Dartmouth vs. Georgetown

[wanderingorion]

So now it's my turn to decide by committee. I'm kind of up in the air concerning my overall career plan, but I am amenable to academic/clinical medicine. I'm interested in IM/Heme-Onc, but I haven't ruled out any surgical specialties.

So both are P/F, and both are implementing new curricula this fall, so I'm a guinea pig either way. I also don't have FA from Dartmouth yet, but my package at GTown looks like about 160K at the end. My wife is working, so I don't have to take total COL out.

Georgetown

Pros:
Literature in Medicine Track
MD/MS option (systems bio)-May or may not pursue
Large city
Wife already offered a job there
NIH nearby
18mth preclinical (idk if Dartmouth has this in their new stuff)
20K grant, 7.5K institutional loan

Cons:
Hella expensive COL, especially for our 3 small dogs and 2 birds
Will likely have very small living space
Service requirement
Large class (around 200)

Dartmouth

Pros:
Smaller class (90ish)
Layman prestige/residency options?
Small college town
Location (I have outdoorsy hobbies)
Clerkship options all over country
Research options
Only major medical center in area

Cons:
Rural (limited patient exposure?)
Likely more expensive COA (200+)
5K "earning exception" when entering M1
Weather, a little isolated.

Unfortunately I missed half of my interview day because of travel craziness, so I might fly up to NH to check out the campus and tour it.

Thanks for the help!

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[Gurby]

It was travel "agent" craziness right? Glad to see it worked out for you, good luck with your decision!

 

[libertyyne]

Dartmouth. Hands down.
Reasons: jalby.

 

[libertyyne]

It was travel "agent" craziness right? Glad to see it worked out for you, good luck with your decision!

Also, must be nice to be rich enough to hire a travel agent. Us plebians have to book through Expedia.

 

[wanderingorion]

Also, must be nice to be rich enough to hire a travel agent. Us plebians have to book through Expedia.

Oh it wasn't wealth that caused that. It was desperation. My interview day was on a Tuesday, and I didn't have enough time off to swing it. So we had to leave Monday after work, call in sick on Tuesday, and fly back Tuesday night. She had to arrange the flights, the rental car, and the hotel (albeit poorly).

 

[wanderingorion]

It was travel "agent" craziness right? Glad to see it worked out for you, good luck with your decision!

Thanks a lot man!

 

[Mad Jack]

Dartmouth.

 

[wanderingorion]

Dartmouth.

What's your rationale?

 

[libertyyne]

Georgetown and George Washington only get the amount of love they do due to the location. Dartmouth is awesome, cheaper living. The parking and the commuting can become a nightmare at gtown. Another thing to think of is away rotations at Dartmouth and the impact it may have on your home life. That being said , Dartmouth is a higher ranked school. There are lots of amazing academic physicans practicing at Dartmouth. The COA is probably more of a wash considering how expensive living is in DC. Also NH has no state income tax vs DC which has something like 8% city income tax, you and your wife may appreciate that.

Another thing which is either a strength or a weakness is that there is literally nothing to do at Dartmouth so you will probably be studying and doing outdoorsy stuff most of the time vs DC which has lots of cultural activities. There is a reason their motto is "voice crying out in the wilderness".

 

[wanderingorion]

Georgetown and George Washington only get the amount of love they do due to the location. Dartmouth is awesome, cheaper living. The parking and the commuting can become a nightmare at gtown. Another thing to think of is away rotations at Dartmouth and the impact it may have on your home life. That being said , Dartmouth is a higher ranked school. There are lots of amazing academic physicans practicing at Dartmouth. The COA is probably more of a wash considering how expensive living is in DC. Also NH has no state income tax vs DC which has something like 8% city income tax, you and your wife may appreciate that.

Another thing which is either a strength or a weakness is that there is literally nothing to do at Dartmouth so you will probably be studying and doing outdoorsy stuff most of the time vs DC which has lots of cultural activities. There is a reason their motto is "voice crying out in the wilderness".

You are just a fountain of knowledge. Thanks.
What do you mean about away rotations? I know they have affiliates across the country, but does that mean I have to live in Cali for the rotation if I want to do a specific clerkship?

Yeah, the COL in D.C. is wild.

 

[libertyyne]

You are just a fountain of knowledge. Thanks.
What do you mean about away rotations? I know they have affiliates across the country, but does that mean I have to live in Cali for the rotation if I want to do a specific clerkship?

Yeah, the COL in D.C. is wild.

Hitchcock has almost every single specialty you can imagine. I am hazy on the rotations , but I do think a large portion of their students rotate through a California hospital. Yes, you would have to live in California during that rotation. Your wife also has the option to work at the VA and a number of Outpatient clinics/ practices at Dartmouth. I would say the nursing culture at Georgetown George Washington is fairly poor, which may make for a bad experience for your wife. One last thing to consider is the population you want to serve, DC has a lot of diversity in their patient population vs Hitchcock and if you want to serve patient populations that encounter disparity DC might be the way to go, but honestly you wont be doing much service as a medical student.

 

[Mad Jack]

What's your rationale?

Georgetown sucks, this isn't even a question.

 

[wanderingorion]

Hitchcock has almost every single specialty you can imagine. I am hazy on the rotations , but I do think a large portion of their students rotate through a California hospital. Yes, you would have to live in California during that rotation. Your wife also has the option to work at the VA and a number of Outpatient clinics/ practices at Dartmouth. I would say the nursing culture at Georgetown George Washington is fairly poor, which may make for a bad experience for your wife. One last thing to consider is the population you want to serve, DC has a lot of diversity in their patient population vs Hitchcock and if you want to serve patient populations that encounter disparity DC might be the way to go, but honestly you wont be doing much service as a medical student.

What do you mean regarding the nursing culture?

 

[libertyyne]

What do you mean regarding the nursing culture?

Ask your wife, if she has worked at a couple of places she will know. It is Just a culture of clocking in and clocking out, doing the least amount of work, and passing the buck to the next shift. Dhmc on the other hand had an excellent culture as well, VA was a mixed bag.

 

[wanderingorion]

Ask your wife, if she has worked at a couple of places she will know. It is Just a culture of clocking in and clocking out, doing the least amount of work, and passing the buck to the next shift. Dhmc on the other hand had an excellent culture as well, VA was a mixed bag.

Hopefully she can find a peds job at DHMC. That's the goal anyways

 

[DrBallerBro]

Take the IVY and run.

 

[sunset57]

Congrats on having two excellent options.

If you're able, talk to 3rd year students at each school.

It will be much more difficult, especially for Dartmouth, but try also to talk with local docs for an "outsider's" view of each school.

I think you'll find the following.

Students at Dartmouth are more satisfied with the quality of their pre-clinical training.

Students at Dartmouth have a closer relationship with faculty members.

Part of this is due to the much smaller class size.

Part of this is due to very different academic and social cultures at the medical schools and their associated hospitals (again, talk to students, maybe interns and/or residents if you can).

COL will be much less in Hanover.

You can find 3-4 BR homes, in decent condition, within 10 minutes of campus, that rent for <$2000 per month.

Good luck finding a small condo in DC for the same price.

Local perceptions of the schools, for what it's worth, are also very different.

DHMC is held in high regard throughout northern New England.

It is the major referral center for NH, as well as much of Vermont and some parts of MA.

Georgetown competes with GW in the district, and the INOVA system in VA.

INOVA has been, consistently, the superior hospital system.

http://www.bizjournals.com/washingt...fairfax-tops-medstar-washington-hospital.html.

The only downsides to Dartmouth in my opinion are the isolation, and the lack of diversity.

DC is an international city.

Hanover is a small New England town, 3 hours from Boston and Burlington.

Nonetheless, Hanover's isolation means no traffic jams, as well as great fishing and kayaking within 15 minutes.

There is amazing hiking, and good skiing, within 30-60 minutes.

Re diversity, that's tougher.

Hopefully, you can address that with away rotations in CA, CT and AZ....all of which are available to 3rd and 4th year students.

You'll do fine at either school.

But if given the choice, I'd select Dartmouth, no question.

 

[wanderingorion]

Congrats on having two excellent options.

If you're able, talk to 3rd year students at each school.

It will be much more difficult, especially for Dartmouth, but try also to talk with local docs for an "outsider's" view of each school.

I think you'll find the following.

Students at Dartmouth are more satisfied with the quality of their pre-clinical training.

Students at Dartmouth have a closer relationship with faculty members.

Part of this is due to the much smaller class size.

Part of this is due to very different academic and social cultures at the medical schools and their associated hospitals (again, talk to students, maybe interns and/or residents if you can).

COL will be much less in Hanover.

You can find 3-4 BR homes, in decent condition, within 10 minutes of campus, that rent for <$2000 per month.

Good luck finding a small condo in DC for the same price.

Local perceptions of the schools, for what it's worth, are also very different.

DHMC is held in high regard throughout northern New England.

It is the major referral center for NH, as well as much of Vermont and some parts of MA.

Georgetown competes with GW in the district, and the INOVA system in VA.

INOVA has been, consistently, the superior hospital system.

http://www.bizjournals.com/washingt...fairfax-tops-medstar-washington-hospital.html.

The only downsides to Dartmouth in my opinion are the isolation, and the lack of diversity.

DC is an international city.

Hanover is a small New England town, 3 hours from Boston and Burlington.

Nonetheless, Hanover's isolation means no traffic jams, as well as great fishing and kayaking within 15 minutes.

There is amazing hiking, and good skiing, within 30-60 minutes.

Re diversity, that's tougher.

Hopefully, you can address that with away rotations in CA, CT and AZ....all of which are available to 3rd and 4th year students.

You'll do fine at either school.

But if given the choice, I'd select Dartmouth, no question.

Thanks a lot for your input. I decided on Dartmouth last week, and for some of the reasons you mentioned


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[Sharknad0]

Thanks a lot for your input. I decided on Dartmouth last week, and for some of the reasons you mentioned


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Congrats!