Washington University in St. Louis vs. UConn

[PB&Jam]

I'm not 100% sure which of these two schools I'd like to attend. The decision seems obvious from the outside, something that some of my fellow premeds here have pointed out–one school is my state school, the other is a different top 10 program. Of course I should choose the top 10, right? However, after my interview at those two schools, my gut reaction was that I liked the environment of the state school better. As time has gone on since I got acceptances to those two schools, I've started leaning towards WashU, because of the opportunities that school can provide. I've come up with a pros/cons list for each school to try to help me decide:

UConn
Pros:
-Lower ticket price
-Newer facilities
-I liked the "atmosphere" better
-Would be close to family, and to my friends who are still in undergrad

Could be pro or con:
-Familiar location (pro because I would be more comfortable/knowledgable about the area, con because I've lived in this state my whole life, and there's something to be said to getting out and experiencing something different)
-Not in a city (pro because I grew up and attended college in very rural areas, con because you have a much broader patient base in cities)
-I'll know people there (pro because I can be a bit awkward when it comes to meeting new people, con because I don't particularly like many of the premeds at my school who could go to the state school)

Cons:
-Less money for research and fewer research opportunities
-Less in the way of financial aid
-Fewer student groups, particularly for areas outside medicine
-Probably won't help me match into more competitive specialties (I'm obviously not sure what I want to do, but some specialties I'm interested are quite competitive, and I'd like a leg up)

WashU

Pros:
-More money available for financial aid/chance at hefty scholarships
-Extensive research opportunities and time carved out to pursue them
-Could give me a better chance of matching into competitive specialties as long as I do well
-Several student groups for medical and non-medical interests, for example, a medical-student-run musical (I play an instrument and would love to be in a pit orchestra again!)
-Opportunity to become certified in medical Spanish (I speak Spanish, and would like to work with, or at least be able to work with, the hispanic community)
-Numerous opportunities for service, like their free health clinic
-Very low CoL for a city
-Prestigious/recognized name
-My SO prefers the location, and it's closer to his home state and family (he's moving with me to wherever I go, so this is more an aside and less a decision-making factor)

Could be pro or con:
-In a medium-sized city (pro because there's a very diverse patient base there, con because I've never lived in a city and also I found the city to be kinda weird, and unlike cities near me)
-Different/unfamiliar location (Pro because it'll broaden my horizons, con because I won't have my family/friends nearby and I don't know the area at all)
-I won't know anyone there–I don't think anyone from my school has gone here before, at least in recent years (pro because I'll be able to start fresh with people who haven't known me for the past four years, con because I'm not always great at meeting new people)

Cons:
-Much higher initial ticket price
-Far from friends and family
-Older facilities in need of updating
-Didn't like the atmosphere as much
-I'm not sure how matching/anything after that works, but I don't really want to wind up in that region of the country for a long period of time
-It's in a state that's tends to be quite contrary to my political views and I'm not sure how that, combined with our current president, will affect me as a woman living there for 4+ years. (Although the city, like many cities, is more liberal)

I don't have financial aid information from either of these schools yet, and I feel like that's another factor I'll need before making a decision.

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[meep15]

The other thing to consider about UConn is their curriculum, from what I understand, it's almost entirely TBL / flipped classroom.

To echo your comments about the atmosphere though, I also had a wonderful experience during my interview (everyone just seemed happy and genuinely nice), plus everyone that I talked to at UConn *LOVED* it there. On the other hand, a friend (n=1) at WUSTL said she felt it very cutthroat and competitive. P.S. If you're interested in medical Spanish, UConn does have an Urban Service Track, which may allow you to work with Spanish-speaking patient populations.

I definitely don't know too much about matching etc, but I have heard that people generally stay in the same geographical regions as their schools (just by virtue of the connections they make during rotations), but that could be alleviated by high STEP 1 scores, and by setting up away rotations etc.

Hope this helps!

 

[Skenti]

It sounds like you have a much stronger support network in place at UCONN and also felt like you would be more comfortable there. To some extent it sounds like you want to go to UCONN and are trying to convince yourself out of it because of the acceptance from a top school. I think that's definitely a reasonable internal debate to have.

One thing to consider is that it's entirely possible you would be a better residency applicant coming from a lower tier school. Perhaps having a support network and feeling happy would boost your step 1 and grades enough that you would be more competitive than if you want to WashU. School prestige is important, but it's not even close to being the most important factor in matching. From what I've heard, the last place you trained is the most important. If you got into WashU, maybe you could be a superstar at UCONN and match into a great residency regardless. I'm facing a similar decision and this was something that I haven't seen talked about much.

Ultimately you should decide for yourself which is the best fit, but don't feel ridiculous for picking a cheaper lower ranked school where you would be happier. That being said, SDN tends to say cheaper is best and I don't think think thats always true either. I'm considering a cheaper rank 30 ish v a top 10 and I still haven't really figured out what to do about it.

Another thing to consider is career goals. If you want to be involved in academics/research you might be better off at Wash U. But again, I think being happy will bring the best out of you as a student, so I'd consider that the top priority.

 

[TSteezy]

Following this thread as well. I'm in a very similar situation (t10 v. cheaper in-state t30) and would like to know what others think.

 

[Señor S]

Depends on the actual cost difference but I would provisionally recommend WashU. I definitely would not worry about being stuck in the Midwest coming from WashU; schools like that have a national name.