Duke vs. Baylor

[youz]

So I'm trying to decide between these two. I was wondering which you all would prefer. I've been giving this some thought and I've come up with the following breakdown:

Baylor
Pros
Cheap
Solid clinical experience
Houston (big city)
Short pre-clinical
Good research opportunities
Seemed pretty laid back

Cons
Houston (mildly uncool big city)
Large number of Texans (not that I mind Texans, I just like diversity)
Doesn't have the Duke "Pizazz"
No campus feeling

Duke
Pros
Small class, more attention
Unique curriculum
Year of research
Ridiculously short pre-clinical
Has a great campus
Students seemed to be some of the happiest I encountered
Cheap living
Basketball
Basketball
Oh, and basketball

Cons
Durham (smaller than I'm used to)
Not as big of a medical center
More expensive

Any thoughts? Anyone else considering these two? Also, has anyone compared the match lists of these two schools (I would imagine that Duke wins in this respect but I'm not certain)? I have a few other good options but I like these two most. Well, today, anyway!

My apologies for long post but hopefully this list of factors will help others who are considering these two schools...

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[diosa428]

You will probably get more posts on this if it were in pre-allo. I don't know anything about Baylor, but I'm a first year at Duke, so maybe I can help you out a little:

Duke
Pros
Small class, more attention - actually, I'd prefer a larger class - more people to get to know, etc. 100 is really small when you spend every day together. But I'm a first year, so once we're doing our rotations, this may become more beneficial, with less students rotating in the specialties.
Unique curriculum - This is why most of the students in my class came. Honestly, there's no need to spend 2 years on the basic science stuff, we get to do our rotations earlier, and do a year of whatever we want.
Year of research - at Duke, or anywhere in the country, or world! Or get a second degree! And still finish in 4 years.
Ridiculously short pre-clinical - Like I said above, this is great. Who wants to sit in class for 2 more years?
Has a great campus - it's a nice campus, but this isn't really a big deal once in med school (although the gardens are amazing).
Students seemed to be some of the happiest I encountered - yeah, we it here.
Cheap living - true.
Basketball
Basketball
Oh, and basketball - yeah, lots of my classmates went to LOTS of games.

Cons
Durham (smaller than I'm used to) - yes, it's small. If you LOVE the city, then this may be a problem, but honestly, we don't have TONS of time to go out. There's a mall, a movie theater, bars, CH is a short drive, Raleigh is a little bit further. That's about all we really need. If we have a free weekend, we go to the beach (summer) or the mountains (winter). Both are a couple of hours away.
Not as big of a medical center - after having been on the wards this year, I can tell you that patients come to Duke from all over (including other states), so there's still a lot of variety and interesting cases.
More expensive - Yes, it is expensive. And I wish I weren't staring at the debt that I am, but I loved Duke enough to choose it anyway. However, if Baylor is going to be a LOT cheaper, and you don't absolutely LOVE Duke, then this may be a big (deciding) factor.

Sorry, I probably didn't help that much, but let me know if you have any questions.

 

[Critical Mass]

Any thoughts? Anyone else considering these two? Also, has anyone compared the match lists of these two schools (I would imagine that Duke wins in this respect but I'm not certain)?

Um, no. (Full disclosure: I attend neither school.)

The other poster was correct. Pre-allo is where people debate the match lists. Here where the experienced people are, you'll get the same answer over and over again, namely that there is no such thing as a Duke student who was able to match someplace better than a Baylor student simply because of his/her choice of school. Let me repeat that--no such thing.

Congrats on both offers. There is no question whatsoever that I would choose Baylor 7 days a week and twice on Sunday almost exclusively based on the pricetag and cost of living. Both have unique curricula (though I would prefer Baylor's as far as I can tell).

Don't get me wrong, I have been on interviews at Duke and UNC as well as Baylor, and Carolina looked like a great place to live. I had enough debt coming into med school, however, and any difference in "prestige" between Duke and Baylor are sponsored by the lay public or basketball fans, not the medical community. (And please don't wave some magazine rank in my face in favor of either school--that's for pre-allo too.)

Most of the stuff you listed had a lot more meaning to me before med school, but now that I've started, my list includes only three things: administration's assumed hegemony over the day-to-day lives of students, total cost of education, and curriculum/grading system. Unfortunately 2 of those 3 can only be ascertained as to personal fit after you've started.

 

[youz]

Thanks a lot to both of you for your input. It's a pretty big decision though I think I would be happy at either. By the time I need to decide, I'll have visited both schools and will hopefully have a better idea of where I belong.

Anyway, I wanted to get the opinions of current medical students but I guess a pre-allo thread might be appropriate as well...

 

[OncoCaP]

Thanks a lot to both of you for your input. It's a pretty big decision though I think I would be happy at either. By the time I need to decide, I'll have visited both schools and will hopefully have a better idea of where I belong.

Anyway, I wanted to get the opinions of current medical students but I guess a pre-allo thread might be appropriate as well...

Current medical students do post in pre-allo frequently, so don't be afraid to go where you will get great help. Also, pre-allos have various comparison details that are helpful as well. You can also lurk or ask questions in current threads for Baylor & Duke. I'm very sure that if you search prior threads about these schools you will get plenty of detailed information.