UChicago/Northwestern/UMichigan

[yippyskippy]

Having some trouble with these... they all seem like great programs and I loved them all interview-wise. I think I liked michigan the best - it seems so organized, and like they have great mentoring, and push you to get everything done so that you can get your fellowships, etc... and it just seems like a nice group.
However, UChicago and Northwestern seem about equally ranked, and in a better location, especially in terms of patient diversity. Northwestern seems a little more organized, but UChicago seems a little stronger in terms of serving Chicago's uninsured and in terms of research as well. They all do well for fellowships, and they all had really nice residents, faculty, etc.

Am I right that these programs are pretty equal in reputation? Do I pick the program I liked a little bit better, or the city? One of the specialties I like is ID, so I don't know if I need to be in a big city to do that...

Anyone know something I don't here?
Thanks 🙂

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[orientedtoself]

michigan has a little better national rep, but pick the program that you want to go to. id is not that competitive to get into. you should be fine coming from any of those programs. do you want to live in ann arbor or chicago?

Having some trouble with these... they all seem like great programs and I loved them all interview-wise. I think I liked michigan the best - it seems so organized, and like they have great mentoring, and push you to get everything done so that you can get your fellowships, etc... and it just seems like a nice group.
However, UChicago and Northwestern seem about equally ranked, and in a better location, especially in terms of patient diversity. Northwestern seems a little more organized, but UChicago seems a little stronger in terms of serving Chicago's uninsured and in terms of research as well. They all do well for fellowships, and they all had really nice residents, faculty, etc.

Am I right that these programs are pretty equal in reputation? Do I pick the program I liked a little bit better, or the city? One of the specialties I like is ID, so I don't know if I need to be in a big city to do that...

Anyone know something I don't here?
Thanks 🙂

 

[lemonade02]

in terms of selectivity: chicago>NW>michigan

i've been told in terms of 'tiers': chicago>michigan>NW

but these are all great programs with great fellowships. like the previous poster said, ID is pretty easy to get. go where you liked the location the most.

 

[yippyskippy]

thanks guys.

I like ann arbor and chicago for different reasons. I love the outdoors (score one ann arbor) but I also like being able to go out and see a show. The idea of a shorter commute, lower cost of living is nice, but so is the idea of taking a cab or public transportation. In the end, I would probably pick ann arbor except that I also like a little diversity...

is uchicago really "tiered" above michigan? I had heard, as orientedtoself said, the opposite... though I am not even sure what that means, of course 🙂

to clarify, I'm not worried about getting an ID fellowship... just worried about getting enough exposure and mentoring to know whether it's what I want to do. it's definitely not the only thing on my list of things I might want to do -- but I feel like I can get good cards or GI experience at any of these places.

 

[DJ LACTULOSE]

keep in mind that uchicago is in the southside of chicago. it's like 45 min from downtown and all the hip areas. i didn't interview there so i don't know where most of the residents live, but you'd probably want to live pretty close to the hospital at least for intern year. and for u chicago, that means living in hyde park.

 

[yippyskippy]

most live either in south loop or hyde park. the commute from south loop is against the grain, though, so it's about 15 mins... I did drive it to make sure. I think hyde park seems cool enough, though the area around it obviously is not the best... then again, that's why they have the patients I like.
This is the dilemma of wanting to work with the underserved.
Northwestern, on the other hand, is in an awesome area but lacks some of the patient diversity.

 

[spumoni620]

yippyskippy,
i can't speak to either northwestern or u chicago since i don't know anything about those programs. But I did specific rotations in ID at University of Michigan, worked with a lot of ID attendings and was even interviewed by an ID attending while at U of M...I had a great experience and would emphasize that as a tertiary care center, U of M sees a wide range of crazy pathologies especially in ID. I did outpatient rotations at an HIV/AIDS clinic and there were plenty of patients (so you definitely can get dedicated HIV exposure). The attending I worked with during my inpatient rotation is an author of a widely recognized textbook in ID, and in his clinic I saw some really unusual presentations of Coxsackie, EBV, Aspergillosis and disseminated TB. I helped write up a case report on one of the patients I saw which actually made it as a finalist in the ACP national conference. You'll also see a lot (a LOT) of immunocompromised pts with transplants --> neutropenia + fever + crazy opportunistic infections. As for diversity of pts...I don't know, you'd think Ann Arbor wouldn't have that much, but honestly I saw a pretty good range of ethnicities, diseases and pts of varying socioeconomic status. I would say that at U of M you won't get much of the exposure to the never-been-to-see-a-doctor type of pt, as most have been seen by an attending and everything is very well documented in the computer system.

Hope that helps, and good luck with your decision.

 

[yippyskippy]

Wow - thanks, that really does help a lot 🙂

Spumoni is super (double meaning intended).

 

[orientedtoself]

imo michigan>chicago>northwestern. but i'm biased, i went to michigan for med school. you will get a solid educational experience at all of them.

in terms of selectivity: chicago>NW>michigan

i've been told in terms of 'tiers': chicago>michigan>NW

but these are all great programs with great fellowships. like the previous poster said, ID is pretty easy to get. go where you liked the location the most.

 

[normansatx]

I interviewed at UofC and NW, and they are both at the very top of my list. Here is my take... it might be therapeutic and help me decide.

UofC - AUTONOMY. They give the most of anywhere I went except Columbia. Smaller class size and department size supposedly means more research $$ per faculty member and more personal attention (?). Fellowship match looks really great, lots of GI and Heme/Onc but Cards does well too, especially if you want to stay at UofC. Most of the residents live in South Loop with only familys living in Hyde Park. Rent in South Loop is decent (1000-13000/1br without parking), and you need to commute to the hospital (15 min) where parking is 30/mo. Residents are friendly but may have seem slightly overworked. Orders and progress notes are on paper... they want to change this but not anytime soon. They put themself on par with elite programs, I dont know about what everyone else thinks. In fact, they kept comparing themself to Penn without the malignancy... weird my third pick. Its a really outstanding program, Hyde Park is OK but most dont live there

NW - Growing fast and in a very nice part of town. Brand new hospital. Everything is electronic. Residents are some of the happiest I've seen. Night float system seems to help out with hours (plus or minus b/c I completely understand people who are anti-night float). They really stressed resident research and the opportunity to get published as a resident. The PD Dr. Wayne is a really great lady and supposedly fights hard to get you the fellowships you want. Parking is $70/mo for a reserved spot next to hospital and a lot of residents live in Streeterville and use the spot to park their car or live in Lincoln Park/Lakeview (10 min) and drive in. Rent in Streeterville is a little steeper than south loop.
I know nothing about UMICH but hear its a really outstanding program.

Hope this helps, I'm struggling with the same demons.

 

[yippyskippy]

Normansatx, you said it perfectly... the two programs appeal for such different reasons... NW seems like everything is new, fancy, organized, the residents look like they are young fresh, and not completely sleep deprived. They seem to know exactly how to get you where you want to be...

UChicago, meanwhile, has this academic, old-school, feeling, surrounded by the campus, rooted in research and policy... it seems like people here are definitely thinkers, which I thought would be inspiring... but it is not like NW where everything is modern and arranged for you -- you would definitely have to figure things out for yourself a bit more.

And UofM -- O2S, you are lucky -- it seems like an awesome program in an awesome place to live -- they are a little like NW in that you come in on their interview day and they have everything completely organized with some superstar program directors... mentoring, research, it's all set up. and you can play outside at the end of the day.

maybe I can do a year at each 🙂

good luck w/ decisions, normansatx!

 

[MidwestMD]

Hey yippyskippy,

I can definitely empathize! U of Chicago and U of Michigan were my top 2 choices when I was applying and it was a HARD decision. I had also interviewed at Northwestern but ranked them low for personal reasons.

You honestly can't go wrong with either program. I agree w/ everyone that their reputations are about equal. Even though I chose Michigan in the end (and absolutely loved it!), I think I would have been happy at Chicago as well. Great fellowship placement, teaching, and training at both. You honestly have to decide if you simply want to live in Ann Arbor or Chicago.

If you had specific ?'s about living in AA, feel free to PM me!

 

[HiddenTruth]

in terms of reputation/prestige only, michigan/washU> chicago > NWU.

 

[yippyskippy]

thanks guys!

I guess that the decision does come down to location a bit... though I think I would like living in either place for different reasons. I am not really a city kid, but I think the draws of the city are having a larger indigent population, global health program, and the disparities research... they also had an awesome morning report where everyone was excited to chime in. But they don't have all the facilities, computers, and no formal mentors. They get a little less vacation (3 weeks vs 4 and no holiday schedule I think)

Ann Arbor is a bit more "me" in terms of location and the PD there had everything so fabulously organized, there was a formal mentoring program and it seems like he pushes directly for you to get the research you need. It's all computerized and everything seems to run like a well-oiled machine.
I loved the people at both and think I'd be happy either way.
Think I will keep mulling it over for a while and just be relieved that I would love to be at either... not such a bad position to be in 🙂

As a side note - did anyone else hear about UChicago and Northwestern no longer accepting new medicaid patients? I saw this on the interview review section.

Thanks again guys/gals!

 

[QuinnB]

I'm pretty sure that for ID overall, umich is >>> uchicago and NW. Uchicago may be more bread and butter and northwestern is not that strong. Umich takes care of virtually all of the HIV/AIDS in the area and most of the state (with so many hospitals, chicago institutions "compete" with each other for patients). Also, the ann arbor VA has ridiculous (near developing world) ID pathology. Michigan also has really well known HIV basic researchers and international leading experts in mycology and parasitology.

The major downfall of umich's IM program is that you don't get nearly enough of the common stuff (AMI, Pneumococcal PNA, etc...) when compared to many city programs (read: Uchicago). As a 3rd year med student, I frequently saw 1/20,000 cases, but failed to see a single AMI until a cards sub-I in 3 months into 4th year. weird.

 

[IMbounddoc]

From someone coming from a top med school who did not apply to either 3 of these programs b/c I hate the cold there is no question michigan trumps both of the chicago programs considerably in terms of reputation. They really aren't in the same league. Think about if NW wasn't in the location its in it would not be a sought after program.