UIC-Chicago vs Rosalind Franklin/CMS

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EvaSwitchBox20

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I can not actually believe that I'm in a situation where I have to choose between medical schools. I was just surprised to get into one as it was! But I could really really use some people's advice......it' a freakin' hard decision, and I've got until Tuesday to decide

UIC-Chicago (petition to switch sites here was granted!
pros It's in a wonderful location, in terms of opportunities. It has a ton of hospitals right next door to get a great amount of early clinical exposure, and classes are taught by professors who have a lot of great research going on, as shown by a lot more NIH funding than RFU. It's also a much more well-known, reputed medical school, and chicago is a great city. I enjoyed being on campus. I have a lot of friends in the area, which is nice.
cons It's also in a little bit more of a dangerous location, and I keep hearing crime reports about the areas. Housing would cost a ton more, and I'd probably have to sell my car, which I rely on for everything (parking would be atrocious, I hear). I also heard that they're beginning to have problems in administration with faculty:student ratio/relations, as evident by a recent on-line petition to reinstate a faculty member who was laid off. The facilities are kind of ruddy

Rosalind Franklin/Chicago Medical School
pros: I LOVED THIS SCHOOL! Honestly, I just felt so happy and excited when I was on their campus. Wonderful facilities, and it just looks like it caters to its student so much! The faculty are warm and inviting, and I'm told that they have great relations with the faculty. I just pictured myself really enjoying it there. It's not in the city, so you don't have as many distractions. Awesome student housing, as well.
cons It's not in the city, and it has no affiliated hospital. So that kind of sucks, not being able to go into that kind of medical environment as often as other students might, especially in chitown. It's not terribly far away from the city, but it is a bit of a drive. It's also rated a little lower, and a lot less people know it even exists outside of the medical world. Classes are big, mixed in with other professional students, which is nice, but I worry that that's almost too big, no?

I hope I can get some feedback from you guys, I could REALLY use it, anything!!
 
I personally would choose UIC. I visited Rosalind Franklin and wasn't happy that they were so far away from Chicago and that the area around it was kinda run down. I do agree with you about the facilities and the faculty (they did seem very, VERY nice).

No hospital also worries me. I think UIC must have better research going than Rosalind.
 
UIC if you're from Illinois, CMS if you're not.
 
i would go with UIC... sadly i didnt make the list there 🙁
 
If you want a nice place to live go to Presidential Towers. It is right next to Union Station and there is a shuttle back and forth from that campus which I heard is very convinet and many students live in.. It is in a real safe neighborhood and a 5 minute walk from State St. and 10 minute walk from Michigan Ave.

Rent there is about $1,200 for a one bedroom/moderate kitchen/ huge livingroom. The entire living room has floor to floor windows that look out into the city! Its beautiful. They have a grocery store/ tai place/ mc donalds/ dry cleaners/ and a potbelly's right downstairs where you dont' even have to walk out.

Its a really safe place to live because they have security (security is actually a little too tight if you ask me).

You can also get a parking spot for the year there.

Rosalind is about $1,000/month so why not pay 200 extra and get to look out onto the city every day!
 
I had the same decision as you. I was fortunate enough to get into both of those schools, and many of my pros and cons are similar to yours.

As for the safety issues, it's true, things happen. But I would argue that those things could happen in any part of any city. Is it the greatest neighborhood? No, it isn't. I'm currently finishing some graduate work at Rush University, which is literally 1 street over from UIC medical, so I know the neighborhood.

I can't promise you nothing will happen and everything will be fine, but know that there are hundreds of students within the UIC medical district, and besides some extra caution everyone takes at later hours during the day, its not something constantly on their minds.

RFU also has rotations in Chicago, which is a fantastic plus. I also was impressed by their gross anatomy lab. I also have many friends who are M1s or BMS students at RFU, and they can come down to the city and enjoy once in a while as well so you aren't cut off from Chicago (although its not as close as RFU seems to advertise). As for their mixing in with other professional students, I never really saw that as a negative. In my experience its good to work with other pre-professional students outside of your field. I was also disappointed that they don't have a real associated hospital nearby.

In the end I chose UIC for family related reasons (BIGGEST REASON) , convenience of location, associated hospital and nearby hospitals (very big for me), and reputation IL (I want to stay in Chicago for residency, and their match list churns out chicago doctors, and from what I've heard UIC seems to have a better reputation).On a personal note, I love the city itself and I too have lots of friends in the area/all around chicago, and that factored into my decision. Instate tuition, its still pretty expensive for a state school...but every its not an imperceptible difference. I read that online petition thing you mentioned, and it does worry me to a certain degree, but for me the pros outweigh the cons.

Good luck with your choice! I think both schools have enough merits where you won't be regretting your decision later down the road.
 
Hey guys, I've gotten a lot of feedback so far, but I realized that it was all from people not actually in medical school yet/people at UIC who despised RFU. I don't like it when people trashtalk, I go to a good undergrad school, and I just wanna smack people who act snobby about the name of their school. So I thought a better perspective would be you guys, across the line of med school, in any year, from all sorts of new perspectives. Administrators, please don't move this thread to pre-med, I'd prefer and really appreciate med students' perspectives.

I can not actually believe that I'm in a situation where I have to choose between medical schools. I was just surprised to get into one as it was! But I could really really use some people's advice......it' a freakin' hard decision, and I don't have very long to decide.

UIC-Chicago (petition to switch sites here was granted!)
prosIt's in a wonderful location, in terms of opportunities. It has a ton of hospitals right next door to get a great amount of early clinical exposure, and classes are taught by professors who have a lot of great research going on, as shown by a lot more NIH funding than RFU. It's also a much more well-known, reputed medical school, and chicago is a great city. I enjoyed being on campus. I have a lot of friends in the area, which is nice.
cons It's also in a little bit more of a dangerous location, and I keep hearing crime reports about the areas. Housing would cost a ton more, and I'd probably have to sell my car, which I rely on for everything (parking would be atrocious, I hear). I also heard that they're beginning to have problems in administration with faculty:student ratio/relations, as evident by a recent on-line petition to reinstate a faculty member who was laid off. The facilities are kind of ruddy

Rosalind Franklin/Chicago Medical School
pros: I LOVED THIS SCHOOL! Honestly, I just felt so happy and excited when I was on their campus. Wonderful facilities, and it just looks like it caters to its student so much! The faculty are warm and inviting, and I'm told that they have great relations with the faculty. I just pictured myself really enjoying it there. It's not in the city, so you don't have as many distractions. Awesome student housing, as well.
cons It's not in the city, and it has no affiliated hospital. So that kind of sucks, not being able to go into that kind of medical environment as often as other students might, especially in chitown. It's not terribly far away from the city, but it is a bit of a drive. It's also rated a little lower, and a lot less people know it even exists outside of the medical world. Classes are big, mixed in with other professional students, which is nice, but I worry that that's almost too big, no?

Financially, they're now, as of 2010, officially the same (IS), so that's not a factor. Their match lists http://www.rosalindfranklin.edu/dnn/portals/18/documents/admissions/2009MR.pdf and http://www.uic.edu/depts/mcam/osa/careers/MatchData/2010MatchResultsbySpecialty.htm are about the same.

As for the city life, it's nice, but I'll be studying most of the time my first 2 years, and in Chicago for the latter 2, and I like to relax, play guitar, and watch movies anyways, so losing a few bars isn't a big deal. Plus it's just an hour drive to the heart of the city from RFU.

I hope I can get some feedback from you guys, I could REALLY use it, anything!!
 
EvaSwitchBox20 said:
UIC-Chicago
prosIt's in a wonderful location, in terms of opportunities. It has a ton of hospitals right next door to get a great amount of early clinical exposure, and classes are taught by professors who have a lot of great research going on, as shown by a lot more NIH funding than RFU. It's also a much more well-known, reputed medical school, and chicago is a great city. I enjoyed being on campus. I have a lot of friends in the area, which is nice.
cons It's also in a little bit more of a dangerous location, and I keep hearing crime reports about the areas. Housing would cost a ton more, and I'd probably have to sell my car, which I rely on for everything (parking would be atrocious, I hear). I also heard that they're beginning to have problems in administration with faculty:student ratio/relations, as evident by a recent on-line petition to reinstate a faculty member who was laid off. The facilities are kind of ruddy

Rosalind Franklin/Chicago Medical School
pros: I LOVED THIS SCHOOL! Honestly, I just felt so happy and excited when I was on their campus. Wonderful facilities, and it just looks like it caters to its student so much! The faculty are warm and inviting, and I'm told that they have great relations with the faculty. I just pictured myself really enjoying it there. It's not in the city, so you don't have as many distractions. Awesome student housing, as well.
cons It's not in the city, and it has no affiliated hospital. So that kind of sucks, not being able to go into that kind of medical environment as often as other students might, especially in chitown. It's not terribly far away from the city, but it is a bit of a drive. It's also rated a little lower, and a lot less people know it even exists outside of the medical world. Classes are big, mixed in with other professional students, which is nice, but I worry that that's almost too big, no?
Click to expand...

seems like you have an answer.
 
RFU has come a long way. At one time they were the most expensive med school in the country, but now they are a little bit cheaper than most of the private schools. The lack of a major affiliated teaching hospital is a big con IMO. UIC still commands much more respect and has a very flexible independent study program (you have to apply to this program at the end of your M1 year) that will let you go to any other school for research and rotations. I would pick UIC, but it sounds like RFU might me a better fit for you. The match list also looks decent for both schools. Are you sure the COA for both schools is the same? From what I found it looks like instate UIC is about 36k cheaper.

UIC COA =$ 224, 457
http://www.medicine.uic.edu/finaid/cost/COA/

RFU COA= $260,273
http://www.rosalindfranklin.edu/dnn/Portals/18/documents/financialaid/new/BudgetGuideMED.pdf
 
With regard to location, UIC is great. I suppose while crime in the area isn't non-existent, I would say the medical district itself is pretty safe. I've never felt threatened or anything like that. A little south of there is a tad ghetto, but for me, it adds to the urban flavor.

With regard to parking, it depends on where you live (and whether there's a parking lot) but if you want to park in the street, it'll only run you about $100 a year. No reason to stress about the car if you wanna keep it. Granted though, a U-pass is included in tuition.

With regard to housing, you don't have to live in the dorms!!! If economy is what you're looking for, you can find a decent and dirt cheap place in Pilsen (ie $200-300/month with roommates). There's also any of the other surrounding neighborhoods to choose from. While you will spend the majority of the time studying, living in the city is straight up awesome for when you do wanna go out and have fun.

I'm sure Ros is a decent place, and many people who go there work hard, make the best of it, and end up in baller residencies. However, I don't know anyone who chose it over UIC or any other allopathic Chicago school. It has a poor reputation (which, granted, at the end of the day doesn't mean anything if you're an awesome student) and I think choosing it over UIC might needlessly make life just a little bit harder. Recognize that just saying you go to/went to U of I has wayyyyyy more cachet than Ros and that most Chicagoans have lots of respect for the school. Indeed, I believe the majority of physicians in Illinois are UIC alumns.

Good luck!
 
thanks for the advice guys.

It's the summers at UIC that kill ya, they tack on another 18 grand each, bringing it to a grand total of
$261,819
 
EvaSwitchBox20 said:
It's the summers at UIC that kill ya, they tack on another 18 grand each, bringing it to a grand total of
$261,819
Click to expand...

You are right about the total cost at UIC, I did not read the part about the two summers. Things have changed a lot since I went to UIC many years ago. My total cost was less than 60K, which was much lower than any private school in the state at that time.

I can not understand why a state school costs the same as a private school. What are they doing with the tax payers funding?
 
EvaSwitchBox20 said:
thanks for the advice guys.

It's the summers at UIC that kill ya, they tack on another 18 grand each, bringing it to a grand total of
$261,819
Click to expand...

Wow, that is the most depressing number that I have ever seen for a state school, assuming that you are a resident of Illinois. That number boggles the mind!
 
hah, tell me about it. Illinois officially has no cheap med schools.....our government is corrupt and financially inept. Now Texas, there's a cheap state!!

So all things considered from what yourself and others have said before, knowing that UIC is actually a little more expensive (then tack on the cost of living/doing anything in the city/parking fees), would you guys still recommend UIC over RFU?

To an extent, yea, I sometimes think RFU, but then I think, maybe I'm just being stubborn, I have a tendency to do that. I don't want to lose out on a great opportunity or anything.
 
nightshift said:
Recognize that just saying you go to/went to U of I has wayyyyyy more cachet than Ros and that most Chicagoans have lots of respect for the school. Indeed, I believe the majority of physicians in Illinois are UIC alumns.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Seriously? You think there's "wayyyyy more cachet" in saying you went to a middle of the road state school compared to a pretty low ranked private school? There isn't a hell of a lot of "cachet" to go around at either place.
 
EvaSwitchBox20 said:
hah, tell me about it. Illinois officially has no cheap med schools.....our government is corrupt and financially inept. Now Texas, there's a cheap state!!

So all things considered from what yourself and others have said before, knowing that UIC is actually a little more expensive (then tack on the cost of living/doing anything in the city/parking fees), would you guys still recommend UIC over RFU?

To an extent, yea, I sometimes think RFU, but then I think, maybe I'm just being stubborn, I have a tendency to do that. I don't want to lose out on a great opportunity or anything.
Click to expand...

The decision is going to be based on reasons unique to you. A lot of people would prefer being downtown and having a centralized location for rotations. On the other hand, there's at least one person in our class at CMS who chose it over UIC because they already lived up there and preferred the location.
 
TheRadiologist said:
You are right about the total cost at UIC, I did not read the part about the two summers. Things have changed a lot since I went to UIC many years ago. My total cost was less than 60K, which was much lower than any private school in the state at that time.

I can not understand why a state school costs the same as a private school. What are they doing with the tax payers funding?
Click to expand...

Remember why it is the "windy" city...not because of the wind.
 
KeyzerSoze said:
The decision is going to be based on reasons unique to you. A lot of people would prefer being downtown and having a centralized location for rotations. On the other hand, there's at least one person in our class at CMS who chose it over UIC because they already lived up there and preferred the location.
Click to expand...


It's a tough choice, but I think I'm leaning towards CMS.....you might have another guy at CMS choosing it over UIC. But question is, did your classmate choose it, being placed in Peoria/Urbana/Rockford or Chicago? For me, the Peoria track vs CMS was a no-brainer, but when I was switched, that's when it got tough. The way I figure it, I've tried convincing myself that UIC would be a better choice, more opportunities, associated hospital, blah blah.....but when it came down to it, I wasn't as happy with that decision. I'll be downtown with rotations for 2 years anyways, I like the systems-based approach (even if it is new), their histo/anatomy lab setup, and the overall feel. While I'm shoving all sorts of new info into my brain, I think the place where I'll be happier and more comfortable would be the most conducive. After that: the city life. I'll just have to work my butt off and prove that I've got what it takes with my grades/boards. Wish we had a mascot though, heh
 
I want to add one more thing. I feel like RFU is really up-and-coming. Since they've regained their accreditation, they've got a lot to prove to the medical world. It feels like they're succeeding. I want to be there while they continue to break through =)

PS, Everyone I met there was smiling brightly, staff and students. Can't say the same for UIC. Subtleties speak millions...
 
EvaSwitchBox20 said:
It's a tough choice, but I think I'm leaning towards CMS.....you might have another guy at CMS choosing it over UIC. But question is, did your classmate choose it, being placed in Peoria/Urbana/Rockford or Chicago? For me, the Peoria track vs CMS was a no-brainer, but when I was switched, that's when it got tough. The way I figure it, I've tried convincing myself that UIC would be a better choice, more opportunities, associated hospital, blah blah.....but when it came down to it, I wasn't as happy with that decision. I'll be downtown with rotations for 2 years anyways, I like the systems-based approach (even if it is new), their histo/anatomy lab setup, and the overall feel. While I'm shoving all sorts of new info into my brain, I think the place where I'll be happier and more comfortable would be the most conducive. After that: the city life. I'll just have to work my butt off and prove that I've got what it takes with my grades/boards. Wish we had a mascot though, heh
Click to expand...


Eva, all of these reasons you listed are exactly why I chose RFU over another school as well. The students, teachers and staff were incredibly nice and enthusiastic while i was there during my interview and really left a great impression on me 🙂
 
Ari1584 said:
Eva, all of these reasons you listed are exactly why I chose RFU over another school as well. The students, teachers and staff were incredibly nice and enthusiastic while i was there during my interview and really left a great impression on me 🙂
Click to expand...

Thank you!!! Jeez, I've been lookin' for some RFU love like this. It's good to know there's other people who have had these ideas on their mind. Mind me asking what school/s you chose it over? Just curious, but no biggie if you don't want to post names.
 
EvaSwitchBox20 said:
I want to add one more thing. I feel like RFU is really up-and-coming. Since they've regained their accreditation, they've got a lot to prove to the medical world. It feels like they're succeeding. I want to be there while they continue to break through =)

PS, Everyone I met there was smiling brightly, staff and students. Can't say the same for UIC. Subtleties speak millions...
Click to expand...

Actually, everyone I met at UIC was smiling and happy...I think it depends who you talk to, time of day, type of day, etc. That being said, choosing a med school is all about how you feel, even if you can't describe it! I thought i was all set to go to another school...then along came UIC and I chose it in the end for many reasons. I really do think there is no such thing as a bad choice. If a school is accredited then you'll get a good education as long as you try hard. Congrats on making your decision!! 🙂
 
Sweetpea MD said:
Actually, everyone I met at UIC was smiling and happy...I think it depends who you talk to, time of day, type of day, etc. That being said, choosing a med school is all about how you feel, even if you can't describe it! I thought i was all set to go to another school...then along came UIC and I chose it in the end for many reasons. I really do think there is no such thing as a bad choice. If a school is accredited then you'll get a good education as long as you try hard. Congrats on making your decision!! 🙂
Click to expand...

+1

I agree that it seems like RFU is the best fit for you though from what I've read. Good luck!
 
I hate to resurrect a dead topic, but I've got a question. I heard that a lot of CMS students do their rotations downtown, but I just came across this:

http://sites.google.com/a/my.rfums.org/cmsstudentdean/cms-hospitals

And it looks like only 1 or 2 of those hospitals are downtown, compared to UIC's 15. Someone else told me that they do rotations at mostly the same places....so how does that work?
 
I hate to resurrect a dead topic, but I've got a question. I heard that a lot of CMS students do their rotations downtown, but I just came across this:

http://sites.google.com/a/my.rfums.org/cmsstudentdean/cms-hospitals

And it looks like only 1 or 2 of those hospitals are downtown, compared to UIC's 15. Someone else told me that they do rotations at mostly the same places....so how does that work?
 
EvaSwitchBox20 said:
I hate to resurrect a dead topic, but I've got a question. I heard that a lot of CMS students do their rotations downtown, but I just came across this:

http://sites.google.com/a/my.rfums.org/cmsstudentdean/cms-hospitals

And it looks like only 1 or 2 of those hospitals are downtown, compared to UIC's 15. Someone else told me that they do rotations at mostly the same places....so how does that work?
Click to expand...

On the list
The following four are mostly affiliated with UIC so the CMS affiliation is minor:

Advocate Christ (Oak Lawn)
Advocate Lutheran General (Park Ridge)
Advocate Illinois Masonic (Chicago)
Cook County.

Hines VA is mostly affiliated with Loyola

CMS's main affiliation is with North Chicago VA and Mt Sinai

I am not sure about Advocate Condell, but it is close to CMS.

My information may not be up to date. This was the case about 7 years ago when my spouse was an attending at CMS.
 
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Sorry to get off topic but could you post UIC's rotations spots
 
EvaSwitchBox20 said:
Someone else told me that they do rotations at mostly the same places....so how does that work?
Click to expand...

I doubt that's true. While UIC students do some rotations at the same hospitals as CMS students, I'd think that most of theirs are done at the UIC Medical Center, especially core rotations. It would be helpful if someone from UIC would comment here.
 
I'm not sure where UIC students rotate, I can't find the list right now. I just assumed that since they boast their "15 teaching hospitals" that students just rotate at all of those....

I'm also a little concerned, I just found out that the Dean of CMS is leaving....current M4 just told me (he's leaving for residency, of course), but he was very concerned about that, said the transition might shake things up in a bad way....this was the guy there through all of there probationary mess, and helped them rebuild, so I'm really surprised he's out now....any thoughts?
 
One more thing. Then I promise I won't bother you guys about anything else with this whole mess. I'm a little concerned, I just found out that the Dean of CMS is leaving....current M4 just told me (he's leaving for residency, of course), but he was very concerned about that, said the transition might shake things up in a bad way....this was the guy there through all of there probationary mess, and helped them rebuild, so I'm really surprised he's out now....any thoughts?

Also, let's say you had bad blood between you and someone else during undergrad, and you found out they may be in your medical school class (yipee), how easy/difficult is it to avoid that person?
 
EvaSwitchBox20 said:
One more thing. Then I promise I won't bother you guys about anything else with this whole mess. I'm a little concerned, I just found out that the Dean of CMS is leaving....current M4 just told me (he's leaving for residency, of course), but he was very concerned about that, said the transition might shake things up in a bad way....this was the guy there through all of there probationary mess, and helped them rebuild, so I'm really surprised he's out now....any thoughts?

Also, let's say you had bad blood between you and someone else during undergrad, and you found out they may be in your medical school class (yipee), how easy/difficult is it to avoid that person?
Click to expand...

1) I don't know what the average tenure of a medical school dean is, but he's been at CMS for 6 years and is moving on to WVU. As I understand it, the school is in a much better position now than it was 6 years ago, and I have no reason to doubt they'll get someone qualified to replace him.

2) It's relatively easy, although it could be annoying if you happen to be in a small group with them, or on the same team during a rotation.
 
Moving to School Specific Discussions. I am also merging the two related threads. Please do not cross post threads in the future.
 
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