WashU vs Columbia

[bertistheword]

Hi all,

I was recently admitted off the waitlists at both of these schools and am currently in the process of deciding where to attend. I think I know the answer, but I would love to hear opinions from people on this forum. I am interested primarily in matching into a competitive surgical specialty (i.e ortho) in the northeast and I'm also interested in working with patients from underprivileged communities during my time in med school.

WashU

Pros
- Full cost of attendance in scholarships (debt = $0)
- Marginally better reputation in medicine
- Baller match list
- Barnes-Jewish is the main safety net hospital of the region--lots of underserved/underprivileged cases to see
- With my budget, I will be able to live very comfortably in St. Louis
- Faculty seemed very supportive and invested in their students' success
- Have previous connections with high-level faculty, may bode well for my career later on

Cons
- St. Louis: far from friends, family, and SO, and I'm not super into the midwest
- Major curriculum changes in the next few years could result in logistical problems during rotations
- Incoming class is on the old curriculum, which would mean 2 years preclinical
- Students seemed nice but a bit gunnery

Columbia

Pros
- Full cost of attendance in scholarships (debt = $0)
- College of Surgeons and Surgeons; amazing matches for surgery
- I like the curriculum better-- 1.5 yr preclinical, STEP taken after rotations, 2mo dedicated study time
- Wonderful career advising
- Always wanted to live in NYC at some point
- Still far, but marginally closer to family
- Have close friends in the city
- Closer to SO
- Home-field advantage for NYP residency matches; would prefer to be here than at Barnes-Jewish

Cons
- (I know I'm splitting hairs, but) not *quite* as high of a rep in medicine as WashU
- Intimidated by living in NYC
- School's budget covered COL but I may not be as comfortable as in St. Louis due to NYC being so expensive
- Didn't get the best vibe from the student body at my interview. Worried that students may have a chip on their shoulder bc they're at a big ivy med school

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[LongLiveThanos]

You seem to prefer WashU more. Both are great schools. I don't think $10k is enough for Housing in NYC unless you want to share a room.

 

[Quantal Reasoning]

Easy Columbia choice. The biggest con you listed for Columbia is the smallest con for WashU; students. You want to match in the northeast. It is closer to your SO, friends, and family. Not in the midwest/St. Louis. Curriculum. I would pay extra for that.

Edit: and what is this "WashU has better reputation" nonsense? There is no difference whatsoever. PD rankings list them equivalent.

 

[bearsfan95]

Seems like fit wise WashU might be the better choice. You can match easily into surgical specialty in NYC for residency (or any other NE city) if you want to live there, and then you'll have zero debt and have an income to mess around in the city with. Going to WashU in the Midwest will not limit your capability to match in the NE.

However, being closer to SO and family, and how much NYC could be better for you than St. Louis is a personal decision and the "marginal" weight of those things must be weighed against the "marginal" weight of career boosts you state you would get from WashU. Good luck and congratulations either way

 

[rball]

There is no difference at all in terms of prestige/career boosts btwn these schools. Columbia may help a bit for east coast, WashU for midwest.

I also dont think Columbia students would have more of a “chip on their shoulder”; Columbia is a top school and they know it.

 

[meronebib]

Sounds like you want Columbia to me. I’m pretty sure most in your shoes would pick Columbia, just from location alone. You seem to be thinking that WashU has a better reputation, but these schools literally couldn’t be any more equal in medicine (Columbia definitely takes the cake here if you’re planning on pursuing another degree at the university). Just FYI, for whatever reputation/prestige is worth (not much at all when we’re talking about schools like this), Columbia has far more name recognition than WUSTL (“so, is that in Seattle?”).

 

[Phoebus Apollo]

- Didn't get the best vibe from the student body at my interview. Worried that students may have a chip on their shoulder bc they're at a big ivy med school

Huh. This doesn’t compute for me

OP, your pros and cons are super comparable. And these schools are both free for you. Which one will make you happier? Go there. Both will give you the professional foundation you’re looking for

 

[mega_]

not *quite* as high of a rep in medicine as WashU

Where are you guys getting your info from? Genuinely curious

 

[capriccio]

Honestly seems like Columbia, easily. You like the curriculum better, you've always wanted to live in NYC, you'd rather match in NY and practice in the northeast, you're closer to SO and family—what's holding you back? Listing Columbia's prestige compared to WashU as a con is indeed, as you say, splitting hairs.

 

[smileyfacegirl27]

Based on your own pro con list, you seem to prefer the curriculum and location with Columbia. Prestige is basically the same with the two, especially when you think about layman's prestige (you'll tell people you go to Washington University and unless they are in the medical field, they probably won't have heard of it whereas everyone knows Columbia). It seems like you already know what you want and already have a preference - plus there is no bad choice here. You just need to go with your gut and commit to the one you feel is best for you. Don't second guess yourself! Go back to the feeling you had at interview day and really think about where you would be happiest

 

[bertistheword]

Checking back into this thread after 24h! I believed that Columbia was the right choice here but just needed some reassurance. I've also lurked so many "help me decide" threads and wanted to do one of my own 🙂 As clear of a choice as this may have seemed to many of you, I was allured to WashU by the name and what was an enjoyable interview experience; however as most of you have already said the reputation is pretty much equal at both schools and the location for Columbia (assuming it's free) truly cannot be beat. I'll also just say that while this seemed like a clear choice, seeing it from an outside perspective and actually having to make the decision are two very different things...I would have told anyone in my position to choose Columbia, but things become slightly different when you actually have the two acceptances in hand. It's hard to explain.

Some of you were wondering why I believed that WashU had a slightly better reputation in medicine...my only explanation is that looking through historical PD scores and various ranking systems, I noticed that WashU was often considered a "top 5" program among the likes of Harvard, Penn, and Hopkins, while Columbia seemed to have been a solidly "top 10" program that has gained good traction over the past 10 years or so. Therefore, you guys are totally right, there really is no difference in prestige between the two programs. Just some classic SDN neuroticism from me personally.

All that being said, this thread and thinking it over has given me everything that I needed. I'll be attending Columbia this fall! Thanks for all your help.

EDIT: also, regarding the "chip on the shoulder" con for Columbia, I wanted to stress that it was just something I noticed in one or two students during my interview. I think I was really just racking my brain to find more cons for Columbia and those interactions popped up for whatever reason. 99% of the people I met there seemed humble and kind; it was just a few examples that stuck out in my head. Hope I didn't upset anyone by saying that.