UC Riverside vs. Boonshoft vs. MCW-Milwaukee vs. Tucson U of A

[persistenceofmemory]

Hi all, I am trying to decide between schools and would appreciate your informed input. I am a Southern CA resident with extensive neuroimaging clinical research and patient care experience with EEG. I hope to pursue neurology.

I feel crazy for not immediately committing to UCR since UCs are “so competitive”, but I know that research opportunities at UCR are less available. Also, rent is very expensive in Southern CA, ~$2000/month, so I’m not technically saving much with in-state tuition compared to my OOS options. Though, it would be nice to be close to my family and friends.

I’m also deciding between Wright State Boonshoft in Dayton, Ohio, which I know has a strong neuroscience institute according to their website, Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwuakee, also with strong research opportunities/support, and Tucson University of Arizona, which has a solid EEG department.

Is there an obvious med school choice for someone interested in a neurology residency?

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[Putkernerinthehall]

I can't say specifically for Neurology, but my sense is that overall MCW is the strongest of these four schools. And probably by a fair amount.

 

[chilly_md]

Neurology is not considered as competitive as other specialties. U of A Tucson would be a good option to remain relatively close to family, but you should still consider UCR too.

I would not recommend enduring the cold of the other 2 options if you've lived in Southern CA your whole life.

 

[persistenceofmemory]

Neurology is not considered as competitive as other specialties. U of A Tucson would be a good option to remain relatively close to family, but you should still consider UCR too.

I would not recommend enduring the cold of the other 2 options if you've lived in Southern CA your whole life.

I’ve been living in Baltimore the last two years. Is Midwest cold similar to east coast cold?

 

[chilly_md]

I’ve been living in Baltimore the last two years. Is Midwest cold similar to east coast cold?

There will be significantly more snow in Milwaukee

 

[persistenceofmemory]

UCR is very generous with merit and need based scholarships. They have a fair amount of competitve specialty matches to some top programs in CA, including UCSF. DR. Cooper is cool as she was the one that gave me that call 3 years ago, which I thought was a prank call at first. Their new med school building is almost done. UCR can get you to your specialty destination.

This is really reinforcing, thank you!

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

I’ve been living in Baltimore the last two years. Is Midwest cold similar to east coast cold?

I lived in Midwest and now live in CA and Midwest winters are harsh (snow and wind chill).

 

[EArlyBirdGetsTheWorm]

I would choose to live in Cali and not look back. I live near Dayton, and it's a stereotypical midwest city with nothing special about it. Ive heard research at Wright State is a mixed bag. I don't think it will be any better than UCR or the other schools mentioned above.

Live next to your family. Riverside is also a cheaper part of SoCal so rent should be more "affordable"

 

[EArlyBirdGetsTheWorm]

I’ve been living in Baltimore the last two years. Is Midwest cold similar to east coast cold?

Im from CA and currently live in Columbus—about an hour from Dayton. Midwest winters suck!

 

[deleted1095841]

Going to med school in the Midwest now, and it hit 50 degrees today for the first time since October! Got to see the sun too!

 

[deleted1095841]

...and today it's cloudy again and back in the 30s. The nighttime low is forcasted to be in the teens.
Spring doesn't really come up here until May.

 

[EArlyBirdGetsTheWorm]

...and today it's cloudy again and back in the 30s. The nighttime low is forcasted to be in the teens.
Spring doesn't really come up here until May.

That was first spring. AKA false spring.

 

[deleted1095841]

OP, if you could practice neurology anywhere, where would it be? Academic, I'm guessing?
You should try to do residency at that place.
And you should go to med school and do research with faculty who are "connected" with faculty at the place you want to do residency. "Connected" could be "trained under", "classmates with", etc. A great way to check is to see if the two people appear as co-authors on anything in PubMed. If they do, they likely know each other.

 

[persistenceofmemory]

It would be in an outpatient setting. I have known warm weather all my life, love San Diego and Miami, but have also found the beauty in having seasons while living in Baltimore even if it’s been hard.

UC Riverside is expensive, averaging 2K for rent. My biggest hesitation for this school is that it doesn’t have strong research being a community-based school- most students have to drive 30-40 min in LA traffic to work with PIs at different med schools. That’s also why I can’t necessarily discern who I’d be working with in research settings- opportunities are far more limited.

MCW is private and heavily supports students through research, mentorship, etc. They released their match list this week and I’m really impressed.

I’ve narrowed my decision down to UCR and MCW. I’m still waiting on fin aid offers, but I will most likely do public service loan forgiveness while in residency/fellowship years.

 

[deleted1095841]

Do you want to do research when you are finally a doctor? Are you thinking like an academic outpatient clinic attached to a university health system, or instead a private-practice neurology clinic in a community setting?

Also, key question: how important is matching in CA?

 

[persistenceofmemory]

Do you want to do research when you are finally a doctor? Are you thinking like an academic outpatient clinic attached to a university health system, or instead a private-practice neurology clinic in a community setting?

Also, key question: how important is matching in CA?

I envision myself having my own neurology clinic rather than being in an academic research setting.

Matching in CA is not a priority for me right now. I’m not sure who I’ll meet along the way and I’m also not sure if practicing in CA will be a financially wise decision later down the road. Attending a school that will give me a broad range of opportunities for residencies is what I’m looking for.

 

[deleted1095841]

I envision myself having my own neurology clinic rather than being in an academic research setting.

It might be hard to do much research in private pratice. If you have the right connections, you can definitely help carry out clinical trials for drugs/treatments developed by others, but it's hard to do much more than that. But it that's okay with you, then that's fine. Private practice also tends to be more lucrative.

Matching in CA is not a priority for me right now. I’m not sure who I’ll meet along the way and I’m also not sure if practicing in CA will be a financially wise decision later down the road. Attending a school that will give me a broad range of opportunities for residencies is what I’m looking for.

I'm not an expert in physician finances, but I think you may be right about CA not being the most financially rewarding place to practice. But if you like warm weather and proximity to the coast, there are real quality of life considerations that would merit practicing in CA.