UChicago vs. Ohio State

[CC2020]

Hey everyone! Thoughts on this decision would be appreciated...

Things to consider: Prestige/rank of school doesn't interest me much, my goal is to be a physician at an academic institution in the Midwest (teaching, patient care, maybe administration/hospital leadership in Columbus or Chicago) and I believe I could do that being successful at either institution. Won't be going into neurosurgery, either a competitive speciality (ortho, optho, IR) or medicine + dual-degree, would need more exposure. Going through both schools' Match List, while UChicago students match in better programs on average, it doesn't seem as though OSU students are hindered in any way from matching into any specialty. I attended OSU for undergrad. Total COA would be the same.

UChicago:

Pros:

1. Professionally "better" in lots of areas (curriculum, access to opportunities, small class size so more attention to my development)
2. Research opportunities with world-renowned faculty
3. Would be reaching out of my comfort zone (good or unnecessary, med school will be hard regardless)
4. Provides future career flexibility if I decide to pursue an MBA
5. Better clinical training given patient population and responsibility given to med students in clinical years

Cons:

1. Would have to build new support system, family in Ohio
2. Not really craving something new, in terms of daily living I have everything I like/need in Columbus
3. Hard to keep up current relationships in medical school, would be harder adjusting to a new city

Ohio State:

Pros:

1. It's home. Love the environment, love the facilities, love the culture at OSUCOM
2. Very strong support system (family, faculty/admin, mentors, older med students, friends not in medicine, friends going to OSU med, etc.)
3. Would get to continue building friendships/relationships that I've made in the past four years and form new ones
4. Great clinical training. Equally high STEP 2 averages.

Cons:

1. Great but not as robust research institution
2. P/F with internal ranking, but not too concerned. Might actually hold me better accountable.
3. MBA wouldn't be as solid/give me as much career flexibility. But if I don't pursue one, this is a moot point.

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[standard-deviations]

Congrats on both! I’m looking at these two options too, but based on what you said, I say definitely OSU if UChicago didn’t give you enough aid. Idk about you, but financial freedom is HUGE for me. I see it as a way to be able to do more good in the future if I can pay any debt ASAP

good luck!

 

[HingleMcCringleberryPSU]

It seems like you'd be really happy at OSU, and it's cheaper. Especially if you see yourself in Ohio long-term, I think going to OSU makes a lot of sense.

 

[CC2020]

Congrats on both! I’m looking at these two options too, but based on what you said, I say definitely OSU if UChicago didn’t give you enough aid. Idk about you, but financial freedom is HUGE for me. I see it as a way to be able to do more good in the future if I can pay any debt ASAP

good luck!

Thank you, congrats to you as well! If money is one-sided either way, the choice becomes incredibly easy. The decision becomes much harder if both financial offers are practically equal

 

[BarryO43]

Have you spoken to Pritzker about finances? They're pretty good about working with students and trying to meet them where they're at financially.

I would also say that in terms of Hyde Park as a neighborhood, it's extremely safe and low-stress. 6-7 miles away from the Loop means like 15-20 mins away on a Friday/Saturday night and atleast for first years, we tend to get out there pretty often. As far as academic stress goes, we're true P/F here (actually Pass now/pass later because you can retake any test you fail) with no ranking of any sort and with a rather leisurely curriculum given 2 years pre-clinical. Given that teaching is something you want to do, Pritzker really could be a great place for you (we consider ourselves the "teacher of teachers" and so much of the faculty rotates through teaching anywhere between a few lectures to entire courses).

Of course, you can't go wrong with either of these options! LMK if you have any more questions about Pritzker 🙂

 

[CC2020]

Have you spoken to Pritzker about finances? They're pretty good about working with students and trying to meet them where they're at financially.

I would also say that in terms of Hyde Park as a neighborhood, it's extremely safe and low-stress. 6-7 miles away from the Loop means like 15-20 mins away on a Friday/Saturday night and atleast for first years, we tend to get out there pretty often. As far as academic stress goes, we're true P/F here (actually Pass now/pass later because you can retake any test you fail) with no ranking of any sort and with a rather leisurely curriculum given 2 years pre-clinical. Given that teaching is something you want to do, Pritzker really could be a great place for you (we consider ourselves the "teacher of teachers" and so much of the faculty rotates through teaching anywhere between a few lectures to entire courses).

Of course, you can't go wrong with either of these options! LMK if you have any more questions about Pritzker 🙂

Hi! Pritzker has definitely taken care of me financially, and the people on the admissions and scholarship committee have been incredible since August. Truly great people. It's a shame that Second Look Weekend has been cancelled (nationwide), I would've been able to get a much greater feel for the neighborhood. I've seen about 10% of what I would like to see, so I definitely might be making some incorrect assumptions. The culture of training future teachers in medicine drew me to the school instantly (and I forgot about that, so thank you!), so I'm looking forward to the virtual events to remind me of why I loved my interview day so much!

 

[BarryO43]

Hi! Pritzker has definitely taken care of me financially, and the people on the admissions and scholarship committee have been incredible since August. Truly great people. It's a shame that Second Look Weekend has been cancelled (nationwide), I would've been able to get a much greater feel for the neighborhood. I've seen about 10% of what I would like to see, so I definitely might be making some incorrect assumptions. The culture of training future teachers in medicine drew me to the school instantly (and I forgot about that, so thank you!), so I'm looking forward to the virtual events to remind me of why I loved my interview day so much!

I hear you! We're in the process of providing as much info/second look style presentations virtually but please please please feel free to ask me if you have any questions about Pritzker. My PMs are open as well.

 

[CC2020]

@Goro @LizzyM

Do you guys have any insights about this decision? I would love to hear your perspectives, I have been following your advice for years now...

 

[Goro]

@Goro @LizzyM

Do you guys have any insights about this decision? I would love to hear your perspectives, I have been following your advice for years now...

Chicago is NOT on another coast. You're a car ride away from home, even if it's in Youngstown.

If you were my kid, I'd send you to U Chicago.

Just sleep on it and see if it passes the sleep test.

 

[Skittsie13]

I don‘t know much about UC, but I'm currently a M1 at OSU. Honestly the last couple of weeks has me regretting my decision.

OSU’s medical administration, while normally slow and under-responsive to address student concerns (the level I would expect from any school administration- low standards), has fround to a screeching halt. They have pulled ALL students from anything in person, for the M1 class, this is for the rest of the semester, while M3 and M4 students have been pulled without any plan to put them back into the clinic/hospital (Not just the 2 week suggested by the AAMC- they are in limbo until someone makes up their mind.)

Non-OSU hospitals in Columbus are still allowing medical students from other schools to rotate.

Allowing medical students to rotate right now is irresponsible imo. I'm sorry that OSU doesn't seem to be very responsive to student concerns, but I don't think they've done the wrong thing by pulling medical students at this time. Almost all medical schools nationwide have done so.