Chapel Hill vs Brody (East Carolina)

[deleted1043440]

Context: Student with spouse and small children.

Chapel Hill:

• Pros
  • Name recognition
  • Closer to family (~2 hours)
  • Has home programs in just about every specialty
  • P/F
  • Students seemed happy during interview
• Cons
  • More expensive than ECU
  • Mandatory lecture attendance (flexibility would be huge if I needed to take kids to pediatrician/daycare etc)
  • Higher cost of living than ECU
  • Chapel Hill real estate market is really not attractive d/t cost. Think I would need to commute from further out but I hear parking is impossible at campus.

ECU:

• Pros
  • Small class size
  • Smaller town
  • Low cost of living/better housing market
  • P/F
  • No mandatory lecture attendance
  • Has a fairly large level 1 trauma center attached
  • Cheap tuition
• Cons
  • Limited home programs
  • No research built into curriculum
  • Further away from family (~4 hours)

I think right now my biggest concerns are related to flexibility since we will be moving away from our family support system. We will have no support in either towns, so no mandatory lecture would definitely help if I needed to take care of the kids unexpectedly. Passing up on UNC seems like a mistake though d/t to the intrinsic opportunities that come with that school.

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[thefirerisen]

Chapel Hill no-brainer, and reach out to the school to see what support they would give you regarding child-care and parking. You won't be the only non-trad person there with a spouse and family, and I'm sure they have support clubs and other people who have navigated the same issues you have.

 

[anyonecandoctor]

Support system seems to be a deciding factor here. The difference between a 2 hour and 4 hour drive is huge. Congrats on two great acceptances!

 

[Hollow Knight]

I'd do ECU honestly. My classmates with children found mandatory stuff a PAIN

That's under the assumption your in-laws won;t drive two hours though. If your family will drop everything at a moment's notice maybe do the two hour drive

 

[whatisanmcat]

ECU student here. I love the school and my experience so far, but I would say go to UNC. There are substantially better research opportunities there, as well as the benefit of having a better name brand when it comes time to match. The exception to this would be if you are dead-set on family med (or another primary care specialty), in which go ECU and save yourself the ~$50k difference over 4 years.

 

[deleted1043440]

I'd do ECU honestly. My classmates with children found mandatory stuff a PAIN

That's under the assumption your in-laws won;t drive two hours though. If your family will drop everything at a moment's notice maybe do the two hour drive

This is pretty much the information/perspectives I need to hear the most. I feel like a school without mandatory lectures gives me the best shot at being a more present and reliable spouse and parent.

 

[m1redsox]

Personally, I would make this decision based on your specialty interests. If you are going for a surgical sub specialty or derm, your school name unfortunately matters a lot, and you do not want to limit your options or possible ceiling. If you are leaning towards primary care, your priority needs to be limiting debt, and ECU would be a great option.