Please help! Virginia Tech Carillon vs. Penn State

[itsallsmiles]

Virginia Tech Carillion:

Pros:
-cute city
-a week off after every block !!
-small class means no one is competing for opportunities
-strong research component as part of curriculum
-NBME exams
-low cost of living
-they give their students a $15,000 scholarship the first year, and I believe $5000 the next 3 years
-P/F pre-clinical years

Cons:
- More required class time compared to other schools
- I actually got to visit and there seemed to be a lack of diversity in both the student body and city (although the people were lovely regardless), but I do worry about connecting with people as a minority
- Very small class and may not find my people as easily :’)
- 8 hours from family
- Honor/distinction system that takes into account exam scores, reviews from your preceptors, and more. There is no cap on those that can honor.


Penn State:

Pros:
-True P/F all years
-Well established and good match
-Cool humanities department
-Just a bit closer to family
-Bigger and more diverse class and surrounding area
-So much research opportunities
-Not too much required class time

Cons:
-Open essay exam format
-Hershey seems kind of boring
-No scholarship or aid $$$
-Higher cost of living - I really want to live alone the first year

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[chilly_md]

V Tech. The extra money saved is nice and if you’re big on living by yourself, I think you’ll be a lot more comfortable there. From what I remember, Hershey is very small. So while the class size isn’t as small, I don’t think you’ll find much in the surrounding area. Roanoke is larger and more diverse demographics wise. It just might have been that you didn’t get a chance to explore the city much.

 

[Putkernerinthehall]

Virginia Tech Carillion:

Pros:
-cute city
-a week off after every block !!
-small class means no one is competing for opportunities
-strong research component as part of curriculum
-NBME exams
-low cost of living
-they give their students a $15,000 scholarship the first year, and I believe $5000 the next 3 years
-P/F pre-clinical years

Cons:
- More required class time compared to other schools
- I actually got to visit and there seemed to be a lack of diversity in both the student body and city (although the people were lovely regardless), but I do worry about connecting with people as a minority
- Very small class and may not find my people as easily :’)
- 8 hours from family
- Honor/distinction system that takes into account exam scores, reviews from your preceptors, and more. There is no cap on those that can honor.


Penn State:

Pros:
-True P/F all years
-Well established and good match
-Cool humanities department
-Just a bit closer to family
-Bigger and more diverse class and surrounding area
-So much research opportunities
-Not too much required class time

Cons:
-Open essay exam format
-Hershey seems kind of boring
-No scholarship or aid $$$
-Higher cost of living - I really want to live alone the first year

VTC would be my vote. It's really an up and coming school with a large Level 1 trauma center hospital essentially connected to the school. Their step scores are good and they match pretty well. The class is diverse enough and its size provides for more interaction with faculty and less competition for opportunities like mentoring, shadowing, extracurriculars, etc. And when it comes to residency application, I think the small class size allows for more individual attention.

I've heard there is a research requirement so you have to be down with that. They do PBL there and while it is time consuming, I've heard good things from a friend of mine. Roanoke is a pretty cool place too and cost of living is quite low.

I can't speak for the Penn State program but have heard that the area really is pretty dull. And of course the winters will be harsher. The exam format might concern me. Unless there is real advantage to Penn State (much better match ?), I'd probably go with VTC.