Medical Should I choose Vanderbilt vs. UVA?

[TheBoneDoctah]

Hi all-
I just got off the waitlist for Vanderbilt and have been accepted at UVA. I understand there is a forum for X vs. Y school discussion, but I wanted to get advice from verified experts, who may be more objective/experienced. My overarching questions are: How much better would it be to attend Vanderbilt than UVA? Does it make a difference in value of education to go to a T20 school vs. T30-40 ish school? Is the (potential) extra debt worth it?

Pros specific (I won't list any pros that overlap with Vanderbilt) to UVA:
1) State school (with scholarship, tuition is $35k per year)
2) I have lived here for the past 5 ish years and feel very comfortable/safe/familiar here and feel like I can genuinely thrive in med school here
3) Close to home (~2 hr drive)
4) Have friends and faculty connections
5) First handedly can attest to truly kind medical students

Pros specific to Vanderbilt:
1) Better medical institution all around with more opportunities
2) New and cool area to explore and get to know throughout 4 years
3) P/F for both pre-clerkship and clinical rotations (whereas UVA is only P/F for pre-clerkship)
4) Accelerated curriculum (1 year pre-clerkship, 1 year rotations, 2 years for exploration/immersion)
5) Very close faculty-to-student mentorship/faculty very receptive to student voices
6) May be able to push me out of my comfort zone, which is conducive to growth

Cons specific to UVA:
1) Not as well-resourced in, for example, research, student wellness, etc.
2) Have lived here for quite a while and am (kind of) ready to go to a new place
3) Patient population more rural (slightly less diversity/quantity)

Cons specific to Vanderbilt:
1) Higher tuition ($60k baseline without financial aid; have not received aid package since I just got off the WL)
2) Probably will feel like small fish in pond of big fish/imposter syndrome is very real for me
3) Far from home (~8 hr drive)
4) Newness is scary

Vandy has both one extra pro and one extra con, so it cancels out and the schools are thus far tied. I also have only five days to make a decision since I just got off the WL!

Thank you all so much!

UVA. The residency you go to matters more than the medical school. These are both great MD schools and you will succeed at both. The cheaper option close to family and support gets the vote from me.

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[gutonc]

If, and only if, you get an aid package from Vandy that makes it substantially (like >50%) cheaper than UVA, you should go there. Otherwise, enjoy the next 4 years in Charlottesville and never look back.

You will be the "rate limiting factor" in your performance at and success after either of those schools. Neither one is a golden ticket or albatross for you and your career.

 

[GoSpursGo]

There is absolutely no difference in education or in school perception between these two schools. Zero. These rankings are helpful to give a general sense of where schools land in a hierarchy, but for a difference of 10-20 spots there is no difference.

If you can accept that, then while I feel like these kind of posts are always a long list of pros/cons (many of which are personal at the end of the day), I ultimately feel like it is helpful to think of three factors: 1) Cost; 2) Proximity to family/support (and consideration of whether proximity is desirable); 3) Gut feeling. Since the "expert" opinion is going to be that these schools are equivalent educationally, the best advice we can give you is to focus on those 3 points and decide what is important to you.

A lot of people would suggest that cost is the most important factor, and all other things being equal that is a reasonable thought. But these are the next 4 years of your life, so ultimately you need to decide whether those other two factors may be worth some increased cost. Again, it's ultimately a personal decision.

 

[Goro]

They're both t20s. There are probably 40 schools in the T20 s. USNWR rankings are worthless by the way. Nobody takes them seriously except status abscessed status obsessed pre-meds and medical school Deans.

They're both great medical schools, and so go to the one with the cheapest tuition.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

There is absolutely no difference in education or in school perception between these two schools. Zero. These rankings are helpful to give a general sense of where schools land in a hierarchy, but for a difference of 10-20 spots there is no difference.

If you can accept that, then while I feel like these kind of posts are always a long list of pros/cons (many of which are personal at the end of the day), I ultimately feel like it is helpful to think of three factors: 1) Cost; 2) Proximity to family/support (and consideration of whether proximity is desirable); 3) Gut feeling. Since the "expert" opinion is going to be that these schools are equivalent educationally, the best advice we can give you is to focus on those 3 points and decide what is important to you.

A lot of people would suggest that cost is the most important factor, and all other things being equal that is a reasonable thought. But these are the next 4 years of your life, so ultimately you need to decide whether those other two factors may be worth some increased cost. Again, it's ultimately a personal decision.

^This^

One more thing about the cost. Starting medical school most are less focused on cost because it seems so far away that you will have to stare your debt in the face. However, the less debt you have, the more flexibility and options you will have AFTER medical school/residency.

For example, let's say you go to Vandy and you decide you want to practice in a lower-paying field. Once you graduate from Vandy with $240,000 MINIMUM just from tuition, you now have to start thinking about paying this back. If you have a strong desire to go into a lower-paying field, you now have questions and decisions that would not be there if you only had $140,000 debt like UVA. For example, if loan forgiveness is still here when you graduate, you would have to probably take a job at a non-profit until you qualify for the loan forgiveness. You MAY at that time want to be private practice but be forced into a non-profit hospital due to your loans. You also may be forced to live in places you don't want to live or have to wait on buying that new home until much later because of this decision. Again, this seems far away, but once you get there you may wish you had thought more about it. I do understand that this post is very financial, but these are very important decisions that pop up later and they need to be thought about.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Do you all think the ranking might matter slightly more now for residency than before since Step 1 is changed to P/F? (Assuming all other conditions are controlled i.e. same level of academic success at both schools)

In a general sense, yes "prestige" probably will play a larger role for the reason you identify. But the underlying message that we are trying to convey is that there is no difference in the prestige of these two institutions. A tiny difference in one set of rankings is not sufficient to make one institution appreciably "better."

 

[Goro]

Step 2; it's all about Step 2 and networking now.

Ranking is for status-obsessed pre-meds and med school Deans.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Step 2, networking, research, auditions, coursework all matter way more than your school rank.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Step 2; it's all about Step 2 and networking now.

Ranking is for status-obsessed pre-meds and med school Deans.

Step 2, networking, research, auditions, coursework all matter way more than your school rank.

I will ever so slightly push back on this, not because it's relevant for the OP but rather to emphasize how it is irrelevant for the OP.

I *do* think that where you go to med school matters in this new world for two reasons:

1) there are not going to be enough testing slots for everyone who wants one in time for apps to open. Sure, you're probably going to need it before rank lists come in, but interview invitations will largely be extended before you get step 2 back (I think).

2) Where you go influences who your mentors/letter writers are, and thus how you're going to network. An intro from a bigwig at a well-recognized school goes much further than a cold email.

BUT, again, the difference between a "T20" and "T40" school is irrelevant. There will be bigwigs at both institutions that are able to make that introduction. Both schools will be recognized as "good."

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

I will ever so slightly push back on this, not because it's relevant for the OP but rather to emphasize how it is irrelevant for the OP.

I *do* think that where you go to med school matters in this new world for two reasons:

1) there are not going to be enough testing slots for everyone who wants one in time for apps to open. Sure, you're probably going to need it before rank lists come in, but interview invitations will largely be extended before you get step 2 back (I think).

2) Where you go influences who your mentors/letter writers are, and thus how you're going to network. An intro from a bigwig at a well-recognized school goes much further than a cold email.

BUT, again, the difference between a "T20" and "T40" school is irrelevant. There will be bigwigs at both institutions that are able to make that introduction. Both schools will be recognized as "good."

I should have clarified. I meant that I thought those things I listed matter more than the difference in ranking the OP was speaking of. I totally think (and have heard from PDs) that the prestige of your school will matter much more now because of the P/F Step 1. Connections will matter much more and the letter writers at Harvard will carry more weight from someone from Nowhereville University.