2009-2010 University of Arizona Application Thread

[jturkel]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I want to go! Can current MS's join you guys? Sounds like fun to put faces with your names!

definitely! the more the merrier! and we can then get your perspective on medical school regardless of it being Tucson vs Phoenix or even U of A...and yah, match faces to the names!

should be a fun time meeting everyone. perhaps we should post this over in the allopathic thread to see if anyone else over there would be interested?

 

[Brrooother]

I'll add myself as a "maybe" and get back to you guys... but I have been meaning to check out Four Peaks ever since I moved here last July!

Location: Four Peaks Brewery

Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?um=1&ie...ocal_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CAkQnwIwAA

Website: http://www.fourpeaks.com/ (note...its the tempe location)

Date: Friday, April 30th, 2010

Time: 9 PM

if you are interested in going, please add your name to the list

List of People
Jturkel
EHandber
SmokeyGray
2 LEGIT 2 QUIT - maybe
Brrooother - maybe

 

[MadeInReydn]

So here's the plot with an estimated landing zone. One thing I didn't mention is that nonlocality's trendlines ending at 47-60 were for the landing zone of mid June - not the date of matriculation. Meaning, we could expect a small amount of movement after hitting that point. These were made before we reached 23, so that may boost the prediction a little - but that still depends on whether or not we've hit THE period of most movement, and numbers pulled now is just early May movement.

So MedHopeful, even if the rate of decline through May is as bad as it was in 2007, you'll still be fine. For me, on the other hand, I need a decline rate similar to 2008 or 2009 to stand a fighting chance.

 

[MadeInReydn]

Dang, I wish I could meet up with you guys. Because I wont make it, here's my mug shot as I started freshman year . . . I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't recognize me later, I've gained lots of 'wisdom' in the forms of 20 pounds, scruff, and drooping eye lids Hopefully a lot of that 'wisdom' will be undone as I kick my workout into high gear during the summer (maybe I could even start resembling shep a little). In a few weeks I'll be back in 'Zona, and could potentially join you guys 🙂

Sorry, I've got more work to do, but I'll contribute to the pros/cons of each campus discussion tomorrow. 😀

 

[MadeInReydn]

Just called Tucson for an update and we are at #23 (specialK32's spot) 🙂

Hey, thanks for calling MedHopeful. What do you say we trade off? You call Mondays and I'll call Thursdays? My summer will be very flexible, so let me know if you want to switch that or something.

Almost forgot, using the 2009 2nd trendline gives a very similar result to 2008, maybe 59 or 58. I'm guessing our 2nd trendline this year will be slightly more shallow than 2009, but with a better start.

 

[lrkoehle]

I agree with this. The presentations by the faculty were actually pretty boring (other than that one funny guy). Infact, I looked over at my dad and saw him nodding off a couple of times. I really don't understand why they chose do present the information this way when there are many people still undecided about the school.

The current students were the ones who were effectively selling the school. I went on a tour with several current students, and they were great!

Meeting more current students, matriculating students, and SDNers at the restaurant/bar was definitely the best part. It am relieved knowing that I will be in school with really fun and interesting people! I got the feeling that medical school can actually be fun and will be a great life experience. Although, I must say, I was dissapointed that I didn't get to meet lrkoehle (Erik pointed you out to me, so I looked for you like 5 minutes later and you were gone!)

After Friday's events, one thing was clear. We must have a four peaks outing! Jturkle has not tried the Italian beef beer bread sandwich...tragic if you ask me!

I'm glad to hear your dad was falling asleep during the powerpoint of the curriculum; I thought I was the only one...although it probably would have been worse for me to fall asleep since I was sitting in the very front of the room. Its like Dwight from the Office says, "Powerpoint is boring." Seriously though, they should restructure second look and not present the info like that. I would have preferred more time walking around campus with current students seeing more of the school (my tour was quite short) and I would have especially liked to have been shown around the hospital a little. I still have never been in UMC...UA is the only school I interviewed at where they didn't take the students into the hospitals. I understand at Phoenix, because we would have had to caught a bus to get to the nearest one, but at Tucson there is no excuse.

Sorry I left so early. My wife had an interview early Friday morning and we were both up later than we should have been the night before, so I was quite tired. Plus, I don't really eat bar food, so I had to go get some real food so I didn't die. Anyways, we'll get to meet at a later date for sure. Who knows, maybe my wife and I will have people come over to our place down in Tucson before school starts...that is assuming we find a place in Tucson, which at this point seems a ways off.

i say we should set up a date/time where we can all meet up and talk about UA COM, get some drinks, and i can have this beer bread italian beef sandwich lol....

I prefer Friday nights......how does everyone feel about that? Would this upcoming Friday night (April 30th) work for everyone? Say, 9 pm? Accepted, Waitlisted, Rejected....whoever wants to come....wuddya all say?

I can try to make it. 9 pm is past my bedtime...well, not quite, but its about 8:30 right now and I'm exhausted.

I've got to agree that Tucson needs to step up on recruiting students and selling their school. I went down there for an individual "second look" because I wasn't able to make it to the real one, and all they had me do was sit in lecture for 3 hours.... I didn't expect anything formal, but I thought they would have more scheduled. That was really frustrating because I drove all the way down there just to listen to a lecture and left feeling like I wasted my day.

I think Tucson is very very inexperienced in selling themselves, because they've never had to. Phoenix had to sell themselves in order to get people to come to their brand new campus instead of the older more established one, so they have some experience. Tucson is probably just used to being "the state school," so there was never any reason to sell themselves. If you wanted to stay instate it was Tucson or nursing school. Then Phoenix came around, but since they were new Tucson still had a corner on the market. Now that they want to bring in OOS, I think they need to do a better job. Plus, with tuition increasing faster than the universe is expanding UA is not as much of the cheap in-state route either.


Location: Four Peaks Brewery

Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?um=1&ie...ocal_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CAkQnwIwAA

Website: http://www.fourpeaks.com/ (note...its the tempe location)

Date: Friday, April 30th, 2010

Time: 9 PM

if you are interested in going, please add your name to the list

List of People
Jturkel
EHandber
SmokeyGray
2 LEGIT 2 QUIT - maybe
Brrooother - maybe
lrkoehle - maybe

I might make it, but my wife and I have been trying to find a home to buy in Tucson which is draining us, so maybe not...

 

[shepardsun]

Location: Four Peaks Brewery

Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?um=1&ie=...ed=0CAkQnwIwAA

Website: http://www.fourpeaks.com/ (note...its the tempe location)

Date: Friday, April 30th, 2010

Time: 9 PM

if you are interested in going, please add your name to the list

List of People
Jturkel
EHandber
SmokeyGray
2 LEGIT 2 QUIT - maybe
Brrooother - maybe
lrkoehle - maybe
Shepardsun (Jeff)

I'll definitely stop by and have a drink or two but it may be within the context of a bar crawl. Now that my thesis is done with Coleman is unleashed upon the town!

 

[MedHopeful777]

Hey, thanks for calling MedHopeful. What do you say we trade off? You call Mondays and I'll call Thursdays? My summer will be very flexible, so let me know if you want to switch that or something.

Almost forgot, using the 2009 2nd trendline gives a very similar result to 2008, maybe 59 or 58. I'm guessing our 2nd trendline this year will be slightly more shallow than 2009, but with a better start.

Mondays work great for me if you want to trade off! I will be flexible all summer as well.

I still have my hopes that we are just going to keep running through the wait list and hit 61! Especially with all this talk about 2nd look day being not as impressive as it could have been, maybe that will help some non-SDN out-of-staters decide to go to their home schools.

 

[nasappah]

I'm kind of in the reverse boat of you.....i'm considering my IS option as this one and my OOS option which is a private school on the east school....but i'm leaning towards Arizona b/c i am confident i will be happier there....and IMO, if you are happy, you can be successful.[/QUOTE]


I'm not out of state, so I can't answer most of those questions, but I can say that you would definitely be warmly welcomed by all in state students (ok maybe just one kick me sign on the first day... just kidding!). [/QUOTE]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the feedback. I would also hope that accepting some students from other area will add to the diversity of the class. I can't believe May 15 is almost here. What a year.

 

[Ilovewater]

Anyone know when financial aid package is coming out?

 

[lrkoehle]

Anyone know when financial aid package is coming out?

It seems like never...this would have been a nice thing for them to have addressed at second look.

 

[mathlink]

Sorry to keep popping up when I don't really belong here since I won't be going to UofA for medical school, but I read somewhere in my research about Ross that financial aid awards are delivered as early as three months before the start of class. Not sure if that is a school-specific thing or not.

From what I understand, actual funds are disbursed around 10-14 days prior to the beginning of a semester. Again, not sure if that is school-specific or universal for the FFEL program.

 

[MedHopeful777]

Sorry to keep popping up when I don't really belong here since I won't be going to UofA for medical school, but I read somewhere in my research about Ross that financial aid awards are delivered as early as three months before the start of class. Not sure if that is a school-specific thing or not.

From what I understand, actual funds are disbursed around 10-14 days prior to the beginning of a semester. Again, not sure if that is school-specific or universal for the FFEL program.

Don't be silly mathlink! You know you are always welcome here!

 

[MadeInReydn]

Sorry to keep popping up when I don't really belong here since I won't be going to UofA for medical school, but I read somewhere in my research about Ross that financial aid awards are delivered as early as three months before the start of class. Not sure if that is a school-specific thing or not.

From what I understand, actual funds are disbursed around 10-14 days prior to the beginning of a semester. Again, not sure if that is school-specific or universal for the FFEL program.

Yeah, mathlink, you DO belong here as far as we're concerned 😀

 

[ASUBME]

Location: Four Peaks Brewery

Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?um=1&ie=...ed=0CAkQnwIwAA

Website: http://www.fourpeaks.com/ (note...its the tempe location)

Date: Friday, April 30th, 2010

Time: 9 PM

if you are interested in going, please add your name to the list

List of People
Jturkel
EHandber
SmokeyGray
2 LEGIT 2 QUIT - maybe
Brrooother - maybe
lrkoehle - maybe
Shepardsun (Jeff)
ASUBME

 

[Phosphorus Ylide]

Dear UA-Phoenix,

You forgot to accept me off of the waitlist today. No worries. Tomorrow will be just fine.

Thanks,

Phos

 

[Indiana06]

Hi everyone,
I'm wondering if some of the OOS folks that plan on coming to Arizona next year chose U of A for curriculum/patient population reasons over their state school? I hesitate to admit, I am from California. I have been reluctant to post here that although I am lucky enough to have some in state choices, Arizona is looking like a front-runner at the moment (mind you, I am #39 in Tucson, so far from accepted) I have in-laws here, and as my wife is making a commitment to be somewhere with me for 4 years (or more) I weigh heavily her interests and job-opportunities. I found the flexibility of the CUP program to be really attractive, as well as the clinical opportunities with refugees. Also, I got a good vibe from the students and faculty that I didn't get anywhere else I interviewed. Do any of you remember someone mentioning a statistic about Arizona med students being the happiest? Maybe I made that up🙂 Bottom line for me is that I really liked my interview experiences in Arizona (especially Tucson).

I realize this is a thread for those waiting to get in, and therefore hoping others will decline their acceptances, so an unbiased answer might be hard to come by. I must also say, I am a bit curious how the OOS students will be accepted (ie: kick me signs and trash canning🙂) I'm just curious about how some might feel about Arizona in the context of other med schools, especially if you are considering options outside of Arizona.

Sorry if you guys are over this conversation ... but I am OOS going to phx next year. I was accepted to my state school in Iowa, which is a really good school and way cheaper but I'm choosing ua because I can't stand the thought of another winter in Iowa and I want to be near family in arizona. I feel good about this decision because, like you, I got a really good vibe from the school and I think overall I'll be way happier. I say go with what your gut tells you... many others would probably say go with what is cheapest.

 

[SurfdudeJD]

Hey guys, it's been a little bit since I've been on SDN (still recovering from my celebrations about getting accepted), but wanted to see if anyone could give me the link to the UA accepted thread... can't seem to find it anywhere!

Also, anyone know what # the WL is up to? I've got my fingers crossed for each of you, and hope to meet you as classmates this year!

 

[ehandber]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=693205

And thanks!

 

[MadeInReydn]

I suppose the karma and futterwacken didn't work . . . Here's to another day! 😎

I agree with you Indiana, but my gut must have indigestion or something cuz I'm not getting any clear signals! 🙂 Maybe it would help to actually be accepted.

SurfDude, on Monday we were at 23. I'm going to call tomorrow to get another count. Thanks for the well wishes!

Suns need to close out the series tomorrow 😀

 

[nasappah]

Sorry if you guys are over this conversation ... but I am OOS going to phx next year. I was accepted to my state school in Iowa, which is a really good school and way cheaper but I'm choosing ua because I can't stand the thought of another winter in Iowa and I want to be near family in arizona. I feel good about this decision because, like you, I got a really good vibe from the school and I think overall I'll be way happier. I say go with what your gut tells you... many others would probably say go with what is cheapest.

Thanks. I agree. My vibe will be even better if they can get a good recruiting class for the basketball team. I wanted to also mention that I appreciate the positivity and cohesiveness of this forum. All are not like this, from what I have seen.

Since I am really only considering Tucson, I wanted to let you guys know that I am going to release my spot of the PHX waitlist. Good luck to everyone and thanks again for the feedback.

 

[MadeInReydn]

Thanks. I agree. My vibe will be even better if they can get a good recruiting class for the basketball team. I wanted to also mention that I appreciate the positivity and cohesiveness of this forum. All are not like this, from what I have seen.

Since I am really only considering Tucson, I wanted to let you guys know that I am going to release my spot of the PHX waitlist. Good luck to everyone and thanks again for the feedback.

Thanks for letting us know! 😀 It's interesting that some other forums may not be as cohesive - I think it may be a testament to the friendliness of UA's current and future students, and the non- or minimally competitive nature of the school/campuses.

 

[bminz]

Thanks for letting us know! 😀 It's interesting that some other forums may not be as cohesive - I think it may be a testament to the friendliness of UA's current and future students, and the non- or minimally competitive nature of the school/campuses.

I couldn't agree with that more. All the UA studenrs I have met seem to be great. The school really has that family feel, espically at Phoenix with the smaller class size.

 

[MadeInReydn]

Mondays work great for me if you want to trade off! I will be flexible all summer as well.

I still have my hopes that we are just going to keep running through the wait list and hit 61! Especially with all this talk about 2nd look day being not as impressive as it could have been, maybe that will help some non-SDN out-of-staters decide to go to their home schools.

Sounds good - let's plan on that. I'll call Thursdays. 🙂

 

[Ilovewater]

Just in case anyone wanted to know, I called the financial aid office today, and they said the financial packages won't be sent out until mid to late May because they are really backed up. Also, scholarship notifications will also be later than that...and possibly closer to when school starts.

 

[jturkel]

Just in case anyone wanted to know, I called the financial aid office today, and they said the financial packages won't be sent out until mid to late May because they are really backed up. Also, scholarship notifications will also be later than that...and possibly closer to when school starts.

awesome. my decision comes down to financial aid and they won't release it until then? greeeat

thanks for checking in on that though. much appreciated! 👍

 

[lrkoehle]

awesome. my decision comes down to financial aid and they won't release it until then? greeeat

thanks for checking in on that though. much appreciated! 👍

You should have done like me and prematurely declined all of your acceptances, except Tucson. Then you wouldn't have any decisions to worry about...sure, you might wonder what might have been, but aren't those regrets worth it?

 

[Ilovewater]

awesome. my decision comes down to financial aid and they won't release it until then? greeeat

thanks for checking in on that though. much appreciated! 👍

You're welcome. I was also waiting on that to make my decision.

 

[jturkel]

so i just got accepted to one of my top choices......my decision will be pending the financial aid info i should get in the mail over the next couple of days, which will more than likely favor that school. i just wanted to inform you guys that i will likely be withdrawing my Tucson spot and hope that one of you awesome SDNers gets it when the time comes.

but don't worry.....the Four Peaks event on Friday night is still on. lol.

 

[MedcatHouse]

Just in case anyone wanted to know, I called the financial aid office today, and they said the financial packages won't be sent out until mid to late May because they are really backed up. Also, scholarship notifications will also be later than that...and possibly closer to when school starts.

Unbelievable, U of A.... Don't get me wrong, I like the school, but they seem so indifferent to drawing students in or embellishing their institution. The interview day, at times, seemed so lethargic and inattentive. Admittedly, the vibrant personalities of the students caught my eye since interview day--much to U of A's fortune, I'm glad the students picked up the slack. I'm almost glad I couldn't go to the 2nd look, and not be disappointed further. Other schools really make an effort to sell themselves. Imagine that!

Alright...end rant...lol, see you guys in August

 

[shepardsun]

so i just got accepted to one of my top choices......my decision will be pending the financial aid info i should get in the mail over the next couple of days, which will more than likely favor that school. i just wanted to inform you guys that i will likely be withdrawing my Tucson spot and hope that one of you awesome SDNers gets it when the time comes.

but don't worry.....the Four Peaks event on Friday night is still on. lol.

UCLA? Regardless, congrats man!

 

[MadeInReydn]

so i just got accepted to one of my top choices......my decision will be pending the financial aid info i should get in the mail over the next couple of days, which will more than likely favor that school. i just wanted to inform you guys that i will likely be withdrawing my Tucson spot and hope that one of you awesome SDNers gets it when the time comes.

but don't worry.....the Four Peaks event on Friday night is still on. lol.

Congrats! Thanks for potentially freeing up a spot 😀

 

[jturkel]

UCLA? Regardless, congrats man!

no. i'm WL at UCLA, which is my overall top choice. I got into Baylor (BCM) today and it is in my top 3 or so (i've got it tied with WUSTL for 3rd on my personal ranking list). I really like it and it will likely be less expensive for me to attend there, which would be awesome. UCLA is still my top choice

Congrats! Thanks for potentially freeing up a spot 😀

my pleasure! it will likely be freed up early next week, as i should be getting my packet from this school probably this Friday or Saturday.

 

[2 LEGIT 2 QUIT]

Sorry if you guys are over this conversation ... but I am OOS going to phx next year. I was accepted to my state school in Iowa, which is a really good school and way cheaper but I'm choosing ua because I can't stand the thought of another winter in Iowa and I want to be near family in arizona. I feel good about this decision because, like you, I got a really good vibe from the school and I think overall I'll be way happier. I say go with what your gut tells you... many others would probably say go with what is cheapest.

I definitely don't blame you for wanting to come to Arizona. The midwest winters are awful, AZ will be a nice change for you. If you get pulled from the Tucson WL are you considering going there?

-MCH

 

[lrkoehle]

but don't worry.....the Four Peaks event on Friday night is still on. lol.

Whoa whoa whoa, who said you're still invited??? Ok, you're still invited...

no. i'm WL at UCLA, which is my overall top choice. I got into Baylor (BCM) today and it is in my top 3 or so (i've got it tied with WUSTL for 3rd on my personal ranking list). I really like it and it will likely be less expensive for me to attend there, which would be awesome. UCLA is still my top choice

Big time congrats. Save the money anywhere you can! I am kind of pissed that I didn't apply to more schools, especially ones like Baylor with nice financial aid packages. Heck, the only school I applied to with decent financial aid was Mayo. Again, congrats and good luck in Texas...god knows that state is in better condition that AZ right now.

 

[shepardsun]

Again, congrats and good luck in Texas...god knows that state is in better condition that AZ right now.

Good lord, whoever thought that would be the case? And yet it's true.

 

[ehandber]

White Russians > Extra Credit for Evolution class, ya? 😎

Booya.

So, nobody gave me more ideas for summer. Right now I am thinking maybe I will just drive to a random town in Wyoming or Montana and try to rent a room, then live there on credit as cheaply as I can (maybe find a temp job doing whatever) and sit at home and read and practice guitar/harmonica.

What do you think?

 

[MedHopeful777]

Sounds fun to me! My summer is going to consist of work and playing my guitar in the evenings. Oh yeah and did I mention constantly checking this forum ha ha!

White Russians > Extra Credit for Evolution class, ya? 😎

Booya.

So, nobody gave me more ideas for summer. Right now I am thinking maybe I will just drive to a random town in Wyoming or Montana and try to rent a room, then live there on credit as cheaply as I can (maybe find a temp job doing whatever) and sit at home and read and practice guitar/harmonica.

What do you think?

 

[San Marzano]

Good lord, whoever thought that would be the case? And yet it's true.

Texas is one of the most, if not the most, economically sound states in the US. Not to mention it still only costs an average of under $12,000 for IS tuition to one of their SEVEN MEDICAL SCHOOLS. Their OOS tuition rate is even cheaper than AZ's IS now that we decided to raise it almost 20% this year.

Not to bash Arizona, but you can't help but be envious of a state whose medical school tuition is less than half of what your home state charges.

 

[jturkel]

Texas is one of the most, if not the most, economically sound states in the US. Not to mention it still only costs an average of under $12,000 for IS tuition to one of their SEVEN MEDICAL SCHOOLS. Their OOS tuition rate is even cheaper than AZ's IS now that we decided to raise it almost 20% this year.

Not to bash Arizona, but you can't help but be envious of a state whose medical school tuition is less than half of what your home state charges.

yup. instate at BCM is 6500 and OOS is 19,650. its unbelievable. shame.

i did some number crunching. according to both AZ COM data and BCM data:

looking at the costs for current MS1s at Baylor:

1st yr as Non Resident:

Tuition, Fees,: 19,650 + 8,278 = 27,928

2nd-4th yr as Resident (establish residency after first yr):

Tuition, Fees: 6,500 + 8,278 = 14,778

Living expenses, 11 months (rent, utilities, food, personal expenses/laptop, transportation) = 22,649

so 1st yr, Cost of Attendance is like: 57,461. (they have a very high estimate for books and some other things) but subsequent yrs its 44,361.....and again, thats for 11 months, not 10 months.

U of A:

Tuition + Fees for incoming MS1s is like 26.2k.
PLUS living expenses (over 10 months, baylor is over 11), cost of attendance is estimated at $47,423

so over the 4 years, it is extremely similar. its like 194k for AZ vs 189k for Baylor.....and thats again, for 11 months at Baylor vs AZ....so it turns out that Baylor is a bit less expensive

 

[Indiana06]

I definitely don't blame you for wanting to come to Arizona. The midwest winters are awful, AZ will be a nice change for you. If you get pulled from the Tucson WL are you considering going there?

-MCH

At first I was, but I'm pretty dead set on phoenix at this point. Tucson is too much like Iowa City (mostly because it's a college town and the similar class size) to validate choosing it over staying in state... but all of this cost of attendance talk and instability of AZ is making me nervous.

 

[lrkoehle]

Good lord, whoever thought that would be the case? And yet it's true.

I'm a fan of modeling yourself after those who have been successful as a means to become successful yourself, so I think AZ needs to figure out what Texas has done economically and what we can do to emulate it. AZ really needs to do the same with education and state's with good public education (I'm not sure what states have good public education...maybe Iowa?).

So, nobody gave me more ideas for summer. Right now I am thinking maybe I will just drive to a random town in Wyoming or Montana and try to rent a room, then live there on credit as cheaply as I can (maybe find a temp job doing whatever) and sit at home and read and practice guitar/harmonica.

What do you think?

Watch Man vs. Food, and then go on a road trip to attempt all of his challenges, including a 5 lb omelet, 7 lb burrito, and of course the 72 oz steak dinner.

Texas is one of the most, if not the most, economically sound states in the US. Not to mention it still only costs an average of under $12,000 for IS tuition to one of their SEVEN MEDICAL SCHOOLS. Their OOS tuition rate is even cheaper than AZ's IS now that we decided to raise it almost 20% this year.

Not to bash Arizona, but you can't help but be envious of a state whose medical school tuition is less than half of what your home state charges.

👍 I would say I'm not only envious that they can do it, but I am pissed that we can't.

 

[jturkel]

At first I was, but I'm pretty dead set on phoenix at this point. Tucson is too much like Iowa City (mostly because it's a college town and the similar class size) to validate choosing it over staying in state... but all of this cost of attendance talk and instability of AZ is making me nervous.

Arizona is going through some difficult times right now, but it is fine and is not even close to the level as that of the state of California. I wouldn't let the notion of instability in AZ scare you away.

Regarding cost of attendance, if you are referencing my post, the cost of attendance is cheap in Tucson relative to most other places. it just happens to be otherwise in my situation....which is the exception to IS schools vs OOS.

Tucson is almost DIRT cheap if you find the right place with roommates. like i mentioned earlier in a post somewhere in this thread, i had like a 2500 sq ft house, 2 stories, 2 car garage, backyard, 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, washer/dryer....and the combined rent for the four of us was 1600 plus utilities. food (and definitely drinks) are cheaper there than in other places like Phx/Scottsdale. I honestly prefer Tucson over Phoenix as far as cities go to go to medical school for. Would I live in Tucson in the future? Maybe. Not right near campus. Further up north in the Foothills where it's nice, sure.

As far as it being a college town.....yah...that's what most people say. the population of Tucson is over 540,000. The most recent number I could find for students is " 37,217, with 29,070 students making up the undergraduate population." So add in faculty, administration, thats less than 10% easy. And there is plenty in Tucson that is not college related, though Tucsonians love their Arizona Wildcats and enjoy going to their sporting events (football, basketball, baseball, softball games, etc...).

Comparing Tucson to Iowa City isn't even fair...Iowa City has less than 70k people.

 

[lrkoehle]

Arizona is going through some difficult times right now, but it is fine and is not even close to the level as that of the state of California. I wouldn't let the notion of instability in AZ scare you away.

Regarding cost of attendance, if you are referencing my post, the cost of attendance is cheap in Tucson relative to most other places. it just happens to be otherwise in my situation....which is the exception to IS schools vs OOS.

Tucson is almost DIRT cheap if you find the right place with roommates. like i mentioned earlier in a post somewhere in this thread, i had like a 2500 sq ft house, 2 stories, 2 car garage, backyard, 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, washer/dryer....and the combined rent for the four of us was 1600 plus utilities. food (and definitely drinks) are cheaper there than in other places like Phx/Scottsdale. I honestly prefer Tucson over Phoenix as far as cities go to go to medical school for. Would I live in Tucson in the future? Maybe. Not right near campus. Further up north in the Foothills where it's nice, sure.

As far as it being a college town.....yah...that's what most people say. the population of Tucson is over 540,000. The most recent number I could find for students is " 37,217, with 29,070 students making up the undergraduate population." So add in faculty, administration, thats less than 10% easy. And there is plenty in Tucson that is not college related, though Tucsonians love their Arizona Wildcats and enjoy going to their sporting events (football, basketball, baseball, softball games, etc...).

Comparing Tucson to Iowa City isn't even fair...Iowa City has less than 70k people.

👍 I think I'd have to say I agree with everything in this post. As jturkel said, AZ is struggling right now because of the housing collapse and some budgetary issues, but it will absolutely recover (even if idiots do try to boycott us).

 

[mathlink]

Texas has no state income tax. There's a strange idea, let the people keep their money = have a healthy economy.

 

[Indiana06]

...
As far as it being a college town.....yah...that's what most people say. the population of Tucson is over 540,000. The most recent number I could find for students is " 37,217, with 29,070 students making up the undergraduate population." So add in faculty, administration, thats less than 10% easy. And there is plenty in Tucson that is not college related, though Tucsonians love their Arizona Wildcats and enjoy going to their sporting events (football, basketball, baseball, softball games, etc...).

Comparing Tucson to Iowa City isn't even fair...Iowa City has less than 70k people.

I know they are super different and I didn't go into specifics in my previous reply, but one of the main reasons I'm drawn to the phx campus is the small class size and family in Phoenix. I actually think I would like the Tucson area better (I grew up in Phoenix so I'm pretty familiar with what it's like to live there, and I was actually originally more interested in the Tucson campus). I guess in my internal justifications, for me, it isn't worth paying that much more for OOS tuition to get a similar experience that I would have in Iowa City. Actually it would be worth it for the weather, and if I didn't get into Phoenix I would be more than happy in Tucson 🙂 But, like I said earlier, I got a really good vibe at the Phoenix campus so I'm rolling with it because there is no way to know the best route before you take it.

And I'm glad you guys are optimistic about the state. I'm not too worried about it, but yeah some financial assistance would be awesome.

 

[lrkoehle]

Texas has no state income tax. There's a strange idea, let the people keep their money = have a healthy economy.

I seem to recall hearing a while back that AZ is one of the few states where we have both income tax AND sales tax. Many other states have one or the other, not both. The other thing I seem to remember was that our sales tax is higher here than states that only do sales tax and not income tax...yet we still can't balance our budget. If that doesn't scream administrative waste, I don't know what does...

 

[jturkel]

I seem to recall hearing a while back that AZ is one of the few states where we have both income tax AND sales tax. Many other states have one or the other, not both. The other thing I seem to remember was that our sales tax is higher here than states that only do sales tax and not income tax...yet we still can't balance our budget. If that doesn't scream administrative waste, I don't know what does...

and this brings us to the illegal immigration problem and the financial issues it brings upon us...and the immigration problem is significantly worse here than in TX.

 

[mathlink]

The stupid thing was that when my wife and I did our taxes we got a federal refund and owed the state about $200, despite the fact that we had a baby last year. I didn't think that was supposed to happen.

 

[lrkoehle]

The stupid thing was that when my wife and I did our taxes we got a federal refund and owed the state about $200, despite the fact that we had a baby last year. I didn't think that was supposed to happen.

Same thing happened to me too, minus the baby having part...