Tufts vs Wake

[noname8291]

Hi - I am very grateful to have options but stressed about this decision! I’ve talked to current students at both and both communities seem similar/good vibes. Please Help!

Tufts:

Pros

• Location - city and I have family close by (siblings in undergrad rn)
• Diverse patient population
• Large network - great for rotations and research
• More geographically varied match list (plus more on East Coast where I would want to end up)

Cons

• Cost of Living

Wake

Pros:

• Cheap living
• Higher ranked
• Good weather

Cons

• Don’t love location - (there is ability to go to Charlotte for 3rd/4th year tho)

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[chilly_md]

How much longer are your siblings going to be at Tufts? Is it possible to be roommates with them to lower rent and COL expenses?

Which school is cheaper and by how much? Grading system (whether P/F, how are clerkships graded vs preclinical)?

 

[m1redsox]

Current Wake M3/4, feel free to message me. I love it here. The weather is better than Boston, the COL is actually liveable compared to Boston, and I think Winston is actually a great place to be (I grew up in CA so I’m loving the lack of traffic). If you’re taking out 100% loans, maybe COL doesn’t matter as much to you, but I’m saving a bundle.

Ranking difference is a non-factor here, especially if you’re looking at USWNR or something. Tufts was ranked higher than Wake when I started, and I’m sure it’ll fluctuate a bunch more.

With all that said, if you want to end up in the Northeast, then Tufts is probably the way to go. Regional bias is definitely a factor in residency interviews, so Wake gets more interviews in NC, SC, VA, GA, AL, MS, and TN while I’m sure Tufts gets the MA, CT, RI, NY, VT, NH, NJ, PA programs

 

[noname8291]

How much longer are your siblings going to be at Tufts? Is it possible to be roommates with them to lower rent and COL expenses?

Which school is cheaper and by how much? Grading system (whether P/F, how are clerkships graded vs preclinical)?

All good questions, thanks for your reply! My younger sister would only be around for 2years Max. I'm planning on finding a roommate or multiple to lower COL expenses.

Both schools have 18month P/F preclinical and clerkships graded by Honors, High Pass, Pass, Low Pass, Fail. I talked to a student at Wake and although they do have in-house exams, they also have a requirement after each block with NBME style questions, which would be helpful prep for STEP while Tufts only has in-house exams which requires more outside resources/time spent while studying for STEP.

Tufts' tuition is actually slightly less expensive than Wake, but not by too much. Ultimately, I want to do residency/live in Northeast after med school (or CA) so seems like Tufts would make more sense?

 

[chilly_md]

Tufts' tuition is actually slightly less expensive than Wake, but not by too much. Ultimately, I want to do residency/live in Northeast after med school (or CA) so seems like Tufts would make more sense?

Yeah, Tufts would be best if you want to match in the Northeast like m1redsox said.

 

[theoceanman]

Tufts if you're wanting to do residency in the NE region.

If you want to do residency in CA, it legit does not matter where you go between these two options so choose the cheaper one, which is Wake.

 

[m1redsox]

All good questions, thanks for your reply! My younger sister would only be around for 2years Max. I'm planning on finding a roommate or multiple to lower COL expenses.

Both schools have 18month P/F preclinical and clerkships graded by Honors, High Pass, Pass, Low Pass, Fail. I talked to a student at Wake and although they do have in-house exams, they also have a requirement after each block with NBME style questions, which would be helpful prep for STEP while Tufts only has in-house exams which requires more outside resources/time spent while studying for STEP.

Tufts' tuition is actually slightly less expensive than Wake, but not by too much. Ultimately, I want to do residency/live in Northeast after med school (or CA) so seems like Tufts would make more sense?

Not sure if you are talking about preclinical exams alone or not, but yes, Wake has end-of-block NBME exams during preclinical (~5 total) on top of in-house exams which happen about every 3 weeks (~16 total). During clinical years (which matters more now that STEP 2 is the big test), Wake uses the NBME shelves alone without any in-house exams (most schools do this though).