UVA vs. Duke vs. Georgetown vs. GW

[ChilliT]

I’ve been lucky enough to get accepted into these great schools, but am having a bit of trouble deciding which to attend. I’d greatly appreciate your help and insight! Train of thought below:


UVA
Positives: Collaborative atmosphere; happy students; 1.5 year preclerkship; Somewhat close to home/Family in Maryland; Top 30 med school/rep; P/F; Take home tests made available on Friday; Class 8am-12; Match list; Sports culture; Cheap cost of living; Great bus system

Negatives: Need a car; Charlottesville could get a tad boring; not a big emphasis on research

Duke
Positives: Third Year Opportunity (Can get an MPH/MD in 4 yrs); MPH program with UNC; 1 year pre-clerkship year; P/F; Accepted to PCLT so longitudinal Clerkship (able to follow patient over time), awesome community and $40,000 scholarship; Top 10 Med School/Reputation; Match list; Cheap cost of living; Extended family close by; Sport culture

Negatives: Durham and Dukes relationship w the city; Far from home/major cities; slightly nervous about PCLT commitment to primary care; potentially competitive atmosphere; Need a car; stress/pace of 1 pre-clerkship

Georgetown
Positives: Track program; Washington DC/Close to family and friends (very important to me as I need to help care for aging family members); Cura Personalis/ Emphasis on treating the whole patient/Mind-Body medicine; Had my fav faculty interview here; Sports Culture

Negatives: Cost of living; Unsure about P/F (student tour guide said they were changing this, but idk when); competitive atmosphere; less collaborative due to grading; 2 year pre clerkship

George Washington
Positives: Great new curriculum; Track program; Washington DC/Close to family and friends; longitudinal clerkship for primary care; collaborative atmosphere; Match list

Negatives: Cost of living

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[Okazaki Frag Grenade]

On behalf of myself and everyone else on the Duke waitlist, definitely not Duke.....

But more seriously - I think the biggest thing for you to decide is how close you need to be to your family. UVA and Duke are both outstanding schools. I think if you're long term goal doesn't involve shooting for top academic positions, then you'd be in a great position from either school. On the flip side, Georgetown has a great match list and seems to send students to great residencies. DC is going to be a lot more expensive than UVA and Duke for cost of living though.

 

[Australopithekus]

Don't overthink this one.

 

[frchuatritons]

No to GW and GT. Significantly lower ranked than your two other options.

 

[Slack3r]

Cross off GT and GW. UVa and Duke are both great schools.

Personally, I'd pick Duke (as much as it kills me to say based on how much I hate their bball team), but it's a top 10 school with a nationwide reputation and outstanding resources.

 

[Psai]

Duke

 

[Nymphicus]

UVA or Duke.

 

[ChilliT]

Thanks for all of your insight guys! You’ve helped me to narrow it down to UVA or Duke. Both revisits were awesome, so it looks like its going to be a tough choice.

At Duke I met amazing people; students were very down-to-earth and would push me to do my best; I think I would be very much supported in my journey. With the one-year curriculum, I would def have to hit the ground running right away, but it seems worth the 3rd year experience. One concern was talking to a couple of first year students, they told me that some students find a balance with the condensed curric, others may not (@Australopithekus, if you have any insight on this it’d be awesome!). A challenging, yet rewarding place to learn.

It appeared that students at UVA have an unbelievable balance and overall happiness that I have not seen at any other place. This school removes the unnecessary stressors and intensities that come with studying medicine by producing an extremely collaborative atmosphere and flexible curriculum (i.e. sharing notes on google docs, 8-12 class schedule, online tests, 1.5 yr curriculum leaves extra flex in 4 year). A tight knit community and fun environment to go to med school.

 

[Australopithekus]

Thanks for all of your insight guys! You’ve helped me to narrow it down to UVA or Duke. Both revisits were awesome, so it looks like its going to be a tough choice.

At Duke I met amazing people; students were very down-to-earth and would push me to do my best; I think I would be very much supported in my journey. With the one-year curriculum, I would def have to hit the ground running right away, but it seems worth the 3rd year experience. One concern was talking to a couple of first year students, they told me that some students find a balance with the condensed curric, others may not (@Australopithekus, if you have any insight on this it’d be awesome!). A challenging, yet rewarding place to learn.

It appeared that students at UVA have an unbelievable balance and overall happiness that I have not seen at any other place. This school removes the unnecessary stressors and intensities that come with studying medicine by producing an extremely collaborative atmosphere and flexible curriculum (i.e. sharing notes on google docs, 8-12 class schedule, online tests, 1.5 yr curriculum leaves extra flex in 4 year). A tight knit community and fun environment to go to med school.

I think you're on the right track by picking between Duke & UVA. I didn't apply to UVA, so I can't really offer a fair comparison, but I'm confident that it's a great place as well. Since you mentioned it, though, we also share lecture notes (and anki decks, etc.).

Regarding school-life balance at Duke, I don't get the vibe that we're much worse off than students anywhere else. Most of our lectures are scheduled between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., with anatomy lab running until 5 some days during the Normal Body block. This semester, we have more flexibility--Wednesdays or Mondays "off" every week (perfect for shadowing or catching up on lectures & reading). Also, unlike students at many of the more traditional schools, we don't feel obligated to spend our time doing research before our clinical year, since Duke has an entire year dedicated to it. So, we're free to spend our extra time how we like.

Ultimately, how much free time you have will depend on how well you manage your time and how you choose to spend it. Much of my class is involved in IM sports. We've organized several camping trips and a skiing trip. Many of us performed in a full-length musical last month. There's even a group attempting to binge watch all of Game of Thrones before the new season begins. We're certainly busy, but not overwhelmingly so!

I hope this helps. Feel free to PM me if you have further questions or want more specific info.