Hard Choice

[MysteryF]

Hey yall, so I have been lucky enough to be accepted to two great schools: UVA and UMD (my state school). I am definitely going to one of those two schools but I cannot seem to decide. As of right now, my goals are to go for a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship but I understands that I know nothing about medicine and things can change.

UMD (as my state school) would be cheaper and is like half an hour away from home. I wouldn't be living home but it seems nice to have the option of going home and getting away from med school for even a day. However, I am not a big fan of cities and during my interview day, our tour guide mentioned that the area near the med school in Baltimore city is not very safe at night. I am worried about what happens when I have to stay at the library until 3-4 am and then walk home. Also, UMD has the ABCD grading system and attending lectures is required.

I loved UVA on interview day. It has the small town aspect, which I really like. It is also on a college campus, which I think provides more opportunities for fun things to do if I wanna take a break. It has a strict pass/fail system, no required lecture attendance, 18 months preclinical (as opposed to 24 for UMD) which gives you more time at the hospital for clerkship. However, it will obviously be much more expensive than my state school.

Any tips or info on either school would be greatly appreciated.

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[Holmwood]

Hey yall, so I have been lucky enough to be accepted to two great schools: UVA and UMD (my state school). I am definitely going to one of those two schools but I cannot seem to decide. As of right now, my goals are to go for a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship but I understands that I know nothing about medicine and things can change.

UMD (as my state school) would be cheaper and is like half an hour away from home. I wouldn't be living home but it seems nice to have the option of going home and getting away from med school for even a day. However, I am not a big fan of cities and during my interview day, our tour guide mentioned that the area near the med school in Baltimore city is not very safe at night. I am worried about what happens when I have to stay at the library until 3-4 am and then walk home. Also, UMD has the ABCD grading system and attending lectures is required.

I loved UVA on interview day. It has the small town aspect, which I really like. It is also on a college campus, which I think provides more opportunities for fun things to do if I wanna take a break. It has a strict pass/fail system, no required lecture attendance, 18 months preclinical (as opposed to 24 for UMD) which gives you more time at the hospital for clerkship. However, it will obviously be much more expensive than my state school.

Any tips or info on either school would be greatly appreciated.

Where do you eventually want to practice?

 

[theknappkin]

As an undergrad at UVA I can attest to the awesomeness of Charlottesville. There's a reason it's rated the happiest college town in America!

 

[claduva94]

As an undergrad at UVA I can attest to the awesomeness of Charlottesville. There's a reason it's rated the happiest college town in America!

+1. As an OOS undergrad, I am absolutely in love with Charlottesville and wish they would give me an opportunity to interview. It is one of the few places I would consider attending over my state school. That said I definitely get the whole money issue.

 

[MysteryF]

Where do you eventually want to practice?

Hey, as of right now, I would prefer to practice in a rural area but my preferences could change. I don't really know what it's like to practice in either setting, so I can't say for sure.

 

[Holmwood]

Hey, as of right now, I would prefer to practice in a rural area but my preferences could change. I don't really know what it's like to practice in either setting, so I can't say for sure.

One's convenient, the other seems to be just an all around awesome place to be at. You'll find rural areas in both places.

When you calculate the cost of attendance for either institutions but still see UVA as a financially viable option, then I would definitely go there based on the comments here as well as other threads/testimonies. If financial considerations are absolutely important for you (perhaps you have to provide for a family?) then go for the cheapest.