UNC vs Wake Forest

[MD2BN10]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Can you all give me your opinions on University of North Carolina vs. Wake Forest. I'm not from North Carolina, but was recently accepted to both. I like each for different reasons, but wanted other opinions before I make my decision. Thanks.

 

[sweetdoc]

BUMP - I'm interested to hear what people will say.

sweetdoc

 

[phenylalanine]

Can you all give me your opinions on University of North Carolina vs. Wake Forest. I'm not from North Carolina, but was recently accepted to both. I like each for different reasons, but wanted other opinions before I make my decision. Thanks.

I was just accepted to both, but I chose UNC over Wake and turned down Wake's acceptance pretty quickly, and it was an easy decision.

Reasons:

1. I am a North Carolina resident. UNC is great value for a great education
2. When I interviewed at Wake, I didn't feel the "sparks" I felt at UNC 😍
3. But seriously, UNC is better fitted for me because: more research opportunities (and many of them cooperative with Duke), attached to the main campus (more things to offer to the student body), better area (winston-salem, to me at least, is too conservative), and international research and clinical opportunities
4. I also think UNC has a better reputation with a terrific match.

anyone else?

 

[argonana]

I did not interview at UNC, but I also thought that Winston-Salem was too conservative. I would go with UNC.

 

[MD2BN10]

I liked the environment of UNC much better and was leaning toward it. I just wanted to do more research. But I'm out-of-state, does anyone know how you can get residency (so the price can go down 🙂 )?

 

[phenylalanine]

I liked the environment of UNC much better and was leaning toward it. I just wanted to do more research. But I'm out-of-state, does anyone know how you can get residency (so the price can go down 🙂 )?

i think to get NC residency is not so easy... but when I interviewed at UNC, they did say that ppl usually get it after 2 years as oos

 

[MD2BN10]

i think to get NC residency is not so easy... but when I interviewed at UNC, they did say that ppl usually get it after 2 years as oos

Do you know what you need? I was planning on buying a house, but will that not be enough?

 

[DrKitty]

Does anybody know/have the link to Wake Forest match list? I can't find on their website or in the materials they gave me at my interview.

 

[phenylalanine]

Do you know what you need? I was planning on buying a house, but will that not be enough?

I don't know exactly what you need...sorry.. I became a resident after I graduated and worked for a year... but a friend of my did buy a house because she wanted to be considered instate, and I think she did get it. you might want to call UNC-Chapel Hill Registrar, or here: http://regweb.oit.unc.edu/residency/index.php

 

[MD2BN10]

Does anybody know/have the link to Wake Forest match list? I can't find on their website or in the materials they gave me at my interview.

I couldn't find the Wake match list online, but when I called and asked about it they mailed it to me. You can try and call.

 

[MD2BN10]

Anyone else have an opinion on the two schools ... their strengths/weaknesses?

 

[phenylalanine]

is UNC's match list online? if so, where?

 

[BOBODR]

Hey, I interviewed at UNC and went to wake undergrad and now do research in the medical school. Winston-Salem is a horrific place to live in my opinion. I try not to let my disdain for Wake Forest Medical school skew my opinion, BUT I think UNC is a much better school with a better reputation, research, public health school (wake has none), hospitals, curriculum and everything else except perhaps Wake "gives" you a computer and has a nice anatomy lab. I dont think Wake compares in any way and I couldnt imagine paying 30,000+ for Wake then 13,000 for UNC if your in state in my opinion. Plus Wake's match list is not impressive in my opinion, thats the reason they dont even post it online, show it during the interview or anything.

Hey OP did you get a DND letter before you got an acceptance, I interviewed Nov. 30 at UNC and havent gotten anything.

 

[mustangsally65]

Everybody's going to have different opinions. Let me just issue a disclaimer here that both schools rejected me this year.

I have family in Winston, so that would be in Wake's favor. I had a bad interview at UNC last year, and I like the smaller-town feel of Winston, whereas UNC's campus was just huge because it's on the undergrad campus. Cost of living is probably cheaper in Winston, depending on where you live of course.

Tuition is a big factor too. UNC is definitely cheaper if you're in state, but Wake has much newer/better facilities (so I've been told). It's quite expensive, though, and I don't know what kind of scholarships are available.

UNC has first-year preceptorships, I'm not sure if Wake does or not (I get lost on their webpage).

My advice: go to the second-look weekends. I think it would be a tough decision if I were having to make it. Good luck and congrats on those acceptances!

 

[MD2BN10]

Hey, I interviewed at UNC and went to wake undergrad and now do research in the medical school. Winston-Salem is a horrific place to live in my opinion. I try not to let my disdain for Wake Forest Medical school skew my opinion, BUT I think UNC is a much better school with a better reputation, research, public health school (wake has none), hospitals, curriculum and everything else except perhaps Wake "gives" you a computer and has a nice anatomy lab. I dont think Wake compares in any way and I couldnt imagine paying 30,000+ for Wake then 13,000 for UNC if your in state in my opinion. Plus Wake's match list is not impressive in my opinion, thats the reason they dont even post it online, show it during the interview or anything.

Hey OP did you get a DND letter before you got an acceptance, I interviewed Nov. 30 at UNC and havent gotten anything.

Sorry, but what's a DND letter?

 

[MD2BN10]

is UNC's match list online? if so, where?

UNC's match list is online, I believe I clicked like Financial Aid and then a link saying Match appeared on the left of the screen. Weird, but I believe it was under financial aid.

 

[BOBODR]

Sorry, but what's a DND letter?

I am guessing thats a no. A do not despair, no decision has been made yet (usually sent 6-8 weeks) post interview.

I do not think Wake has any grants/scholarships for OOS. Not a 100 % sure but pretty sure. Wake's facilities are nice but I liked UNC's just as much...
Sally may like winston. But if you dont like towns with 2 bars, no culture, etc then Winston is probably not the place for you.....

 

[MD2BN10]

I am guessing thats a no. A do not despair, no decision has been made yet (usually sent 6-8 weeks) post interview.

I do not think Wake has any grants/scholarships for OOS. Not a 100 % sure but pretty sure. Wake's facilities are nice but I liked UNC's just as much...
Sally may like winston. But if you dont like towns with 2 bars, no culture, etc then Winston is probably not the place for you.....

No I didn't get a DND letter, but I did call several times and get told "do not despair, no desicion has been made" and once he suggested that he may send out those letters. I called today though and she told me my status was still the same and I should here something by the latest the first of April. Then like 2 hrs. later my parents called and said my acceptance package was mailed to their house. So, all hope isn't lost! I interviewed Dec. 2 and just got my letter today!

 

[phenylalanine]

Wake also has first year preceptorship.

but I think it is untrue that wake has better facilities... in fact, when I interviewed at wake.. I felt pretty low on wake's facilities.... the baptist hospital looks old, small, and dingy... the library looks empty and it is in a basement or something like that... the classroom is stuck in the 40s, and it is not wireless compatible....8 ppl per body for anatomy it's just too many ppl

UNC is so much better, and continues to expand. Berryhill will be shut down this coming year for renovation, thus all Class 2010 students will be using the new medical school building for anatomy, all classes are held in the biological research building and it is beautiful, the hospitals are larger and it's a growing complex ( NC Cancer Hospital will be completed in 2009). UNC is a larger referal center. It is huge HUGE on research as well. Lineberger is very well known in the country. I just don't think u can go wrong choosing UNC over Wake. I work at UNC Clinical Cancer Center, and when the chairman found out I have to choose between schools, he told me that UNC's reputation will carry me further.

 

[BOBODR]

Wake also has first year preceptorship.

but I think it is untrue that wake has better facilities... in fact, when I interviewed at wake.. I felt pretty low on wake's facilities.... the baptist hospital looks old, small, and dingy... the library looks empty and it is in a basement or something like that... the classroom is stuck in the 40s, and it is not wireless compatible....8 ppl per body for anatomy it's just too many ppl

UNC is so much better, and continues to expand. Berryhill will be shut down this coming year for renovation, thus all Class 2010 students will be using the new medical school building for anatomy, all classes are held in the biological research building and it is beautiful, the hospitals are larger and it's a growing complex ( NC Cancer Hospital will be completed in 2009). UNC is a larger referal center. It is huge HUGE on research as well. Lineberger is very well known in the country. I just don't think u can go wrong choosing UNC over Wake. I work at UNC Clinical Cancer Center, and when the chairman found out I have to choose between schools, he told me that UNC's reputation will carry me further.

Wake's hospital is pretty large and the clinical offices really nice but I wont stick up for a school that disrespects me any more than that. It is a lesser school than UNC in my opinion. phenyl (formerly sim4radonc), are you going to unc or to pritzker like ur profile/signature says?

 

[MD2BN10]

Wake's hospital is pretty large and the clinical offices really nice but I wont stick up for a school that disrespects me any more than that. It is a lesser school than UNC in my opinion. phenyl (formerly sim4radonc), are you going to unc or to pritzker like ur profile/signature says?

How did they disrespect you?

 

[phenylalanine]

Wake's hospital is pretty large and the clinical offices really nice but I wont stick up for a school that disrespects me any more than that. It is a lesser school than UNC in my opinion. phenyl (formerly sim4radonc), are you going to unc or to pritzker like ur profile/signature says?

hahaha Bobodr:
right now, I am leaning toward Chicago (hard to believe after my speech on UNC, right?) but I am holding at both and still waiting for the non-rollings to get back to me (but no Duke, I just can't even bring myself to apply there! yuck).


how did wake disrespect u?

 

[MD2BN10]

hahaha Bobodr:
right now, I am leaning toward Chicago (hard to believe after my speech on UNC, right?) but I am holding at both and still waiting for the non-rollings to get back to me (but no Duke, I just can't even bring myself to apply there! yuck).


how did wake disrespect u?

Just out of curiosity ... Why Chicago over UNC?

 

[BOBODR]

hahaha Bobodr:
right now, I am leaning toward Chicago (hard to believe after my speech on UNC, right?) but I am holding at both and still waiting for the non-rollings to get back to me (but no Duke, I just can't even bring myself to apply there! yuck).


how did wake disrespect u?

3.54 GPA from Wake Forest, very slightly lower AMCAS gpa because I had to retake one class from freshman yr
3.8 in biology
31S MCAT
Random Grad School classes like Molecular Evolution, Long Term Care, and Advanced Biochem
Volunteer in OR (80 hours), ER (40 hours), Childrens oncology (40 hours) all in WAke hopsital
Research for a year in neuro in wake's hospital, Wake Forest Fellowship Recipient, Research for 2 years in Rheum with many publications
Shadow Rheumatologist for a year, Shadow a General Surgeon for a semester (woke up at 5 am each morning to do that) at Wake Med
AED, BBB, elected to Mortar Board, Deans list 7 out of 8 semesters
Volunteering like no other with disadvantaged children, habitat for humanity, etc
Worked full time senior year with autistic children and still got a 3.8 with a full course load.

NO FREAKING WAKE SECONDARY!!!! 😡 😡 😡

I will never donate a penny to Wake.

Yea so I am not a big fan and am counting down the days till I am out ...

 

[MD2BN10]

3.54 GPA from Wake Forest, very slightly lower AMCAS gpa because I had to retake one class from freshman yr
3.8 in biology
31S MCAT
Volunteer in OR (80 hours), ER (40 hours), Childrens oncology (40 hours) all in WAke hopsital
Research for a year in neuro in wake's hospital, Wake Forest Fellowship Recipient, Research for 2 years in Rheum with many publications
Shadow Rheumatologist for a year, Shadow a General Surgeon for a semester (woke up at 5 am each morning to do that) at Wake Med
AED, BBB, elected to Mortar Club, Deans list 7 out of 8 semesters

NO FREAKING WAKE SECONDARY!!!! 😡 😡 😡

I will never donate a penny to Wake.

Yea so I am not a big fan and am counting down the days till I am out ...

I heard they did alot of rejections pre-secondaries. You'll end up somewhere far better suited for you 🙂

 

[phenylalanine]

3.54 GPA from Wake Forest, very slightly lower AMCAS gpa because I had to retake one class from freshman yr
3.8 in biology
31S MCAT
Random Grad School classes like Molecular Evolution, Long Term Care, and Advanced Biochem
Volunteer in OR (80 hours), ER (40 hours), Childrens oncology (40 hours) all in WAke hopsital
Research for a year in neuro in wake's hospital, Wake Forest Fellowship Recipient, Research for 2 years in Rheum with many publications
Shadow Rheumatologist for a year, Shadow a General Surgeon for a semester (woke up at 5 am each morning to do that) at Wake Med
AED, BBB, elected to Mortar Board, Deans list 7 out of 8 semesters
Volunteering like no other with disadvantaged children, habitat for humanity, etc
Worked full time senior year with autistic children and still got a 3.8 with a full course load.

NO FREAKING WAKE SECONDARY!!!! 😡 😡 😡

I will never donate a penny to Wake.

Yea so I am not a big fan and am counting down the days till I am out ...

i see..... i would be very very pissed, too. come to chapel hill man! i think the cost of living is alittle bit higher, but it is totally worth it. Besides, you get it back from the cheaper tuition anyways.

have you decided where you want to go yet?


as far as chicago, it is my favorite place in the world 😀 I am originally from a big city.. so I kind of want to move back to that.
also, I loved the school when I interviewed there. It just gave me good vibes I guess..

 

[BOBODR]

i see..... i would be very very pissed, too. come to chapel hill man! i think the cost of living is alittle bit higher, but it is totally worth it. Besides, you get it back from the cheaper tuition anyways.




as far as chicago, it is my favorite place in the world 😀 I am originally from a big city.. so I kind of want to move back to that.
also, I loved the school when I interviewed there. It just gave me good vibes I guess..

I would love to come to CH if they give me a solid accpetance but its not looking good.

I wonder if I ticked them off. I accidentally sent my LOI 5 times. I emailed them to apologize but they never responded. I originally emailed the letter to the general admisisons email (no one responded) so then I called Lisa. She had me email it to her. Then my adviser told me to send it to Hoole by email and mail. So I did but I used the wrong email and sent it to another one. He wound up getting both of those on top of the mailed one I am sure. then Randee responded saying she had added it to my file (presumably the original general admissions email one I sent). i think they might be slightly annoyed with 5 letters! At least they can pass them around to each adcom member to read my groveling 🙂

Also Sim, did u come to Cinci, I dont think you did because no one on my interview day was from chapel hill. You didnt miss anything, apparently we were all interviewing for the WL only anyway. 👎

 

[phenylalanine]

I would love to come to CH if they give me a solid accpetance but its not looking good.

I wonder if I ticked them off. I accidentally sent my LOI 5 times. I emailed them to apologize but they never responded. I originally emailed the letter to the general admisisons email (no one responded) so then I called Lisa. She had me email it to her. Then my adviser told me to send it to Hoole by email and mail. So I did but I used the wrong email and sent it to another one. He wound up getting both of those on top of the mailed one I am sure. then Randee responded saying she had added it to my file (presumably the original general admissions email one I sent). i think they might be slightly annoyed with 5 letters! At least they can pass them around to each adcom member to read my groveling 🙂

Also Sim, did u come to Cinci, I dont think you did because no one on my interview day was from chapel hill. You didnt miss anything, apparently we were all interviewing for the WL only anyway. 👎

Really? oh good I didn't spend the money to go out to Cinci.. i actually went to Wake instead on that day. Did you like Cinci? If you were to get off their waitlist, would you go?

As far as your LOI, I am sure it will be okay. If anything, it shows them how determined you are. And after you graduated from UNC, you will think back to your LOIs and even chuckle alittle 🙂 I think UNC releases its acceptances next month? I will keep my fingers crossed for you. You never know, we may be classmates! You have such great healthcare experiences! Do you know what you want to do as a physician?

 

[BOBODR]

Really? oh good I didn't spend the money to go out to Cinci.. i actually went to Wake instead on that day. Did you like Cinci? If you were to get off their waitlist, would you go?

As far as your LOI, I am sure it will be okay. If anything, it shows them how determined you are. And after you graduated from UNC, you will think back to your LOIs and even chuckle alittle 🙂 I think UNC releases its acceptances next month? I will keep my fingers crossed for you. You never know, we may be classmates! You have such great healthcare experiences! Do you know what you want to do as a physician?

Thanks, I hope thats how it turns out. I used to want to do Rheumatology as it fascinates me but I am pretty open now. I love kids so peds is always a possibility.

It sounds like you are really leaning towards Pritzker. Gotta go wherever you like best, especially if you get a sweet financial aid package to pritzker.

I LOVED CINCI. The school fit my personality perfectly. It is my first choice. I am so frustrated because I rocked the interview, the interviewer even told me she liked me so much that I had to come back and talk to her if I choose to come to cinci. Then I found out I got alternate listed this week, an alternate list that hasnt been used in like 3 years.. 👎 Doesnt get worse than that.

Are you sure UNc excepts most people in March? They havent done that in most years, usually they except 4/5 their class before then. Who knows, I am hoping but I did not have a good interview there.

How funny is this? Just yesterday I realized how bad my interviewer was messing with me. The first quesiton he asked me where Wake is. I explained Winston-Salem and he couldnt believe it, that it wasnt in Wake Forest the town and asked me why they didnt change the name. At the time I thought he must not have know where it was. Then I said to myself yesterday, its not possible he didnt know! He has been at UNC for 30 years, and was on the adcom. i am so dumb..... Whole interview went that way. He had me make a movie with music, stage action, etc about an epiphany I had in medicine. It was bizzare to say the least..... 🙄

 

[Conqueror]

You can see which school I chose in my signature.

I'm from NC and have friends in both places, and have visited both places many times.

First, Chapel Hill is roughly a 10000% better city to live in. Winston has pretty much nothing except Old Salem, and after you've been there once it's pretty pointless (although their Moravian Spice Cookies are the flurking shnit).

Second, Chapel Hill is widely considered a better school - this is reflected in US News, but that's not the only source of comparison.

Third, UNC has several new hospitals; Wake does not. The UNC hospital system is convenient to all the campus amenities. Bowman Gray is not.

Fourth, UNC is like 1/3 the price of Wake.

I think the choice should be clear at this point, but if not I'll throw in a fifth point:

Fifth, see #1.

CQ

 

[LabMonster]

I was just accepted to both, but I chose UNC over Wake and turned down Wake's acceptance pretty quickly, and it was an easy decision.

Reasons:

1. I am a North Carolina resident. UNC is great value for a great education
2. When I interviewed at Wake, I didn't feel the "sparks" I felt at UNC 😍
3. But seriously, UNC is better fitted for me because: more research opportunities (and many of them cooperative with Duke), attached to the main campus (more things to offer to the student body), better area (winston-salem, to me at least, is too conservative), and international research and clinical opportunities
4. I also think UNC has a better reputation with a terrific match.

anyone else?

Umm
University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine Class of 2010

Why skew others when you've chosen Chicago? What is wrong with WS, or rather, what is your problem?


Get off the horse.

 

[LabMonster]

Apologies - I love my future alma mater.

Instead of differentials - maybe we should be locked in on working with one another (basketball excluded - and the Deacons suck this year.)

I'd rather have triad colleagues than piss and moan about rankings. The triad is fairly solid is it not?
😀

 

[phenylalanine]

Thanks, I hope thats how it turns out. I used to want to do Rheumatology as it fascinates me but I am pretty open now. I love kids so peds is always a possibility.

It sounds like you are really leaning towards Pritzker. Gotta go wherever you like best, especially if you get a sweet financial aid package to pritzker.

I LOVED CINCI. The school fit my personality perfectly. It is my first choice. I am so frustrated because I rocked the interview, the interviewer even told me she liked me so much that I had to come back and talk to her if I choose to come to cinci. Then I found out I got alternate listed this week, an alternate list that hasnt been used in like 3 years.. 👎 Doesnt get worse than that.

Are you sure UNc excepts most people in March? They havent done that in most years, usually they except 4/5 their class before then. Who knows, I am hoping but I did not have a good interview there.

How funny is this? Just yesterday I realized how bad my interviewer was messing with me. The first quesiton he asked me where Wake is. I explained Winston-Salem and he couldnt believe it, that it wasnt in Wake Forest the town and asked me why they didnt change the name. At the time I thought he must not have know where it was. Then I said to myself yesterday, its not possible he didnt know! He has been at UNC for 30 years, and was on the adcom. i am so dumb..... Whole interview went that way. He had me make a movie with music, stage action, etc about an epiphany I had in medicine. It was bizzare to say the least..... 🙄

I think it is just so great that you have all these experiences. I am sure they will come in handy when choosing ur electives. I love ped oncology. Many of my patients are ped, and I can't tell you how rewarding it is to see them getting better.

As far as Pritzker, I haven't decided yet. I do love Chicago, but I am on my own for med school, which means $265,000 worth of loan?? still debating if I want to undertake that. I don't know how good their financial package is, so we will see.

You would choose Cinci over UNC?? I really hope you do get off the alternate list, we all deserve to go to where our hearts are set on.

As far as UNC admission, the march thing is what I gathered from the NC thread. Who was your adcom interviewer by the way?

 

[phenylalanine]

Apologies - I love my future alma mater.

Instead of differentials - maybe we should be locked in on working with one another (basketball excluded - and the Deacons suck this year.)

I'd rather have triad colleagues than piss and moan about rankings. The triad is fairly solid is it not?
😀

I do apologize if I came across as dissing on WS. It is not my intention. In fact, there are a few things I really like about Wake Forest: 1) PBL curriculum, and I mean, PBL curriculum to the max 🙂. I work with a doc who graduated from wake, and she said the curriculum strongly reflects situations one would face as a physician. it is more practical and one can learn much more. 2) I like how they "give" you a computer! haha and it is the IBM that reads your fingerprints or something cool like that (sorry, I don't know the name nor the exact details.. I am not at all tech-savvy and also hoping to switch to a mac). 3) Smaller class size- I think Bowman Gray maybe can support way more than 100 med students. with a smaller class, students' opinions and suggestions, I think, can be put into actions easier.

You see, it is not wrong to love your future alma mater, and this thread is definitely not a pissing contest. 🙂

The triad? what are you referring to? In NC, the triad is made up of these three cities: Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and High Points. But if you were referring to Duke, UNC, and Wake, then yes, there's lots of cooperation b/w these three institutions. Just based on location, Duke and UNC have more opportunities together. Each of these places cater to different population: Duke- national; UNC- state; Wake- regional. All three schools are research intensive, with Duke with the most NIH funding and Wake with the least, but this doesn't mean that one will not get good research experiences going to any of these places. Anyways, wake is definitely a solid school! I think you will be very happy there. Wake also has very good connections in the southeast for residency placement, and I am sure it sends students everywhere in the country as well.

 

[BOBODR]

I think it is just so great that you have all these experiences. I am sure they will come in handy when choosing ur electives. I love ped oncology. Many of my patients are ped, and I can't tell you how rewarding it is to see them getting better.

Edit

 

[Herman Bloom]

Bobo,

Your disdain for WF and especially Winston seems pretty obvious. Do you think it's possible that the adcoms at Wake -- or more likely the folks at the hospital with whom you worked for so long -- were able to detect this? Having spent so much time at the hospital, you actually had a very long, thorough, and telling "interview".

In any case, good luck with UNC. I have friends there, and each has enjoyed it very much.

 

[BOBODR]

Bobo,

Your disdain for WF and especially Winston seems pretty obvious. Do you think it's possible that the adcoms at Wake -- or more likely the folks at the hospital with whom you worked for so long -- were able to detect this? Having spent so much time at the hospital, you actually had a very long, thorough, and telling "interview".

In any case, good luck with UNC. I have friends there, and each has enjoyed it very much.

Herman,

I had no disdain for the medical school at all before not getting a secondary and liked it here. I did alot here and to be treated like they have, well you are right now my spite of this school is pretty obvious.... still the comparison I made between UNC and Wake is valid and sveral have agreed with those points.
I even have a very solid recommendation letter from an attending here and my PI's letter which I got to see after he submitted it is honestly ridiculously nice....
Thats just not the case my friend....

 

[Conqueror]

Apologies - I love my future alma mater.

Instead of differentials - maybe we should be locked in on working with one another (basketball excluded - and the Deacons suck this year.)

I'd rather have triad colleagues than piss and moan about rankings. The triad is fairly solid is it not?
😀

All the med schools in NC are solid. Even ECU is a pretty good school, although its focus is quite different from the others. The four of them actually do work together quite a bit - I spent a couple years working on a research project that was co-sponsored by Duke and ECU together. Obviously Duke and UNC work together a lot, and Wake gets in there sometimes (comparitively less often since it's farther away). I think there's a very healthy spirit of cooperation between the four NC med schools, and I like it. 🙂

CQ

PS - Go heels. Nat'l champs x 2 in '06!

 

[jllander]

Wake also has first year preceptorship.

but I think it is untrue that wake has better facilities... in fact, when I interviewed at wake.. I felt pretty low on wake's facilities.... the baptist hospital looks old, small, and dingy... the library looks empty and it is in a basement or something like that... the classroom is stuck in the 40s, and it is not wireless compatible....8 ppl per body for anatomy it's just too many ppl

You obviously didn't go INTO Baptist Hospital because you would have seen that it is enormous, incredible on the inside and all of Brenner's Children's Hospital is BRAND NEW...I'm not sure what you mean by the library looked empty. If you were talking about people, they were all in class. If you were talking about books and journals, there weren't any there because all of them are online. Also, the library is on the 1st floor, not the basement. Finally, there are only 6 people per body in anatomy, not 8 and that is the smallest number I have heard out of the 10 schools I intereviewed at.

 

[WholeLottaGame7]

My impression of Wake was that they used technology pretty well as far as online material and their anatomy lab, but I wasn't too enthused by the area/students. Winston-Salem's pretty quiet and low-key, and probably a great place if you want to raise a family/live in a quiet town, but not really energetic enough for me.

6 seems about average/slightly high for cadavers, most places I've seen are 4-5.

I'd definitely go with UNC, if I had to choose. Cost is cheaper, a little bit better reputation, and I prefer the area, but that's just me.

 

[phenylalanine]

You obviously didn't go INTO Baptist Hospital because you would have seen that it is enormous, incredible on the inside and all of Brenner's Children's Hospital is BRAND NEW...I'm not sure what you mean by the library looked empty. If you were talking about people, they were all in class. If you were talking about books and journals, there weren't any there because all of them are online. Also, the library is on the 1st floor, not the basement. Finally, there are only 6 people per body in anatomy, not 8 and that is the smallest number I have heard out of the 10 schools I intereviewed at.

I was just comparing wake with UNC, please don't get offended. maybe I didn't get a good look at the hospital. Brenner is nice tho. I did like brenner.The library is small when compared to UNC's 5 or 6 stories health sciences library. At the interview day, the student guide told us 6-8 per body. if it's 6, that's pretty average. most places I interviewed at were 4-5.

 

[samboo]

I can give no input relative to wake, but I love it here at UNC! The new curriculum is really awesome and they are really receptive to student input so they things that are not working for us will be altered for next year’s class. The anatomy block was WONDERFUL!!! There are two groups of 4 students per cadaver and you alternate labs. Group A will dissect and then at the end of lab they teach it to Group B, and you alternate this. The professors rotate through the rooms so you are never without guidance. The class dynamics are really good since we are pass fail, people post their study materials for everyone to use. There is so much going on as far as volunteering or research that you can get involved in just about anything you want. There is allot of construction, but it will be really nice when it is done. You can not beat the tuition. I also really like living in Chapel Hill. Did I mention our basketball team! Most importantly, go where you feel like you fit in and will be the happiest! Ok back to studying for my test on Monday. Good luck!

 

[Shaka]

I'm not from NC, but turned down Wake in favor of UNC. I just got a better impression of the school. That said, I know a number of people at Wake who like it and are doing well there. As always, it depends most on what YOU think.

Also, overall, UNC would be less expensive (most likely). To receive in-state tuition, the woman told me you have to live there for a year and show evidence of your plans to be a resident.

 

[sweetdoc]

Has anyone heard any news about a UNC second look weekend for this year?

Just curious,
sweetdoc

 

[-Goose-]

UNC: 83
Wake: 72

🙁

What happened? Wake was keeping it pretty close, then I went to work out, came back and they were down by 11?

 

[UNC-or-BUST]

Chris Paul is what happened, can't loose your leader and expect to pull out a NCAA bid. Well, not unless your UNC.

 

[i61164]

You obviously didn't go INTO Baptist Hospital because you would have seen that it is enormous, incredible on the inside and all of Brenner's Children's Hospital is BRAND NEW...I'm not sure what you mean by the library looked empty. If you were talking about people, they were all in class. If you were talking about books and journals, there weren't any there because all of them are online. Also, the library is on the 1st floor, not the basement. Finally, there are only 6 people per body in anatomy, not 8 and that is the smallest number I have heard out of the 10 schools I intereviewed at.

I am a student at Wake and I'm not going to say that it is better than UNC, but I'm glad that jlander has corrected some of your misconceptions about Wake. The hospital is super high tech, the curriculum is very well thought out and it changes regularly in response to student feedback. Here is the class of 2005 match list:

Ob-Gyn - 4
Internal Medicine - 19
Pediatrics - 11
Anesthesiology - 14
Family Practice - 10
Radiology - 6
Peds/Emergency Medicine - 1
Emergency Medicine - 9
Plastic Surgery - 1
Orthopaedic Surgery - 3
Neurology - 5
Ophthalmology - 4
Med-Peds - 2
Dermatology - 1
General Surgery - 8
Radiation Oncology - 1
Urology - 1
Pathology - 3
Psychiatry - 1
Otolaryngology - 1
Transitional - 1 (Navy)

Is that bad? Wake has a very good anesthesiology department which results in a lot of people choosing that specialty. I guess that goes to show that people are attracted to specialties that their school is strong in. The reverse is also true, Wake's psychiatry department doesn't seem to stir up much interest in that specialty. I hear that UNC has a wonderful psychiatry department though, but rumor has it that they are very weak in neurology. Anyway, I wouldn't advise you to worry too much about specific specialties because you don't really know what you want to go into yet. If you end up at a school that doesn't have a great department in the specialty you want, you can do an away rotation. I myself plan to do a psych rotation at UNC. I was too lazy to type out all of the hospitals that the class of 2005 matched at, but here are what I consider some of the highlights:

U. of Michigan, Mayo, U. of Pittsburgh, Duke, Vanderbilt, UCLA, UNC, Boston U., Lenox Hill (NYC), UC Davis, U. of Washington, Northwestern, Dartmouth, UT Southwestern, Stanford, Brown, UCSF, and U. of Chicago.

Also, 31 students matched at Wake. I think that says a lot about what Wake students think about Baptist hospital.

Good luck to you.

 

[Medikit]

I just wanted to chime in on the students per cadaver issue. I know it's difficult to choose medical schools based on the little information you're given and the brief encounter you have during your tour. Sometimes a little thing like students per cadaver seems fairly relevant, especially when many schools start with anatomy. But the truth is that we were done with anatomy in October and the way I learned anatomy wasn't during my personal dissection of tissues during the 2 or 3 hours we had each day of lab but was during my redissection later that night. I was just trying to do so much during lab that it was hard for me to really take things in and learn them.

Looking back few of my personal impressions were very completely accurate about Wake Forest. Personal testimony by other students was much closer to the truth but still my experience (and class) is obviously still different then theirs. If you're having a hard time deciding which school to choose you might want to talk to the students attending each school or even schedule another opportunity to visit.

I think the two biggest factors in choosing a medical school should be geography and expense(Don't forget to factor in cost of living). For some of my classmates UNC turned out to be more expensive than Wake Forest simply because of how cheap it is to live in Winston-Salem compared to Chapel Hill. But for most UNC is probably much cheaper.

Good luck.

 

[LabMonster]

UNC: 83
Wake: 72

🙁

What happened? Wake was keeping it pretty close, then I went to work out, came back and they were down by 11?

Wake was up but I flipped over to Daytona for a bit, flipped back and they were down by like 10 with 2 minutes to go?? WTF? The announcers said the heels were bombing them for 3's (considering UNC couldn't do much of anything inside.)

Oh well.

 

[Coalboy]

is UNC's match list online? if so, where?

It's buried pretty deep in the web site, but it's available to anyone who wants to see it:

UNC SOM Residency Match List

We do pretty well - as a current MS4, I'm anxiously awaiting March 16th to see if I do well.

I can't comment on Wake Forest, since I've never been there, but UNC is an excellent place to train. I would come here again in a hearbeat, and I was an out-of-stater with some very good options.

Good luck to everyone.