UVM vs. OUWB

[Smolpuppo21]

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Hi all! I'm having a hard time deciding between these two schools so far. Any advice would be sincerely helpful!

UVM (Vermont Campus):

Pros:

• Rural location with multiple hospitals to use
• Higher Rank
• Good board prep, with six weeks dedicated
• Homey environment and lovely atmosphere

Cons:

• More expensive
• Minimal research opportunities
• 100% lecture-free (I learn better with lectures due to structure and organization)
• Didn't really feel a community vibe amongst students
• Minimal diversity in patient populations

OUWB:

Pros:

• Significantly cheaper due to scholarship
• Community vibes amongst students - felt at home
• 50% of students leave OUWB published (excellent research opportunities)
• Fantastic match list and board scores for a "lower-ranked" school
• Beaumont's Hospital System is just *chef's kiss*
• "Closer" to home

Cons:

• Lower rank
• 70% attendance required for Honors in H/P/F curriculum, taken into consideration for MSPE
  • 90% average grade required for honors
• Exams are moving away from NBME toward professor-written exams due to outdated questions

Thanks for the advice, y'all! I'm incredibly blessed to hold acceptances from these schools; however, I'd like to narrow down my choices to allow other students opportunities to gain acceptance.

 

[Smolpuppo21]

Bumping for visibility!! Thanks 🙂

 

[Smolpuppo21]

Congrats on the acceptances. What is the price difference between them?

it seems like OUWB is the better option except for the H/HP/P/F

Thank you! The price difference is about ~100-110k.

 

[Smolpuppo21]

@gonnif @Goro any advice? 🙂

 

[Goro]

@gonnif @Goro any advice? 🙂

OUMB has more positives and less negatives from your list.

What do you like more? Maple baked beans or Mackinac Island fudge

 

[Smolpuppo21]

OUMB has more positives and less negatives from your list.

What do you like more? Maple baked beans or Mackinac Island fudge

Haha, I appreciate the food choices. On a more serious note, would you think that a 100% lecture-free environment or an environment that requires 70% lecture attendance for Honors would be more beneficial in a medical school education?

 

[Goro]

Haha, I appreciate the food choices. On a more serious note, would you think that a 100% lecture-free environment or an environment that requires 70% lecture attendance for Honors would be more beneficial in a medical school education?

You yourself said that you like lecture and the structure. I personally think that adult learners can figure out what learning modality works best for them.
I don't Understand why Oakland University has preoccupation with required lecture for honor's. It's not as if going to lecture is going to make you a better student. There's plenty of evidence that shows that Active Learning is far better than passive learning. If they're doing some type of graded assignment within the lecture like a short clicker based quiz, then there might be some benefit to it.

The University of Vermont has pioneered the use of a lecture free curriculum. I've yet to see any evidence that it does anything better for board scores than any other Medical School curriculum. The theory behind it is that it's supposed to increase retention, but that has not been tested as far as I know over a two-year period for a preclinical curriculum

 

[Smolpuppo21]

You yourself said that you like lecture and the structure. I personally think that adult learners can figure out what learning modality works best for them.
I don't Understand why Oakland University has preoccupation with required lecture for honor's. It's not as if going to lecture is going to make you a better student. There's plenty of evidence that shows that Active Learning is far better than passive learning. If they're doing some type of graded assignment within the lecture like a short clicker based quiz, then there might be some benefit to it.

The University of Vermont has pioneered the use of a lecture free curriculum. I've yet to see any evidence that it does anything better for board scores than any other Medical School curriculum. The theory behind it is that it's supposed to increase retention, but that has not been tested as far as I know over a two-year period for a preclinical curriculum

I assume it's because the majority of OUWB's curriculum is TBL-based. Thanks for the advice!

 

[purplecrocs]

I assume it's because the majority of OUWB's curriculum is TBL-based. Thanks for the advice!

I know this is an old thread but I'm a current OUWB student and just wanted to let you know that TBL is not a large part of our education!

Additionally, our first semester is anatomy and bio/biochem, and after that we move into organ systems. Once we move into organ systems, attendance isn't required to honor some blocks. And some midterms/finals are NBME, but some are professor written. It's a current discussion that our class is having and I believe we'll actually be moving more towards NBME exams. I think it's important to note that not all NBME exams are automatically "fair" or "good," and not all professor written exams are automatically "unfair" or "bad."

 

[Smolpuppo21]

Just to update everyone, I'm choosing OUWB due to a full-tuition scholarship offer! 🙂 Thank you for all of your helpful tips and comments <3