UVM vs. Tufts

[killuabff]

Hi there. I am so excited to have received multiple MD acceptances at this point in the cycle, but want to make sure I'm actively thinking about where I want to go! This way I'm sort of narrowing it down as I go (not that I'll get any more As, just like to be proactive). My future interests are general internal medicine, geriatrics, and possibly even hem-onc. However, it's hard to get the full picture, even after information sessions and student Q&As. Please help me out! I already feel so lucky that these are my choices but don't know if there is a clear "right" decision.

UVM (Vermont campus)
Pros

• Burlington looks beautiful and I think it would be amazing to have access to the surrounding nature
• Would have the opportunity to explore a new city
• Resonated with their Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship and their inclusion of palliative care
• Small (smaller than Tufts) class size of ~120
• Students seemed happy

Cons

• COLD
• My friend who went there for undergrad said I'd be miserable during daylight savings because of how often its dark
• Diversity - I'm Latinx and my identity matters a lot to me, not sure if there's a lack of diversity in the patient population but there were only 10 Latinx students in their previous class, which is a downside of the smaller class size
• I'm worried about access to an airport to visit my family on the west coast and whether or not my honda civic would hold up in the climate since it seems like a car is necessary

Tufts (Boston track)
Pros

• I currently live in Boston and love it
• I got a huge sense of health equity and dedication to anti-racism from everyone I interacted with
• Another common theme was how much everyone I interacted with said the community at Tufts was a big reason for their happiness there (I think there was more time to talk about this during this interview day in comparison to UVM with MMIs though)
• More Latinx students and a more diverse patient population
• Don't have to worry about a car (I think)

Cons

• Cold
• Daylight savings
• Housing situation will be so bleak on a med student budget
• Big class size ~200

Summary: I left finances out of it because both schools have almost the exact same tuition, total cost of attendance, and average student indebtedness. You can probably tell I feel a bit more drawn to Tufts, but is there anything I'm missing that would make UVM the better option?? Thanks!

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[meeed]

Current UVM student here. Let me try to sell the school a bit.

Firstly Burlington is def not Boston. Certainly is less diverse in terms of not only population but even things like activities and food options. This imho is the biggest con and downside to the school. One thing I’d look into is if you want to do CT clinical campus, since you’d be working with a big Spanish speaking population, if that strikes you as interesting. You can also afaik do a few of your rotations in CT while retaining VT as your primary campus. So if you for instance want to experience IM or FM somewhere more diverse, it certainly is an option. Id double check this with admissions, but I am pretty sure this is possible.

200 vs 124 imho makes a noticeable difference. The class and culture is pretty friendly and inclusive. At least for me personally, an additional 80 people would be a con.

In terms of happiness, I think the most common thing I hear is “wow, medical school is tough, thank God we are at least here”. I certainly feel like we are treated very well.

Another thing to consider is if Tufts is true P/F preclinical or not. UVM is. Attendance is also not mandatory for the vast majority but unfortunately not all of class activities.

Housing in BTV is getting worse, but without a doubt is still a lot cheaper compared to Boston and I don’t see it getting more expensive comparatively.

You don’t really need a 4wd drive car. Most people make do just fine without it. Having a car though I would say is essential, if not for school but to go grocery shopping etc. It also opens the outdoors for you if you are into that at all.

 

[srirachamayonnaise]

Hi there. I am so excited to have received multiple MD acceptances at this point in the cycle, but want to make sure I'm actively thinking about where I want to go! This way I'm sort of narrowing it down as I go (not that I'll get any more As, just like to be proactive). My future interests are general internal medicine, geriatrics, and possibly even hem-onc. However, it's hard to get the full picture, even after information sessions and student Q&As. Please help me out! I already feel so lucky that these are my choices but don't know if there is a clear "right" decision.

UVM (Vermont campus)
Pros

• Burlington looks beautiful and I think it would be amazing to have access to the surrounding nature
• Would have the opportunity to explore a new city
• Resonated with their Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship and their inclusion of palliative care
• Small (smaller than Tufts) class size of ~120
• Students seemed happy

Cons

• COLD
• My friend who went there for undergrad said I'd be miserable during daylight savings because of how often its dark
• Diversity - I'm Latinx and my identity matters a lot to me, not sure if there's a lack of diversity in the patient population but there were only 10 Latinx students in their previous class, which is a downside of the smaller class size
• I'm worried about access to an airport to visit my family on the west coast and whether or not my honda civic would hold up in the climate since it seems like a car is necessary

Tufts (Boston track)
Pros

• I currently live in Boston and love it
• I got a huge sense of health equity and dedication to anti-racism from everyone I interacted with
• Another common theme was how much everyone I interacted with said the community at Tufts was a big reason for their happiness there (I think there was more time to talk about this during this interview day in comparison to UVM with MMIs though)
• More Latinx students and a more diverse patient population
• Don't have to worry about a car (I think)

Cons

• Cold
• Daylight savings
• Housing situation will be so bleak on a med student budget
• Big class size ~200

Summary: I left finances out of it because both schools have almost the exact same tuition, total cost of attendance, and average student indebtedness. You can probably tell I feel a bit more drawn to Tufts, but is there anything I'm missing that would make UVM the better option?? Thanks!

Any difference in grading systems? That’s really really important. Now that I am almost done with third year, looking back at the time when I had to make a decision, I didn’t particularly consider too much of grading. But I am glad I picked a completely p/f school with no aoa or internal ranking. These two schools are pretty much neck and neck in terms of prestige and I would give tufts a slight edge over UVM. However, UVM is entirely PBL which is a huge con for a lot of people because it takes so much time and I personally think it’s very inefficient.

 

[killuabff]

Current UVM student here. Let me try to sell the school a bit.

Firstly Burlington is def not Boston. Certainly is less diverse in terms of not only population but even things like activities and food options. This imho is the biggest con and downside to the school. One thing I’d look into is if you want to do CT clinical campus, since you’d be working with a big Spanish speaking population, if that strikes you as interesting. You can also afaik do a few of your rotations in CT while retaining VT as your primary campus. So if you for instance want to experience IM or FM somewhere more diverse, it certainly is an option. Id double check this with admissions, but I am pretty sure this is possible.

200 vs 124 imho makes a noticeable difference. The class and culture is pretty friendly and inclusive. At least for me personally, an additional 80 people would be a con.

In terms of happiness, I think the most common thing I hear is “wow, medical school is tough, thank God we are at least here”. I certainly feel like we are treated very well.

Another thing to consider is if Tufts is true P/F preclinical or not. UVM is. Attendance is also not mandatory for the vast majority but unfortunately not all of class activities.

Housing in BTV is getting worse, but without a doubt is still a lot cheaper compared to Boston and I don’t see it getting more expensive comparatively.

You don’t really need a 4wd drive car. Most people make do just fine without it. Having a car though I would say is essential, if not for school but to go grocery shopping etc. It also opens the outdoors for you if you are into that at all.

This is so insightful and helpful thank you! It's good to hear that yet another student from UVM seems to be happy there so that aligns with the vibe I got on interview day. Do you ever feel like UVM being "true" P/F all four years will make it tougher for you to stand out as an applicant come residency? When interviewing at some other schools they specifically mentioned they only do it for preclinical because with Step 1 being P/F, residency programs need some sort of further assessment.

 

[killuabff]

Any difference in grading systems? That’s really really important. Now that I am almost done with third year, looking back at the time when I had to make a decision, I didn’t particularly consider too much of grading. But I am glad I picked a completely p/f school with no aoa or internal ranking. These two schools are pretty much neck and neck in terms of prestige and I would give tufts a slight edge over UVM. However, UVM is entirely PBL which is a huge con for a lot of people because it takes so much time and I personally think it’s very inefficient.

Funnily enough, during undergrad I had some PBL courses and though they were excruciating, I did tend to actually retain the info learned. I didn't realize that's what UVM meant by "active learning" though so that's very good to know. UVM seems to be p/f all four years while I know Tufts is true p/f for preclinicals only. If there is anything else you looked out for when making your decision that I didn't mention here I would love to hear your thoughts, thanks for the help!

 

[meeed]

Firstly, UVM isn’t like super strict PBL in the traditional sense as attendance isn’t required for non TBL sessions and you can certainly just learn the material at home. We have 1-2 TBLs per block which are required and with an assigned group, but the grade doesn’t count for all that much in that so even there fairly low stress. Not super sure how it works later in the curriculum though.

Vast majority of learning is made up of non required sessions which don’t have grades associated so it’s honestly a pretty low stress environment to better understand the material with whoever you choose to sit with if you choose to come at all. The material to know for before the session is either a PDF or a video which can always be accessed. All sessions are also recorded so if it isn’t your jive, you can certainly listen to instructor’s explanation to each question after working through it yourself at hone.


Secondly P/F clinical is still up in the air. Not sure where the discussion is pointing towards but we’ll see

 

[SpideyMD]

Tufts so I can take ur UVM seat😁