UVM vs Umass vs MCW

[4runner2004]

Hey all, it goes without saying that I feel absolutely blessed to be in this position, and I am absolutely thrilled, but also at a loss on how to make a decision between these 3 schools.

A bit of background: my undergrad and gap year focus has been in neuroscience, neurology, and psychiatry, so as of right now that's what I'm well versed in, but I have also shadowed and worked in the ED and many surgical specialties so those are of significant interest to me as well.

I also wanted to say that I feel like I would be a great fit at all 3 schools in terms of school mission, focus, and student population. All of them are located in places where I think I'd be happy. I know Worcester and Burlington fairly well, and I love photography, snowboarding, hiking, biking, concerts, going out, to name a few. While I know Burlington and Worcester are in the "boonies" compared to the big cities, the availability of fun and stuff is equivalent for me as I know I will adjust well.

Also if anyone could comment on how the reputation of these schools is seen nationwide I would really appreciate it. Also if anyone has any comments on whether this should even be a factor for me, with step 1 moving to p/f and step 2 cs being removed...

Umass
Pros
- that sweet sweet IS tution
- close to family (not the biggest pro for me personally
- students are super happy, and everyone I've spoken to has been chill
- can keep closer ties to the place I currently work (networking for residency at a top Boston hospital)
- most research funding of the 3 (big now that step 1 is P/F???)

Cons
- Worcester (further from mountains than UVM), and when people say "oh you can just go to Boston" sure, but no. No one is driving an hour to Boston on a regular basis, and I went to undergrad there anyway so this proximity to a "big city" just doesn't click for me.
- Have wanted to leave MA for a while, but don't know if this is just wanderlust
- Minimal surgical/subspecialty matches AND minimal out of NE matches, and again, I might want to leave MA at some point, maybe this would make it more limiting?

UVM
Pros
- I LOVE BURLINGTON (very familiar with the area, and love the lifestyle that comes with the place ie. snowboarding, outdoors, etc)
- getting out of MA (this qualifies as being far enough away)
- 18 months preclinical study
- flipped classroom works well for me

Cons
- limited in house residencies compared to the other two
- more stuff to figure out in terms of managing my healthcare (have some underlying stuff)
- unreal cost, I probably won't get any merit/need-based aid, and I also won't be getting any help from family or anything, and the financial aid office said id realistically graduate with ~400k loans

MCW
Pros
- discovery curriculum is cool
- everyone seems so so happy here ("MCW Family")
- abundant research opportunities
- best match list in terms of locations that interest me and the number of people going into competitive specialties
- Wauwatosa/Milwaukee seems like a really interesting place to be (summerfest, a bigger city nearby, etc)

Cons
- longest preclinical study
- Cost is still ~100k more than UMass will be
- Not sure if Milwaukee/ the midwest is actually a place I want to be? I've never been there
- moving far away from friends

Looking for any insight here, honestly rip apart my thought process if you see holes or something too. Thanks so much for reading so far if you have!!

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[LunaOri]

UMass! In state tuition will save you a lot of money, which may not make a big difference if you go into ortho, but is a big sum of money if you choose neurology. Plus, if you are thinking about Boston for resisency, you have the opportunity to do “away” rotations at Boston hospitals (UMass docs have lots of Boston connections, and there are quite a few UMass grads accepted into Harvard residencies).

 

[Banco]

There is no prestige difference here. All are well regarded schools.

UVM is not worth it for 400k, lord almighty. Neither is MCW for 100k+ more.


I would just pick UMass - what you're seeing with regards to Mass matches is mostly self selection and applicant preference. You shouldn't have issues leaving the area for residency if you want.

https://www.umassmed.edu/globalassets/school-of-medicine/office-of-admissions/match-lists/match-list-2019.pdf

You can see the distribution of residencies by specialty on the last page. Solid amounts for EM, Ortho, General Surgery, Urology. OK in optho, plastics, ENT, vascular.

 

[Putkernerinthehall]

Actually, I think you've thought this through pretty well. Your heart probably says UVM but your head may be telling you that U Mass is the smart choice. I'd go with U Mass. Strongest of the three, most affordable, and your ties to Boston and chance to do away rotations there are all good reasons to choose U Mass. It's a good school and you perceived a "happy" student vibe --- I think that seals the deal.

 

[SoupSpoon]

Thought I'd weigh in because I'm also choosing between UVM and UMass. My situation/reasoning might be a little different cause I'm OOS for both (still holding out on the WL for one of my state schools). I currently live in VT but I'm leaning much more towards UMass mostly because of the vibes I've gotten from the students and faculty that make it a place I can really see myself being happy.

I can talk way more about this (feel free to message me!), but overall I feel like while the curriculum and caliber of the school is similar, UMass is slightly better (more diverse location, better research, slightly better match list). Also, it really seems like students are happy to be there. They seem to value work-life balance but are also really excited about their interests in medicine and the extracurriculars they participate in. I think this really shows in the amount of effort they are spending to connect with admitted students.

In terms of location, I think there is a tradeoff. I love Burlington and the VT mountains, but I don't think I love the school enough for that to be the deciding factor. I really can't speak to MCW at all bc I know nothing about it. But I will say if you like the mountains, the midwest is pretty flat which could be a bummer.

All in all, I think with the cost consideration I would go with UMass if I were you. I definitely get your cons. I also want to end up back on the west coast sooner rather than later but like others said I think the match list for UMass is pretty self-selected. If I go to UMass I will also probably be making a few trips up to VT to hike and ski. Again, feel free to DM me if you want to know more about my reasoning! I feel like I can speak (even) more to this!

 

[dustnstars]

Honestly, if you've been in MA your whole life, it might be better to go out of state for medical school to get to know other medical systems, patient populations, research opportunities, cities etc. My philosophy is that we only have one life to live in as many places as possible and gain diverse experiences so if your heart is telling you to go out of state then I think it's for a reason!

Most people coming out of med school have considerable debt so you won't be alone in paying those off and seems like most current doctors do pay it off. I'm also the type to sacrifice money for experiences though so if you're the opposite then UMass might be better!