Vanderbilt vs Ohio State

[ammcjb]

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Need to decide fast!

Cost: 1/2 tuition scholarships to both, making them almost exactly the same cost. But at OSU I could get more scholarship money in M2-M4 for good performance BUT I could lose the scholarship if I drop into the bottom half of the class. At Vanderbilt the scholarship is set as long as I'm in good academic standing but I won't get any more.

Feel: LOVE both schools. But I've been planning on going to Ohio State for months so now I'm attached

Location: about the same distance from home, don't know anyone in either city. Nashville is cool but I'm not afraid of Ohio winters either

Academics: I get the feeling that Vanderbilt would be a lot harder. It has a more traditional healthy body first year, sick body second year curriculum and it seems like students spend a lot of time in class. I like OSU's IP pathway better where you do healthy and sick in the same block and everything seems more flexible here.

Overall they're both great schools and I'm thrilled to go to either one but help me decide! I'd especially love to hear from current students about their experiences at Vandy or OSU so if you have opinions don't be shy!

 

[90minIPA]

Need to decide fast!

Cost: 1/2 tuition scholarships to both, making them almost exactly the same cost. But at OSU I could get more scholarship money in M2-M4 for good performance BUT I could lose the scholarship if I drop into the bottom half of the class. At Vanderbilt the scholarship is set as long as I'm in good academic standing but I won't get any more.

Feel: LOVE both schools. But I've been planning on going to Ohio State for months so now I'm attached

Location: about the same distance from home, don't know anyone in either city. Nashville is cool but I'm not afraid of Ohio winters either

Academics: I get the feeling that Vanderbilt would be a lot harder. It has a more traditional healthy body first year, sick body second year curriculum and it seems like students spend a lot of time in class. I like OSU's IP pathway better where you do healthy and sick in the same block and everything seems more flexible here.

Overall they're both great schools and I'm thrilled to go to either one but help me decide! I'd especially love to hear from current students about their experiences at Vandy or OSU so if you have opinions don't be shy!

I had a very similar decision to make, only in my case the southeastern research-heavy school was Emory. So I guess I'm a little biased in advising you on this decision. But man, was it TOUGH to let go of OSU. What a great medical school/student body/alumni network/town...

In reality, you'll have pretty much the same opportunities at either OSU or Vandy, but I would give Vandy a clear edge in terms networking & research. OSU is no slouch in this area, but Vandy is on another level.

Given my bias, I'd vote for Vandy. Nashville is awesome/cheap, SEC football > Big 10 football (although Vandy is typically awful), and I think you'll have more opportunities to shine at Vandy.

 

[Tapepsi]

Vanderbilt. Can't beat the research opportunities. OSU is a great school too but I'd pick Vanderbilt.

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

Are you OOS for Ohio State? I feel like thats the only way they could be the same cost with 1/2 tuition scholarships....remember that Ohio is one of the easiest states to get residency in and after first year you're eligible to be an ohio resident. So you'll get in-state tuition after first year, dropping the 17K surcharge.

 

[NYBills987]

Need to decide fast!

Cost: 1/2 tuition scholarships to both, making them almost exactly the same cost. But at OSU I could get more scholarship money in M2-M4 for good performance BUT I could lose the scholarship if I drop into the bottom half of the class. At Vanderbilt the scholarship is set as long as I'm in good academic standing but I won't get any more.

Feel: LOVE both schools. But I've been planning on going to Ohio State for months so now I'm attached

Location: about the same distance from home, don't know anyone in either city. Nashville is cool but I'm not afraid of Ohio winters either

Academics: I get the feeling that Vanderbilt would be a lot harder. It has a more traditional healthy body first year, sick body second year curriculum and it seems like students spend a lot of time in class. I like OSU's IP pathway better where you do healthy and sick in the same block and everything seems more flexible here.

Overall they're both great schools and I'm thrilled to go to either one but help me decide! I'd especially love to hear from current students about their experiences at Vandy or OSU so if you have opinions don't be shy!

Hey, med school is gonna be hard no matter where you go.. don't be intimidated by Vandy because, if they let you in, they think you'll do well there.

 

[The Ponderosa]

If you haven't made your decision yet, one factor you might want to consider is that a lot of what propelled Vanderbilt onto the national scene from the regional scene was Chancellor E. Gordon Gee and their Vice Chancellor of Medicine was Steven Gabbe. They recruited really well and turned the school into what it is today. However, they are both at Ohio State now. They left a few years back and have been really bringing the opportunities to Ohio State with them. Just this year 100 million dollar donation to the medical center, a 1 billion dollar expansion set to be complete in 2014(?), recently received NIH funding to convert their MD/PhD program into an MSTP, improved departments and recruited great faculty to chair and lead the departments (ie neurosurgery and center for microbial interfaces). OSU is certainly a great place to be now.

 

[Suncrusher]

"a lot of what propelled Vanderbilt onto the national scene from the regional scene was Chancellor E. Gordon Gee and their Vice Chancellor of Medicine was Steven Gabbe. They recruited really well and turned the school into what it is today."

Are you saying Vanderbilt wasn't on the national scene prior to 2000 when Gee came in, did a good job but got caught up in various minor scandals and complaints, and then fled to OSU 😕

While I think Gee performed competently as Chancellor, I hardly think his influence on Vanderbilt was transformative. And afterward, Vanderbilt was hit A LOT less hard by the recession than other top schools and continues to have more money than it knows what to do with. As for Gabbe, there's no denying that he oversaw an impressive expansion at Vanderbilt, but with or without Gabbe Vanderbilt is always impressively expanding, you know what I mean?

Just to be clear, I'm not arguing in favor of the OP picking Vandy. Frankly, I think OSU can provide a med student with all the opportunities he might want (and could've done the same prior to 2007) and that OP should pick the school he thinks he would perform the best at due to curriculum and feel, i.e. OSU. I just disagree with the tone of the previous poster's opinion (that they "brought those opportunities with them" from Vandy to OSU), since it's not like Vanderbilt stopped having those same (or even better) major expansions and top-notch research dollars coming in when Gee ditched and Gabbe left. But it's great that OSU has good research money too, and like I said, if it were me, I'd pick the school I thought I'd perform best at, i.e. OSU.

 

[KinasePro]

Wasn't Gee at Vanderbilt during the "top 10 by 2010" campaign? I know he spoke a good bit about the "top 20 by 2015" campaign at OSU this past year. Niether of these really panned out (yet), so I'm not sure if you could really make an argument that people like Gee are really impacting the schools' trajectories, one way or another.

OSU and Vandy will be excellent schools regardless of who's at the helm. For these school to get significantly better (or worse), A LOT of things have to go right (or wrong), most of which have nothing to do with university leadership. Maybe back in the 1970's, a single university leader could make significant changes in a school's identity/mission/capabilities, but in 2011, these people are essentially politicians. They are the face of a school's successes and failures, but often have little to do with what is happening behind the scenes.

 

[bucks2010]

Given my bias, I'd vote for Vandy. Nashville is awesome/cheap, SEC football > Big 10 football (although Vandy is typically awful[), and I think you'll have more opportunities to shine at Vandy.

This needs to be emphasized. You may like SEC football but watching a team go 2-10 is no fun no matter what conference it's in. OSU >>> Vandy for football - even with the sanctions that are coming.

That said, football would be one of the very last things I would compare between 2 schools.

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

Unless you're gunning for Surgeon General or a world-renowned researcher of something, go with OSU. I feel like you can see yourself going there.

You're absolutely right Vanderbilt will be more challenging. You're going to be a doctor no matter where you go, so why add the extra stress that Vanderbilt's competition offers?

 

[Docbeme]

Unless you're gunning for Surgeon General or a world-renowned researcher of something, go with OSU. I feel like you can see yourself going there.

You're absolutely right Vanderbilt will be more challenging. You're going to be a doctor no matter where you go, so why add the extra stress that Vanderbilt's competition offers?

Why add the extra stress?

Maybe you will end up with different opportunities. Vandy is known for having top Part I scores and getting people into top residencies. Compare the two schools based upon those two criteria or upon the reputations of the programs.

Then compare the campuses....I am sure OSU's medical complex is OK, but Vanderbilt has a gorgeous campus, with its medical complex right in the middle of the school, the school is located in a fun city with an awful lot of things to do, including great music, food, culture, to say nothing about the weather. At Vanderbilt, an awful lot of students live close enough to walk to class.

Good luck with your decision.