Terribly high COL, no real rep on the mainland, and the patient population on the island is the opposite of diverse (mainly asians and polynesians). I want to go to a school that won't train me on a patient population that I will never see again.
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MedPR i too grew up here. hey we have another thing in common aside from our
LizzyM score, and i beg to differ on your statement about diversity.
hawaii is incredibly diverse, both socio-economically and ethnically/racially. perhaps you went to iolani though? i kid.
also check out their match list... they are doing incredibly well. about 50% stay and 50% leave. one of my interviewers was an orth-surg resident at a very prestigious mainland hospital (regional interview) and graduated a handful of years ago for example. i know a couple who are now in cali that just graduated.
it sounds like you don't like hawaii though (and i know some of my friends would never go back for whatever reason) and are a bit biased. in my experience, either you would live there again or not (no in between), it's not for everyone.