UVA vs UMD

[thetimehascome21]

UMD
Pros

• In-state tuition w/20,000 per year scholarship
• Level 1 trauma center, diverse patient population
• Close to family & college friends
• Loved the school culture and felt like the people would make it a good fit
• Cool electives as soon as first year

Cons

• Lived in Maryland forever and ready for change
• Tiered pass/fail curriculum
• City (More of a slower pace urban/rural person)
• Lower ranking than UVA

UVA
Pros

• Change of scenery & ideal living location
• Higher ranking
• Perfect curriculum, feels very well designed for better training
• Potentially okay with staying for residency
• True pass fail

Cons

• Potentially MUCH more expensive (not sure about financial aid)
• Not sure how diverse the population is (patient, student, town) which matters to me
• Housing and parking complicated because of undergrad

Summary: Really torn between these options. UVA was a dream school for me, but i’m not sure whether I felt the “fit” would be great. But i think it’s because it’s mostly unfamiliar in a healthy way. New state, new people. Excellent ranking and education. But if there enough of a difference in training to justify paying more money? Does anyone have insights for these two schools to fill in additional pros/cons i’m not thinking about?

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[thefirerisen]

Unless UVA matches their financial aid or comes close to it, no reason to not pick UMD. As great as UVA is and however much you like it, the difference in tuition is not worth it for a similarly ranked program.

 

[thetimehascome21]

Unless UVA matches their financial aid or comes close to it, no reason to not pick UMD. As great as UVA is and however much you like it, the difference in tuition is not worth it for a similarly ranked program.

This is the common theme i’ve heard from mentors as well, thank you thefirerisen.