Top 1-15 school? or Northwestern\U of chicago?

[Mr. H]

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I'm just trying to get an idea of where the differences are in rankings. For instance, u of chicago would be best for me, i'm an IL resident, its close to my family, chicago is great. But for instance, what if I got into a "higher" ranked school, say number 13 or number 5? I know I'm just looking at numbers here, but where would you guys pick over U of chicago (considering ease of transp to home, etc..0 and a better school/ Do you have a cutoff that says, "I'm going to attend so and so no matter what cuz its X number of spots better than u of chicago? Top ten school the only schools you'd choose over chicago considering my situation?
thanks
peace

 

[Mr. H]

bump!!

 

[kafshar]

Harvard, Hopkins, Columbia, Penn, UCSF

 

[Amy]

It sounds like UC is a great choice for you. It's a great school, too. Rankings don't mean all that much, anyway... you wanna go where you'll be happy.

 

[USeF]

if it's SOLELY for ranking, none higher than those two. The main correlation I've found with higher ranked schools is the greater match lists for residency. Within the entire top teir (~50) there is a wide spectrum of curricula (lecture, PBl, hybrid) locations (very warm, moderate, cold, windy, freezing) cost and so on.

What exactly do YOU find that is automatically better at #4 than #24 w/o knowing what these schools are?

go here to find University of Chicago's match:
<a href="http://www.studentdoctor.net/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=009395" target="_blank">http://www.studentdoctor.net/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=009395</a>

 

[vkrn]

Please remember that the USNews rankings depend greatly on the NIH dollars pulled in, which of course depends on how big the school is, and whether you add in the NIH money from affiliated hospitals.

Also remember that the rankings depend on the grades and MCAT scores of admitted students.

I think that UChicago's USNews ranking is very very deceptive. I don't have hard facts to back this up, but I have the sense that Chicago's hospital complex is a tad smaller (but no weaker) than places like Barnes/Jewish, and they also might try to focus on admitting a diversity of students, rather than just people with high numbers. So that might bring down the ranking.

I have two friends on the faculty there (I've mentioned this before in two other threads), and they've given me an awesome glimpse into the school. It is SUCH a strong place.

 

[agent cooper]

I am in a similar sort of dileman, only different schools. The verdict: I'm going where it is cheaper (which also happens to be a top ten school). The money is the primary factor, which should not be overlooked and weighed considerably. Loans are not fun.
:wink: 😎

 

[coop]

nice last name agent,
anyways, I am going to U Chicago next year over some higher ranked schools, of the ones mentioned above, I got into UCSF, and turned down interviews at Harvard, WashU, and Yale because I would rather go to Chicago than them. Also I will pick Chicago over duke if I get in. This process is all about finding the right school for you. I think that Chicago matches up with any of these 'more prestegious' or 'higher ranked' places on the things that matter to me like how well students match, strength of reserach opportunities and faculty in general. and I think it has strengths in commitment to its students lives both in and out of an academic context that far exceeds my impression of anywhere else I've seen. I would turn down any other school to go to chicago because I feel it is the best learning environment for me (I also feel curriculum is a major issue in this). In this process you need to find the best learning environment for you, that could factor in a lot of different things for different people, but I think it's important to base your decision on more complex reasoning than #13 &gt; #16, rankings aren't meaningless, but try to parse the meaning out of them rather than taking them at face value.

 

[BlackPuma]

hey coop I wanted to say a BIG congratulations on ur CHICAGO and UCSF acceptances....it shows that you are truly a remarkable candidate...did ur gf also get accepted to UCSF? I know you told me she got into U. Chicago...

so where are you going to go now? 😀 congrats again!!!

 

[coop]

she still hasn't heard, but we decided it didn't matter because we both liked chicago better, so i just withdrew from SF