Belmont vs Colorado

[Svaidis]

Hello! I am in a predicament and from the title this seems like a no brainer but let me explain below.

I am in-state for Colorado. Did decently bad on my MCAT but Colorado residents have the opportunity to interview for a program for a post-bacc with GUARANTEED admission to the medical school the following year as long as I get a decent GPA.

I also got into Belmont, which we all know is a brand new school in Nashville. I went down there this past week to check it out and my god was the facility beautiful. Pro here is that it would be a small class size and they REALLY want you to succeed since it is a new school. They seem to really care about student wellness and have it built into their weekly schedule.

Is it worth the risk to go to a brand new medical school.

For clarification, Colorado is a conditional A. If i maintain a decent GPA then I would start the following year. No interviewing again. Non of that stuff. Basically get good grades and start in fall of 2025.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[PuzzlesMD]

More like.. is it worth the risk to get into Colorado when I have an MD acceptance in hand?

Belmont has lots of cons. HCA-affiliated, for-profit, brand-new, no home programs, and (bad for some) religious affiliation. But it is a USMD school that you could attend *now*

 

[Sandman23]

Got a Belmont A, asked a lotta questions during the whole process leading up to it. There definitely ain't adamant religious affiliation or really anything close to it. I mean, just look at Belmont's undergrad population. Belmont itself is non-profit. The notion of Frist being for-profit seems to come from who's funneling money their way & being tied to the HCA. I don't know for sure - I've wondered but didn't find a place that explicitly mentioned this, just food for thought on the dynamics tho

Since it is HCA-affiliated, I don't think we can say it doesn't have any home programs. Technically, it doesn't. But if the HCA affiliation is as strong as it seems, you gonna match somewhere for residency. Not to say HCA is the first and only choice. It's a back-up - but at least there's a place. Schools like UCF have HCA affiliations but only Frist is funded by HCA's co-founder and is in the same city as HCA's brith place

All that to say I'm giving the info I found out after having looked into Belmont. Based on Puzzles's response, I can't tell if you have the A right now from Colorado or if you'd have to wait a year

If you got an A from Colorado rn, take it and RUN. Going to a brand new school is the biggest con by far that Puzzles's listed. No comparison. It's a straight headache. And Frist is upfront about it - they want ppl tolerant to ambiguity. Being in any inaugural class ain't pretty. I only found this out after getting in touch with a couple ppl Ik who were in inaugural classes at other MD schools. Total mess for 4 years. I might do it for a full tuition scholarship and some schools like Carle had to do that in order to make the deal more enticing. I don't think we can say Frist would be any less the same. Once it is established, I definitely expect it to be a solid school but getting established takes near a decade

 

[ClashRoyaleKing]

Hey, from our group chat You got the A, go. It's an MD school. If you do end up turning it down, forward them my information

Edit: PuzzlesMD did list some valid concerns about the school. However, every school has its downsides. Nowhere is the perfect school.

 

[deleted1167451]

I'd generally consider it if you HAD the postbac A and the bar was a 3.5. I think most people are quick to go the easier/safer route and I get it. But I think a lot of us assume we'll fail. I had friends who did the same thing for the UC's program (same guarantee A), worked hard, and now they're at T20s. The big thing I'd ask is how many people fail out of the program/don't matriculate. If 90%+ matriculate, then Id for sure do it. That's just me.

 

[husky12345]

ucolorado is a T30 med school, with multiple competitive specialty residencies. if all you have to do is maintain a 3.5, i'd totally stay at my IS school, closer to home, higher ranked MD school with home residency opportunities, that is more established.

the only benefit of accepting belmont this year is that you would potentially save a year, not sure if it matters in the long run?

 

[PuzzlesMD]

ucolorado is a T30 med school, with multiple competitive specialty residencies. if all you have to do is maintain a 3.5, i'd totally stay at my IS school, closer to home, higher ranked MD school with home residency opportunities, that is more established.

the only benefit of accepting belmont this year is that you would potentially save a year, not sure if it matters in the long run?

it technically could matter a few hundred thousand dollars

 

[husky12345]

it technically could matter a few hundred thousand dollars

that is true whether or not you go to colorado tho

yes, going to belmont means you go to med school early, but i'd say if you wanna go into something like derm, a T30 would undoubtedly offer more significant opportunities, which in the long term add up on its own.

this isn't to say that you can't match competitively at all by going to belmont, but the T30 is a more secure option if all you have to do is maintain the GPA and not have to interview/do anything, of course this is highly dependent on the candidate, but if I could stay near my family and friends, I would 10000% choose the option that offers me this. in addition, it's also dependent on the specialty that you want to focus on as well

 

[jvquarterback]

Money is under played if anything.

Here’s my quick calculation. One extra year of salary with Belmont. But you lose a lot of that due to cheaper tuition at Colorado. Which is all post tax dollars so basically the cost is 1.5-2x the actual cost before factoring in interest.

Id go with Colorado if you’re pretty sure (>60%) you’d get in. In particular because I think the extra year is offset by the decreased tuition and increased earning potential.

Tough choice though because you really have to calculate the opportunity costs. I say sit down and make the calculation then multiply the Colorado cost by the probability of acceptance. But then factor in lifestyle and earning potential for that ROADS residency you’re more likely to get coming out of UC.