UWSOM vs UVA

[xindle]

I just got off the waitlist at UWSOM (Seattle). I was originally all ready to go to UVA, but now I'm so torn. T_T


UWSOM (IS, ~93k/year, including all costs, 50k tuition)
Pros

• Amazing research
• Higher prestige
• Family is in the area (~45 minutes drive away)
• P/F first two years

Cons

• I went here for undergrad, and stayed here too for my gap years (2)...so UW is getting a litttlee old
• I'm not interested in rural medicine or primary care
• I'm not exactly looking forward to having to rotate around WWAMI
• High cost of living
• Exams on Mondays?
• The gray weather

UVA (OOS, ~95k/year, including all costs, 67k tuition)
Pros

• I'd get the opportunity to do clerkships in NoVA near DC (and the Smithsonian!!!)
  • If I go to NoVA, I would only be with ~30 students and have more hands on opportunities
• Lower cost of living
• The students all seemed to have a really great life/school balance and were happy
• 18 month preclinicals
• You get take-home exams that you can do whenever you want within Fri/Sat/Sun

Cons

• OOS, farther from family (although I am excited about potentially having a new start)
• Lower prestige
• P/F only for preclinicals

Summary: I think the biggest thing that is holding me back from going all in to UVA is the prestige. I'm currently interested in more competitive surgical specialties like ENT and Ortho, and my neurotic overthinking pre-med brain is trying to figure out which one will give me the best chances, or if it is even that big of a difference between the two at all to matter.

Thanks so much!!!

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[thefirerisen]

Forewarning, I am going to UVA but I will try not to be biased.

From your post, It really sounds like you want to go to UVA. There is a ranking difference (T15 vs T30) between the two schools but if your fit is better at UVA, it will not hinder you from pursuing ortho or ENT (also interested in the same specialties). UVA's match list looks significantly more competitive than UWSOMs tbh but that may be because of UWSOM's primary care focus.

Since you mentioned it, layman prestige for UVA is definitely higher since its a public-ivy while UW is more known for their med program. In medicine, the prestige difference will not be significant enough for residency applications. The question to ask is how important is having family nearby to you? Family nearby can be a game-changer for some people and if that is you, then I would lean towards UW. Also, where do you want to match? UW will match excellently on the west coast while UVA will get you into top residencies on the east coast—if you really wanted to, you could still match to Washington State from UVA and vice versa but this should play a significant role in your decision-making.

 

[m1redsox]

Something else to consider here: if you really want ortho or ENT, you will need to prioritize doing your rotations at the main hospitals (in Seattle vs in Charlottesville) because these will give you the best chance to network, do long-term research, and get good LORs. If you are only going to UVA with the hope of being in NoVA, I would probably choose UW.

 

[ACKjp]

I don’t really think UVA has much of a case here if you want a competitive specialty, UW is much higher ranked, is #2 in PD ranks compared to #26 for UVA, and for ortho UW has a top 3 program. Both are obviously great programs but if you are gunning for something like ortho I’d choose the better school which is 100% UW

 

[pierty]

I don’t really think UVA has much of a case here if you want a competitive specialty, UW is much higher ranked, is #2 in PD ranks compared to #26 for UVA, and for ortho UW has a top 3 program. Both are obviously great programs but if you are gunning for something like ortho I’d choose the better school which is 100% UW

I would not cite PD ranks from USNWR. They are severely flawed - having a response rate of <5-15%, and only for the 3 specialties they pool from (none of which are considered competitive). The magazine is also removing it for subsequent rankings from here on out.

You will be successful if you are happy and work hard from either school. UW is a larger research institution if you are considering performing significant research, it is slightly cheaper, and it is by your friends and family. I think it's the logical decision. But the impression you give is that you don't feel you would be happy there in the long run - if so, go with your instincts to Virginia. You have great options regardless - good luck!

 

[orange kayak]

Uw no doubt