UVA vs CWRU

[justasmalltowngirl]

Hi everyone! I am SO stressed about making this decision. Both CWRU and UVA are fantastic programs, and I've been going back and forth between them for months. Here are my pros and cons:

UVA:
Pros

• I loved Charlottesville when I visited. It felt like a super comfortable, encouraging, and supportive environment and I felt inexplicably drawn to that
• PF pre-clerkship, no internal ranking (same with Case)
• everything was super walkable
• I love outdoor activities and this is near a great national park
• ability to do some rotations at Inova in DC, very diverse pt population
• from everything I've heard from students, it seems like they have great work life balances
• good weather!!!

Cons

• match list not as impressive as Case, but still really good
• heard that Charlottesville can feel kind of small after a while

Case:
Pros

• higher ranked
• very impressive match list
• bigger city and lots of things to do near the school, huge cultural hub
• curriculum has built in research (16 weeks)
• PF pre-clerkship, no internal ranking (same with UVA)
• more diverse patient population compared to UVA hospitals
• strong ties with Cleveland Clinic
• curriculum block structure - could be a pro or con, but I like the fact that there is infrequent testing (maybe every 2-3 months)
• no AOA

Cons

• I wasn't in love with Cleveland when I visited
• weather - while I'm from the midwest, I've never loved the cold but can deal with it
• campus wasn't very walkable to and from most affordable housing options
• Not sure how I feel about their pre-clerkship curricular structure - most learning is through IQ small group sessions and learning is very self-directed, which seems like a drastic contrast to other medical education programs. I'm not sure if it fits with my learning style, but I'll never really know because I've not participated in a curriculum or learning environment like that before
• block structure - again, could be a pro or a con, but it seems like a lot of content (2-3 months worth) could build up to a high pressure study environment and high stress levels closer to exams

(note that COA is about the same for both schools! I'm an OOS student for both. Also just for more info, right now, I genuinely don't know what residency I would like to pursue)

In summary, before getting accepted, I always thought I would instantly pick Case because of its prestige/match list. But UVA became a pleasant surprise in my application cycle. At this point, I'm 50/50. I'm trying to figure out if Case will open up more doors than UVA. It's match list is top notch, but I know UVA's is good too.

Thanks!!!

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[wondervisions]

I would not pick Case just because of a perceived difference in prestige. Go with UVA.

 

[Banco]

Sigh, your only con for UVA is that the match list doesn't "seem as impressive."

I'll be blunt, this is a bad way to go about picking a school. You don't know what goes on in terms of the background of the match list (student preference, geographic bias etc.) Yes, there seem to be more surgical subspecialty matches in Case's match list, but again you can also match those specialties from UVA (also Case has a much larger class size no?).

You clearly like UVA more, just go there.

 

[armaragon]

negligible prestige, UVA is a fantastic school...

 

[memesgalore]

Am currently in a similar position to you, and am leaning towards UVA for multiple reasons.

The 1.5 yr pre-clinical curriculum allows for elective time to be taken during Phase 3 that could be used for research or extra rotations, which I found more valuable than dedicated research time since I am also unsure of my future specialty. Also didn't vibe with the IQ structure and don't think that type of curriculum is best suited for my style of learning.

While CWRU's match list is spectacular, UVA's in nothing to scoff at.

Seems as though you'd be happiest at UVA, and going there shouldn't close you off to any opportunities! It is a tough choice, best of luck with your decision

 

[MedicalStudent888]

I went to undergrad at UVA and Charlottesville is a really great place to live and wonderful quality of life esp for outdoors activities. It is small but there's a ton of restaurants and activities so sometimes it can feel like a small city. Plus the winter is very short there.

Especially since prestige is very close to equal, if your heart is towards UVA, I think it would be a very good choice for you

But I might be going to CWRU so if you end up going there maybe we can be friends

 

[thetenthletter]

Both are good options. I don’t know much about Case but I visited C’ville recently and loved it. Can’t wait to attend UVA in the fall.

Also exams are online at UVA and can be taken at convenience over the weekends which is really nice.