Virginia Tech (Carilion) vs VCU

[anotherone1]

Hey, I am absolutely torn between these two schools.

VTC Pros

-Small (42) class size, which I love and generally prefer to a larger class

-Strong, close knit community with true P/F, very non competitive vibe

-Nice, affordable living options
-Roanoke is beautiful, in the middle of the mountains
-Lots of opportunities for mentorship and faculty interaction

-Admin seems to care a lot about students

-Ample research opportunities (I’m not a prolific researcher by any means though; intention is to be a clinician)
-Nice, new facilities and campus

-Strong step scores and match list

-I don’t know if it means much, but I was absolutely blown away by this school after the interview. I didn’t know much about it when applying but the interview really showed how awesome it is

VTC Cons

-Total of about $55-60K more expensive over VCU throughout four years (this is the biggest con on my list)

-Further from home, and pretty far from sizeable cities (I’m not much of a city person though)

-Newer school, may not have a strong reputation yet (match list looks good though)

-Roanoke is quite small and that may limit the amount of social things you can do outside of class

VCU Pros

-In state tuition makes it about $60K cheaper over four years

-Established school with a good reputation

-Richmond is a nice, big city so there are many opportunities for socialization outside of just class

-Closer to home and family support (+all the benefits of being in a city)

- True P/F and non mandatory lectures; students there seemed to say it’s a fairly non competitive atmosphere

VCU Cons

- Huge class size (200+), may feel more like a number, will be difficult to bond with people as people tend to form cliques

-Living is more expensive and not the most ideal

-Worried about feeling isolated; big schools may make it harder to be part of a community. Med school is tough and I’d ideally love to be part of a group of understanding people

I would love to hear anyone’s input on this. Decision day is almost here and I really need to make up my mind right away. I think they both are great schools. Open to all suggestions/advice! Thanks!

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[Bryant088]

VCU for sure.

 

[Pylorii]

(Full disclosure, I am on the waitlist at VCU and would love to get an acceptance there)

It looks like you understand VCU is probably the better choice on paper, but you find yourself wanting to go to VTC. Can't really vouch for VTC, but I can address some of your concerns about VCU.

- Huge class size (200+) - The class size is down to 184 for Fall 2018 class
-Living is more expensive and not the most ideal - Richmond > Roanoke in my honest opinion, plus you are saving money on tuition at VCU anyway
-Worried about feeling isolated - Some of the students that I have talked to seemed to have this concern originally, but the way the curriculum is set-up it makes it easy to find a core group of students you can work with. I would reach out to some of the current students at VCU to get their perspective about this.
Also, research at VCU > VTC.

My choice would be VCU. The cons seem pretty weak compared to VTC.

 

[DBC03]

I spoke extensively with someone who used to work in the Roanoke hospital and she is not even going to apply to Virginia Tech based on that experience. So if you are genuinely torn, it sounds like you would get a better clinical experience at VCU.


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[CyrusHabs7695]

If you really like Tech that much then you should go. If it were a 30k difference each year then id say definitely go VCU, but a 10k difference each year isnt too significant


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[undecided123]

I spoke extensively with someone who used to work in the Roanoke hospital and she is not even going to apply to Virginia Tech based on that experience. So if you are genuinely torn, it sounds like you would get a better clinical experience at VCU.

What was wrong with the Roanoke Hospital if I may ask?

 

[DBC03]

What was wrong with the Roanoke Hospital if I may ask?

I’m sure you’ll get a great education there, but it may be helpful if you need a tiebreaker. I’m trying to get details on pros and cons and will update when I have them.


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[DBC03]

Ok, based on what my friend said, your pros and cons lists seem to match. Friend tried to err more on pros than cons and I'm going to paraphrase the response I got and note anything where you both are in agreement. There are three cons that are very personal to this friend - and two were the ultimate deciding factors in not applying to VTC. I'm listing without labeling pros or cons as some things are super personal:

- A lot of students from non-traditional backgrounds, makes for interesting classmates and is non-trad friendly

- Hub in Roanoke with Level 1 Trauma Center with many small rural hospitals around - good continuity of care and less administrative stuff - (my initial thought is this could be a pain if you have to go to a different location for your clinical experience, but I don't know if they send you to different locations - maybe all of your rotations are at the main hospital) - (this is one of the biggest differences between VCU and VTC - so you might want to consider what kinds of hospital system you want to train at)

- Low COL, outdoorsy city with microbreweries and nice greenway. Pro for those who like somewhat isolated, rural areas, Con for those looking for an urban center -(This sounds like both a Pro and a Con for you, as it was for my friend. You WILL be isolated. But if you like that, then it's a PRO. If you like being able to get over to a bigger city in just a short drive, this is going to be a CON)

- Supportive teaching environment where you can ask questions (Definite PRO as you listed)

- Hospital and system is saturated with many learners - Nursing Students, PAs, MDs, Residents, Fellows, PA Fellows, etc. - this can be an issue if you want to get more clinical experience (everyone is vying for the same opportunities) (this would be the main clinical training CON)

- Significant number of residents were IMGs from Caribbean (not necessarily an issue, just an observation)

- Weather is overcast and gloomy all the time (con for friend - and this person grew up with gloomy weather, so it must have been bad)

Based on our discussions, it seemed like the weather and limited clinical opportunities were what really made this a no-go for med school. VTC will obviously give you a solid medical education, but it will be VERY Different from VCU. If you want the smaller collaborative environment, go VTC. If you want a bigger hospital with a larger assortment of cases, go VCU. 42 is a great class size if you get along with the other students. OTOH, you can probably find a sub-group of students you get along with at VCU, as well.

What was your feel for Second Look weekends? What do you hope to get out of clinical rotations? What type of location would you like to live in?