WVU vs. Wake Forest

[Strattera]

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Wake Forest School of Medicine
Pros

• Higher ranked (~#49)
• True pass/fail pre-clinical curriculum (internal ranking still exists)
• Optional attendance for lectures, except for PBL sessions
• Ample research opportunities
• If placed at the Winston-Salem campus:
  • Closer to home (~2 hours)
  • Comfortable in a medium-sized city
  • Rock climbing access at Moore’s Wall (~40 minutes away)
• More impressive match list, with placements at institutions like Yale, Johns Hopkins, UChicago, Cornell, Cedars-Sinai, Boston Children’s, UCLA, Mayo, Northwestern, and Vanderbilt

Cons

• The biggest drawback is the total cost of attendance (~$460,000). If the cost were comparable, I would choose Wake without hesitation.
• If placed at the Charlotte campus (not entirely sure these are true cons):
  • Newer campus with potentially fewer resources
  • Less familiar with living in a larger city
  • Higher overall expenses (tuition + cost of living)

West Virginia University School of Medicine
Pros

• Total cost of attendance is significantly lower at $303,644
• Friday exams allow for free weekends
• Eligible to apply for the WV Scholarship, which grants in-state tuition (would save ~$80,000). I’d be open to practicing in West Virginia, so this is personally appealing. However, only two out-of-state students receive it each year, and I’m unsure of the applicant pool size.
• Accelerated tracks available for several specialties (EM, Anesthesia, Psych, IM, Neuro, Pathology, etc.), allowing graduation in ~3 years with guaranteed residency at WVU
• Proximity to outdoor recreation: ~30 minutes from Coopers Rock (bouldering) in Morgantown and ~1 hour from the New River Gorge while based in Charleston

Cons

• Lower ranked (~#120)
• Pre-clinical grading is Honors/Pass/Fail with quartile rankings
• Required relocation to Charleston campus for M3 and M4
  • However, I’m already familiar with Charleston from visiting a former partner who lived there for two years, and I was impressed by CAMC Charleston (Level I trauma center, transplant center, children’s hospital, etc.)
• Fewer top-tier residency matches, though some standouts include NYU, UVA, Duke, and Ohio State

 

[skullquinoa]

didn’t apply to wvu and got pre-II r from wake but looking at your pros and cons list, I would personally choose WF. I think paying the extra $$ in tuition will give you more professional and network opportunities that come with attending their program. I could be wrong but I imagine the WV scholarship will be very competitive to get and is far from a guarantee. However, because you’re open to practicing in wv and it is significantly cheaper, I think choosing wv may be a better fit if you don’t think you’re interested in a competitive specialty or want to do one of their accelerated tracks!

 

[m1redsox]

As a Wake grad (who loves the school and matched competitively from the school), Wake is not worth $160,000-$240,000 more than WVU. WVU is a solid MD program with many in-house residency programs, and accelerated match programs would be amazing.

There is no objective benefit to choosing Wake over WVU other than having family somewhat close, but you could drive from Morgantown/Charleston to home for A LOT less than $160-240,000 plus interest haha

 

[Strattera]

As a Wake grad (who loves the school and matched competitively from the school), Wake is not worth $160,000-$240,000 more than WVU. WVU is a solid MD program with many in-house residency programs, and accelerated match programs would be amazing.

There is no objective benefit to choosing Wake over WVU other than having family somewhat close, but you could drive from Morgantown/Charleston to home for A LOT less than $160-240,000 plus interest haha

Yeah, this seems to be the consensus and what my gut has been saying.

Thank you for your feedback!