Duke vs. Mayo-AZ

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pusheencat

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Hi guys! Would love to hear your thoughts

Both places have a relatively similar cost-of-living and prestige level, I think? Unfortunately, neither has a student-run free clinic or robust outreach to underserved communities

Duke pros:
- close to family and friends
- Get to rotations faster w/ 1 year preclinical
- strong research (i'm interested in reconstructive plastics)
- more diverse student body + faculty
- it appears there's more social justice interest/action here
- amenities of undergrad campus + lots of students around
- duke is apparently doing away with grading on 2nd-year rotations starting next year!
(Haven't gotten financial aid package yet but I've heard they're known to match)

Duke cons:
- paying tuition for the research year hurts my soul
- competition for resources/leadership in larger class
- bad interview day vibes but bc of mean interviewers

Mayo-AZ pros:
- 70% tuition scholarship
- small class size (50), less competition for resources & relationships
- Selectives + 2yr preclinical = slower more relaxed
- good interview day vibes
- lots of pretty nature things + new environment
- new campus = opportunities to take on leadership roles

Mayo-AZ cons:
- Far from friends and family on East Coast (literally know like 2 ppl on the west coast)
- Interested in residency/building my life on east coast. Mayo has potentially less connections with East Coast programs?? idk if thats true?? Can someone comment on this?
- Heard from M3 student that 3rd year ranked grading is very stressful and competitive
- Not sure if the prestige/residency match of the Rochester campus fully transfers to AZ campus
- No campus feel, students seem more likely to be studying at a local starbucks than at a student hub ya know

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Seems like you don't mind the AZ location that much, and 70% tuition is a lot. Normally I'd say go with the school you think you'd be happier at, but it seems like nothing stands out about Duke to you. In that case, 70% tuition is just a lot.
 
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Heard from M3 student that 3rd year ranked grading is very stressful and competitive
I'm in a similar situation and am trying to decide between Mayo AZ and another school! Can you elaborate more on this? I didn't know that the clinical grading is "ranked" :/
 
Wait for Mayo AZ’s first match list coming out this month. That should address some of the cons you listed
 
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Mayo 100%. Are you kidding me?! Mayo's curriculum is insanely unique because you get to customize it and really tailor it to your own interests (selectives). They will go out of THEIR way to find you any research lab you want. They're at your service. Their student:faculty ratio is absolutely insane. You can travel across MCASOM campuses. They have dual degree opportunities. They have insane mentoring and connections
 
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Personally, it sounds like financial aid from Duke will make a big difference as 70% tuition seems hard to pass up. As a former Duke student, I will say there are a lot of opportunities to be involved in the community and work with underserved patients, from working at the clinic for the homeless to the rural Freemont clinic to other more public health type opportunities. Durham also has a lot of energy around social justice. I can’t speak for what community outreach looks like at Mayo-Arizona since I interviewed there 4+ years ago at this point, but I loved Duke. Feel free to pm me if there are any specific questions I can answer.
 
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Absolutely Mayo-AZ in my opinion, that is a school I wish I had received an A at. Duke is a great school. But Mayo will open the door for more opportunities moving forward
 
Mayo 100%. Are you kidding me?! Mayo's curriculum is insanely unique because you get to customize it and really tailor it to your own interests (selectives). They will go out of THEIR way to find you any research lab you want. They're at your service. Their student:faculty ratio is absolutely insane. You can travel across MCASOM campuses. They have dual degree opportunities. They have insane mentoring and connections
This. It's hard to appreciate from a premed perspective, and I know I shrugged it off when making my decision, but Mayo is truly unique in its approach to medical school and students. You have selectives which allows for a lot of early exploration and research, and a more human pre-clinical experience (pre-clinical generally sucks). They want to match you to researchers and there are so few students and no attached university of hungry grads/premeds jockeying for spots, so you can pick a lab at will. They also actually believe in team-based medicine and that students are there to, believe it or not, learn medicine. As such whereas at a lot of institutions you will spend a good amount of your time sending faxes, calling PCPs, chasing people down, etc... Mayo has someone whose job that admin work is and students actually get to focus on learning medicine. The two programs are very different, and Duke also seems pretty ideal to me with the free third year, but if you want to do a lot of cool stuff in clinical medicine, I'd go Mayo. If you want to do a lot of stuff in biotech or business, Duke would probably be a better bet.
 
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