I'm a pre-med, and I'm on the horns of a dilemma. I need some good advice from current residents and physicians.
Here's some background info that is relevant: I lived in Kansas City for 20 years, but I currently reside in Austin, Texas, where I did my undergrad. I'm a very diligent student and a hard worker. I'm a strong test taker, especially standardized tests (I have consistently scored in the 97th-98th percentile on standardized tests). I love Austin, and ultimately I would like to come back here--or, at the very least, somewhere in the South--to practice medicine.
I interviewed at Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Michigan Medical School, the University of Kansas School of Medicine, and Dartmouth Medical School. I have been accepted to Kansas and Michigan; I've yet to hear anything from Baylor and Dartmouth.
After my interview at Michigan (my last interview), I was so excited about the school that I decided to write a letter of intent, in which I described Michigan as my first choice and promised to attend if accepted. I signed, dated, and sent the letter on November 3rd. That same day I was notified via e-mail of my acceptance at Michigan, so the letter was not a factor in the Committee's decision.
At the present time, I have no intention of becoming an academic physician, because I had a bad experience in a basic research lab at UT Austin. Thus, I strongly suspect that research just isn't for me. However, I have yet to positively rule out the option of becoming an academic physician, because I've yet to experience clinical research and my experience with basic science research is quite limited. Even so, I am strongly leaning towards a career as a clinician in private practice.
Here's my dilemma: Having just finished Iserson's Getting Into a Residency and reflected some more on my career goals, I'm having second thoughts about Michigan. One major issue is the price tag--$50,000/yr to attend UMich as a nonresident. Granted, some of the costs will be defrayed by grants and, perhaps, nominal scholarhips. However, I will most likely graduate with an enormous debt...well over $100,000. If I were to attend the University of Kansas School of Medicine, I would almost certainly graduate with far less debt; indeed, given my academic credentials, it's quite likely that I will receive a substantial scholarship offer from KU. Even without any scholarship from KU, I would still graduate with $80,000-90,000 less debt relative to Michigan.
Another issue is residency placement. I am aware of the fact that residency location (e.g., Chicago) positively correlates with the location of private practice. In other words, if you do your residency in Chicago, it is HIGHLY likely that you will ultimately practice medicine in or near Chicago. This correlation makes sense--after all, residents make a lot of connections during their residency and, therefore, it's easier to find a job near the location of their teaching hospital(s).
I also understand that a disproportionate number of medical students stay at the teaching hospitals associated with their medical school for residency, or they do their residencies at nearby cities. The latter makes sense, particularly in the case of highly competitive specialities that require audition electives, because it's easier to establish connections with residency directors and attendings at nearby hospitals.
Thus the dilemma is this: Do I attend a top ten school or the University of Kansas School of Medicine (or, perhaps, Baylor)? In the former case, I would have a great safety net in terms of residency placement (U of M has a number of excellent residency programs and there are several great residency programs in Detroit and other nearby cities) and, perhaps, a slight edge in residency placement at "name" programs. But, in the process, I would graduate with an enormous debt, thereby pushing me into a more lucrative specialty. Moreover, I would most likely end up practicing in the North, simply because the statistical probability of my doing a residency in or near Michigan would be quite high. In the latter case, I would graduate with far less debt. But, in the process, I would have to break my promise to attend Michigan, and I would have to graduate with stellar numbers to break out of the Midwest for residency and, ultimately, private practice.
What should I do? I really need some good feedback on this issue.
Here's some background info that is relevant: I lived in Kansas City for 20 years, but I currently reside in Austin, Texas, where I did my undergrad. I'm a very diligent student and a hard worker. I'm a strong test taker, especially standardized tests (I have consistently scored in the 97th-98th percentile on standardized tests). I love Austin, and ultimately I would like to come back here--or, at the very least, somewhere in the South--to practice medicine.
I interviewed at Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Michigan Medical School, the University of Kansas School of Medicine, and Dartmouth Medical School. I have been accepted to Kansas and Michigan; I've yet to hear anything from Baylor and Dartmouth.
After my interview at Michigan (my last interview), I was so excited about the school that I decided to write a letter of intent, in which I described Michigan as my first choice and promised to attend if accepted. I signed, dated, and sent the letter on November 3rd. That same day I was notified via e-mail of my acceptance at Michigan, so the letter was not a factor in the Committee's decision.
At the present time, I have no intention of becoming an academic physician, because I had a bad experience in a basic research lab at UT Austin. Thus, I strongly suspect that research just isn't for me. However, I have yet to positively rule out the option of becoming an academic physician, because I've yet to experience clinical research and my experience with basic science research is quite limited. Even so, I am strongly leaning towards a career as a clinician in private practice.
Here's my dilemma: Having just finished Iserson's Getting Into a Residency and reflected some more on my career goals, I'm having second thoughts about Michigan. One major issue is the price tag--$50,000/yr to attend UMich as a nonresident. Granted, some of the costs will be defrayed by grants and, perhaps, nominal scholarhips. However, I will most likely graduate with an enormous debt...well over $100,000. If I were to attend the University of Kansas School of Medicine, I would almost certainly graduate with far less debt; indeed, given my academic credentials, it's quite likely that I will receive a substantial scholarship offer from KU. Even without any scholarship from KU, I would still graduate with $80,000-90,000 less debt relative to Michigan.
Another issue is residency placement. I am aware of the fact that residency location (e.g., Chicago) positively correlates with the location of private practice. In other words, if you do your residency in Chicago, it is HIGHLY likely that you will ultimately practice medicine in or near Chicago. This correlation makes sense--after all, residents make a lot of connections during their residency and, therefore, it's easier to find a job near the location of their teaching hospital(s).
I also understand that a disproportionate number of medical students stay at the teaching hospitals associated with their medical school for residency, or they do their residencies at nearby cities. The latter makes sense, particularly in the case of highly competitive specialities that require audition electives, because it's easier to establish connections with residency directors and attendings at nearby hospitals.
Thus the dilemma is this: Do I attend a top ten school or the University of Kansas School of Medicine (or, perhaps, Baylor)? In the former case, I would have a great safety net in terms of residency placement (U of M has a number of excellent residency programs and there are several great residency programs in Detroit and other nearby cities) and, perhaps, a slight edge in residency placement at "name" programs. But, in the process, I would graduate with an enormous debt, thereby pushing me into a more lucrative specialty. Moreover, I would most likely end up practicing in the North, simply because the statistical probability of my doing a residency in or near Michigan would be quite high. In the latter case, I would graduate with far less debt. But, in the process, I would have to break my promise to attend Michigan, and I would have to graduate with stellar numbers to break out of the Midwest for residency and, ultimately, private practice.
What should I do? I really need some good feedback on this issue.
