Baylor vs Vanderbilt

[Dr.Watson]

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What do you guys think?

 

[Dookter]

Baylor. I like the location of Vandy better b/c I'm from TN, but I liked Baylor better as a school. I'll also add that they both waitlisted me, so I have no axe to grind with one school before the other. In my opinion Baylor has better clinical training and more flexibility in the curriculum... And did I mention it is a lot cheaper????

 

[HumbleMD]

Better curriculum, bigger and better hospital system, and cheaper. Can't beat that with a stick.

 

[Disinence2]

Go to Baylor so I have a shot at Vandy.

 

[Anastasis]

Go to Vandy so I have a shot at Baylor

 

[JohnMadden]

I say Vanderbilt because there are more opportunities for interdisciplinary research and training. You can't go wrong with either, though

 

[EBI831]

although i was waitlisted at vandy, it's my undergrad so i love it to death and am not bitter but i visited baylor and the flexibility, schedule, hospital system, city all seemed to be an improvement over vandy. i know vandy is changing their schedule/curriculum but i doubt it'll advance to anything like class 8-12 most days and take step 1 anytime before 4th year. also baylor is a ton cheaper although vandy has fabulous financial/merit aid i heard. but in my opinion, vandy was my dream school til i went ot visit baylor (this was pre waitlist at vandy) and i decided then and there to go baylor over vandy if i got in.

 

[JohnMadden]

Just to be clear... I thought Vandy allowed Step 1 to be taken any time before graduation. Is that not the case?

 

[future_dr_house]

1.5 preclinical years sounds pretty good to me as does the TMC and the price tag. Baylor any day over Vanderbilt.

 

[xylem29]

Is Baylor done with the interview invites?

 

[jjmack]

Just to be clear... I thought Vandy allowed Step 1 to be taken any time before graduation. Is that not the case?

you don't need to take step 1 to graduate at all. Just if you want to practice.

 

[pitupitu]

Baylor!!! ...but some of my reasons are kind of personal.

Houston is never cold like TN is for three full months of the year (I'll take Houston's heat over the freezing cold any day).

Personally, I don't like the accent of the people from TN; I find it intolerable! Native Houstonians have a 'flat' accent--not at all twangy or sing-songy like people think Texans should sound. BTW, I grew up in a state adjacent to TN, so I am quite familiar with TN, and I made it a point to get the hell out of there and lose that hideous accent as soon as I (legally) could.

The food in Houston is the best in the world.

Houston is a very INexpensive city...low cost of living. Also, TX has no state tax, in case you later decide to stay here and work.

The TMC (where I have worked for several years) cannot be beat. Nuf said about that.

Baylor tuition is CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP!!

You'd be CRAZY to go to Vanderbilt!

 

[VandyXGirl]

Baylor!!! ...but some of my reasons are kind of personal.

Houston is never cold like TN is for three full months of the year (I'll take Houston's heat over the freezing cold any day).

Personally, I don't like the accent of the people from TN; I find it intolerable! Native Houstonians have a 'flat' accent--not at all twangy or sing-songy like people think Texans should sound. BTW, I grew up in a state adjacent to TN, so I am quite familiar with TN, and I made it a point to get the hell out of there and lose that hideous accent as soon as I (legally) could.

The food in Houston is the best in the world.

Houston is a very INexpensive city...low cost of living. Also, TX has no state tax, in case you later decide to stay here and work.

The TMC (where I have worked for several years) cannot be beat. Nuf said about that.

Baylor tuition is CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP!!

You'd be CRAZY to go to Vanderbilt!

1) Weather-wise it does get cold in Nashville in the winter, but it's a lot milder than a NE winter, that's for sure.
2) People in Nashville don't have twangy accents.
3) Nashville is also a very inexpensive city (I've lived in DC and in NYC) and there is no state income tax here either.
4) After you get your fin aid package from Vanderbilt, it too can be relatively cheap. So deciding on tuition alone might be something you want to wait on until after you fill out all your fin aid forms.

 

[Dr.Watson]

Thanks for the replies! I'm just trying to get a sense of all the factors people are considering. So far I've got:
Curriculum
Hospital System
City
Weather
Accents (come on, really?)
Money


Personally, I'm considering factors outside of money b/c i'm MSTP [so I likely won't be giving up a spot for you guys =)]. I know everyone says research should be the biggest deciding factor, but one can only have one PI and both places have national academy members/howard hughes investigators in my fields of interest.

Anyway, as an MSTP, I will be spending 7-8 years at whatever place I choose (yikes - I'll be 30 when I graduate!). So, well I've decided having a life during my 20s is a factor - any comments there?

 

[Dookter]

Thanks for the replies! I'm just trying to get a sense of all the factors people are considering. So far I've got:
Curriculum
Hospital System
City
Weather
Accents (come on, really?)
Money


Personally, I'm considering factors outside of money b/c i'm MSTP [so I likely won't be giving up a spot for you guys =)]. I know everyone says research should be the biggest deciding factor, but one can only have one PI and both places have national academy members/howard hughes investigators in my fields of interest.

Anyway, as an MSTP, I will be spending 7-8 years at whatever place I choose (yikes - I'll be 30 when I graduate!). So, well I've decided having a life during my 20s is a factor - any comments there?

I think being MSTP changes things a little. I would probably go to Vandy in that case [I said go to Baylor before]. The reason is that as a medical scientist in training, you're probably quite frankly not as interested in the slightly better clinical training you'll receive at Baylor. And money is no longer an issue. Nashville's a cool place to be, Vandy has a cool undergrad right there, and I think it would generally be a cooler place to spend that much of your life than Houston.

 

[southpawcannon]

Anyway, as an MSTP, I will be spending 7-8 years at whatever place I choose (yikes - I'll be 30 when I graduate!). So, well I've decided having a life during my 20s is a factor - any comments there?

Just think, you are going to be finished with that program much sooner than some of us non-trads get into med school.

 

[pitupitu]

Thanks for the replies! I'm just trying to get a sense of all the factors people are considering....
Accents (come on, really?)

Like I said in my post, my reasons are a bit *personal*. I PERSONALLY cannot stand the way people talk in TN (yes, Nashville included). I can tolerate it enough to visit and enjoy the beauty of the state (TN's got it all over Texas aesthetically), but then it starts to get on my nerves. I admit it--I'm an accent snob. 🙂

Also...and this one is HUGE for me...people in KY, TN, NC (tobacco states basically) tend to smoke so so so much more than they do in Houston!! It kills me every time I go up there...you just can't get away from the friggin' smoke!!!

 

[Dr.Watson]

Houston is never cold like TN is for three full months of the year (I'll take Houston's heat over the freezing cold any day).

Personally, I don't like the accent of the people from TN; I find it intolerable! Native Houstonians have a 'flat' accent--not at all twangy or sing-songy like people think Texans should sound. BTW, I grew up in a state adjacent to TN, so I am quite familiar with TN, and I made it a point to get the hell out of there and lose that hideous accent as soon as I (legally) could.

Okay, just to comment as a native Texan who spent college on the east coast re: weather and accents, neither of which are deciding factors for me.

Weather: If you've spent the summer months in the awful humidity (not the heat) of Houston and still love it, I commend you. Air conditioning goes a long way to making it tolerable, but it's still sticky when you walk outside. As for winter, I'm fairly sure TN's cold is nothing like the east coast's. I don't mind jackets; I mind wind chills in the single digits or negative =). I think I'd give the edge to TN for more moderate temperatures year-round.

Accents: Yes, people from big cities in TX have no accents. Many people from less than hour from the city have those typical Texas accents (I know, it's my extended family). That and I hope you can speak Spanish, b/c I'm fairly sure that's what you'll be hearing the most in county hospitals in South Texas =). The 'less-educated' or the more rural people from most state have accents whether it be Boston, NYC, Alabama or Chicago. You may hate the TN one, but you won't be escaping accents anywhere.

 

[pitupitu]

1) Weather-wise it does get cold in Nashville in the winter, but it's a lot milder than a NE winter, that's for sure.
2) People in Nashville don't have twangy accents.
3) Nashville is also a very inexpensive city (I've lived in DC and in NYC) and there is no state income tax here either.
4) After you get your fin aid package from Vanderbilt, it too can be relatively cheap. So deciding on tuition alone might be something you want to wait on until after you fill out all your fin aid forms.

I NEVER said that they had a twangy accent. I said that TEXANS DON'T. In fact, I wish that TN's accent was *just* twangy. It's not the accent alone; it's also the grammar, the extremely regional lexicon, and other linguistic fators.

 

[Dookter]

linguistic fators.

Nice.....ha ha ha.

 

[pitupitu]

That and I hope you can speak Spanish, b/c I'm fairly sure that's what you'll be hearing the most in county hospitals in South Texas =). The 'less-educated' or the more rural people from most state have accents whether it be Boston, NYC, Alabama or Chicago. You may hate the TN one, but you won't be escaping accents anywhere.

I speak fluent, unaccented, Argentinian Spanish.👍

 

[Dr.Watson]

I think being MSTP changes things a little. I would probably go to Vandy in that case [I said go to Baylor before]. The reason is that as a medical scientist in training, you're probably quite frankly not as interested in the slightly better clinical training you'll receive at Baylor. And money is no longer an issue. Nashville's a cool place to be, Vandy has a cool undergrad right there, and I think it would generally be a cooler place to spend that much of your life than Houston.

Hmm, interesting. You said you're from TN so I know how you know the 'coolness' factor of Nashville. What's your experience with Houston?

Also...and this one is HUGE for me...people in KY, TN, NC (tobacco states basically) tend to smoke so so so much more than they do in Houston!! It kills me every time I go up there...you just can't get away from the friggin' smoke!!!

That's an good point - I hate smoking too. Anyone know what anti-smoking laws currently are in Nashville/Houston and if they might change in the future?

 

[Dr.Watson]

I speak fluent, unaccented, Argentinian Spanish.👍

Then you'll have no problem 😀 ! I almost think Spanish should be a prerequisite to setting foot in a TX hospital. It can make or break your clinical years/experience.

Linguistic Factors: How do you feel about the grammatical construct of "fixing to"? as in "I'm fixing to study for the anatomy exam next week." Also, "ain't" and "done + past partciple." "I ain't heard nothing about that, but she done studied 'till the cows came home." That's classic Texan I've weeded out from my speech. If you can stomach those and ample usage of "y'all", then Texas is definitely for you.

 

[pitupitu]

Then you'll have no problem 😀 ! I almost think Spanish should be a prerequisite to setting foot in a TX hospital. It can make or break your clinical years/experience.

Hahahaha, yes it is practically a pre-req! More importantly, the fact that I speak Spanish makes my super shi**y MCAT look so much better!

 

[Dookter]

Hmm, interesting. You said you're from TN so I know how you know the 'coolness' factor of Nashville. What's your experience with Houston?

My only experience with Baylor is being down there are few days last year while interviewing. Houston is just a HUGE spread out place. I'm also really just judging from what I saw around both campuses. Baylor doesn't have an undergrad right there [although Rice is right there and there are cool places down in that area]. It's just a general impression thing based on the fact that Vandy has all the undergrad stuff right there and would probably be a great place to spend 7-8 years. Also, I'm a guitar player, and Nashville is Nashville. If you like music, it's there.....

 

[Anastasis]

Hahahaha, yes it is practically a pre-req! More importantly, the fact that I speak Spanish makes my super shi**y MCAT look so much better!

I speak super-crappy border Spanish... that's it 🙁 Maybe I should go buy a book or something.

BTW, your avatar continues to make me smile 🙂

 

[Anastasis]

My only experience with Baylor is being down there are few days last year while interviewing. Houston is just a HUGE spread out place. I'm also really just judging from what I saw around both campuses. Baylor doesn't have an undergrad right there [although Rice is right there and there are cool places down in that area]. It's just a general impression thing based on the fact that Vandy has all the undergrad stuff right there and would probably be a great place to spend 7-8 years. Also, I'm a guitar player, and Nashville is Nashville. If you like music, it's there.....

If you're talking straight up which place is better to live, I'm going to go with Nashville. Houston is a massive spread out city and while Rice Village/TMC is an interesting area... the rest is boring.


Now if there was a med school in Austin... 🙂

 

[DropkickMurphy]

If you're talking straight up which place is better to live, I'm going to go with Nashville. Houston is a massive spread out city and while Rice Village/TMC is an interesting area... the rest is boring.


Now if there was a med school in Austin... 🙂

Baylor all the way.....although I don't care for Houston much, but whatever....I figure the quality of the education trumps a mediocre city. I'm in the process of learning Spanish so that I can go to Peru for a while, so that won't be a problem.

 

[pitupitu]

Then you'll have no problem 😀 ! I almost think Spanish should be a prerequisite to setting foot in a TX hospital. It can make or break your clinical years/experience.

Linguistic Factors: How do you feel about the grammatical construct of "fixing to"? as in "I'm fixing to study for the anatomy exam next week." Also, "ain't" and "done + past partciple." "I ain't heard nothing about that, but she done studied 'till the cows came home." That's classic Texan I've weeded out from my speech. If you can stomach those and ample usage of "y'all", then Texas is definitely for you.

Of all of the above, I only regularly hear "yall" in Houston (although not everyone says even that...but I do tend to associate only with college graduates, MDs, RNs, etc., and I typically don't converse with English-speaking patients because my job deals specifically with Spanish speakers). Anyway, people say "yall" in lots of places outside Texas, even in urban areas--just listen to a rap song or two. I actually like "yall" (when it's not pronounced overly-nasally and shall I say, hick-like?) because it reminds me of the Texans that I have grown to love over the past decade. 😍

 

[pitupitu]

I speak super-crappy border Spanish... that's it 🙁 Maybe I should go buy a book or something.

BTW, your avatar continues to make me smile 🙂

Hey Anastasis!! Nice to see you here! Happy Valentine's Day!!😍

I know, my avatar is super-cute...thanks for helping me to resize the photo! 🙂

See people--yet another thing that I LOVE about Texas--Texans stick together and help each other!🙂

 

[QuantumMechanic]

All the things said in this thread are accurate except the accent thing. If you are in urban areas whether its Nashville or Houston, you aren't going to be hearing many thick accents.

Both are excellent schools and are hard to distinguish in terms of quality of education, so you have to go with the one that has the best bottom line after financial aid.

My one qualm about Baylor is its name...they should really change the name so people don't think its associated with uber-crazy conservative Baylor U.

 

[Anastasis]

Baylor all the way.....although I don't care for Houston much, but whatever....I figure the quality of the education trumps a mediocre city. I'm in the process of learning Spanish so that I can go to Peru for a while, so that won't be a problem.

You going to apply to Baylor next year? (You're applying the next cycle right?)

 

[VandyXGirl]

I NEVER said that they had a twangy accent. I said that TEXANS DON'T. In fact, I wish that TN's accent was *just* twangy. It's not the accent alone; it's also the grammar, the extremely regional lexicon, and other linguistic fators.

Sorry, made an incorrect inference this morning. It's my birthday though so I have an excuse, maybe? Please forgive me 😀

That's an good point - I hate smoking too. Anyone know what anti-smoking laws currently are in Nashville/Houston and if they might change in the future?

Yes, this is probably the most annoying thing about Nashville, that you can stil smoke in public places. I hate hate hate it 😡, but Governor Bredesen of TN is serious about getting anti-smoking legislation pasesd in his new term (finally). Here is a link to an article in the Tennessean about it:
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070211/OPINION03/702110368/1007/OPINION
I am hoping it gets passed, because being from Maryland, where there has been a public smoking ban since I was in high school, it has been difficult going out to Nashville bars (I also spent a summer in Ireland with no smoking and a summer in NYC which also has no smoking).

Now if there was a med school in Austin... 🙂

I wish! I love Austin and would totally go to med school there.

*//*//*
Ok now, in regards to the social scene at Vanderbilt, it really is great (in undergrad we are known for working hard and playing hard, definitely true ). There is a really supportive environment (the administration is amazing, and I think it says a lot that they are willing to work with students and fix problems if they come up) and it is wonderful having the undergrad, business, law, divinity, graduate, nursing, and medical schools all on the same campus. There are a ton of school-wide events examples being: 1) The Chancellor's Ball in February where everyone can go to a free party at the Student Life Center. It is fabulous. Everyone wears costumes or semi-formal attire 2) There are a lot of med/business/law school mixers. My friend in the law school is taking me to one this Saturday. Should be a lot of fun! 3) Rites of Spring, a huge weekend-long concert (last year Ben Folds was the headliner), which happens to be the same weekend as second look so y'all should definitely hit that up.

I've posted some other things about Vanderbilt/Nashville in the 2011 class thread. If you have specific/other questions, I'd be more than happy to answer them.
p.s. I've never been to Houston and did not apply to Baylor, so I can't say anything in comparing the two. I can only say what I know from living in Nashville for 4.5 years and going to Vandebilt from undergrad.

 

[Quynh2007]

being allergic to tobacco smoke, I had no trouble getting around in nashville. plus, i could never live in houston because the pollution there isn't very good for my health.

edit: disclaimer: i am still under 21 so i haven't been to any bar in nashville -- which could be why i hadn't experience those "smokers"

also, ben folds was sooooo boring at cornell days last year. I didn't even go, and when i was walking by, i heard him singing "careless whisper." I mean c'mon, we are all drunk, and that's the best you could do? of course, he was following previous years of snoop, kanye, fat joe, so that might not be a good comparison, but still...i hope it's better this year.

 

[pitupitu]

being allergic to tobacco smoke, I had no trouble getting around in nashville. plus, i could never live in houston because the pollution there isn't very good for my health.

Oh, just suck it up and stop whining ya big crybaby!!

Yes, the air is supposedly very polluted in Houston, but I *feel* like I breathe the same as I breathe anywhere else (although, yes, I'm sure that my lungs and other organs would beg to differ).😀

But again, I can go pretty much all over H-town (as we affectionately call it here) without choking on some idiot's cigarette smoke. BTW, Houstonians seem smarter than the people in Nashville (what are they called, Nashvillians?). I'M JUST KIDDING!!! IT'S A JOKE!! There are smart and stupid people to be found everywhere.

But seriously, about the smoke thing...it's a *cultural* difference that I just can't change or get over, so I would never choose to live in TN. Houston's pollution may be the same sort of 'dealbreaker' for you (but really, the air does *seem* completely normal here).

 

[Dr.Watson]

Here is a link to an article in the Tennessean about it:
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070211/OPINION03/702110368/1007/OPINION

Ok now, in regards to the social scene at Vanderbilt . . .

Thanks VandyXGirl! I've read your posts in the c/o 2011 thread, too. Very helpful. It's nice to know that the grad schools do interact, which isn't always the case even if on the same campus. I'm definitely excited for Rites of Spring in April! I wish I had more specific questions, but right now I'm still trying to figure out criteria/what's important for me in comparing schools.

Both are excellent schools and are hard to distinguish in terms of quality of education, so you have to go with the one that has the best bottom line after financial aid.

Yes, see this is my problem (which, I'm not complaining, is a very good one to have). I'm MSTP, so financial issues have no bearing whatsoever on my decision. I know I can't go wrong, but I still have a decision to make.

 

[MadameLULU]

DO you know what type of research you want to do? If you're MSTP, then look at the research interests of professors in the departments of interest and incorporate that into your decision.

 

[pitupitu]

HAPPY B-DAY VANDYXGIRL!!!

P.S. There's nothing to forgive! 🙂

 

[Quynh2007]

Oh, just suck it up and stop whining ya big crybaby!!

talk about the pot calling the kettle black. 🙄

I just wanted to say that at vandy, the research programs are extremely nurturing of their students. conferences, grants, etc compensations are extremely generous.

 

[Dr.Watson]

But seriously, about the smoke thing...it's a *cultural* difference that I just can't change or get over, so I would never choose to live in TN. Houston's pollution may be the same sort of 'dealbreaker' for you (but really, the air does *seem* completely normal here).

okay, are you comparing TMC in Houston to a similar area of TN or a more rural area?

As much as I adore Texas and fellow Texans (nicest people anywhere), I think you might have a skewed sense of the place. It sounds like you know TMC well and love it, and since that's where you'll be spending all of your time in med schools, then fabulous. It's a well educated, urban area and likewise, people don't smoke or have accents. The rest of Texas isn't a larger version of TMC. You have accents in rural areas, you have bars filled with smoke, you have ranches and horses and cattle, urban sprawl and vast spans of nothingness.

I really don't think there are big cultural differences in southern, urban areas (except for quality of Tex-Mex). I don't think smoking rates are a big cultural difference anywhere. Anti-smoking laws go a huge way in curbing public smoking and any exposure to it. I spent time abroad before the UK went non-smoking and couldn't set foot in a pub because the smoke was so thick and my coworkers took smoking breaks every couple of hours. Back recently and it was night-and-day difference; I rarely saw a cigarette.

 

[DropkickMurphy]

You going to apply to Baylor next year? (You're applying the next cycle right?)

Nope.....two years. 😀

 

[HumbleMD]

Baylor: Named after Elgin Gay Baylor, a 1960's basketball player who score 71 points against the Knicks.
Vanderbilt: Named after an unscrupulous robber baron.

The decision is obvious. (Aside from the fact that I don't even consider the 2 schools on the same level.)

 

[VandyXGirl]

HAPPY B-DAY VANDYXGIRL!!!

P.S. There's nothing to forgive! 🙂

THANKS! 😀 And are you Argentinian or do you just have the accent? My mom is from Uruguay and I will hopefully make it over to Buenos Aires when I am visiting my family in Montevideo in March. Another plus for Nashville is that it has an Uruguayan restaurant! (amazing chivitos, dulce de leche and asado 🙂)

 

[bodhisattva]

My one qualm about Baylor is its name...they should really change the name so people don't think its associated with uber-crazy conservative Baylor U.

I know some people who live in Houston and still think BCM is in Waco. 🙄 And to make it more confusing for people there's Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas affiliated with A&M.

OP, why don't you spend a few days in Nashville and a few in Houston (that is if you can spare the time) and then see where you would rather be? After all, it's going to be you who is going to have to spend your years at wherever.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

info from US News Rankings:

Peer Assesment score (5=max) ------ BCM=4.0 Vandy=4.1

Residency Directors Assesment score (5=max) ---- BCM=3.8 Vandy=4.1

 

[HumbleMD]

info from US News Rankings:

Peer Assesment score (5=max) ------ BCM=4.0 Vandy=4.1

Residency Directors Assesment score (5=max) ---- BCM=3.8 Vandy=4.1

Yeah, I noticed the seemingly-lower-than-what-one-would-guess residency score of Baylor too. Anyone have some insight?

 

[VandyXGirl]

info from US News Rankings:

Peer Assesment score (5=max) ------ BCM=4.0 Vandy=4.1

Residency Directors Assesment score (5=max) ---- BCM=3.8 Vandy=4.1

Ooooooooooh *snap* someone just got burned. When you are dealing with schools that are ranked 10th and 17th (research by U.S. News) they are definitely on the same level. And these rankings are skewed anyway because who cares how much NIH funding a school gets if you as a student don't get to touch it? They really should change it to NIH funding/student researcher (or something along those lines).

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Yeah, I noticed the seemingly-lower-than-what-one-would-guess residency score of Baylor too. Anyone have some insight?

I would say its due to two factors:

1. Baylor has been trying to become a top med school recently, so its reputation among the entire medical community might not be as a top 10 school as US news says.

2. Baylor students tend to stay in TX (alot don't but with so many TX residents its inevitable) so nationwide there's less exposure to Baylor students than say Vanderbilt students who tend to come to TN for med school then leave.

Regardless, the differences aren't huge. Both schools are exceptional!

 

[QuantumMechanic]

Ooooooooooh *snap* someone just got burned. When you are dealing with schools that are ranked 10th and 17th (research by U.S. News) they are definitely on the same level. And these rankings are skewed anyway because who cares how much NIH funding a school gets if you as a student don't get to touch it? They really should change it to NIH funding/student researcher (or something along those lines).

the NIH funding has alot to do with the fact that BCM is ranked higher than Vandy (BCM has more faculty but they do get more funding/faculty as well). Vandy has fewer students however, which might lead to more opportunities.

Overall I had a feeling that BCM was less academic and emphasized clinical practice of medicine more than Vandy, especially the schools' respective attitudes toward research by students. (required Emphasis program vs. optional Research track). Once again, the difference is marginal and probably has little significance.

 

[Dr.Watson]

OP, why don't you spend a few days in Nashville and a few in Houston (that is if you can spare the time) and then see where you would rather be? After all, it's going to be you who is going to have to spend your years at wherever.

Way ahead of you there, but spending a couple of long weekends in a city visiting isn't the same as living there. I just want some other people's opinions perhaps more informed than I or perhaps are considering things I haven't thought of yet. Also, because my parents, advisors, mentors, friends, employers, etc are all fairly sick of me discussing this out loud 🙂.