U Wisconsin vs. Tufts

[studentdoctor2040]

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University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Pros

• IS tuition is a steal, especially for the quality of a top 30 education (Total COA: $35k per year; all 4 years: $140k + interest)
• Fantastic reputation: #14 for primary care, #27 for research
• Incredibly attentive faculty/administration. At both my interview and second look day, it was abundantly clear that the UW faculty look out for their students and help them to succeed by any means necessary. They have a strong wellness program with mandatory meetings to make sure their students are on the right track. This sense of community is important to me and is the opposite of the cut-throat East Coast atmosphere I'm used to
• 1.5 yr curriculum with public health education integrated throughout. Step 1 taken after 3rd year, which has shown drastic improvement in student step scores
• Unlimited research opportunities
• Strong reconstructive department (my specialty preference may, and probably will, change, but it bodes well that they have a large reconstructive program)
• Though UW doesn't have a diverse faculty/student population, I'll have a chance to bring my knowledge and experiences to the table to make a difference
• Possibility of "easier" match to East Coast residencies with regional diversity preference + UW student preference for midwest match

Cons

• Do not want to live in Madison. I went to high school in Wisconsin and do not have fond memories of the place. Not interested in being near the family that lives there. After 3 years of living in NYC, I'm not sure I'd be able to adjust back to Midwest life and "Midwest nice" (+ lack of diversity)
• Not actually P/F for 1.5 pre-clinical years -- entire class sees everyone's individual rank after each exam and final quartile is sent to residency programs
• Diversity is extremely poor
• Far from partner (in NYC)
• Far from family and friends on East Coast
• Rotations all over the state, many in rural locations (lottery system)
• Match list doesn't even compare to TUSM's matches, particularly for specialties, and very few match outside the Midwest (no doubt this is due to student preference, but still doesn't match what I'm looking for)
• 7-9 students per cadaver

Tufts School of Medicine

Pros

• Location -- though I largely prefer NYC over Boston, the NE is now my home and not far from NY
• True P/F for preclinical years! Because of this, students seem happy, collaborative, and stress-free
• Overall atmosphere: went to small liberal arts undergrad and loved it. Looking for a similar tight-knit community with diverse and progressive students
• Very diverse student body and patient population as compared to UW. Really vibed with TUSM students on SL day
• Based on the match list, though Tufts has dropped in the rankings, it still has a phenomenal reputation. Looking to match on the East Coast and it seems like Tufts has a lot of pull in the region
• Closer to partner (in NYC)
• Close to family and friends on East Coast
• Curriculum: TUSM has always been at the forefront of implementing new teaching techniques, technologies, etc. and they really showed the benefits of their curriculum involving 40-50% flipped classrooms, TBL, PBL, extensive elective 4th year anatomy prosection, etc. Always a positive when a school is open to change and innovation to better their students
• Brand new anatomy lab (not in a basement!), 4-5 students per cadaver, and state of the art facilities
• Easily accessible research/resources/talks at any surrounding facility in Boston
• Public health focus, but not as strong as UWSMPH
• Administration seems receptive and responsive

Cons

• The biggest and most obvious con: the outrageous price $$$$$$$ (Total COA: $65k per year; all 4 years: $260k + interest)
• Not as "highly ranked" as UW, and ranking is dropping every year (likely due to NIH funding, but is it worrisome that it continues to drop?) Even so, perhaps an even better reputation than UW on the East Coast
• 1st year of new 1.5 yr curriculum (aka 2023 will be the "guinea pig" year). They've been tweaking the curriculum for years to get to this point, so it seems well thought out, but still nerve-wracking to be the 1st year. Could mean the administration will be more receptive to suggestions and willing to make changes?
• Rotations not just at Tufts/Lahey -- students enter lottery for the possibility of rotating at Bay State, Maine Med, Newton Wellesley, and several other small hospitals. Will certainly give the opportunity to learn from diverse populations, but I'm afraid I'll be stuck somewhere for certain rotations where the core specialty isn't that strong. Should I be worried about this?
• Most students live 20-30 mins from campus and are spread all over Boston. Commute is not an issue for me, but doesn't seem to promote as much of a community feel among the students
• Boston is also extremely segregated and has a snooty, wealthy feel. Also concerned Boston as a city will be a cut-throat place to learn medicine
• Though research and clinical opportunities are abound in Boston as a hub for medical research and education, also supersaturated with students vying for these opportunities. Any thoughts on whether this will add even more hurdles during med school?
• Not sure whether faculty will be as supportive (hand-holding?) as UW

In summary, my personal preferences for location, atmosphere, curriculum, etc. point to Tufts. However, it seems almost irresponsible at this stage to pass up a fantastic education at a higher ranked school, especially for such a great price (Total UW COA: $140k vs. Total TUSM COA: $260k). Is there anything else I should be considering?

I'm grateful to have the opportunity to make a decision between these two great schools and look forward to any and all help. Thanks in advance!

 

[ricksimmonsrafowens]

What region of the US are you interested in living in/doing your residency in? You may change your mind re: plastic surgery, so don't get too fixated on the reputation of individual departments of UW v Tufts.
Are you paying for schools with loans only, or will your schooling be paid for?
Anatomy is usually a very brief experience and it will not impact your education if there are <5 or >5 students/cadaver.
Pre-clinical grading that is not true Pass/Fail is inconvenient and stressful, but it will not impact you in the long term... focus on how your MS3 will be graded and whether it's difficult to Honor clinical rotations (like what % of class will receive Honors/High Pass/Pass etc).
How important is it to be close to your partner? Are you married/in a civil union, engaged, dating, etc? Are they willing to move to be with you in MS2 or MS3 if you chose UW?

 

[studentdoctor2040]

What region of the US are you interested in living in/doing your residency in? You may change your mind re: plastic surgery, so don't get too fixated on the reputation of individual departments of UW v Tufts.
Are you paying for schools with loans only, or will your schooling be paid for?
Anatomy is usually a very brief experience and it will not impact your education if there are <5 or >5 students/cadaver.
Pre-clinical grading that is not true Pass/Fail is inconvenient and stressful, but it will not impact you in the long term... focus on how your MS3 will be graded and whether it's difficult to Honor clinical rotations (like what % of class will receive Honors/High Pass/Pass etc).
How important is it to be close to your partner? Are you married/in a civil union, engaged, dating, etc? Are they willing to move to be with you in MS2 or MS3 if you chose UW?

Thanks for the reply.

I hope to stay in the NE for residency and beyond. I would consider West Coast, but do not see myself ever living in the midwest again.
I'll be paying for 100% of school with loans.
Though we're not married or engaged, it's pretty important for me to be close to my partner. I don't think they'd be willing to move to Wisconsin at any point, but they'd consider moving to Boston for MS3. I'm trying not to let our relationship influence my choice too much but it's important to note.

UW and TUSM are both HH/H/P/LP/F for clinicals. I'll definitely look into how difficult it is to receive honors in clinical rotations at both schools.

If pre-clinical grades are sent to residency programs, will it affect placement if you're not in the top 50% of the class? I imagine non-graded allows for easier work-life balance and takes the pressure off those who tend to be more competitive in competitive spaces (me)

 

[ricksimmonsrafowens]

So at my school pre-clinical grades accounted for about 1/3 of calculating class rank and clinical grades accounted for about 2/3 of the class rank. So it was very important to perform well in MS3 to be ranked well. School rank is important to residency programs, and some prefer that applicants are in top 1/3 or top 1/2 of the class. Most PDs do not care at all about pre-clinical grades... especially if they are reported as P/F. They do tend to care about your overall class rank or AOA status. so it's kind-of paradoxical.

I imagine non-graded allows for easier work-life balance and takes the pressure off those who tend to be more competitive in competitive spaces (me)

if you want to pursue plastic surgery, you will not have much of a work-life balance or a stress-free experience in medical school, since you will be working your butt off in research, honoring clinical rotations, and trying to be in top 1/3 of your class. Sorry, but that's just how competitive matching plastics or ENT is. so I wouldn't worry about non-graded pre-clinicals if you want to do plastic surgery or ENT/facial plastics... you will have a stressful medical school experience anyway ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

UW is a strong medical school and you'll be able to match any region from it. You don't need to go to Tufts to stay in the Northeast.

It sounds like you will be separated from your partner for most of medical school anyway even if you attend Tufts, but you will be closer to them distance wise if you go to Tufts. You need to talk to your partner about your goals for this relationship and whether they are OK with you being far away at UW. you need to decide 1. if your relationship will survive medical school, and then if you decide that your relationship if strong enough to survive medical school you need to decide 2. if distance will impact your relationship in addition to you attending medical school. Some relationship don't survive medical school, period, even if the partners are living in close proximity. So it's a moot point to argue about distance if your relationship isn't likely to be intact with the demands medical school will place on you.

 

[capriccio]

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