Tulane vs South Alabama medical school HAVE TO CHOOSE BY MONDAY :(

[JaneSmith]

South Alabama (COA as of right now: 175k)
Pros

• cheaper by about 150k
• In state
• will be in much less debt at the end
• small class size of around 80 students (has a reputation for performing well during clinicals due to early exposure)
• small class size could also allow for more personal deans letter for match? idk?
• small class size could also help me stand out better
• reputation for collaboration between students and professors
• students pass step 1 and score well on step 2
• use in house exams and old step questions as exams
• H/P/F pre clinical and clinical

Cons

• Don't have all the speciality departments i might be interested in
• I'm not sure what I want to do (but think I want to do a more competitive/surgical specialty) and so I don't know if I would be able to figure it out/get there if I am at South and decide too late to do a more competitive specialty
• 2 year pre-clinical (I've heard it puts more pressure on getting away rotations which matter a lot to match where you want)
• I don't plan as of right now to go to residency in Alabama, so I don't know what connections South has outside of AL

Tulane (COA as of right now: 320k)
Pros

• Has department specialities I'm interested in
• Possibly more connections/opportunities than south
• big city with all big city benefits (food, big airport, things to do in free time) + very unique city
• heard that students are collaborative
• one of the bigger medical centers in the South
• want to match in the south east (but not necessarily Louisiana or Alabama) and feel that it's more common at tulane to match into a different state
• 1.5 year curriculum (I've heard helps with away rotations/clinical)
• large student run clinic network
• P/F pre-clincal, H/HP/P/F clincal

Cons

• very expensive (at least 150k more)
• If I choose to go into primary care I basically am in way more debt for no reason (only because south has a reputation of being good school for primary care)
• large class size (around 190 students) Less guidance/help from professors (I think, not positive) -- maybe less early clinical exposure due to being such a large medical center with nurses, residents, doctors, and other med students?
• Not sure what their Step exam pass rates are or how well they do on step 2 (but historically I've been a good student so don't see a problem here necessarily)
• could end up being a small fish in a big pond

Summary: I have to make my decision by tomorrow (monday) and I am really torn. If money wasn't a problem I would choose Tulane I think, but I also feel like South could set me up for success as well because of the collaboration between students and professors. I don't foresee myself going into primary care though and am not sure if I should go to South since many students after stay in AL and match into primary care (Which I don't want to do), although someone did match into plastics this year from South (I have shadowed and talked with my physicians from primary care to specialties and personally think I will do a surgical specialty).

lol if you have any insight please help!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[ByThe+C]

Tulane.

 

[JaneSmith]

Tulane.

If you have time could you elaborate a little on why Tulane even with the costs?

 

[ByThe+C]

Don't have all the speciality departments i might be interested in

I'm not sure what I want to do

and

I don't plan as of right now to go to residency in Alabama

These are your own cons. The amount you are saving now if you go to South AL is nowhere compared to the amount you would pay to match into your competitive desired specialty if you end up not matching due to the disadvantages of South AL. Having a home program in whatever specialty to want to go into is huge.

 

[JaneSmith]

and


These are your own cons. The amount you are saving now if you go to South AL is nowhere compared to the amount you would pay to match into your competitive desired specialty if you end up not matching due to the disadvantages of South AL. Having a home program in whatever specialty to want to go into is huge.

Thank you!

 

[Hollow Knight]

You'll still be able to pay your debt off if you match FM or IM. Unless you're dead set on primary care, I'd go to Tulane.

If you're dead set on rural FM for example, go to South AL

 

[Real McCoy]

South Alabama is a solid program with matches in basically every specialty. IMO, Tulane does not provide significantly more opportunities that would warrant double the cost of USA. However, see actual published results below to inform your decision.

South Alabama Match Results

Tulane Match Results

 

[Just D.O. it]

small class size could also allow for more personal deans letter for match? idk?

Not a realistic possibility. Deans letter is not a rec letter. It is usually a template with some academic statistics about your performance and yes/no check boxes about “academic and/or behavioral humps”.

In fact, in our school they literally told us “the dean’s letter is not meant to advocate for you”. It is meant to give a reflection of your relative performance and alert residencies to any red flags.

Your true rec letters will come from your clinical preceptors in your chosen field which doesn’t have much to do with class size and is more about rotation quality.

IMO the jump in prestige for Tulane is worth the 150k, it opens more doors to better specialties. If it were me, I would choose Tulane.