applicant2785
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- Joined
- Sep 15, 2023
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The TLDR here is that I received a full scholarship to Baylor, and I think I would be crazy to turn that down. However, Duke and UCSF are dream schools and it feels impossible to say no to them. I hope to match into a competitive specialty (most likely ophthalmology).
Baylor:
Pros:
- $100k scholarship
- close to family / SO
- wonderful program with an insane medical center and thus ample access to research, mentorship, etc
- P/F pre-clinical
- 14 month pre-clinical
- really enjoyed my interview day and vibes of everyone I interacted with were 10/10
- seems like the school really supports you and wants you to succeed (ease you in the first semester, allow you to take exams twice, etc)
- lower cost of living
Cons:
- not P/F clinicals
- large class size (186)
- potential to be placed in Temple instead of Houston (if this happened, I think I would go to Duke/UCSF)
- no desire to live in Houston
Duke:
Pros:
- P/F all years --> this is huge for me and honestly hard to put a monetary value on the wellbeing this will bring me
- entire year dedicated to research (would alleviate the stress of needing to do research during other years in order to match into competitive specialty)
- I love Durham and NC
- I went to Duke and am very comfortable with the campus, hospital system, have connections there, etc
- all of the med students / faculty I have worked with from Duke are lovely
- really incredible ophthalmology program (ranked #4)
- prestige
- smaller class size (110)
- lower cost of living
Cons:
- extremely expensive (not sure what my financial aid / scholarship situation is yet, but it will certainly be much more than Baylor)
- Durham is not as big or diverse as Houston / SF, and I am not sure how that affects what we see during clinicals
- far from family / SO
UCSF:
Pros:
- completely P/F all years --> this is huge for me and honestly hard to put a monetary value on the wellbeing this will bring me
- clear emphasis on serving the underserved and SF's community, which is important to me
- preclinicals is 18 months
- incredible ophthalmology program (ranked #7)
- prestige
- SF would be a cool place to live
- 12 - 20 weeks dedicated to research project
- access to insane research and big emphasis on patient care
Cons:
- expensive (not sure what my financial aid / scholarship situation is yet, but it will certainly be much more than Baylor)
- high cost of living
- I am quite intimidated by the thought of living in SF
- far from family / SO
- bigger class (167)
I know it seems crazy to even be considering going somewhere else when I have a full scholarship to Baylor, but Duke and UCSF are both completely P/F and would make matching into a competitive specialty at a renowned institution easier. These two things are really important to me as well, so I am torn. Please help a girl out
EDIT: learned that Baylor is now P/F for all four years as well, which is a HUGE plus in my book. I am slightly concerned that they do not have the same level of prestige as other schools who do this (Duke and UCSF being 2 of those), which could be a problem, but maybe I am wrong about that
Baylor:
Pros:
- $100k scholarship
- close to family / SO
- wonderful program with an insane medical center and thus ample access to research, mentorship, etc
- P/F pre-clinical
- 14 month pre-clinical
- really enjoyed my interview day and vibes of everyone I interacted with were 10/10
- seems like the school really supports you and wants you to succeed (ease you in the first semester, allow you to take exams twice, etc)
- lower cost of living
Cons:
- not P/F clinicals
- large class size (186)
- potential to be placed in Temple instead of Houston (if this happened, I think I would go to Duke/UCSF)
- no desire to live in Houston
Duke:
Pros:
- P/F all years --> this is huge for me and honestly hard to put a monetary value on the wellbeing this will bring me
- entire year dedicated to research (would alleviate the stress of needing to do research during other years in order to match into competitive specialty)
- I love Durham and NC
- I went to Duke and am very comfortable with the campus, hospital system, have connections there, etc
- all of the med students / faculty I have worked with from Duke are lovely
- really incredible ophthalmology program (ranked #4)
- prestige
- smaller class size (110)
- lower cost of living
Cons:
- extremely expensive (not sure what my financial aid / scholarship situation is yet, but it will certainly be much more than Baylor)
- Durham is not as big or diverse as Houston / SF, and I am not sure how that affects what we see during clinicals
- far from family / SO
UCSF:
Pros:
- completely P/F all years --> this is huge for me and honestly hard to put a monetary value on the wellbeing this will bring me
- clear emphasis on serving the underserved and SF's community, which is important to me
- preclinicals is 18 months
- incredible ophthalmology program (ranked #7)
- prestige
- SF would be a cool place to live
- 12 - 20 weeks dedicated to research project
- access to insane research and big emphasis on patient care
Cons:
- expensive (not sure what my financial aid / scholarship situation is yet, but it will certainly be much more than Baylor)
- high cost of living
- I am quite intimidated by the thought of living in SF
- far from family / SO
- bigger class (167)
I know it seems crazy to even be considering going somewhere else when I have a full scholarship to Baylor, but Duke and UCSF are both completely P/F and would make matching into a competitive specialty at a renowned institution easier. These two things are really important to me as well, so I am torn. Please help a girl out
EDIT: learned that Baylor is now P/F for all four years as well, which is a HUGE plus in my book. I am slightly concerned that they do not have the same level of prestige as other schools who do this (Duke and UCSF being 2 of those), which could be a problem, but maybe I am wrong about that
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