usc vs. emory

[argonana]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

opinions?

i'm still waiting to hear back from a couple other schools post-int, but it's likely i'll end up having to pick one of these two.

some concerns/info:
-CA resident, but i've been on the other coast for the past 5 years. would like to go back to CA.
-not sure how i feel about usc's location. decatur hills looked like a runner-friendly, safe, spread out area. the area around usc struck me as cramped, run-down, and unsafe.
-interested in pursuing academic medicine. not sure how that fits with either of these schools.
(-cost)

 

[eyeful]

emory hands down

 

[taehong81]

I am a Emory student so I would have to say Emory hehe. If you have any questions or need advice, feel free to pm me.

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

opinions?

i'm still waiting to hear back from a couple schools post-int, but it's likely i'll end up having to pick one of these two.

some concerns/info:
-CA resident, but i've been on the other coast for the past 5 years. would like to go back to CA.
-not sure how i feel about usc's location. decatur hills looked like a runner-friendly, safe, spread out area. the area around usc struck me as cramped, run-down, and unsafe.
-interested in pursuing academic medicine. not sure how that fits with either of these schools.
(-cost)

Emory is top 20 (actually, it is #20), whereas SC is #32...which might make more of a difference since you want to go into academic med. If you were super interested in prim care/clinical education I would definitely go to SC because they get lots of interesting cases and lots of responsibility in rotations. Plus, it sounds like you want to live in california and here I think SC and Emory would be about equal (whereas on the East coast Emory has a better rep).

I go to SC undergrad, so I would probably head to Emory since it is better ranked and would mix things up a bit. If I were in your situation, though, I would be tempted to go to SC.

SC's med school campus is not in that bad of a location. By "that bad" I mean as bad as the undergrad campus. Still, I hear from my buddy at the lab that students have gotten mugged walking to their cars at night 😳

 

[argonana]

emory hands down

hmm...mind explaining why?


thanks for the responses, guys. please keep them coming! taehong, thx-i'll be sure to pm you if i have any questions.

 

[dilated]

opinions?

i'm still waiting to hear back from a couple schools post-int, but it's likely i'll end up having to pick one of these two.

some concerns/info:
-CA resident, but i've been on the other coast for the past 5 years. would like to go back to CA.
-not sure how i feel about usc's location. decatur hills looked like a runner-friendly, safe, spread out area. the area around usc struck me as cramped, run-down, and unsafe.
-interested in pursuing academic medicine. not sure how that fits with either of these schools.
(-cost)

I thought USC's location was terrible. Very depressing. In contrast Emory had the best location of any school I've been to: easy to get to metro atlanta, but safe, nice, not terribly expensive and warm. Also an undergrad campus at the same place, which I consider a plus. Oddly enough, those are probably the only two med schools in the country where the "Grady" and "County Hospital" factors cancel each other out.

On the other hand USC is P/F and Emory has that terrible letter grading. So there is that. 😛

 

[dr.z]

SC's med school campus is not in that bad of a location. By "that bad" I mean as bad as the undergrad campus. Still, I hear from my buddy at the lab that students have gotten mugged walking to their cars at night 😳

Having been at HSC for 5 years, I think the main campus is a lot worse. There hasn't been that many incidents compared to reports I get from main campus.

 

[Zoom-Zoom]

Having been at HSC for 5 years, I think the main campus is a lot worse. There hasn't been that many incidents compared to reports I get from main campus.

Those reports are crazy, we got 2 today, I think. But yeah, almost all of them happen off the main campus at 3:00am in areas that any logical person would know not to go to by themselves at any time of the day...

Instead of putting money into our football team I think SC should start buying property. We can start moving west until we get to brentwood.

 

[dr.z]

Instead of putting money into our football team I think SC should start buying property. We can start moving west until we get to brentwood.

👍

 

[funshine]

I think the difference in ranking is insignificant. Emory might give you a small, TINY really, boost, but academic residencies are competitive no matter what and if you want one in Cali, it might be easier to build connections while you're at USC.

I may be wrong but the two schools seem to have very different personalities, so you may want to take that into consideration. I didn't apply to USC but I'm under the impression that it has a more laid-back atmosphere and chill student body. When I was at Emory, I loved it, but everyone seemed to be from the South or really in love with the South, and I'm definitely not. I don't like Emory's joint-exam system, I don't like their grading, and I don't like Grady, but despite all that, Emory really appealed to me because I loved the architecture and campus. I guess it's a bad idea to base a final decision on how pretty a school is, though.

Congrats on already having two wonderful schools to choose from! 🙂
Good luck on making your final decision

 

[argonana]

Oddly enough, those are probably the only two med schools in the country where the "Grady" and "County Hospital" factors cancel each other out.

yep, it's funny. from what i hear, nyu (with bellevue) is the only other school in this group.

the nice thing about keck is that county hospital is right on the hsc campus...AND it's getting redone. grady, on the other hand, is pretty far from emory (30 mins by shuttle?!).

On the other hand USC is P/F and Emory has that terrible letter grading. So there is that. 😛

P/F seems great for keeping things laid back and happy, but letter grading would force me to stay more on top of things. taehong, how do you feel about emory's grading system?


as for research and dual degree opps, it seems like it would be relatively easy at emory to work in any lab of interest, get an MPH, etc. but i think the divide between hsc and sc campuses could make things difficult--does the hard science/bioengineering research all take place on the main campus? where is the MPH program based? hsc was small, and i think it could get boring being surrounded by health professionals/students all the time (from what i remember, hsc=schools of medicine, nursing, and pharmacy?).

and another thing--this impression is based totally on hype, so correct me if i'm wrong...but i'm hearing a lot about how usc is "on the rise," has lots of money, etc. i haven't heard the same about emory. since usc is in california, i can see how it might have greater potential for growth. what do you all think?

p.s. funshine, i definitely thought emory's campus was amazing. i can't help getting swayed by that, if only a little bit. 😳

 

[dr.z]

as for research and dual degree opps, it seems like it would be relatively easy at emory to work in any lab of interest, get an MPH, etc. but i think the divide between hsc and sc campuses could make things difficult--does the hard science/bioengineering research all take place on the main campus? where is the MPH program based? hsc was small, and i think it could get boring being surrounded by health professionals/students all the time (from what i remember, hsc=schools of medicine, nursing, and pharmacy?).

Hard science research takes place at the HSC. Engineering schools is located in the main campus.

I believe MPH is part at HSC and have another portion at Alhambra campus.

Nursing school no longer really exists. If they are still there, they will be gone soon. There is pharmacy school and part of dental school on HSC along with physical therapy, occupational therapy, public health, and several graduate programs granting M.S. and Ph.D degrees.

 

[eyeful]

Emory has a superior reputation to USC. It has an excellent public health program and its vicinity to the CDC offers excellent opportunities. The only thing I can think of that USC has to offer that emory cant top is location, thats simply preference. You will have far better opportunities coming out of emory, as its reputation in the medical field is measurably better. Emory is definitely a top tier med school. USC, while a great school, is more mid-tier.

 

[taehong81]

P/F seems great for keeping things laid back and happy, but letter grading would force me to stay more on top of things. taehong, how do you feel about emory's grading system?

Here is my opinion about grade. First off b/c you go to P/F doesn't mean you won't study as hard. Most med students are pretty anal about their studying so they will study as hard as they can. Some people say that b/c Emory is grading there is more competition within the class. This is the opposite of my class atmosphere. My classmates are very helpful to my studying and lots of them share their personal notes. Many students do group studying. We are not graded in a curve so what other people get don't affect your grade, thus there is no reason for the competition. Even if you go to P/F school you are still ranked so your grades do matter some what (unless you go to schools that don't have internal rankings). Also in most school they have Honor/High pass/pass (especially in the clinical years which is the grades that matter most) which is basically same as A/B/C. I was little bit worried about the grades too when applying, but once you get here it is not a big deal. Most people do well anyways, most of our test averages are in the B to high B range. Don't let the grades be the determining factors that prevents you from coming to Emory. Emory is a great school! I don't much about USC, but from what I heard it is a great school too. Good luck on your decision!

 

[riceman04]

Those reports are crazy, we got 2 today, I think. But yeah, almost all of them happen off the main campus at 3:00am in areas that any logical person would know not to go to by themselves at any time of the day...

Instead of putting money into our football team I think SC should start buying property. We can start moving west until we get to brentwood.

just swap with UCLA

 

[thegenius]

and another thing--this impression is based totally on hype, so correct me if i'm wrong...but i'm hearing a lot about how usc is "on the rise," has lots of money, etc. i haven't heard the same about emory. since usc is in california, i can see how it might have greater potential for growth. what do you all think?

Argonana, I interviewed and got into USC, and I did not apply to Emory. So all I know about Emory is basic stuff based probably on heresay.

But let me tell you my story about USC. I interviewed with a guy there who was telling me about all the money USC has coming to them. He said that USC ranks high 20s in total NIH funding dollars, but ranks #1 BY A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT, in NIH dollars/researcher. He really stressed that. He said the reason why USC doesn't have a lot of researchers is they don't have a lot of research space. Hence all the construction around their lot.

He also mentioned that USC has, by far, more clinical exposure than any other school in the nation, and that is based on his analysis when he was head of some department about 10-15 years ago. It might be a little different now, but USC is still #1 or extremely high on the list.

So, I heard straight from USC that they have gobs and gobs of money. What upset me was that their tuition is so high, considering they have gobs of money. But maybe that money can only be directed into research.

I also want to mention that rankings at this level, in my humble but confident opinion, will mean virtually nothing. You should really poll residency directors or other physicians you might know who are in academic medicine, and not put too much stock in opinions from pre-meds on here (when it comes to rankings.) I don't think USC and Emory will draw up a heated battle from residency directors, about which one is better or worse. They are both excellent schools. Do you think that, all things equal, a residency director prefers someone from Emory vs. USC because USNWR claims that Emory is #20 vs USC which is #30?

I'm considering USC and Cornell, with the possibility of two other schools. I'm looking at the following: I would suspect that you'll share some of these ideas below too for Emory vs. USC.

• culture of people at location. Do you prefer LA people or Atlanta people? Not so much the med students at each school but the whole area.
• which school will generally teach you in the field of study you want to pursue (if you know)
• Do you know in what part of the country you want to do your residency? For me, it's in the Bay Area. So I want to go to a med school that will facilitate that
• Cost of living - the problem with USC is you have to own a car. I don't like that. I already own one, but my wife is going to use it if we move to LA. So I gotta buy another car.
• Facilities - I personally didn't like the USC county hospital, and it's not in a wonderful area. Don't know anything about Emory.
• Class profile - I kind of liked USC - they will take about 160 students. And they have a really nice mix of older students. I spent about 20 minutes looking at all of the class photos next to the admissions office and I could easily count a half-dozen "old" people in each portrait. However, for me Cornell is even more attractive because their class size is 100.

I'm sure you already thought about all of these in some capacity. I hope this helped though.

 

[Doctor&Geek]

USC does not have the highest NIH$/researcher. I can't think of any reasons why this would this be the case, including the ridiculous notion passed to you by the interviewer that they don't have enough space. If they don't have enough space, they're not going to be awarded or renewed R01's, because they won't be able to complete the work stated in those same grants.

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/award/rank/medttl04.htm

Keck does have the highest ratio between NIH$ and number of grants awarded (by a far margin), but this doesn't equate into highest NIH$ / researcher. They may have tons of center grants, no small project or startup grants, tons of construction grants etc.

In fact, according to

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/award/rank/medindp04.htm

Only two departments are in the top 10 for research funding (Ophthalmology and Public Health) - nearly every other department has a ratio of grant money per grant similar to other institutions. Their money certainly isn't going to research.

 

[thegenius]

USC does not have the highest NIH$/researcher. I can't think of any reasons why this would this be the case, including the ridiculous notion passed to you by the interviewer that they don't have enough space. If they don't have enough space, they're not going to be awarded or renewed R01's, because they won't be able to complete the work stated in those same grants.

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/award/rank/medttl04.htm

Keck does have the highest ratio between NIH$ and number of grants awarded (by a far margin), but this doesn't equate into highest NIH$ / researcher. They may have tons of center grants, no small project or startup grants, tons of construction grants etc.

Thank you for the clarification. He probably meant NIH$/grant then.

 

[dr.z]

USC does not have the highest NIH$/researcher. I can't think of any reasons why this would this be the case, including the ridiculous notion passed to you by the interviewer that they don't have enough space. If they don't have enough space, they're not going to be awarded or renewed R01's, because they won't be able to complete the work stated in those same grants.

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/award/rank/medttl04.htm

Keck does have the highest ratio between NIH$ and number of grants awarded (by a far margin), but this doesn't equate into highest NIH$ / researcher. They may have tons of center grants, no small project or startup grants, tons of construction grants etc.

Yeah they don't have that much money. I know it from experience. They do have plenty of space for research. New buildings that they built still has lots of empty space in them. They were supposed to fill that space within like a year of the opening of the new buildings, but it never came true.

 

[thegenius]

Yeah they don't have that much money. I know it from experience. They do have plenty of space for research. New buildings that they built still has lots of empty space in them. They were supposed to fill that space within like a year of the opening of the new buildings, but it never came true.

Well, whatever the real story is, it wasn't that important to me anyway because I'm not going to be doing any significant research in med school. I know that they don't have much financial aid money for med students.

 

[argonana]

USC does not have the highest NIH$/researcher...
Only two departments are in the top 10 for research funding (Ophthalmology and Public Health) - nearly every other department has a ratio of grant money per researcher similar to other institutions. Their money certainly isn't going to research.

JPaikman, thanks for posting those links. Very useful.
I'm not surprised that 'SC is getting a lot of funding for ophthalmology--it seems like that is one of their strongest programs (along with pathology? and maybe EM?)

thegenius, i didn't like county hospital either. i mean, i like the IDEA of training there, but i just got a creepy feeling walking around...the place is WAY too dilapidated, and honestly, i'm not sure WHEN they're really going to complete the new hospital. 2007 would be great, if it happens.

grady was quite a bit nicer. it's still obviously a public hospital, but it's not scary.

unfortunately, i don't know much about "atlanta people." or even LA people for that matter, haha, since i'm from norcal. LA strikes me as being more ethnically diverse, which is pretty important to me. there are tons of things i'm looking for, actually, in terms of people and culture...i need to start doing my homework.

the $ and prestige/rankings debate is making my head hurt. everyone is saying something different, which is fine--all the opinions and info are solid, and I'd love to hear more...but i'm pretty curious as to what residency directors themselves would actually say. (how can i find that out, do you know? i'm at the nih, so maybe i can ask people around here? i'm not currently hooked up with any MD folks, but i'm sure i could seek out some opinions.)

 

[thegenius]

the $ and prestige/rankings debate is making my head hurt. everyone is saying something different, which is fine--all the opinions and info are solid, and I'd love to hear more...but i'm pretty curious as to what residency directors themselves would actually say. (how can i find that out, do you know? i'm at the nih, so maybe i can ask people around here? i'm not currently hooked up with any MD folks, but i'm sure i could seek out some opinions.)

In my opinion, the vast majority of people posting on this forum (including me) are essentially unqualified to provide factual evidence about prestige and rankings. Someone here earlier said something like "Hand down Emory is more prestigious than USC." I wanted to comment on that (and I guess I'm doing that now) and ask "Says who" but decided not to.

I think there are some schools that have more prestige over others, like just about every doctor would say Harvard is more prestigious than Emory. But rankings specifically only exist because USNWR compiles a rankings every year. It's like trying to find the net worth of a car. Some will tell you that a 1999 Honda is worth $6200 only because Kelly's Blue Book gave that number. It's not based on any intuitive reasoning.

I am weighing the "prestige" factor only a portion of my decision on what school to go to. I can say without hesitation that, for me, location and cost of living are more important than prestige. On some level prestige is important (I might give it a weighting of 20% or so) because I want some doors opened for me, but my happiness in med school trumps some incremental gain in prestige.

I think you mentioned the best thing you can do - which is to talk to doctors (if you know any) and ask them some of these questions.

I wonder if we will be classmates next year?

 

[argonana]

I wonder if we will be classmates next year?

On my part, I think there's a very good chance I'll pick 'SC...after spending the next four months agonizing, interrogating, and pulling out all my hair, of course.

 

[thegenius]

On my part, I think there's a very good chance I'll pick 'SC...after spending the next four months agonizing, interrogating, and pulling out all my hair, of course.

At this point I'm less than a 50/50 chance at going to USC. But it's not tiny.

You know argonana, I just thought of something. One of the things I plan on doing before I go to med school is talk to someone at the Stanford Emergency Medicine Residency program. There is a good chance I'll go into EM, and I would love to go to Stanford for my residency. So I want to set up an appointment to talk to the residency director (or someone else over there) and get their opinion on what school would help me most for going to Stanford.

I guess I need to do this earlier (like before May 15th) rather than later to get the greatest benefit.

 

[deleted77919]

I'll be curious to see what they say. I've been interviewed by two residency directors, one in ER at 'SC and one in Rads at Brown. The physician at 'SC said go where you'll be happy, try and have some fun, work hard and you'll get to where you want to be (in terms of residency). Most of the schools I was considering were pretty comperable in his opinion. The physician at Brown said witha few acceptances already he was surprised I even came to interview, the other places I was looking were just as good.

I find it curious the only two people who really brought up the topic during my interviews were themselves responsible for residency programs. I think that's comforting.

 

[argonana]

the genius--nice idea. i was just thinking about doing that too, actually. i recently interviewed at that school...it's amazing...but the med school is out for me (got a lovely post-int rejection this week). let us know what your contact says.

 

[gujuDoc]

Emory is top 20 (actually, it is #20), whereas SC is #32...which might make more of a difference since you want to go into academic med. If you were super interested in prim care/clinical education I would definitely go to SC because they get lots of interesting cases and lots of responsibility in rotations. Plus, it sounds like you want to live in california and here I think SC and Emory would be about equal (whereas on the East coast Emory has a better rep).

I go to SC undergrad, so I would probably head to Emory since it is better ranked and would mix things up a bit. If I were in your situation, though, I would be tempted to go to SC.

SC's med school campus is not in that bad of a location. By "that bad" I mean as bad as the undergrad campus. Still, I hear from my buddy at the lab that students have gotten mugged walking to their cars at night 😳

Actually, Casewestern Reserve University is # 20 and Emory is #21.

 

[argonana]

Actually, Casewestern Reserve University is # 20 and Emory is #21.

According to this year's rankings, Case, Emory, and Feinberg are in a 3-way tie for #20.

Emory has been pretty good about staying in the top 20, at least for the last 5-10 years.

 

[gujuDoc]

According to this year's rankings, Case, Emory, and Feinberg are in a 3-way tie for #20.

Emory has been pretty good about staying in the top 20, at least for the last 5-10 years.

I don't believe in the way they numbered things because it jumps from the 3 20's to 23.

That means that the 2 20's right below the first one are actually nothing more then 21 and 22.

And frankly, I agree with the poster that said not to listen to all the idiocracy about rankings being everything.

I have a friend who got into COLUMBIA School of Physicians and Surgeons and got into USF, which is much much lower ranked state school. She chose USF and is not regretting it one bit.

Rankings are useless and worthless because if you work hard wherever you are at, then you'll be bount to get into a residency of choice where you want. Med school is what you make of it, and you are not doing yourself a favor by listening to those earlier posters that said that Emory is better just because it is ranked. The only way I might consider rankings is if it was Harvard, Hopkins, or Yale and there was a good scholarship to go along with it.

 

[argonana]

I don't believe in the way they numbered things because it jumps from the 3 20's to 23.

That means that the 2 20's right below the first one are actually nothing more then 21 and 22.

And frankly, I agree with the poster that said not to listen to all the idiocracy about rankings being everything.

I have a friend who got into COLUMBIA School of Physicians and Surgeons and got into USF, which is much much lower ranked state school. She chose USF and is not regretting it one bit.

Rankings are useless and worthless because if you work hard wherever you are at, then you'll be bount to get into a residency of choice where you want. Med school is what you make of it, and you are not doing yourself a favor by listening to those earlier posters that said that Emory is better just because it is ranked. The only way I might consider rankings is if it was Harvard, Hopkins, or Yale and there was a good scholarship to go along with it.

Don't worry, I'm not making my decision based on rankings. I have my own opinions and am taking all the advice on this thread with a grain of salt.

But I just had to correct you--they list Case, Emory, and Northwestern in that order because it's ALPHABETICAL. I am 100% sure of that. All three schools have the same overall "score." However, you're free to interpret things as you wish. Like you said, it doesn't really matter anyway.

 

[gujuDoc]

Granted their might be a bit of truth to the alphabetical thing, it still makes no sense why there would be 3 number 20's and then it jump to 23. If your interpretation was right, then the next school after the 20th ranked schools would have to be 21, which is clearly not the case according to the rankings. This means that the only other explanation could be that the 2 in betwen still have to be 21 and 22, otherwise it couldn't jump directly to 23 from 20. Hence, I think there's some validity to what I'm saying

 

[thegenius]

Granted their might be a bit of truth to the alphabetical thing, it still makes no sense why there would be 3 number 20's and then it jump to 23. If your interpretation was right, then the next school after the 20th ranked schools would have to be 21, which is clearly not the case according to the rankings. This means that the only other explanation could be that the 2 in betwen still have to be 21 and 22, otherwise it couldn't jump directly to 23 from 20. Hence, I think there's some validity to what I'm saying

It's like golf tournament results...

T1
T1
T3
T3
T5
T5
T5
T8
...

If there are two people tied for first, then there can't be a second. The next position is third.

 

[deleted77919]

Granted their might be a bit of truth to the alphabetical thing, it still makes no sense why there would be 3 number 20's and then it jump to 23. If your interpretation was right, then the next school after the 20th ranked schools would have to be 21, which is clearly not the case according to the rankings. This means that the only other explanation could be that the 2 in betwen still have to be 21 and 22, otherwise it couldn't jump directly to 23 from 20. Hence, I think there's some validity to what I'm saying

I'm going to have to disagree pretty strongly. If three schools are tied for number 20, then the next school should be ranked 23rd. Think about it this way, the school that is ranked 23rd does indeed have 22 schools ranked ahead of it.

A ranking system where this is ignored and a three way tie at 20 makes the next school ranked 21, despite having 22 schools ranked better than it, would not make any sense. This is a standard way to work rankings and is not peculiar to US News.

 

[gujuDoc]

I'm going to have to disagree pretty strongly. If three schools are tied for number 20, then the next school should be ranked 23rd. Think about it this way, the school that is ranked 23rd does indeed have 22 schools ranked ahead of it.

A ranking system where this is ignored and a three way tie at 20 makes the next school ranked 21, despite having 22 schools ranked better than it, would not make any sense. This is a standard way to work rankings and is not peculiar to US News.

Ok put that way, I'll take it as an explanation. It just didn't make sense to me before. But getting back to topic of this thread.......

Rankings are pretty useless unless you are planning on going into academia. I'd probably invest more into the following factors......

In no particular order, that is.....

1. financial aid offers and scholarship offers.
2. location
3. family-do you have family nearby or a close support system, because you'll need it in med school.
4. curriculum of the school
5. general feel for the school and atmosphere and whether your personality fits with the school's atmosphere.
6. mission statement of the school and whether their goals are similar to your own. If you have a strong preference for infectious disease research, for instance, then yes Emory would be better having CDC within minutes away of their school. However, if you are interested in inner city healthcare, perhaps USC's location may or may not be better for the intended purpose.

However, I see that you got into UCDavis, so that is another consideration to take into too. If you want to go to Cali, going to UCDavis or USC might be a better bet, because you get to know program directors in cali and that will probably help you get a residency there if that is your goal.

I think for getting into a good residency program, other things will be more important, such as AOA status, honors, publications, top notch board scores, etc.

 

[argonana]

Rankings are pretty useless unless you are planning on going into academia.

That is kind of my problem. I want to keep those doors open. So right now, I have my personal preferences pulling me in one direction (USC/UCD) and my prof goals pulling me in another (Emory, Pritzker, or the non-rolling schools I'll hear from in March...if I'm lucky enough to get into any...and yes, I DO realize that Emory and Pritzker are NOT that much more special than USC and UCD. Thank you.).

Anyway...I know I'm not the only one in this position, and it's a good one to be in anyway. I already basically have my set of criteria with which to evaluate a school (though it's always good to refine those things)...I was mainly hoping for some more information or insight into usc and emory.

I just got into UCD on Monday apparently (found out today). I'm totally excited, but I don't know if it really belongs in this discussion because of the additional parameters it would introduce (i.e. COST).

 

[gujuDoc]

That is kind of my problem. I want to keep those doors open. So right now, I have my personal preferences pulling me in one direction (USC/UCD) and my prof goals pulling me in another (Emory, Pritzker, or the non-rolling schools I'll hear from in March...if I'm lucky enough to get into any...and yes, I DO realize that Emory and Pritzker are NOT that much more special than USC and UCD. Thank you.).

Anyway...I know I'm not the only one in this position, and it's a good one to be in anyway. I already basically have my set of criteria with which to evaluate a school (though it's always good to refine those things)...I was mainly hoping for some more information or insight into usc and emory.

I just got into UCD on Monday apparently (found out today). I'm totally excited, but I don't know if it really belongs in this discussion because of the additional parameters it would introduce (i.e. COST).

Do you have any SCHOLARSHIPS??????????????????? That might help make the decision easier.

 

[thegenius]

That is kind of my problem. I want to keep those doors open. So right now, I have my personal preferences pulling me in one direction (USC/UCD) and my prof goals pulling me in another (Emory, Pritzker, or the non-rolling schools I'll hear from in March...if I'm lucky enough to get into any...and yes, I DO realize that Emory and Pritzker are NOT that much more special than USC and UCD. Thank you.).

Anyway...I know I'm not the only one in this position, and it's a good one to be in anyway. I already basically have my set of criteria with which to evaluate a school (though it's always good to refine those things)...I was mainly hoping for some more information or insight into usc and emory.

I just got into UCD on Monday apparently (found out today). I'm totally excited, but I don't know if it really belongs in this discussion because of the additional parameters it would introduce (i.e. COST).

Do you know what kind of medicine you want to study? If a particular school is stronger than another in that field, that might help you.

Also, do you plan on going to any 2nd look weekends?

 

[thegenius]

Do you know what kind of medicine you want to study? If a particular school is stronger than another in that field, that might help you.

Also, do you plan on going to any 2nd look weekends?

And which city (LA or Atlanta) do you already have more friends and family?

 

[paki20]

emory is about to revamp all its med school facilities as part of its strategic plan, its rehauling a lot including med school facilities, curriculum, state-of-the art technology, etc etc emory university is putting a lot of money into the med school...emory just came onto the scene in the early to mid 1990s and has gotten a lot of prestige and achieved a lot within the last decade.. within 10 years emory will be top 10-top 15 just watch..i think for the long-term prospects emory will be your best bet

 

[paki20]

emory med school also just sold an HIV drug, EmTriva (Em = stands for emory really creative huh) to a pharmaceutical for half a billion dollars making it the largest sale of intellectual property by any university...its has a termendous amount of opportunities and connections including Grady (20 mins to downtown by shuttle usually faster if you have a car), Emory Clinic (on campus), Crawford Long, Centers for Disease Control (CDC-its freaking on Emory's campus), Winship Cancer Institute, EXCELLENT neurology and cardiology deparments (a lot of famous people use Emory Healthcare including Muhammad Ali and President Jimmy Carter who is affliated with Emory), CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta also has connections with Emory med, Emory has connections with its surrounding institutions including Georgia tech (one of the best biomedical engineering programs in teh nation), Morehouse, etc etc, plus getting medical experience in a city like Atlanta will be amazing..plus emory has an amazingly BEAUTIFUL campus in a relatively very safe area...basically my point is that emory will give you a lot of experience and opportunity and emory WILL ONLY increase its prestige over the years

 

[argonana]

paki20-do you go to emory?

 

[omniatlas]

emory med school also just sold an HIV drug, EmTriva (Em = stands for emory really creative huh) to a pharmaceutical for half a billion dollars making it the largest sale of intellectual property by any university...its has a termendous amount of opportunities and connections including Grady (20 mins to downtown by shuttle usually faster if you have a car), Emory Clinic (on campus), Crawford Long, Centers for Disease Control (CDC-its freaking on Emory's campus), Winship Cancer Institute, EXCELLENT neurology and cardiology deparments (a lot of famous people use Emory Healthcare including Muhammad Ali and President Jimmy Carter who is affliated with Emory), CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta also has connections with Emory med, Emory has connections with its surrounding institutions including Georgia tech (one of the best biomedical engineering programs in teh nation), Morehouse, etc etc, plus getting medical experience in a city like Atlanta will be amazing..plus emory has an amazingly BEAUTIFUL campus in a relatively very safe area...basically my point is that emory will give you a lot of experience and opportunity and emory WILL ONLY increase its prestige over the years

I concur with Paki20 -- I'm a Emory graduate and it seems everyone seems to speak highly of the program. I have a couple friends in the medschool now -- its tough (hey but hey who said it medschool was going to be easy?).

Oh, I use to live right across the CDC -- kind of scary if you think about it that Ebola is right there.

I wouldn't go back to ATL though (4 years of Georgia is enough for me), but it would be an excellent place to get your education. I'm kind of wishing I had ATL weather now actually... 🙂

 

[aikaterine]

emory med school also just sold an HIV drug, EmTriva (Em = stands for emory really creative huh) to a pharmaceutical for half a billion dollars making it the largest sale of intellectual property by any university...its has a termendous amount of opportunities and connections including Grady (20 mins to downtown by shuttle usually faster if you have a car), Emory Clinic (on campus), Crawford Long, Centers for Disease Control (CDC-its freaking on Emory's campus), Winship Cancer Institute, EXCELLENT neurology and cardiology deparments (a lot of famous people use Emory Healthcare including Muhammad Ali and President Jimmy Carter who is affliated with Emory), CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta also has connections with Emory med, Emory has connections with its surrounding institutions including Georgia tech (one of the best biomedical engineering programs in teh nation), Morehouse, etc etc, plus getting medical experience in a city like Atlanta will be amazing..plus emory has an amazingly BEAUTIFUL campus in a relatively very safe area...basically my point is that emory will give you a lot of experience and opportunity and emory WILL ONLY increase its prestige over the years

Emory's resources are amazing. In addition to all of the stuff that Paki20 just listed, there is also the American Cancer Society and Childrens healthcare on campus, as well as the VA hospital on the next major street. (Although EmTriva was sold by a professor in the chem department for about $525 mill to the school - and he has also created over 80% of the durgs used by HIV patients currently.) Yes, I go to Emory, and I am always willing to say how amazing my school is. They are rebuilding most of the med school right now - so while it sucks for the moment as most of the buildings are gutted - it will be ready for the class of 2011 or 2012. They also have some serrious plans about the hospital and have been putting a ton of money into it. The campus is gorgeous, and housing is not as expensive as they say on the website if you live in the little apartments by campus. However, Emory is notorious for not giving out much financial aid - so that could be a problem. If you go here, just be prepared to spend a ton of time at Dunkin Donuts - it's open almost 24hrs a day and is one of the most popular study spots for all the med students - I swear they never leave.

 

[miko2005]

However, Emory is notorious for not giving out much financial aid - so that could be a problem.

That wasn't true when I applied to Emory almost 5 years ago. They offered me a financial aid package (based on need) that made cost of Emory comparable to state school. USC on the other hand offered me nothing as far as financial aid goes, which made the choice easy. I ultimately went to another med school in the south with another great financial aid package but I seriously considered Emory for a long time. Good Luck!!

 

[argonana]

ok, for anyone who's interested, i'm going to go ahead and add uc davis to the mix. what the hell. any input on davis vs. usc or davis vs. emory is welcome.

it's great to hear so many enthusiastic comments about emory. it makes me want to start NOW! 😍

i have read several times on these boards that emory is "the toughest medical school in the country." is this true??

 

[omniatlas]

Dunkin Donuts - it's open almost 24hrs a day and is one of the most popular study spots for all the med students - I swear they never leave.

Are you talking about the Dunkin Donuts near Toco Hills? lol, I use to hang around there, the caribou & the starbucks. 😎

Yeah, the financial aid isn't too good -- maybe its because 90% of the student population (undergrad) are from LONG ISLAND? </sarcasm>

 

[taehong81]

Emory has a generous financial aid but it is limited. If you show need based and apply early for aid, you will get good financial aid package. Once they run out of aid (grant money), they can't provide you with grants even if you show need. So it is your best interest to apply as early as possible (fafsa and profile). In my situation, originally I was given no grant and had to take out everything out on loan. Even with taking out all loans, I decided to attend Emory over my state school and other private schools who provided me with some aid. But in may I found out that since people who were offered financial aid and didn't attend Emory, that money was available and I was offered the max amount of need-based financial aid. So in the end, Emory came out to cheaper than my state school aid.

 

[paki20]

(Although EmTriva was sold by a professor in the chem department for about $525 mill to the school - and he has also created over 80% of the durgs used by HIV patients currently.) .

true the PI was from the chem department but some researcher from Emory med school was also involved and got part of the money to use in his lab...

 

[zer0el]

I'm an M2 now, but when I was choosing which med school to attend, the best advice given to me was to pick the place you could see yourself thriving.

I was choosing between USC, Case, Northwestern, and Pitt. The latter 3 had a better US News ranking than USC by a fair margin. But I decided to forego the typical type-A premed urge to pick the highest ranked school (which would've been Pitt) and am now at USC.

What I've found is that if you're not at a top 10 school, no PD really gives a rat's ass about where you went. The only exception is if you your letter writers have connections with the PD. With that being said, if you want to match in the South, go to Emory. I can guarantee you that going to USC won't shut you out of any residency program provided you do your share of the work. I know an M4 who just matched at Stanford for urology (early match), and if you look at last year's match list, you should have no qualms about USC's ranking.

By the way, you're not coming to USC to be a PI, so don't worry about the NIH dollars. If you want research, there's plenty here in all fields.

One last thing, no one actually hangs out around HSC. Almost everyone lives off campus in the nicer suburbs (Pasadena, South Pasadena, Alhambra, etc.) There are plenty of nice areas to hang out, go running, etc. Unfortunately, that does make USC a commuter school. But who wants to hang out on a med campus 24/7 anyway?

 

[doctorhuxtable]

I was accepted to Emory and decided to go to my state school, LSU-NO. Our school and entire hospital system was destoryed by Katrina and the subsequent flooding, we missed a month of school, lost our cadavers, had to move to Baton Rouge to take classes in a research center, don't know what the hell is going to happen now...but if I had to do it all over again I would do the same thing.