Vanderbilt vs. UNC

[phenolring]

UNC Chapel Hill
Pros

• in state residency = in state tuition. Would be graduating debt free (incredibly fortunate)
• Have housing nearby so would not need to pay for housing
• Long term partner from high school currently lives here and most likely will also get into UNC Med if he gets residency as he is a very competitive applicant
• Familiar with area
• Cats would have a yard(ish)
• Love CAMPOS Spanish club (if I get in)
• Know more about the school in general

Cons

• Partner may not qualify for instate residency so kind of a gamble if he gets in (if he does not get in state residency the chances are WAYYY smaller)
• Less prestigious
• Don't want to stay in NC long term necessarily (probably want to move back to northeast eventually)
• Don't want to do primary care/internal medicine but undecided otherwise
• Lived in the suburbs my whole life, kinda meh

School Y
Pros

• New area (never been to Nashville) and have wanted to live in a city for a while
• LOVE the vibe, students
• Really like the one year pre clinical curriculum
• More room to explore specialization
• Devoted 3 months for research

Cons

• 32k/year more expensive (would be graduating with debt) + rent kinda expensive on top of that
• Would be moving by myself ie long distance again... (were long distance in college for some time), which sucks. Partner would be able to join me in December until he goes to medical school, but not guarantee at all he would get into Vanderbilt even though he is a very competitive applicant

UNCs has "more" cons but Vanderbilts are "heavier"

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[theoceanman]

UNC > Vanderbilt based off your pros and cons

 

[deleted1065184]

Nashville is a really cool city, but UNC's pros are basically curbstomping Vandy's pros...meaning saving ~$130k plus having a huge support system (including your parter) and knowing the area are enormous pros when starting med school.

Hopefully your partner will get accepted + aid, but you're making this decision for you and your future. He's a consideration, but cannot he a deciding factor. You don't need to carry the burden of what may or may not happen next year. He may not get into Vandy either, in which case you'd be in Nashville all alone and paying much more.

Wrt prestige, Vandy has a bit of a more prestigious name but UNC is an awesome, very well-respected school that can get you where you want to go. The prestige difference between UNC and Vandy won't stop you from getting into your residency of choice. At this level, how well you do will be based entirely on your own performance.

 

[phenolring]

Nashville is a really cool city, but UNC's pros are basically curbstomping Vandy's pros...meaning saving ~$130k plus having a huge support system (including your parter) and knowing the area are enormous pros when starting med school.

Hopefully your partner will get accepted + aid, but you're making this decision for you and your future. He's a consideration, but cannot he a deciding factor. You don't need to carry the burden of what may or may not happen next year. He may not get into Vandy either, in which case you'd be in Nashville all alone and paying much more.

Wrt prestige, Vandy has a bit of a more prestigious name but UNC is an awesome, very well-respected school that can get you where you want to go. The prestige difference between UNC and Vandy won't stop you from getting into your residency of choice. At this level, how well you do will be based entirely on your own performance.

Thanks so much for the super thoughtful response!

 

[toastedbutter]

FWIW with UNC your partner has three shots at schools near you - UNC, Duke, and Wake Forest (about an hour and half away). Vandy has Meharry nearby, so 3 vs 2.


Edited to include Meharry

 

[deleted1065184]

FWIW with UNC your partner has three shots at schools near you - UNC, Duke, and Wake Forest (about an hour and half away). Vandy is just Vandy with nothing really nearby.

Meharry is also in Nashville fyi, but it's an HBCU so obv some nuance there. Just didn't want it to get erased accidentally.

 

[toastedbutter]

Meharry is also in Nashville fyi, but it's an HBCU so obv some nuance there. Just didn't want it to get erased accidentally.

Thanks for letting me know! I actually just searched 'medical schools' on Google maps near the two and went off what popped up lol, my bad