My State School (T40) vs Duke

[Throwaway2022123]

Hey everyone, I am down to two schools and need some help deciding where to commit. I am leaning towards Duke, but I want to make sure I am not overlooking the pros of my state school. I am very interested in neurosurgery and surgery in general so that is why I talk about it in my pros and cons lists.

My State School (T40)
Pros

• Tuition is 35k a year after scholarships
• I have shadowed the neurosurgery residency program director and just had dinner with him a couple weeks ago and he told me he could mentor me if I stay
• Worked in a neuro research lab at the same institution during my undergrad years so I could continue the same neuro research
• High match rate ~ 98%
• I would be a "big fish in a small pond"
• Already have a place in the city with close friends and i'll pay around $800 less a month ($9,600 less a year) if I stay
• About five of my good friends from undergrad will be attending in the fall
• Family would be close by ~ 4 hour drive

Cons

• Does not usually match at many institutions I would love to do my residency at
• Not true P/F
• 2 year preclinical curriculum
• No dedicated time for research other than the summer
• Did not really connect with the students during second look week (besides my friends from undergrad)
• Not a fan of the city and I have already been here for five years, another four does not sound very fun to me
• Weather is not great

Duke
Pros

• Tuition is 38k a year after scholarships
• 1 year preclinical so I would start clinical rotations August of my second year
• 3rd year research year so I would have a whole year dedicated to research which would help me a lot for the competitive specialty I am interested in
• True P/F preclinical and clinical years
• The "Duke" name will be able to open more doors for me in the future?
• Consistently ranked in the top 5 for surgery programs (currently #3)
• Love their most frequently matched institutions in previous years (Duke, Harvard, Stanford, UCSF, UPenn, WashU, etc.)
• I really liked and connected with almost every student I talked to during second look weekend
• The weather is a lot nicer than the city of my state school
• Fresh start for medical school

Cons

• Durham was a lot smaller than I expected (I have heard Charlotte can give me more of a city vibe, but it's over 2 hours away)
• I would be a "small fish in a big pond"
• I have no connections at Duke
• 5 hour flight + 2 hour drive to family
• Rent would be about $800 more than I am paying right now because I do not want to do the random roommate thing during my MS1 year.

TLDR: State school would be a bit cheaper, I would enter with connections to staff, and have my family close by. Duke's curriculum is more what I am looking for and the name could help open doors.

Would love to hear everybody's thoughts. Thank you!

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[chilly_md]

Duke seems hard to beat. Pretty similar cost (tuition wise), and they will have some exciting opportunities. Personally, a 4 hour one way drive doesn’t seem to be conducive to visiting family. Raleigh is next to Durham as well, so you can explore that city in your free time.

It is up to how close you are with your friends who will be attending the state school. I’m not sure if they are the same ones you would be living with or if they are different ones. Attending school with your best friends is not something that happens a lot.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

If you want to do neurosurgery, Duke and it’s not close.

 

[4pf]

Duke

 

[hydroflaskhomie]

Duke - I think the advantage for the field you want to pursue is hard to turn down. I think you'll warm up to Durham, even though Raleigh is the better part 🙂

 

[Throwaway2022123]

Update: Thank you all for your perspectives! After reading the comments on this thread and weighing out the pros and cons a little more, I decided to withdraw my acceptance from my state school today. Guess we're heading to Duke!