Mayo AZ vs. UVA

[throwawaydecision]

Hey guys! I am grateful to have been accepted to two amazing programs. Just a little about me: I am from the East Coast. I have no idea what I want to do specifically within medicine and am open to anything. The cost between the schools over the 4 years as it looks right now will be similar (within ~$30,000 of each other). I know both are great schools with amazing opportunities but I would appreciate input from you guys!

Mayo AZ
Pros

• Best interview day; loved the school, faculty and students
• Seems like a great area where I would enjoy life. I am not from here but I like exploring new places and new experiences
• More personalized education??? (good faculty to student ratio and small class size)
• Better reputation = better opportunities??? (I'm not sure how much to weigh this against another reputable school like UVA)
• Amazing hospital system
• No AOA (I don't really know how much I care about this)

Cons

• Not the original MN campus so there is a risk that it is not as reputable as the MN Mayo Clinic (this personally does not concern me much after my interview day other than what it is noted below but I would love to hear more opinions!)
  • From what I gathered, they might be moving the medical school from Scottsdale to Phoenix in the next 4-8 years (again, I don't really know if this is true and even if it is, what to think about it)
• Far away from family, friends and SO. I don't really know that I care much about a "support system" but I do value all of the aforementioned relationships in terms of enjoyment and added meaning in my life and would like to consider them in the decision making process.

UVA
Pros

• 2nd best interview day; also loved the school, faculty and students
• I like and am familiar with Charlottesville and will be happy there
• Closer to family, friends and SO

Cons

• Not as great hospital system and not as reputable as Mayo
• AOA (they're trying to get rid of it but that doesn't mean much because I hear that from all schools)

Summary: I'd be happy at both schools and the COA looks about the same so I'm just trying to weigh the better reputation / opportunities of Mayo vs. the importance of staying close with family, friends and SO via UVA.

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[TheRentTooHigh]

I made a similar choice and ended up dropping Mayo AZ. Although it was extremely tempting and the school was very insistent that AZ = MN, every single physician I spoke to at academic centers disagreed with that claim. The saving grace would be the fact that AZ will supposedly have the exact same ERAS as MN, there is no distinguishing remark or anything. However, Mayo matches heavily into Mayo itself, which makes their match list look super. I worried that AZ home program will be AZ, not MN, and for residency the gap between AZ and MN is pretty big. This is what gives the edge to the MN campus...if you fail to match in MGH, you still have the very reputable Mayo MN. For AZ, if you fail to match in MGH, your home program isn't the main reputable Mayo residency.

 

[clsawwwd]

I think this depends on your preference of the smaller class size that Mayo brings. It seems like you'll be happy being close to home, but you also will enjoy being away and exploring AZ. Try and ask yourself how important having a close support system is.
If it helps, I think a lot of Mayo AZ students moved there too from all over the country. You can build friendships with others who are experiencing the same thing.

Although some physicians may believe that AZ may not carry the same prestige as MN, they also are most likely speculating/assuming and not have spoken with admin and current Mayo students as closely as admitted students have. Many new med schools have good match lists, and Mayo AZ is simply another location of a well-known school (not necessarily building it from the ground up).

I don't think you're limited to matching into Mayo AZ either lol, and it's also not guaranteed that people will match into their home programs. There are many students at schools who are unable to match back into their programs. To respond to someone else's comment about failing to match into MGH, you really don't know where people wanted to match as their top choice when looking at a match list.

 

[A_Knowbody]

MGH = Massachusetts General Hospital (Harvard affiliated).

I voted for UVA as you feel you'll be happier there, so I'm voting for higher quality of life. Nothing in your description of your goals made it seem like the slight increase in opportunities at Mayo outweighed this. If you decide you want to pursue something more competitive, UVA will still have opportunities to get you there.

For Mayo - you like new experiences and new places, but are you excited about moving? I think there's a difference between exploring new places (more akin to traveling) than to uplifting your home base. If you find yourself pining to get away (there's nothing wrong with this), Mayo may be the right fit.

That said, both are great schools, will provide ample opportunity, and give you a chance to go anywhere. You can't go wrong.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Yhwach]

Disclaimer - Mayo-AZ WL, UVA A but withdrew

Mayo-AZ would be my pick for many reasons

1) Reputation: Mayo physician and system itself in Mayo Clinic in AZ is still renowned and good. The small class will give you unparalleled attention and opportunities with clinicians.

2) NO AOA = REAL NO RANK = No worrying about trying to suck up to attendings in clerkship and you can actually learn nor try to find the resident or attending that will give you the best evaluation.

I think not going to mayo is a mistake.

 

[Skittsie13]

Disclaimer - Mayo-AZ WL, UVA A but withdrew

Mayo-AZ would be my pick for many reasons

1) Reputation: Mayo physician and system itself in Mayo Clinic in AZ is still renowned and good. The small class will give you unparalleled attention and opportunities with clinicians.

2) NO AOA = REAL NO RANK = No worrying about trying to suck up to attendings in clerkship and you can actually learn nor try to find the resident or attending that will give you the best evaluation.

I think not going to mayo is a mistake.

I'm not familiar with how Mayo AZ grades, but no AOA does not necessarily mean no rank. They're separate things. You may still be ranked within your class, based on preclinical or clinical or both and this would be reported to residencies on your MSPE. Mayo AZ may also not rank, I have no idea, but no AOA doesn't always mean that.

 

[Yhwach]

I'm not familiar with how Mayo AZ grades, but no AOA does not necessarily mean no rank. They're separate things. You may still be ranked within your class, based on preclinical or clinical or both and this would be reported to residencies on your MSPE. Mayo AZ may also not rank, I have no idea, but no AOA doesn't always mean that.

Most schools I interviewed or researched that had no AOA also didn't rank.

Yes, you are right the two are not linked but logically for most schools, it doesn't really make sense to not have AOA and rank. Most schools without AOA do not rank as well.

I agree that my logic is not 100% accurate but based on what most other schools do a school with no AOA tends not to rank. (Mayo-AZ does not rank and has no AOA)

 

[throwawaydecision]

Thank you all. This has been very helpful!