SLU vs U of North Dakota

[Mavski]

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Hi everyone! Recently got off the waitlist at SLU while already holding an acceptance at the University of North Dakota. Now, I need to make a decision relatively quickly before April 30th and I'm pretty torn. Therefore, any insight would be appreciated.

A little background about me. I'm 22 years old from the St. Paul/Minneapolis area of Minnesota (so I get in-state tuition at North Dakota). I'm looking at going into Physical Medicine and Rehab most likely. I'm more service oriented as opposed to research-oriented., but I'd like to get some more research experience in medical school for residency apps. I'm not quite sure where I want to end up as far as residency/attending locations. I'm from an urban area, but I've lived and worked in rural areas through undergrad. I prefer more urban environments, but I like parts of rural living. I'll be on my parent's health insurance throughout med school, but I will otherwise be financing my whole education via loans. I have no undergrad debt.

Saint Louis University
Pros

1. Higher ranked/higher prestige
2. New Hospital for rotations, attached to children's hospital (might want to do peds PMR)
3. Service Emphasis
4. Diverse patient population and student body
5. Students were all nice and seemed to have pretty good work/life balance
6. Better weather
7. St. Louis seems like a cool town. It reminds me of St. Paul.
8. Good match list
9. Old, historic school
10. Academic hospital (easier shadowing, more research opportunities, can go to Wash U for research too)
11. True P/F
12. Dating scene will be better (lol)

Cons

1. Cost of attendance is ~$79,000/year
2. Parts of St. Louis can be a bit dicey
3. Larger class size (160 ish)
4. More competitive environment?
5. Might not get as much hands on experience since there will be more students and residents
6. Farther from home (need to fly)
7. St. Louis will be a harder adjustment as far as moving/lifestyle
8. Students seemed more isolated.
9. LCME violation a few years back, resolved now

University of North Dakota
Pros

1. Cost of attendance is $56,000/year
2. Small class size (78) - more attention?
3. Grand Forks is a really easy town to live in.
4. Upper midwest nice people
5. More hands-on experience in rotations since there are fewer students and residents
6. Low cost of living
7. College hockey (big fan from my undergrad institution)
8. Emphasis on simulation and interprofessional (work with PA students, PT/OT students, etc)
9. Patient-centered curriculum
10. Closer to home
11. Class seemed close
12. Integrated research project in Year 3
13. Decent match, nothing crazy
14. Working with Native American populations would be a unique opportunity

Cons

1. Cold (like super cold, it was -20 F on my interview day)
2. Grand Forks is pretty boring other than hockey
3. 3rd and 4th year rotation sites are randomly assigned in either Fargo, Grand Forks, Minot, or Bismark.
4. Lower ranked/less prestige
5. No directly affiliated university hospitals
6. Not true P/F in year 2
7. Class and patient population will be relatively homogenous
8. Advanced patient cases will likely be transferred to larger institutions outside of ND.
9. Dating will be hard (lol again).
10. Not true systems based curriculum. 8 week blocks.
11. Rural medicine emphasis (telecommunication for consults and so on)

If the lists are any indication, I'm pretty much stuck so any help is appreciated! Thanks in advance!

 

[catnip12]

Hey!!
I think I would go with UND but I have no inside information except for your pros and cons lists. My biggest reasons are that it is cheaper, you get a state-wide campus since it is the only medical school in the state, and you can commute to the cities relatively more easily.
Also because there is only one medical school in the state (with small classes), the dating prospects might be better for you because "I am a med student" is more of a rarity 😉

Lastly I too love St. Paul and lived there during my college days. Nothing but fond memories.
Good luck.

 

[Mavski]

Hey!!
I think I would go with UND but I have no inside information except for your pros and cons lists. My biggest reasons are that it is cheaper, you get a state-wide campus since it is the only medical school in the state, and you can commute to the cities relatively more easily.
Also because there is only one medical school in the state (with small classes), the dating prospects might be better for you because "I am a med student" is more of a rarity 😉

Lastly I too love St. Paul and lived there during my college days. Nothing but fond memories.
Good luck.

Thanks for your thoughtful response.

Side note: I felt kind of weird putting dating on the pro/con list, but hey, it’s a part of life!

 

[Arturiase]

Little biased as I'm from STL and never been to ND. But the difference is 23k x 4 so ~90k. In the long term of things 100k isn't going to be terrible, but 4 years of living in a rural vs urban area I think is something I would consider more importantly what do you prefer. The benefits would be obviously the city life and weather so thats your personal preference. I think both schools will be fine academically, although SLU will have a nice new hospital for clinical rotations but thats just fluff. if you like hockey we have the blues who are doing ok haha

 

[Mavski]

Little biased as I'm from STL and never been to ND. But the difference is 23k x 4 so ~90k. In the long term of things 100k isn't going to be terrible, but 4 years of living in a rural vs urban area I think is something I would consider more importantly what do you prefer. The benefits would be obviously the city life and weather so thats your personal preference. I think both schools will be fine academically, although SLU will have a nice new hospital for clinical rotations but thats just fluff. if you like hockey we have the blues who are doing ok haha

Thanks for the reply. I know I'd prefer living in STL as opposed to ND for a good chunk of my 20's. I guess I need to decide if that difference is worth 90K though.

Let's go Blues!

 

[Mavski]

@Arturiase @catnip12 Thank you both again. After I got my aid package with no scholarships from SLU, I decided to turn down their offer and stick with UND. Not an easy decision by any means, but it makes the most financial sense for me at this time.

 

[catnip12]

Good luck and go get that MD 🙂

 

[kgamon8]

I would pick SLU because of the diversity, true pass fail, and the weather. The cost difference is significant but not that much. So I would pick based off of where you want to live for the next four years.