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Hey all I have been lucky enough to be accepted into Vanderbilt, Wash U, Northwestern, and waitlisted to Cornell. I am really confused on where to attend school and would appreciate any advise/insight! Money will not be a factor in my decision because I have possibly the kindest parents in the world who have the means to pay for all tuition and board. Wash U and Vanderbilt both have second looks on the same weekend as well, so not sure which one to attend :/
If you do think Cornell is the best option for me, can you also give me what the second best option would be in case I don't get in there.
Career Goals
I am very interested in pursuing otolaryngology or urology, I definitely need more exposure to decide and am open to change.
I am much more inclined to enter private practice rather than academic medicine. I really appreciate the entrepreneurial aspect of private practice and the control you can have over your practice. Although I do not have a geographic preference for medical school, I would like to be in the Northeast for my residency/career.
Goals for School
I have been fortunate enough to do decently well in my undergraduate years due to my strong support network of friends and family. I would like to emulate this experience in medical school. I really hope to find a student body that is tight-knit, can have fun together, and will be my life long friends. I am less worried about the reputation of my school, but rather how happy I will be at the school.
I hate BS work and want the most free, unrestricted time for studying as possible.
I LOVE good public transportation.
Wash U
Pros -
Neutral -
Vanderbilt
Pros -
Cons -
Neutral -
Northwestern
Pros -
Cons -
Cornell (Waitlisted)
Pros -
Cons -
Sorry if I came off as pretentious in any way and that this post was OD long
Please help me, I have no idea what to do
If you do think Cornell is the best option for me, can you also give me what the second best option would be in case I don't get in there.
Career Goals
I am very interested in pursuing otolaryngology or urology, I definitely need more exposure to decide and am open to change.
I am much more inclined to enter private practice rather than academic medicine. I really appreciate the entrepreneurial aspect of private practice and the control you can have over your practice. Although I do not have a geographic preference for medical school, I would like to be in the Northeast for my residency/career.
Goals for School
I have been fortunate enough to do decently well in my undergraduate years due to my strong support network of friends and family. I would like to emulate this experience in medical school. I really hope to find a student body that is tight-knit, can have fun together, and will be my life long friends. I am less worried about the reputation of my school, but rather how happy I will be at the school.
I hate BS work and want the most free, unrestricted time for studying as possible.
I LOVE good public transportation.
Wash U
Pros -
- Highest ranked on USNews, historic top 5 program,
- From my research, it seems Wash U matches really well and has a TON of research opportunities/funding.
- The Barnes-Jewish hospital system is fantastic, level 1 trauma center and has an extremely large and diverse patient population.
- Forest Park is amazing!
- People have been saying Wash U will open up more doors in academic medicine (if I ever decide to pursue this path).
- St. Louis is not the most exciting city. I couldn’t find many things to do around campus. Anyone familiar with the Wash U area, are there a lot of good restaurants/happy hours/recreational activities in the area?
- The population there didn't seem to be as diverse as I'm used to. Public transport is alright.
- The students I met seemed to be a little socially awkward and I did not mesh well with. I have heard similar complains from various interviewees so I have been very cautious about this school but I have heard some positive things recently online.
- Wash U classrooms and some facilities seemed a little dated.
Neutral -
- The traditional 2 year curriculum seems to be a little archaic but it has been working for them. You get more time time to absorb classroom material for steps but less exposure to rotations/research -- not sure what to make of that.
Vanderbilt
Pros -
- This was the school I felt great about during the interview (but it was one of my first ones). All the students/faculty I met were extremely friendly and seemed to be tight-knit (I visited during college cup time). Even my fellow interviewees were very easy to get along with.
- Vanderbilt (self-claimed) apparently has the happiest students and I could see they were committed to student wellness (BIG deal for me).
- Great research opportunities, strong ENT/Urology department. Lot of new facilities (anatomy lab looks great!). Mentorship from faculty seems to be a big deal.
- Nashville is a beautiful city and Vandy's campus is very serene. Weather is beautiful, food options awesome Lot of live music and bars!
Cons -
- Vandy's small class size scares me a little, I'm used to big schools and diverse mindsets.
- I've read multiple times online that their classes are usually cliquey?
- Vandy's hospital system is good, but not top notch. I know they were having some budget issues and had to cut ancillary staff (which might affect rotations)
- The fact you go into rotations in the second year may not be conducive to making strong connections with your student body.
- Nashville is a cool city but it is a small city that seems to lack diversity.
- Public transport is almost non-existent I do not like country music.
- I am a South-East Asian man and am a little worried about moving to the South, but I understand this may be very ignorant of me.
Neutral -
- The one year pre-clinical curriculum seems to be very polarizing for people. Vandy students I talked to said they loved the fact that it allowed them to only receive the necessary info during pre-clinical and jump into clinical before they take STEP 1. The third year really allows you to tailor your resume to your speciality of choice as well.
- BUT, some people (not Vandy students) say that 1 year is way too intense and they are packing random lectures into your clinical during 2/3rd year.
Northwestern
Pros -
- NW facilities are beautiful, new, and shiny.
- Although they have a 2 year pre-clinical curriculum, they have cool integration of different elements of clinical education throughout the curriculum.
- The students I met were really friendly and engaging. They all seemed to be decently social as well!
- They match a LOT of urologists. L
- Lot of opportunities to do volunteer work
- Chicago has great public transportation, diverse population, and rivaled NYC in things to do/food. People in Chicago were really friendly and I could have long conversation with strangers.
Cons -
- The mandatory reflection of the curriculum seem to be unnecessary, but the current students told me they were getting reducing this a lot. P
- BL can be annoying and unproductive I feel. S
- tudents are spread out around Chicago since Streetsville is expensive.
- NW Memorial seems to take the "wealthier" patients and does not have that diverse of patient population. NW Memorial is also not a huge trauma center.
- Chicago can get SOO cold.
Cornell (Waitlisted)
Pros -
- Cornell, by far, had the nicest facilities. The school had amazing affiliations with hospitals.
- The 1.5 curriculum seemed to be working well and many school are moving towards this model.
- Faculty were very accomplished (but did seem a little cold).
- Two students I talked to online said the student-body was tightknit.
- I have dreamed of living in NYC since a little boy
- I know NYC pretty well, especially the GREAT subway system. The new 2nd ave line will make it easy for transport across the city.
- Cornell is a max hour train ride from my family and friends as well, by far the closest out of all these schools.
- Lot of Weill Cornell students match into NYC.
Cons -
- Some of the students at Cornell seemed a little pretentious.
- The weekly examination seem to be pretty annoying. PBL again, seems like a waste of time.
- The faculty who spoke seemed to be very matter of fact, didn't really engage with students on interview day.
- The UES is expensive and is definitely one of the quieter neighborhoods in Manhattan.
- I've heard Cornell students can be pretty competitive and the class is ranked, even thought it still P/F - really don't like that.
Sorry if I came off as pretentious in any way and that this post was OD long
Please help me, I have no idea what to do
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