Im a student at Toledo, and I dont really know anything about EVMS, so I wont vote in the poll. I wanted to give my opinion on some of the points mentioned above, though.
First, I just want to say that I think any US allopathic school will give you a good education, and more important for your success than the school is the amount of work you are willing to put in as an individual. Toledo is not a competitive school. One of the less competitive ones for admission, a backup for some people, but the end result is a group of smart students with a supportive atmosphere. The student body is not cut-throat, we help each other
the faculty have an open-door policy and they try to create the most encouraging educational environment possible. Our dean is very supportive of the students and is always trying to find more money to put toward new scholarships. I believe our class sizes have peaked at about 175 students. We have large lecture, but also small group sessions (usually about 10-15 students per group) and only 4 students per cadaver, so it really doesnt feel that large. Our performance on Step 1 is respectable despite some failures, we also have quite a few students scoring above 240/250 with some 260+ sprinkled in (and I believe twice in the past 4 years the highest score in the nation came from our school). This goes back to your success depending very much on personal effort. A school with a high average doesnt guarantee you a high score, just as a school with average performance doesnt condemn you to a mid-range score.
Well-known by the general population and well-known by residency directors are two different things. The reason that we are one of the lesser known schools in Ohio is that were not a big research institution. This just isnt the focus of our school, and it doesnt really say anything about the clinical medicine training program. Were not home to many top residency programs, but I think this works out well for medical students, as we dont have to compete with tons of interns, residents, and fellows to get experience with the patients. We train at the hospitals and private practices in town, in the surrounding rural area (lots of hands-on experience in these locations), at Riverside in Columbus, St. Joes in Ann Arbor, and Henry Ford in Detroit. I have been told by physicians at my school and from other cities that we produce good clinicians that are happily welcomed into most all residency programs. So while I wont say the Toledo name will be a +1 on your residency application, from what I understand, the end-result of our curriculum is well-respected within the academic medical community. It is true that most of us remain in the Midwest for a variety of reasons, but I know we have sent students to programs at Mayo and MD Anderson
and many who stay in the area end up at the Cleveland Clinic and University of Michigan. We have a lot of students from California, and quite a few move back there after graduating. We do have a primary care focus, but we also match into competitive specialties. Again, it comes back to my point about working hard. A good Toledo student will be preferred to a bad ivy league student. Just learn to play the game. If you want a competitive spot, study your butt off for a great board score, shine in clerkships, and do away-rotations/acting internships at your programs of interest to get the best letters of recommendation possible.
I will admit that the Toledo area is not the most stimulating, and has been hit pretty hard by the economy, but there is plenty to do for the amount of free time you will have as a student. In all honesty, most people just want to relax with friends and go for dinner and drinks, something that can be done anywhere. Some people do get tired of the town, though, and take weekend trips to Chicago (4 hours), spend Saturday in Ann Arbor (40 mins), or drive to OSU games in Columbus (2.5 hours)/Browns football in Cleveland (2 hours).
My advice to you is to pick the school where you felt most at home. If you want to become a good clinician and dont have your heart set on *the* top derm program in the country, Toledo will be a perfectly fine choice. If you honestly cant decide between the programs, look at the cost of tuition, cost of living, pick the area you like best now or the region youd most want to settle for practice, whether youd rather swim in the Ocean or the Great Lakes, etc. I turned down a top 15 school (ranked by research) for Toledo and havent regretted the decision.
