UVM vs. Tufts Maine Track vs. IU

[gloeotrichia]

---

Members don't see this ad.

These are the three schools I've been accepted to (only Maine Track for Tufts, not regular track). I'm waitlisted a few other places but not getting my hopes up, so I'm trying to decide between these three. I'm leaning most towards UVM at the moment, but I will be going to all three second looks so my mind is still open, and I'd like to hear other input.

Financially, they are relatively similar options. I didn't get the Maine Track scholarship, so I would be paying the ginormous regular tuition at Tufts. I made a big spreadsheet from looking at the budgets on the three schools' financial aid sites, and UVM would be 3-10,000 cheaper than Tufts, depending on the year. I am OOS for IU, but I lived there my whole life and my parents still do, so the finaid office said I could probably appeal for in-state status after my first year. However, looking at the fees listed on their budget it honestly looks like I would only be saving around 10,000 in years 2 and 3 and only 2,000 in year 4 over UVM. I was a bit confused about that, since going just by tuition alone I should save around 20,000. IU appears to budget a lot more in travel and personal expenses, and fees.

TL;DR: Finances don't seem to be much of an issue - Tufts > UVM > IU, but not by a whole lot.

The fact that I've been placed at Northwest (Gary) for IU is a huge con, though I do have family in the area and I love Chicago. I also just got such a scattered feel from IUSM due to all the different campuses, and I didn't really like it. UVM's pros are their integrated curriculum, Burlington's awesomeness, and the fact that I really liked the students there. For the Tufts Maine Track, I also really liked the students and I love the people at MMC, but I am rather worried about the fact that it's such a new program. I wonder if the people who graduate from the Maine Track will be as competitive for residencies as the regular track. Anyone have any thoughts on that? The residency match lists looked really pretty similar for UVM and Tufts, and I assume IU's is decent as well (haven't been able to find any from previous years). At the moment I'm planning on primary care, and all three schools would be good for that.

Basically I'm just wondering if anyone has any insights into the three schools that I haven't already talked about here. I couldn't care less about prestige or name recognition, so no need to tell me about that.

 

[OsteonMahn]

seems like you're more between Tufts and UVM. I think UVM will give you more options for your clerkships (you can even go to Maine I think). If you're for sure not going to get the scholarship at Tufts, I'd probably go with UVM. If you had gotten it, then i would have said Tufts all the way.

 

[jimmy06]

I'm in kind of a similar boat.

I think one cool thing about the Maine Track program (if you're interested in rural medicine, but not 100%) is that you can choose to do your third year in Portland (a level 1 trauma center with a huge regional area of referrals).

The fact that the Maine Track is small appeals to me. I think that it's probably a little easier to build relationships with the faculty, and I bet that helps a lot when applying for residency. (But what do I know, I'm not even a med student yet). I wouldn't really worry about the residency thing. I think if you wanted to go into something specialized you would just want to elect to stay in Portland, not one of the super-rural sites.

All that said, I'm biased. I am in at the Maine Track and loved the program when I visited. I also applied to UVM (it was one of my top choices initially), but didn't get an interview. Vermont is awesome, and it seems like a great school. I'm waiting to hear from my in-state school too, which would probably take priority over the Maine Track for me.

Question for you: have you been to the Tufts Medical campus in Boston? If so, what did you think?

You still have a month and a half to decide!

 

[Porfirio]

These are the three schools I've been accepted to (only Maine Track for Tufts, not regular track). I'm waitlisted a few other places but not getting my hopes up, so I'm trying to decide between these three. I'm leaning most towards UVM at the moment, but I will be going to all three second looks so my mind is still open, and I'd like to hear other input.

Financially, they are relatively similar options. I didn't get the Maine Track scholarship, so I would be paying the ginormous regular tuition at Tufts. I made a big spreadsheet from looking at the budgets on the three schools' financial aid sites, and UVM would be 3-10,000 cheaper than Tufts, depending on the year. I am OOS for IU, but I lived there my whole life and my parents still do, so the finaid office said I could probably appeal for in-state status after my first year. However, looking at the fees listed on their budget it honestly looks like I would only be saving around 10,000 in years 2 and 3 and only 2,000 in year 4 over UVM. I was a bit confused about that, since going just by tuition alone I should save around 20,000. IU appears to budget a lot more in travel and personal expenses, and fees.

TL;DR: Finances don't seem to be much of an issue - Tufts > UVM > IU, but not by a whole lot.

The fact that I've been placed at Northwest (Gary) for IU is a huge con, though I do have family in the area and I love Chicago. I also just got such a scattered feel from IUSM due to all the different campuses, and I didn't really like it. UVM's pros are their integrated curriculum, Burlington's awesomeness, and the fact that I really liked the students there. For the Tufts Maine Track, I also really liked the students and I love the people at MMC, but I am rather worried about the fact that it's such a new program. I wonder if the people who graduate from the Maine Track will be as competitive for residencies as the regular track. Anyone have any thoughts on that? The residency match lists looked really pretty similar for UVM and Tufts, and I assume IU's is decent as well (haven't been able to find any from previous years). At the moment I'm planning on primary care, and all three schools would be good for that.

Basically I'm just wondering if anyone has any insights into the three schools that I haven't already talked about here. I couldn't care less about prestige or name recognition, so no need to tell me about that.

If you go to UVM, you can sit next to me for the first day of class. That should be enough of a selling point to pick UVM, hehe.