UChicago vs Einstein

[linali123]

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I'm trying to decide between the two. I want to match into derm, ideally in NYC. COA is same. Both has AOA and graded clinicals, which makes me a little sad.

UChicago
Pros

• more prestige and ranked higher than Einstein
• Chicago will be urban enough for me to not get bored
• faculty seems very supportive and nice
• lower COL

Cons

• I don't know if I will really like Chicago
• M3s seemed more stressed out compared to Einstein's

Einstein
Pros

• derm program seems to be higher ranked than UChicago's, so might be better for networking? (Can someone fact check this?)
• more students in proportion to class size matched into derm than UChicago
• 1 hour commute to fun parts of NYC

Cons

• lower prestige than UChicago's brand
• higher overall cost of living although there's subsidized housing
• could have attracted a lot more type A people compared to previous years due to full tuition, so the culture may be different when I enter?? (this is just a speculation)

Overall, I think I'm thinking most about how stressful clerkship years might be, and which school will help me match better although it will ultimately be up to me to do well. Will UChicago's brand name help me more to get matched, or will making connnections with a higher ranked residency program like Einstein be better? <- I do think the difference wil be negligible.

 

[riv_jordan]

I think I'm leaning towards Einstein for you. If you want to match into NYC, going to Einstein will definitely be helpful for making connections, convenient away rotations, and as you noted, the ability to match into Einstein's home program. That's not to say that Pritzker would hold you back from matching derm in NYC, but I think it's fair to say that Einstein will have a leg up in its own region.
To respond to some of your cons/concerns:

• I think given the fact that both schools have pre-match AOA and graded clerkships, there is no meaningful difference between the stress levels of clerkships at each. You can maybe try to ask students about how hard it is to honor clerkships/what percentage of students honor, but honestly, clerkships will be hard anywhere you go and there's not much one can do to avoid that. Especially if you're trying to match derm, I'd honestly just mentally prepare for all of med school to be a grind no matter what.
• Chicago is similar to Manhattan in a lot of ways. In terms of access to the most exciting parts of the city, Pritzker is probably in a better location than Einstein in the Bronx.
• I wouldn't read too much into the match lists. They are often reflective of student body preferences, not the school's ability to match students. That is to say, even though a lower proportion of students match derm from UChicago, that doesn't mean that UChicago students who want to match derm are struggling, just that it may be a smaller pool.

 

[linali123]

I think I'm leaning towards Einstein for you. If you want to match into NYC, going to Einstein will definitely be helpful for making connections, convenient away rotations, and as you noted, the ability to match into Einstein's home program. That's not to say that Pritzker would hold you back from matching derm in NYC, but I think it's fair to say that Einstein will have a leg up in its own region.
To respond to some of your cons/concerns:

• I think given the fact that both schools have pre-match AOA and graded clerkships, there is no meaningful difference between the stress levels of clerkships at each. You can maybe try to ask students about how hard it is to honor clerkships/what percentage of students honor, but honestly, clerkships will be hard anywhere you go and there's not much one can do to avoid that. Especially if you're trying to match derm, I'd honestly just mentally prepare for all of med school to be a grind no matter what.
• Chicago is similar to Manhattan in a lot of ways. In terms of access to the most exciting parts of the city, Pritzker is probably in a better location than Einstein in the Bronx.
• I wouldn't read too much into the match lists. They are often reflective of student body preferences, not the school's ability to match students. That is to say, even though a lower proportion of students match derm from UChicago, that doesn't mean that UChicago students who want to match derm are struggling, just that it may be a smaller pool.

Thanks for your input! I'm trying to gauge how students feel about clerkships, but the sample size is small. Neither has percentage cutoffs on how many students can honor as far as I know. Shelf exams are weighted more in Einstein, and assignments (presentation, notes, etc) are weighted more in Pritzker. Evals are similar. Right now, I like shelf being weighted more because my strength is test-taking.

I guess I am more biased towards NYC right now, but maybe that will change. I agree with your statement about match lists.