University of illinois at chicago is a...

[deleted212503]

low-tier med school? mid-tier? anyone help me?

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[cbrons]

low-tier med school? mid-tier? anyone help me?

an MD-granting (allopathic) institution located in Illinois

 

[Brodiewankenobi]

an MD-granting (allopathic) institution located in Illinois

high tier = school you are going to
mid-tier = school your friends are going to
low tier = school that jerk from chem lab is going to

 

[cubssox2000]

high tier = school you are going to
mid-tier = school your friends are going to
low tier = school that jerk from chem lab is going to

+1

 

[146233]

high tier = school you are going to
mid-tier = school your friends are going to
low tier = school that jerk from chem lab is going to

qft.

 

[DrSno]

an MD-granting (allopathic) institution located in Illinois

Haha, you have a real hang-up about medical schools being ranked, don't you? I'd be curious to know, do you truly believe that all of them are equal, or do you just not like people taking it into consideration? The egalitarian movement is very annoying.

 

[savant]

Haha, you have a real hang-up about medical schools being ranked, don't you? I'd be curious to know, do you truly believe that all of them are equal, or do you just not like people taking it into consideration? The egalitarian movement is very annoying.

what ranking would you suggest?

 

[146233]

Haha, you have a real hang-up about medical schools being ranked, don't you? I'd be curious to know, do you truly believe that all of them are equal, or do you just not like people taking it into consideration? The egalitarian movement is very annoying.

The curricula are, by and large, equal. It's the faculty, facilities, research opportunities, student diversity, patient population/hospital affiliations, curricular layout, affiliated residency programs, and institutional aid packages that vary.

 

[Lukkie]

ok, so how do the faculty, facilities, research opportunities, student diversity, patient population/hospital affiliations, curricular layout, affiliated residency programs, and institutional aid packages compare to other US allo schools?

 

[146233]

ok, so how do the faculty, facilities, research opportunities, student diversity, patient population/hospital affiliations, curricular layout, affiliated residency programs, and institutional aid packages compare to other US allo schools?

Well...

• Research Opportunities - great. UIC is a well-funded research university.
• Faculty - very talented, friendly, approachable, and looking to help.
• Diversity - UIC is the largest medical school in the country and the most diverse, both culturally and economically.
• Financial Aid - a direct lending school, which speeds up the Federal loan process. There are supposedly some Alumni Council scholarships that are offered each year, but I didn't get one.
• Hospital affiliations - Cook County, UIC Medical Center, Mercy Hospital, Christ Hospital & Medical Center, etc. Very well-known and excellent teaching hospitals.
• Residency programs - quite a few (65).
• Facilities - the weak point of the university (in Chicago, anyway. I can't speak for Rockford, Peoria, or Urbana). They're old, but perfectly fine. PowerPoint lectures, iTunes lecture downloads, etc. are all in place.

Hopefully this will help you make your own decision. "Rankings" are all well and good, but you need to decide how much you like the school, the area it's in, and how you feel you'll be able to learn there. That's infinitely more important than what USNews says about them.

 

[biophysicianai]

I don't think you should be considering rankings too much, but I'm going to answer your question anyway.

U.S. News, which is the most popular ranking system out there, puts UIC at 55th. What that means is that, according to US News, UIC is an above average medical school, though its name doesnt pack the punch of prestige.

Looking beyond the rankings, UIC is (I hope) as good a school as any for your medical education. The reason that I root for UIC is that I'm a Chicagoan with type 1 diabetes. Along with regularly seeing my endocrinologist, I annually see a barage of other doctors to make sure that my diabetes isn't adversely affecting other aspects of my health. In Chicago, as well as elsewhere in Illinois, you'll find that an enormous percentage of practicing medical professions are UIC graduates, including the doctors I see.

UIC is a very old and large medical school that is certainly recognized in this neck of the woods. I don't know how people outside of the Chicago/Illinois/the Midwest see UIC, but I know that around here, the (very few) people who care to find out where there doctor went to medical school have nothing but faith in UIC.

As you look at your acceptances and weigh your options, you ought to keep in mind one crucial and irrefutable truth about UIC when deciding whether to matriculate: it is located in what is far and away the worlds greatest city.

 

[sushichopstickz]

My PI has a super good friend at UIC, who is the chief of pediatrics. UIC is a very good and respectable school. Sure it doesn't have the same ring as Harvard or Hopkins, but it's still a great school. The faculties were friendly and the students were supportive when I interviewed there.

 

[Lukkie]

Well...

• Research Opportunities - great. UIC is a well-funded research university.
  .

• 
  
  thanks for the list! definitely applying here next year, no matter what the US news says. research is what im looking for. plus they are friendly to us cali folk it seems, some of my classmates with lower stats like mine got in

 

[Auron]

University of Illinois at Chicago...

Is a friggen awesome school, and this unsents top choice!

 

[rama kandra]

not to mention they have one of the best med school (and university) websites evar. they put some thought into the design which i really think is helpful to browse and be impressed. some schools are stuck in 1999

 

[Mobius1985]

OP, You'll see the term "tiered" a lot, but we don't really tier med schools the way that law schools tend to be organized and I think that's where the term comes from. If you look in "What are my Chances?" at the sticky at the top of the forum, you'll see the School Selection spreadsheet link. This grid organizes US med schools by stat selectivity, namely GPA and MCAT means. UIC is #88 out of 143, which puts it in the mid-selectivity range.

 

[RoyBasch]

high tier = school you are going to
mid-tier = school your friends are going to
low tier = school that jerk from chem lab is going to

-Roy

 

[deleted212503]

at the moment i go to uic undergrad, planning to go to uic med eventually. So i was just wondering.

 

[DrJD]

at the moment i go to uic undergrad, planning to go to uic med eventually. So i was just wondering.

When I interviewed there it seemed like its US news rank was just about right. Based on my experience with other schools it seemed like it should be ranked right about 50ish based solely on my impression while there. There are some medical schools that are obviously better (10 to 15) Then there are some that are betterish, (30) and some that are worsish (30). UIC falls right in the middle of this second batch of 60 and can move quite a bit in either direction depending on which state you are from and other personal preferences. Then there are the rest of the medical schools below this 75 or so that are good schools also but for whatever reason not quite as good.

They are all great, and UIC is no exception keep working hard and you won't be disappointed!

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

plus if you're instate, you're looking at 26k or so tuition versus 42K for most private schools,

and the school heavily favors IL residents (70% I believe)

med schools are not nearly as varied in their qualifications as most other undergrad or grad programs; anything in the mid or upper range (like UIC) would be a strong choice. It's the residency location that really matters!