Creighton vs. Drexel vs. Jefferson vs. Saint Louis University

[hello there]

Hi there everyone!!

As you might conclude from the title of this thread, I am trying to pick where I'll be starting med school this fall and I am really hoping to get feedback!! I'm sure I need to take into consideration the location, curriculum, emphasis, student quality of life, etc etc, and many of this will come down to personal preference. But, I am kind of lost at the moment and would be really appreciative of any and all opinions. At this point, I am not even too knowledgeable about a) what factors matter (from the above listed, plus the 289343 others that I haven't even considered), and b) how each of these schools compare to each other based on those factors. So if anyone could post feedback based on both of those points, I would be really, really, really appreciative!

Thanks and Have a good day!!

Oh and as goes without saying, if anyone has any questions for me, I would be more than happy to try to answer them

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[mbe36]

Where do you feel you will do best?

 

[hello there]

well i feel like i would do my best in at atmosphere that is relatively stress free and where the students are cooperative, helpful, energized, and happy. hmm it sounds like disneyland med would be perfect for me. but in all seriousness, if i were to rank the schools on this factor it would be 1) creighton, 2) jeff, 3) drexel, 4) saint louis. the way creighton put on its interview day was SO impressive. students were all helpful and happy. it seemed like the admissions people actually wanted you to like their school. basically, if they were trying to sell their school as the best med school on earth, they did their job and more. im from so cal, so omaha just gives me a funny feeling in my tummy. and i'm not too sure if ranking/prestige and all that possibly superficial stuff should be considered.

mbe, what do you make of this?

and is there anyone out there, who can support or refute my perceptions (which are based purely on interview days)? anyone have any other ideas?

 

[mbe36]

I think it really boils down to my original question.

Ask any successful resident--how well you do in medical school and how you match hinge on what you make of the experience. Go where you felt comfortable and have access to resources that you find major contributors to your success. I put alot of stock into how happy I think I'll be at a particular school. When you are grinding out in the library for the 15th night in a row or on an 80hr/wk roatation you need a strong foundation to balance you out. For me, I won't get to bed better thinking "This is Hell, but atleast our USNews rank is up." I would rather think, "Wow, this is tough. But, I am surrounded by a great team of classmates and a faculty that has my best interest in mind."


I hope this helps a bit. I'll check back in. Good Luck.

 

[qmcat]

I don't know anything about Drexel or Jefferson, since I didn't interview there. I've been debating between Creighton and SLU though for a while, and I finally decided on Creighton after looking at the crime and safety data for Omaha versus St Louis.

If safety is a concern for you, you could check out these two crime reports for Creighton and SLU:

http://www2.creighton.edu/adminfinance/publicsafety/campussecurityreport/index.php#c50479

http://www.slu.edu/x22927.xml

Before I had considered safety, I had the same happy feeling with Creighton that you are feeling... but I was sort of leaning towards SLU because the campus is so big and amazing, and it seems like a bigger and more resourceful institution over Creighton. But, the safety statistics really pushed me over the edge. I don't think I would feel comfortable living in fear throughout the stress of med school. This is just my personal opinion though, and I'm sure a lot of others would see SLU in a more positive light.

 

[droshan]

I was accepted at Jeff and Drexel but WL at Creighton and declined an interview at SLU so I can't help you with that. Here is what i felt:

Jefferson:
Big city-location in a safe and bustling area in downtown
Proximity to other east coast cities like NY
I like how they have all the lecture notes for each class organized into a binder and given to everyone.
Lectures are podcasted
Large class size (plus or minus depending on how you look at it)
Tons of student clubs and volunteer gallore
The new facilities
Really cool students and faculty
Pass/Fail/Honors
Heavy lecture based
Tuition ~$45,000
I've heard the clinical training is excellent at Jeff
Pretty good gym facility in the school
Receptive faculty-seriously take into consideration the students feedback and make changes often based on the input
Huge alumni network can be useful for residency, shadowing, etc...I mean they crank out like 250 doctors a year and if i'm not mistaken they are the oldest school established?
good diversity of patients

Drexel:
More of a rural location
Huge plus for some may be the PBL curiculum (PIL) you can choose
Downer-the faculty seems to lag a lot with things
Downer-the hospital is a drive away
Tuition is a bit more costly I believe but not by much
I also like the students there, they seemed to be happy and balanced.
Humanities track and womans health track if interested
The clinical rotations are all throughout Penn and even NJ...although you can opt to stay at Alleghany hospital, which isn't in philly, throughout your rotations.
Good diversity of patients in philly

Creighton:
Location is personal thing...Omaha for me was alright but not great. I'm from LA so its a big jump but others may love it.
Nice students
Prevalance of sports teams and a lot of involvement.
I beleive the tuition is cheaper
Very traditional lecture based
Good diversity of patients

I'll do some more research and put up what i can find. Best of luck determining the school of choice!

 

[Davydude7]

I would say Jefferson or Drexel since I am waitlisted at Creighton and SLU.

 

[golfintherain]

hey i just was surfing around and saw your post and it caught my eye... I dont know to much about the others but I do have a good inside view of Creighton. Being from Cali myself I guess I have somewhat of a angle that can help you. I went to Santa Clara for a couple years and then transfered to Creighton to finish undergrad and then just finished a masters here too. And I too am figuring out my med school destination.
So with that I will tell you a little more about Creighton from a lot of factors I know. First the good... what you experienced on interview is pretty close to the atmosphere. People here are a lot nicer and helpful than most of what I experienced and lived with in Cali. They will help you out and its got a more family atmosphere. With that said it is definitly much more rural here than anything you have experienced in So cal. So if thats ok then thats a good thing to consider. Its definetly the slower pace of life... infact I have physicians that I know that come out here from cali that feel restless because they dont get why things seem not to be moving along. Just a different feeling and life style. And the people and the school are great people and nice... thats the best thing about the school I think.... Now the honest negative stuff... (and with my cali personality I will be straight and honest ) The school is fine but is being dragged down by the hospital. I know on your interview you went through the hospital and not sure if you noticed but its pretty outdated with stuff... thats because the hospital has been struggling and loosing a ton of money. Its literally acting like a drain for the whole Creighton Campus. Some of it is because of the economy of course but the honest truth is the way the hospital is run is horrible. They have to many employees and the physicians are not rewarded for there work. Physicians are actually fleeing the CUMC because they cant make any money. Any work they do have the money goes to creighton so the physicans are seeing nothing so clearly with no reward means the physicians dont care about keeping work there...
So what effect does that have... basically the school is struggling ... not really because of the school itself but the effects are definilty being seen in the school because of it. So while I like to talk up the actual school and area ... I wont lie to you and say that the school is in great shape... I mean lets be honest the school will recover eventually... however will it be in the next 4 years ? probably not... and so may hamper some of what your looking for.
Also I have gathered that grants and scholarships are hard to come by right now at the school. Dont know what factor that plays for you or if you have already gotten it... but if your waiting on it... it may disappoint you is what I have gathered. With the economy the endowment fund has been hit hard ... plus I dont think Creighton is big for med scholarships... and finally last negative... tuition is pretty high for creighton already and they just increased it another 3000 for this last years class and potentially maybe to 4 or 5 next year...
So I just thought I would let you know all the facts that I know of from being here so long and being involved in the school for some years. If you liked the people and experience atmosphere ... thats awesome and fly on in to the cornhusker nation of the world. But if those other potential negatives bother you... may be better to look at the others too... hope this helps... may be more then you wanted to know... but what can I say im bored waiting for next year ha ha later