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Just wanted to post this and see what are your thoughts about the strengths and weaknesses of each campus. Thanks!
UIC Campus Selection: Chicago vs. Urbana-Champaign/Rockford
- Thread starter Whoa It's Peter
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I can only comment on Rockford and Chicago:
Rockford:
Nice place to live, cheap. School is all contained in one building and everyone really knows each other. Class days are only 8-12.
Chicago:
City living, more competitive environment. Sort of that fend for yourself and no one will baby you kinda feeling. I heard the class days are longer, and people who don't do well have to re-do tests over the summer. But you are living in Chicago and the clinical exposure will be awesome.
I am in Chicago and am ready to take on the challenge. If anyone finds that my comments are skewed let me know! It would be great to ease my nerves about the competitiveness of students in the Chicago site.
Rockford:
Nice place to live, cheap. School is all contained in one building and everyone really knows each other. Class days are only 8-12.
Chicago:
City living, more competitive environment. Sort of that fend for yourself and no one will baby you kinda feeling. I heard the class days are longer, and people who don't do well have to re-do tests over the summer. But you are living in Chicago and the clinical exposure will be awesome.
I am in Chicago and am ready to take on the challenge. If anyone finds that my comments are skewed let me know! It would be great to ease my nerves about the competitiveness of students in the Chicago site.
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eram said:
Only for a year though... I'm bummed MSP didn't accept me.... after two rounds of interviews and everything!
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I interviewed at Rockford and I volunteer at a hospital here in Chicago where a lot of Chicago campus students and residents rotate through, so i have a little bit of a vibe from each.
Rockford, for starters, is a much cheaper environment. A mortgage on a small house in rockford is cheaper than most rent in chicago.
Rockford offers a much more hands on experience during rotation years because there are very few residency programs in rockford, so most often third and fourth years answer directly to the attending and get a lot of actual experience treating patients.
Chicago undoubtedly has a more diverse patient population and you will exposed to a ton of different conditions and diseases that you may or may not see in rockford.
Additionally, as a Chicagoan, I would have a hard time giving up the city life. (and, at least for now, our city remains wal-mart free, while rockford was in the process of building a newer, larger wal-mart to replace the existing one when i interviewed...so the fact that chicago remains uninfected by wal-mart is a huge plus).
A last consideration is that the urbana/rockford track jams a TON of classes into the first year while chicago spreads them out in a more traditional sequence.
Either option should be good, but i know i chose chicago just to stay in the city myself. (and i promise i'll release that seat as soon as i get my financial aid package from loyola)
Rockford, for starters, is a much cheaper environment. A mortgage on a small house in rockford is cheaper than most rent in chicago.
Rockford offers a much more hands on experience during rotation years because there are very few residency programs in rockford, so most often third and fourth years answer directly to the attending and get a lot of actual experience treating patients.
Chicago undoubtedly has a more diverse patient population and you will exposed to a ton of different conditions and diseases that you may or may not see in rockford.
Additionally, as a Chicagoan, I would have a hard time giving up the city life. (and, at least for now, our city remains wal-mart free, while rockford was in the process of building a newer, larger wal-mart to replace the existing one when i interviewed...so the fact that chicago remains uninfected by wal-mart is a huge plus).
A last consideration is that the urbana/rockford track jams a TON of classes into the first year while chicago spreads them out in a more traditional sequence.
Either option should be good, but i know i chose chicago just to stay in the city myself. (and i promise i'll release that seat as soon as i get my financial aid package from loyola)
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BerkeleyMD said:
having talked to a lot of third years at the hospital where i volunteer and also a couple of first years who are friends of mine, i have not heard much about it being a competitive atmosphere, but I must say that UIC students do not give off that "happy" vibe that i got from students at pritzker, loyola or rockford. not sure what that's all about...but they definitely didn't seem competitive...more like united in their misery.
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is it feasible to buy a home in rockford just off the financial aid (no major assets or savings)?
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sanford_w/o_son said:
i don't know how financial aid and housing actually works...but, if financial aid would cover rent in chicago, it should cover a small mortgage in rockford. but of course, this may be readjusted for region or whatever. i know most of the people i talked to at my interview said they owned homes though. i unfortunately didn't ask much about it, though, because i knew i'd be staying in chicago since i already live here.
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sanford_w/o_son said:
I think I saw a decent duplex for like 30g's or something insane like that in Rockford. You could rent one and live in the other. That will allow you to pay off the mortgage and still have some extra change left over.
Coming from Cali, those numbers seem crazy. But rockford does seem like a nice town.
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eram said:
At my Rockford interview, they said its actually cheaper in Urbana/Champaign than it is in Rockford. 😱
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jbrice1639 said:
thats great! well, except for that misery stuff.
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