UNC vs. UC Irvine vs. Washington St. Louis

[326RD]

Hey all! I'm trying to decide between UC Irvine, UNC Chapel Hill, and Washington St. Louis. I'm an NC resident and am familiar with UNC. I'm also on waitlists for 3 T10s that I'm assuming would have no scholarships, and I'm not sure where I would factor those into my decision-making process.

UNC
Pros
- Higher ranking
- I like Chapel Hill better than Irvine or St. Louis
- P/F for preclinical (not sure about clinical?)
- Full COA would be covered
- Felt good connection with students there

Cons
- Staying in the same place for many years
- Prefer California to North Carolina, broadly (would probably prefer to practice in California)
- Complicated feelings about the South

UC Irvine
Pros
- Relatively uncomplicated (and positive) feelings about living in California
- Full COA would be covered

Cons
- Lower ranking
- Irvine feels very manicured, which gives me strange vibes
- Pretty sure grading is H/P/L/F? Please correct me if wrong

Washington St. Louis
Pros
- Highest rank --> Best residency matches?
- Half-tuition merit scholarship (Roughly $200k COA)
- Connected well with faculty I spoke with
- Preclinical P/F (don't know about clinical)

Cons
- Not sure if I like St. Louis/living in the Midwest
- Furthest from any family members
- Would leave with debt

I'm sorry that these pros/cons are not quite exhaustive, but I've been struggling to rank some options in my head. Any additional information about any of the schools that I'm missing would be very much appreciated. Anything from horror stories to unending praises or advice generally counts 🙂 Thank you!

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[srirachamayonnaise]

WashU in a heartbeat.

 

[mickmars51]

full COA to UNC is amazing!

 

[JohnJacobJingleheimer]

UNC with full COA. While WashU is the best school here, 200k plus interest vs $0 for UNC, another brand name school??? No brainer to me.

Also, I’ve heard many people talk about a gunner culture at WashU.

 

[deleted1065184]

Full COA plus P/F? UNC with ease lol...esp if you have any interest in primary care.

 

[deleted1065184]

UNC with full COA. While WashU is the best school here, 200k plus interest vs $0 for UNC, another brand name school??? No brainer to me.

Also, I’ve heard many people talk about a gunner culture at WashU.

I think the gunner culture is overblown and mostly a remnant of early 2000s WashU still being passed around on SDN, but there's definitely not nearly enough prestige difference to justify paying to live in a city you don't wanna live in. So I agree, no brainer. Although in all fairness I'm also of the mindset that students should choose the cheapest school most of the time, regardless of perceived prestige differences lol

 

[obiwan]

Yeah, it would be VERY VERY difficult to convince me that you should not attend UNC. Leaving medical school without debt is a game changer especially when you are not really sacrificing quality of education in an established T25 program like UNC