UA Phoenix vs Jefferson (SKMC)

[Amphisbaenids]

Hi all! I’ve narrowed down my choices to Jefferson and the University of Arizona COM - Phoenix. I’m also on a number of waitlists to schools that I would rather attend but will have to wait to see if there is any movement later on.

SKMC (Jefferson)
Pros

• Well established medical school/hospital system with well-known departments
• Hospital system with main clinical facilities right on campus
• More research opportunities
• Competitive match
• Closer to SO
• Bigger, more fun city, also located in City Center Philly
• CTE a little later, by June 29th

Cons

• Would cost more, higher cost of living in Philly
• Larger class size (>250)

UACOM-Phoenix (IS)
Pros

• In-state, cheaper
• Close to home/family
• Smaller class size (~100)
• Nice, brand-new facilities
• Larger diversity in clinical sites

Cons

• Newer-ish medical school, unranked
• No hospital attached to the school, multiple locations across Phoenix (would need a car)
• Not all departments are filled with faculty, limited affiliated residencies especially competitive specialties
• Because of the two above reasons, I think it would be harder to connect with mentors or get experience in specialties that I might be interested in
• CTE by June 8th

Thanks for the help! Also, if anyone made a similar decision, or students at either school can help give me more insight into each program, I’d really appreciate it!

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[deleted915325]

Any idea what speciality you want to match in? If you want something competitive or academic, I would say Jefferson. If you are set on primary care in non academic setting, UACOM will do just fine

 

[Amphisbaenids]

Any idea what speciality you want to match in? If you want something competitive or academic, I would say Jefferson. If you are set on primary care in non academic setting, UACOM will do just fine

I think I do ultimately want to pursue a competitive specialty (rads, anesthesiology, optho maybe?)/academic medicine in the future, so that is a bit of a worry I have about UA Phoenix especially with the change in Step 1. But, I think what's holding me back from committing to Jeff is the cost difference between the two schools. Anybody at UA Phoenix able to talk to how students fair in matching in competitive specialties?

 

[CoastalLive]

UACOM Phoenix recently shared match data with accepted students. Have you had a chance to look that over?

 

[Amphisbaenids]

UACOM Phoenix recently shared match data with accepted students. Have you had a chance to look that over?

Yeah, I have looked over them! It looks like a good spread of specialties but definitely varies each year. I also found it kinda strange that the data is aggregated. It's funny that they tout their match to competitive specialties and "prestigious" institutions, but can't just say which residency programs students are going to exactly. Makes it difficult to get a read on exactly how successful students at UA Phoenix are in matching, especially in competitive specialties.