Goodness, help me, I shouldn’t be falling in love with so many schools. To put it simply, I applied to Vanderbilt because I was interested in their Curriculum 2.0 (a 1 year preclinical, which was essentially unheard of in other schools) and the university’s emphasis on wellness. I left interview day absolutely enthralled with all that Vandy and Nashville had to offer.
After flying into BNA airport at 5:30pm, I was tired and dazed from the 6 hour flight. I used an Uber to get from the airport to my host’s apartment, and got a first hand taste of the famous Southern Hospitality. My Uber drove spent a lot of time welcoming me to Nashville, praising the city’s growth and culture, along with Vanderbilt’s resources and facilities. As I rode through town, I found my city and neighborhoods to be charming in that old-city style kind of way. There were clusters of store and shops, but they weren’t as crowded as ones in Baltimore or Hyde Park. Housing was very…Southern, yet spacious. I was lucky to visit when they weather was “atypical and ideal,” but the bright sun and cool breeze had me super pleasantly surprised.
I arrived at my host’s space, and we talked for a little bit before I left to attend an informal dinner that the MS1s had set up. Nashville, I was told repeatedly, was super affordable in comparison to bustling cities like LA, Chicago, or NYC. “The money that you use to live in like…a box, near Columbia, could easily get you a 1 bedroom apartment here,” one of the MS1s enthused. Indeed, my host and her roommate hair a 2 story townhouse, 2 bed/1.5 bath, for about $800 a month, and she lives about 5 minutes from campus. MS1s, who tend to cluster a bit further on 24th and Fairfax, easily share a space for $500-$650/month each. The farther away from campus, the cheaper and larger the space. Since Vandy has its own medical complex and is close to a particular set of shops and stores, cars aren’t necessary (though always convenient), and my MS4 host doesn’t have one.
Dinner was a nice, casual affair, and I was enjoyed how collegiate it all felt. It was the kind of relaxed, down to earth, genuinely fun (and funny) environment that I only felt at Pritzker, and I think that’s a very good sign! Jackson’s Bar and BIstro served all day brunch and Souther cuisine, and throughout the dinner the MS1s would not stop raving about how much they loved the school, C2.0, and their class. Like Pritzker, UCI (?), and Hopkins, Vandy sorts their class of 88 students into 4 colleges, where the student learn about ethical dilemmas and get close mentorship as well as career advising. Also, Vandy also promotes the big/little system within the colleges, creating a close and strong network of peer-on-peer mentorship and families. To me, this support system sounds astounding, and it really illustrates how student-centered Vanderbilt is. The whole night just made me that much more excited for interview day!
The next morning, my host walked me to the admissions office just in time for their small breakfast: bundt cake (?) and coffee. As a sweet tooth, I was pleased (heehee). While the applicants were all talking and introducing ourselves, the Director of Admissions came out and spoke to all of each individually, asking about our stay, whether we’ve been to Nashville, etc. It was really one of the warmest welcomes from a medical school by far. I think everyone was really surprised by how genuinely nice people are here.
After breakfast, we listened to a brief presentation from the Co-Director of Admissions about Vandy, Nashvillle, and their culture. It’s interesting to here how much Vandy has changed over the years (the Co-Director was a VUSM alumna), and I grew more and more interested about Curriculum 2.0. Following the short welcome, which emphasized C2.0, Nashville, the Colleges, and Wellness at Vandy, we all split apart to attend our interviews. Vanderbilt has 2 interviews: 1 closed file for 30 minutes, and 1 open file for 45 minutes-1 hour. Both are with faculty, who after the interview, write up a description/impression of the applicant for the admissions committee.
I think (I hope?) my interviews went alright. I was told the night before that the short behavioral interview may get stressful, since the point is to bombard me with one question after another, but I didn’t find myself being too stressed at all. I was veyr fortunate, actually, that I was able to pull from my RA experience almost exclusively to answer questions. It was actually pretty fun, especially since my interviewer had been an RA in her undergraduate years as well. She did have a list of 8-9 questions that she had to answer, and jotted notes of my responses throughout, which I didn’t mind.
As for my long interview…I don’t know what to make of it really. I mean, I think it went well, since we were able to engage in conversation, but I was really only asked 3-4 questions that didn’t really pertain to my application (i.e. How do you handle stress? My answer: I eat a lot of junk/sweet food or talk it out.) and the rest of the time was spent talking about Vanderbilt history and Nashville’s social climate. I wasn’t sure if he wanted to know me as a applicant, or wanted to see if I would fit into the culture of Nashville. Nevertheless, I genuinely enjoyed our conversation, and I really grateful to hear of how progressive Nashville seems to be, even in the South, and how it’s gradually opening itself to conversation and dialogue about gentrification, poverty, and health disparities. Hopefully, my interviewer was able to grasp my sense of excitement?! I was a bit thrown back when he asked me what other schools I applied to, “out of curiosity,” and I answered pretty broadly (“I applied everywhere: CA, Northeast, the South”). I then spent the next few minutes trying to reassure him that while my parents would love for me to stay in California, I don’t hold as a deep a love, and am definitely open to living and exploring another part of the US, as long a the enviroment is progressive, open to discussion about diversity and social issues. I’ll take it as a good sign when he said, “I think you’ll fit in well here in Nashville then.” Whelp, we’ll see how this pans out, haha!
After both of my interviews, I was able to explore the school for about 15 minutes before we all gathered back in the admissions office for a presentation about Curriculum 2.0. And let me just say that I am sold. Curriculum 2.0 boasts a 1-year preclinical, allowings MS2s to do their core clerkships for a year (for P/F!!) before taking Step 1. This not only helps them score better on the board (which has gotten increasingly clinical-heavy), but also frees up years MS3 and MS4 for the Immersion Phase. In short: a truly personalized educational experience. Research is mandatory for 3 months, but want to extend it to a year? Go ahead. Want to do away rotations, even internationally? Sure! A dual degree? Awesome. Want to explore a specialty further in order to maximize your residency application? Excellent. Grading is all competency based, and the Immersion years are graded as H/HP/P/F, which is fine, since you should be doing well in the courses you want to take anyway, right? Honestly, this seems like such an amazing system. Throughout the 4 years, students also meet up with a portfolio coach who guides them through the various medical competencies and helps them prime their application for residency. To me, that level of mentorship is astounding, and it made me fall in love with Vandy that much more.
I think it was also during this moment when I had a very strong realization about my cycle and medicine: I want, above all else, to attend a school that truly supports its students. I can become a doctor at any school, but I want a school that thinks about its students, about how it can support the students’ professional and personal goals, and a school that treats us like we matter. Brand names may or may not offer that. Cost may or may not reflect that. And location certainly has not play in this. I thank Vandy because it’s taught me to really think beyond what I know about the school and really hone in on its culture, curriculum, and care.
Following the C2.0 lecture, we all gathered in the student lounge for lunch, where our tour guides and student table hosts talked about their experiences and favorite things about Vanderbilt. We had a tour of the medical campus shortly afterwards, and I was really happy to see that Vandy host a bunch of medical centers sprawled around the admissions building. Everything is walking distance, and the med students get to see a wide range of patients, from the very wealthy to the local poor. Vandy Hospital is a Level 1 trauma center in the region, so a lot of Pts end up flying in for care. To me, that’s awesome, knowing that I would be seeing more than just “standard” cases.
Once everyone was done with their tours, we all gathered for a tour of the Center for Experiential Learning and Assessment (CELA, aka the SimLab). It was the first time I was able to explore a SimLab in depth, and while the manniquines kind of freak me out (joy…), I appreciated the experience. The rest of the afternoon was devoted to a series of short presentations and panels: a student panel in which the students all raved about the school, a presentation on Vandy’s committment to diversity, and a closing remarks presentation. It was during this time that we received “the essentials:” what happens next. As stated earlier, the interviewers will write a report of the applicant to be sent to the admissions committee. The admissions committee will meet as soon as October to beginning discussing interviewed candidates, and decisions are made in either mid-December or mid-Februrary (regardless of when you interview). There will also be a meeting with the Dean regarding financial aid, but for now, any merit scholarship offers will be made with acceptance. Scholarship offers are determined by a separate committee, using the pool of accepted students. Last year, about 50% of accepted applicants received a 75% scholarship, and this year 6 full tuition scholarship offers (WHUT) will also be made…that is, if the Deans gives his blessing haha!
All in all, I’m completely in love with what Vanderbilt has to offer: the support, the collegiate feel, the curriclum and flexibility. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for an answer in mid-December. Honestly, an acceptance here would be a dream come true!