Hi all, as this cycle comes to an end I find myself in a position I did not think I would be in. I have 4 acceptances to UWash, Washington State, Hackensack and Creighton. I've pretty much decided against Creighton at this point, I'm not sure I would be the best culture fit given that I'm atheist, and the opportunities there are lower in comparison to the other schools I have available. I would like to hear some other perspectives on this decision to make sure my priorities and reasoning are solid. Right now I'm not sure what specialty I want to do, but I'm considering primary care (would lean more towards internal medicine), anesthesia, and surgery as possible options.
University of Washington - Seattle
Pros:
- close to home, I grew up here, I know the city, I already have a number of connections set up with community organizations that I've been working with. I have some ideas about possible service projects I could engage in during my time at UW.
- culture fit. I know quite a few med students at this school and I feel I would fit in pretty well.
- mission alignment
- prestige/ranking. To the extent that this matters, UW would give me the biggest push out of my options when it comes time to apply for residency.
- research opportunities. Out of my options, this school has the most NIH funding, although with this current administration maybe that wont matter as much. UW has a lot of policies and practices that don't necessarily align with executive branch interests, so it is possible they may get defunded significantly.
- clinical opportunities. World-class medical centers and Fred Hutch in close proximity, additionally Seattle is a big health hub, so there is an opportunity to network with many other academic medical centers in the area.
- Pass fail grading all four years. My cohort will be the second cohort to transition to pass/fail clinical rotations.
- Very well connected among academic institutions on the West Coast.
- World-class home residency programs.
Cons:
- cost: according to their cost of attendance calculations, it would be about 360k. I have around 2 years' worth of living expenses saved up, so more likely closer to 300K. There are some need-based scholarships that I can apply for next month, but these are not guaranteed, about 25% of the class gets some scholarship.
- WWAMI rotations: I like the idea of these WWAMI rotations where we have to do a certain number of rotations at other medical centers in Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. However, I do see this as a possible downside. What if, for example, I'm trying to match surgery and don't get to do my surgical rotation at Harborview?
- large class size, around 270 between all of the regional campuses, but only 100 at the Seattle campus. I'm worried this may make finding research opportunities more competitive.
- AOA + internal rank.
other:
- I'm not sure where I would like to practice yet, but UW has an insanely strong match for west-coast programs. Many students match at UCSF, Stanford, UCLA, UW programs, etc.
Washington State
Pros:
- cost: The estimated cost of attendance, with my savings factored in is about 250K.
- culture fit: similarly to UW, I feel I could fit in well here.
- mission fit
- longitudinal clinical rotations: wazzu has a unique clinical rotation program where you do multiple clerkships simultaneously instead of the traditional block style. I could see this as an asset when it comes to being prepared for residency.
- smaller class size, about 80, and potentially less competition for research opportunities.
cons:
- H/P/F clinicals
- newer school and not as well known as UW.
- I will be assigned one of four campuses throughout the state for my clinical rotations, location could limit my ability to engage with research or other extracurriculars.
Hackensack:
Pros:
- 3-year core curriculum: Hackensack has a curriculum where you do pre-clinical and clinical back-to-back, and then take step 1 + 2 in one dedicated period. They have above-average step scores with this approach.
- possibility of entering residency in 4th year: Hackensack has a unique 3+1 curriculum. With this curriculum, I could go directly into residency in my 4th year in a variety of specialties (nothing super competitive). I believe the options are FM, IM, Peds, Gen Surg, Psych, Anesthesia, and EM. This could cut down expenses and reduce tuition by 1 year. It would have to be in a Hackensack residency at one of their hospitals. While I'm not sure what I want to do yet, this offers good variety and is enticing. I believe this process is slightly competitive, but if you are in good standing with the school you have a decent shot of landing a spot.
- If I don't choose to enter residency in 4th year, they have most of the time carved out for a "choose your own adventure approach." You can do research, get a free MBA or MPH, and you can do all this while doing your away rotations and other traditional 4th year activities.
- opportunities for funded research years if I decide to do something competitive. It seems like they have a lot of money and are willing to support their students in whatever their goals are.
Cons:
- Cost: I was unable to get a merit scholarship and my financial aid package indicated no other scholarships. Total, it will be around 420K with savings factored in. If I decided to do the 3+1 residency program, it would be closer to 350k.. They seem to have a lot of money available to give out, if I really wanted to, I might be able to negotiate something.
- H/P/F clinicals
- Mandatory class attendance in the pre-clinical year.
- Located on the other side of the country, far away from home. I'm not necessarily against living away from home, but my family certainly is.
- Newer school, but given they have their own healthcare network this doesn't seem like such a bad thing.
- larger class size (around 160 I believe).
It seems that UW is the most prestigious, well-connected and established choice, wazzu is the cheaper more community-focused program with still a decent match list, and hackensack is the wildcard that has the potential for an (almost) guaranteed residency but is extremely expensive. Right now, I'm leaning more towards UW - Seattle but I would appreciate any input you all have to solidify this decision.
Thank you!
University of Washington - Seattle
Pros:
- close to home, I grew up here, I know the city, I already have a number of connections set up with community organizations that I've been working with. I have some ideas about possible service projects I could engage in during my time at UW.
- culture fit. I know quite a few med students at this school and I feel I would fit in pretty well.
- mission alignment
- prestige/ranking. To the extent that this matters, UW would give me the biggest push out of my options when it comes time to apply for residency.
- research opportunities. Out of my options, this school has the most NIH funding, although with this current administration maybe that wont matter as much. UW has a lot of policies and practices that don't necessarily align with executive branch interests, so it is possible they may get defunded significantly.
- clinical opportunities. World-class medical centers and Fred Hutch in close proximity, additionally Seattle is a big health hub, so there is an opportunity to network with many other academic medical centers in the area.
- Pass fail grading all four years. My cohort will be the second cohort to transition to pass/fail clinical rotations.
- Very well connected among academic institutions on the West Coast.
- World-class home residency programs.
Cons:
- cost: according to their cost of attendance calculations, it would be about 360k. I have around 2 years' worth of living expenses saved up, so more likely closer to 300K. There are some need-based scholarships that I can apply for next month, but these are not guaranteed, about 25% of the class gets some scholarship.
- WWAMI rotations: I like the idea of these WWAMI rotations where we have to do a certain number of rotations at other medical centers in Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. However, I do see this as a possible downside. What if, for example, I'm trying to match surgery and don't get to do my surgical rotation at Harborview?
- large class size, around 270 between all of the regional campuses, but only 100 at the Seattle campus. I'm worried this may make finding research opportunities more competitive.
- AOA + internal rank.
other:
- I'm not sure where I would like to practice yet, but UW has an insanely strong match for west-coast programs. Many students match at UCSF, Stanford, UCLA, UW programs, etc.
Washington State
Pros:
- cost: The estimated cost of attendance, with my savings factored in is about 250K.
- culture fit: similarly to UW, I feel I could fit in well here.
- mission fit
- longitudinal clinical rotations: wazzu has a unique clinical rotation program where you do multiple clerkships simultaneously instead of the traditional block style. I could see this as an asset when it comes to being prepared for residency.
- smaller class size, about 80, and potentially less competition for research opportunities.
cons:
- H/P/F clinicals
- newer school and not as well known as UW.
- I will be assigned one of four campuses throughout the state for my clinical rotations, location could limit my ability to engage with research or other extracurriculars.
Hackensack:
Pros:
- 3-year core curriculum: Hackensack has a curriculum where you do pre-clinical and clinical back-to-back, and then take step 1 + 2 in one dedicated period. They have above-average step scores with this approach.
- possibility of entering residency in 4th year: Hackensack has a unique 3+1 curriculum. With this curriculum, I could go directly into residency in my 4th year in a variety of specialties (nothing super competitive). I believe the options are FM, IM, Peds, Gen Surg, Psych, Anesthesia, and EM. This could cut down expenses and reduce tuition by 1 year. It would have to be in a Hackensack residency at one of their hospitals. While I'm not sure what I want to do yet, this offers good variety and is enticing. I believe this process is slightly competitive, but if you are in good standing with the school you have a decent shot of landing a spot.
- If I don't choose to enter residency in 4th year, they have most of the time carved out for a "choose your own adventure approach." You can do research, get a free MBA or MPH, and you can do all this while doing your away rotations and other traditional 4th year activities.
- opportunities for funded research years if I decide to do something competitive. It seems like they have a lot of money and are willing to support their students in whatever their goals are.
Cons:
- Cost: I was unable to get a merit scholarship and my financial aid package indicated no other scholarships. Total, it will be around 420K with savings factored in. If I decided to do the 3+1 residency program, it would be closer to 350k.. They seem to have a lot of money available to give out, if I really wanted to, I might be able to negotiate something.
- H/P/F clinicals
- Mandatory class attendance in the pre-clinical year.
- Located on the other side of the country, far away from home. I'm not necessarily against living away from home, but my family certainly is.
- Newer school, but given they have their own healthcare network this doesn't seem like such a bad thing.
- larger class size (around 160 I believe).
It seems that UW is the most prestigious, well-connected and established choice, wazzu is the cheaper more community-focused program with still a decent match list, and hackensack is the wildcard that has the potential for an (almost) guaranteed residency but is extremely expensive. Right now, I'm leaning more towards UW - Seattle but I would appreciate any input you all have to solidify this decision.
Thank you!
