University of Vermont versus Tufts University

[KEEK]

I am eventually going to decide between Tufts and the University of Vermont. Location wise, I love the outdoors and I feel like living in a more rural setting would be condusive (for me) to less stress. I have been living in Boston for a few years now, so I know what Boston is all about. I was wondering if any current medical students could tell me what they think about which school would be a better choice in terms of quality of life, classes, rotations and, most importantly, matching for residency. I think I will eventually want to return to Boston and I am especially curious if I would be at a great disadvantage leaving Boston if I eventually want to come back. Thank you for any feedback I can get!!!

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[SB100]

Slightly unrelated, but what part of Boston do you live in? I'm trying to get an idea of where it would be good for students to live within the city.

 

[KEEK]

I live in brookline, but I would probably move to the South End or South Boston if I were to go to Tufts.

 

[scrubslover]

So, I'm currently deciding between the exact same schools and wrote down a list of pros and cons.

Tufts:
Pros-
1) In the city (I happen to like the urban campus better)
2) Diverse patient population
3) Great student body
4) Excellent new clinical facilities for standardized patients
5) Start anatomy later in the semester
6) P/F/H, non-competitive students

Cons:
1) THE most expensive school in the country and very high cost of living
2) Big class (~200?)
3) Not an integrated curriculum
4) Competes with Harvard for patients --> Tufts NEMC is not a level 1 trauma center

Vermont:
Pros:
1) AMAZING integrated curriculum
2) Best facilities I've been to
3) Extremely nice and non-competitive students
4) Lower cost of living
5) Very small class
6) One of the best schools for primary care

Cons:
1) Rural
2) Much less diversity in terms of patients and clinical conditions
3) Still a high tuition

Hope this helps! (I still have no clue, haha)

 

[silas2642]

I am eventually going to decide between Tufts and the University of Vermont. Location wise, I love the outdoors and I feel like living in a more rural setting would be condusive (for me) to less stress. I have been living in Boston for a few years now, so I know what Boston is all about. I was wondering if any current medical students could tell me what they think about which school would be a better choice in terms of quality of life, classes, rotations and, most importantly, matching for residency. I think I will eventually want to return to Boston and I am especially curious if I would be at a great disadvantage leaving Boston if I eventually want to come back. Thank you for any feedback I can get!!!

Hi Keek,

I was accept to both schools and chose Tufts without hesitation. I don't have a state school, so obviously UVM tuition would be OOS and as I'm sure they explained to you in the financial aid presentation at your interview, there is no way to gain instate status in Vermont-- you can buy property, marry a Vermont resident, set up a business there, start a family there, become governor of the state, marry the governor of the state; nothing you do will ever, ever, ever change your status to "in state" if you an out of stater.

Thus being OOS at UVM made it equally expensive to tuition at Tufts, which made my decision really easy. The faculty here at Tufts is second to none-- they are always there if you need them and try to do everything they can to see their students succeed. Everyone is very friendly and I love being in Boston (although you said that was kind of a minus for you). I love the diversity of the patient population here too-- you see everything. Tufts has a good reputation for preparing good clinicians, which helps with the the match-- the students here match really well and PDs in the area are very familiar with the quality of the students here.

I liked Burlington and UVM a lot too, and would have been perfectly happy to go there if I hadn't gotten into Tufts. It was a beautiful city that had a lot to offer. I didn't get the feeling that there was a lot of patient diversity and that I would get as much clinical diversity as I would if I trained in the Boston area. The facilities at UVM were gorgeous; Fletcher Allen was very nice. Overall, though, I thought that I would get better training at Tufts and that it was a better fit for me-- I also thought that it would set me up better for the match and for internship.

 

[KEEK]

Thank you very much for all of the feedback!! This is all great stuff to keep in mind.