VCU vs Downstate

[jackyy]

Hey all! Im really having trouble with deciding which school to go to! I am choosing between both VCU and SUNY downstate. Both of them are really similar except:

Downstate uses NBME style exams whereas VCU uses in-house exams

Downstate seemed to be unsupportive of their students and it isn't in the best neighborhood of Brooklyn.

I am in-state for Downstate but I also have a 50k/year scholarship at VCU (but VCU would still be more expensive by around 10k per year)

Possibly Downstate has a higher pass rate for Step 1

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[JAK2-STAT3]

I have no connection to either of these schools, but I am at a school with NBME exams and LOVE it. I could not imagine the misery that must come with in-house exams. NBME exams give you the freedom to lean on 3rd party resources, which means that you have the flexibility find what resources work best for you and learn how you learn best. They also give you the freedom to skip lecture (if lectures aren't mandatory), which again gives you more flexibility to learn how you learn best. You won't be beholden to a professor's niche research interests on exams when said research interests are irrelevant to Step 1.

That said, I am not sure that the use of NBME exams would trump factors like location, proximity to support system, finances, etc.