UIC vs. Wisconsin-Madison

[pinheadnomore]

Hi all,
I'm in the fortunate position of being able to choose between UIC and University of Wisconsin-Madison. Any opinions on these schools would be greatly appreciated!

I'm interested in urban medicine and community health. No strong interest in research. There would be no big difference in tuition for me between both schools. Diversity in both the patient population and fellow students is very important to me. A legacy/history/awareness of social justice among students would be great too.

UIC
Pros:
-I love Chicago
-diverse patient population
-(more) diverse class

Cons:
-older facilities?
-less support for students?
-less prestigious/highly ranked

Madison
Pros:
-great school
-easy to combine interests in public health
-interesting curriculum
-seemingly supportive administration
-not in Illinois (failing state, corrupt gov't, etc)
-beautiful campus

Cons:
-not as diverse in terms of students and pt population
-farther from home
-not Chicago (unfair...I know...)

In summation, I get the sense that the first two years would be better for me at UW and the clinical years would be better for me at UIC. Can anyone weigh in on these two schools? I'd love to hear your thoughts and critiques and biases!

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[candbgirl]

You've been accepted to the Chicago campus? I love Chicago but Madison is great too. If you like diversity it's UIC .

 

[ndafife]

I believe UW has a program for urban health that may fit some of your goals/desires:
http://www.med.wisc.edu/education/md/triumph/training-in-urban-medicine-and-public-health/681

 

[Glandzburg]

I'm a bit biased towards UWSMPH for obvious reasons, but as @ndafife mentioned, we have the TRIUMPH program that would place you in Milwaukee for your clinical rotations if you are interested in urban medicine. There is also a big emphasis on community/public health that is integrated throughout the pre-clinical curriculum. You should also add tuition to your pros list... $25k in-state and $35k out-of-state tuition is practically a steal.

 

[JPA178]

No big difference in tuition means you are an IL resident? UIC is not worth it if you aren't a resident, it's the most expensive OOS tuition in the country. You will get more diversity in Chicago. Madison is a great town, less diverse but UW definitely has a history of social activism. OOS tuition is insanely cheap there too. And if you get sick of Madtown, Chicago and MKE are still pretty close. I say UW.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Moving to SSD

 

[pinheadnomore]

No big difference in tuition means you are an IL resident?

Yes, IL resident!
Thanks for all your input, everyone!! So it seems the consensus is UW, even in light of Chicago's diversity and the hospitals one would access through UIC? Any proponents for UIC?