SLU vs RFU (Chicago)

[happyvibes]

Hi! I am deciding between Saint Louis University and Rosalind Franklin University Chicago Medical School. Also, I have been recently waitlisted to Georgetown and Einstein but am hesitant to write a LOI at this time. Any advice is much appreciated!

Background: I would like to hopefully match into a residency program in CA (lived in LA my whole life) and am currently interested in ophthalmology, radiology, and IM.

SLU:
→ Pros:

• New curriculum of 1.5 yrs of preclinical, allowing more time to explore electives and more exposure to clinical settings to help with Step 2 prep
• In-house ophthalmology + radiology residency programs to provide more shadowing and research opportunities
• Higher ranking than RFU (not sure if this will play a role in residency applications given that Step 1 is now P/F)
• Emphasis on student wellness

→ Cons:

• Location: I prefer larger city locations and am not sure about the transition to living in St. Louis (never visited)
• History of accreditation issues but resolved in 2018

RFU:
→ Pros:

• Although preclinical years are in North Chicago, M3’s and M4’s can rotate and live in downtown Chicago (which I’ve visited in the past and really enjoyed)
• Exploring different clinical sites (diff patient populations, EMR systems, etc) during M3 rotations given that there is no main affiliated hospital

→ Cons:

• No in-house residency programs
• May have to reach out to programs outside of RFU to get research experience in the Chicago area
• Traditional 2 yr preclinical
• Lesser known school (but match list looks similar to that of SLU w/ a good number of students matching into competitive specialties)

Similarities:

• Both are true P/F and have AOA
• Similarly priced tuition
• Collaborative student body
• Both focus on community service and working with underserved patient populations

Thank you for your help!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[TheDataKing]

I'd vote SLU - not having to move around and having home residency programs is a massive pro.

As for them both being true P/F curriculums,
For RFU in their MSPE:
"Each student is given two bolded, capitalized descriptors in the summary paragraph; one for the basic sciences and one for the clinical years. In descending order these were Outstanding, Superior, Good, and Competent. The numerical boundaries are defined in an Appendix D. For the Basic sciences, 58% of the students were rated Outstanding, 19% Superior, 16% Good and 7% Competent. For the clinical years, 33% of the students were rated Outstanding, 22% Superior, 33% Good and 12% Competent."

while at SLU it's much vaguer:
"Incomplete Data. Appendix D states that the Saint Louis University School of Medicine does not maintain a class ranking system except for selection for AOA. A single summary paragraph may contain three descriptors, in one case Solid, Excellent, and Outstanding in that order. It is our guess that the first descriptor, in this case Solid, with its negative connotations, is likely the most meaningful."

 

[Putkernerinthehall]

OP, I would agree on SLU being stronger choice for same reasons @TheDataKing noted. BTW, RFU has also had accreditation issues and been on probation on a couple occasions over the years.

@TheDataKing where do you access that MSPE information ? I can see that being helpful when narrowing down one's choice.

 

[deleted1094730]

Have heard too many horror stories about RFU and a lot of their problems with administration/accreditation/issues with racism. Students from RFU often mention that they're really far from Chicago city and it takes 1.5 hours to get there so doesn't seem like too much of a pro. Overall, SLU is a significantly better school and has home residencies so its a clear choice

 

[_bkworks_]

RFU, but obvi einstein or georgetown if u get off wl