Georgetown vs Rush vs UCR

[majesty2]

Hello everyone, after sifting through countless forums I come to you with my own dilemma. I have been blessed to receive three acceptances so far, and ask for your hopefully unbiased opinions on choosing one of these schools. I am a CA resident and hope to match back into CA in either general surgery, orthopedic surgery, or EM. I will most likely be funding my tuition fully through federal loans. While UCR is close to family and in-state tuition, I have decided to look past these benefits and choose the more highly ranked/competitive schools, although I am willing to hear your thoughts on this matter.

Georgetown
Pros
- Name recognition (highest rank)
- Great match list (especially ortho)
- Washington DC (prefer urban setting)
- Resonate with Jesuit philosophy, emphasis on community service
- P/F preclinical

Cons
- Tuition ($69k)
- Far from home
- Cold winters
- Class size ~200

Rush
Pros
- Emphasis on community service
- Loved interview experience and the collaborative/fun energy of student body
- Cheaper than Georgetown ($57k)
- Chicago is super cool
- Decently strong match list
- Class size ~144
- P/F preclinical

Cons
- Rank/research/reputation slightly lower due to no undergrad
- Far from home
- Even colder winters than DC
- PBL (I hear mandatory attendance is a waste of time)

Both of these options have been my absolute dream schools so I feel that I will be happy wherever I go. Given that both schools are far from home, match strongly, and face harsh winters, I believe it comes down to reputation vs tuition, with maybe school/city culture as a secondary consideration. I would also love to know more about the differences in hospital affiliations and how this might affect the clinical years. Please let me know your thoughts!

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[theoceanman]

$48,000 in total in loan difference prior to interest is relatively negligible. Do you place community service and collaborative student body over Jesuit philosophy and the aspects it integrates into community service? Or vice versa?

Both options are great, but Georgetown of course carries the higher name value in medicine if that helps since you seem to want to match at a higher-tier program!

 

[majesty2]

$48,000 in total in loan difference prior to interest is relatively negligible. Do you place community service and collaborative student body over Jesuit philosophy and the aspects it integrates into community service? Or vice versa?

Both options are great, but Georgetown of course carries the higher name value in medicine if that helps since you seem to want to match at a higher-tier program!

I feel that it is hard to compare these non-tangibles given that I haven't been to either campuses. Rush has team-based learning curriculum while Georgetown has more traditional lectures, so this may contribute to the collaborative vs competitive conversation.

Is it true that Georgetown really has higher name value than Rush in medicine specifically? And does this reputation merit paying higher tuition?

 

[theoceanman]

I feel that it is hard to compare these non-tangibles given that I haven't been to either campuses. Rush has team-based learning curriculum while Georgetown has more traditional lectures, so this may contribute to the collaborative vs competitive conversation.

Is it true that Georgetown really has higher name value than Rush in medicine specifically? And does this reputation merit paying higher tuition?

If you take an average physician salary, including the lucrative finances involved with passive income sources, investments, savings, etc., the $48,000 extra in tuition over 4 years is very negligible unless you're planning to only work part-time, which I assume you are not. The $48,000 difference should not matter in choosing schools, regardless of which one is more expensive unless your highest priority is minimizing your debt as much as possible, potentially due to personal circumstances or financial endeavors.

Given the learning-based differences, choose the one that helps you learn better. I promise that's the key to choosing a good school as well because I go to a school with non-mandatory lectures which really helps me study at my own pace (basically watching things on 2x speed and re-reviewing with Anki afterwards). I would have disliked mandatory lectures or required attendance learning through PBL.

If you learn better through team-based activities or group studying through PBL, Rush may be the better option. If you learn best in the orthodox classroom setting, then Georgetown will be better (if they have non-mandatory lectures, that's even better by a FAR margin than required attendance).

 

[majesty2]

If you take an average physician salary, including the lucrative finances involved with passive income sources, investments, savings, etc., the $48,000 extra in tuition over 4 years is very negligible unless you're planning to only work part-time, which I assume you are not. The $48,000 difference should not matter in choosing schools, regardless of which one is more expensive unless your highest priority is minimizing your debt as much as possible, potentially due to personal circumstances or financial endeavors.

Given the learning-based differences, choose the one that helps you learn better. I promise that's the key to choosing a good school as well because I go to a school with non-mandatory lectures which really helps me study at my own pace (basically watching things on 2x speed and re-reviewing with Anki afterwards). I would have disliked mandatory lectures or required attendance learning through PBL.

If you learn better through team-based activities or group studying through PBL, Rush may be the better option. If you learn best in the orthodox classroom setting, then Georgetown will be better (if they have non-mandatory lectures, that's even better by a FAR margin than required attendance).

Thank you so much you have been very helpful! It seems based on your thoughts, since tuition is negligible, it would be better to go with the school that has a favorable curriculum and higher rank/research, which leans towards Georgetown on both fronts.

Do you know anything about the hospital affiliations (i.e. Cook County / RUMC vs MedStar Georgetown)? Am I missing any other considerations, possibly in the realms of matching into competitive specialities (like ortho/gen surg) or matching back into CA?

 

[theoceanman]

Unfortunately I do not know of specific hospital affiliations with Rush or Georgetown but if you ask any M2's/M3's/M4's from those schools, I guarantee they can answer that question more in detail than most people!

If you are a CA resident and especially if you have worked previously in a certain area, such as the Bay Area or an underserved community population, you will most likely be able to match back there, perhaps given you do a few aways as well. Matching into competitive specialties back in CA is completely feasible, albeit the match list at Georgetown probably does not show many CA matches because many people choose to stay in that region or stay alongside the east coast.

For a general sense, general surgery will be MUCH easier to match into than orthopedic surgery, as orthopedic surgery has become extremely competitive with board scores, relevant research publications, etc. You will need to do well on clinical rotations as well and have very strong recommendation letters on top of everything else (no failures, etc.) to match into orthopedic surgery with a relatively good sense of security. Regardless, I'm sure if you have a set plan towards surgery, you will accomplish it and I'm sure Georgetown will definitely provide plenty of resources for that!

 

[eyeeye_captain]

- Both schools are essentially on the same level in prestige. Each gets a boost for residencies in their region, but are not national brands (caveat below).
- I agree with above that finding the right curriculum for you to succeed is very helpful, as passing and doing well on Step 2 is a massive deal.
- Weather is weather. Cold weather people don't like the South, warm weather people don't like the North, you'll adapt.
- In terms of clinical rotations, the folks I know who have been at each program (granted I'm a ways out) felt that Cook County was superior to MedStar. That's even outside my specialty.
- I agree with general surgery being easier to match than ortho. Both general surgery programs are on the same tier based on Doximity rankings. Here's the caveat: if you like ortho, Rush has a top 5 department in the nation, so research, connections, etc. would be potentially easier if that's the direction you go.