Vanderbilt vs. UNC (OOS)

[bpislife]

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Hey everyone, I've been fortunate enough this cycle to have my choice of medical schools and, barring waitlist movement at Columbia, I have narrowed my list of schools to Vanderbilt and UNC. While I'd be thrilled to attend either, I'm just having a bit of trouble making a decision an am squarely sitting at 50/50. I do also plan on attending both Second Look weekends. Any input would be appreciated!

Here are my pros and cons:

Vanderbilt:

Pros:

• Higher ranked by most metrics
• Everyone I talk to raves about how happy students are there (work-life balance)
• Great research opportunities and clinical experiences
• Very small class size so very personalized
• P/F pre-clinical
• Nashville is dope
• P/F Clerkships (Don't know what I think about this...)
• Step 1 after clerkships

Cons:

• Pretty far from any other schools/major cities so visiting people will be a hassle
• Was not "in love" with it on my interview day (but interviewed during a break so there were only a handful of students)
• Worried about the 1 year pre-clinical phase (seems stressful)
• Starts in July so super short summer (only half kidding)

UNC (Out of state):

Pros:

• Absolutely LOVED the vibe I got on interview day from the students and faculty. All very warm, welcoming, and above all humble. The students seemed really grateful to be there and it honestly was refreshing.
• Very familiar with Chapel Hill and the Triangle Region (<3)
• 1.5 year pre-clinical
• 2 of my closest friends from undergrad will most likely be matriculating here. While I know it's not always the best career move to follow your friends, I think it would be invaluable to have unwavering sources of support.
• Really like that there are 4 one-week away rotations in different parts of North Carolina.
• If I can change residencies after a year or two, it may be cheaper than Vanderbilt.

Cons:

• Lower ranked school
• While I love North Carolina, I am out of state and although I'd be glad to end up in NC, I feel like going to UNC may limit my options outside of North Carolina for residency and beyond
• I'm worried that UNC's hospitals are overshadowed by Duke's and that all major cases in the region would be directed towards Duke, whereas Vanderbilt is the premier hospital in its area.
• I am pretty certain I would like to specialize rather than go into primary care, so a public institution with a focus on primary care may not be the best fit for me.
• Average Step 1 scores aren't that great from what I've heard (apparently ECU Brody claims that their students have higher Step 1 scores than UNC...)

Thank you for any responses!

 

[Sir.SavaLottaLife]

If it wasn't for the 1 year pre-clinical, I would say Vandy for sure. But I personally have been turned off to the idea of that curriculum after interacting with students that are going through this (at other institutions I should add) and they seem to be stressed out and unhappy. But the particular school I'm thinking of may just be less responsive to student feedback..

Other than that, I think Vandy is clearly the better choice. You'll find new friends at Vandy and Nashville is a pretty nice place to live from what I've heard. It has a bigger name which will help slightly with residency and more opportunities for research. I would say that you should go to Vanderbilt for sure, unless you're set on becoming a PCP.

 

[zedsdead]

These perspectives on Curriculum 2.0 from a current student were helpful to me: #1 and #2.

On the same page in the thread, you can also look at a different viewpoint in DrDalia's posts. I would note however that DrDalia's post history consists only of posts critical of Vanderbilt, including some things that are not true (Vandy faculty leaving/no money/narcissistic and less intelligent students). So take it with a grain of salt.

I think the best move is to just wait until second look weekends.

 

[p0gono]

Would finances impact your feelings at all? UNC takes very few OOS students and I've heard that there have been cases that they extend IS tuition to some of their favorites. Also, Vandy is generally very generous with aid. Maybe the financial aid packages that come in April will give you some additional insight.

While Vandy has a more prestigious reputation and technically higher USNWR research ranking, UNC is a very well-respected school. One of the best publics in the country! Vandy has the edge if you want to do academic medicine, but UNC has one of the best schools of public health in the nation and some very well-regarded departments in basic science. So, depending on what you are interested in, the reputation game may be a wash.

 

[Nymphicus]

If you are strongly considering a career in primary care and public health, UNC has many more resources for this.

I would try to attend the second look weekends if you can.

 

[zedsdead]

I am pretty certain I would like to specialize rather than go into primary care, so a public institution with a focus on primary care may not be the best fit for me.

Also after taking a look at UNC's match, I would not be concerned about this. 6 in derm, 4 ophtho, 6 ortho, 3 rad-onc... That is quite a bit for primary-care focused school.

 

[bpislife]

Thanks everyone for the thoughts and input! Those perspectives on Curriculum 2.0 were especially fantastic. But yeah, luckily both schools are close enough to my university that I can attend each and hopefully I can get a clear picture from that.

 

[22031 Alum]

Congratulations on a fantastic "dilemma!" I really liked UNC as well, but I will stick to a biased "Go to Vandy."