University of Vermont (UVM Connecticut Campus) vs. Medical College of Georgia (MCG Augusta Campus)

[dangerclose16]

Hi everyone!

Thank you for your time in reading my post. I'm OOS for both of these medical schools and could use some wisdom in helping decide on a school. Both schools would be very far from family so there isn't a family support network advantage either way. I haven't gotten my financial aid packages from either school yet, so I'm estimating each school's cost of attendance based on only loans (hoping for grants/scholarships but trying to be realistic here). To give some context on my goals, I'm undecided about a medical specialty but am currently interested in IM, FM, PM&R, neurology, ID, and ortho. Definitely not set on any one field currently and don't want to limit my options. I'm also not interested in basic science research, but I am potentially interested in clinical research and informatics. I'd also like to practice medicine in a more suburban/urban area eventually but am not sure geographically where I'd like to be (probably not Southeast though).

UVM (Estimated Total COA: ~$390k)

Pros:
- Established and respected program
- Fairly solid match list from primary care to other specialties
- Faculty and staff seem genuinely friendly
- I've heard students are pretty happy here
- Active learning curriculum has been established for several years so hopefully any curriculum issues are minor
- Spend first 18 months in Burlington, VT and then spend remainder of medical school in Danbury/Norwalk, CT (getting to see multiple places could be fun)
- Connecticut campus allows for more opportunities to work directly with attendings and do more hands-on clinical work (fewer residents at CT hospital system)
- More urban clinical training in M3 and M4 years
- Danbury and Norwalk are fairly diverse and close to NYC, where I have several good friends
- CT campus is center of UVM's global health program (not sure about post-COVID opportunities but I'm interested)
- Fairly sizable population of older non-trads (I'm a non-trad)
- Meshed with faculty and students pretty well on interviews/second look events
- 1.5 year pre-clinical P/F curriculum

Cons:
- More expensive option by around $50k total
- Haven't lived in a rural area before
- Prefer warmer weather (VT gets really cold winters that last a long time)
- Most teaching is active learning; not sure if I would completely mesh with this teaching style
- Would have to move in March of M2 year from VT to CT after taking STEP1
- Smaller CT campus (~30-35 students) during M3-M4 years; could be a pro due to closer community but also a con due to having fewer classmates to bond with

MCG (Estimated Total COA: ~$340k)

Pros:
- Well established medical school
- I've heard students get significant hands-on clinical training and get to work directly with attendings sometimes
- Cheaper by $50k total, with possibility to get OOS tuition reduced to IS tuition and save an extra $112k (based off hearsay so not sure how accurate this is)
- Large Augusta class of ~200 students, hopefully allowing me to meet a variety of people and find my niche more easily than with a small class size
- Warmer weather
- Teaching is a mixture of lecture and active learning; might be better combination for me personally
- New 3+ program offers opportunities to earn a dual degree in 4 years (somewhat interested in MBA) or get more advanced clinical training (not sure what the practical difference is between this and just taking M4 electives and sub-Is though)
- 1.5 year pre-clinical P/F curriculum

Cons:
- Not a huge fan of Augusta location
- Previously lived in GA and would rather live in a different region of the US
- Doesn't seem to have a robust global health program
- Program is lower ranked than UVM
- Faculty to student ratio is lower than UVM's which might make it harder to obtain faculty mentorship/support?
- More rural clinical rotations compared with UVM's CT campus (I prefer urban clinical training)
- Had an okay interview and revisit day experience, but nothing jumped out at me


Thanks in advance for your time and help! If you think of other pros/cons for either school that I should be aware of, please feel free to bring those up! Also, please do not quote/reply to this message! Thanks again!

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[Banco]

Look into if you can actually get IS tuition at MCG. If so, MCG is the clear choice.

 

[Putkernerinthehall]

Look into if you can actually get IS tuition at MCG. If so, MCG is the clear choice.

Shouldn't OP be able to get IS tuition after first year ? Isn't that normally how it works ?

 

[Banco]

Shouldn't OP be able to get IS tuition after first year ? Isn't that normally how it works ?

As far as I know it is state and medical school dependent. Some have different policies, that's why they should make sure that it is set in stone.

 

[Putkernerinthehall]

I would agree. If IS tuition after first year a MCG, I'd go there. If not (if paying OOS all four years at MCG), Vermont seems like it might be worth the difference. But that's a helluva expensive education either way.

 

[LunaOri]

Wait until you get your financial aid offers to make a decision. GA is cheaper with no aid, but if you don't want to end up in the Southeast, UVM might be a better choice overall. CT campus has only 35 students per class (M3+M4), but there are lots of residents, and students from other medical schools, so you do have options for meeting people.

 

[dangerclose16]

Thanks for the advice everyone so far! It looks like I'll have to wait for the financial aid offers before committing to either school then. Does anyone else have additional feedback they'd like to add as well?