in the area all my life and really want to experience something new

Summary:
I was waitlisted at BU ans not really sure there will be a lot of movement since its a very selective program. I like the two schools but right now GW is flashing something shiny and its pushing me to commit. Need to make a decision by April 1st, since that's when I need to tell GW if I accept my METEOR fellowship. Definitely want to be a clinician-investigator and don't simply want to practice medicine.

I really think GW would be the winner for me here. You'll be able to experience life after med school and it sounds like with your research mentorship program, you will be able to match in whatever you want as long as you do well in your steps. Also, allowing you to be with your SO in a place where they're happy and can work on their career too is a huge bonus if it were me in your shoes. Throw them a bone and I'm sure they will be much more supportive in the harder moments for sure to come. Just my opinion though.

 

[NeuroSoph75]

My vote is for GW as well!

However, another pro for Rush is that there are a lot of medical schools in the Chicago area. If you do not find research that interests you at your home institution, I have heard of students reaching out to neighboring institutions for opportunities (ex. I talked to a SLU student who was doing clinical research at Wash U). I am not an expert on this process, but it might be worth looking into...

 

[PhilzCoffeeAddict]

Heads up. Rush's new curriculum integration is having some issues. AND GW had an issue with cadavers in 2016. I would look up into both of these before making a decision.

 

[metobe2018]

Looks like you want to go to Rush!!

 

[1203xx]

Heads up. Rush's new curriculum integration is having some issues. AND GW had an issue with cadavers in 2016. I would look up into both of these before making a decision.

what was GW's cadaver issue?

 

[PhilzCoffeeAddict]

what was GW's cadaver issue?

Couldn't identify cadavers because they didn't properly label them. Occurred 2016.

 

[SuaveCardigans]

Couldn't identify cadavers because they didn't properly label them. Occurred 2016.

Thats a terrible mistake, but one I would be shocked if they let happen again. If I was OP I wouldnt consider that tbh

 

[icedude2010]

To address your rush cons, 1) from talking with students it seems like there’s not a lack for research projects. Browsing online at the different departments shows a lot of research in different fields.

2) Rush is pretty well known amongst medical folks. When I’ve brought it up out here on the east coast everyone seems to think highly of it. They also have one of the best Ortho surgery residencies in the country, and Cook county is very well known.

3) Don’t know a ton about the match lists. I remember Rush had a lot of ppl at strong Midwest institutions, but that may be self selection as well. I think both match well.

 

[drgweeds]

To address your rush cons, 1) from talking with students it seems like there’s not a lack for research projects. Browsing online at the different departments shows a lot of research in different fields.

2) Rush is pretty well known amongst medical folks. When I’ve brought it up out here on the east coast everyone seems to think highly of it. They also have one of the best Ortho surgery residencies in the country, and Cook county is very well known.

3) Don’t know a ton about the match lists. I remember Rush had a lot of ppl at strong Midwest institutions, but that may be self selection as well. I think both match well.

Thanks for the reply!

1) I did see that there were good opportunities to engage in resource, my con was speaking more to the fact that the school isn't part of a large research university and doesn't seem to have as robust of a research network as GW. I'd love to hear more thoughts on this though as I am just speaking from what my impression was.
2)Yeah, I think you are right on this one. I was talking to one of my investigators and she mentioned to me that she loved Rush students; I'm on the east coast too. However, I really never heard of the school before looking at the MSAR. I just think it's nice to go to a school that carries a name wherever you go. Their Ortho program is a top program, but looking at their match list, I didn't see many people from medical college matching into that program. Which was really kind of a turn off for me. Cook county is definitely an amazing place to be exposed to pathology and learn medicine.
3) I need to look at the match lists more and see which school provides better opportunities for what I want to do.

 

[gonz]

Thanks for the reply!

1) I did see that there were good opportunities to engage in resource, my con was speaking more to the fact that the school isn't part of a large research university and doesn't seem to have as robust of a research network as GW. I'd love to hear more thoughts on this though as I am just speaking from what my impression was.
2)Yeah, I think you are right on this one. I was talking to one of my investigators and she mentioned to me that she loved Rush students; I'm on the east coast too. However, I really never heard of the school before looking at the MSAR. I just think it's nice to go to a school that carries a name wherever you go. Their Ortho program is a top program, but looking at their match list, I didn't see many people from medical college matching into that program. Which was really kind of a turn off for me. Cook county is definitely an amazing place to be exposed to pathology and learn medicine.
3) I need to look at the match lists more and see which school provides better opportunities for what I want to do.

So where did you end up going?

 

[drgweeds]

So where did you end up going?

I went with GW.