UW SOM vs Icahn

[Clustopher]

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Hi all!

I just got off of the waitlist for the University of Washington, SOM and am trying to decide between there and the Icahn School of Medicine. For some background, I grew up and currently live in Seattle near the UW. Most of my family is in Washington state. However, I went to undergrad in Connecticut so I have lived on the east coast before. I really want to be an academic physician though I'm not quite sure what specialty yet.

UW SOM
Pros

• Close to family and high school friends
• Slightly cheaper (~12k over 4 years)
• Less hassle to get settled in
• Know some of the faculty already

Cons

• Dislike their cirricular structure, in particular the lack of electives and longer pre-clinical period
• AOA, Internal Rank
• Giving up the chance to go live in NYC

Icahn School of Medicine
Pros

• More interested in their cirriculum
• Living in NYC
• Student housing provided
• No (few) undergrads/other graduate students to compete for research with
• No AOA, internal rank

Cons

• Slightly more expensive
• Away from family and friends

Summary: Overall, I like Icahn's program more, but I'm worried about the trade off of leaving behind my family and friends.

Thank you so much for your thoughts 🙂

 

[pdidd3]

Both are great programs. I don’t think there is a clear cut answer for these types of scenarios because it will always come down to what your values are, so the opinion of random SDNers won’t be of much use.

If I were in your shoes though, I would go to Icahn because NYC would be new to explore. Others might go with UW because they are feeling homesick after undergrad and just want to be with family again. IMO, you gotta leave the nest egg at some point to grow and med school in NYC is a pretty good opportunity to do that.

 

[kikikat]

I thought that UWSOM has a 1.5 year preclinical curriculum now, same as Icahn? I don't think it's updated on admit.org.

 

[Clustopher]

You may be right that UWSOM switched to a 1.5 year preclinical recently. I stand corrected about that.

 

[FantasticBug5960]

That price difference is insignificant. I suggest you reach out to students and have deeper conversations about which is better for you. Hobbies, cities, class vibe, etc. I personally would pick Icahn to not have to deal with internal rankings.

 

[rufflemyfeathers]

disclaimer: incoming MS1 at UW

I think it comes down to if you want to live in NYC vs live near your family. Have you visited/lived in NYC before? If not, I would visit before making a decision. A lot of people really like it but there are also some people who really don’t like the culture of the city. Also, I wouldn’t worry too much about the curricular structure at the schools unless that’s reallyyyy important to you. I have a sibling who’s now a MS4 and he told me that the biggest differentiator at different med schools is IF they have the resources to support your goals—for UW vs Icahn, I think they’re about the same. Also, I know that UW has AOA but they are now P/F throughout all 4 years. Congrats on being accepted to 2 great programs!!

edit: Also just saw your concerns about competing with other med schools for research at UW. I wouldn’t worry about that as UW is a research powerhouse… it’s why their US news ranking was so inflated LOL