UWisconsin vs UMinnesota vs Georgetown

[wanderer1990]

I recently came across Student Doctor forum a few days ago and just have to say it's an awesome resource! I am hoping for some advice on my situation- I have been accepted into MD programs at UMinnesota, Georgetown, and UWisconsin and am looking for advice in choosing a school! As some background, I am from Minnesota (I am close to my friends/family but I have moved around before and am fine moving out of state if needed), would like to ultimately practice in a university hospital type of environment, am interested in pediatrics but also have an interest in public health and hoping to participate in clinical pediatrics research or public health research as part of my med school education. Here are my thoughts on the three schools, any advice is appreciated!!

Georgetown-I loved the school during my interview but I am having a hard time justifying the cost of attendance at this school (plus the high cost of living in DC). However, I lived in DC for a few years when I was younger and loved the environment of the region. I also like the idea of being in the nation's capital and the opportunities afforded by that location. Georgetwon is away from my support network in Minnesota.

UWisconsin-Their public health emphasis goes well with my interest in public health and they are a good research institution, which would provide me research opportunities, but I am not sure what type of research medical students can get involved in...? I am unsure as to similarities/differences between Madison/Minneapolis, and UWisconsin is away from my support network in Minnesota. I loved the facilities at the school and the faculty really seemed to reach out to students, but I don't like that we are forced to do rotations at other areas of Wisconsin.

UMinnesota-It's where my support network is, and I know their pediatrics department is strong so I would get a lot of good experiences that would prepare me for a pediatric residency. However, from word of mouth, I am hearing about funding problems at this school and the facilities seemed not as nice as UWisconsin's facilities, from what I saw at interview day. I don't think this school requires as many away rotations as UWisconsin, so I would get to do more rotations at a university-type of health center, which is where I think I ultimately want to practice.

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[drizzt3117]

I can't comment specifically on GT, as I don't really know much about it. As far as UW vs UMN, a lot of current UW students are from Minnesota and chose UW over UMN, it's a bit stronger school with significantly more research funding and new facilities. The away rotation thing is overblown; you can easily just do two away rotations and the majority of M3 students do just two rotations away. If you want to be at an academic center for those, Gundersen, Marshfield Clinic and St. Luke's are academic training hospitals with residency programs. UW does have a very strong public health focus, which is evident throughout the entire curriculum. You can be very involved in research at UW. I presented research at 11 conferences in 4 different continents during medical school and published ~30 manuscripts during my four years here.

 

[Yraqi]

I can't comment specifically on GT, as I don't really know much about it. As far as UW vs UMN, a lot of current UW students are from Minnesota and chose UW over UMN, it's a bit stronger school with significantly more research funding and new facilities. The away rotation thing is overblown; you can easily just do two away rotations and the majority of M3 students do just two rotations away. If you want to be at an academic center for those, Gundersen, Marshfield Clinic and St. Luke's are academic training hospitals with residency programs. UW does have a very strong public health focus, which is evident throughout the entire curriculum. You can be very involved in research at UW. I presented research at 11 conferences in 4 different continents during medical school and published ~30 manuscripts during my four years here.

Was research your main (and probably only) activity in med school? How can you balance that with the course load?

 

[drizzt3117]

Was research your main (and probably only) activity in med school? How can you balance that with the course load?

No, I did a lot of other things as well. Good time management is key.

 

[pooghe]

In my opinion the cost of attendance at Georgetown is way too high to justify attending unless it is your only option or you are totally in love with the school and can't see yourself elsewhere. Between UMN and UW, I think UW is the stronger school with better and more extensive research opportunities available to students and a stronger national reputation. UW has very nice facilities and Madison is a great town which has a lot going on but small enough that living there is very manageable. It's a relatively short drive from Madison to Minnesota so you wouldn't be too far from your support network. UW also has a very strong public health emphasis and a neat program called TRIUMPH, Training in Urban Medicine and Public Health, which allows you to do many of your rotations in Milwaukee and has a strong public health aspect to it http://www.med.wisc.edu/education/md/triumph/main/681.

 

[wanderer1990]

Thanks for the advice!!

Drizzt3117 and pooghe, you mentioned the extensive research experiences available at UW. I am definitely interested in research, as I stated in my original post, but just out of curiosity, to what extent is research considered when residency programs consider students for admission to their program?

Also, if I'm (at this point) interested in a pediatrics residency, is it important to go to a medical school whose pediatrics department is very strong and if so, do you have insight into what UW's pediatrics department is like?

 

[drizzt3117]

Thanks for the advice!!

Drizzt3117 and pooghe, you mentioned the extensive research experiences available at UW. I am definitely interested in research, as I stated in my original post, but just out of curiosity, to what extent is research considered when residency programs consider students for admission to their program?

Also, if I'm (at this point) interested in a pediatrics residency, is it important to go to a medical school whose pediatrics department is very strong and if so, do you have insight into what UW's pediatrics department is like?

Research is very important, it's one of the main reasons I got interviews from all the top rads programs. UW's peds dept is very good, with strong research, we put lots of people into peds every year.

 

[wanderer1990]

Thanks for the reply! For those of you who had multiple acceptances but ultimately chose Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Georgetown, can you comment on what helped you come to your decision/what factors played a role in you choosing the med school you chose?

 

[drizzt3117]

Thanks for the reply! For those of you who had multiple acceptances but ultimately chose Wisconsin, Minnesota, or Georgetown, can you comment on what helped you come to your decision/what factors played a role in you choosing the med school you chose?

Proximity to family, very strong research, very collegial faculty/classmates, and cost (full scholarship) were reasons I chose UW over top programs like Penn, Stanford, UCLA, etc.

 

[CorneliaSt]

I was accepted at minnesota (IS) and interviewed at georgetown. After I was accepted to Minnesota I immediately withdrew from georgetown. I actually liked georegetown and DC, but still withdrew. I would argue that minnesota is a better overall medical school, and it is significantly cheaper. The hospital and facilities were nicer at Minnesota. The students I have met that go to minn have all enjoyed their experiences as well. Research opportunities seemed to be better at Minnesota. Unless you really want to live in DC or have extremely strong connections to georgetown, I don't know how you could logically pick georgetown over Minnesota (assuming normal financial aid from both institutions).

As for Wisconsin vs. Minnesota. I never applied to Wisconsin, but it sounds like a great program. Amazingly, I believe their OOS tuition is roughly the same as Minnesota's IS tuition so cost isn't a factor here. I almost went to Wisconsin for undergrad and while I do think Madison is great city, I personally think Minneapolis is better. The patient population at Minnesota will likely be much more diverse as well if that matters to you. Overall, you have some great options, but I don't think you can go wrong with either school. Good luck with your decision!

 

[drizzt3117]

Also keep in mind that at UW, if you so choose, you can do all m3/4 rotations in Milwaukee.

I was accepted at minnesota (IS) and interviewed at georgetown. After I was accepted to Minnesota I immediately withdrew from georgetown. I actually liked georegetown and DC, but still withdrew. I would argue that minnesota is a better overall medical school, and it is significantly cheaper. The hospital and facilities were nicer at Minnesota. The students I have met that go to minn have all enjoyed their experiences as well. Research opportunities seemed to be better at Minnesota. Unless you really want to live in DC or have extremely strong connections to georgetown, I don't know how you could logically pick georgetown over Minnesota (assuming normal financial aid from both institutions).

As for Wisconsin vs. Minnesota. I never applied to Wisconsin, but it sounds like a great program. Amazingly, I believe their OOS tuition is roughly the same as Minnesota's IS tuition so cost isn't a factor here. I almost went to Wisconsin for undergrad and while I do think Madison is great city, I personally think Minneapolis is better. The patient population at Minnesota will likely be much more diverse as well if that matters to you. Overall, you have some great options, but I don't think you can go wrong with either school. Good luck with your decision!

 

[goirish22]

Quick question: I am a Minnesota resident who went out of state for UG. I'm applying in the next cycle and I plan to apply to Minnesota and other schools around the midwest. I was looking at Wisconsin but was informed that it is very difficult to gain admittance if you're out of state. Is this true? Do they give any sort of preference to MN residents? Thanks in advance!

 

[drizzt3117]

Quick question: I am a Minnesota resident who went out of state for UG. I'm applying in the next cycle and I plan to apply to Minnesota and other schools around the midwest. I was looking at Wisconsin but was informed that it is very difficult to gain admittance if you're out of state. Is this true? Do they give any sort of preference to MN residents? Thanks in advance!

It's harder than if you were a WI resident, but there's certainly lots of MN residents in our school.

 

[CorneliaSt]

Quick question: I am a Minnesota resident who went out of state for UG. I'm applying in the next cycle and I plan to apply to Minnesota and other schools around the midwest. I was looking at Wisconsin but was informed that it is very difficult to gain admittance if you're out of state. Is this true? Do they give any sort of preference to MN residents? Thanks in advance!

FWIW, I did not apply to Wisconsin because of the extremely low interview rate for OOS (6% according to US News). There are other solid midwestern state schools (such as Iowa) that are much more OOS friendly (14% interview rate). I guess if you have really strong numbers then it might be worth it to throw an app in at Wisconsin. Otherwise, it may not be a smart move statistically speaking.

 

[drizzt3117]

FWIW, I did not apply to Wisconsin because of the extremely low interview rate for OOS (6% according to US News). There are other solid midwestern state schools (such as Iowa) that are much more OOS friendly (14% interview rate). I guess if you have really strong numbers then it might be worth it to throw an app in at Wisconsin. Otherwise, it may not be a smart move statistically speaking.

The interview rate is a lot higher for MN/IL/IA/MI applicants.

 

[wanderer1990]

Quick question: I am a Minnesota resident who went out of state for UG. I'm applying in the next cycle and I plan to apply to Minnesota and other schools around the midwest. I was looking at Wisconsin but was informed that it is very difficult to gain admittance if you're out of state. Is this true? Do they give any sort of preference to MN residents? Thanks in advance!

FWIW, I did not apply to Wisconsin because of the extremely low interview rate for OOS (6% according to US News). There are other solid midwestern state schools (such as Iowa) that are much more OOS friendly (14% interview rate). I guess if you have really strong numbers then it might be worth it to throw an app in at Wisconsin. Otherwise, it may not be a smart move statistically speaking.

My GPA is average for Wisconsin and my MCAT is lower than their average based on the MSAR book, but I think Wisconsin also really takes into account your 'fit' into the school as an applicant and how your interests align with their mission. The OOS acceptance rate is definitely low but I really think it's worth applying if you are excited about their medical school and if you feel like your interests match up with their mission!

 

[wanderer1990]

So I was doing some research into both UWisconsin and UMinnesota and I believe that UMinnesota's pass/fail cut off is getting 70% on exams, whereas UWisconsin's is 80%? Is that true and if so, is it significantly more difficult for UWisconsin students to perform well on the exams due to needing to achieve at least 80% (instead of 70%) to pass? Some schools even appear to have a 65% threshold to pass, so the 80% worries me a little!

Additionally, for UWisconsin's second year which is A-F, is this on a curve (such as the top 10% earn As, the next 15% earn Bs, etc) or is it not on a curve, and everyone has the chance to earn an A?

 

[drizzt3117]

So I was doing some research into both UWisconsin and UMinnesota and I believe that UMinnesota's pass/fail cut off is getting 70% on exams, whereas UWisconsin's is 80%? Is that true and if so, is it significantly more difficult for UWisconsin students to perform well on the exams due to needing to achieve at least 80% (instead of 70%) to pass? Some schools even appear to have a 65% threshold to pass, so the 80% worries me a little!

Additionally, for UWisconsin's second year which is A-F, is this on a curve (such as the top 10% earn As, the next 15% earn Bs, etc) or is it not on a curve, and everyone has the chance to earn an A?

It's really easy to pass 1st year. I would say 95-98% of people pass without difficulty. The % you have to get right is all relative to how hard the tests are.

As far as M2 goes, the official standards are up to 30% can get an A in any given class and up to 50% can get A/AB. In reality, I would say that many more than 30% get As and more than 50% get ABs in practice. Those standards are more applied in 3rd year than in 2nd; but that being said, I would say 30% honors is pretty generous.