UChicago Pritzker vs Vanderbilt

[shadysensei]

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I'll keep it simple here, since my main concern is particularly financial. To be clear, I would be very happy to be at either institution, so I'm looking for personal experiences or anecdotes to convince me. If you liked Pritzker, I would like to hear why. Same for Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt
Pros

• Pass/Fail clerkships
• Safer than Hyde Park
• 1 year curriculum? Not really something I'm factoring in a lot

Cons

• $50k scholarship. $266k max loans
• Living in Tennessee lmao

Pritzker
Pros

• Full tuition scholarship. $132k max loans
• Chicago is a great city to be in.
• Liked Revisit a little more than Second Look

Cons

• Hyde Park is less safe than West End Nashville.
• Graded clerkships

Summary: Is it worth taking out $134k MORE in loans to take pass/fail clerkships at Vandy? Additionally, finances are my top concern, followed by location and safety, and outcomes for competitive surgical specialties. The schools are relatively similar, especially with respect to their match list. Please let me know if that's not the case. TIA

 

[Student2025!]

Go with the money! Chicago!

 

[BritainKittenMittens]

P/F is amazing but not worth over $100k more. Go to Chicago. In medicine, they're equivalent in prestige (maybe slight nod to Vanderbilt due to strength of hospital and residencies). Outside of medicine, UChicago has a bigger academic reputation, which is helpful for academic medicine, business, or policy.

The area in Hyde Park is much safer than the rest of South Side. And imo chicago as a city is more exciting than Nashville, albeit obviously a lot colder.