SLU vs. Drexel

[postedpostit]

I have been lucky enough to be accepted to a few MD schools and am currently deciding between these 2. Any help is appreciated!

SLU
Pros

• --Really liked the campus and how the school is connected to the medical centers. Sort of felt like what I imagined a medical school to be like (in a good way).
• --3rd year clerkships are pretty much all in the same hospital, don't have to travel around much 3rd year. Overall got the impression that clinical training would be better here vs. Drexel.
• P/F curriculum, non-mandatory lectures, seemingly minimal PBL/CBL/etc.
• A bit cheaper than Drexel tuition wise ($52K vs. $58K) and cheaper cost of living

Cons

• --Didn't love Saint Louis and am not looking to stay in the Midwest for residency
• --Catholic institution. Not a total deal breaker but seeing pro-life med student club posters around was a little...odd? Idk. Minor con.
• Did not click with the current students/other interviewees much, but might have just been an off day for me.

Drexel
Pros

• --Love Philadelphia WAY more than St. Louis. Preclinical campus is in East Falls which I don't really mind since it is still fairly close to center city and can be accessed by the student shuttle during the week
• --The new curriculum sounds like a good fit for me. Still have lectures but they are all online that you do on your own. Only 2 small group/team sessions a week (both like 2 hours) then the normal histo/anatomy lab classes.
• Really loved my interview and felt like everyone at the school was nice and chill. Lot's of people on SDN talk about how awful their impression of Drexel was at interviews, but my experience was really totally the opposite.
• Class size: usually a con for people lol but coming from a huge undergrad 260 people sounds TINY. I also like the society system where the class is broken up into 6 groups.

Cons

• --Cost: like $82K COA or something insane
• --3rd year clerkships are not all in Philly. Not a huge deal if it's just one rotation, but I don't want to spend all of 3rd year in rural/suburban PA.
• Would prefer it if the campus was connected to the hospital/downtown. But again, that's a small con for me.

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[Master Thinker]

I would probably pick SLU due to higher rankings and cheaper tuition. But on the other hand Philly>>>St. Louis. SLU is not located in a good part of the town so you might need to take that into consideration as well.

 

[postedpostit]

I would probably pick SLU due to higher rankings and cheaper tuition. But on the other hand Philly>>>St. Louis. SLU is not located in a good part of the town so you might need to take that into consideration as well.

Although SLU is technically ranked higher, we're talking #70 vs #85 so I didn't really feel like it even counted as a difference in ranking, lol.

Thank you for the input!

 

[ciestar]

By reading your post, your argument for Drexel is higher than that of SLU.

 

[The Silent Sentinel]

Hey OP, I have the same choice as you and I’m leaning towards SLU. I really liked the feel of the campus and how the med school, hospital, and UG are all connected. Also, I’m interested in optho and SLU has a good optho program. For Drexel, I really felt a warm culture there. Many students came up to me (unsolicited) during my interview day and talked to me about the school and what not. Also Philly is an awesome city.

Let me know what you end up deciding! They are both great schools.

 

[FamousLinen]

You're sold on Drexel. Take it. You're caught up on the fact it's ranked barelyyyy lower and costs a littleeee more. Just go to Drexel, it sounds like you made this hoping we'd vote Drexel to justify your pick haha.