Indiana vs UVM

[Aria MD???]

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I have been grateful to have been accepted to two great schools but they are great for very different reasons. I am interested in primary care and have not received my financial aid packages as yet. I would love to hear what you guys think

UVM

Pros
- love the atmosphere and community at UVM
- Love the active learning curriculum with flipped classroom
- Know will be cared for as a student

Cons
- More class time because of TBL
- Lower rank (50)
- Rural location, not sure if will like it
- Doesn’t seem to have as many opportunities especially in terms of global health

Indiana

Pros
- better location (more of a city girl)
- max 26 hours of class per week
- better global health opportunities
- seems to have better opportunities in general
- better rank (30)
- P/F

Cons
- 50% lecture 50% TBL
- 30k more per year tuition
- doesn’t post match list but heard is good
- atmosphere is not as supportive as UVM

IU

UVM


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[Sea Otter]

Based off your list of pros/cons, I would go to UVM. The pros of IU don't appear to outweigh that massive con of an extra $120,000 of debt (plus interest).

 

[hydrophobicmed]

I don't think ranking here should be a driving force. It depends on which school you vibe more and where you want to practice. If you see yourself matching into a program in the Midwest, IU is a better choice. If you want to have a shot in NYC or Boston, I believe UVM has an advantage. If you want to anywhere else, then both will be about the same.

I would probably pick UVM since you said you felt more taken care of. Medical school is going to be stressful, feeling connected and cared for is going to make your life easier.

 

[ed121]

I would argue for UVM.

IU has 9 regional campuses and the main campus (Indianapolis) is grossly overcrowded. As a result, they are attempting to push more and more students to regional campuses and keep them there for 4 years. In other words, you may end up in a city like Evansville or Gary for 4 years because students have to “apply” to transfer to Indianapolis after the first two years. It is not well know if this is just a formality or if it is a true application process. I have grown up in Indiana all my life and know several people who are currently students. There are a few who are happy but most are not fans of the school and do not feel well supported. Students at my interview day specifically said they were not happy at the school until they started rotations, and this was at the Indianapolis campus (traditionally known as the best place to be).

Admittedly, their match list is pretty good, but I would imagine the programs are mostly limited to the Midwest so take that for what it’s worth.

I don’t think the school is worth an additional 120k in loans as they are widely known around here for lacking communication and misguiding students, despite their strong match list. Another consideration is who matches to the top programs out of IU? Traditionally, the best students are placed in Indianapolis where they can easily come into contact with faculty who know PDs at other institutions. If you are placed in a regional campus, you are rotating with community doctors who are volunteering to have medical students shadow them. It’s hard to imagine community docs will be able to write a strong LOR to PDs at other schools.

However, IU is very well known for primary care and has strong residency programs, which is another consideration. With the upcoming shortage of primary care docs and the drastic need for more people entering primary care specialties, I would not go to a school based off this reason alone.

Hope this helps and good luck!

 

[Aria MD???]

Bump, I would love to get some new opinions considering that Step 1 will be P/F for my class so rank/prestige is likely to be more important


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