NSU MD vs. VCU

[nm1000]

NSU MD
Pros

• Family and friends live in Florida
• I think I would enjoy the smaller class size
• Much nicer area in my opinion/New campus
• Good rotations in South Florida with some in Central Florida

Cons

• New school with not much reputation or data
• Higher cost overall
• No cadaver lab
• I've heard bad things about NSU's medical programs from a few people but not sure what to believe

VCU
Pros

• New state/change of scenery
• Much more established school
• Higher match rates and scores
• Many rotations are located in Richmond
• P/F during preclinical years
• Many home residency programs

Cons

• Large class size
• Not the biggest fan of Richmond
• Staff has seemed unfriendly at times
• Far from any family/friends

Summary: I am very torn between the two. While I think VCU would offer me better career opportunities, I believe I would enjoy my personal experiences outside of medical school more at NSU. NSU just hasn't been around long enough for me to properly gauge if I would have equal opportunities there compared to VCU. VCU would be cheaper but since I would be an OOS student the total COL ends up being pretty close together. I probably missed some key information that would be helpful in my decisions so please let me know of any relevant factors that I should definitely be considering, Thank you!

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[thefirerisen]

VCU is a great school and will offer a superior education for less of a pricetag. Richmond is a really cool city and is up-and-coming in my humble opinion. Great arts/music scene, restaurants, malls/shopping, and museums.

 

[JungleTrouble]

I vote VCU

 

[smilesperhour]

Hey! I go to NSU MD. We do have a cadaver lab (an excellent one actually!) I can't speak for VCU because I know nothing about it, so I won't tell you which to pick, but here are some of the things that NSU does well. Our step scores and match rates are high, like well above national average high. Very few people fail step 1 (0 failed this year) and very few people soap. Of those that do need to soap, 0 have not matched in the three year history of the school's matches. We have a 100% match rate overall so to say VCUs is higher is definitely not true. All of that said, I'm so confident you can't go wrong with this choice and I hope you love medical school! Let me know if you have any questions.