Rush vs. Loyola vs. Penn State vs. Stony Brook (WL)

[SirCardiac]

NYS resident, clinical research oriented, interested in a competitive specialty, want to eventually stay in the northeast

Rush

Pros

• Location in the Illinois Medical District
• Very good community vibe
• Relaxed atmosphere
• Proximity to downtown Chicago and great transportation
• Can rotate at a county hospital (great clinical experience)
• Awesome new building
• P/F
• Service oriented
• 30% tuition scholarship

Cons

• New flipped classroom curriculum (guinea pig year for us)
• No one has matched into my desired residency in the last 4 matches (probably not even important)

Loyola

Pros

• Very nice community vibe and cohesive atmosphere
• Gym!
• VA
• Service Oriented

Cons

• H/HP/P/F
• Will need a car, not "downtown" chicago
• Most expensive of all the schools

Penn State

Pros

• Lots of research going on and adequate NIH funding
• P/F

Cons

• Required scholarly project
• Large class size
• Hershey is a little too rural for me

Stony Brook (WL)

Pros

• State school = cheaper tuition
• Research school and adequate NIH funding
• Worked closely with many professors and a few PI's here
• Close-knit community
• Undergrad resources available at my fingertips
• Closest to SO in NY
• New children's hospital and MART building

Cons

• Pretty isolated part of Long Island
• Not P/F

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[libertyyne]

Stony brook seems to be what you want. Between Loyola and Penn, I would choose penn considering you want to a competitive specialty in the NE.

 

[BeingTime]

I would choose Rush out of all of those if I was in your position (unless you get off the Stony Brook WL). Rush is a great institution and has a great reputation. Plus the location is much better than Loyola's.

 

[SirCardiac]

Stony brook seems to be what you want. Between Loyola and Penn, I would choose penn considering you want to a competitive specialty in the NE.

If you were to throw Rush into the mix, where would it fall? I didn't sense any red flags or a toxic environment on interview day. The only thing turning me off is just the match list but isn't that something everyone tells you not to look at?

I would choose Rush out of all of those if I was in your position (unless you get off the Stony Brook WL). Rush is a great institution and has a great reputation. Plus the location is much better than Loyola's.

This is the choice I'm currently favoring too, especially since they gave me a 30% or so need-based scholarship. I can't tell if that is a lot until I get my other FA packages. The professors and physicians I spoke with tells me they know colleagues from Rush but not Loyola so I guess you are correct on the reputation. Can you think of anything else that makes Rush stand out more besides reputation?

 

[libertyyne]

If you were to throw Rush into the mix, where would it fall? I didn't sense any red flags or a toxic environment on interview day. The only thing turning me off is just the match list but isn't that something everyone tells you not to look at?


This is the choice I'm currently favoring too, especially since they gave me a 30% or so need-based scholarship. I can't tell if that is a lot until I get my other FA packages. The professors and physicians I spoke with tells me they know colleagues from Rush but not Loyola so I guess you are correct on the reputation. Can you think of anything else that makes Rush stand out more besides reputation?

does rush have a home program for the speciality you are looking at? I highly doubt it considering they havent matched someone in that program for over five years. Having a home program for a competitive specialty is huge for letters, calls, experience, research,etc.

 

[SirCardiac]

does rush have a home program for the speciality you are looking at? I highly doubt it considering they havent matched someone in that program for over five years. Having a home program for a competitive specialty is huge for letters, calls, experience, research,etc.

They actually do have a home program but I feel like the zero matches are due to a lack of personal interest in this specialty. On another note, I am not too comfortable without knowing how the new curriculum will fare. Other than that, it is a fantastic school with great reputation in Chicagoland.

 

[libertyyne]

They actually do have a home program but I feel like the zero matches are due to a lack of personal interest in this specialty. On another note, I am not too comfortable without knowing how the new curriculum will fare. Other than that, it is a fantastic school with great reputation in Chicagoland.

I would go somewhere where they have a home program in the speciality you like. Another consideration is there are regional biases for matching, this might be people wanting to stay where they are, or the impact of connections made in school , or the schools connections for sub I's and such.

 

[al22al22]

If you were to throw Rush into the mix, where would it fall? I didn't sense any red flags or a toxic environment on interview day. The only thing turning me off is just the match list but isn't that something everyone tells you not to look at?


This is the choice I'm currently favoring too, especially since they gave me a 30% or so need-based scholarship. I can't tell if that is a lot until I get my other FA packages. The professors and physicians I spoke with tells me they know colleagues from Rush but not Loyola so I guess you are correct on the reputation. Can you think of anything else that makes Rush stand out more besides reputation?

I am also deciding between Loyola and Rush, and then OSU, so I may not be the most helpful but I can tell you that when I told some of the physicians I work with that I was accepted to Rush they all said that the affiliation with Cook County is huge and would really help me to be a well-rounded physician and that being able to say you rotated through a county hospital is a huge plus for residency or even future positions. I'm also leaning towards Rush in part because I love the idea of the new curriculum and I despise lecture-based learning.

 

[SirCardiac]

I am also deciding between Loyola and Rush, and then OSU, so I may not be the most helpful but I can tell you that when I told some of the physicians I work with that I was accepted to Rush they all said that the affiliation with Cook County is huge and would really help me to be a well-rounded physician and that being able to say you rotated through a county hospital is a huge plus for residency or even future positions. I'm also leaning towards Rush in part because I love the idea of the new curriculum and I despise lecture-based learning.

That's really good to know, but one can argue that Loyola's VA provides clinical experience on par with a county hospital. Neither schools swept me off my feet, but my gut feeling is telling me that Rush will be a better fit. I do like lectures though, but maybe once I get used to the new curriculum, I can do without them.

 

[marcelo12]

That's really good to know, but one can argue that Loyola's VA provides clinical experience on par with a county hospital. Neither schools swept me off my feet, but my gut feeling is telling me that Rush will be a better fit. I do like lectures though, but maybe once I get used to the new curriculum, I can do without them.

The curriculum part is huge. I can't stand lectures personally, but if you feel like you would still want at least some lectures, Rush might not be the move. Also, I have a friend who goes to Loyola. She likes the school overall, but she says the big drawback for her is the location (she would prefer to be closer to the loop).