Wake Forest vs. Tufts

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jacksparrow1

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Hi everyone, I am struggling between these schools. Of course, I have not received financial aid packages yet, which is an important factor. However, I am curious what people's opinions are.

Wake

Pros:
- Opportunity for an M.S. in translational science (I am interested in continuing to stay in research long term as a physician)
- They offer certificate programs like Ultrasound and Wilderness medicine that may not be impactful to matching but I would be very interested in learning
-Cheaper COL
-Tons of research opportunities
-Seems like there's less mandatory lectures (?) correct me if I am wrong here
-NC is warmer lol
-Ranked a tad bit higher

Cons:
- Far away from home (family is in CT), so no support system down there
- I will want to do my residency in the Northeast, so further away from where I want to match
- It's not the Deep South but is still the south during these political times
- I am interested in CT surgery or vascular surgery and there seems to be less matches in those positions (though it may be bc of smaller class sizes)
- Might get pricey traveling to and from home over the years

Tufts

Pros:
- Boston is a booming hub for biomedical research and medicine (access to Harvard, MGH, etc.)
- Diverse group of patients to learn from
- Strong emphasis on giving back to the underserved communities
- Located in the northeast, where I want to match after school
- Close to my support system
- Tufts Medical Center has an incredible cardiac transplant program

Cons:
- It incorporates PBL, so there seems like there's more mandatory lectures
- Cold lol and I am not much of a city person
- Super expensive COL
- Ranked a tad bit lower
- Rotations are spread out across various locations and hospitals (traveling a lot is possible)
- Very large class size
 
I would go Tufts, nothing at Wake Forest ranking wise is not available at a school like Tufts.
 
Yeah I love Wake, but I don't see any reason to leave your support system. Tufts will cost you a little more ~$10k/year in loans, but I think seeing family will be worth that. The ranking difference is negligible, if even existent.
 
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