I have posted a note to someone else who asked about UVM. The place rocks. I got into Tufts UVM MCP Hahneman and chose UVM. You simply will not find better clinical exposure. I put in half a dozen chest tubes, 20 or so central lines, floated a few swans, and had lots of autonomy. The clinical faculty is awesome, and teaching is strong.
As for the basic sciences, not as strong as some other schools. However, I will have to tell you that my roommates and I all busted well over 230 on the boards. The class has a fair number of non-traditional students, and I think this makes the atmosphere much better. The class is not super competitive, and I had lots of great friends. As far as schools ranking schools ahead of others, it may happen to a small degree. I will tell you that my roommate matched Ortho at UCSF. As well, one of my good friends matched Neurosurg at UVA, probably the top program in the country. My point is you can match into any program coming from this school. It all depends on what you do when you get here. The non-competitive nature of UVM makes it a litle easier to excel in the classroom if you work at it.
Burlington is a great little town. Right on Lake Champlain. A college town, with lots of arts, jazz festivals, etc. We lived on the lake in a sweet 2 bedroom for 1200 total. About what you pay for a 1 bedroom in Boston. We had amazing sunsets everynight over the adirondacks. Swam 10 feet from our house, and had some awesome grilling on the small beach.
The winters are cold, but a group of 20 or so of us could be found on the mountain during the winter months while the rest of our classmates were in the classroom. We all did very well, and the majority were AOA.
I would not go to any school over UVM. I enjoyed Med school at least as much as undergrad, though I worked a little harder. The senior selective is awesome, and you can spend the last 15 months doing ANYthing in ANY part of the world.
I grew up in Boston, and am a big boston fan, but go to UVM. I guarantee you will not regret it....
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