U.Maryland vs U Michgan vs USC where would you go?

[chef]

This is for straight MD.

Where would you go if you got accepted at all 3? You are not a resident of MD, MI, or CA.
I'm listing some of the pros and cons for each one.

U.Mich:
Top10
COLD
Awesome matching
Rigorous curriculum, weekly quizzes, tough 3rd yr
$30k/yr for out-staters

USC
LA (although neighborhood not as good as UCLA, but still not as bad as Baltimore)
SoCal attitude, laid back
Cafeteria food is good (relatively)
P/F
$$$ tuition

U.Maryland
Baltimore sux (but U.MD is near inner harbor & camden yards, much better than hopkins)
Cutting edge curriculum(laptops given out, wireless LAN)
super new and modern buildings, hospitals, library

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[AnnaB]

Chef,
I am by far not an authority on any of this, but I thought I'd give you my two cents on Univ. of MD. I have worked for the school of medicine as a research assistant, and then took a job at Shock Trauma/University Hospital---so I'm familiar with the campus and have listened to the opinions of MANY med students that I spent time with there.
Most of the students I've spoken to have very positive things to say about the school (great teachers, brand new library, around four hours of classes everyday, and were attracted to Shock Trauma's cutting edge facility etc.) There's more but I can't remember offhand.
The med school is downtown however, and if city life isn't your cup of tea then you may not be happy there. The majority of the patients at University are inner city folk with a host of problems (people who need services but may be indigent/uninsured). UM is very diverse in both it's med students as well as the population the hospital serves (which I personally think is a great thing).
Most of the med students live nearby about a block or two from campus in housing (around 550$ a month and up if my info isn't outdated). There are others who live farther away though. The med school is located near the harbour like you said (about a 15 minute walk)...and also near infamous Lexington Market (which isn't such a great area).
Baltimore is a nice place to live...if you like the city thing. Great food, great sports etc.
I can tell you more, if you'd like to email me, please feel free to do so: [email protected]. Overall I think it's a strong medical school. Best of luck with your decision making!!! Anna

 

[Cdc28p]

I don't know much about UM and USC, but I like U Mich a lot when I interviewed. The hospitals are superb, the teaching facilities are very modern, and, most importantly, the people there seem so nice! I loved the office personnel, and all three of my faculty interviewers seemed so enthusiastic about teaching, interacting with students, etc... I guessed I had a lucky day or something because I had a great time talking with everyone there, from the students to the maintenance worker who gave me a ride to the admissions office in his truck, to the friendly, talkative cab drivers both from and to the airport. And I liked the group of interviewees that day. I would love to have them as my classmates. (The only better group of interviewees I've ever encountered was at Hopkins.) It probably doesn't help you decide, but I don't think you can go wrong with U Mich. (I'm from NorCal, and I can't stand LA so I would pick U Mich over USC anytime.)

 

[ckent]

Just wanted to throw some support to what AnnaB has already said. I am a second year at Maryland and I like the school a lot too. It sounds like you are already aware of some of Maryland's selling points; I can assure you that the curriculum is excellent, most days we have 2 hrs of lecture and 2 hrs of lab/small group and are done by 12 pm. Once a week, during first year and second year, you will get a good amount of clinical exposure through interviewing or practicing physical diagnosis skills on patients. You will be given/sold a brand new laptop when you come here, they usually buy the best on the market (which also happens to be the most expensive on the market ), but it's nice to be able to become computer efficient for medical things, practice giving powerpoint presentations with PBL, etc. . I'm not going to lie to you about Baltimore, but I will say that Maryland's location isn't that bad, I know a lot of students that walk around the campus area late at night (even though there is a risk, as with any city, while walking around late at night). People here do often walk to the inner harbor for dinner, it is around a 10 minute walk and I have done it many times after dark. Even though almost all of our facilities are fairly new, they should be finishing construction on two new buildings next year. One will be another research facility that should have even more conference rooms that, if not used for class, could be used in addition to the many rooms we already have to study in (changes in scenery are always nice while studying ). We will also be getting a new building that will, I think, house a new surgical facility specifically for our shock trauma center. In this new building, we should also get a new cafeteria as well. Well, like you have already noticed, most of our facilities are already top notch and very high tech, so I expect more of the same in these new facilities too. The faculty and administration are nice and are always willing to help out students. The curriculum went through a major overhaul way back in ~94 or so, so your class won't be subject to any major curricular changes or experiments, but the administration is always looking for student feedback on ways to further improve the curriculum and are often willing to add/change things with student feedback. Well, I could sell the school until my face turned blue, but instead I will just say that you can feel free to PM me if you have any questions/concerns about the school. Good luck with your decision and congrats on the multiple acceptances.

 

[gel1]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by chef:
•This is for straight MD.

Where would you go if you got accepted at all 3? You are not a resident of MD, MI, or CA.
I'm listing some of the pros and cons for each one.

U.Mich:
Top10
COLD
Awesome matching
Rigorous curriculum, weekly quizzes, tough 3rd yr
$30k/yr for out-staters•••••I am curious about what information led you to say 'tough 3rd year' at UMich. When I interviewed, I got the sense that the first two years are very rough, especially with the high pass rate and heavy curriculum. Did you hear anything specific about 3rd year there, when I am sure it is tough at almost every med school in the country? I am also trying to decide on attending UMich.

 

[jmejia1]

I don't know anything about the other two, but if you value clinical skills more than research you can't go wrong with USC. The only downfall is it's price. The strength lies on the fact that one of the largest county hospitals is literally across the street. The FIRST week of your first year at USC, you'll go "on-rounds" with a group of students and a doctor. Plus they have that new curriculum where you're in lectures a maximun of four hours a day, the rest you spent independently or in group-learning.

I'm not into research, but from what I hear, they have great research opportunities.

 

[Sir William Osler]

if cost wasn't an issue, hands down i would choose michigan. a great sports town and not to mention a great town for arts and culture. Ann Arbor is beautiful and you can enjoy that with the thrill of attending one of the most spirited big10 college towns. umich has a great faculty and you will get some unique opportunities to study medicine there. no question for me.