Feinberg vs Vanderbilt

[onycho]

Hey guys! Any insight on choosing between Vandy and NW would be so appreciated.

Vanderbilt
Pros

• 1 year pre-clinical (lots of time to explore specialties)
• P/F clerkships in M2 (no ranking)
• 3rd and 4th years give plenty of time and explore/research (would likely not need to take a research year)
• Small class size
• Enjoyed my second look and met a lot of people I get along with (lots of us have taken gap years

Cons

• Nashville
  • Not super diverse-- might be difficult finding community
• 3 part exams
• One pass exams

Northwestern
Pros

• Close to home (strong support system of friends and family)-- born and raised in Illinois
• ECMH seems like a unique, longitudinal clinical experience
• Would be interested in pursuing the MA for medical humanities and bioethics
• Opportunity to retake exams (2 pass/fail)
• Many people match in Chicago (hoping for this)

Cons

• 2 year pre-clinical (not as much time to engage in research, likely would need to take a research year for competitive specialty)
• Quartile ranking system + High honors/honors/P/F for clerkships
• No STEP style questions on exams
• Larger class size
• Class seems younger -- more traditional grads
• Did not enjoy the 2nd look as much, especially the lecture style on first day.

Summary: Overall, I feel like I am torn because I would love to have the curriculum of Vandy with the location of Feinberg. I don't have a clear idea of what specialty I want to go into, but not sure if the 1 yr vs 2 yr preclinical makes a big enough difference for me to move away from home. I definitely would have a huge support system at Feinberg as I know current students and have friends/family in the city.

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[ioloil]

Sounds like Feinberg would be better for you, especially since you would want to match back to chicago and because that's where your support network is which are ultimately what sounds most important for you. Feinberg is such a highly ranked school so I don't think the cons will hurt you all too much for where you want to be. Tough decision though and congratulations on some great choices!

 

[thefirerisen]

The 1 year preclinical is huge for Vandy, and Nashville is more diverse than you would expect. You will not struggle finding community there as it is a very progressive city (rest of Tennessee would be questionable) and you also enjoyed your second look here way more. It would depend on what specialty you want to match. I personally would not want to do an extra research year and with Vanderbilt, that year is already built-in.