Rush vs WVU (urgent)

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Hi everyone,

These are two very different schools and I'm hoping y'all can offer some insight/opinions on what might be the best way to go here. Thank you!

Rush
Pros

• True P/F pre-clinical
• Hospital seems amazing + Rush students get priority at Cook County.
• All of the fac/staff I've met have been so welcoming and seem to be really invested in their students
• I like the structure of the small group stuff (how classes are taught by practicing physicians but Rush also has PhDs meandering around to answer stuff that the docs can't.)
• There are supposed to be more breaks incorporated into the academic year this year, but we have yet to see evidence of that b/c the MD-specific calendar isn't published <-- this makes me a little nervous
• Health equity focus (important to me)
• EXPLORE program seems to set people up for success when choosing specialty

Neutral info (could be pro or con)

• Chicago could be cool, but I'm from a super rural area so it would be an enormous change
• General city living can be tough-- cars are just more convenient but it's obviously hard to have one in Chicago + I'm worried about finding an apartment with parking.
• BUT city living also comes with conveniences (Trader Joe's <3), walking, biking, etc.

Cons

• LOTS of time in classes b/c of no lectures
• Far from home (Maryland resident)
• School starts way earlier (June 25) and I'm traveling for 2.5 weeks beforehand so I'm stressed about finding a place to live
• My fiancé and I would like to get married next summer and I'm not really sure we will be off in July or August, which is when we'd like to have a wedding (seems silly but it's on my mind lol)
• Higher COL in Chicago
• My fiancé and I are pretty outdoorsy and I worry we will feel suffocated in Chicago
• Safety (I'm not saying Chicago is unsafe but in Morgantown I won't even have to think about safety)

WVU
Pros

• Closer to home (2 hour drive)
• We know people there already and they seem to absolutely love it and feel very supported
• Close to family lake house, which is one of our favorite places ever
• Ruby serves basically the entire state, so there is no shortage of acuity/sick patients + no competition with other hospitals like there would be in Chicago.
• Starts later (late July) so we would have a summer (sorta)
• Their summer term seems longer than Rush's? M1 summer can be spent doing literally whatever-- I know people who are working in their hometowns who have an entire month off-- my fiance and i could get married!
• Lectures are in the morning, so M1s have the afternoons off

Neutral

• Honors/P/F + quartile rankings-- everyone I've talked to isn't bothered by this, but maybe someone could offer additional insight?
• Close to home, which means a very minor change of scenery. I was hoping to move further away (re: chicago), but now that I'm faced with this decision, I'm unsure. I know this is safe and comfortable for me.

Cons

• I was placed at the Eastern campus, which is almost where I live now. I'm concerned about not seeing the number/acuity of patients I would like to see. Also worried about being back at home, essentially, in two years. And having to go back to Morgantown for weeks/a month at a time for some rotations.
• Maybe a lower ranked/less highly-regarded program?
• Worried I'll get bored in Morgantown-- I like to eat/drink lol
• I'm worried I won't get exposed to diverse patient populations + I already have lots of experience with rural patient pops.