University of Kentucky or Vanderbilt

[bob123456]

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I've recently been offered a full tuition scholarship to the University of Kentucky (I'm a state resident), but have also been accepted to Vanderbilt. I also got into the University of Louisville, but at this point I'm not considering it unless they award me a scholarship since I consider it to be comparable to UK. I've been thinking about which school to go to for weeks now and I'm really torn about it. I liked UK alot when I visited, but Lexington is one of the most boring cities I've ever been to and I've heard that UK graduates don't match into top residencies outside of the state. I'm interested in Radiation Oncology, which I've heard is a pretty difficult residency to match into, and this is causing me to lean more towards Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt was my top choice from the start because of the research opportunities, clinical years, emphasis program, etc. and I loved the school and Nashville when I visited, but it's hard to turn down 100k. So, do you guys have any advice to help me make my decision?

 

[DrBowtie]

Are you my long lost twin or something? Almost same situation for me including interest in Rad. Onc.

 

[TarHeel55]

Congrats on your success! For starters, I would say you should wait to see what kind of financial aid Vanderbilt offers you. I have heard that Vandy is relatively generous with financial aid. Maybe they can offer you a package that makes the cost of attendance more comparable to Kentucky's.

 

[bob123456]

Are you my long lost twin or something? Almost same situation for me including interest in Rad. Onc.

Which way do you think you're going to go? Do you know where to find UK's match list? I haven't seen it posted anywhere and I don't remember getting to see it during the interview session.

 

[mubaseball]

UK's match list is in one of those booklets they gave you at the interview, and most students do match in state. Vandy is going to be a super competitive environment compared to UK. You could potentially be a big fish in a small pond at UK, but I don't know if that even matters. When did you get your scholarship from UK? I'm waiting to hear from them about financial aid.

 

[bodonid]

Vandy is one of the top 5 programs in the nation! D*** the cost, go! go! Go! Beyond the top 12 or so rankings don't mean anything, but if you can go to a top 5 program I wouldn't hesitate. go. Now. Go for me! Vandy was my top choice and I was automatically rejected.

 

[DrBowtie]

Which way do you think you're going to go? Do you know where to find UK's match list? I haven't seen it posted anywhere and I don't remember getting to see it during the interview session.

I'm still waiting on some other non-rollers but I'm leaning towards UK right now.

 

[armybound]

Vandy is one of the top 5 programs in the nation! D*** the cost, go! go! Go! Beyond the top 12 or so rankings don't mean anything, but if you can go to a top 5 program I wouldn't hesitate. go. Now. Go for me! Vandy was my top choice and I was automatically rejected.

as far as I know Vandy is ~18th or so, not 5th.. unless I'm mistaken?

unless you have some really strong personal reason for wanting to go to Vandy, I'd go where the money takes you. without the stress of being way in debt I think you'll enjoy school and be able to succeed enough to be competitive in whatever residency you want.

 

[bob123456]

I haven't seen anyone talking about either of these schools in the last month, so I thought I'd bump this up and see if there was anymore input.

 

[pntgrd]

The schools are not in the same tier. Vanderbilt, with their very strong reputation and match list will give you a much better chance of getting your desired residency, which you seem to care about already. Sure, you will lose some money in the short term by choosing Vanderbilt, but the high chance of getting the residency you want I think is worth a lot more over the next 30 years that you will be working.

 

[patzan]

The debt will be a drop in the bucket in the long run, but will definitely be a thorn in your side for a good 10 years, likely. Vandy matched 5/5 in rad onc last year (all 5 at top programs), so if you are pretty set on it, they put out a lot of rad onc research and could land you a good spot. UK, on the other hand, I haven't seen their match list (look at a couple of years), so I can't say.

Biased opinion...go with Vandy and don't put all your hopes on financial aid.

 

[sunnyskies]

I was in the same situation with my state school and Emory. I talked to about 10 different doctors in different fields and asked them all for their opinion. I stressed that money was a major concern of mine, especially in the long run because I plan on doing Drs. w/o Borders for quite a while and will need all debt paid off before I can go. Even so, every single one of them said that I should go to Emory. I realize that they may have a jaded view being older and from a different generation, but I still value the fact that not one said to give up such a high ranking school. I know Vandy is ranked even better, so I'm sure the response would be the same. They said that in the long run, you WILL end up with better residency placements. Think about it now, all the kids that go to great schools like Harvard are definitely getting way more interviews than kids from state schools (I've been the only person at most of my interviews from a state school), even if their stats are the same. WE say that it doesn't matter, but if you look around, better schools are getting better interviews which means a better chance of acceptance. I feel like it's probably the same with med school and residency, and my suspicions were confirmed when I talked to the different doctors. (I asked in different specialties, so it wasn't just one field). I say go to Vanderbilt. Take on the extra cost, go to an amazing school, and have the time of your life. There are so many people that Vanderbilt is their dream school, and you have the chance! Congratulations!!