UChicago vs. Columbia

[DWD2001]

I know there was recently a U of C vs. NYU thread, but I'm curious as to know what people think about U of C vs. Columbia. I think they are both really good schools that have a lot to offer (research, renown faculty, diverse patient population, etc.). I'm from Chicago, and my parents really want me to be in Chicago which is understandable but many of my friends will be in New York. I feel like now is the time to do something different, to take a chance and make a move and try something new but also it's tough to leave a place I love. The one final thing that I must consider is that Chicago is willing to pay for $25,000 per year. I know that is no small sum of money and with the NYC cost of living I would accrue a much higher debt if I went to Columbia. I'm curious what people think about the two schools or what they would do in a similar situation. Thanks a lot for all input and good luck with the application process/medical school.

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[EndSong]

Both schools are really good and you can probably get into a good residency from either one. If you really want to keep your options open for surgery, Columbia's pretty famous for turning out a high number of surgical residents. If you're going for some other type of residency like medicine or really aren't that surgically inclined I would go with Chicago hand's down because 25 k off a year will save you about 100 k in debt.

 

[old_boy]

Both schools are really good and you can probably get into a good residency from either one. If you really want to keep your options open for surgery, Columbia's pretty famous for turning out a high number of surgical residents. If you're going for some other type of residency like medicine or really aren't that surgically inclined I would go with Chicago hand's down because 25 k off a year will save you about 100 k in debt.

More than 100k in debt - interest starts clicking on those Grad PLUS loans right away.

 

[potato51]

I know nothing about the actual programs, but I'd go with Chicago because of the money situation and the fact that Chicago has a damn good match list.

 

[Falco2525]

Both schools are really good and you can probably get into a good residency from either one. If you really want to keep your options open for surgery, Columbia's pretty famous for turning out a high number of surgical residents. If you're going for some other type of residency like medicine or really aren't that surgically inclined I would go with Chicago hand's down because 25 k off a year will save you about 100 k in debt.

Wow fun decision...obviously i am biased, but I know Chicago's grads go essentially into the field of their choice...yes Columbia is notorious for turning out surgeons, but if thats what you want to do it can definitly be done at Chicago with good choices of location (see below for 2007). The rest of the match list is pretty sweet too especiall IM. Of course Columbia's list is pretty sweet too, but is it worth 100k....in the end I say go where you think you will be happiest...but dont forget how happy you would be with 100k less debt in the end too!

UC San Francisco CA General Surgery
Univ of Chicago Med Ctr IL General Surgery
U Iowa Hosp/Clin-Iowa City IA General Surgery
Barnes-Jewish Hosp-MO MO General Surgery
Barnes-Jewish Hosp-MO MO General Surgery
Univ of Chicago Med Ctr IL General Surgery

Nat'l Naval Medical Center-Bethesda MD Orthopaedic Surgery
UPMC Medical Education Prog PA Orthopaedic Surgery
Yale-New Haven Hosp CT Orthopaedic Surgery
NYU Med Ctr/Hosp Joint Diseases NY Orthopaedic Surgery
Johns Hopkins Hosp MD Orthopaedic Surgery

UC San Francisco CA Plastic Surgery
Univ of Chicago Med Ctr IL Plastic Surgery

Yale-New Haven Hosp CT Surgery-Prelim/Urology
UC San Francisco CA Surgery-Preliminary
Beth Israel Medical Center NY Surgery-Preliminary
U Michigan Hosps-Ann Arbor MI Surg-Prelim/Urology

Univ of Chicago Med Ctr IL Int Med/MD Scientist
NYP Hosp-Weill Cornell Med Ctr NY Internal Med/Research
Brigham & Womens Hosp MA Internal Medicine
Univ of Chicago Med Ctr IL Internal Medicine
Brigham & Womens Hosp MA Internal Medicine
Univ of Chicago Med Ctr IL Internal Medicine
Univ of Chicago Med Ctr IL Internal Medicine
Univ of Chicago Med Ctr IL Internal Medicine
U Michigan Hosps-Ann Arbor MI Internal Medicine
Hosp of the Univ of PA PA Internal Medicine
NYP Hosp-Columbia Univ Med Ctr NY Internal Medicine
UC San Francisco CA Internal Medicine
Hosp of the Univ of PA PA Internal Medicine
Univ of Chicago Med Ctr IL Internal Medicine
Univ of Chicago Med Ctr IL Internal Medicine
Hosp of the Univ of PA PA Internal Medicine
Univ of Chicago Med Ctr IL Internal Medicine
Johns Hopkins Hosp MD Internal Medicine
University Hosp-Cincinnati OH Internal Medicine
Yale-New Haven Hosp CT Internal Medicine
Univ of Chicago Med Ctr IL Internal Medicine
UCLA Medical Center CA Medicine-Emergency Med
Univ of Chicago Med Ctr IL Medicine-Pediatrics
Univ of Chicago Med Ctr IL Medicine-Pediatrics
U Minnesota Med School MN Medicine-Pediatrics
Univ of Chicago Med Ctr IL Medicine-Preliminary
Univ of Chicago Med Ctr IL Medicine-Preliminary
Northwestern McGaw/ENH IL Medicine-Preliminary
Cleveland Clinic Fdn OH Medicine-Preliminary
Univ of Chicago Med Ctr IL Medicine-Preliminary
U Illinois COM-Chicago IL Medicine-Preliminary /UIC Christ
U Washington Affil Hosps WA Medicine-Primary

 

[pjl2505]

I'm from Chicago as well, and I relocated to the east coast for undergrad and will remain out here (at columbia, coincidentally) for med. school. if you are picking based on location and the school, I'd hands down go with Columbia. Chicago's an amazing city, but you'll be exposed to so much more if you leave the bubble of the midwest (this was invaluable for me). at the same time, I would find it really, really hard to turn down 25k a year. a tough choice indeed, do what your heart tells you.

 

[Doctor~Detroit]

tough choice. given hard work, they'll both get you the residency you want, so i'd say that's not a factor. money versus location/new experience.

i think columbia is in the better city, but consider that it's located pretty far from most of the fun stuff in manhattan (as is u chicago within chicago).

gut feeling push you one way or the other?

 

[jjmack]

tough choice. given hard work, they'll both get you the residency you want, so i'd say that's not a factor. money versus location/new experience.

i think columbia is in the better city, but consider that it's located pretty far from most of the fun stuff in manhattan (as is u chicago within chicago).

gut feeling push you one way or the other?

columbia is a 15min A train ride to 59th street. true, it's not in the best location, but it's not hard to get out of the heights.

 

[Wanna_B_Scutty]

Dude... for 100k?

Go on, take the money 'n' run.

 

[searun]

school. Plus, New York gives you the huge advantage of escaping your mother, and that is worth alot. However, for $100,000 I would stay in Chicago but work very hard on escaping your mother. You can do it....give Mom your email address but don't tell her where you live. It will drive her crazy but she can deal with it if you remain in the Windy City. Good luck. We all love our moms, of course, but they can be very annoying.

 

[DWD2001]

thanks a lot so far for all the input. there are many interesting points being made to consider. some ive thought about obviously, and others I haven't but its helpful to see it all from other people. i wrote a letter to Columbia a couple weeks ago telling them the situation and seeing if they could help out at all financially. so far, no response but who knows these things probably take time. anyone else have luck with these so-called bargaining letters? if columbia matched chicago, which they probably wont, i would go to nyc and live it up but for anything less itd be tough to justify leaving chicago. anyway, thanks again. btw, searun, i see your point but if i do give my mom my address, then i could make a deal that since I stayed in chi, she'd have to do my laundry at least once a month...another plus for chicago.

 

[eastcoastyall]

Columbia = UChicago in prestige, education, matching, etc. $100,000 is a house during residency. Don't turn that down.

 

[Medikit]

I love Pritzker, there's no way you'll regret going there.

 

[mountainhare]

Both schools are really good and you can probably get into a good residency from either one. If you really want to keep your options open for surgery, Columbia's pretty famous for turning out a high number of surgical residents. If you're going for some other type of residency like medicine or really aren't that surgically inclined I would go with Chicago hand's down because 25 k off a year will save you about 100 k in debt.

I think Columbia is very strong in virtually all fields (except maybe primary care), not just surgery. Columbia has an amazing psychiatry program, for example, and great neuroscience research opportunities. The impression I got on the interview trail was that P&S and Pritzker have very similar "atmospheres": both schools place significant emphasis on the importance of the humanities and the importance of being a happy well-rounded human being (rather than just a well-trained doctor), both schools are located in large and interesting cities with many cultural attractions, etc. FWIW, out of all the schools I either got accepted or waitlisted at, Columbia was my favorite, but UChicago was a close second (and there was a huge gap between 2nd and 3rd). Hope the P&S financial aid office looks favorably on you, but I think they're both top-notch schools.

 

[Doctor~Detroit]

both will really open the same doors for you. prestige is not a factor, unless you just have a hard-on for the ivy league name.

the amsa survey has a couple entries that mention students doing scut work at columbia, something you might want to look into (i think the nyc hospitals are notorious for poor ancillary staff, so that wouldn't be columbia's fault). extremely anecdotal, but i have a friend who's a resident in nyc who discouraged me from columbia because of what was perceived as a "malignant" atmosphere. so maybe ask current students about that one, too.