U. of Cincinnati vs. USC-Greenville?

[MaltaHugoLucy]

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Hey gang,

I don't know what I'm doing, am thankful for the decision, and am humbly asking for your guys' opinion on these two great schools! I have a pretty strange pair here in contention, but I think both schools have great aspects. I am originally from OH (not Cincinnati area) but I am finishing undergrad in Greenville SC. Please correct any of the information below if you know otherwise!

Greenville PROS: I really like Greenville's emphasis on early clinical exposure, as well as the four-year clinical research project they require. The facilities are brand-new, and it seems like this will assist in study resources, availability of study space, communication, etc. Greenville itself is a great town, and I appreciate that the hospital and the medical school are integrated together. I wouldn't mind staying here, and have a few friends from undergrad matriculating as well. The hospital system seems well-run and respected. I've done shadowing at the main and satellite campuses. EMT training given. Computer/iPad given (not a big factor). Perhaps more costly.

CONS: New, unknown to residency directors, almost no "prestige" (does this matter?). Not all specialities represented.

Cincinnati PROS: There seems to be almost every clinical and/or academic research and shadowing experience a medical student could want here. There are multiple hospitals nearby and all departments of medicine are represented. I like the curriculum (organ systems, prep time for Step 1, residency boot camp, quizzes weekly to prod procrastinators like me, etc.). A great record with residency placement and board scores. EMT training offered. Seems to have everything Greenville has, but better (is this a valid statement?). Perhaps a little cheaper.

Cincinnati CONS: Rougher neighborhood, bigger city (I'm still deciding if this could be good or bad). Weather. Any cons from current students? My tour guide couldn't really give any...It also seemed a more intimidating place than Greenville.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[eefen]

As a random internet person who knows little regarding either school, my vote is for Cincinnati. The reasoning you presented seems to represent this as being a "better" (FWIW) and cheaper school....winning reasons in my book. But ultimately, both schools will give you an MD, and you can stand out at or fail out of either one, so pick where you would feel the most comfortable spending the next four years.

 

[MedPR]

Early clinical exposure is a gimmick (Cincinnati uses it too)

I didn't interview at Greenville, but I really enjoyed Cincinnati interview day. I'm also an little iffy about the city, expecially the surrounding area (seems lame). Loved everything else about the school though.

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[IncognitoGuy]

Early clinical exposure is a gimmick (Cincinnati uses it too)

I didn't interview at Greenville, but I really enjoyed Cincinnati interview day. I'm also an little iffy about the city, expecially the surrounding area (seems lame). Loved everything else about the school though.

Sent from my SGH-T999 using SDN Mobile

This much is true. If you do have it, there's the hurdle of developing useful habits (or worse, the risk of developing bad habits early on). Don't let that really affect your decision. My only real qualm about Cinci is the neighborhood around it, but from what it looks like if you plan your living situation carefully (that is, live close enough to the Med school buildings or far enough that you commute), then you can avoid all that.

Cinci's got great facilities and like you said, is a good price for IS students - and in the event you don't have OH residency it's fairly straightforward to obtain after your first year. You might wait until financial aid packages come through and/or you attend second looks (provided USC has one for you).

I would also say that it would be good to have more specialties represented, as you never know what you will become interested in. Having more possibilities will enable you to have a broader exposure and, in the end hopefully lead you to what you want to do.

 

[deleted127837]

My roommate/counterpart was accepted at USC-G/Cincy, and he's talked about it a lot. I asked him about what you said, and am letting him convey his opinions:

Greenville PROS: I really like Greenville's emphasis on early clinical exposure, as well as the four-year clinical research project they require. The facilities are brand-new, and it seems like this will assist in study resources, availability of study space, communication, etc. Greenville itself is a great town, and I appreciate that the hospital and the medical school are integrated together. I wouldn't mind staying here, and have a few friends from undergrad matriculating as well. The hospital system seems well-run and respected. I've done shadowing at the main and satellite campuses. EMT training given. Computer/iPad given (not a big factor). Perhaps more costly.

- Greenville's pretty serious about actual early clinical exposure, which you mention with their EMT training. That's something nobody else does, and while MedPR may term that a "gimmick," they are doing exactly what they say they're doing, and the required EMT training and service are a big part of that.

- Facilities are amazing.

- Hospital system is supposedly the largest in the southeast (not the best, but the largest). Greenville's an up-and-coming city, and is starting to absorb traffic from both Atlanta and Charlotte, so the hospital system will likely continue expanding. In my roommate's opinion, USC-G is probably a decade from being equal to MUSC, if not better.

- They give out enormous amounts of scholarship money (something like 30 for the class of 50?)

CONS: New, unknown to residency directors, almost no "prestige" (does this matter?). Not all specialities represented.

- As they've been running the clinical rounds for USC-C for like 20 years, they know what they're getting into with clinical training, and are making a program based on exactly what they want to see. They're not a "top" residency program by any means, and the hospital is rated #2 in the state, but they're poised to improve dramatically with the new school.

- The big concern I would have is: their students have yet to ever take Step 1, and until they see their Step 1 scores, they have no idea if their curriculum is working or not. They could pull an average of 190 or 260, nobody knows. You have to be willing to roll the dice on that - there's a chance you'll come in amidst a massive curriculum overhaul because half their first year failed Step 1.

Cincinnati PROS: There seems to be almost every clinical and/or academic research and shadowing experience a medical student could want here. There are multiple hospitals nearby and all departments of medicine are represented. I like the curriculum (organ systems, prep time for Step 1, residency boot camp, quizzes weekly to prod procrastinators like me, etc.). A great record with residency placement and board scores. EMT training offered. Seems to have everything Greenville has, but better (is this a valid statement?). Perhaps a little cheaper.

- Cincinnati is established, which is a huge benefit. I wouldn't describe it as "better" as neither of them are particularly well ranked hospitals - actually, by the rankings, it would appear that GHS is ranked better than UH at Cincinnati. The curriculum is up to you. You sound like you like Cincy better.

Cincinnati CONS: Rougher neighborhood, bigger city (I'm still deciding if this could be good or bad). Weather. Any cons from current students? My tour guide couldn't really give any...It also seemed a more intimidating place than Greenville.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I'm excited about what Greenville is becoming, but hesitant because it's not there yet. I'm waiting to hear about money before making any decisions.

 

[ilikevegetables]

I also don't know much about USC-Greenville but really liked my interview at Cincinnati. I have to say, maybe it's because I had a friend showing me around, but I kinda liked the city 🙂 (though of course any city will have its bad/boring/whatever neighborhoods).

Also, just wanted to add one more point about curriculum overhaul - Cincinnati had one a few years ago and from what I've heard from current students, it's really settling back down nicely. They'll still tweak a few things every year, I'm sure, like every school does, but for the most part their curriculum has settled down. The current 2nd year students got to be the guinea pigs on that, so we don't have to 😛.

 

[MaltaHugoLucy]

Thanks for all of that Bearstronaut. I find it odd that there are other people considering these two schools as well, I guess I do not have such a unique problem as I originally thought. I've heard similar murmuring about USC-Greenville "overtaking" USC-Columbia soon, with MUSC to follow. I don't doubt it, but like you said, we will just have to wait and see.

I guess my decision might come down to "Do the tradition/any prestige/assets of Cincy outweigh the possible pros of Greenville"? I love Greenville and I think the medical school will do very well, but I just feel that it would only rival Cincinnati, not necessarily offer something that Cincy lacks. I think for me it will be very hard to turn Cincinnati down.

I don't have an inflated opinion of Cincy, but I want to be sure that I'm not discounting Greenville too early. I have been excited about USC-Greenville since August, and it feels weird to be seriously considering other options now. I'll definitely be gathering as much information as possible and wait until May before withdrawing anything.

 

[deleted127837]

Thanks for all of that Bearstronaut. I find it odd that there are other people considering these two schools as well, I guess I do not have such a unique problem as I originally thought. I've heard similar murmuring about USC-Greenville "overtaking" USC-Columbia soon, with MUSC to follow. I don't doubt it, but like you said, we will just have to wait and see.

I guess my decision might come down to "Do the tradition/any prestige/assets of Cincy outweigh the possible pros of Greenville"? I love Greenville and I think the medical school will do very well, but I just feel that it would only rival Cincinnati, not necessarily offer something that Cincy lacks. I think for me it will be very hard to turn Cincinnati down.

I don't have an inflated opinion of Cincy, but I want to be sure that I'm not discounting Greenville too early. I have been excited about USC-Greenville since August, and it feels weird to be seriously considering other options now. I'll definitely be gathering as much information as possible and wait until May before withdrawing anything.

Thank my roommate 😛 he wrote all that. I'd go to their second looks (if they have those) and see what you think.