Loyola- Stritch VS UICOM

[la vida loca]

Hello everyone! I am fortunate enough to get into both Loyola Stritch School of Medicine and University of Illinois at the Chicago campus. I am really torn about which school to attend so any advice would be greatly appreciated!

As a reference, I am an IS student to both schools so tuition would be cheaper for me at UIC, but I don’t want to base my decision solely on finances. I come from LUC undergrad so I’m very familiar with Loyola’s Jesuit program and really love it. UIC is a bit foreign to me since interviews were virtual this year so I have never got a chance to see the school. If any current Loyola or UIC students would like to chime in on their experience that would be wonderful as well!

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[kirbydoughball]

Hello everyone! I am fortunate enough to get into both Loyola Stritch School of Medicine and University of Illinois at the Chicago campus. I am really torn about which school to attend so any advice would be greatly appreciated!

As a reference, I am an IS student to both schools so tuition would be cheaper for me at UIC, but I don’t want to base my decision solely on finances. I come from LUC undergrad so I’m very familiar with Loyola’s Jesuit program and really love it. UIC is a bit foreign to me since interviews were virtual this year so I have never got a chance to see the school. If any current Loyola or UIC students would like to chime in on their experience that would be wonderful as well!

whats the curriculum and grading like at UIC?

 

[la vida loca]

whats the curriculum and grading like at UIC?

Curriculum is essentially in three phases: phase 1 is M1 and M2 where they have 9 blocks and 2 additional courses called Medical Colloquia and Doctoring skills course. They have a final exam after each block, where blocks range from 4-10 weeks in length. Then phase 3/4 is M3/M4 year which is standard clinical years.

Grading is P/F without internal ranking.

 

[drthedude]

Hi! UIC undergrad graduate here, first of all congrats! I personally LOVE the area around UIC. I'm a big city person so being right there in west loop was fantastic. Close proximity to everything and can walk/use CTA if needed. UIC doesn't look the prettiest at all but for the price you really do get all you need. West campus is also really close to East campus if you ever need to go there! Again this is from the undergrad perspective!

 

[la vida loca]

Hi! UIC undergrad graduate here, first of all congrats! I personally LOVE the area around UIC. I'm a big city person so being right there in west loop was fantastic. Close proximity to everything and can walk/use CTA if needed. UIC doesn't look the prettiest at all but for the price you really do get all you need. West campus is also really close to East campus if you ever need to go there! Again this is from the undergrad perspective!

That’s a great perspective thank you so much!

 

[drthedude]

That’s a great perspective thank you so much!

ofc! feel free to reach out if needed!

 

[m1redsox]

I’d choose UIC since it’s cheaper and more prestigious (including better home residency programs), but I’m not really sure what you’re looking for in a school.

 

[kirbydoughball]

Curriculum is essentially in three phases: phase 1 is M1 and M2 where they have 9 blocks and 2 additional courses called Medical Colloquia and Doctoring skills course. They have a final exam after each block, where blocks range from 4-10 weeks in length. Then phase 3/4 is M3/M4 year which is standard clinical years.

Grading is P/F without internal ranking.

whats clinical grading like at UIC?

 

[la vida loca]

I’d choose UIC since it’s cheaper and more prestigious (including better home residency programs), but I’m not really sure what you’re looking for in a school.

I’m looking for a good community of students and admins that care for its students. I saw that with Loyola and really loved it. I have yet to see the UIC Chicago campus so I cannot really say how the community environment is there.

 

[la vida loca]

whats clinical grading like at UIC?

It’s “graded on a tiered scale” based on MSAR.

 

[kirbydoughball]

loyolas internal rankings include partially some of your preclinical (30% i think), so less stress at UIC with PF and thus more time for research or other CV boosting activities. price is a great deal. if you can do an in person tour at UIC to get a vibe check i would do that as well before making this decision. nonetheless i would probably go to UIC. a more detailed pros and cons list would help us here.