Wake vs. VCU

[pewpew95]

I am currently on the waitlist at Wake Forest, and am trying to decide if I should send a letter of intent to matriculate based on my acceptance to VCU.

I feel like both schools were very similar with their: new medical school buildings, patient contact opportunities (standardized patients), systems based curriculum, happiness/niceness of the students, and great patient simulator rooms. They also both have “houses” to divide up the students and create friendly competition, PBL/case centered learning, and community engagement opportunities. Finally, research opportunities are very important for me and both VCU and Wake have plenty of labs in cancer biology and genetics.

My main concern is whether there would be any difference in getting matched to my top residency.

VCU
Pros:

• In state, close to home, familiar with the area
• Established connections with many PI’s and some physicians
• One-on-one counseling for Step 1 study plan and for applying to residency

Cons:

• Lived in the Richmond area my whole life (including undergrad), and I just want to get out

Wake Forest
Pros:

• Close enough to go home on the weekends, but far enough to tell my parents the drive is too long
• Integrated ultrasound course
• Really great wellness resources

Cons:

• Out of state tuition
• City was a little too small compared to Richmond, but I could live with it

Summary: I could see myself going to either school and they are so similar it’s hard to really say that one is metrically better than the other. My main conflict is wanting to get out of Richmond, but having that thicc OOS tuition. Thoughts?

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[libertyyne]

Wake is a better ranked school but I would place both schools in the same tier. How much more money is wake?

 

[pewpew95]

Wake is a better ranked school but I would place both schools in the same tier. How much more money is wake?

$20k more in tuition, just about the same if not slightly cheaper in cost of living

 

[libertyyne]

$20k more in tuition, just about the same if not slightly cheaper in cost of living

idk if wake is worth 80 k more . unless you have a specific PI in mind you have always wanted to work with. Staying at VCU will provide you with the ability to continue your research with minimal effort finding new stuff.

 

[pewpew95]

idk if wake is worth 80 k more . unless you have a specific PI in mind you have always wanted to work with. Staying at VCU will provide you with the ability to continue your research with minimal effort finding new stuff.

Yeah that’s what I was thinking. There’s no big names at Wake (who I’m aware of anyways). My dad is insistent on paying my full tuition costs, which I’m incredibly grateful for, so the higher COA isn’t really a problem for me. Really it’ll be about me being okay or not okay with spending 4+ more years in the same city/institution.

 

[libertyyne]

Yeah that’s what I was thinking. There’s no big names at Wake (who I’m aware of anyways). My dad is insistent on paying my full tuition costs, which I’m incredibly grateful for, so the higher COA isn’t really a problem for me. Really it’ll be about me being okay or not okay with spending 4+ more years in the same city/institution.

research productivity will be key if you are gunning for something competitive. VCU seems like a better place to be. There is always residency for moving away.

 

[abouttreefiddy]

So Wake is ranked better by 20 on US News and rated 0.2 better by residency directors (3.3 vs 3.1) so while it may give you a slight edge I don't know if its worth the 80k extra. However, with your dad paying for tuition and wanting to get out of Richmond it may be worth it to you with all of those pros combined. That being said, the LOI may not do anything extra for you than an update, so if you're still torn you could update Wake and restate interest and cross this bridge if you come to it.

 

[pewpew95]

research productivity will be key if you are gunning for something competitive. VCU seems like a better place to be. There is always residency for moving away.

So Wake is ranked better by 20 on US News and rated 0.2 better by residency directors (3.3 vs 3.1) so while it may give you a slight edge I don't know if its worth the 80k extra. However, with your dad paying for tuition and wanting to get out of Richmond it may be worth it to you with all of those pros combined. That being said, the LOI may not do anything extra for you than an update, so if you're still torn you could update Wake and restate interest and cross this bridge if you come to it.

Thanks for the in depth responses. You guys have given me plenty to think about. I think I will hold off on that LOI and see where the waitlist takes me!

 

[btuck]

So Wake is ranked better by 20 on US News and rated 0.2 better by residency directors (3.3 vs 3.1) so while it may give you a slight edge I don't know if its worth the 80k extra. However, with your dad paying for tuition and wanting to get out of Richmond it may be worth it to you with all of those pros combined. That being said, the LOI may not do anything extra for you than an update, so if you're still torn you could update Wake and restate interest and cross this bridge if you come to it.

Where do you find information on residency director's ratings?

 

[pewpew95]

Where do you find information on residency director's ratings?

Someone posted it on reddit a while back (originally obtained from US news rankings, but you need a paid subscription)