Albany vs UVM vs Tufts

[Prospective Med Student]

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I am incredibly fortunate to have been accepted into Albany Medical College, Larner College of Medicine in Vermont, and Tufts School of Medicine (Maine Track), however, I now have to figure out where to go. I am leaning UVM or Tufts and here is my general thoughts:

• Larner Pros:
  
  • more robust research opportunities
  • also strong affiliate hospitals
  • newer facilities
  • more active/collaborative learning environment
  • Burlington offers more to do outside of class
  • Ranked (again, not sure how much that matters)
  • Not too far from home
  • Really positive interview experience
  Larner Cons:
  • Quite steep in terms of tuition and living (got into Vermont Clinical Campus and I am OOS applicant)
  • Only really regionally recognized, not nationally as much as Tufts.
  • Potentially less diverse patient population, although I have read/heard that this may not be true
  • likely to get less financial aid especially being out of state (tuition at 69k a year)
  • like the collaborative style, but also uncertain about the flipped classroom and how that will actually work in practice. I did ask current students but still do not know how I will function in that
  • A car is REQUIRED before matriculation

• Tufts (Maine Track) Pros
  • Location is closest to where I live currently
  • Name brand recognition/higher ranked
  • strong research opportunities
  • potential scholarship for Maine rack to make it closer to 50k for tuition
  • does use some NBME exams (nongraded) in pre-clerkship years
  • housing will be more affordable when back in Maine
  • very small class size (50) with significant student support (coaches, mentors, etc.)
  • great match rates and unique clerkship (longitudinal integrated clerkship where rotations are all done simultaneously in a partnership site in Maine)
  • similar to UVM and Albany where we will have entire training hospitals to ourselves essentially
• Tufts (Maine Tracks) Cons:
  • highest price tag (without Maine Track Scholarship)
  • highest cost of living during fist year
  • potentially a lot of moving around, especially after first year
  • Car necessary after year one
  • less access to robust research opportunities after moving to Portland center
  • fewer facilities in Portland center
  • seemingly limited residency competitiveness

I loved both my interviews from UVM and Tufts as they were incredibly welcoming. I have been told Tufts is the way to go, but UVM also looks really nice and like a great program that is kind of a change up of scenery and experience for me having lived in Boston and Maine for the last several years. I won't know any financial info until March.

Thanks!

 

[chilly_md]

Cheaper school is hard to beat considering both of these programs are at the same level roughly.