UICOM vs LOYOLA

[la vida loca]

hi everyone! I am grateful to be accepted to both Stritch and University of Illinois at Chicago campus. I have been conflicted on which school to go to. For a little background, I am interested in dermatology and live in IL.

UICOM
Pro:
-cheaper IS tuition (~$52,000)
-good match list for derm
-more research and fellowship opportunities
-in the IL medical district (closer to VA, Rush, etc)
-no internal ranking, but clinical is (high honor, honor, pass, fail)

Con:
-near downtown so living costs would be expensive
-not liking the testing frequency for pre-clinical years (every 6-10 weeks)
-may be difficult to make connections given larger class size
-may be difficult to reach out to faculty

Loyola:
Pro:
-went to Loyola undergrad and love their mission/values
-love the faculty/student environment
-feel like I could make stronger connections with faculty given smaller school
-in a less crowded area of IL and less distractions, but close enough to downtown
-testing more frequently about every (2-3 weeks)

Con:
-more expensive about $25-30k over 4 years
-not great match list for competitive specialties
-less funded research department
-internal ranking (30% preclinical and 70% clinical)

Please let me know ya’lls thoughts!

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[chilly_md]

I would choose UICOM. State-backed with good research. I feel getting tested every couple weeks gets old pretty fast.

 

[deleted877888]

Isn't the Chicago campus smaller than Loyola? Thought it was 100 vs like 150.

 

[la vida loca]

Isn't the Chicago campus smaller than Loyola? Thought it was 100 vs like 150.

The Chicago campus is 180 and Loyola is 170 I believe so slightly smaller. But UIC overall is 300 students over the 3 campuses.

 

[deleted877888]

I probably wouldn't worry too much about the other campuses since you wouldn't be interacting w them as much. UIC is ranked a bit higher and seems like it has more research going on so I would probably go there, but if u hate being in the city IDT it's unreasonable to go to Loyola.

 

[premed123456844]

Loyola is the best place to go, in my opinion. The faculty are very supportive. UIC and Loyola are both mid-tier schools and if it is not top-tier schools (T20), residencies do not care if it is Loyola or UIC and care about your success in medical school. They both have fantastic residency programs for competitive specialties. Also, match lists change yearly depending on where the students want to match and which specialty they want to match, so I would not choose a school depending on this data. Residency programs do not care which medical school you were in when you apply for residency. They care about your success. They care if you have good LORS, mentors, and people that can stand up for you. Consider going to the place you'll excel, can get good LORs, and not be an average, and you see yourself being in for 4 years. It's a big decision.

 

[la vida loca]

Loyola is the best place to go, in my opinion. The faculty are very supportive. UIC and Loyola are both mid-tier schools and if it is not top-tier schools (T20), residencies do not care if it is Loyola or UIC and care about your success in medical school. They both have fantastic residency programs for competitive specialties. Also, match lists change yearly depending on where the students want to match and which specialty they want to match, so I would not choose a school depending on this data. Residency programs do not care which medical school you were in when you apply for residency. They care about your success. They care if you have good LORS, mentors, and people that can stand up for you. Consider going to the place you'll excel, can get good LORs, and not be an average, and you see yourself being in for 4 years. It's a big decision.

Thanks for your message! I was considering everything you’re saying as well but I can’t seem to shake the fact that UIC has potentially more research opportunities available since it’s state funded. Loyola isn’t really known for their research so matching into a specialty requiring a lot of publications, manuscripts, etc would put me at a disadvantage?

 

[theoceanman]

If you're concerned with research, UICOM > Loyola

 

[premed123456844]

I would recommend you consider what you want to do in the future and what you want to focus on. Do you want to focus on research or other things? Do you want an education at Loyola or UIC? Are you into Jesuit education or UIC education? Do you think you can balance your grades with ECs, research, and social life? Balancing research in med school will be hard no matter where you go. You have to put so much work into it compared to other students applying for still competitive but less competitive specialties. That's why those competitive specialties are hard for every single candidate, no matter where you go for med school. Finding research is the easy part, but actually doing the research and finding the time will be challenging for both UIC and Loyola. So, I would recommend you compare their resources to support students on mental health and the student environment (collaborative or not), their education system differences, and whether they have the residency program of the specialty that you want.

 

[la vida loca]

I would recommend you consider what you want to do in the future and what you want to focus on. Do you want to focus on research or other things? Do you want an education at Loyola or UIC? Are you into Jesuit education or UIC education? Do you think you can balance your grades with ECs, research, and social life? Balancing research in med school will be hard no matter where you go. You have to put so much work into it compared to other students applying for still competitive but less competitive specialties. That's why those competitive specialties are hard for every single candidate, no matter where you go for med school. Finding research is the easy part, but actually doing the research and finding the time will be challenging for both UIC and Loyola. So, I would recommend you compare their resources to support students on mental health and the student environment (collaborative or not), their education system differences, and whether they have the residency program of the specialty that you want.

Based on what I have heard a lot of students are really happy at Loyola (debatably more than UIC) which makes me leans more towards it, but I also am considering the testing frequency as well. Loyola has exams every 2-3 weeks which makes me believe I will feel more burnt out and would possibly have a harder time doing other things like research, etc. UIC tests every 6-10 weeks so I maybe would have more time to study but also have time for research and other ECs. This is all speculation on my part so I am not sure how manageable this is.

 

[DarkHorizon]

I don’t think either school will have any significant advantage. Ultimately, it’ll be up to you. The difference here is negligible, go where you’re happier and is cheaper.

 

[la vida loca]

I don’t think either school will have any significant advantage. Ultimately, it’ll be up to you. The difference here is negligible, go where you’re happier and is cheaper.

One makes me happier and the other is cheaper 😅 but yeah I see what you’re saying.

 

[premed123456844]

The testing frequency is better if it's 2-3-4 weeks because you will have a fresh memory taking the exams (Better for Step exams), and it will probably be easier to score higher since the memory is (again) fresh. 7-8 weeks of exams make it more challenging (for me personally), because it will create more anxiety because you already will be forgetting the things that are mentioned in Week 1-2.

 

[la vida loca]

The testing frequency is better if it's 2-3-4 weeks because you will have a fresh memory taking the exams (Better for Step exams), and it will probably be easier to score higher since the memory is (again) fresh. 7-8 weeks of exams make it more challenging (for me personally), because it will create more anxiety because you already will be forgetting the things that are mentioned in Week 1-2.

Yeah I can see the pros and cons with both curriculums so I think at the end of the day it might be a personal choice. I also heard that Loyola only has in house exams, but UIC has both in-house and you take an NBME like exam every other block to test material up until that point, so that could be a pro.

 

[premed123456844]

At the end of the day, it's up to you and what kind of education you want to get. A Jesuit or the UIC education... NBME or not, it really doesn't make a lot of difference, and both schools really do not have much of a difference in recognition. Just go with your gut. Medical school is four years, which is very long and it will be stressful most of the time, so you should really look at which place you see your mental health will be good and where you will receive the most support from the faculty, the students, get great letter of recommendations, etc.

 

[catnip12]

Loyola is the best place to go, in my opinion. The faculty are very supportive. UIC and Loyola are both mid-tier schools and if it is not top-tier schools (T20), residencies do not care if it is Loyola or UIC and care about your success in medical school. They both have fantastic residency programs for competitive specialties. Also, match lists change yearly depending on where the students want to match and which specialty they want to match, so I would not choose a school depending on this data. Residency programs do not care which medical school you were in when you apply for residency. They care about your success. They care if you have good LORS, mentors, and people that can stand up for you. Consider going to the place you'll excel, can get good LORs, and not be an average, and you see yourself being in for 4 years. It's a big decision.

This is the mostly the right answer but with the modification to go to the cheaper school after all costs have been considered especially if the school has a home department in the specialty you are interested in.

 

[la vida loca]

This is the mostly the right answer but with the modification to go to the cheaper school after all costs have been considered especially if the school has a home department in the specialty you are interested in.

UICOM right know is the cheapest school but only but an insignificant amount (25k total). If cost wasn’t a factor, Loyola would be a better choice?

 

[catnip12]

I think UIC still would be the better choice based on what you wrote. If you’re interested in a competitive specialty then you need connections and I’m not convinced that a smaller school is always better in terms of connections with faculty and other students if you’re at the mothership.

Additionally given that UIC has better research opportunities, I would pick it for that reason too

 

[la vida loca]

I think UIC still would be the better choice based on what you wrote. If you’re interested in a competitive specialty then you need connections and I’m not convinced that a smaller school is always better in terms of connections with faculty and other students if you’re at the mothership.

Additionally given that UIC has better research opportunities, I would pick it for that reason too

Really? Do you think it would be easiest to build connections at a bigger institution? I know a lot of faculty from Loyola already so it would be an easier transition. But I have never been in school the size of UIC so I don’t know what the difference between public vs private medical schools are to be honest.

 

[premed123456844]

Yeah I can see the pros and cons with both curriculums so I think at the end of the day it might be a personal choice. I also heard that Loyola only has in house exams, but UIC has both in-house and you take an NBME like exam every other block to test material up until that point, so that could be a pro.

Hi, I was informed that Loyola has NBME-style multiple-choice exams, even though they are in-house exams.

 

[la vida loca]

Hi, I was informed that Loyola has NBME-style multiple-choice exams, even though they are in-house exams.

Yes thank you for letting me know and clarifying with them!