VCU vs MCW

[1203xx]

CA resident debating between VCU or MCW
1. Goal is to hopefully match back to CA
2. Open to any specialty at this point - but eyeing the competitive ones (ortho/ENT etcs)
3. Tuition between both schools is roughly the same (just that total cost of attendance at VCU might be 5k-7k higher PER year than MCW due to higher COL)

VCU
Pros:
-P/F unranked
-1.5 yr pre-clinical (more for time for clinical/more time to do away interest in area of interest)
- some sort of personalized Step1 prep with Dr. Constanza (seems to be a big name or something) - not sure how much this helps, but hey, I'll take whatever I can get
-more ethnic diversity in terms of incoming class demographics
-Richmond seems like a decent place to live in, not too cold
-brand new med school building, decent sized hospitals surrounding campus
- has undergrad, dental, pharm, and nursing school associated so a lot more people to meet and befriend etc

Cons:
-residency director score of 3.1 (whereas MCW is 3.3)
-average STEP score last year of 229 (whereas MCW is 234)
-annual NIH research funding of $53 million (whereas MCW is $85 million)
-worried that research here isn't as easy to get as MCW

~~~

MCW
Pros:
-residency director score of 3.3 (rank/prestige might be higher than VCU? - someone care to shed light on this?)
-curriculum includes a unique Pathways Program which includes a research pathway (seems like research here is more easy to get)
-beautiful BIG campus/surrounding hospitals
-Milwaukee much larger than Richmond so I assume I might see more diversity in terms of patient cases?

Cons:
-5 tier grading system... which sucks and I don't like
-I don't like the class demographics, doesn't seem to have much diversity (important to me especially because I'm coming from CA, and CA is diverse as hell)
-Wisconsin's winter will be brutal AF, and again, coming from CA, this will be brutal

~~~

As you can see, my heart lies with VCU due to P/F, class demography, and more weather (albeit still much colder than CA I presume). I feel like I'll have a better time at VCU and be more stress-free.

The only CONCERN I have is that I'm worried that MCW might have more prestige and have more RESEARCH opportunities than VCU. Research is something important to me because I want to leave my options open for competitive specialties.

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[tiramisucheese]

The prestige difference is negligible here IMO. Go with VCU - it seems like you're waaaay more excited about it! Have you checked the match lists to see placement back to CA?

 

[Lawpy]

The only CONCERN I have is that I'm worried that MCW might have more prestige and have more RESEARCH opportunities than VCU. Research is something important to me because I want to leave my options open for competitive specialties.

You only compare prestige and reputation if it involves a Top 20 school. VCU and MCW are comparable and any reputation/prestige difference is negligible.

Go to VCU. You can get good research opportunities from there.

 

[1203xx]

The prestige difference is negligible here IMO. Go with VCU - it seems like you're waaaay more excited about it! Have you checked the match lists to see placement back to CA?

Thanks for your reply!
Match list between the two seem comparable - both seem to send decent amount back to CA.
MCW is Midwest heavy whereas VCU is East Coast heavy.

However from the names of the programs, it seems that MCW MIGHT have a bigger edge because of more academic powerhouse names while VCU seems to have a bunch of community program matchings that I'm not familiar with. But for the most part, I don't see too big of a diff between the two.

 

[1203xx]

You only compare prestige and reputation if it involves a Top 20 school. VCU and MCW are comparable and any reputation/prestige difference is negligible.

Go to VCU. You can get good research opportunities from there.

Despite the big disparity in research funding between the two schools, I shouldn't be limited in research opportunities at VCU right? That's basically what I'm most concerned about at this point

 

[Lawpy]

Despite the big disparity in research funding between the two schools, I shouldn't be limited in research opportunities at VCU right? That's basically what I'm most concerned about at this point

I think you'll be fine with research at VCU. I'm sure there are M3s and M4s aiming for competitive specialties, and that VCU probably matches students into competitive specialties reasonably well.

 

[DrRiker]

Despite the big disparity in research funding between the two schools, I shouldn't be limited in research opportunities at VCU right? That's basically what I'm most concerned about at this point

Without knowing much about either school, look at VCU's website and see if they emphasize it much. Find a way to network with/ask current students, is there a Facebook group of accepted students? Check faculty pages for departments you're vaguely interested in. Are there many faculty publishing more than a couple times annually? Where did the faculty go to school?

 

[RockMcat520]

What are your career goals? look at both match list and see which schools match students into the specialty in your mind. Preclinical grades dont matter much. I am not sure about VCU, but MCW has a pretty collaborative env.

 

[CyrusHabs7695]

Vcu


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[ishogwartsamedschool]

I'm having a similar struggle. I loved VCU (and prefer the weather). The other school I'm comparing it too (UCF) has slightly better board scores, but what I'm really weighing is the cost. VCU is twice as expensive as UCF. For me, if they were comparable price wise it would be no question. I think the fact that MCW has slightly better stats is negligible. If you're happier there, you will most likely perform better in the the long run. Side note, I didn't apply to any schools north of the Mason-Dixon line. I'm from Florida (currently living in SC), and I absolutely love having a little bit or seasons and a few snow days, but I knew I'd never be able to survive up north. Medical school is one of the most arduous and difficult things you'll ever do. Now on top of all the educational material you have to master, tack on learning how to put chains on your tires and drive on ice. That just sounds like a huge struggle I wouldn't want to deal with on the morning of an exam. Just another thing to think about. Best of luck! Perhaps I'll see you in the fall!

 

[ishogwartsamedschool]

Oh also, I've never heard of anyone in medical school that wants to do research having difficulty finding a project. I think you'll find plenty of research at VCU, but that definitely is a question you could ask on the facebook page!

 

[tiramisucheese]

I'm having a similar struggle. I loved VCU (and prefer the weather). The other school I'm comparing it too (UCF) has slightly better board scores, but what I'm really weighing is the cost. VCU is twice as expensive as UCF. For me, if they were comparable price wise it would be no question. I think the fact that MCW has slightly better stats is negligible. If you're happier there, you will most likely perform better in the the long run. Side note, I didn't apply to any schools north of the Mason-Dixon line. I'm from Florida (currently living in SC), and I absolutely love having a little bit or seasons and a few snow days, but I knew I'd never be able to survive up north. Medical school is one of the most arduous and difficult things you'll ever do. Now on top of all the educational material you have to master, tack on learning how to put chains on your tires and drive on ice. That just sounds like a huge struggle I wouldn't want to deal with on the morning of an exam. Just another thing to think about. Best of luck! Perhaps I'll see you in the fall!

FWIW, I live in a snowy/icy place during the winter, and I have never put chains on my tires.

 

[WIMNFamilyMed]

FWIW, I live in a snowy/icy place during the winter, and I have never put chains on my tires.

+1 lol you won’t need tire chains for any medical school. My family lives in the Midwest about 10 miles outside a town of 8,000, which is 70 miles from a town with population over that, and still no tire chains. If someone convinces you to spend the weekend at a family cabin at an unplowed dirt road a day after a snow storm, MAYBE, but no.
I don’t think weather even closes schools in that part of WI

 

[WIMNFamilyMed]

Also no driving on ice unless you decide to ice fish on some lake, and even then you just go slow.. roads are well taken care of and if it’s that bad you don’t go out. Salt only stops working when it’s record cold. Cities keep things well maintained.

 

[sadkmladkds]

VCU is the move you'll be happier there from what you said

 

[tiramisucheese]

Also no driving on ice unless you decide to ice fish on some lake, and even then you just go slow.. roads are well taken care of and if it’s that bad you don’t go out. Salt only stops working when it’s record cold. Cities keep things well maintained.

Yeah, I would even argue that the roads are safer in the snowier cities than down south when a freak ice storm disrupts the roads for days. Snow cities have the infrastructure to actually take care of the roads since it happens so often.