University of Colorado vs. University of Pittsburgh

[churrytree]

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I would appreciate the insight! I'm a Colorado resident. I'll pursue an MD, MPH. My goal is to serve urban, underserved patients and contribute to public policy reducing health disparities. I'm adventurous. These are two current frontrunners, though I'm still waiting to hear back from a few others (namely, Stanford and University of Chicago). I'm heavily leaning toward primary care, though I'm certainly not married to that idea. I don't know how much emphasis I should put on the rankings, especially the research rankings, because I don't plan on working the lab bench. I'm more of a community health-type. Additionally, I graduated from a fairly unknown college and always wanted to go to a medical school "everyone's heard of." I've slowly realized that's probably not too important.

Colorado
Strong primary care program
~75% merit scholarship
Built-in relationships with many policy makers
I know some people who go to school here
Colorado is very laid back and the school seems relatively relaxed
Really impressive buildings
Good quality of life
Curriculum is H/P/F, but I wish it was just P/F

University of Pittsburgh
Extremely positive interview experience, Pitt is organized, efficient and their "Promise" really appeals to me. They seem really invested in their students and foster a nurturing environment.
Top-notch facilities
Strong reputation
"Most livable city in U.S."
Would live with my significant other, who's been accepted at a Pitt graduate school
Awarded a modest scholarship
East coast weather is ferosh!

 

[mybubbles627]

I would appreciate the insight! I'm a Colorado resident. I'll pursue an MD, MPH. My goal is to serve urban, underserved patients and contribute to public policy reducing health disparities. I'm adventurous. These are two current frontrunners, though I'm still waiting to hear back from a few others (namely, Stanford and University of Chicago). I'm heavily leaning toward primary care, though I'm certainly not married to that idea. I don't know how much emphasis I should put on the rankings, especially the research rankings, because I don't plan on working the lab bench. I'm more of a community health-type. Additionally, I graduated from a fairly unknown college and always wanted to go to a medical school "everyone's heard of." I've slowly realized that's probably not too important.

Colorado
Strong primary care program
~75% merit scholarship
Built-in relationships with many policy makers
I know some people who go to school here
Colorado is very laid back and the school seems relatively relaxed
Really impressive buildings
Good quality of life
Curriculum is H/P/F, but I wish it was just P/F

University of Pittsburgh
Extremely positive interview experience, Pitt is organized, efficient and their "Promise" really appeals to me. They seem really invested in their students and foster a nurturing environment.
Top-notch facilities
Strong reputation
"Most livable city in U.S."
Would live with my significant other, who's been accepted at a Pitt graduate school
Awarded a modest scholarship
East coast weather is ferosh!

That would convince me to go to Colorado. It's a very good school and why pay hundreds of thousands of dollars when you don't have to.

 

[Barcu]

My answer would be Colorado too given the money, your goal of primary care, and being from Colorado.

Two important questions: how important is it to live near your SO? And do you want to return to CO at some point? Pitt has a great rep, so you should be able to return. However, it's always easier to attend school and make connections where you want your future home to be if possible. This is especially true in a field like public policy.

 

[alpinism]

I would appreciate the insight! I'm a Colorado resident. I'll pursue an MD, MPH. My goal is to serve urban, underserved patients and contribute to public policy reducing health disparities. I'm adventurous. These are two current frontrunners, though I'm still waiting to hear back from a few others (namely, Stanford and University of Chicago). I'm heavily leaning toward primary care, though I'm certainly not married to that idea. I don't know how much emphasis I should put on the rankings, especially the research rankings, because I don't plan on working the lab bench. I'm more of a community health-type. Additionally, I graduated from a fairly unknown college and always wanted to go to a medical school "everyone's heard of." I've slowly realized that's probably not too important.

Colorado
Strong primary care program
~75% merit scholarship
Built-in relationships with many policy makers
I know some people who go to school here
Colorado is very laid back and the school seems relatively relaxed
Really impressive buildings
Good quality of life
Curriculum is H/P/F, but I wish it was just P/F

University of Pittsburgh
Extremely positive interview experience, Pitt is organized, efficient and their "Promise" really appeals to me. They seem really invested in their students and foster a nurturing environment.
Top-notch facilities
Strong reputation
"Most livable city in U.S."
Would live with my significant other, who's been accepted at a Pitt graduate school
Awarded a modest scholarship
East coast weather is ferosh!

It seems like CO would be a much better fit for you personally. Combined with the scholarship, you'd prob be a lot happier there (with less debt). If you're not interested in research then the research opportunities at Pitt won't really do you any good. In addition, CO is a much better school for primary care/public health and they have a big emphasis on it in their curriculum.

2 big questions you have to answer are:
1. How close are you to your SO and is being w/ them more imp than going to the school you like best?
2. Just based on location alone, where would you rather live, Denver or Pittsburgh?

 

[churrytree]

It seems like CO would be a much better fit for you personally. Combined with the scholarship, you'd prob be a lot happier there (with less debt). If you're not interested in research then the research opportunities at Pitt won't really do you any good. In addition, CO is a much better school for primary care/public health and they have a big emphasis on it in their curriculum.

2 big questions you have to answer are:
1. How close are you to your SO and is being w/ them more imp than going to the school you like best?
2. Just based on location alone, where would you rather live, Denver or Pittsburgh?

If I didn't move to Pittsburgh, the sad truth is that we'd probably break up. We've been in a long-distance relationship for a while now, and I don't think we could go through grad school apart. Truthfully, I liked both schools a lot when I interviewed. Visiting CU made me proud to be a Colorado resident and everyone at Pitt seemed so happy to be there. I've lived in Denver for a long time now and may want to try something new. But the East Coast winters really freak me out. Ultimately, I think I would like to practice somewhere on the West Coast. Do you think Pitt has a good enough reputation to allow me to do that? Also, do you think I should forget about Stanford and UChicago, simply because I want to pursue primary care and public health? UChicago doesn't have a public health school and Stanford seems to churn our specialists. Both seem to be great schools, though. I'm trying not to let rankings dictate anything, but it's hard because that's some of the only data available.

 

[penguinism]

If I didn't move to Pittsburgh, the sad truth is that we'd probably break up. We've been in a long-distance relationship for a while now, and I don't think we could go through grad school apart. Truthfully, I liked both schools a lot when I interviewed. Visiting CU made me proud to be a Colorado resident and everyone at Pitt seemed so happy to be there. I've lived in Denver for a long time now and may want to try something new. But the East Coast winters really freak me out. Ultimately, I think I would like to practice somewhere on the West Coast. Do you think Pitt has a good enough reputation to allow me to do that? Also, do you think I should forget about Stanford and UChicago, simply because I want to pursue primary care and public health? UChicago doesn't have a public health school and Stanford seems to churn our specialists. Both seem to be great schools, though. I'm trying not to let rankings dictate anything, but it's hard because that's some of the only data available.

I'm probably biased because I attend Pitt, but I don't think you should worry about Pitt's reputation in the match. We The weather here can be a bit rough for people coming from the West Coast, but we have plenty of people in our class that are from California (or even Hawaii) and they are getting along just fine. The past couple of winters have been pretty mild, though, compared to the crazy one a few years ago.

Pitt does have a mandatory scholarly research project, but you can certainly do a public health project if that is your main interest. Several of my classmates are going abroad to conduct global health projects in countries such as Mozambique, Columbia, South Africa, etc. You can pretty much tailor the project to whatever you want to do (within reason).

You just need to decide what's best for you and if you're willing to accumulate extra debt to go somewhere other than Colorado. Money is certainly a big factor, but so is happiness!

 

[churrytree]

Wait until you're in practice and then get your employer to pay for you to get an MBA or MPH.

I'll keep this in mind. I've heard that CU's public health program isn't well-known, since it isn't very old. Does anyone have any insight on that? Indeed, if I went to Pitt my SP would be on health policy/public health. Probably something to do with Medicaid and care innovation.

 

[churrytree]

I'm probably biased because I attend Pitt, but I don't think you should worry about Pitt's reputation in the match. We The weather here can be a bit rough for people coming from the West Coast, but we have plenty of people in our class that are from California (or even Hawaii) and they are getting along just fine. The past couple of winters have been pretty mild, though, compared to the crazy one a few years ago.

Pitt does have a mandatory scholarly research project, but you can certainly do a public health project if that is your main interest. Several of my classmates are going abroad to conduct global health projects in countries such as Mozambique, Columbia, South Africa, etc. You can pretty much tailor the project to whatever you want to do (within reason).

You just need to decide what's best for you and if you're willing to accumulate extra debt to go somewhere other than Colorado. Money is certainly a big factor, but so is happiness!

Do you know where I could find a match list? What proportion stay at UPMC? I really appreciate your help!

 

[eyessmile]

http://zone.medschool.pitt.edu/sites/programs/advisory/Pitt Match Lists_/Forms/AllItems.aspx

 

[hunterjumper14]

I'm going to have to go with CU SOM! I think as Colorado residents we are incredibly blessed to have a school of this caliber in our state. I have friends that go to Pitt, and it is undoubtedly an awesome institution. Both will give you a great foundation for the future.

Bear in mind you will be completing an MSA project at CU, it would be a great opportunity to get involved in some aspect of public health or research that interests you. From what I understand, this can be as in-depth as you want. It would be a great time to connect with people in the field, get some papers out, etc.

The great news is you are choosing between two awesome places. Congrats on a successful cycle!👍

 

[churrytree]

http://zone.medschool.pitt.edu/sites/programs/advisory/Pitt Match Lists_/Forms/AllItems.aspx

SO helpful. Thanks so much! I hope I can do a residency at UCSF.

 

[churrytree]

I'm going to have to go with CU SOM! I think as Colorado residents we are incredibly blessed to have a school of this caliber in our state. I have friends that go to Pitt, and it is undoubtedly an awesome institution. Both will give you a great foundation for the future.

Bear in mind you will be completing an MSA project at CU, it would be a great opportunity to get involved in some aspect of public health or research that interests you. From what I understand, this can be as in-depth as you want. It would be a great time to connect with people in the field, get some papers out, etc.

The great news is you are choosing between two awesome places. Congrats on a successful cycle!👍

Indeed, we're really lucky to have CU. What does MSA stand for?

 

[hunterjumper14]

MSA stands for "Mentored Scholarly Activity." It's a graduation requirement that can be tailored to the student's interests. I'll be doing bench research for mine but others do clinical research, public health or global health projects. From what I understand it's a great opportunity to bulk up your residency app, make connections in a field, and get involved in an area of interest. There's more about it on the website!

Good luck with your decision!

Edit: Here's the website: http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/c...MDProgram/longitudinal/msa/Pages/default.aspx