X,
i did not apply to Finch so have no idea about the school (other than the negative comments on sdn about it which i have tried to take with a grain of salt). from what i gather, it is not really in an urban area although it is in "north chicago" or something like that. if you are looking for an urban environment, you may not get it there, although perhaps you will do clinicals in the city during 3rd and 4th year (don't know). i'm not sure it has its own clinical facilities which is a HUGE drawback in my book. doctora foxy had some positive things to say about it last year if you want to do a search (if the search function works anytime soon).
burlington is a small city (40,000) with a very charming/progressive feel, access to skiing, hiking, and lake champlain. it would be awesome to be so close to outdoors activities! if you need to be near a big city, it is not the place for you. you may be required to do some clerkships in plattsburgh, ny or portland, me. they are flexible with where you do your away rotations during the 4th year. the hospital in burlington is right next to the medical school, and it seemed pretty nice. the medical students were VERY friendly and seemed genuinely happy. something like 80% of the students are non-traditional. it seemed like a wonderful environment if you like the small town/homey feel. for me the real drawback (besides the possiblity of perhaps getting bored and the cold weather -- it's just as cold at finch probably), is the fact that the class of 2007 would be the guinea pigs for the new curriculum. the curriculum sounds great (mix of lectures, pbl), but i'm sure some kinks will need to be worked out. they've tested some aspects of it but not all. basic science education happens in the first 18 months (this has been in place for years with no board score problems), and then the clinical training begins. for me, this was a real positive for the school as i'm ready to begin clinical training! they also have standardized patients and some other early clinical opportunities. if you have any more questions, pm me. i've been to both drexl and uvm, and they have different feels, although i liked both. i'd probably choose vermont over drexel if accepted to both (uvm felt a little more special if that makes any sense), but it would be a tough decision.
uvm is approx $36,000/year with no possibility of becoming a vermont resident -- ouch!! cost of living is quite low in burlington (at least compare to sf!), so the high cost of tuition is not quite as bad as it seems.
one more thing...comparing uvm to drexel: uvm's curriculum seems like a mix between drexel's ifm & pil curriculums except that it ends early during the 2nd year. to me this is ideal as drexel's pil curriculum sounds awesome, but i believe i would benefit from a little more lecture time and ifm has too much lecture time in my opinion.
