Southwestern v. UVA v. Emory

[whateverwhatev]

Where would you go? These are my options, but wanted to hear the gossip.

I'm instate at UVA but its still like 28k. Southwestern is 10k. Emory is 36k.

Little hesitant about having letter grades at Southwestern and Emory... little hesitant about UVA being "fratty"... hmm...

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[potato51]

people make too big a deal about letter grades. They really mean nothing in the grand scheme of things since very few schools have a true pass/fail system anyway.

 

[Johnisit1234]

people make too big a deal about letter grades. They really mean nothing in the grand scheme of things since very few schools have a true pass/fail system anyway.

I agree. Grades are really not a big deal, and in fact, the honors/pass/fail system at most medical schools is basically like having grades.
And truthfully, it feels better getting an A than getting a P in class.
At Emory, there is also no curve. So everyone can get an A in class.

I'm a current second year at Emory -- if you have specific questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[BozoSparky]

I'd go to UTSW. It's a great school and super cheap.

 

[potato51]

And contrary to popular belief, Southwestern doesn't have a curve either (maybe one class does... Biochem?). It's just now the tests are being made in a way that grades will naturally fall into roughly a bell curve distribution.

 

[lookslikerain]

Southwestern. Great school + cheap, what's not to like? And the research opportunities are insane. Kids from our school are always raving about it, my current research is building off of work done by a doctor there.

Don't know anything about UVA and I don't think the extra $$ is worth it for Emory.

 

[DrERD]

Go with UVA! The undergrad is really preppy, but the med students all come from different places and walks of life. Plus the whole pass-fail system really makes it worthwhile. Did you go to second look?

 

[Uvault05]

I wouldn't worry a bit about UVa being too "fratty" as a med student. I can't say that I've begun med school, but I can't imagine any med school student body being described as fratty. I wasn't in a frat as an undergrad at UVa and still had a blast--the campus, charlottesville environment, and non-fratty people were terrific (even some of the fratty dudes were OK, too!)

That being said, I would wait until you have the financial award letters from each school. If you still see an $18K difference between UVA and Southwestern, then I'd have a hard time justifying the decision to go to UVa over SW. It's a different story if the price difference becomes negligible