UIC vs RUSH for someone planning on gen surg residency

[nightshift]

Dear elders, please humor me with some advice.

I'm staying in Chicago for med school and right now it looks like my options are either UIC or Rush. Cost aside, are there any compelling reasons why one might better suit someone planning to start w/ a gen surg residency?

Assuming solid board scores and grades, how important is research for obtaining a competitive residency? If so, what type of research (basic sciences or clinical)?

What's important for a med student (other than solid academics) to do in order to be competitive for a "good" gen surg program? Knowing (inasmuch as I can, anyway) that this is what I want to go into, what should I look for in a school?

Sorry if these questions are annoying. I'm just trying to get advice from people who actually know what they're talking about. Thanks for your help.

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[Winged Scapula]

Dear elders, please humor me with some advice.

I'm staying in Chicago for med school and right now it looks like my options are either UIC or Rush. Cost aside, are there any compelling reasons why one might better suit someone planning to start w/ a gen surg residency?

Either one is fine.

Assuming solid board scores and grades, how important is research for obtaining a competitive residency? If so, what type of research (basic sciences or clinical)?

Either basic or clinical. Research is not as important for general surgery unless you are really looking at the big name places for residency or at programs that require research during residency.

What's important for a med student (other than solid academics) to do in order to be competitive for a "good" gen surg program? Knowing (inasmuch as I can, anyway) that this is what I want to go into, what should I look for in a school?

A school that will accept you. Really. There is not a significant difference between UIC or Rush that it will impact your residency matching ability.

Look for a school that will make you happy, that has a surgery department, and costs the least. The rest is up to you (Board scores, connections, LORs, etc.)