Lil' Help (WUSTL vs. Vandy vs. UofC)

[Keg]

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Hey y'all, I need your assistance. I am in the position where I have to choose between 3 schools, each of which has its pros and its cons. Since I've been asking everyone else, I figure asking y'all (since you know best, as current med students, what the pros and cons of each school are) couldn't hurt. Here's my story:

I'm a senior at Vanderbilt, from the Nashville area. Family is all here. Girlfriend is from Chicago (north side) and her family is there. She's probably going to follow me wherever I go (she has an education degree) unless she gets into neuroscience grad school.

Choices (in alphabetical order, with expected amount of loans I'd have to take out each place):

1) University of Chicago, $52,647 in loans over 4 years (all subsidized)
2) Vanderbilt University, $61,730 in loans over 4 years (75% subsidized)
3) Washington University, $80,000 in loans over 4 years (all subsidized)

If you want to say why you chose what you did, I'd appreciate it, but if not... that's fine, too! Thanks, y'all!

 

[Brainsucker]

Stay in Chicago to make your g/f happy.

 

[Smoke This]

I'm not the biggest fan of Wash U but of the 3 it'll probably open the most doors for you. The cost is obviously the highest for Wash U, but I think you could live as cheaply as Nashville in St. Louis and maybe even more cheaply. Also, the neuroscience grad program there is strong.

 

[efex101]

Vandy, you know your way, you have family the cost of living is cheap etc...btw Vandy is a great school too!

 

[epalantequevoy]

washu without a doubt. culturally st. louis is much more interesting than nashville and the rent for a GOOD apartment doesn't even come close to the same price as a tiny apartment in chicago. a friend of mine found a 2br near forest park for 650/mo.

the washu people are as nice as the vandy people, and i think the program is a little stronger there, especially for internal medicine.

 

[Syranope2]

I'm an MS2 at Wash U and I'd definitely say come here, but I'm awfully biased. If you have any questions about the school, St. Louis, or anything, PM me 🙂

Good luck with your decision.

 

[JBlue]

Go to WashU. Your overall debt load will still be less than the national average and you can get out of Nashville for awhile. If you want to be around family later you can always do your residency at Vandy.

 

[DrRobert]

WashU for the following reasons:

1. Will open more doors than the other two.

2. Cost of living in StL is cheap.

3. The neuroscience department at WashU is one of the best in the nation.

4. It gives you a chance to live in a different city for 4 years, and you'd still be within driving distance of Chicago and Nashville for weeekend trips.


That being said, all 3 are great schools, and you can't go wrong with any of them.

 

[Keg]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I'm aiming to go into CT surgery when it's all said and done... if that sways anyone's opinions.

 

[housemd]

YOU really need to make this decision on your own. Is an online board really going to help?

 

[Keg]

YOU really need to make this decision on your own. Is an online board really going to help?

Oh, I'll not make the decision based on the outcome of the poll, I'm interested to see what people say, both here and in PM, as it sometimes forces me to consider factors that I had neglected to consider in my initial (and subsequent) analyses of the problem. But for those who don't have defined reasons, the poll is there. But come May 14, it'll be my own soul-searching, partially prompted by the responses on SDN to this thread, that will have to lead me to a decision.