Univ. of Wisconsin vs. Dartmouth

[Yosemite Sam]

Hello all!

I'm having a hard time deciding between these two schools and am hoping y'all could share some insight. Some background about me: older non-trad (30ish), single, female, love the outdoors, not sure about future specialty (likely primary care but keeping my options open for now). I'll be funding my education solely through financial aid from the schools.

University of Wisconsin:

Pros:
-Madison is a great city with lots to do beyond med school
-I have some non-med school friends here already so won't be relying just on the school for community
-Amazing facilities, both HSLC and hospitals
-Lower cost of living
-Better dating opportunities
-Option to get primary care loan with subsidized interest and low rate (5%) up to cost of attendance (if I commit to primary care, which I'm not 100% sure about. Could be a good option for years 2-4, though)

Cons:
-Graded 2nd year
-Far from family
-Large class size (175)
-Not a huge number of OOS students
-Likely a bit more expensive (~$5000/yr), especially if travel costs are considered. I was not awarded a scholarship so it will be all loans.

Dartmouth:

Pros:
-Small intimate class size (~87)
-Lots of outdoors activities nearby
-Relatively close to family
-Amazing hospital
-Beautiful campus
-P/F first 2 years
-Perhaps a bit more prestige to the lay public (such as my family) since it's an ivy
-A bit cheaper given need-based grant aid, but only by about $5000/yr, maybe more if I can get them to increase my package
-Peers from all over (more geographic diversity)

Cons:
-Higher cost of living
-Medical school facilities are dated
-Curriculum is pretty traditional
-Limited opportunity to make friends beyond peers. Hanover has Dartmouth and the hospital, and the only graduate programs are medical and business.
-Dating options?


Some things that I'm assuming are roughly equivalent at both schools, please feel free to correct me if you disagree:
-reputation and prestige for residency placements
-quality of education
-extremely nice and supportive administration
-active communities with lots of outdoorsy folk
-largely white patient populations

I'm feeling like if I had gotten a scholarship to UWSMPH I'd probably go there. Since I didn't, I'm really on the fence. Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

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[alpinism]

Hello all!

I'm having a hard time deciding between these two schools and am hoping y'all could share some insight. Some background about me: older non-trad (30ish), single, female, love the outdoors, not sure about future specialty (likely primary care but keeping my options open for now). I'll be funding my education solely through financial aid from the schools.

University of Wisconsin:

Pros:
-Madison is a great city with lots to do beyond med school
-I have some non-med school friends here already so won't be relying just on the school for community
-Amazing facilities, both HSLC and hospitals
-Lower cost of living
-Better dating opportunities
-Option to get primary care loan with subsidized interest and low rate (5%) up to cost of attendance (if I commit to primary care, which I'm not 100% sure about. Could be a good option for years 2-4, though)

Cons:
-Graded 2nd year
-Far from family
-Large class size (175)
-Not a huge number of OOS students
-Likely a bit more expensive (~$5000/yr), especially if travel costs are considered. I was not awarded a scholarship so it will be all loans.

Dartmouth:

Pros:
-Small intimate class size (~87)
-Lots of outdoors activities nearby
-Relatively close to family
-Amazing hospital
-Beautiful campus
-P/F first 2 years
-Perhaps a bit more prestige to the lay public (such as my family) since it's an ivy
-A bit cheaper given need-based grant aid, but only by about $5000/yr, maybe more if I can get them to increase my package
-Peers from all over (more geographic diversity)

Cons:
-Higher cost of living
-Medical school facilities are dated
-Curriculum is pretty traditional
-Limited opportunity to make friends beyond peers. Hanover has Dartmouth and the hospital, and the only graduate programs are medical and business.
-Dating options?


Some things that I'm assuming are roughly equivalent at both schools, please feel free to correct me if you disagree:
-reputation and prestige for residency placements
-quality of education
-extremely nice and supportive administration
-active communities with lots of outdoorsy folk
-largely white patient populations

I'm feeling like if I had gotten a scholarship to UWSMPH I'd probably go there. Since I didn't, I'm really on the fence. Any thoughts would be much appreciated!

Haha not sure about Hanover, but yes Madison does have plenty of dating options (re: young professionals and grad students).

To answer your questions:
-UW has a small advantage when it comes to reputation (3.75 vs. 3.6 out of 5 in the residency director score).
-The quality of education will be great at both schools.
-From what i've heard both schools have very supportive faculty/administration.
-Both communities are very active. Dartmouth will have more opportunities for outdoor activities in the white mountains
(UW does have Lake Mendota though).
-UW offers rotations in both Madison (mostly white highly educated population) and inner city Milwaukee
(mostly african american and hispanic population).
-The 2yr P/F curriculum at Dartmouth will make school less stressful overall.

Honestly I wouldn't stress over 5K/yr, just go to whichever school you like better.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Moving to ssd