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Hey all I have been lucky enough to be accepted into Vanderbilt, Wash U, Northwestern, and waitlisted to Cornell. I am really confused on where to attend school and would appreciate any advise/insight! Money will not be a factor in my decision because I have possibly the kindest parents in the world who have the means to pay for all tuition and board. Wash U and Vanderbilt both have second looks on the same weekend as well, so not sure which one to attend :/
If you do think Cornell is the best option for me, can you also give me what the second best option would be in case I don't get in there.
Career Goals
I am very interested in pursuing otolaryngology or urology, I definitely need more exposure to decide and am open to change.
I am much more inclined to enter private practice rather than academic medicine. I really appreciate the entrepreneurial aspect of private practice and the control you can have over your practice. Although I do not have a geographic preference for medical school, I would like to be in the Northeast for my residency/career.
Goals for School
I have been fortunate enough to do decently well in my undergraduate years due to my strong support network of friends and family. I would like to emulate this experience in medical school. I really hope to find a student body that is tight-knit, can have fun together, and will be my life long friends. I am less worried about the reputation of my school, but rather how happy I will be at the school.
I hate BS work and want the most free, unrestricted time for studying as possible.
I LOVE good public transportation.
Wash U
Pros -
Neutral -
Vanderbilt
Pros -
Cons -
Neutral -
Northwestern
Pros -
Cons -
Cornell (Waitlisted)
Pros -
Cons -
Sorry if I came off as pretentious in any way and that this post was OD long
Please help me, I have no idea what to do 🙂
If you do think Cornell is the best option for me, can you also give me what the second best option would be in case I don't get in there.
Career Goals
I am very interested in pursuing otolaryngology or urology, I definitely need more exposure to decide and am open to change.
I am much more inclined to enter private practice rather than academic medicine. I really appreciate the entrepreneurial aspect of private practice and the control you can have over your practice. Although I do not have a geographic preference for medical school, I would like to be in the Northeast for my residency/career.
Goals for School
I have been fortunate enough to do decently well in my undergraduate years due to my strong support network of friends and family. I would like to emulate this experience in medical school. I really hope to find a student body that is tight-knit, can have fun together, and will be my life long friends. I am less worried about the reputation of my school, but rather how happy I will be at the school.
I hate BS work and want the most free, unrestricted time for studying as possible.
I LOVE good public transportation.
Wash U
Pros -
- Highest ranked on USNews, historic top 5 program,
- From my research, it seems Wash U matches really well and has a TON of research opportunities/funding.
- The Barnes-Jewish hospital system is fantastic, level 1 trauma center and has an extremely large and diverse patient population.
- Forest Park is amazing!
- People have been saying Wash U will open up more doors in academic medicine (if I ever decide to pursue this path).
- St. Louis is not the most exciting city. I couldn’t find many things to do around campus. Anyone familiar with the Wash U area, are there a lot of good restaurants/happy hours/recreational activities in the area?
- The population there didn't seem to be as diverse as I'm used to. Public transport is alright.
- The students I met seemed to be a little socially awkward and I did not mesh well with. I have heard similar complains from various interviewees so I have been very cautious about this school but I have heard some positive things recently online.
- Wash U classrooms and some facilities seemed a little dated.
Neutral -
- The traditional 2 year curriculum seems to be a little archaic but it has been working for them. You get more time time to absorb classroom material for steps but less exposure to rotations/research -- not sure what to make of that.
Vanderbilt
Pros -
- This was the school I felt great about during the interview (but it was one of my first ones). All the students/faculty I met were extremely friendly and seemed to be tight-knit (I visited during college cup time). Even my fellow interviewees were very easy to get along with.
- Vanderbilt (self-claimed) apparently has the happiest students and I could see they were committed to student wellness (BIG deal for me).
- Great research opportunities, strong ENT/Urology department. Lot of new facilities (anatomy lab looks great!). Mentorship from faculty seems to be a big deal.
- Nashville is a beautiful city and Vandy's campus is very serene. Weather is beautiful, food options awesome 🙂 Lot of live music and bars!
Cons -
- Vandy's small class size scares me a little, I'm used to big schools and diverse mindsets.
- I've read multiple times online that their classes are usually cliquey?
- Vandy's hospital system is good, but not top notch. I know they were having some budget issues and had to cut ancillary staff (which might affect rotations)
- The fact you go into rotations in the second year may not be conducive to making strong connections with your student body.
- Nashville is a cool city but it is a small city that seems to lack diversity.
- Public transport is almost non-existent 🙁 I do not like country music.
- I am a South-East Asian man and am a little worried about moving to the South, but I understand this may be very ignorant of me.
Neutral -
- The one year pre-clinical curriculum seems to be very polarizing for people. Vandy students I talked to said they loved the fact that it allowed them to only receive the necessary info during pre-clinical and jump into clinical before they take STEP 1. The third year really allows you to tailor your resume to your speciality of choice as well.
- BUT, some people (not Vandy students) say that 1 year is way too intense and they are packing random lectures into your clinical during 2/3rd year.
Northwestern
Pros -
- NW facilities are beautiful, new, and shiny.
- Although they have a 2 year pre-clinical curriculum, they have cool integration of different elements of clinical education throughout the curriculum.
- The students I met were really friendly and engaging. They all seemed to be decently social as well!
- They match a LOT of urologists. L
- Lot of opportunities to do volunteer work
- Chicago has great public transportation, diverse population, and rivaled NYC in things to do/food. People in Chicago were really friendly and I could have long conversation with strangers.
Cons -
- The mandatory reflection of the curriculum seem to be unnecessary, but the current students told me they were getting reducing this a lot. P
- BL can be annoying and unproductive I feel. S
- tudents are spread out around Chicago since Streetsville is expensive.
- NW Memorial seems to take the "wealthier" patients and does not have that diverse of patient population. NW Memorial is also not a huge trauma center.
- Chicago can get SOO cold.
Cornell (Waitlisted)
Pros -
- Cornell, by far, had the nicest facilities. The school had amazing affiliations with hospitals.
- The 1.5 curriculum seemed to be working well and many school are moving towards this model.
- Faculty were very accomplished (but did seem a little cold).
- Two students I talked to online said the student-body was tightknit.
- I have dreamed of living in NYC since a little boy
- I know NYC pretty well, especially the GREAT subway system. The new 2nd ave line will make it easy for transport across the city.
- Cornell is a max hour train ride from my family and friends as well, by far the closest out of all these schools.
- Lot of Weill Cornell students match into NYC.
Cons -
- Some of the students at Cornell seemed a little pretentious.
- The weekly examination seem to be pretty annoying. PBL again, seems like a waste of time.
- The faculty who spoke seemed to be very matter of fact, didn't really engage with students on interview day.
- The UES is expensive and is definitely one of the quieter neighborhoods in Manhattan.
- I've heard Cornell students can be pretty competitive and the class is ranked, even thought it still P/F - really don't like that.
Sorry if I came off as pretentious in any way and that this post was OD long
Please help me, I have no idea what to do 🙂
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