University of Chicago vs Baylor

[Ramo35]

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[Ramo35]

It sounds like you like UChicago a bit better than Baylor. And after interviewing at Chicago, it definitely seemed like, despite no formal support structures, the student body is very tight-knit.

However, a friend pointed out that because Chicago's medical center is not as robust as other T20s, perhaps this would limit you in terms of making connections with mentors, especially if you desire a very niche/competitive speciality. So maybe I'd think about what speciality(ies) you're interested in right now and whether Chicago has strong departments for them?

Yeah, that's definitely something I'm keeping in mind. I feel like each school has different strengths and I just need to figure out what I want to prioritize. Thanks so much for your response!

 

[Ramo35]

Baylor is amazing. I've heard great things about UChicago.

It seems like UChicago is the correct choice for you ~ just make sure to do some preliminary research about ongoing projects you can involve yourself with. Also, consider that you could use the $5K/yr you save to see your family if needed.

Overall congrats on the amazing acceptances, you cannot go wrong either way.

Thanks so much for the advice! Really appreciate it!

 

[capriccio]

UChicago has a reputation for being an academic medicine powerhouse—you're not going to have a problem finding mentors and matching into competitive specialties if that's what you want. My experience as a first-year has been that the physicians here are generally very interested in engaging with us and providing mentorship early on. Additionally, there are always a good amount of students every year who match into competitive specialties, and they all match very well.

 

[ranson]

20k is a lot of money but in the grand of scheme of things it shouldn't be the decision maker about which school you choose. If it was 100k, I can understand. That being said, Uchicago is a better med school and the majority of their residency programs (ie. IM, Surg, Uro, Peds) are better than BCMs. They have a small class size and high faculty:student ratio which means you won't be competing with your classmates for research opportunities. Their curriculum may be traditional but that allows for more research time and their avg step scores are always top 5 (this year's average 244). It won't make a different now that step 1 is P/F, but step 2 score will matter more now. BCM is great but unless it is significantly cheaper (ie > 50k) and you have to be in Houston, I would choose uchicago.

 

[Ramo35]

Thanks y'all for your opinions! I will definitely take them into account as I make my final decision!

 

[Skittsie13]

20k is a lot of money but in the grand of scheme of things it shouldn't be the decision maker about which school you choose. If it was 100k, I can understand. That being said, Uchicago is a better med school and the majority of their residency programs (ie. IM, Surg, Uro, Peds) are better than BCMs. They have a small class size and high faculty:student ratio which means you won't be competing with your classmates for research opportunities. Their curriculum may be traditional but that allows for more research time and their avg step scores are always top 5 (this year's average 244). It won't make a different now that step 1 is P/F, but step 2 score will matter more now. BCM is great but unless it is significantly cheaper (ie > 50k) and you have to be in Houston, I would choose uchicago.

Peds is definitely not better at UChicago than Baylor. Baylor's program is Texas Children's which is arguably a top 5 program. UChicago peds isn't even the best program in the city. I'm not familiar with other specialties so I can't comment on those.

OP, with Step score pass/fail, a traditional curriculum becomes even less appealing. More time for aways/subIs/Step 2 prep will become key, along with research time. I would see if Baylor is willing to match Pritzker's offer.

 

[Ramo35]

Peds is definitely not better at UChicago than Baylor. Baylor's program is Texas Children's which is arguably a top 5 program. UChicago peds isn't even the best program in the city. I'm not familiar with other specialties so I can't comment on those.

OP, with Step score pass/fail, a traditional curriculum becomes even less appealing. More time for aways/subIs/Step 2 prep will become key, along with research time. I would see if Baylor is willing to match Pritzker's offer.

Thanks for your advice! Yeah, that's something that has also been on my mind. I'm still waiting to hear back from Pritzker about how they will be addressing P/F Step 1.