UConn (IS) vs. Einstein

[mlo445]

Hi everyone - I’m thankful to have received multiple acceptances and am now deciding between UConn and Einstein, both of which I recently visited. I’m a CT resident and will likely apply to pediatric residencies (then a speciality). I already know UConn will be the best choice for me financially, so I’m more interested about other’s opinions on all the other factors - I’m nearly 50/50 on where to go and struggling to decide because parts of the location and curriculum at both schools concern me.

UConn
Pros

• Supportive faculty, students seem very happy
• Access to Hartford Hospital and CT Children’s - great hospitals to learn at with great exposure
• 3 year longitudinal community clerkship starting first week of school
• 2 week period after each block to take electives, rest, and/or retake any failed exams with no penalty
• High tech features: virtual anatomy labs, radiology/ultrasound focus, very dedicated sim lab instructors
• TBL seems like an effective/intriguing way to learn - small quizzes 3x a week keep you on track (but cons below)
• Curriculum focuses on community/disparities and other topics I highly value (but cons below)
• 60K less over 4 years

Cons

• Location: suburban area - West Hartford is very small
• Rank (and reputation?) lower
• Honors, Pass, Fail clinical years - less differentiation for residency (but less stress?)
• Curriculum is fully TBL with ~22 hours of required contact per week, which is a big concern of mine. More prework is assigned before each class than is physically possible to finish, so you have to determine what is most important to study/finish. The required in person hours limit the time you have to self study which is ultimately going to determine how well you can learn the material.
• 8 hour test every 10 weeks for each of the 5 blocks
• Non science/anatomy topics mentioned above take up ~7 hours of in person class per week in the afternoons

Einstein
Pros

• Access to Montefiore and their Children’s hospital — seems like a great institution for research and patient access
• Einstein is a research powerhouse — research will definitely not be my focus, but it makes it easier to find projects
• Close student body because of on-campus dorm-like housing
• Rank/reputation - consistently great pediatrics match list (but they match heavily into NYC, where I will not want to do residency, I believe this is due to self selection?)
• (*EDIT: they're actually don't use low pass anymore) Honors, High Pass, Pass, Low Pass, Fail clinical years - more differentiation for residency (but more stress?)
• Lecture based curriculum that is in person, live streamed, and recorded for future use - more time to independently study

Cons

• Later patient exposure beginning in October - most sites are in ER which is not the best place to form long term mentors/patient relationships
• Curriculum seems very bare bones — little interaction with classmates/faculty and even public health/disparities topics are generally recorded lectures. Only smallish group course (~20-30 people) is a course I’ve heard many complaints about.
• Switched to taking Step 1 AFTER M3. There is now only a 6 week period to study for STEP 1 AND 2… not sure how that is feasible as I imagine many small facts from M1/M2 will be forgotten over M3.
• Location (a big hesitation of mine) — Morris Park in the Bronx felt very isolating to me. Several students I’ve talked to say they often wish they had more to do. Seems to be a pretty general consensus that it’s not a great place to live. Students can make the 45 minute trip to NYC on the weekends, but during the week I fear I wouldn’t ever leave the small Einstein campus or find off campus places to study and/or relax.

Also, I’m on the Georgetown WL, which would be my most expensive option if I was lucky enough to get in. However, I live near DC right now and love the city (unlike the locations of my 2 current options). The location and curriculum are appealing to me, despite the run down facilities. They do not have a children’s hospital though, and it seems like the peds match list is worse than Einstein & UConn’s?

Any input would be greatly appreciated, thank you!!

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[chilly_md]

Been seeing a lot of UConn lately. I suppose that coincides with March Madness even if the men's team got knocked out early.

I feel having the extra differentiations is more of a pain than a plus. Step 2 is going to be what's important, and I'm not too sure how I feel that they would like you to take it so close to Step 1. Would have made sense to give less time for Step 1 but still have a distinct, separate time for Step 2 unless I'm thinking about it wrong. Seems the only big advantage of Einstein is the extra research and the fact you can avoid the TBL curriculum. But the 2 week break period after each block seems to try to make up for the upfront workload at UConn. Might be better to save the money if you are going into pediatrics.

 

[RSVBT]

Hey! Rising MS3 at Einstein here. Just to clarify some info— Einstein hasn’t used H/HP/P/LP/F for years (outdated info that still circulates for whatever reason). They use H/HP/P/F like most schools.

It sounds like you’ve had the chance to talk hear from some students already, but if you have any specific questions feel free to message me. I actually love Morris park and have a list of fun things you can get up to here!

 

[mlo445]

Been seeing a lot of UConn lately. I suppose that coincides with March Madness even if the men's team got knocked out early.

I feel having the extra differentiations is more of a pain than a plus. Step 2 is going to be what's important, and I'm not too sure how I feel that they would like you to take it so close to Step 1. Would have made sense to give less time for Step 1 but still have a distinct, separate time for Step 2 unless I'm thinking about it wrong. Seems the only big advantage of Einstein is the extra research and the fact you can avoid the TBL curriculum. But the 2 week break period after each block seems to try to make up for the upfront workload at UConn. Might be better to save the money if you are going into pediatrics.

Thank you for your response! Agreed that moving step 1 doesn't quite make sense - I might reach out to them about this. Does it matter that I plan on specializing or is that not important for med school since residency is just general peds?

 

[mlo445]

Hey! Rising MS3 at Einstein here. Just to clarify some info— Einstein hasn’t used H/HP/P/LP/F for years (outdated info that still circulates for whatever reason). They use H/HP/P/F like most schools.

It sounds like you’ve had the chance to talk hear from some students already, but if you have any specific questions feel free to message me. I actually love Morris park and have a list of fun things you can get up to here!

Thank you for the grading clarification! I'll message you!

 

[chilly_md]

Thank you for your response! Agreed that moving step 1 doesn't quite make sense - I might reach out to them about this. Does it matter that I plan on specializing or is that not important for med school since residency is just general peds?

I don’t think it should matter too much since you just want to match into a good general peds residency program first. You should have opportunities to make yourself a strong candidate with the children’s hospitals that are there. Similar to the path for an IM sub speciality

 

[mlo445]

If anyone who voted could share why they chose that school (particularly Einstein) I'd really appreciate it! Still struggling to decide...