UVM vs Drexel

[Luciadown]

I love both schools, UVM is in a nicer neighborhood, and Drexel is closer to home. The cost is the same for both. Any suggestions?? Where would you go and why?

Thanks in advance!

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[markmark]

Don't know much about the schools but if you visited UVM in the summer you are in for a surprise as fat as weather goes.

 

[Lya]

Can you tell us more about your interview days and your impressions?

Moreover, what are your career goals and interests? What do you want to get out of a medical school?

 

[Ja3ger]

Didn't interview at Drexel, but I think UVM is a hidden gem among med schools. Virtually everything about it is great (1.5-year integrated curriculum, technology implementation, state-of-the-art facilities, Fletcher Allen is pretty nice and recently renovated, progressive student body/faculty in a progressive city), save for the cost. And at least Montreal is <2hrs away. Unless you're one of those people that just has to be in a big city, or cannot stand the cold weather (still, Burlington is 43° right now), I would choose UVM in a heartbeat. The biggest curveball, it seems, is proximity to family. If you can really see yourself visiting your family significantly more often than you would at UVM, then that makes your decision a little more difficult... Still, I can't tell you how many times I've seen people rave about UVM on these forums; literally no one has said something significantly negative about the school, in my experience. Drexel doesn't seem bad in any way, but I just haven't come across anything that makes it "special."

 

[SN12357]

I agree with @Ja3ger; I have heard nothing but fantastic things about UVM, both on SDN and in real life. It really seems like an amazing place.

 

[CyberMaxx]

I seriously considered applying to UVM for all of the reasons listed by @Ja3ger but ended up choosing not to because of their lack of focus on research. The impression that I got by going through their online materials was that the medical school is more focused on clinical care (especially primary care) than on basic science research. While it could certainly be argued that Drexel is also not a research powerhouse (I'm actually not too familiar with their research program), it is located in Philadelphia which would give you access to many research focused institutions.

To sum it all up, if you're interested in pursuing research OP, Drexel may offer more advantages than UVM.

 

[Syndicate]

I have been accepted to UVM this cycle and I have nothing but good things to say about the school.

1. The environment is second to none. It was ranked the most beautiful medical school in the country. Burlington is a very suburban area and it doesn't have even 1% of the crime that you will see at almost any other medical school.

2. Everyone is so nice. I can say that for a lot of schools but UVM was just off the charts in terms of how nice they were to interviewees.

3. Clinical facilities are state of the art with new technology. "Clean" hospital.

Having said all that though, I do believe UVM is not that research focused, although probably still more research focused than Drexel since UVM is ranked 59th compared to unranked Drexel.

 

[CarlosDanger]

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[sector9]

Moving to School specific discussions

 

[Ja3ger]

I have been accepted to UVM this cycle and I have nothing but good things to say about the school.

1. The environment is second to none. It was ranked the most beautiful medical school in the country. Burlington is a very suburban area and it doesn't have even 1% of the crime that you will see at almost any other medical school.

2. Everyone is so nice. I can say that for a lot of schools but UVM was just off the charts in terms of how nice they were to interviewees.

3. Clinical facilities are state of the art with new technology. "Clean" hospital.

Having said all that though, I do believe UVM is not that research focused, although probably still more research focused than Drexel since UVM is ranked 59th compared to unranked Drexel.

Good points here. To be fair to Drexel, however, its research ranking is #85, not that I think those rankings are useful or anything.

EDIT: CarlosDanger beat me to it.

 

[MedWonk]

I don't think either school is particularly research oriented, but going through UVM's website it does seem they do quite a bit of research in pulmonology as well as in immunology, and that appears to be where a lot their research funding goes. I honestly don't think either school will be particularly limiting in terms of research opportunities as far as most students are concerned, especially since UVM seems to match a couple people per year into derm, so I think the opportunities are there if want them. I think people who attend UVM are very much a self-selecting group and are really attracted to the strong clinical focus with research being secondary. I really don't know much about Drexel, but I can't imagine your research and clinical opportunities would be limited in Philly. I interviewed at Temple, and Philadelphia seems like it would be a great place to go to med school, especially since it seems like the med schools and hospitals collaborate quite a bit with each other.

Personally, I like UVM better. I like Philadelphia but I like Burlington more, which is odd for me because I generally prefer a more urban location. I think the decision is a very personal one, and I would trust your gut feeling. If your gut feeling isn't strong one way or the other, then I would follow the money when the schools send out their fin aid offers. If the money is the same, I would either choose whichever city you like better or the school that's closer to family.