University of Colorado vs. UMass Chan vs. University of Alabama

[yourmcatbuddy]

Want to preface this by saying that I would appreciate any additional details to consider for each school while choosing between these 3 schools. This is just an initial pro/con list I made. If you ask me right now which one I'm leaning towards, it would be Colorado but the Win Week of UMass is also very enticing.

Univeristy of Colorado
Pros:

• p/f preclinical
• interested in MD/MBA and their business school is better ranked amongst the others
• I visited Denver when I was a sophomore in high school and I always said that it was my favorite city I had ever visited in the States since then
• Great health system and I'm excited to be training across Denver at various types of sites (want this broad exposure)
• Well-known in and out of medicine and strong alumni network

Cons:

• clinical: Fail/Pass/High Pass/Honors (is this a con?)
• Cost will be highest
• Distance from family and friends will be farthest

UMass
Pros:

• P/F pre-clinical
• Matches well in New England, which is where I may want to end up pursuing my career
• Win Week - after every block there's a dedicated week with no classes or exams that you can use to travel home or do other activities
• I went to undergrad in New England and lived in Boston for a year between 2022-2023. I like Boston a lot and am very familiar with it, also some of my closest friends are in the city

Cons:

• It's in Worcester and not in Boston. I also enjoy living in big cities
• clinical: Fail/Pass/High Pass/Honors (is this a con?)

UAB
Pros:

• closest to home/family (2.5 hr drive vs the others I have to fly)

Cons:

• I grew up in the southeast and moved away to New England after high school. I want to be continue being outside of the southeast such as New England/Denver/West Coast

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[yourmcatbuddy]

Also wanted to add, I got waitlisted at UCSF, is it worth holding out hope for the A?

 

[BattalionX]

You really can't go wrong with any of these options. I highly recommend you weigh these options once you receive financial aid information and go to their second look days to see which school's vibes feel like the best fit for you. I'm sure that those two pieces of information will make your ultimate decision far easier. Congrats on the very successful cycle.

Id personally be choosing between Colorado and UMass, with a slight lean towards Colorado, but your answer will depend on which location and program you like the most (+ aid info)!!

 

[Angler]

Also wanted to add, I got waitlisted at UCSF, is it worth holding out hope for the A?

It costs nothing to hold out hope.

 

[yourmcatbuddy]

You really can't go wrong with any of these options. I highly recommend you weigh these options once you receive financial aid information and go to their second look days to see which school's vibes feel like the best fit for you. I'm sure that those two pieces of information will make your ultimate decision far easier. Congrats on the very successful cycle.

Id personally be choosing between Colorado and UMass, with a slight lean towards Colorado, but your answer will depend on which location and program you like the most (+ aid info)!!

Thank you!!

 

[yourmcatbuddy]

It costs nothing to hold out hope.

True!

 

[m1redsox]

What’s the cost difference between these? Because neither UMass nor CU are worth $100k more than UAB, if that is the case. Not sure if you’ve visited UAB, but I did an away rotation there and absolutely loved it. It’s also like the 8th biggest hospital in the country.

 

[PreMedBot]

Hey, I work at UMass Medical doing research. I wouldn't worry about the Boston distance, its only about 40 min away using the pike. You will also save a lot of money in living costs compared to the city. I may be somewhat salty that (as a lifelong mass resident who attended UMass amherst, and worked at UMMS for 3 years) I wasn't extended an II this year or last, but I would choose colorado.

 

[PreMedBot]

Hey, I work at UMass Medical doing research. I wouldn't worry about the Boston distance, its only about 40 min away using the pike. You will also save a lot of money in living costs compared to the city. I may be somewhat salty that (as a lifelong mass resident who attended UMass amherst, and worked at UMMS for 3 years) I wasn't extended an II this year or last, but I would choose colorado.

having said that, I do love the community at UMass Med and you truly can't go wrong with any of those options. (I don't know much about UA).

 

[polar_seltzer]

I have no inside knowledge about Colorado, but as I’m sure you know, the CU Anschutz Medical Campus is in Aurora, not Denver. Aurora is very suburban and car-dependent, about 10 miles away from the density of downtown Denver.

Good luck on your decision! You can’t go wrong here.

 

[FlowRate]

I agree with some of the other points--if one school is a significant cost difference, go with that one.

If you'll have a car then UMass will get you 25-50% of the pros you would have gotten from living in Boston proper, with additional benefit of lower COL.

You'll definitely need a car at Denver and Denver (and Aurora) aren't cheap for CoL. I have mixed feelings about their core clinical year. But that's just b/c I trained in a very traditional/inpatient heavy setting.

 

[yourmcatbuddy]

I agree with some of the other points--if one school is a significant cost difference, go with that one.

If you'll have a car then UMass will get you 25-50% of the pros you would have gotten from living in Boston proper, with additional benefit of lower COL.

You'll definitely need a car at Denver and Denver (and Aurora) aren't cheap for CoL. I have mixed feelings about their core clinical year. But that's just b/c I trained in a very traditional/inpatient heavy setting.

Thanks! I'd love to hear more about how you feel about the core clinical year, are you referring to the longitudinal integrated clerkships? Is there more outpatient vs inpatient?

 

[FlowRate]

Thanks! I'd love to hear more about how you feel about the core clinical year, are you referring to the longitudinal integrated clerkships? Is there more outpatient vs inpatient?

At least some of their sites are VERY heavily outpatient. I just feel like there's a lot more learning and structured didactic instruction on inpatient rotations at academic centers, generally. Traditional Attending-Resident-Student teams at academic centers usually have established time to round and teach in a way that an outpatient attending (who usually doesn't have a resident or a student) doesn't.