[URGENT] Hackensack vs Vermont

[FlashFusion]

I was fortunate enough to receive A's at both of these schools (Hackensack Meridian SOM & University of Vermont Larner COM). Trying to decide between them in this final stretch. Still waiting to hear on financial aid (this process is a little unclear to me still tbh, but scholarships could sway me)

Hackensack
Pros

• Location - NJ and especially NYC have loads of things to do and potential connections, within and outside the context of medicine
• Population / demographics - As a minority used to living in diverse settings (coming from Toronto), I believe the patient population and the people in general I would meet and connect with would be more varied and diverse than in Burlington, VT. It is also closer to the setting/population I would like to work in/with
• My understanding is preclinicals are P/F, clinicals are Honors / High Pass / Pass / Fail, and I believe clinicals may have internal rankings
• Their match list and Step 2 scores seem solid
• I was at first put off by the vibe of 'Admissions Day', but after interviewing with faculty + info sessions I feel a lot more comfortable. They were very warm and friendly!
• 4th year has a lot of flexibility

Cons

• Slightly more expensive (additional 20k per year estimated Cost of Attendance)
• Mandatory lectures (seems like 8-12 most days)
• Newer school (fully accredited since ~Nov 2022)... not sure how much of a 'con' this ACTUALLY is in reality. I am hoping to match into Psychiatry
• Shorter summer break (2 weeks vs 'standard' 2 months)

UVM
Pros

• Very scenic location, a lot of hiking and nature stuff going on which I am into
• Non-mandatory lectures, also P/F preclinical + clinical (has honors, but I believe no internal ranking?)
• I also got good vibes from this school as well during the interviews + info sessions
• Established school, strong match list, potentially more resources for students to take advantage of?

Cons

• To be blunt, location is the big one here. As much as I enjoy nature and hiking, I fear that I will 'run out of things to do', and as a minority, Burlington's "not very diverse" population is an area of tension for me. I am concerned about how well I feel I would fit in.
• Moving in 3rd year to CT Branch Campus for clinicals (between Norwalk/Danbury in CT). This is great for working with a patient population closer my future intended patient populations but I am concerned about continuity with colleagues and mentors, as well as the general chaos of moving midway through my education.

Would appreciate hearing some thoughts on this! Of course am prepared to put in work no matter where I go, and I would not have applied to UVM if I was totally unwilling to attend. My own experiences have taught me that location does matter so I want to set myself up to be able to lead 'as balanced' as possible of a life in medical school as I can.

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[johnmassey123]

I would def choose VT. Driving 1 hour across the state for rotations in NJ does not seem fun, and mandatory lectures are not fun. VT will give more opportunities to match too, it is a well known and established school. It is actually the nations 7th oldest med school! (1822)

 

[Ihe2koo]

Vermont! I would not want to deal with mandatory lectures at a less established school which is also more expensive

 

[AlanRails.Vindicators]

I was fortunate enough to receive A's at both of these schools (Hackensack Meridian SOM & University of Vermont Larner COM). Trying to decide between them in this final stretch. Still waiting to hear on financial aid (this process is a little unclear to me still tbh, but scholarships could sway me)

Hackensack
Pros

• Location - NJ and especially NYC have loads of things to do and potential connections, within and outside the context of medicine
• Population / demographics - As a minority used to living in diverse settings (coming from Toronto), I believe the patient population and the people in general I would meet and connect with would be more varied and diverse than in Burlington, VT. It is also closer to the setting/population I would like to work in/with
• My understanding is preclinicals are P/F, clinicals are Honors / High Pass / Pass / Fail, and I believe clinicals may have internal rankings
• Their match list and Step 2 scores seem solid
• I was at first put off by the vibe of 'Admissions Day', but after interviewing with faculty + info sessions I feel a lot more comfortable. They were very warm and friendly!
• 4th year has a lot of flexibility

Cons

• Slightly more expensive (additional 20k per year estimated Cost of Attendance)
• Mandatory lectures (seems like 8-12 most days)
• Newer school (fully accredited since ~Nov 2022)... not sure how much of a 'con' this ACTUALLY is in reality. I am hoping to match into Psychiatry
• Shorter summer break (2 weeks vs 'standard' 2 months)

UVM
Pros

• Very scenic location, a lot of hiking and nature stuff going on which I am into
• Non-mandatory lectures, also P/F preclinical + clinical (has honors, but I believe no internal ranking?)
• I also got good vibes from this school as well during the interviews + info sessions
• Established school, strong match list, potentially more resources for students to take advantage of?

Cons

• To be blunt, location is the big one here. As much as I enjoy nature and hiking, I fear that I will 'run out of things to do', and as a minority, Burlington's "not very diverse" population is an area of tension for me. I am concerned about how well I feel I would fit in.
• Moving in 3rd year to CT Branch Campus for clinicals (between Norwalk/Danbury in CT). This is great for working with a patient population closer my future intended patient populations but I am concerned about continuity with colleagues and mentors, as well as the general chaos of moving midway through my education.

Would appreciate hearing some thoughts on this! Of course am prepared to put in work no matter where I go, and I would not have applied to UVM if I was totally unwilling to attend. My own experiences have taught me that location does matter so I want to set myself up to be able to lead 'as balanced' as possible of a life in medical school as I can.

Have a friend at UVM CT. She moved in the middle of her 2nd year and it was a nightmare hassle. Some of her classmates really had to Uhaul their ass right in the middle of Step 1 - or just delay taking Step 1. Logistically hard with not much institutional support and resources for moving. Also finding locations to rent in CT in either Danbury or Norwalk is expensive and difficult to find at that time of year, like north of 2k/mo. You’ll get great and diverse clinical experience compared to the VT campus with more responsibility. You’d end up driving the same amount of time in traffic in CT like NJ and just like any place in the tristate area. And as for continuity, my friend said you’d be giving up a lot of the ties and connections you built with your peers and mentors in VT by moving to CT, and that could change the research projects you might be working on to be more CT focused. You’d be closer to NYC, but realistically you wouldn’t have much free time and perhaps a few free weekends to go into the city if you do CT campus. You also have 30-40 peers in CT so you build your own tight group there, and the students who choose CT tend to be more diverse themselves compared to those who choose to stay VT campus.
As for living in VT, might be difficult with cold and dark winter months. You might want to have stuff to do like during the winter and snow. Definitely a place for the outdoors oriented. My friend isn’t one and she is scared of tick borne diseases. Burlington is majority white but the people aren’t racist. LCOM is the most diverse of UVM’s schools and you can look at the demographics of the class to see its composition. Would be hard to find people like you around, but you can find them. Although not sure on what instances you would be interacting with UVM undergrads anyways.
If your goal is to find diverse healthcare experiences with minority patient populations, NJ would be much easier logistically since you’re already there. And as a minority myself, the food is just better the closer to NYC you are and with more diverse peoples as well.