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- Jan 18, 2016
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So I just got accepted to one of my first choice school's main campus and I was also accepted to a smaller clinical campus for the 3rd and 4th years, I need to decide between the two clinical campuses pretty soon and need help picking A little background: non-trad student with masters in neuroscience, 5+ years of preclinical research experience and some publications; I want to work at an academic hospital and be involved in clinical trials while seeing patients. I'm undecided on a specialty but most interested in neurotology, otolaryngonlogy, neurosurgery, neurology, EM, and trauma surgery. Here's information about the programs:
Main Campus:
-150+ students per year (4 years)
-Hospital very highly ranked in ENT, neuro, and surgery
-Large university in a bigger, cooler, city, but 1-hour further from friends/family
-LOTS of research (can get involved all 4 years)
-Lots of good matches in most specialties
Smaller Campus:
-10-15 students per year (1st & 2nd year at main campus^, 3rd & 4th years at smaller hospital)
-"Focused" on PC but 40% of graduates matched non-PC (some good ones i.e. Cleveland Clinic Rad-Onc)
-Longitudinal patient care clinic (see your own patients long-term)
-$20,000 scholarship
-smaller rural town but 1-hour closer to friends/family
-hospital really felt like a family
-Very little research, don't see a lot of trauma or specialized surgery, but allows for away rotations
So my conundrum is that I am probably going to try to match into a difficult specialty and I'm not sure what is more valuable? The smaller program would allow me to be a bigger fish in a small pond, more hands-on and real doctoring experience, and closer relationships with my professors which will probably lead to better LORs. At the bigger program the hospital is more "prestigious" and would allow me to participate in more research, more clubs/organizations, and work with very skilled and well-known physicians in my potential fields of interest. Regardless, I'll spend years 1 & 2 at the main campus. So which do you think is a better match for me?
Main Campus:
-150+ students per year (4 years)
-Hospital very highly ranked in ENT, neuro, and surgery
-Large university in a bigger, cooler, city, but 1-hour further from friends/family
-LOTS of research (can get involved all 4 years)
-Lots of good matches in most specialties
Smaller Campus:
-10-15 students per year (1st & 2nd year at main campus^, 3rd & 4th years at smaller hospital)
-"Focused" on PC but 40% of graduates matched non-PC (some good ones i.e. Cleveland Clinic Rad-Onc)
-Longitudinal patient care clinic (see your own patients long-term)
-$20,000 scholarship
-smaller rural town but 1-hour closer to friends/family
-hospital really felt like a family
-Very little research, don't see a lot of trauma or specialized surgery, but allows for away rotations
So my conundrum is that I am probably going to try to match into a difficult specialty and I'm not sure what is more valuable? The smaller program would allow me to be a bigger fish in a small pond, more hands-on and real doctoring experience, and closer relationships with my professors which will probably lead to better LORs. At the bigger program the hospital is more "prestigious" and would allow me to participate in more research, more clubs/organizations, and work with very skilled and well-known physicians in my potential fields of interest. Regardless, I'll spend years 1 & 2 at the main campus. So which do you think is a better match for me?
