Emory vs. UAB

[Fooman]

Here's the situation. I've been accepted to both UAB and Emory medical school. I am having a difficult time deciding on which one to attend. Here are the factors:

1. UAB is in my hometown where I currently live. Emory is only 2 hours away so in terms of location, both are just as good. Atlanta is a bigger city though.

2. Emory is about $37k per year (including room & board) while UAB is only $11k per year since I'm a state resident.

3. I will get a scholarship that would possibly pay for my entire tuition cost at UAB. For Emory, I'm hoping to get some financial aid or loans.

4. In terms of ranking, according to US News, Emory is ranked 22 while UAB is 27.

Based on these factors and your own factors, which one would you go to? I'd like to hear some opinions.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Ceelo]

Are you kidding me?! It seems like you've already chosen UAB. Go with your instinct, man.

 

[FSUMED]

Lets see...I think I would probably move off to a new city to live in some crappy apartment and not know anybody all so I can end up leaving school with a debt of over $100,000, and the knowledge that I got my MD from a place that was 7 spots higher than that other crappy state school on some arbitrary US News ranking

P.S. GO TO UAB

 

[Fooman]

Yeah the large debt from going to Emory is suck.

I was wondering though on residency matching, does the success of matching depend also on the reputation of the school? In this case, I think Emory has a better name (at least in the South). Just wondering if that is a factor.

 

[Acro Yali]

I think they have comparable reputation. Wouldn't give you a significant advantage if you choose one over the other, reputation wise.

 

[Vdawg]

yeah the difference between 27th and 22nd is not that significant.

 

[GTMD2Bee]

As someone from GA, I would say that it is NOT worth the extra 26K for you to move to Atlanta and go to Emory. I chose not to go to Emory and went to MCG because you just can't compare less than 10K and almost 30K. I was also advised by many that the training is almost equivocal. Does Emory have the better "name" than MCG? Most likely, but there are many fellow classmates that have matched at top notch residencies without the Emory name. UAB's reputation is pretty equivocal to Emory, and so if I were you, the choice would pretty simple. Free ride vs. lots of debt, hmmm... what to choose. Unless of course you just wanted to move to Atl., which I have to say I found to be a much "funner" town than when I visited Birmingham.

 

[BamaFlip]

GO TO UAB!

It's is an awesome school with an awesome price. Debt may not seem like much of a big deal now, but in a couple of years it will. I am choosing to attend UAB myself. Why? Not particularly for the debt issue, but because I feel UAB is gonna be the best thing for me in the long run. And that decision, unfortunately, is gonna have to be made by you. All in all, go where you feel you would be the happiest. But, I would go to UAB. If you do man, I'll see you in August.

 

[barcher]

Dude (I assume Fooman is a dude and not a dudet), I am (or was) in the same situation. I was accepted to UAB in Dec and to Emory last week. Although I was happy to see the Emory acceptance letter, there was absolutely NO way I could justify the cost difference. I've already sent in the decline letter. Another thing, I am a Ga Tech grad and trust me, Atlanta traffic is soooo much worse the B'ham. As far as the residency thing goes, I've heard over and over that it's more to do with your performance in whichever medical school you choose than the reputation. Especially when the two schools are so close in rank. Now, having said that, the only reason that it would be good for you to go to Emory over UAB is to reduce the competitive pool for the state merit scholarships in Alabama . Just kidding, see you in July at the UAB orientation!

 

[BamaFlip]

Whassup Barher,

You know who this is don't you? How's the teaching going? Do you know if UAB is gonna have an acceptancee day or something to that equivalent?

 

[TechMan]

Hey Barcher, what was your degree in?

 

[barcher]

Hey Bamaflip, if your asking how the teaching is going, I assume that you are my fellow Kap teacher. Glad you found SDN. So far so good. I've really enjoyed the experience and hope to maybe do it again this summer before medschool. As far as an acceptee day, I don't think that they have that per se. The orientation week really serves this purpose though, ending in the white coat ceremony. How's your teaching been going?

To Techman, I graduated in '95 in mechanical engineering. I had no thoughts of medicine at the time. I worked as an ME for Michelin Tire for 5 years, then pursued medicine. So, far I think it's the best decision I've ever made. I will always love Ga Tech though and always keep up with the football. What's your story?

 

[Hercules]

Fooman,
I'm an MS-I at UAB right now who considered a few higher ranked private schools last year while I was applying. When I applied I decided that the school would have to be way above UAB before I would consider passing up the in-state tuition. When I interviewed at WashU, the 4th year student doing our tour actually said that she wasn't sure that she would have gone to WashU if she had a school of UAB's caliber in her state. UAB has a pretty good national reputation, and if you're worried about residency matching, just go to our website and check out the match lists from the last couple of years.

barcher,
I taught in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham for KAPLAN in the spring and summer last year before I started school. It was fun and it paid pretty well, but if I had it to do over again, I would have completely taken the summer off and just relaxed. Just my two cents.