UWMadison vs. Jefferson vs. Rush

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I'm from CA and only have an idea of these schools from my interviews, SDN & US News. If anyone can help give me the pros and cons of each school, it'd help me out a lot. I saw a UWMad vs. Rush thread, but there wasn't that many comments on it. Thanks! :)

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Jefferson or Rush, definitely not the UW.
 
Jeff. Great location, old school with lots of connections, proximity to a lot of other med schools (aka lots of research and marriage prospects) :thumbup:
 
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Jefferson or Rush, definitely not the UW.

I'm interested in your reasoning....UW is MUCH MUCH more highly regarded in both research and primary care than both of the other schools...

elaborate
 
I dunno about the cost of other schools... but UW is like 50k per year for 4 yrs. It's a lot for the loans. But their program is well respected and rank pretty high in primary care.
If money is not an issue, go to UW. If it is, choose something that suits your life better. ;)
 
$200k for med school is pretty standard now.
 
UW....Rush and Jefferson do not compare. Since you are from California you are going to be paying high tuition at all of the schools so I would go to the best school possible which is clearly UW. Rush and Jefferson may be in bigger cities with more things to do but they don't have as many research opportunities and if you are going into a specialty research is a must I have been told. Also, Madison is a nice city with enough stuff to do for younger people that you won't be bored.
 
I'm from CA and only have an idea of these schools from my interviews, SDN & US News. If anyone can help give me the pros and cons of each school, it'd help me out a lot. I saw a UWMad vs. Rush thread, but there wasn't that many comments on it. Thanks! :)

Before asking what people think of school A vs. school B, ask yourself some concrete questions:

a) What kind of grading system do you want? A/B/C/F, or H/P/F? Or do you not really believe that there is a difference? Are classes graded on a curve?

b) What kind of atmosphere do you want? College town, small town, big city?

c) What things do you think you'll want to specialize in? Do you want to do primary care or something very competitive?

d) What kind of weather do you want (or at least, are willing to tolerate).

e) What kind of facilities are in place to help students learn? Do they record lectures? Do they provide you with (free, pre-printed) lecture notes? Do they have a lot of resources online for students?

f) Where can you do rotations? Can you do all your rotations with minimal travel time, or are you forced to go very far for some rotations? Are rotations in a big city, a suburb, rural, or a mix?

g) what kind of teaching system is it? Is it block scheduling, all PBL, traditional? What do you think you'll like better?

Once you think about these questions, it makes it easier to compare schools.

I go to Jefferson, so if you have any specific questions, feel free to PM. Good luck with your decision!
 
Actually, UW tuition is $33k a year for OOS. It is only $50k when you add in living expenses.
I imagine Jefferson and Rush would be similar for cost of living.
Either way, $200k for med school is pretty standard now.

Madison would probably be a bit cheaper for cost of living since it's in the Midwest and not in Chicago.
 
Before asking what people think of school A vs. school B, ask yourself some concrete questions:

a) What kind of grading system do you want? A/B/C/F, or H/P/F? Or do you not really believe that there is a difference? Are classes graded on a curve?

b) What kind of atmosphere do you want? College town, small town, big city?

c) What things do you think you'll want to specialize in? Do you want to do primary care or something very competitive?

d) What kind of weather do you want (or at least, are willing to tolerate).

e) What kind of facilities are in place to help students learn? Do they record lectures? Do they provide you with (free, pre-printed) lecture notes? Do they have a lot of resources online for students?

f) Where can you do rotations? Can you do all your rotations with minimal travel time, or are you forced to go very far for some rotations? Are rotations in a big city, a suburb, rural, or a mix?

g) what kind of teaching system is it? Is it block scheduling, all PBL, traditional? What do you think you'll like better?

Once you think about these questions, it makes it easier to compare schools.

I go to Jefferson, so if you have any specific questions, feel free to PM. Good luck with your decision!

Thanks for the advice! I know making a decision between schools involves a lot of weighing the pros & cons, but since I'm not too familiar with the cities in general, I thought I'd ask for input.

I don't care too much about the grading system.

I love the city, but have heard that the schools are all in great cities.

I'm planning on doing primary care.

I don't like the cold, but everywhere is cold compared to CA.

I would like more info on rotations. I've heard that you travel around Wisc for rotations, is that mandatory? Do the majority go around Wisconsin, or do you have the option of doing all your rotations in Madison? I heard Cook County is great for diversity of patients, as is Jefferson. Do either Rush or Jefferson require traveling for rotations?

I appreciate everyone's input! Thanks! :love:
 
You can do your rotations in Madison, but you have to show that there is some reason you need to (ie, you have chidren in Madison). It sounds like it's pretty hard to get permission to stay there. Madison is a great place to live though. I went there for undergrad and then moved to Chicago- two months and I already miss it.
 
I'm planning on doing primary care.

Jefferson has a lot of great resources for people who want to do primary care. Their family med department is very strong, and so is their internal medicine departments. You'll have the chance to have a lot of primary care-type clinical things during your 1st and 2nd years, which I really enjoy. The family med and internal med people have bent over backwards to make themselves available as mentors and advisors to students. Pediatrics is good here, too, but, to be honest, Penn is probably somewhat stronger (because CHOP is on their campus).

The really nice thing about Jefferson is that, not only does it have really strong primary care departments, but it also has very strong specialized departments as well. If, for example, halfway through 1st year you decide that you don't want to do primary care, Jefferson has a very good orthopedics program (Rothman Institute), a great ophtho hospital next door (Wills Eye), and a strong neuro/neurosurg program (JHN). So you can really take your pick.

I would like more info on rotations. I've heard that you travel around Wisc for rotations, is that mandatory? Do the majority go around Wisconsin, or do you have the option of doing all your rotations in Madison? I heard Cook County is great for diversity of patients, as is Jefferson. Do either Rush or Jefferson require traveling for rotations?

Jefferson does not require that you travel great distances for rotations. You can - we have sites in central PA and Pittsburgh, as well as Delaware (which is actually only 40 minutes away). But you can do all of your rotations in the Philadelphia-region if you want, using public transit to get around.

Hope this helps. Good luck!
 
Rush and Jefferson may be in bigger cities with more things to do but they don't have as many research opportunities and if you are going into a specialty research is a must I have been told. Also, Madison is a nice city with enough stuff to do for younger people that you won't be bored.

Jefferson doesn't have a lot of bench research (although our new president, Dr. Barchi, is trying to fix this). It has a lot of clinical research - if you want to do neurosurgery, you can get involved in neurosurgery research projects during the summer after MS1. Wills Eye hospital and the Rothman institute are also always willing to get ambitious students involved early, which also helps a residency application. You just have to ask your student dean for tips.
 
At UW, I believe you only have to do 2 of your rotations (or maybe even 1?) outside of Madison. If you're into urban primary care, I've heard students speak highly of doing rotations in Milwaukee.
 
At UW-Madison, all of 1st and 2nd year are in Madison. 3rd year, most people do away rotations. This varies from 0 weeks away to 26 weeks away, and the average is somewhere like 8-10 weeks. Some people love to go away, others try to stay in town.

I hated the idea of doing away rotations until I did one, and loved it. They are typically at smaller hospitals, which give you more hands on and a different perspective on "real-world medicine," that is, away from a large university setting.

UW's family medicine program is quite strong. They place students into great FM programs, often their first choice, and everywhere from Maine to Washington. In case you do change your mind about specialty, most to all of the departments here are fantastic. Research opportunities are endless, and you'll have a huge list of projects to choose from if you decide to do research.

And best of all, the atmosphere is as laid-back and friendly as it gets.
 
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