Wake vs Colorado [updated pls help]

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Are the scholarship amounts included in those costs for each school or not? If not, the 100k that Colorado is giving you is hard to argue with compared to 40k or 24k.

It seems like everything you want from curriculum, to residencies, and research/career focus are done best at Colorado. Adding the scholarship to that and it is hard to beat. I personally wouldn't worry about the fact that many of their students matched west coast residencies since that could just be the preference of people who would move to Colorado. If you want to keep as many doors and residency opportunities open as possible, go to the school where you will be able to craft the best residency application. From fit and funding to facilities and research, it seems like Colorado would give you the best shot at your top residency. The reputation and relations of your school matter (another reason high ranked Colorado would be good), but those won't secure the spot if your application is lacking.

It seems like you know all of that though and ranking the schools is not what is holding you back. Moving to a new place and having big life transitions is not only incredibly hard, but incredibly scary. It would be crazy if you did not feel that way and it will certainly have a hard adjustment period. It seems that you have done it before though and had it work out really well for you. I suspect that this would work out the same way. As someone who lived for a couple years in Colorado, it is a great place to live and explore whether or not you are very outdoorsy. I think the people there are absolutely incredible. I am originally from the southeast as well so the altitude and cold were an adjustment, but I adapted faster than I thought I would and my time there turned out amazingly. My personal opinion is that you shouldn't talk yourself out of a fabulous school that you earned a hard-to-get acceptance to. I think the residency will work out great, the school and community will work out, and you would have a great medical education. Take this random stranger who doesn't know you with a grain of salt, but I think it is much more likely that you will will regret talking yourself out of something you know you should do. Don't let fear win and determine the next chapter of your life. You're a tuberculosis girlboss and you got this.
 
Colorado is certainly the best option you have. If not wanting to move far is a deal-breaking factor for you then I would go with Wake Forest which is also a great school that would help you aim competitively.
 
SimplyNicole said:
Are the scholarship amounts included in those costs for each school or not? If not, the 100k that Colorado is giving you is hard to argue with compared to 40k or 24k.

It seems like everything you want from curriculum, to residencies, and research/career focus are done best at Colorado. Adding the scholarship to that and it is hard to beat. I personally wouldn't worry about the fact that many of their students matched west coast residencies since that could just be the preference of people who would move to Colorado. If you want to keep as many doors and residency opportunities open as possible, go to the school where you will be able to craft the best residency application. From fit and funding to facilities and research, it seems like Colorado would give you the best shot at your top residency. The reputation and relations of your school matter (another reason high ranked Colorado would be good), but those won't secure the spot if your application is lacking.

It seems like you know all of that though and ranking the schools is not what is holding you back. Moving to a new place and having big life transitions is not only incredibly hard, but incredibly scary. It would be crazy if you did not feel that way and it will certainly have a hard adjustment period. It seems that you have done it before though and had it work out really well for you. I suspect that this would work out the same way. As someone who lived for a couple years in Colorado, it is a great place to live and explore whether or not you are very outdoorsy. I think the people there are absolutely incredible. I am originally from the southeast as well so the altitude and cold were an adjustment, but I adapted faster than I thought I would and my time there turned out amazingly. My personal opinion is that you shouldn't talk yourself out of a fabulous school that you earned a hard-to-get acceptance to. I think the residency will work out great, the school and community will work out, and you would have a great medical education. Take this random stranger who doesn't know you with a grain of salt, but I think it is much more likely that you will will regret talking yourself out of something you know you should do. Don't let fear win and determine the next chapter of your life. You're a tuberculosis girlboss and you got this.
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Thank you so much for such a helpful and thoughtful response, idk if I'm just stressed out but I got kind of emotional reading this 🥲 lol I really appreciate the advice, Colorado's scholarship is technically $25k for one year and I believe I have to reapply each year but it seems like most people are able to successfully do that. It's really nice to hear the perspective of someone who also had to transition from the southeast and you put me a little more at ease. I do also get the feeling that I'm "talking myself out of" going to Colorado, I just figured I'd get a couple second opinions. Thanks so much again!!
 
Temporada said:
Colorado is certainly the best option you have. If not wanting to move far is a deal-breaking factor for you then I would go with Wake Forest which is also a great school that would help you aim competitively.
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Thank you so much for the response, those are definitely the two I'm leaning towards right now!
 
If you want to match in the southeast, I’d go with Wake. Wake also has pretty much any residency program you can think of and because of the merger with Atrium in Charlotte there are even 2 home residency programs in many fields. Personally I hate being told what to do with my time and would not like a school with mandatory lecture. The more time you have to study on your own in preclinical and dictate your schedule, the better. Moving across the country can also being super stressful and that’s on top of actually starting med school which is another big stressor. Honestly, I’d vote Wake. DM me for further questions.
 
One thing about Colorado is you most likely won't want to live in Denver and commute to Aurora. On a good day the commute is like 20-25 minutes, but on a bad day it's like an hour. The bad days are more common. You'd likely want to live like the closest neighborhood still considered to be in Denver near Aurora or in Aurora. 😬
 
cheetoman21 said:
One thing about Colorado is you most likely won't want to live in Denver and commute to Aurora. On a good day the commute is like 20-25 minutes, but on a bad day it's like an hour. The bad days are more common. You'd likely want to live like the closest neighborhood still considered to be in Denver near Aurora or in Aurora. 😬
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Oof thanks for pointing this out, I definitely would not want to be IN Aurora as it is not my ideal living space so the commute is something I would have to think about 😕
 
TheDataKing said:
If you want to match in the southeast, I’d go with Wake. Wake also has pretty much any residency program you can think of and because of the merger with Atrium in Charlotte there are even 2 home residency programs in many fields. Personally I hate being told what to do with my time and would not like a school with mandatory lecture. The more time you have to study on your own in preclinical and dictate your schedule, the better. Moving across the country can also being super stressful and that’s on top of actually starting med school which is another big stressor. Honestly, I’d vote Wake. DM me for further questions.
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I'm not dead set on matching in the southeast, but you make a good point with the stress of moving. I appreciate the input, I'll definitely DM you!
 
I agree with the other replies as well. While I stand by my opinion that you could do great at Colorado if that's where you decide you should be, Wake Forest would also present amazing opportunities. The quality of life that Wake Forest presents vs moving to Colorado could make that more worth it in the end. I don't think you can go wrong choosing between those two schools.
 
Aurora (coming from someone who was raised in CO, is not a great area but it is still expensive to live in) from some acquaintances I have at Colorado they are not really happy with their new curriculum, but it really just depends on what you are looking for, both Wake and Colorado are great schools, if you are willing to make the move then I would recommend CO judging by your pros and cons!
 
Just some quick perspective from a native Coloradan who has also lived in LA and NYC, solely about location. Colorado really isn't that cold. People think Colorado and they think the mountains...but Aurora and Denver are legit nowhere near the mountains. Yes, we have winter, but we also have more days of sunshine than anywhere else in the continental US, so it can snow in the morning and be sunny and nice in the afternoon. NYC was much colder and the winters were a million times worse. Dry cold is also better than humid cold in the same way dry heat is better than humid heat. I don't know why...it just is, lol.

Also another comment mentioned the commute from Denver to Aurora. If you were commuting from downtown Denver to southern Aurora, those times would be accurate. I live in Uptown (a nice neighborhood by City Park and adjacent to downtown Denver but not *in* it...there is no need to live in downtown Denver for anyone...the surrounding neighborhoods are better living-wise) and work at the Children's Hospital on the same campus as Anschutz, and it is very close and there are so many one-way side streets that go straight through that traffic is never a problem between the two. If you had to get on the highway, that's a whole other story. But if you really wanted to live in a nice area with lots of restaurants and such, Uptown is a great choice and would be a very doable commute. I do think a lot of students live in housing near the campus, though, which is also totally fine--similarly, it's not far to go to Denver to hang out.

Good luck with whatever you choose! If you have any Denver-specific questions, feel free to reach out.
 
matchboxtasha said:
Just some quick perspective from a native Coloradan who has also lived in LA and NYC, solely about location. Colorado really isn't that cold. People think Colorado and they think the mountains...but Aurora and Denver are legit nowhere near the mountains. Yes, we have winter, but we also have more days of sunshine than anywhere else in the continental US, so it can snow in the morning and be sunny and nice in the afternoon. NYC was much colder and the winters were a million times worse. Dry cold is also better than humid cold in the same way dry heat is better than humid heat. I don't know why...it just is, lol.

Also another comment mentioned the commute from Denver to Aurora. If you were commuting from downtown Denver to southern Aurora, those times would be accurate. I live in Uptown (a nice neighborhood by City Park and adjacent to downtown Denver but not *in* it...there is no need to live in downtown Denver for anyone...the surrounding neighborhoods are better living-wise) and work at the Children's Hospital on the same campus as Anschutz, and it is very close and there are so many one-way side streets that go straight through that traffic is never a problem between the two. If you had to get on the highway, that's a whole other story. But if you really wanted to live in a nice area with lots of restaurants and such, Uptown is a great choice and would be a very doable commute. I do think a lot of students live in housing near the campus, though, which is also totally fine--similarly, it's not far to go to Denver to hang out.

Good luck with whatever you choose! If you have any Denver-specific questions, feel free to reach out.
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Thanks so much, I really appreciate all this extra info! I didn't really get a good feel for the area during my visit day as I was relying on Ubers for transportation 🙃 but the amount of sun is definitely an attractor, and I will definitely check out the uptown area if I pick Colorado!
 
I wouldn't worry about the cold either or not being outdoorsy for CO. Although, you likely will pick up at least one basic outdoor CO hobby.
It's an amazing place to live and you can figure out nice places nearby Aurora without an awful commute (especially if you can avoid i70 or just choose non-peak hours to drive and spend extra time on campus studying).
I'm likely withdrawing my A from Colorado, but the only thing holding me back from already committing officially to another school is how much I absolutely love living here. I'm biased, but I think you'd have a great 4 years to enjoy the state and showing it off to visitors.
 
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