Duke vs WashU St. Louis

[liliestea]

Duke (total cost ~330k)

Pros

• Currently living & working at Duke. Loved my experience here. Good community, have always been treated well here and owe a lot of my growth to Duke. Was my dream to get into Duke.
• 1 year preclinical and 3rd year research year - potentially could be really good for residency apps. Also I'm a one-track mind so I think I'd like not having to do research alongside classes.
• True P/F including P/F clinicals, no AOA
• Student community seems pretty relaxed & happy
• Name recognition both in and out of medicine
• Duke explicitly admits they value their own med students for residency, could be an advantage

Cons

• Lukewarm on location. Durham is fine weather wise and cost wise - got a pretty good deal on housing. But I will like Durham a lot better once I get a car, I think.
• Preclinical year being compressed could potentially make studying for step 1 harder?
• Bit of a higher cost. Not sure how much that will matter in the end. Kinda willing to eat some cost to go to my dream school but unsure if worth.

WashU St Louis (total cost ~270k)

Pros

• Got totally love-bombed at SLW (awesome sweater btw). Really enjoyed SLW overall.
• Was given bigger merit scholarship than Duke
• True P/F but you can get distinctions, no AOA
• Less intense preclinical with exams more spread out
• Student community also pretty relaxed & happy (Midwesterners are very nice!), students have said the curriculum is also really easy
• Name recognition in medicine

Cons

• No dedicated time for research, have to do it alongside classes, though I'm sure students manage this fine.
• Distinctions on top of P/F?
• Slightly farther from family in the Northeast, then again Durham is drive-able for my family but still not very close either.
• Missouri. Could be hard to get certain kinds of reproductive care if needed. Altho I heard you can just drive into Illinois.
• St. Louis was alright but not my favorite place ever either. Would still need a car. Weather seems volatile which I really don't like that much. Cost of living probably not much better than Durham.
• Name recognition outside of medicine. Irrelevant con for the most part I know.

Summary: I was totally dead set on Duke before this whole process and now I'm making my final decision soon so I've been rethinking everything through. If the finances were exactly the same I'd honestly just go to Duke because it's what I know and love right now, but after visiting WashU I also really enjoyed myself there. I don't qualify for institutional need-based aid due to parents income. I'm fully reliant on merit aid as far as I know. Costs are estimated based on the merit offers I received. I have no specialty of interest in mind yet.

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[theoceanman]

Go Duke 100%, especially with P/F clinicals as that will save your life. Also residency-favoritism may play a huge role so definitely Duke is the option.

 

[zerotofate]

If you’d like to go to Duke for residency, then that is a huge safe bet! Especially if you have connections established. Definitely also felt the love-bomb at WashU SLW, but know that it’s a very surface level view of what your experience could be there

 

[MercifulCamper]

I can sympathize with Duke being your dream school as I may have to turn down my dream school for the money. I don't think 70K is a ton of money in the grand scheme of things but its probably a good 2-3 years of financial freedom. I think both school's are comparable and WashU will not prevent you from matching to Duke but home field advantage is a legit thing. These are some things to consider but it sounds like you want to go to Duke and if dropping the financial freedom in return for a better, happier 4 years of your life during medical school is ok with you, then I would go to Duke, but if you want that financial freedom I would go to WashU.

 

[CoolBreezes]

If you think you might regret not attending Duke, go there. It doesn't sound like the cost differential is the difference between experiencing severe financial hardship and not.

 

[deleted1065184]

The cost isn't different enough to matter that much. I vote for Duke based on your stated pros and cons.

 

[EndureVascular]

Like others have said- seems Duke has the narrow, but clear, advantage

 

[ElTacoGrande]

Sounds like Duke no question in your case. Would kill not to have to move here...

 

[BritainKittenMittens]

Sounds like Duke no question in your case. Would kill not to have to move here...

Oh really? Sounds like you’d kill to get off of the WL at WashU? 2022-2023 Washington University in St. Louis

Another reminder when someone tells you to go to a school, they might be trying to get off the waitlist of the other schools. Not saying that’s the case here and you might’ve gotten off the WL, but very suspicious, who can you trust on the internet…

 

[Max2022]

Duke sounds like a good option.
Family support is important in med school. Like the one year option for research. Step 1 is p/f so should be ok.

 

[deleted1144897]

Seems like Duke will make you happy

 

[exl311]

Ask Duke if they can match the financial aid that WashU offered. If so, Duke hands down. If not, Duke still sounds like a better fit but carefully consider the additional the COA for Duke and compare it to WashU

 

[ElTacoGrande]

Oh really? Sounds like you’d kill to get off of the WL at WashU? 2022-2023 Washington University in St. Louis

Another reminder when someone tells you to go to a school, they might be trying to get off the waitlist of the other schools. Not saying that’s the case here and you might’ve gotten off the WL, but very suspicious, who can you trust on the internet…

No just sounded like Duke was their dream school and not moving also sounds like a dream to me. Yes I'm on the WashU WL with 500+ other folks , but given the info they gave sounded like Duke was the better choice to me. WashU WL is too big to change odds with any individual changes. Might not need a car at WashU though if you live at the apts by the med school/BJ.

 

[liliestea]

Ask Duke if they can match the financial aid that WashU offered. If so, Duke hands down. If not, Duke still sounds like a better fit but carefully consider the additional the COA for Duke and compare it to WashU

Unfortunately, I asked Duke to match my merit offer at WashU and they explained they do not match but would keep the offer in mind. Their counter offer was 25% to WashU's 50% tuition. Both schools have told me that for now, they are overextended on merit offers. I think I might try one more time, which would definitely sway my decision. But the answers in this thread have been super helpful!

(Also I don't qualify for any institutional need-based aid either way)

 

[deleted1017183]

Seems like the Duke staff likes having you around. The environment at Duke makes it worth the $60k in my opinion if you feel like you'll proceed to achieve more (which sounds like you will). Don't underestimate your learning environment.