Vanderbilt vs. Emory

[Gleevec]

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I was wondering what everyone thought of Vanderbilt and Emory, comparisions between the two, what they liked/disliked, etc.

Thanks!

 

[taehong81]

Both schools are excellent schools. Here are my thoughts on both schools
Vandy
Pro - The staff and faculty are great and you get treated like kings and queens. The students are outgoing and friendly. They do extremely well on the boards. The facilities are excellent and it is still growing. Every time I pass by the new Children's hospital it makes me want to come here more (They just built a new children's hospital and it is amazing). Vandy has lots of money and they do give good financial aid packages. Nashville is pretty cheap place to live.

Con - The whole university lacks diversity (especially Asian-Americans). Nashville is great city but for me (I am Asian-American) it is not that great because of the lack of diversity. The curriculum is traditional with long lectures and labs. Vandy has the most difficult anatomy class! Because anatomy takes up so much time, their biochem department takes a back seat.

Emory
Pro - The staff are very friendly and supportive. The students seemed outgoing and friendly. Also they do well on the board too. The Grady looks like a place where you can get lots of clinical experiences. Atlanta is a nice city to live in. Much more to do there than in Nashville. Emory also has lots of research opporunities (example American Cancer Society and CDC). I heard that Emory also gives good financial aid packages

Con - Traditional curriculum with grading system and joint test system.

If I had to choose between Vandy and Emory, I would choose Emory because of its location. I think Atlanta would be a better place to live for an Asian-American. As I said before, both schools are great schools.

 

[VCMM414]

Originally posted by taehong81
Both schools are excellent schools. Here are my thoughts on both schools
Vandy
Pro - The staff and faculty are great and you get treated like kings and queens. The students are outgoing and friendly. They do extremely well on the boards. The facilities are excellent and it is still growing. Every time I pass by the new Children's hospital it makes me want to come here more (They just built a new children's hospital and it is amazing). Vandy has lots of money and they do give good financial aid packages. Nashville is pretty cheap place to live.

Con - The whole university lacks diversity (especially Asian-Americans). Nashville is great city but for me (I am Asian-American) it is not that great because of the lack of diversity. The curriculum is traditional with long lectures and labs. Vandy has the most difficult anatomy class! Because anatomy takes up so much time, their biochem department takes a back seat.

Emory
Pro - The staff are very friendly and supportive. The students seemed outgoing and friendly. Also they do well on the board too. The Grady looks like a place where you can get lots of clinical experiences. Atlanta is a nice city to live in. Much more to do there than in Nashville. Emory also has lots of research opporunities (example American Cancer Society and CDC). I heard that Emory also gives good financial aid packages

Con - Traditional curriculum with grading system and joint test system.

If I had to choose between Vandy and Emory, I would choose Emory because of its location. I think Atlanta would be a better place to live for an Asian-American. As I said before, both schools are great schools.

What he said, especially with regards to the location. I too was not impressed with Nashville and its lack of cultural diversity. On a side note, to my surprise, there is a 99 Ranch Market in Atlanta. For those of you who don't know, this is a pretty well-known Asian supermarket chain (think Asian Kroger/Food Lion/Publix/etc.) that pretty much only exists on the west coast. AFAIK, the Atlanta branch is currently the only one that is east of Phoenix, AZ. Bottom line is, Atlanta is the most culturally diverse city in the southeast.

Vandy is ranked a few spots higher, but that's pretty negligible. Emory has Grady which IMO offers incredible clinical training, but I know of people who were turned off by the in-your-face experience it offers. The best thing to do is to visit and see for yourself if you would like that kind of educational environment. Vandy's hospital, on the other hand, is pretty high profile and smooth-running. Emory University Hospital is probably pretty similar to Vandy's, but Emory students must split their time between Grady, Emory, VA, Children's Hospital of Atlanta, etc. You basically cannot avoid the Grady experience if you choose to go to Emory.

Surprisingly, even though Emory has a fairly traditional curriculum, it actually has less lecture time than many schools. Classes end at noon 3 days out of 5 unless you need to be in anatomy lab (which rotates so that you are actually in lab dissecting every 3 weeks).

 

[spaz]

Originally posted by VCMM414
Emory has Grady which IMO offers incredible clinical training, but I know of people who were turned off by the in-your-face experience it offers. The best thing to do is to visit and see for yourself if you would like that kind of educational environment.

what do you mean by in-your-face? is Grady a county hospital?

 

[lane]

Originally posted by spaz
what do you mean by in-your-face? is Grady a county hospital?

gun-and-knife club

if you dont see it at grady you probably wont see it

 

[VCMM414]

Originally posted by spaz
what do you mean by in-your-face? is Grady a county hospital?

Yes it is. Among the largest ones in the country I think (along with Cook County and LA County).

 

[calebho501]

I personally prefer Emory although I haven't heard back from them yet.

1. Grady's hospital is a universal-access hospital. it's a country-funded hospital but it takes anyone, even non-U.S. citiznes. So basically anyone can walk in and get health care. This increases the diversity of patients you see.

2. Emory's the most supportive of all schools I've been to on public health opportunities. Needless to say, Atlanta's just a great place to be for public health stuff.

3. Emory gets huge funding from Coca Cola and other companies, so many buildings are new (Rollin School of Public Health, etc.)

4. Atlanta's simply more fun than Nashville

BTW, I do think Vandy will accomplish the top 10 by 2010 goal.

 

[VCMM414]

Originally posted by Retro
The bottom-line is: ranking (and size) does matter, and that is why Vandy is kicking off this "10 by 10" thing, which means to be within top-10 by 2010.

I did not claim that rankings don't matter. They certainly do, but rank tiers are probably better assessments than absolute ranks. Don't know about others, but I place Vanderbilt and Emory in the same tier of medical schools.

Having goals is nice.. it helps make sure that a school does not stay complacent. However, I heard these "proclamations" all too often during my interview trail, and they just sound a bit gimmicky to me (I am not directing this at Vandy only). I mean, it's great that schools strive to improve themselves, but moving up in US News rankings _should_ be a side effect, not the primary motive! I believe that a school should be secure and confident enough to not worry too much about its rankings, especially if it is already a highly regarded, firmly established institution. I know moving from top 15-20 to top 10 is a great ego boost, but it's not as if we don't already know that non-"top 10" schools like Baylor, Vandy, Emory, UCLA, Pritzker, etc. are all stellar institutions. Not being "top 10" certainly has not made these schools subpar. Anyway, since only 10 schools can be "top 10" in a given year, and there are definitely more than 10 outstanding U.S. med schools, what's with all the fuss if a school is already among the top 20-30? Incidentally, schools like Mayo or Pritzker don't seem to have these public announcements to "improve" their rank (or maybe I just haven't heard?). Maybe it's because these institutions with "proven" names are secure enough about themselves to worry about rankings too much? Of course, it would be a totally different matter when a top 20 school suddently drops out of the top 50 (or something equally drastic). In such a situation, I definitely can see a point for concern and maybe even panic 😉.

Sorry for the long rant 🙂

 

[Gleevec]

Vanderbilt might have a top 10 in 2010 plan, but every other medical school in the country is improving on similar lines, just not doing it as overtly in regards to US News as Vandy appears to.

Its like the Red Queen, you have to keep running just to stay in place.

Unless Vanderbilt sacrifices its very soul and becomes WashU (ie. avg. MCAT 37, avg. GPA 3.83 and becomes predominantly stats oriented in its admissions), then I doubt much can be done to change rank quickly. Maybe more faculty hires or NIH funding, but thats WAY more difficult than just accepting high stats people.

And if Vandy became one of these types of schools, I wouldnt have started this post, I would just have been more chosen Emory immediately.

 

[gizzdogg]

Why is Nashville getting thrashed here? I personally prefer Nashville to Atlanta. Atlanta is a pimp city indeed, but have you all considered the traffic there? And Nashville is a clean, cosmopolitan and fun city in its own right. I think to some people it may not be big enough, but to others it's a perfect size. Based on this and a few other factors, I give my vote to Vandy.

 

[VCMM414]

Originally posted by lane
gun-and-knife club

if you dont see it at grady you probably wont see it

Apparently Grady (and other county hospitals around the US) sees some pretty rare stuff. TB is a big thing at Grady... it's supposed to be a model hospital for TB containment and control. Also, Grady sees stuff like malaria and other diseases that are rare in the US. Oh, and a Grady attending told us that the plague (yes, the BUBONIC PLAGUE!!) showed up there some time ago.

Part of the reason for Grady's diverse patient population is that it serves the entire metro Atlanta, and that it may be the only Level I trauma center within the city (not sure about this). While there are other county hospitals around the country, sometimes they do share patients with nearby hospitals. That and the fact that Atlanta is a major city with diverse people both contribute to the situation at Grady.

 

[snoopygirl]

Vandy is such a hidden gem! I can personally attest to how fabulous Vandy is and how beautiful the city of Nashville is. Different strokes for different folks. It's more than just country music. There is a lot to see and do there. When the time came for a decision between Vandy or Emory, it was Vandy over Emory hands down for my student. The physicians at the hospital where I worked didn't care for Grady at all. I conducted my own poll.) One point being, it was too much red tape with receiving reimbursements. (I believe it had to do with reimbursement with working with the indigent or something similar) of course this would be of no importance to a Med School student. I don't remember all of the particulars. It depends on what you are looking for location, location, location, or something else. I'm sure you will make the right decision.

Go Vandy!

 

[Retro]

Yeah, I agree with Snoopygirl, Nashville can be a fun city if you know where to go...

Another issue: Just from my experience in talking to people during the admission process from the past two years. Many people were deciding between Vanderbilt and Michigan, or Vanderbilt and UCLA, and very very rarely, did I hear a decision between Vanderbilt and Emory. I once asked the Vandy admission people about how Vanderbilt is when compared to Emory, and I was told out-right that Vanderbilt tries to be on par with Duke, not with Emory...

Another critical issue is: Vanderbilt vs Emory, either one is fine, but people usually pick the one that gives the best the financial package. So people usually wait after the financial package is given. If Emory gives you more money, then pick Emory; if Emory gives you the same amount of money as Vandy, people normally pick Vandy.

 

[calebho501]

Wow...actually in my mind, Emory and Vanderbilt are on par, and Duke is just up there (This is only for schools in the Southern states)...but I didn't apply to Duke so I can't say anything about it.

 

[spumoni620]

well, i can't speak for emory...

but i thought duke was far and away in a higher league than vandy.

 

[calebho501]

The poll looks like a tie to me, so Gleevec, I guess you have to go with your gut feeling (Would Erica Black influence your decision hehe?) or financial package.

 

[SunnyS81]

1) Gleevac, why do you care about Emory and Vandy?

2) During my interview at Emory, they compared themselves to Duke too. Everyone in the southeast does.

3) Vanderbilt is a highly ranked school.......but WHY? Not much of a research institute (although they are trying to slowly change that), none of their departments are particularly good..........their students are happy and have high stats.........most schools you can say at least, "oh X department is good."

4) In regards to Vandy breaking into the top ten, I don't think it will ever happen. Michigan wants to be in the top 5, but when you look at the other schools in the top 10, it is tough competition just staying there. How Michigan is going to beat out Duke, UCSF, WashU, Harvard and Hopkins will truly be interesting. As for Vanderbilt, who will they displace? I think Pitt is a far likelier canidate to break into the top 10 (lots of research money and great departments, nice city.........i think it is a hidden gem).

5) I liked Nashville, but I would vote Emory unless you are from Atlanta and wanted to leave (like I did). Emory gives you access to lots of reseach opportunities (CDC, ACS, Ga Tech bioengineering, etc.) that Vandy can only dream of. If Emory played its cards right, I seriously think it could be one of the top ten schools EASILY, but they have failed to do so for a LONG time.

6) If you want an inner city hospital go to Emory, else go to Vandy........I think it is a huge distinguishing factor that attracts different people.

 

[VCMM414]

Originally posted by Retro
I once asked the Vandy admission people about how Vanderbilt is when compared to Emory, and I was told out-right that Vanderbilt tries to be on par with Duke, not with Emory...

Funny enough, when I visited Emory I also got the sense that Emory measures itself against Duke. It wasn't anything so explicit as "we aim to outrank Duke by year 2010," but just something that I picked up from talking to the admin and students. No mention of Vanderbilt at all though.

Sorry, I think I may come across as rude with this post. The point I am trying to make is that both schools seem to be trying to "catch up" to Duke and not to each other, so it's probably fair to say that Vandy and Emory are academic equals.

if Emory gives you the same amount of money as Vandy, people normally pick Vandy.

Do you really know this to be true, or is this just hearsay? I personally know of 2 people who made their decisions opposite to what you claim, but that's only 2 individuals out of tens and hundreds. AFAIK, there's really no concrete data on this type of information, but I may be wrong. It just seems like you are intent on proving Vanderbilt's superiority over Emory when there is really no clear cut answer. Are you a student at Vandy? If so then it's totally understandable for you to be defending your school [not sarcastic].

 

[Gleevec]

Thanks for all the opinions, it looks like its pretty even for me. Hopefully financial aid will solve this. I dont want to be an acceptance hog, so I am trying to keep the number of acceptances to schools that I would goto low, but it seems as if vandy and emory are pretty similar, so ill hope financial aid distinguishes them for me.

 

[Retro]

I have this question here: Aside from the safety issues, why do certain people care so much about which city the med school is in... you don't see anyone from Hopkins chosing other schools because of Baltimore (although safety is an issue)... Atlanta is probably great (although I have never been there), and Nashville is probably boring (which I have to agree); but you will be studying your butt off during first 2 years and waking up at 4 am every day and sleeping at 8 pm every night anyway during the wards... Isn't great entertainment a source for great distraction? Besides, no one is going to do any serious research during the school-year anyway; and you can always take off for Harvard Med, Hopkins Med, or NIH to do some serious research during the summer... So at least for me, I don't think location is a big issue. The bottom-line is: if you are like me, then base your decision on two factors: 1) Financial aid package; 2) Rankings (Vandy ranks 14th, Emory 19th. Is the difference so great? No. Is the difference negligible? No. ) Go with your heart. That's the end of my input.

P.S. Vanderbilt has the best-looking undergrad. girls... if that means anything to you.... 🙂

 

[VCMM414]

Originally posted by SunnyS81
4) In regards to Vandy breaking into the top ten, I don't think it will ever happen. Michigan wants to be in the top 5, but when you look at the other schools in the top 10, it is tough competition just staying there. How Michigan is going to beat out Duke, UCSF, WashU, Harvard and Hopkins will truly be interesting. As for Vanderbilt, who will they displace? I think Pitt is a far likelier canidate to break into the top 10 (lots of research money and great departments, nice city.........i think it is a hidden gem).

Yea... breaking into top 5 would be even more difficult. Not saying that Michigan doesn't deserve it, but one way or the other does it really matter that much? Michigan is great as it is! I didn't get a good vibe from Pitt when I interviewed, but that's more of a "personal fit" thing than the school itself. Whether or not it'll break top 10 remains to be seen, but it already is a really good school so it needn't to worry too much about all that.

5) I liked Nashville, but I would vote Emory unless you are from Atlanta and wanted to leave (like I did). Emory gives you access to lots of reseach opportunities (CDC, ACS, Ga Tech bioengineering, etc.) that Vandy can only dream of. If Emory played its cards right, I seriously think it could be one of the top ten schools EASILY, but they have failed to do so for a LONG time.

6) If you want an inner city hospital go to Emory, else go to Vandy........I think it is a huge distinguishing factor that attracts different people.

Agreed on both counts. Emory only recently started all the biotech stuff with GaTech though, so it may not have reached its potential yet. Only time will tell.

 

[calebho501]

Originally posted by Retro
P.S. Vanderbilt has the best-looking undergrad. girls... if that means anything to you.... 🙂

Somehow I interpret that as saying the female med students at Vanderbilt are awful looking 😉

 

[jlee9531]

Originally posted by calebho501
Somehow I interpret that as saying the female med students at Vanderbilt are awful looking 😉

man if thats the case....id advise anyone who is considering these two schools to head to the ATL baby...

 

[lane]

Originally posted by jlee9531
man if thats the case....id advise anyone who is considering these two schools to head to the ATL baby...

unless you have a hankerin' for JAPpy long islanders, emory doesnt have much in the female department either

now TEXAS on the other hand....

 

[VCMM414]

Originally posted by lane
unless you have a hankerin' for JAPpy long islanders, emory doesnt have much in the female department either

now TEXAS on the other hand....

Japanese girls? Really? Undergrad or med? Maybe I misunderstood...

 

[lilstina]

Originally posted by VCMM414
Japanese girls? Really? Undergrad or med? Maybe I misunderstood...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he means Jewish American Princess...

 

[taehong81]

Originally posted by Retro
I have this question here: Aside from the safety issues, why do certain people care so much about which city the med school is in... you don't see anyone from Hopkins chosing other schools because of Baltimore (although safety is an issue)... Atlanta is probably great (although I have never been there), and Nashville is probably boring (which I have to agree); but you will be studying your butt off during first 2 years and waking up at 4 am every day and sleeping at 8 pm every night anyway during the wards... Isn't great entertainment a source for great distraction? Besides, no one is going to do any serious research during the school-year anyway; and you can always take off for Harvard Med, Hopkins Med, or NIH to do some serious research during the summer... So at least for me, I don't think location is a big issue. The bottom-line is: if you are like me, then base your decision on two factors: 1) Financial aid package; 2) Rankings (Vandy ranks 14th, Emory 19th. Is the difference so great? No. Is the difference negligible? No. ) Go with your heart. That's the end of my input.

P.S. Vanderbilt has the best-looking undergrad. girls... if that means anything to you.... 🙂

I am Korean-American and it is important to me that I live in city where there is Korean-American community for many reasons. First reason is that I love Korean food and Atlanta has many good korean restaurant that are much cheaper there. In Nashville there are only like 2 or 3 Korean restaurants and they are pretty bad and pricy. Also Atlanta has many Korean markets where the food is very cheap compared to Nashville. There are also much more asian products in Atlanta then in Nashville. Secondly, having a big Korean communities allows me to meet more people that are from my culture. I am not saying that I am only going to have Korean-American friends. I do like to have lots of friends from all different cultures, which Atlanta can provide better opportunity. The big Korean-American community also allows better opportunity for me to find the "special person" if I wanted to find one. Nashville and Vanderbilt (undergraduate and medical school) do not have many Korean-American girls. True, Vandy has the best-looking undergrad girls, but all of them are white and most that I known are superficial. I'm sure they are nice pretty girls but most of those I met were "fake". Having lived in Nashville for the last three years, I realized that lack of big Korean-American community is a big disadvantage for me. So the city matter because it can make my life more comfortable and convinent during med school. This is just my personal opinion and that is why I would choose Atlanta over Nashville anyday.

 

[topherius]

Originally posted by Retro
I have this question here: Aside from the safety issues, why do certain people care so much about which city the med school is in... you don't see anyone from Hopkins chosing other schools because of Baltimore (although safety is an issue)... Atlanta is probably great (although I have never been there), and Nashville is probably boring (which I have to agree); but you will be studying your butt off during first 2 years and waking up at 4 am every day and sleeping at 8 pm every night anyway during the wards... Isn't great entertainment a source for great distraction?

I think it depends on the person. I know for myself I have to like the place I'm in to be happy. Because as much as I'll be studying, I'll also want to go out and have a good time when I can. Playing keeps me sane!

My $.02 on location: I grew up in Atlanta, right down the street from Emory. (I didn't apply to Vandy...though now I kind of wish I had...but my comments are only concerned with Atl.) I hear lots of people talking about how great Atlanta is and I thought I'd offer a couple of comments:

1) You have to have a car to do anything in Atlanta. The bus / train system (MARTA) is a joke, at least compared to other cities. And there are cool areas of town (Va Highlands, Little 5 points, some people like Buckhead a lot) but they are really spread out and you need a car to get between them.
2) If you are used to a bigger city (NY, Chicago, SF, Philly), you are going to find Atlanta a bit provincial. There are good restaurants, but fewer. There is good art, but less. There is good music, but it's harder to find. Etc.
3) Along the same lines as the cool areas, Atlanta has some ethnic diversity, but it's also very geographically isolated. There's nothing like a chinatown or little italy. There's a latino area, but it is situated around a busy, dangerous highway.

Just throwing out some things I hadn't really seen on this thread...

 

[VCMM414]

Originally posted by topherius
There's nothing like a chinatown or little italy. There's a latino area, but it is situated around a busy, dangerous highway.

Dunno about little Italy, but there IS a chinatown/Vietnamese/Korean area around Buford Highway/New Peachtree with grocery stores and a good number of restaurants. It's not nearly as big as Chinatowns in NY, LA, or SF, mind you, but it's decent anyway. I think this may be what Taehong81 was referring to. I used to go to this area all the time with relatives for Asian groceries (and we used to live >3 hours away too... people all over the region go to Atlanta for more authentic and cheaper Asian products). Anyway, read my first post in this thread. Atlanta is the only east coast city to sport a 99 Ranch Market (Asian Supermarket), which wouldn't have appeared in the first place had there not been a decent Asian population there to begin with. Also there is a huge farmer's market with food products of many different cultures (Atlanta does sprawl, after all, so there's land available to build these huge supermarket complexes). For what it's worth, Atlanta has the highest number (or is it % population?) of East Asians in the southeast that may be at least on par with DC/Baltimore, though definitely inferior to Philly.

Sorry, you may or may not already know all this. It's just that I've met a few people when visiting Emory who've lived in Atlanta all their lives but actually were not aware of this place. Someone promised me that there's a bubble tea shop there too, so I've got to check it out when I go back there sometime 😉

 

[lane]

Originally posted by lilstina
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he means Jewish American Princess...

indeed

 

[topherius]

yeah, I work on Buford Highway, actually. I guess in retrospect what I meant was that there's no chinatown-type areas in downtown atlanta that are easily accessible/walkable... but you're definitely right to point out the BH areas...

 

[tomatopie1]

As the poll and the posts show, Emory and Vanderbilt are both excellent schools and Gleevec, you could probably be happy at either.

One thought: It seemed in my visits that Vanderbilt was outstanding in its response to student needs and criticisms. They are always revising the curriculum based on student input. Having students involved not only on the curriculum but many other aspects results in really happy students--more so than any other med school I have seen. Emory seemed to have had the same curriculum for about 20 years--my interviewer even admitted that curriculum changes were often attempted, then two years later dropped.

I think ultimately neither one is "better," but rather those who are fortunate enough to be accepted to both (or any combination of medical schools) will have to decide which is "better for them." i.e. do you value the city's cultural diversity, the music scene, the ranking, the hospital experience, the public health program, the curriculum, or some other factor most? It's the million dollar question...

 

[exigente chica]

Originally posted by Retro
I have this question here: Aside from the safety issues, why do certain people care so much about which city the med school is in... you don't see anyone from Hopkins chosing other schools because of Baltimore (although safety is an issue)... Atlanta is probably great (although I have never been there), and Nashville is probably boring (which I have to agree); but you will be studying your butt off during first 2 years and waking up at 4 am every day and sleeping at 8 pm every night anyway during the wards...


Isn't great entertainment a source for great distraction?

So at least for me, I don't think location is a big issue.

Ummm..no🙄 This is totally different than how I am going about this...for me location is very high on my prioritly list one, and 2 hello...I DO PLAN on having entertainment and lots of fun during my med school years...did you not see the post about " you think med school is not fun" ..clearly those people in the videos were having "fun"...

 

[caroladybelle]

Originally posted by lane
gun-and-knife club

if you dont see it at grady you probably wont see it

As a traveler nurse, I saw more bizarre, unusual stuff at Grady than anywhere else - which is saying alot.

As far as international groceries, there are several large ones, including a Farmer's Market for internationals, as well as Harry's.

 

[pbehzad]

First I have to side with my undergrad institute here. Emory has hella money, i believe we have the 6th largest endowment in the country. So once the administration tries to tap into the endowment, Emory's reputation nationally will increase big time (or at least all Emory students hope so).
As far as Grady is concerned, I have shadowed doctors there through the House Staff Assistant Program, and its definitely the type of hospital you want to get your clinicals done in. I was taking to a MSIII and he was saying that Grady allows students to do actual procedures while he had friends at other presitigous schools (like Harvard, Yale is what he quoted) that didn't even know how to draw blood cause school doesnt want the students to mess up and give the university a bad rep. If that means anything to you. Bottom line: Grady on a saturday or sunday morning is just unbelieveable. 100s of patients in the ER, 90% of them in the hallway. Just a typical public hospital in your metropolitan city.
Emory is also building a brand new children's hospital/clinic.

 

[bidster]

Agree with everything pbehzad said....and then I'll throw in the fact that compared to Vanderbilt, Emory is especially good for anyone interested in public health issues. With the Rollins School of Public Health and the CDC right next door to each other (literally....right next door), and other institutions such as the American Cancer Society headquarters and the Carter Center--which does a LOT in the way of international health--based in the proximity, Emory has a lot to offer to any med students interested in complementing their clinical preparation with public-health related studies.