Vanderbilt vs Tulane

[Hopkins2010]

I'm wondering what school you think is better overall, including the location.

Vandy seems to have the happiest students in the country. I think they got the #1 student satisfaction rate of all the med schools. They also have one of the highest USMLE board score averages in the country. I think they even beat out Harvard, but dont quote me on that.

Vandy seems to be very traditional, no PBL or curriculum innovations, but it seems to work anyways.

Tulane is likewise a solid school, but I cant remember as many specifics about it.

What school would you choose if accepted to both of them?

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[DocJ]

Vandy. 🙂

 

[Scooby Doo]

damn baylor21, you got a washu mstp acceptance here and you are thinking about vandy and tulane?????

Come on man!!!!!!!!!!

But if you want one of those...go with Vandy of course!

Hot women and great undergrad campus right next to vandy...cool city..wonderful nice people in nashville...awesome place!

 

[Tone2002]

baylor21,

Which schools did you not apply to? 😛

 

[deleted4401]

I go to Tulane, and I might still choose Vandy 🙂 Just kidding, because I'd probably never get into Vandy.

If you have specific questions about here, go ahead and fire away. We're a very happy med school as well. We have great hospitals - Charity, Tulane, VA, Pineville (a rural hospital that we can do certain rotations at). We have lots of clubs and organizations, lots of student groups, IM sports, volunteer activities, tutoring. We have great teachers and administrators... in fact, we're going to the Dean's house for a Wine and Cheese thing this weekend. The place is anti-stressful, but some people work really hard. The way the grades work out, there is limited need for undergrad pre med bull**** (we have no curve), and the teachers don't try to screw you (average tests scares are mid to high 80s)...

Go ahead and email me if you want... But Vandy sounds awesome.

Simul
Tulane Med '05

Btw, I think New Orleans is better than Nashville, hands down, but that is just my opinion.

 

[mongoose]

Seriously folks...there is no comparison here. Vandy hands down.

 

[ajz]

I think why many people are saying Vandy hands down is because there are too many people are relying too much on the "US News & World Report" to determine what constitutes a good medical school. Tulane does not 'release' their numbers to US News because they feel, as do MANY doctors, that the rankings do not tell us much and are viwed incorrectly. That is why Tulane never shows up in the US News & World Reports Top Medical Schools issue.

If you go to another, albeit arbitrary, medical school ranking guide, called the Gourman Report you will find that Tulane is ranked 15th best medical school. Not too shabby...

Tulane is one of those places that it would be hard to beat their clinical rotations. Charity Hospital will give you great exposure, I would dare say better than Vanderbilts. However, if you are on a research bent, Vandy may be better. This would depend on the type of research you want to do however, as Tulane has a fantastic Tropical Medicine research program.

So in all honesty, I think many people look at rankings too much to determine their medical school. Whether this is a conscientious or inadvertant decision, I think it definately comes into play. It is also very unfortunate that many people do not know that their are medical schools out their (e.g. Tulane) that does not submit to the US News and World Reports ranking methodology.

No ill will meant on my behalf, I just think that is unfortunate that many people, too many rely solely on US News for "which medical school is better"

ajz

p.s. New Orleans is a MUCH better city than Nashville hands down.. 😀

 

[mongoose]

Being from Tennessee and being familiar with Vanderbilt and the surrounding area, I say Vandy, hands down. Just my opinion, though. Like it or not, Vanderbilt is also much more presitgious than Tulane. Both are fine institutions, though. No ill will meant toward anyone.

 

[Mystique]

ajz,

I totally agree w/ your "assessment" about rankings! I also agree that New Orleans is a great city (except I'm grossed out by how "unclean" Bourbon St. is).

But, I would have to say I'd pick Vandy over Tulane any day!!! Who doesn't like being at the same med school with pple you grew up with and went to high schools with? I didn't apply there this year b/c I didn't think I had the stats typical of the school's profile, but I'd love to go there.

 

[pre-hawkdoc]

Pretty rough decision to face in NOVEMBER. Baylor, you must be the man. Heck, you've already got more acceptances than I do interviews.
Oh, and if Vandy really does have the happiest students in the country, that would make the decision pretty easy, I think.

 

[ajz]

Ok folks, let me make this one clear.... I did not say that Tulane was a better school than Vandy. I did say that New Orleans was a better city (my preference).

I believe that Baylor's original post asked about which school is better overall, including the location. Pendulum is correct to say that the French Quarter is dirty, but that is not the entire city of New Orleans. The city(New Orleans) is unique, more so than almost all the other cities in the U.S. That is something nobody can deny.

My original post presented my thoughts on Tulane. Everybody seemed to be so pro-Vandy that I felt Tulane deserved some credit because it is a great school. I wasn't knocking either school, just trying to give a complete view for Baylor.

That is it, good luck to all in finding a school that is the right fit for you.

ajz

 

[urasia]

hi baylor21,

congrats! i see that you have been getting a lot of acceptances from really good schools. could you shed us all some light on what makes your application stand out?

 

[Sir William Osler]

hi baylor:

congrats on all the good news lately! But in my humble opinion, i think that his is a no-brainer. but, i think i remember that you got into WashU MSTP so this is a moot point anyways. SO my opinion is that vandy is hands down the winner in this choice. Since you're big into research, you shouldn't care that much about Charity. You can always do away rotations at similar hospitals to get that experience. Vandy's main weakness i think is that there really isn't a good public hospital. But, vandy students will match very well and they are very happy. Electives are an opportunity to do what you want. If you want the hardcore clinical experience, then i'm not sure why you want to be an MSTP. But, nonetheless, you can still rotate through a Charity or Bellevue or Grady or the one at USC if you want. New Orleans is nice (i'm a resident of the area), but it's not that great. it's more of a city to spend a couple days for vacation, than to live for 4 years. Trust me on that one. Nashville has alot going for it including cheap living, nice people, and very pretty women. 🙂.

 

[Hopkins2010]

I'm going to do MSTP definitely at Wash. Univ. I havent been OFFICIALLY accepted yet because the WUSTL med school admissions doesnt meet until 11/29. Of course, that probably wont be a problem.

This was just more of a hypothetical situation for me. As soon as I get the official word from WUSTL, I will drop my applications at all programs except for maybe 3 or 4 other MSTP programs. So, if any of you got waitlisted at Vandy and/or Tulane, there will probably be a spot opening up after 11/29.

In retrospect, I applied to WAY too many schools, 31 in all (half are regular MD, half are MD/PhD). I've cancelled about 8 interviews so far, so some of you may be taking my spots. I must say that my success in this process is not something I expected, or I wouldnt have applied to 31 schools. I have mediocre stats (31R MCAT, 3.9 GPA). I think the key for me was letters of rec. At least 3 of my recommenders said they were going to write extremely strong letters for me, although I dont know specifically what they said about me. My interviews also went pretty well, but then again I think most interviews go well, so I dont know how that really distinguished me from the pack of applicants. I'm still somewhat mystified by the selection process, it seems like some sort of black magic to me. I get the strong impression that a higher power intervened on my behalf 😀

I feel truly blessed to be in this position, and I remember the times when I would have killed to get a single med school acceptance to even the lowest ranked med school in the country. I hope that my situation helps some out there to destroy the myth that you MUST have stellar MCATs to get in somewhere. Keep in mind that the average MCAT for WUSTL MSTP is 36, I only have a 31. I dont know what their standard deviation is, but I know that the lowest MCAT they have ever accepted MSTP is 29, so that tells you something about how I stack up against other MSTP acceptees.

Good luck to you guys, it has been a real plseasure meeting some of you on interview trips.

 

[bujji13]

I have mediocre stats (31R MCAT, 3.9 GPA).

Yeah, those numbers pretty much suck. 😀


P.S. Congrats on all your acceptances!

 

[CoffeeCat]

Baylor21-

Not to be annoying, but what were your extracurriculars like? Congrats on all of your acceptances!

 

[Jamier2]

Originally posted by baylor21:
•I'm still somewhat mystified by the selection process, it seems like some sort of black magic to me. I get the strong impression that a higher power intervened on my behalf 😀•

Ahhh, black majic. Your secret's out. 🙂

 

[Cassius]

Originally posted by baylor21:
•I'm going to do MSTP definitely at Wash. Univ. I havent been OFFICIALLY accepted yet because the WUSTL med school admissions doesnt meet until 11/29. Of course, that probably wont be a problem.

This was just more of a hypothetical situation for me. As soon as I get the official word from WUSTL, I will drop my applications at all programs except for maybe 3 or 4 other MSTP programs. •

Why devote a thread to this entirely "hypothetical situation" when you are "going to do MSTP definitely at Wash. Univ."??? Are you the type of person who also plays entire chess games out in your head without any pieces? What do you really stand to gain?

In addition, why even keep active the "3 or 4 other MSTP applications" if you are so set on Wash U? Generally, schools do not accept you, only to take it back at a later date.

 

[Hopkins2010]

Cassius,

Like I said, I havent been officially admitted to Wash U yet. Its possible (although not likely according to the MSTP directors) that the MD admissions at Wash U might reject me. Since I havent been accepted to any other MSTP programs yet, if that were to happen it means I would have to fall on regular MD programs as a backup, which would mean I would need to choose between Vandy or Tulane.

The reason I might keep 3 or 4 other MSTP applications open is that its possible I might choose one of them over Wash U. I'm thinking of places like Yale, Harvard, Hopkins, Pitt or possibly Michigan. I havent really started comparing WUSTL against these programs yet because its pointless unless I was to get accepted at these other programs. In truth, WUSTL probably beats out most of them but still I'm going to remain open minded. Havent heard anything from Harvard MSTP yet (and probably wont either). I love Wash U. but I'm not quite ready to commit 8 years to them without seeing what else is on the table. I'm allowed to keep my options open, arent I?

 

[Cassius]

Originally posted by baylor21:
•Cassius,

Like I said, I havent been officially admitted to Wash U yet. Its possible (although not likely according to the MSTP directors) that the MD admissions at Wash U might reject me. Since I havent been accepted to any other MSTP programs yet, if that were to happen it means I would have to fall on regular MD programs as a backup, which would mean I would need to choose between Vandy or Tulane.

The reason I might keep 3 or 4 other MSTP applications open is that its possible I might choose one of them over Wash U. I'm thinking of places like Yale, Harvard, Hopkins, Pitt or possibly Michigan. I havent really started comparing WUSTL against these programs yet because its pointless unless I was to get accepted at these other programs. In truth, WUSTL probably beats out most of them but still I'm going to remain open minded. Havent heard anything from Harvard MSTP yet (and probably wont either). I love Wash U. but I'm not quite ready to commit 8 years to them without seeing what else is on the table. I'm allowed to keep my options open, arent I?•

Let's just say that the confidence and certainty you exude in your previous posts on this topic contradicts this most recent one.

Additionally, I guess I was just surprised that someone who can obviously navigate med school admissions so skillfully really needs to get opinions on where to attend medical school from an anonymous internet message board. Again, it just seemed like a contradiction. You know what Hemingway said -- "The dignity of movement of an iceberg is due to only one ninth of it being above water." What is made obvious is not always the whole picture. Peace.