Rutgers RWJ vs. Wake Forest

[mddond]

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Hello everyone! I am having trouble deciding between Wake Forest and Rutgers RWJ. I am not sure what specialty I want to go into, but I am pretty sure I want to live somewhere outside the North East in the future.

Wake Forest:
Pros:

• Really like Winston Salem
• Faculty was very welcoming
• Want to live in this area more long term
• Well-rounded match list locations in terms of specialty and geographic locations
• Clear research interests I want to pursue
• Better weather/quality of life

Cons:

• Price is about 85k a year
• Far from home/SO/support system

Rutgers RWJ:
Pros:

• Close to home and support system
• In-state tuition (About 70k a year)
• Great match list, but in NE mostly
• Faculty was supportive
• Flexible curriculum

Cons:

• Not super excited to live in this area (need to commute everywhere)
• Farther clinical sites during clinical years
• Don't want to be limited to staying in NJ long term

 

[m1redsox]

M3 at Wake here. If you have any questions, let me know, but I absolutely love Wake and Winston-Salem. I would say that $15k per year is not much if you want to end up down here.

Then again, $60k plus interest in loans is nothing to scoff at.

 

[account]

M2 at RWJ. I think both schools will give you similar career opportunities. As far as your con for not wanting to be in NJ after RWJ, it is very possible to match out of state/out of region. The student body itself just tends to lean into wanting to go somewhere in the Northeast. That being said if your goal is to eventually move to NC, WF will make that easier.

About clinical sites being far, there is one site (Monmouth) which is farther away but the rest are mostly within 20 minutes of New Brunswick. Monmouth is also largely filled by students who decide to do a full year or half year there in (free) university housing.

I have been to Winston Salem and agree that the town and the facilities there are much nicer than New Brunswick and the RWJ facilities.

Being close to your family though, at least for me, has been quite important for medical school though and is something I value even more now than I did in undergrad.

I agree with the poster above that 60K plus interest is a chunk of change but it is something that can be overcome. This is 4 years of your life and you want to be in the best spot for you.

 

[Banco]

RWJ easily for SO/family, lower price, and overall strong match.

The geographic bias you are seeing in both match lists is largely a function of preference. People from the WF area are more likely to go to school there and more likely to go to residencies near there out of choice. Same for RWJ and the northeast. You're not going to be realistically limited geographically just by the school you choose. You can also always do away rotations if you discover you want a specific area of the country that's far away (but depending on the specialty, even that isn't necessary).

 

[craig90]

Based on your lists it sounds like you'd enjoy your time more at Wake Forest (area, research interests, "quality of life")

 

[frosty42]

I had a similar decision choosing between RWJ close to home and a significantly more expensive private school farther from home but in an area I liked way better. The extra money (80k over all 4 yrs) and distance from home was worth it to be in a vibrant city instead of suburban NJ for me.

I would have loved to be close to home, but I want to spend my 20s in more of an urban environment where there is lots to do and lots of young people and I prioritized that in my decision.

It’s hard, but it just depends on what your priorities are!