FinancialBagel
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As the 04/30 deadline approaches, I become increasingly torn between these three schools. I’m leaning more toward Hopkins, and I’ll explain why below. In terms of specialty I would like to pursue, I’m still undecided, but I feel like I want to look into internal medicine, emergency medicine, psychiatry, or anesthesiology. Throughout medical school, residency, and my physician career, I want to be able to have a good amount of time to spend with my aging parents and my loved ones.
For me, this is what is most important (in no particular ranking): being close to my support system, being in a place with the least amount of stress and competition, and having a vast amount of opportunities in things like research and advocacy. Being as debt-free as possible is also nice, as it adds less stress to what specialty I can pursue.
Hopkins:
Pros:
WashU:
Pros:
Duke:
Pros:
Summary: I am currently learning toward Hopkins because of its close proximity to my support system, the Hopkins name, and its large quantity of opportunities. However, the fact that their clerkship can be changed to H/HP/P/F does worry me a bit.
For me, this is what is most important (in no particular ranking): being close to my support system, being in a place with the least amount of stress and competition, and having a vast amount of opportunities in things like research and advocacy. Being as debt-free as possible is also nice, as it adds less stress to what specialty I can pursue.
Hopkins:
Pros:
- It is the closest school to my friends, family, and partner by quite a lot (I’m on the East Coast). Being near my support system ranks highly for me. It is still an Amtrak train ride away, however.
- P/F for pre-clinical and core clerkship (but this may change)
- Will graduate with no debt
- I feel like this school has the most networking opportunities, research opportunities, etc. Although, I will acknowledge that the other two schools are not far behind. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
- Great opportunity to learn about health disparities and to serve a diverse patient population, which I am passionate about
- Great mentorship through the molecule system and CAPS program
- I believe no AOA until after the match and no internal ranking
- Hopkins is well-known in medicine
- H/HP/P/F for clinical electives, advanced clerkships, and clinical sub-internships. Clerkships are currently P/F but MAY BECOME H/HP/P/F. This con is what is making me the most hesitant toward Hopkins, because I feel it breeds stress and competition. Aside from staying close to family and graduating without debt, being as stress-free as possible is also very important to me.
- Out of the three schools, this one may have the most gunners? I could be 100% wrong with this. Regardless, it is definitely not fun having to be in competition with peers.
- I think the curriculum changed such that the pre-clinical is now one year and the summer break is shortened. Not sure how this will affect the incoming class
- I didn’t absolutely love the campus and area; however, I’m not picky about where I live. This is only a very slight negative, as it’s offset by how close I am to my support system.
WashU:
Pros:
- Will graduate with no debt
- I’m not sure how heavily I should weigh this, but WashU has been my absolute favorite school during the application process. The dean hand-wrote personalized notes for everyone, and they covered basically everything for Second Look Weekend
- The campus and surrounding area are beautiful.
- P/F for pre-clinical and clerkship (BUT distinctions can be awarded in certain areas like patient care). This pro is what is driving me to maybe consider WashU over Hopkins. Not sure how heavily I should weigh this
- Great coaching system, I believe they meet with their coach about once a week
- Amazing research opportunities and time dedicated toward research; they really emphasized being #2 in NIH funding
- No AOA or internal ranking
- It is the farthest from my family, friends, and partner. It would be stressful and expensive having to fly often.
- I may want to match back on the East Coast, and I feel that although WashU won’t completely stop me from matching back here, it would make it slightly harder
- Although clerkships are generally pass/fail, there are distinctions available in certain longitudinal areas (patient care, interpersonal communication, systems-based practice, etc). This doesn’t seem as bad as the H/HP/P/F system, but I’m worried it’ll still cause stress.
Duke:
Pros:
- It is the second closest to my family, friends, and partner. But it is still a stressful plane ride away.
- An entire year dedicated to research (might help if I want to pursue something like anesthesiology)
- I believe no AOA, and true P/F for everything. This is the biggest pro for me for Duke.
- May have an easier time matching back to the East Coast
- I didn’t go to Second Look Weekend because they did not cover anything for it. Therefore, not sure what the campus is like. I say this as a con because I’m a bit salty they didn’t cover anything haha.
- Currently, with just need-based aid, I will have to pay ~45k per year aka $180,000 for all four years (which I will have to take out loans for). I haven’t completely eliminated Duke because it seems they haven’t released all the merit-based aid yet, and so I’m holding out hope that I could also get my entire tuition and COA covered. But I could be wrong
- I hear the one-year condensed pre-clinical means that Duke students don’t get a good grasp of pre-clinical materials, or are more stressed studying it all in one year
Summary: I am currently learning toward Hopkins because of its close proximity to my support system, the Hopkins name, and its large quantity of opportunities. However, the fact that their clerkship can be changed to H/HP/P/F does worry me a bit.
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