Duke or Emory?

[eucalyptus]

The >100 people viewing the Duke thread yesterday who weren't registered SDNers included me. I was accepted by Emory earlier in the cycle and Duke yesterday.

EMORY:
Week on the Wards; clinical exposure from day 1
1.5yr basic science + 6mo 'discovery phase'
~8 wks set aside for step1
ATL >> Durham

DUKE:
finish basic sci in 1yr
clinical rotations in M2
3rd yr!
better ranked

I am very impressed by both schools. Emory's basic science curriculum makes for a (much) more manageable first year. But fighting through the craziness at Duke leads to the endless opportunities afforded by their third year - HHMI, Cloisters, etc, etc - that one would not have at Emory.

 

[eucalyptus]

wow i expected pro-duke but not this landslide. emory during my visit was great - open faculty, friendly students, incredible new med school building, P/F curriculum. are people considering prestige (~5 >> ~20?), or 3rd yr, or what.

 

[d1ony5u5]

I'm pretty sure you are free to extend the "discovery phase" in Emory if you get a project in the NIH, CDC, etc. I believe under some circumstances they will also waive tuition, and maybe a stipend? not sure about the last.

Wow, cramming 2 years of medical school basic science into one sounds like not much fun... but I guess it is just one year of hell, as opposed to dragging it out for 2.

Well, good luck with your decision!

PS. I didn't vote because I know next to zero about Duke, so I'd be biased...

 

[FluffyRabbit]

But fighting through the craziness at Duke leads to the endless opportunities afforded by their third year - HHMI, Cloisters, etc, etc - that one would not have at Emory.

You can apply to those regardless of which school you attend, Duke just allows you to not have to take a year off.

 

[drizzt3117]

Soooooooooooooo much rather be done with basic science in one year rather than two... I started really regretting not applying to Duke immediately after starting med school, just didn't want to fill out that beast of a secondary

 

[paki20]

wow i expected pro-duke but not this landslide. emory during my visit was great - open faculty, friendly students, incredible new med school building, P/F curriculum. are people considering prestige (~5 >> ~20?), or 3rd yr, or what.

yeah they're considering the name..duke is much more recognizable of a name than emory although honestly they're both amazing schools..and yeah atlanta >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> durham

 

[Tatastrophy]

Those are my #s 1 and 2. Probably getting rejected by both but here is my reasoning.
#1 Duke-3rd year is a biiiiiig plus. Yet they somehow managed to make the 2 in 1 year manageable-all the students I've spoken to seem to like it a lot. I like Durham, you may not.
#2 Emory-Grady is amazing. Class a little bit bigger but still on the smaller side. Their curriculum is actually attempts to mimic the 2 in 1 year thing...except they go with 18 months, you have Dec and Jan off for step one and like 6 months to start on some research...which as someone mentioned you could extend. I've lived in Atlanta for 10 years...you most def need a car and it is more expensive to live here overall.
Both are pretty amazing in my book but I really fell in love with Duke.

 

[eucalyptus]

Soooooooooooooo much rather be done with basic science in one year rather than two... I started really regretting not applying to Duke immediately after starting med school, just didn't want to fill out that beast of a secondary

That's a good point, and brings up a question about clinical rotations. Beyond what I've seen on the Emory website, which discusses the basic 'you'll have these rotations for this many weeks', does anyone know how the clinical year is structured at Emory? ie How many nights of call/wk? How tests are structured? I know at Duke you get a little time to study before shelf exams which is a big plus, and the rotations are fairly manageable in the grand scheme of med schools

 

[bigman225]

Cheaper one.. although I would probably choose Duke even money because their hospital is closer.

 

[Jihad]

Forget everything these fools have just said as none of it is truly important. All you have to consider is this:

Which has sexier people?