Stanford vs Vanderbilt (75% Scholarship)

[dj_spore]

Stanford (PSTP)
Pros

• Strong fit with scientist/creative academic culture, could probably first author a cool project
• Prestige in and out of academia (dream school vibes)
• I thrive in unstructured environments and like the independence of their curriculum
• World leaders in my research field of interest, interdisciplinary projects encouraged
• Never lived on the west coast, and very much love nearby outdoors stuff, have friends in SF
• Slightly older students with different paths, like me
• Lots of opportunity down the road, network, etc.

Cons

• 5 years in a suburban tech colony... is this NYC rat (26 years) gonna lose his mind? At the same time, ready for a more chill environment for med school.
• Far from support system on the east coast (almost definitely matching back to NYC or nearby)
• Diversity of cases? At the end of the day I am doing an MD, not a PhD.
• Do I really need to do 5 years to get where I am going? Physician scientist path.
• I swore I would never pay to do research
• Money, 200k debt (however I have good family support and will not be making this decision based on money alone)
• Worried about not fitting in with Stanford tech culture. Seems like not much community available outside of Stanford? Maybe that's ok.

Vanderbilt (75% Scholarship)
Pros

• Much closer to NYC support system and cheap flights home. Also have support system in Nashville.
• Time. A nice compact 1 year pre-clinical. Frees up 2 years on the end to follow my interests.
• Seems like I can get into a PSTP residency without doing a 5th year here?
• Quality of life in Nashville is much higher. Cheaper housing, lower cost of living, you are in a real city while also a student. Fun outdoors stuff I could afford to do.
• Money. Only ~40k in debt, which is nice since I am a little older and am interested in an academic path
• I prefer Nashville as a place to live: things to do, non-medical school peeps, people in general, culture (music scene!)

Cons

• Worried about not fitting in with school spirit vibe/southern culture in general (very open to being proven wrong though!)
• Less prestigious in research. Worried this will matter on the academic route.
• Worried about having a harder time matching into top programs in NYC (Vanderbilt matches less often)
• Younger student body with more traditional backgrounds
• More structured program / hand-holding in the first year. Not my thing.

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[Mr.Smile12]

I can't argue if academia is your desired way, PSTP seems great. You have to look at your finances but you write like you really want Stanford. Tech/unstructured culture vs. "traditional/Southern" culture?

 

[crokonite]

Very difficult decision! Congrats on a great cycle

Regarding cost, for many (like me), being able to worry less about finances is a significant benefit. It's a big stressor and takes time to have to think about how to manage it effectively and compare plans and think about how you are going to handle it and how you are going to budget. For others, this may not be a worry. We will all be doctors and debt is not THAT scary but it is still a stressor. That being said, plenty of medical students graduate with debt and are totally fine so it definitely will work out fine - it's just a question of how much stress will this put on you and do you want to deal with the stress!

Being closer to your NYC support system is a big deal though. Medical school is stressful and being able to go home or have friends/family visit just gives you peace of mind and helps soooooo much from what I've heard. On the other hand, going to california for med school could open up doors for you. Since you already have connections in the east coast - going to Stanford could also give you connections in the west coast. I heard Cali people really like their own so this definitely helps with getting an in on the cali network.

Career-wise - honestly both places are going to allow you to match and become a great clinician. BUT if you wanted to do something outside of medicine (start-ups, management, policy) Stanfords name and interdisciplinary culture/network will likely help some.

Good luck! I hope this helps! You are going to do amazing at any school. You can't go wrong!

 

[Egg-Benedict]

I will say that I chose Harvard over other top schools that were closer to home at a significant cost premium, and I regret it. I can tell you, based on my experience and that of my friends at various other schools, that going to Stanford isn't going to open any doors to you that Vanderbilt won't.

One more thing:

• Worried about not fitting in with school spirit vibe/southern culture in general (very open to being proven wrong though!)

I occasionally see people worried about being put off by "Southern culture" when considering schools like Vanderbilt and Duke. I promise you that concern is completely unwarranted.

I know that the prestige thing is hard to get out of your head as a pre-med, but I would without a doubt choose Vanderbilt in your case to have less debt (don't forget about the opportunity cost of the extra year, too), be closer to family, and have a better quality life

 

[BrokenLlamas]

Congrats on the acceptances!! Honestly, you can't go wrong with either institution, but I put a vote in for Stanford

Money, 200k debt (however I have good family support and will not be making this decision based on money alone)

Tbh, you sound more excited about Stanford and the only significant con that I can identify is the huge price tag (I guess the other would be a lack of a support system). HOWEVER, I do want to emphasize that many medical students at stanny utilize resources such as TAships and/or the med scholars program (both of which also enhance your CV for residency, according to the admin), which would significantly reduce the price difference between Vanderbilt and Stanford.

While a $160k price difference is pretty significant between the schools, I'm positive you'll be able to knock off a minimum of $60k by doing TAships/med scholars throughout those 5 years (just for reference, the anatomy lab TAship pays you ~$20k for just one quarter - heard this through med students so exact number could be off).

You only get to go to med school once - might as well attend your dream school while you have the chance! But truly, both are top-notch institutions that will get you where you want to go!

 

[Hollow Knight]

Vanderbilt doesn't have a southern culture, they're academic hippies over there. So don't let that bother you.

Now, all the people you'd be with in Nashville do, but your classmates/professors don't. They don't like people like me lol

Go to Vanderbilt, it's not even close, every Vandy student I've ever met was SUPER happy and still matched well because they're so focused on wellness (and not the mandatory modules kind of wellness, the "you have to leave by x time and go have a life" wellness).