Case Western Reserve vs. University of Rochester vs. UIUC

<p>Okay after everything these are my top choices of the schools I got into. I know for a fact that I want to go to medical school (so I'm premed), but I really don't know what I want to major in... will decide when I'm in college. The prices after financial aid all come down to almost the same, so cost is not really a factor.</p>

<p>Okay when I say that I want to go to medical school, I mean that I want to get accepted to a medical school that people may have actually heard, not just any, so basically a prestigious medical. (please don't judge me because of this, this is just how I feel).</p>

<p>I am willing to devote hard work into reaching my goal. So between these three please give me your thoughts and feelings</p>

<p>I have visited Case and UIUC and I loved both of them and I have noticed from all the colleges that I visit that I always like them so I'm sure I'm going to like Rochester when I visit two weeks from now.</p>

<p>Other schools I got into are, UPitts, St. Olaf, Knox, UIC, Marquette and I got waitlisted at Carleton, RPI, and Lafayette. comment on these too, assuming that I do get in evenctually.</p>

<p>And another thing, I received a grant of $3000 from Rochester for research if I do enroll.</p>

<p>Well, UIUC has the mildest climate of those three, which is not a claim it can make very often in head-to-head competition. As you saw, its campus is also considerably different from Case’s, if that matters to you.</p>

<p>I can’t speak much for the other schools - perhaps someone on their forums can post similar things for you. </p>

<p>For UR, here are two links that show which medschools undergrads from UR got in and went to in 2007 and 2008. The people without MCAT scores are REMS students (Rochester Early Medical Scholars - people who get admitted to a 4+4 undergrad and medschool program). </p>

<p><a href=“Applying to Health Professions Programs : University of Rochester”>www.rochester.edu/College/CCAS/health/MedSchoolTracking08.pdf</a>
<a href=“Applying to Health Professions Programs : University of Rochester”>www.rochester.edu/College/CCAS/health/MedSchoolTracking2007.pdf</a></p>

<p>With that said, your undergraduate institution - unless it’s a “run-down” CC - has very little bearing on what kind of medical school you get into. What counts is: 1) consistent performance in undergrad with a fairly rigorous course load; 2) doing well in all of these courses; 3) having good MCAT scores; 4) having an “intervieweble” personality, i.e., coming across as a great applicant in interview and; 5) doing a few, but time- and cause-worthy extra curricular activities. That’s it :wink: </p>

<p>Next, take a look at the people who are attending UR Medical school and where they are from:</p>

<p>Class of 2009: “Students in the class attended 62 different colleges and universities as undergraduates. 12% attended the University of Rochester, 5% each attended BYU or Cornell, 4% attended Williams, and 3% each Columbia and Dartmouth. 2% each attended Berkeley, Boston University, Carnegie Mellon, Emory, Harvard, Hopkins, NYU, Pomona, Princeton, Rice, SUNY-Geneseo and Wellesley. Other schools represented in the class include Amherst, Boston College, Bowdoin, Brown, Cal State-Fresno, Carleton, Case Western, Claremont-McKenna, College of the Atlantic, Holy Cross, Davidson, Drew University, George Washington, Haverford, Lehigh, Loyola, MIT, Norfolk State, North Carolina State, Northeastern, Northwestern, Reed, Rochester Institute of Technology, Southern Utah University, Stanford, Stony Brook, Swarthmore, Syracuse, US Military Academy, the Universities of Alaska, Arizona, UCLA, UC-Riverside and Santa Barbara, Connecticut, Georgia, Michigan, Penn, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Vassar, Wesleyan and Yale. Whew!”</p>

<p>Class of 2010: “There are 55 different colleges and universities represented in the class: 16% attended the University of Rochester as undergraduates, 5% attended Cornell, 4% each attended Brigham Young University, Columbia, and Dartmouth, and 3% Barnard.”</p>

<p>Class of 2011: “As undergraduates, members of the Class of 2011 attended 56 different colleges and universities: among these, 9% attended the University of Rochester, 7% Cornell, 6% Brown, 5% Brigham Young University, and 3% each Bowdoin, Case Western Reserve, Dartmouth, Princeton, Williams, and Yale.”</p>

<p>Class of 2012: “Members of the Class of 2012 attended 57 different colleges and universities as undergraduates: 11 attended the University of Rochester, 6 Cornell, 5 Brigham Young University, and 4 each attended Colgate, Oberlin and SUNY-Geneseo. Three students each attended Duke, NYU, Northwestern, Notre Dame, and Xavier University of Louisiana. Two each attended Amherst, Carleton, Harvard, UCLA, Penn, University of Southern California, Washington University, Wesleyan and Vassar?”</p>

<p>[Medical</a> School Class of 2009: Part 1—Class Profile - November 11, 2005 Dean’s Newsletter - University of Rochester Medical Center](<a href=“http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/SMD/newsletter/article.cfm?id=104]Medical”>http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/SMD/newsletter/article.cfm?id=104)
[Profile</a> of the Class of 2010 - September 22, 2006 Dean’s Newsletter - University of Rochester Medical Center](<a href=“http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/SMD/newsletter/article.cfm?id=38]Profile”>http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/SMD/newsletter/article.cfm?id=38)
[Welcome</a> the Class of 2011: Class Profile - September 20, 2007 Dean’s Newsletter - University of Rochester Medical Center](<a href=“http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/SMD/newsletter/article.cfm?id=22]Welcome”>http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/SMD/newsletter/article.cfm?id=22)
[Profile</a> of the Class of 2012 - September 04, 2008 Dean’s Newsletter - University of Rochester Medical Center](<a href=“http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/SMD/newsletter/article.cfm?id=132]Profile”>http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/SMD/newsletter/article.cfm?id=132)</p>

<p>Hope this helps.</p>

<p>Like jersh said, getting into a prestige med school depends entirely on <em>you</em>…you’ll have the opportunities to get the courses, MCAT prep, shadowing & clinic experience, research/publication at any of the three schools.</p>

<p>You big choice here seems to be big school (UIUC) vs. small school (Case and UR).</p>

<p>Big schools offer more research opportunities and a greater variety of majors and classes; smaller schools are more nurturing.</p>

<p>You can be successful med school candidate at both–but at a big school you’ll have to be more proactive to make it happen. </p>

<p>(BTW, the weather at all three locales bite…my first week living at UIUC the high temperature for the week was 5 below zero…)</p>