UCONN Med vs New Jersey Medical School

[uravgperson]

Hello everybody,
I am a senior in high school and was accepted into two BS/MD (early assurance) medical programs and am having a hard time deciding between the University of Connecticut's Special Program in Medicine (UCONN undergrad and UCONN Med) vs The College of New Jersey's 7-year program (TCNJ undergrad and Rutgers NJMS). I would prefer if those who reply could respond in regards to the medical school. Although it's a long time before I decide my specialty, I am interested in doing something surgical.

UCONN
Pros

• Lets me apply out after 4 years (in other words, I can apply to other medical schools and not lose my seat at UCONN Med
• Close to my home (I live in CT)
• TBL (Never experienced team-based learning, but definitely something that seems interesting/I could get used to)
• Ranked higher than NJMS (I know that ranking shouldn't matter too much; I focus more on the match list)
• Smaller class size
• Storrs/Farmington are safer locations than Trenton/Newark (I know that at the end of the day, safety comes down to the person)
• The med school itself looks and feels nicer than NJMS

Cons

• Still need to do research, community service, clinical shadowing as an undergrad
• Need letters of recs and interview to matriculate (a minor inconvenience and more of a formality)
• 80th percentile on MCAT
• An 8 year program
• Match list not as competitive as NJMS match list

Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Pros

• Very flexible program (TCNJ is letting me finish my undergrad in 2-2.5 years and do research at UPENN or pursue a one-year MPH (something I'm interested in)) before matriculating to NJMS
• Fewer requirements: No minimum score on MCAT and just need to participate in some research before entering med school (with undergrad professor or outside)
• More competitive match list at NJMS
• Better exposure (Newark just seems like a place where you'll get more trauma and surgical cases than Farmington)
• 7-year program
• Cheaper (not by a lot, but since I am eligible for in-state by the time I enter med school in NJ, the one year I save as an undergrad saves me money at TCNJ/NJMS)

Cons

• Further away from home than UCONN
• NJMS isn't as nice looking from the inside as UCONN Med
• Bigger class size (by about a factor of 2)
• Ranked lower than UCONN (though once again, not huge influence)

Summary: I am truly torn between these two excellent programs. I think the aspects pulling me towards UCONN are: the apply out feature (meaning I'm not committed after 4 years of undergrad and don't lose my seat should I want to apply out), closeness to my home, smaller class size, and nicer looking and feeling med school. The aspects pulling me towards TCNJ/NJMS are: more competitive match list, more flexibility and connections to UPENN and Columbia for research and MPH program, respectively, and more exposure than UCONN will be able to provide (I think, not sure if this is true or not). Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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[Christina27]

It must have been a difficult choice. Nice summary of pros and cons above. What did you end up selecting?