UVM vs Penn State vs Drexel vs CMS/RFU

[blankmoniker]

I'm from California and I have no current ties with any of the schools/states above. I'm leaning towards Peds or REI and coming back to California for residency is very important for me.

Thoughts?

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[RedSox10]

Probably not RFU or Drexel. I've been accepted to Penn State and interviewed at UVM and shortly after my acceptances I withdrew from both Drexel and RFU so obviously I wasn't that interested in either of the two.

 

[Slack3r]

Drexel is ranked #91
RFU is "Rank not published"
Penn State is unranked

Any of these would likely have similar chances for returning to CA. None of these are any better than the other really, and they're all expensive, so it basically comes down to location.

Personally? I'd probably pick Drexel over the other two.

 

[RedSox10]

Penn State is unranked because it doesn't disclose its information to US News. I've been told by doctors that its on par with Jeff or Temple. I'd take a look at the match lists at the various schools if I were you. I know only two people from Penn State--one who went into Ortho at Columbia and another who went into ENT at another top 10 program. Then again you can see this at any school but this is my personal experience. But if you're looking for Peds you can probably go anywhere and still get a great residency (in CA). UVM is very much so into primary care so that would be a consideration as well. I'd choose whichever school you felt most comfortable at since all are comparable prices. With Regards to RFU, I wouldn't choose that because they don't have their own hospital. You wont have a "home base" and from what I hear you'll often feel like an outsider. Again, take that with a grain of salt.

 

[PMA]

Redsox is correct about PSU, they don't participate in the US News rankings, earning them the "unranked" designation. Rank not published I believe means that it is super low...not sure though.

PSU is a solid school, and would be my pick out of the schools mentioned. They have a consistently strong match list, and for your interest in peds, they just opened an outstanding new children's wing of the medical center. It is pretty awesome. I live in PA and toured the medical center. It is really top notch.

My pick would be PSU, but you have to go where you felt the most at home I think.

 

[kautionwirez]

PSU or RFU. Both have great hospitals to rotate in and good exposure to different types of cases. Plus the match lists are pretty nice.

 

[justoneplease]

Not too sure with UVM so I can't really comment on them but I would say Penn State > CMS/RFU > Drexel. Penn State has a great reputation and a great match list but the location would be the only downside (if you're a city person). I would avoid Drexel if possible but then again, it all depends on how you felt when you visited and how much you like the school. Just my thoughts.

 

[QuizzicalApe]

If your goal is to pick a school based on returning to California, ask yourself how you want to go about that. If you're a researcher by nature and intend to pump up your CV along those lines, lean toward a more academic institution. If you're really scientific and not just doing research to pump up your CV, you may want to think about whether or not there are specific labs at one school vs another you want to work with. In terms of doing research, a convergence of interests of that sort might trump overall academic ranking.

Barring research, it basically comes down to just being a superstar. Whatever school you go to, soak up everything the first two years, rock Step 1, rack up awesome grades in clinical rotations, and get awesome LOR's for your specialty of choice.

 

[AJgem]

I'm from California and I have no current ties with any of the schools/states above. I'm leaning towards Peds or REI and coming back to California for residency is very important for me.

Thoughts?

The match list at cms is pretty amazing! A lot of people match in California programs. Also you get to rotate through cook county and live in Chicago your last two years!

 

[xanthomondo]

Drexel is ranked #91
RFU is "Rank not published"
Penn State is unranked

Any of these would likely have similar chances for returning to CA. None of these are any better than the other really, and they're all expensive, so it basically comes down to location.

Personally? I'd probably pick Drexel over the other two.

You'd pick Philly over Chicago? (you said it came down to just location!)

Not too sure with UVM so I can't really comment on them but I would say Penn State > CMS/RFU > Drexel. Penn State has a great reputation and a great match list but the location would be the only downside (if you're a city person). I would avoid Drexel if possible but then again, it all depends on how you felt when you visited and how much you like the school. Just my thoughts.

Avoid Drexel like the plagueee!!!!

 

[kautionwirez]

You'd pick Philly over Chicago? (you said it came down to just location!)




Avoid Drexel like the plagueee!!!!

 

[Slack3r]

You'd pick Philly over Chicago? (you said it came down to just location!)




Avoid Drexel like the plagueee!!!!

I have zero desire to ever live in the Midwest, Chi-town included. Philly is pretty low on my list of cities, but it's definitely above bumble**** Hershey and Chicago as well.

Just for clarification, there are MANY schools I'd choose over Drexel, RFU is definitely not one of them. Between Drexel and Penn State, meh, I'd rather do Philly than Hershey.

 

[RedSox10]

I have zero desire to ever live in the Midwest, Chi-town included. Philly is pretty low on my list of cities, but it's definitely above bumble**** Hershey and Chicago as well.

Just for clarification, there are MANY schools I'd choose over Drexel, RFU is definitely not one of them. Between Drexel and Penn State, meh, I'd rather do Philly than Hershey.

Sounds to me like this discussion has shied away from which school is the best, and moved over to which location is the best. This relies on personal preference. To determine location, only you will know. As far as schools go, look at the match lists, look at the hospital resources, look at the NIH funding, talk to some current students....

 

[xanthomondo]

I have zero desire to ever live in the Midwest, Chi-town included. Philly is pretty low on my list of cities, but it's definitely above bumble**** Hershey and Chicago as well.

Just for clarification, there are MANY schools I'd choose over Drexel, RFU is definitely not one of them. Between Drexel and Penn State, meh, I'd rather do Philly than Hershey.

You're nuts for the midwest/chi-town hatred

and thanks for the clarification there

 

[src922]

PSU had a dynamite match this year. I'd go with PSU. It is unranked only because it didn't participate in the survey.

 

[Porfirio]

UVM:

http://www.uvm.edu/medicine/mededucation/documents/MatchList2012PUBLIC.pdf

PennState

http://www.pennstatehershey.org/c/d...1d-f129-40ae-91f4-298437c7bd0b&groupId=103698


I am bias towards UVM (state school for me). For you (OOS), I would base my decision on cost then lifestyle. UVM or PennState would get you back to CA.

 

[AJgem]

Cms has a killer match list and most match in Cali! Hands down cms over the others!

 

[spezimdoc]

Biased MS4 opinion here. When I was applying to medical school, I was also deciding between Drexel, PSU, and RFU among a couple others. In the end, I decided to go with Drexel mainly because of location (definitely wanted a big city on the East Coast) and the students. I'm completely 110% happy with my decision. Our 2012 match list hasn't been posted online yet, but comparing our match list for the past couple years to PSU's and RFU's I'd say they're comparable. Go with where you'd be happiest!

 

[blankmoniker]

(I didn't realize anyone responded till now! Sorry for the delayed response!! )

Thanks for all your insights!

I think I'm moving more towards UVM..
Pros: great curriculum, great sense of community within the school and the locals; overall, they seem to have their stuff together.
Cons: lack of patient diversity, cold!

On the other hand, Drexel and CMS is appealing because of their diverse patient population. Also... I LOVE Chicago and the prospect of doing rotations in the city is great.
As for Philly.. I only visited it during my interview and while it's a big city, it wasn't too impressive.

With that said.... how important is patient diversity to one's education and getting residency? Are the first two years more important than the last two? Any thoughts?

On an ancillary note.. does anyone know the general day-to-day schedule and exam schedule for these schools?

 

[kautionwirez]

(I didn't realize anyone responded till now! Sorry for the delayed response!! )

Thanks for all your insights!

I think I'm moving more towards UVM..
Pros: great curriculum, great sense of community within the school and the locals; overall, they seem to have their stuff together.
Cons: lack of patient diversity, cold!

On the other hand, Drexel and CMS is appealing because of their diverse patient population. Also... I LOVE Chicago and the prospect of doing rotations in the city is great.
As for Philly.. I only visited it during my interview and while it's a big city, it wasn't too impressive.

Only thing about CMS is that you're gonna stressed out your mind because of the ABCDF and it's hours away from the city for the first two years

With that said.... how important is patient diversity to one's education and getting residency? Are the first two years more important than the last two? Any thoughts?

Last two years are way more important. Patient population may be a +/- depending on where you want to practice in the future, which population you want to serve, what type of specialty but all schools will have their own unique experience. I wouldn't try to factor it in your decision making because it's complicated and I doubt you will miss anything major. A buddy of mine had great experience at CMS (going into gsurg residency in CA next year). But I think UVM is a better school and it would benefit you more.

On an ancillary note.. does anyone know the general day-to-day schedule and exam schedule for these schools?

Answers in bold. Keep up updated! I really love these vs. threads.

 

[ruiner]

UVM would probably be my choice

 

[AJgem]

Cms is not hours away from the city lol! It's 30 miles from downtown... On a Sunday it took me 40 minutes to get from downtown to cms.