u of minn, u of wisc or u of rochester???

[nyoda7]

i am having a really hard time deciding between these three schools. i have heard good things about all three. i am from the east coast and would like to live somewhere different, but i am not sure if i would feel out of place at a state school like minn or wisc, where most students are from that state.
also...in terms of rankings it seems like wisc is the best school, but i have heard great things about rochester, which is ranked lower. should i just ignore us news??
i would greatly appreciate any advice!!

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[derf]

i am having a really hard time deciding between these three schools. i have heard good things about all three. i am from the east coast and would like to live somewhere different, but i am not sure if i would feel out of place at a state school like minn or wisc, where most students are from that state.
also...in terms of rankings it seems like wisc is the best school, but i have heard great things about rochester, which is ranked lower. should i just ignore us news??
i would greatly appreciate any advice!!

You're right, UW is the best of the bunch in terms of prestige and medical school. But, I think you would fit in also at UW since its a very lively campus thats buzzing with many things, including athletics since its part of the big ten conference. It would definitely be the best experience and best education from the schools you mentioned. Rochester is very good but I would choose UW from the three.

 

[MDT]

i am having a really hard time deciding between these three schools. i have heard good things about all three. i am from the east coast and would like to live somewhere different, but i am not sure if i would feel out of place at a state school like minn or wisc, where most students are from that state.
also...in terms of rankings it seems like wisc is the best school, but i have heard great things about rochester, which is ranked lower. should i just ignore us news??
i would greatly appreciate any advice!!

First of all, I wouldn't worry about rankings. You need to pick the school that fits you best, because then you will learn the best! I don't know much about Rochester, but I would personally choose MN over WI. UMN's tuition is probably prohibitive as an out of state applicant however, unless you got a great scholarship. I would choose MN over WI because the twin cities are a much bigger metropolitan area than Madison is. Also, with Wisconsin, you have to do a large number of your clinical rotations at locations all over the state of WI, many of them small towns, because Madison's hospitals are just not big enough to support all of the med students. With UMN-Minneapolis, you get access to a huge variety of hospitals (university, county, private, VA, etc.) for your rotations, but they are all in the Twin Cities metro area so you don't have to find new housing for every rotation. Moving anywhere new, you might feel out of place for awhile, but once you get settled I don't think you are going to feel like you don't fit in. Plus there will be a lot of people familiar with the area that can help you get settled and give you the inside scoop. Good luck with your decision

 

[Offear]

I wouldn't worry too much about feeling out of place at UW because your from the East Coast. There is a good number of East Coasters here (well, from what I have seen as an undergrad. Quite a few of my classmates and TA's were/are from the east Coast.)

Also, to what the OP said, you don't neccesarily have to go to rural parts of Wisconsin for your rotations- you can go to Milwaukee, for instance. Anyway, you should go to where you think you'll fit the best. ( Madison is a great city, though )

 

[PowderPhan]

Don't know much about URochester, but have some friends that attend both UWisc and UMN. Both are good programs, but I'd like to second what was said about the hospitals in the TC area. Health care is HUGE in the metro area: tons of research, tons of biomed companies, tons of hospitals. Madison is a cool town to party in, but I don't know if I'd like to live there...

Plus, doesn't UW grade A-F? Yuck.

PP

 

[nyoda7]

thanks for all of your advice! i really appreciate it.
i actually got an in-state tuition grant from MN, so in terms of cost that is the cheapest school.
i think i am going to pick from a hat, as i am still stuck
it worked well for undergrad, so i might as well give it a try for med school.
...and keep my fingers crossed i get off the waitlist at my top choice

 

[josehernandez94]

Go to Rochester. I've stated my reasons so many times on other X school vs. Rochester threads (if you really care what I've written, you can do a search). Another reason that I hadn't mentioned, though, is that you'd get to go to school with ZekeMD and me... that's not something most females would be willing to turn down.
So, why Rochester?
-curriculum
-happy students
-cool international research opportunities
-involved/caring administration and faculty
-the presence of ZekeMD and jh94 in your class

 

[hilikus]

UMN! Wisonsin people are weird

Obviously there are pluses and minuses about both. If it were me I would choose UMN but that's because I have lived in the Twin Cities and loved it. Awesome area and the school has a really great rep. The downside to the Twin Cities is the that the cost of living is horrendous, but if you're from NY then that may not be a surprise or an issue. Wisconsin is a beautiful state but to me it's the land of Mullets. I think it has the highest Mullet per capita average in the country. But the beer is awesome! I have never drank better than when I lived in Minnesota. The microbrews are awesome and abundant.

Good luck

 

[MNgrrl]

UMN! Wisonsin people are weird

Obviously there are pluses and minuses about both. If it were me I would choose UMN but that's because I have lived in the Twin Cities and loved it. Awesome area and the school has a really great rep. The downside to the Twin Cities is the that the cost of living is horrendous, but if you're from NY then that may not be a surprise or an issue. Wisconsin is a beautiful state but to me it's the land of Mullets. I think it has the highest Mullet per capita average in the country. But the beer is awesome! I have never drank better than when I lived in Minnesota. The microbrews are awesome and abundant.

Good luck

While I would agree with everything hilikus says (except the cost of living isn't THAT bad, especially compared to NY!), I have to selfishly tell you to go to Rochester because I desperately want an acceptance at UMN. Your education will be great at any of these places (ignore the rankings!!!), and I feel like during med school, it could be very important to have easier access to family/people who might help maintain your sanity. However, UMN is a great school, so don't let my selfishness influence your decision too much There is definitely a reason I want to go there!

 

[perambulate]

I vote for UW! Madison is such a great college town - progressive, outdoors-ey, very civic-minded. I love State Street and the downtown area, especially during the summer (open-air market and canoe races in which people run with their boats through the downtown from Lake Menona to Lake Mendota!). I applied to UW (lots of family there) but didn't get an interview (

 

[hilikus]

While I would agree with everything hilikus says (except the cost of living isn't THAT bad, especially compared to NY!), I have to selfishly tell you to go to Rochester because I desperately want an acceptance at UMN. Your education will be great at any of these places (ignore the rankings!!!), and I feel like during med school, it could be very important to have easier access to family/people who might help maintain your sanity. However, UMN is a great school, so don't let my selfishness influence your decision too much There is definitely a reason I want to go there!

Well I guess the cost of living is horrendous compared to San Antonio. I should have been more specific. But I do miss Minnesota, where you actually have a 4 seasons and the summers are awesome and the women...mmmm, the women...cant beat those scandinavians

 

[ZekeMD]

Go to Rochester. I've stated my reasons so many times on other X school vs. Rochester threads (if you really care what I've written, you can do a search). Another reason that I hadn't mentioned, though, is that you'd get to go to school with ZekeMD and me... that's not something most females would be willing to turn down.
So, why Rochester?
-curriculum
-happy students
-cool international research opportunities
-involved/caring administration and faculty
-the presence of ZekeMD and jh94 in your class

I couldn't have said it better myself

To be honest though, I don't know much about the other 2 schools you've listed. I can only tell you that I absolutely love Rochester and we're going to have an awesome class this year. Rochester is a great place to be with a low cost of living. I'm only paying $325 a month for a place that is a 2 minute walk to the school! The curriculum is IMHO the best and most innovative in the country. With that being said, they are always looking to improve it by listening to what the students say. The faculty are very responsive to the students. I don't know what else to say except I hope you seriously consider Rochester. It's a great school and you won't regret it if you come here.

-Zeke

 

[nyoda7]

yes, i have heard great things about rochester.
just out of curiosity, how did you find a place for 325 a month?
i haven't really thought about housing.
also, how did/do you find a roommate at rochester?

 

[lalala21]

I think all the schools are great choices, but I would choose U of Minnesota. It is an amazing academic center with tons and tons of resources and opportunities. It has a fantastic international program if you're interested in that. Also, the order of your rotations is pretty much up to you in both the third AND fourth year. It's in a major metropolitan area so there's tons of things to do. Also, P/NP first two years.

Anyway, I'm a little biased since I chose UMn. I'm from the west coast and know that it will be an adjustment socially, but knowing that it's such a big city I know I'll find people and organizations that mesh with my lifestyle/priorities.

Hope this helps!

 

[pud129]

Well, there are tons of reasons why you should go to U of Mn over the other two. First, the hospitals are excellent and there are a lot of them, as somebody else pointed out. Abbott Northwestern and Fairview University are both in the top 50 in 7 specialties and several of the other hospitals in the area ranked highly for at least one specialty. The patient population will be MUCH more diverse than either of the other cities, as we have the highest population of Hmong and Somali people in the United States, according to the 2000 census. With the sheer size of the metro area, compared to Rochester or Madison, you will have many more opportunities for everything, both academic and otherwise: Pro sports teams in every sport, tons of live music, bars and theatres, and around 20 lakes within the city limits. The cost of living isn't that high (check out https://www.mndaily.com/classifieds/HOUSING). Anyway, there are a lot of great things about the city and school, but I guess I'm biased because I grew up here and am going to school there next year. I've spent a lot of time in Madtown, and it's a great place to party and have fun. However, once that wears off, there's not a whole lot to do. I don't know anything about Rochester.

Anyway, here are some facts about Minneapolis from the city website. Go to u of mn.

Minneapolis was named the "Most Fun City in America" by Money Magazine 's "Best Places to Live" expert Bert Sperling
Cleanest city in the country according to Travel+Leisure
Named the third in Esquire magazine's "Cities That Rock" list
Third "Most Walkable Community" in the U.S. according to PBS
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater named Minneapolis the "Most Literate City"
Second-healthiest city in the country, ASH anti-smoking magazine
Healthiest state in the country by United Health Foundation
Named "Most Livable State" by Morgan Quitno Press
Second coolest community for young talent by Next Generation Consulting
Second best city in the country for running according to Runner's World magazine
Third best city for families according to Child magazine
First, biggest, best

The largest enclosed mall in the country, the Mall of America
More theater seats per capita than any city other than New York
Local theaters called one of the "most interesting tourist attraction in America," according to travel guru Arthur Frommer
More golfers per capita than any city in the country
The only national scenic byway located entirely in an urban area

 

[MNgrrl]

OK, could we please stop pushing the U of MN???

Just kidding...

 

[nyoda7]

thanks sooo much for the info...my head has been spinning all day and it's so nice to know their are fellow to-be med students who are so helpful.
i am leaning towards MN at the moment (although my mind will prob change later on tonight) mainly because of the $...(sorry MNgrrl)...but if i get off the waitlist at Duke i will go there.
and congrats to all of you who are good at making decisions! i certainly am not.

 

[ZekeMD]

I found a 2BR apartment one street over from the hospital for $650 a month. I'll be living with a grad student from U of R who I went to undergrad with so finding a roommate wasn't a problem for me. However, if you're looking for a roommate try http://www.roommates.com. Before I decided to live with my current roommate, I signed up for an account there and found many potential roommates. Also, the University maintains a list of students looking for roommates, so you can always live with another medical student. As for locating housing, you can try http://www.rentrochester.com, or http://ochousing.reslife.rochester.edu/.

I hope this helps and with luck maybe you'll be joining JH and I in August.

 

[josehernandez94]

There are a bunch of places that I found and everything is reasonably affordable (with the exception of renting a house, unless you have 3 other roommates).
--Apartments are definitely cheap and seemed pretty nice from what I can tell. I think there are quite a few in the price range that Zeke described.
--There are some really nice townhouses to rent not too far from the medical school (I think one was called Elmwood Terrace, it's just a couple miles down the road from the school). It was around $800/month for a 3BR, so if you split that 2 or 3 ways, that's not bad at all. On the outside, the place didn't look great (although there were fairly nice cars parked in the parking lot), but the inside was very nice--recently remodeled and well maintained.
--With some help from our parents, my fiancee and I wound up buying a house. Depending on your situation (i.e., if you can afford the downpayment), I really think this is the way to go in Rochester. Our monthly payment will be around $700 (principle, interest, taxes, and insurance) for a really nice 3 BR house. We saw many places that wound up being in our price range, so there's a lot to choose from. Initially we were contemplating renting a house in the area adjacent to the medical center, but the monthly rent for those places ranged from about $1100-1500.

In any event, I think there's quite a few affordable options to choose from. Most of what we found was just from driving around and looking at various apartments/townhouses. We did go through a realtor for the house, and I think that wound up being to our advantage.

 

[nyoda7]

thanks for the housing info JH and Zeke!
still not sure where i'm going...i called the schools today and they said it was ok to send an email tomorrow...so i am going to push the envelope on this one.
i'll let you know.

 

[josehernandez94]

geez, I feel like this is college football recruiting and I'm waiting on the word for where a top recruit decides to go.

 

[ZekeMD]

geez, I feel like this is college football recruiting and I'm waiting on the word for where a top recruit decides to go.

I was just thinking the exact same thing JH. I guess it's just the fact that we both think so highly of Rochester.

 

[nyoda7]

ok...i flipped a coin and picked from a hat and rochester was the answer in both cases...so i think (99%) i will go there...i just have to type the emails.

 

[josehernandez94]

well let us know... although my experience tells me that when a recruit is "99% certain" he's going somewhere, he usually goes to the other place...

 

[ZekeMD]

ok...i flipped a coin and picked from a hat and rochester was the answer in both cases...so i think (99%) i will go there...i just have to type the emails.

Great! Hope to see you in August.