Urgent: University at Buffalo Med vs Wake Forest Med

[cokebuttercheese]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I am grateful to receive multiple MD acceptances, but I have to decide between the Jacobs School of Medicine at the University at Buffalo or Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

For context, I am from New York, and interested in the following specialities, from most interested to least interested (I know this list can change when entering med school): orthopaedic surgery, radiology, PMR, anesthesiology.

Both schools have solid match lists in these specialties. Both schools are pass/fail, use NBME exams, and I like the curriculum and vibe for each school. Here are the school-specific pros and cons:

Wake Forest:

Pro’s:

• More prestigious/higher ranked school—will probably have some benefits in matching in competitive specialties.
• Strong research programs
• Match list across the years is better for my interested specialties (this year: 7 ortho, 9 radiology, 12 anesthesiology, 3 PMR)

Con’s:

• Most significant factor holding me back: The total cost of attendance is almost $450K
• Did not receive any scholarships.
• Will be very far from New York and home, and an entirely new region (this is not the biggest downside, but a small factor to consider)

Buffalo:

Pro’s:

• In-state tuition: cost of attendance is cheaper by roughly 30k a year than Wake Forest (over the 4 years 130k cheaper)
• Combined 5-year MD/MBA program, which I want to do (MBA I get state tuition as well)
• Solid match list throughout years (although this year had lower ortho matches: 4 ortho, 6 radiology, 11 anesthesiology, 3 PMR)
• Used to New York, Western NY weather, environment, etc. Will be closer to home and NYC (again not biggest factor of consideration but worth mentioning).

Con’s:

• Less prestige/lower rank (not sure if this will hurt competitive residency chances)

TL/Dr: Overall, is it worth the extra 130k to attend Wake Forest for its higher prestige/rankings and somewhat better match list? Will school name and prestige really play a role in matching competitive specialties?

Thank you so much for the help, and please let me know if I should provide any more context!

 

[The OTC]

I think it is worth extra money for Wake Forest.

Just wanted to bring this to light as you make your decision:
UB Residency

I don’t know where any of that situation went but I remember reading that a few months back. Not sure if any of it translates to their med school, but I imagine working with exhausted resident at a malignant program wouldn’t be the most fun experience .

Note: i have no skin in the game at either program

 

[Yhwach]

Wake. UB is a trash institution.

 

[DoneDone3451]

Wake Forest

 

[surelycalm]

Wake. UB is a trash institution.

Totally agree. Explain it to HappyRabbit. I pointed this out. He moved UB up in rankings, almost on par with Stony Brook. /doublefacepalm