alaskagirl1992
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2024
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Hi all! I've narrowed my choices to these two, I think, but could use your help and advice as I finalize. I’m an older nontrad (33) with a strong interest in health equity/working with underserved communities. Not 100% set on primary care but I would like to be in a place that has good opps and values primary care to some degree. Would love to work with Spanish speakers in my career, although neither of these schools is great for that. Priorities are cost, access to service-related/health equity work, and culture fit/happiness. I am not a competitive person and would like to be in a place that prioritizes collaboration/balance, although I know that's not something med schools are famous for. The two schools are equal distance from family, and I don't really know anyone in either place. Both have AOA.
Wash U (50k scholarship) remaining COA per year about 50k
Pros:
-Great access to research. Sounds like they basically throw it at you, in a nice way. I have a research background and would be interested in doing basic/wet lab research.
-16-month preclinical
-P/F clerkships -nice facilities
-STL is affordable and I’ve lived there before
-Smaller class size
-More prestigious? Only care about this if it genuinely will give me access to more resources/an edge in matching.
Cons:
-Unclear if they still have a free clinic students can volunteer at - sounds like it may have shut down? seems like generally less access to community engagement opps with underserved populations
-No family med rotation or home program (but they do have a home program in IM-primary care). I'm not attached to family med necessarily, but I want to be somewhere that doesn't push me into intense specializations
-slightly younger student population -STL can be a little harder to break into socially. A lot of people grow up there and have extended family, so it feels a little more insular.
Umich (80k/year scholarship, remaining COA per year about 35k)
Pros:
-I think Ann Arbor would be a good fit for me, as a smaller college town
-They have a free clinic, a street medicine program, and generally more opportunities to serve the community
-higher match rate into primary care
-slightly older student population (but not a huge margin)
-can do rotations in Ypsilanti clinic with a lot of Spanish speakers
-they have an outdoor orientation trip for incoming students which is my jam
-Admin and current students have been very communicative through the process
Cons:
-higher cost of living in AA
-1 yr preclinical (have heard mixed things on whether this is a con - slightly worried since I’m an older student and have been out of school for a while)
-Graded clinicals - they recently changed this to a criteria-based system so it's no longer a percentage of people who can get honors, but it's still graded.
-larger class size
Overall - my heart is saying Michigan, but I want to make sure I'm not missing relevant factors.
Wash U (50k scholarship) remaining COA per year about 50k
Pros:
-Great access to research. Sounds like they basically throw it at you, in a nice way. I have a research background and would be interested in doing basic/wet lab research.
-16-month preclinical
-P/F clerkships -nice facilities
-STL is affordable and I’ve lived there before
-Smaller class size
-More prestigious? Only care about this if it genuinely will give me access to more resources/an edge in matching.
Cons:
-Unclear if they still have a free clinic students can volunteer at - sounds like it may have shut down? seems like generally less access to community engagement opps with underserved populations
-No family med rotation or home program (but they do have a home program in IM-primary care). I'm not attached to family med necessarily, but I want to be somewhere that doesn't push me into intense specializations
-slightly younger student population -STL can be a little harder to break into socially. A lot of people grow up there and have extended family, so it feels a little more insular.
Umich (80k/year scholarship, remaining COA per year about 35k)
Pros:
-I think Ann Arbor would be a good fit for me, as a smaller college town
-They have a free clinic, a street medicine program, and generally more opportunities to serve the community
-higher match rate into primary care
-slightly older student population (but not a huge margin)
-can do rotations in Ypsilanti clinic with a lot of Spanish speakers
-they have an outdoor orientation trip for incoming students which is my jam
-Admin and current students have been very communicative through the process
Cons:
-higher cost of living in AA
-1 yr preclinical (have heard mixed things on whether this is a con - slightly worried since I’m an older student and have been out of school for a while)
-Graded clinicals - they recently changed this to a criteria-based system so it's no longer a percentage of people who can get honors, but it's still graded.
-larger class size
Overall - my heart is saying Michigan, but I want to make sure I'm not missing relevant factors.