Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine

Feinberg puts students in clinical settings from the first week. Regine Goh describes preceptorships and Education-Centered Medical Homes twice a month from the start: primary care clinics where students follow patients across all four years and learn alongside classmates from other years.

Classroom years mix large lectures with problem-based learning and standardized-patient sessions. Coming from a big public university, Regine found medical school "far more interactive and personal."

Students train across world-class and safety-net hospitals: Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Lurie Children's Hospital (where every third-year does inpatient pediatrics), the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (a required two-week fourth-year clerkship), Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, and Cook County's John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital.

Feinberg gives students the same role and responsibility in each discipline no matter which site they're assigned, and runs a free daily shuttle to the VA.

Regine spent the first two years volunteering at student-run free clinics across Chicago, a way to work with underserved communities in very different neighborhoods.

Regine's favorite tradition is In Vivo, the students' annual sketch comedy show, a showcase of how talented the class is.

Location drew Regine to Feinberg: big-city living in downtown Chicago without being prohibitively expensive. A Californian, Regine was warned about the winters but doesn't mind them.

Regine's one complaint is how urban it is, with few open landscapes or hiking trails.