UVM (Vermont campus) vs. Drexel

[Sinistea]

UVM Larner (Vermont campus)
Pros

• Loved everyone i met during my interview/closer look day. Felt like I truly belonged there.
• P/F curriculum (preclinical + clinical)
• Students love the school and are not stressed
• Has good match list with students matching back to California every year at in competitive programs at Stanford, UCLA, UCSD etc.
• Small class size which I prefer
• Potential to get scholarships to offset tuition cost
• Great teaching hospital with good home programs and easy access to shadowing/research/mentors
• Only med school in VT and easy access to medical system across the state.
• Opportunity to do clinical rotations in more urban areas in NY
• Ranked higher than Drexel but still mid-tier so don't think this super important?

Cons

• Rural area and low diversity
• Very, very, very far from family/friends/network in California
• Weather is polar opposite from California
• No free clinics for students
• Cannot get Vermont residency for in-state tuition

Drexel (likely Philly campus)
Pros

• Also loved my interview here and already know of some potential research/groups I'd like to be involved in
• More urban and diverse area which is important to me
• Ton of community service opportunities
• Closer to friends in PA/NYC and more easily able to get back to California
• More moderate weather compared to Vermont
• Able to do Kaiser rotations in the bay area where I am from (although its lottery system with a large class) and would spend M3/M4 years in California near family.
• Lots of free clinics
• Match list also has many students going back to California

Cons

• Large class size (~300) which it not appealing to me
• Lots of negativity from current students especially re: losing Hahneman
• So many other med schools in the area competing for resources that are better respected/established
• Insanely expensive (~10k more per year than UVM) with little to no aid expected (not a lot of scholarships go out)
• Match list is okay but not as great as UVM historically

Summary: I think I will be happier with the school/classmates at UVM as I already feel so positively about UVM, but am worried about matching back to California and also worried about the lack of diversity/small town living/winters in Vermont; Drexel has a lot of great diversity around it with community service built in and possibly an easier way to match back to California through rotations, however it's much more expensive, the clinical rotation situation sounds messy, and the class size is much larger than I would like

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[ValPak00per]

don't go to drexel

 

[chilly_md]

If you are already from CA, then Drexel’s rotation isn’t going to really add anything other then giving you some extra time with family during that period if you do get lucky and win the lotto for that.

 

[Sinistea]

don't go to drexel

Would love to hear more about why if you don't mind! Have seen a lot of vague negativity about Drexel lol

 

[Rooks]

UVM has a much friendlier culture I heard and better support systems, Drexel is big and lost its teaching hospital, it operates in many ways like a DO school with rotations :/

 

[chilly_md]

For what it’s worth, it will not be easy to travel back to California from Philadelphia. You will only be able to travel when you have a significant break. Flying back to the East coast even on a direct flight will likely end up as a red eye.

You will get more out of a good mentor than having access to a free clinic, especially if you choose to pursue a competitive specialty.

 

[Sinistea]

For what it’s worth, it will not be easy to travel back to California from Philadelphia. You will only be able to travel when you have a significant break. Flying back to the East coast even on a direct flight will likely end up as a red eye.

You will get more out of a good mentor than having access to a free clinic, especially if you choose to pursue a competitive specialty.

I guess the only reason I mentioned that was because I recently visited both campuses and cost-wise it was much easier to find direct and cheaper flights to Philly. The Burlington airport is tiny and did not have direct flights to CA (also much more expensive), and current students told me to fly into Montreal or Boston and then drive which is a bit more of a hassle.

Also I appreciate the advice! I think knowing the rotations in CA won't make much of a difference to me being from CA makes UVM the better choice for me in multiple ways. I'm admittedly not well-versed in how regional biases / signaling / etc. work for residency and I'm not set on any particular specialty but would like to keep my doors open.

I think I'd be much happier overall at UVM Thank you!

 

[ACKjp]

I’m biased as a Vermonter but choose UVM!