Umass vs UMD

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Premedpens108

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  1. Pre-Medical
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Hi all...would love some help in making this decision. TIA
Some background: OOS for both, cost not really a factor in this decision fortunately and unfortunately.
My family is in FL now, and my partner will be moving with me.
I want to likely do something competitive: ENT is very likely what I'm interested in
i want to match into a big US city: boston/nyc/miami/chicago/DC

UMass:
Pros:

Seems like a collaborative school and students love their lives

WIN weeks (after tuesday exams, you get the rest of the week off)

ENT match has been great- Yale, Duke, WashU, Cleveland Clinic, Einstein, Iowa & OSU which are both top programs

P/F pre clin

Friends in the area

classes not mandatory

i have some faculty/possible mentor connections
Cons:

location...i do not want to be in worcester, i grew up in worcester but moved which is why im considered OOS (umass has 7 year residency requirement)

not exciting or new for me, mainly bc of loc and i can't help but feel dread bc of it



UMD:

Pros:

LOVE baltimore (went to college there), would love to live there

students seem happy, and only have class until 12 (mandatory tho?) then rest of the day is whatever they choose (besides small group)

dual degree program in bioengineering!! (I was engineering in college and really loved the idea of doing my masters in engineering esp bc i want to do something surgical)

also match like 3-5 people in ENT each year, but definitely bigger stratification in programs

Cons:
HUGE CON: pre-clinicals aren't pass fail (H/HP/P/F) - this scares me A LOT b/c i want to do something competitive and knowing me, I won't devote time to research if im worrying about grades

match doesn't seem as strong? prestige perception in northeast?



Im honestly so conflicted and it's making me go crazy.
i just am struggling to seperate things in what seems to be a big decision where either way i lose a big thing (grades vs location)
 
How miserable are you going to be if you go to UMass? Your pros for it were extensive and it seems like a good environment, but you hate the surrounding city. You are older now and have friends, so there must be something fun you can do in that decent-sized city when you have free time.

ENT is a small field. Connections and research matter.
 
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