Hey everyone, I’m struggling with this decision and would appreciate any input! Both would be full cost.
Hopkins
+++Very strong college/“molecule”/“macromolecule” system
++Reputation. I’m struggling with this one. On the one hand, they’re both clearly top schools. I know the general consensus on here is that differences within the T10/20 don’t matter, but Hopkins really seems to be considered among the very best of the best, and that’s not something I can easily ignore. I am considering very competitive specialties, and may or may not be interested in academia.
++18 month pre-clerkship. So longer than Vanderbilt, but not by a ton, and still relatively short.
+AOA released after residency apps (so effectively no AOA)
--Baltimore. This got very political in the JHU thread, and I don’t want to restart that debate. But having lots of good bars, restaurants, and concerts is important to me, and Baltimore doesn’t seem to offer as much of that. Current students report that Baltimore grew on them, but the ways they describe it (“small town feel in a city”, “charming neighborhoods”) is not quite what I’m looking for—which is continually being able to explore and having things to do/eat.
Vanderbilt
+++1 year pre-clerkship. Sounds intense, but very appealing overall. I’m very undecided on specialty, so I like the idea of having the extra clinical exposure to decide. Plus, M1 summer is a real summer, with no hidden expectation of research.
+++P/F core clerkships. Sounds like it could relieve a lot of stress.
+++Strong college system. Perhaps not quite as structured as Hopkins, but these are the 2 schools I’ve seen with the most student buy-in into their college/house systems, which is nice.
++Nashville seems fun
++small class size (90). Not a huge distinguishing factor (Hopkins is ~120)
-Shorter pre-clerkship = less time to make friends? (Need to talk to current students about this)
--Very long blocks/ infrequent exams, and thus more material on each one (maybe a pro?). Hopkins has exams every 2-3 weeks.
If anyone has input on things that I may not be considering, but should be, that would also be appreciated!
Hopkins
+++Very strong college/“molecule”/“macromolecule” system
++Reputation. I’m struggling with this one. On the one hand, they’re both clearly top schools. I know the general consensus on here is that differences within the T10/20 don’t matter, but Hopkins really seems to be considered among the very best of the best, and that’s not something I can easily ignore. I am considering very competitive specialties, and may or may not be interested in academia.
++18 month pre-clerkship. So longer than Vanderbilt, but not by a ton, and still relatively short.
+AOA released after residency apps (so effectively no AOA)
--Baltimore. This got very political in the JHU thread, and I don’t want to restart that debate. But having lots of good bars, restaurants, and concerts is important to me, and Baltimore doesn’t seem to offer as much of that. Current students report that Baltimore grew on them, but the ways they describe it (“small town feel in a city”, “charming neighborhoods”) is not quite what I’m looking for—which is continually being able to explore and having things to do/eat.
Vanderbilt
+++1 year pre-clerkship. Sounds intense, but very appealing overall. I’m very undecided on specialty, so I like the idea of having the extra clinical exposure to decide. Plus, M1 summer is a real summer, with no hidden expectation of research.
+++P/F core clerkships. Sounds like it could relieve a lot of stress.
+++Strong college system. Perhaps not quite as structured as Hopkins, but these are the 2 schools I’ve seen with the most student buy-in into their college/house systems, which is nice.
++Nashville seems fun
++small class size (90). Not a huge distinguishing factor (Hopkins is ~120)
-Shorter pre-clerkship = less time to make friends? (Need to talk to current students about this)
--Very long blocks/ infrequent exams, and thus more material on each one (maybe a pro?). Hopkins has exams every 2-3 weeks.
If anyone has input on things that I may not be considering, but should be, that would also be appreciated!
