Vanderbilt vs Case Western vs Ohio State

[GoBeavs97]

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Vanderbilt: ~$300,000 COA
+True P/F preclinical and core clerkship
+1 year accelerated preclinical
+Favorite curriculum of any school
+Loved Nashville
+Great match list
+Highest ranking, although the difference between the schools isn't huge
+Amazing research
+Wellness seems to be a priority here and the students were very happy
+Small class size

-No huge cons for me, I'm just worried about that steep cost

Case: ~$250,000 COA
+True P/F preclinical
+Hospital system is super diverse, feel I'd get a great clinical training
+Great match list
+Great research opportunities
+Liked the IQ system
+Beautiful new campus
+All the students I've talked to seem to love it here.

-Honors/HP/P/F clerkships
-Cleveland seems alright, but I'm not too picky about location honestly
-Larger class size

OSU: ~$200,000 COA
+Great match list, research, and clinical opportunities. However, I'm worried it may limit me slightly more than the other two schools in matching into a competitive specialty.
+Awesome college town with lots of spirit

-P/F preclinical sorted into quartiles
-Honors/HP/P/F clerkship
-Larger class size


I'm having a tough time deciding because all three are amazing schools and would probably take me anywhere I wanted to go. I'm debating whether Vandy and Case are worth the extra loans I'd have to take out. Vandy has told me they won't match the other schools' financial aid.

 

[TheDataKing]

Vandy and Case are very similar COA wise but Vandy is 50% more than OSU which makes sense why you're struggling to justify the costs. You will be able to pay off 200k or 300k in debt and personally having true p/f preclinical and clinical would be a huge stress reliever for me. I'd see if there are any external scholarships you could apply for but even though the price is higher, I'd go to Vandy.

 

[deleted621740]

Sorry, but 50-100K is a huge amount of money, especially after interest accrues and capitalizes over 4-8 years. OSU will not hold you back in ANY way. It is a fine medical school and what you match into will depend on you. The 2020 match list at OSU supports this as many people matched into highly competitive specialties at top programs. The match list may not be quite as good as Vandy or Case, but I think that the differences are probably trivial. For me, prestige difference is not big enough to justify borrowing so much more money, especially when the cheapest option is a far, far cry from shabby.

 

[Engrailed]

Vandy.

Stress free curriculum (true PF)
You already love the city/region
Lots of career opportunities from Vandy

When you match into the specialty you want, far down the line the cost difference wont be a huge life impediment. Vandy is worth the cost.