I'm leaning towards UF right now because
1) The faculty and staff are all very engaging and willing to help
2) UF students really only need to know what their lecturers tell them and the information that's in their class powerpoints, so UF students don't have to teach themselves from books
3) As a UF grad, I'd be a lot more likely to get a residency spot that I'd want: 70-80% of UF students get their first choice in the match
4) The students who I met at UF seemed a lot less stressed. They knew that they were being taught the things they needed to know to become competent physicians and to ace the USMLE, and
5) UF students have a reputation for being well-prepared for residency. That alone is enough to win me over, because (of course) I really want to be well-prepared for residency.
My only concern is the money, but by living pretty frugally and applying for extra scholarships, I can probably get my UF debt down to about $220,000 instead of $250,000.
Using this debt repayment calculator, I figured a few things out.
http://www.money4medstudents.org/moneydoctor.asp?id=224&page=2
If I attend UF, I'll have around $220,000 of debt, which will have about a 6.8% interest rate on average. If I just pay off the interest while I'm in residency, that'll be $1246 per month*, which seems manageable enough.
After residency, if I do a 10 year repayment plan:
Monthly payment: $2531.77
Amount payed in the end: $303,812.07 plus the amount payed in interest over residency ($44,880 if I just do a three year residency; $89,760 if I do a three year fellowship afterward).
If I did the same thing for FIU: I'd start out with $152,000 debt with a 6.8% interest rate. Paying off just the interest would cost $861.33 per month during residency.
After residency, if I do a 10 year repayment plan:
Monthly payment: $1,749.22
Amount payed in the end: $209,906.52 plus the amount payed in interest over residency ($31008 if I just do a three year residency; $62,016 if I do a three year fellowship afterward).
So, assuming I did a short three year residency, I'd pay $107,778 more for a degree from UF. If I did an additional three year fellowship, I'd pay $121,650 more for a degree from UF.
Well, if I go to FIU, I'm more likely to have to scramble, which makes me more likely to waste a year doing residency training in a field I don't care about. That would mean I'd spend an extra year in residency, which means I could essentially lose a year of physician salary. I think that makes UF worth the total $107K to $121K difference. Sure, most people don't have to scramble, but I think it's worth it for the extra security.
*Is paying $1246 per month on interest feasible on a resident's salary? Based on this case study, I think so:
http://www.studentdoctor.net/2010/08/case-study-drowning-in-student-debt/
If I'm living in a low-cost-of-living area (which I'm more likely to be able to do as a UF grad, considering UF's match statistics), I could be paying $400/month for rent instead of $1330 for a mortgage. That frees up $930 for loan repayment. I also have a car that's in great condition, so I won't need to make car payments. That frees up $350 more (total free for payments: $1280).
Short answer: yes, it's possible.
Thoughts?
I wouldn't worry about this too much. Whether or not you have to scramble will depend much more on your performance and how you apply than what med school you went to.
