VCU (WL) vs. SLU vs. FIU

[meddecisionishard]

VCU (WL)

Pros

• Strong orthopedic home program, strong orthopedic matches, strong teaching hospital as a whole
• Best ranking (by a small margin, basically equivalent with SLU)
• Best research funding and much more of a research school
• Pass/Fail
• Beautiful medical school
• Solid city but pretty suburban
• Mid tier
• Close to DC and North Carolina, I would like to practice in NC and absolutely love DC.

Cons

• $280k COA over 4 years
• Away from family

SLU

Pros

• Brand new hospital (and strong teaching hospital)
• Established university and program
• Pass/Fail
• Decent research opportunities, increased by WashU being next door (SLU students often do research at WashU)
• Big city
• Mid tier

Cons

• $280k COA over 4 years
• Very little NIH funding (30 million)
• Kinda old preclinical facilities
• Probably the most boring big city in the United States
• Cold (I’m a Florida boy)
• Away from family
• Solid match list but arguably worst of the three (keep in mind step change…FIU will definitely fall in terms of quality matches)

FIU

Pros

• Although regional hospitals, they’re ROCK solid. Established connections with big Miami hospitals like Mount Sinai Miami, Cleveland Clinical Florida, Baptist, Mercy, etc.
• Cheap! COA is $220k over 4 years
• Switched to Pass/Fail this year
• Miami is an awesome city and close to home (support system)

Cons

• Low tier
• No ortho home program
• Low research funding and mixed reviews on how tough it is to get research
• Regional hospitals, which means harder to get letters of recs come residency
• Their claim to fame was their high Step 1 score…Step is pass fail now and they are not changing the curriculum (Step 1 is after 3rd year which means less time studying for Step 2?)
• Neighborhood Help Program doesn’t seem to be a positive for students

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[SweetBurger]

COA is king

 

[supsurfer]

FIU -I see no University Hospital, lots of driving, loss of five top administrators to new med school in Nevada, and several very negative posts by current students as cause for concern. JMO.

 

[billnyethepremedguy]

FIU -I see no University Hospital, lots of driving, loss of five top administrators to new med school in Nevada, and several very negative posts by current students as cause for concern. JMO.

Wait what I've never heard of this administration thing. Which school and why?

 

[owl224]

I'm a graduating M4 whose decision looked a lot like yours 4 years ago... Got into SLU and loved it the most, liked FIU and had a great scholarship offer there in addition to in-state tuition, and loved VCU but was waitlisted. I never got off the VCU waitlist, so that was never something I had to consider. I decided that SLU was just too expensive to justify, and I chose FIU (but ultimately was accepted off the FAU waitlist and chose FAU due to an even better scholarship offer). Not long after I started med school, SLU went on probation, which made me even more grateful for my choice. I think FIU had a ton of ortho matches this year (verify this though, as it was hearsay), which is a good sign. Also, not having a home program for a competitive specialty can help you if you're driven enough. It can be harder to get publications, but you'll also get a lot more one-on-one time with attendings, and you'll get to do more in the OR.

 

[owl224]

Also, about your concern for letters of rec at FIU... you'll really only need one home letter and will probably get the other 3 from away rotations.

 

[meddecisionishard]

I'm a graduating M4 whose decision looked a lot like yours 4 years ago... Got into SLU and loved it the most, liked FIU and had a great scholarship offer there in addition to in-state tuition, and loved VCU but was waitlisted. I never got off the VCU waitlist, so that was never something I had to consider. I decided that SLU was just too expensive to justify, and I chose FIU (but ultimately was accepted off the FAU waitlist and chose FAU due to an even better scholarship offer). Not long after I started med school, SLU went on probation, which made me even more grateful for my choice. I think FIU had a ton of ortho matches this year (verify this though, as it was hearsay), which is a good sign. Also, not having a home program for a competitive specialty can help you if you're driven enough. It can be harder to get publications, but you'll also get a lot more one-on-one time with attendings, and you'll get to do more in the OR.

it’s awesome getting a perspective from someone who had a similar dilemma, I appreciate it! My only issue is the step change. Before the step was the great equalizer and now with everyone simply having a “Pass” on their file how can FIU students stand out?

I feel like with the step change the significance of a home program has stepped up, of course nobody knows how things will shake up but being able to have that safety of SLU ortho would mean a lot.

Of course I’d like to stay close to home (and in state tuition sounds real nice) but I just don’t want to start my med career with an even steeper uphill climb.

 

[MrPooperScooper]

My vote goes to VCU. Home programs/strong connections are important when applying for competitive specialties like ortho

 

[billnyethepremedguy]

My vote goes to VCU. Home programs/strong connections are important when applying for competitive specialties like ortho

Agreed, that's the most obvious choice here. Connections, connections, connections.

 

[meddecisionishard]

My vote goes to VCU. Home programs/strong connections are important when applying for competitive specialties like ortho

I’m leaning that way as well, just have to wait for the WL movement

 

[owl224]

it’s awesome getting a perspective from someone who had a similar dilemma, I appreciate it! My only issue is the step change. Before the step was the great equalizer and now with everyone simply having a “Pass” on their file how can FIU students stand out?

I feel like with the step change the significance of a home program has stepped up, of course nobody knows how things will shake up but being able to have that safety of SLU ortho would mean a lot.

Of course I’d like to stay close to home (and in state tuition sounds real nice) but I just don’t want to start my med career with an even steeper uphill climb.

It's difficult to know how pass/fail step 1 will change things. I matched into an equally competitive specialty, and I didn't have a home program. It is a steeper climb, but if a school has a history of strong matches, you know it's possible. Some other things that may matter even more now: step 2 score (which is what I really think the weight should be on anyway, since it is more relevant to the work than memorizing the Krebs cycle for the 5th time), research, performance on away rotations, having mentors reach out for you, being someone people want to work with. For my specialty at least (hopefully you've asked this of people in ortho), it seems like a good step 1 score only gets you in the door; it's not really what makes you stand out. Even with in-state tuition and a great scholarship, my student loans are really scary to look at right now, and I'm glad they're not even higher for the same outcome.

 

[meddecisionishard]

It's difficult to know how pass/fail step 1 will change things. I matched into an equally competitive specialty, and I didn't have a home program. It is a steeper climb, but if a school has a history of strong matches, you know it's possible. Some other things that may matter even more now: step 2 score (which is what I really think the weight should be on anyway, since it is more relevant to the work than memorizing the Krebs cycle for the 5th time), research, performance on away rotations, having mentors reach out for you, being someone people want to work with. For my specialty at least (hopefully you've asked this of people in ortho), it seems like a good step 1 score only gets you in the door; it's not really what makes you stand out. Even with in-state tuition and a great scholarship, my student loans are really scary to look at right now, and I'm glad they're not even higher for the same outcome.

Agreed it's really up in the air with the change but FIU definitely has a history of strong ortho matches so it wouldn't be surprising if that continued.

You said you got into a similarly competitive specialty but FAU is not known as a research school, did you dabble in research? If so, did you do it through the hospitals themselves or through FAU?

 

[owl224]

Agreed it's really up in the air with the change but FIU definitely has a history of strong ortho matches so it wouldn't be surprising if that continued.

You said you got into a similarly competitive specialty but FAU is not known as a research school, did you dabble in research? If so, did you do it through the hospitals themselves or through FAU?

Yep. Obviously, only you know your financial situation and can determine how stressful the additional loans would be and if that would be worth it.

I did a considerable amount of research. Mine was clinical research through the hospitals, but there were also opportunities for basic science research through FAU.