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- Medical Student
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Hello SDNers 🙂
I've been blessed to have two acceptances thus far. There are only two more schools I REALLY care about one of which I'm waitlisted for and the other I'm on pre-interview hold. Regardless...this is the situation as it stands RIGHT NOW. I'm aware that plenty of time is left for things to change but I can't help but think through all of this now (and ignore all the hw/presentations/midterms I have next week. argh). Senioritis once accepted pretty much QUADRUPLES.
The first of the schools is another state's state school that takes very few OOS. It's not ranked (if that matters to anybody...its not a huge consideration for me), has a good class size (around a 100), an extremely friendly student body, great new facilities, and is generally in an area that I like (suburbia but close to a decent size town). My concerns are the following:
1. Location/Weather. I've lived in warm/mild climates my entire life and I honestly don't know if I can function WELL in cold weather. I've never had to put chains on my tires, deal with icy roads etc. etc. I know this doesn't seem like a huge deal but bad weather where there isn't plenty of sunshine is a real downer for me. I apologize if that sounds weak sauce but I do worry about being stressed out about driving in the snow (and whatever else is different) in addition to medical school stressors. In addition, the city I've heard is not all that desirable ( it's safe but not much to do). Many of the medical students themselves told us that there really isn't much nearby which is good for them so they can focus better on their studies. I don't mind that there isn't anything to do in the immediate vicinity (and believe me its DEAD, but I like having stuff close by!)
2. Match List. I realize, that as a state school, they accept many people who want to stay in the area. My concern was that only two people off the last match list matched to my home state and it was in psychiatry ( not knocking it, I'm just not interested). I am aware that where you match is determined by how well you do and is fairly independent of where you went to school; however, my concern is that because residency directors in my state don't interact with graduates from this schools much, they may prefer someone who came from a school they're familiar with. That being said, many did match to great hospitals on the east coast and several were in competitive specialties.
3. Third, and most important, is tuition. My OOS tuition would be large ( approximate to a private school), although I can apply to be in state after the first year. Another concern is that they don't give out much scholarships and most people pay for school through loans. Even if they did give out scholarships, honestly I wouldn't hold my breath since it would make more sense for them to give them to people who would likely stick around the state. Oh, and this school does not give out financial aid packages until JUNE.
My second school is a private, ranked school ( not extremely high but its in the middle) in a desirable location in a warm state. The student body was very friendly, the student- teacher ratio is EXCELLENT (student body is <100), and clinical experiences begin early and continues to be extremely hands on through 3rd and 4th. Also, while hanging out with the 3rd years during lunch at the hospital, I felt this was the med school group that I fit in best with. The match list also included several great programs from my home state that admittedly make me feel more comfortable.
My concerns are the following:
1. Curriculum. It's PBL which the students said over and over again that most go into it not realizing exactly how much PBL is in it. I work fairly well in groups, and I must admit I learn and retain more when I have to interact, and problem solve, and teach others. My only worry is lack of flexibility. I worry about starting and then hating it for two years.
2. Tuition.
Basically my concerns are curriculum at one school vs. the location/tuition/matchlist. Is there anything else that I should be taking into consideration? Or do you feel that there is anything that I'm putting too much emphasis on? As you can see, I'm leaning more towards the second program based on location/weather/clinical experience but I want to give the other one a fair chance as well because I think I could be happy there.
Thank you for your input! 😀 and good luck to all those still waiting to hear back from schools!
I've been blessed to have two acceptances thus far. There are only two more schools I REALLY care about one of which I'm waitlisted for and the other I'm on pre-interview hold. Regardless...this is the situation as it stands RIGHT NOW. I'm aware that plenty of time is left for things to change but I can't help but think through all of this now (and ignore all the hw/presentations/midterms I have next week. argh). Senioritis once accepted pretty much QUADRUPLES.
The first of the schools is another state's state school that takes very few OOS. It's not ranked (if that matters to anybody...its not a huge consideration for me), has a good class size (around a 100), an extremely friendly student body, great new facilities, and is generally in an area that I like (suburbia but close to a decent size town). My concerns are the following:
1. Location/Weather. I've lived in warm/mild climates my entire life and I honestly don't know if I can function WELL in cold weather. I've never had to put chains on my tires, deal with icy roads etc. etc. I know this doesn't seem like a huge deal but bad weather where there isn't plenty of sunshine is a real downer for me. I apologize if that sounds weak sauce but I do worry about being stressed out about driving in the snow (and whatever else is different) in addition to medical school stressors. In addition, the city I've heard is not all that desirable ( it's safe but not much to do). Many of the medical students themselves told us that there really isn't much nearby which is good for them so they can focus better on their studies. I don't mind that there isn't anything to do in the immediate vicinity (and believe me its DEAD, but I like having stuff close by!)
2. Match List. I realize, that as a state school, they accept many people who want to stay in the area. My concern was that only two people off the last match list matched to my home state and it was in psychiatry ( not knocking it, I'm just not interested). I am aware that where you match is determined by how well you do and is fairly independent of where you went to school; however, my concern is that because residency directors in my state don't interact with graduates from this schools much, they may prefer someone who came from a school they're familiar with. That being said, many did match to great hospitals on the east coast and several were in competitive specialties.
3. Third, and most important, is tuition. My OOS tuition would be large ( approximate to a private school), although I can apply to be in state after the first year. Another concern is that they don't give out much scholarships and most people pay for school through loans. Even if they did give out scholarships, honestly I wouldn't hold my breath since it would make more sense for them to give them to people who would likely stick around the state. Oh, and this school does not give out financial aid packages until JUNE.
My second school is a private, ranked school ( not extremely high but its in the middle) in a desirable location in a warm state. The student body was very friendly, the student- teacher ratio is EXCELLENT (student body is <100), and clinical experiences begin early and continues to be extremely hands on through 3rd and 4th. Also, while hanging out with the 3rd years during lunch at the hospital, I felt this was the med school group that I fit in best with. The match list also included several great programs from my home state that admittedly make me feel more comfortable.
My concerns are the following:
1. Curriculum. It's PBL which the students said over and over again that most go into it not realizing exactly how much PBL is in it. I work fairly well in groups, and I must admit I learn and retain more when I have to interact, and problem solve, and teach others. My only worry is lack of flexibility. I worry about starting and then hating it for two years.
2. Tuition.
Basically my concerns are curriculum at one school vs. the location/tuition/matchlist. Is there anything else that I should be taking into consideration? Or do you feel that there is anything that I'm putting too much emphasis on? As you can see, I'm leaning more towards the second program based on location/weather/clinical experience but I want to give the other one a fair chance as well because I think I could be happy there.
Thank you for your input! 😀 and good luck to all those still waiting to hear back from schools!
