Choosing between UVA and UMD

[djtanner]

I am choosing between UVA and UMD for medical school. I really love both schools. I am in-state for UMD but attended at Virginia public school for UG. I love the atmosphere at UVA but concerned about how well their accelerated curriculum prepares students for Step 1. UMD's traditional curriculum seems like it would be a safer choice. I am interested in pediatrics with a specialization for residency. Does anyone have an opinion based on experience at either of these schools?

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[Me.D.]

UVA's prestige MAY help a little more if your aim is to get into a competitive specialty or academic medicine. In that aspect UVA might beat UMD, though I think they have a great reputation as well. Also the 1.5 year preclinical helps if you don't really know what you want to do. However, since you already know you want to do peds, a not very competitive speciality, the extra prestige boost plus the 1.5 year preclinical might not be super useful for you. I guess in the end it depends on how much you're willing to pay to go to UVA over UMD - is it worth 100k plus interest to you?

 

[Hospitalized]

You seem to like UMD's curriculum more and it's cheaper. Go UMD.

 

[canttellmenothin]

UVA NBME STEP 1 score reports for some objective information on how well their 1.5 year curriculum prepares them.

https://www.med-ed.virginia.edu/handbook/academics/licensure.cfm#results

The average for 2015 was 235 and the year before was 237.

 

[Mwooster]

Why would you go anywhere else other than UMD for your MD?

See what I did there?

 

[BronxBomber]

I am choosing between UVA and UMD for medical school. I really love both schools. I am in-state for UMD but attended at Virginia public school for UG. I love the atmosphere at UVA but concerned about how well their accelerated curriculum prepares students for Step 1. UMD's traditional curriculum seems like it would be a safer choice. I am interested in pediatrics with a specialization for residency. Does anyone have an opinion based on experience at either of these schools?

If I'm not mistaken, UMD is letter graded while UVA is p/f. I've heard that the grading at UMD fosters a very competitive atmosphere, and I really don't doubt it. Pass fail makes a huge difference. If a med student there could elaborate on this, it'd probably be really insightful.

 

[WedgeDawg]

Moving to SSD

UVA's median step score is in the upper 230s. I wouldn't worry about that. Additionally, many top schools (Columbia, Yale, Duke, Harvard, Hopkins, etc) have accelerated curriculums and prepare their students just fine.

https://www.med-ed.virginia.edu/handbook/academics/licensure.cfm

 

[Hospitalized]

If I'm not mistaken, UMD is letter graded while UVA is p/f. I've heard that the grading at UMD fosters a very competitive atmosphere, and I really don't doubt it. Pass fail makes a huge difference. If a med student there could elaborate on this, it'd probably be really insightful.

P/f vs. ABCDF would be a deal breaker for me (in favor of p/f).

 

[Lawpy]

I don't think an accelerated program is really much of an issue, since students in even 1-year preclinical schools do fine. It may be a little overwhelming at first but definitely possible to adjust. Also...

If I'm not mistaken, UMD is letter graded while UVA is p/f. I've heard that the grading at UMD fosters a very competitive atmosphere, and I really don't doubt it. Pass fail makes a huge difference. If a med student there could elaborate on this, it'd probably be really insightful.

P/f vs. ABCDF would be a deal breaker for me (in favor of p/f).

Yeah P/F wins this easily over the graded scheme.

 

[monkeezed]

.

 

[mvenus929]

If I'm not mistaken, UMD is letter graded while UVA is p/f. I've heard that the grading at UMD fosters a very competitive atmosphere, and I really don't doubt it. Pass fail makes a huge difference. If a med student there could elaborate on this, it'd probably be really insightful.

To clarify, UVA is P/F 1st, 2nd, and 4th year. Third year is A-F. That said, I didn't think the atmosphere was competitive.

And the 1.5 year curriculum prepares you plenty well for Step 1. And if you're more of a clinical person (like me), having those extra months to do clinical rotations was amazing.

 

[djtanner]

Thanks so much for the advice, everyone. This was definitely the hardest decision I've ever had to make. I decided to go with UVA for a few reasons. Since I am a bit of a high strung person, I think P/F could be really beneficial for my mental health. I also love their emphasis on active learning and collaboration. My boyfriend of four years is also going to UVA, and I really like the idea of having an extra support system in place (although a lot of people would say this is a dumb reason, for me having emotional support nearby is really crucial for being successful). I really wish I could just go to both schools since they are both so wonderful though. I hope someone else can take my UMD spot.