brainfart123
Full Member
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2024
- Messages
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Hey guys! So I am very fortunate to hold 2 acceptances and 1 WL so far but I am very torn between them. I grew up in New York and went to college in Boston so I can't really see myself living in a rural/secluded area, which is why I am hesitant to choose UICOM. But at the end of the day, I do want to go to an institution that will set me up for success. Some things that I take into consideration are:
-Home hospital?
-Research opportunities
-Supportive faculty
-East Coast residency match friendly? (would like to be in the East Coast for residency)
-Enjoyable lifestyle outside of medical school?
UICOM-Peoria:
Location is a big downside for this one... 🙁 Peoria is a relatively quiet and boring(?) area of Illinois and is about a 2hr drive from Chicago. BUT it does have a home hospital. Small class size so I can expect close relationships with faculty and classmates. Also heard that students are able to form close relationships with attendings during rotations. Most students match into programs in Illinois so not so sure about how east coast friendly it is in terms of residency match. Also far from Boston/NY area where most of my friends are located. I've heard that research opportunities basically fall on your lap.
Drexel:
HUGE class size ~300 including those in the West Reading campus. No home hospital. These cons are alleviated by the West Reading campus, which has a smaller class size and Tower Health to rotate in. But this campus is about 1.5 hrs away from Philadelphia. Flipped classroom...? Not so sure how this works. Hard to expect close relationships with faculty considering its class size. Good match list. Tons in the east coast. Really not sure about the research opportunities offered here. Anyone have an idea..?
Quinnipiac (Waitlist):
Small class size ~90. Heard GREAT things about the faculty and how much they genuinely care about their students. I personally had a good time during their interview day. Students seemed very chill and relaxed. I don't mind the North Haven area. 15 mins away from New Haven, close to NY and Boston. No home hospital. They did mention that they help students pay for housing if their rotation site is far. Limited research opportunities. I'll have to go out of my way to find one. 10% of the class gets selected to do research at Yale (Lottery system). AMAZING match list. Most are in the east coast so this was very appealing to me.
-Home hospital?
-Research opportunities
-Supportive faculty
-East Coast residency match friendly? (would like to be in the East Coast for residency)
-Enjoyable lifestyle outside of medical school?
UICOM-Peoria:
Location is a big downside for this one... 🙁 Peoria is a relatively quiet and boring(?) area of Illinois and is about a 2hr drive from Chicago. BUT it does have a home hospital. Small class size so I can expect close relationships with faculty and classmates. Also heard that students are able to form close relationships with attendings during rotations. Most students match into programs in Illinois so not so sure about how east coast friendly it is in terms of residency match. Also far from Boston/NY area where most of my friends are located. I've heard that research opportunities basically fall on your lap.
Drexel:
HUGE class size ~300 including those in the West Reading campus. No home hospital. These cons are alleviated by the West Reading campus, which has a smaller class size and Tower Health to rotate in. But this campus is about 1.5 hrs away from Philadelphia. Flipped classroom...? Not so sure how this works. Hard to expect close relationships with faculty considering its class size. Good match list. Tons in the east coast. Really not sure about the research opportunities offered here. Anyone have an idea..?
Quinnipiac (Waitlist):
Small class size ~90. Heard GREAT things about the faculty and how much they genuinely care about their students. I personally had a good time during their interview day. Students seemed very chill and relaxed. I don't mind the North Haven area. 15 mins away from New Haven, close to NY and Boston. No home hospital. They did mention that they help students pay for housing if their rotation site is far. Limited research opportunities. I'll have to go out of my way to find one. 10% of the class gets selected to do research at Yale (Lottery system). AMAZING match list. Most are in the east coast so this was very appealing to me.
