Another one: Baylor 12k/yr versus Pritzker Full Ride

[EBI831]

Hey all,
Just thought i'd poll the audience. i really really honestly love both schools for different reasons.
Pritzker pros: the faculty,etc have been so nice to me, i love the students, my 2 best friends are gonna be in chicago and we planned on living together, full ride, love the health disparities focus, love the service focus, love the fact that its chicago and there are many other med school students in chicago too, wanna do research with one of the faculty on breast cancer and she's leading in the field, don't start til september, 1 month long winter break, getting a sweet condo there
cons: cold as crap, long hours of class, 18 tests in first 10 weeks, not so great Step 1 scores

Baylor Pros: the schedule, out by noon, love the students, know 4 people going there next year, 2nd best cancer hospital(MD andersen) and i want to be an oncologist and ultimately do residency here, warm weather, more clinical training, laxness in time of taking Step 1, great Step 1 scores, ranked higher, cheap but not compared to a full ride
Cons: can be muggy weather, no real summer after MS1, starts in july , have no idea about housing there, so last minute, would feel like i was betraying my friends, less money

I know this is stupid asking ppl on an online forum to decide my life but i wanna get some opinions. the idea of graduating debt free is seductive and the staff at pritzker loves me and is always so nice and answering my calls and writing me emails and i actually love them. baylor was a little standoffish and i kinda didn't feel like they knew me as well as the ppl do at pritzker.

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[profdogg]

Pritzker Pritzker Pritzker!

What good is nice weather if you are gonna be spending most of your time indoors studying?

Full ride not too shabby either.

 

[MrBurns10]

Unless you're getting a living stipend in addition to your full-ride, you're not going to be debt-free coming out of UC. Living expenses are pricey. On the other hand, $12,000/ year for tuition at Baylor + much lower living expenses might balance the total debt accrued more than you think.

Personally, I'd go to Baylor because I would hate 6 months of winter, but that's just me. Don't base your decision on the money on this one...the two are too close for it to matter.

Edit: And in response to the poster above me, let me add that weather matters a TON (well to me and most of the classmates I've talked to about it). Gloomy, cold weather can be awfully depressing and can make your studying even less effective.

 

[QofQuimica]

Tough decision. I had the same one last year, and I loved both of these schools. I'd suggest not deciding based on the niceness of the admissions staff; you're admitted already, so you won't be seeing much of them once you get to school unless you volunteer to lead tours or give interviews for next year's applicants. I guess if all else is really equal to you, then I would go with the better weather. As Burnsie pointed out, COL is so much cheaper in TX that the difference in cost is probably going to be negligible. Check out the budgets for both schools and you'll see what I mean. But like Burnsie, I'm a Florida girl, and I think muggy weather is great, especially in February.

 

[FemalesCANTDriv]

looks by the signature that u already chose... altho i woulda said baylor

 

[QuakerPreMed]

Unless you're getting a living stipend in addition to your full-ride, you're not going to be debt-free coming out of UC. Living expenses are pricey.

...what? if his scholarship is full ride they're giving him $15-20,000 after paying off tuition/fees (cost of attendance for MS1 is $57k and tuition/fees are ~40)

Go Pritzker. Houston is a terrible hellhole of a city (I'm from TX) and they seem very unorganized. Plus, you don't actually have to go to class at Pritzker if that's a concern

Also: it may be cold in Chicago, but they don't have hurricanes and massive flooding!

 

[EBI831]

i guess you're all assuming i'm in state in texas which i'm not so it is kindof a significant difference. wow, i never thought i'd see so many go to baylor responses.

 

[QofQuimica]

i guess you're all assuming i'm in state in texas which i'm not so it is kindof a significant difference. wow, i never thought i'd see so many go to baylor responses.

You can become in-state at Baylor after your first year if you buy a condo, and condos are very affordable in Houston.

Look, Pritzker is a great school, and you'd get a fantastic education there. If you'd rather go there, then you should go there. It doesn't really matter what any of the rest of us would do. No one else's preferences matter besides yours. to you.

 

[profdogg]

Edit: And in response to the poster above me, let me add that weather matters a TON (well to me and most of the classmates I've talked to about it). Gloomy, cold weather can be awfully depressing and can make your studying even less effective.

Haha I know. For me it's not a real big deal though. I went to Virginia Tech for undergrad and the weather is Blacksburg I think is even colder and windier than Chicago.

In the end, the education received at both would be amazing. It's not like the decision is between Baylor and BFE U full ride.

 

[MrBurns10]

Haha I know. For me it's not a real big deal though. I went to Virginia Tech for undergrad and the weather is Blacksburg I think is even colder and windier than Chicago.

Ehhhhh...I think you're in for a surprise if you really think this.

 

[deleted128562]

Personally I'd do neither and go to a Caribbean medical school paying full tuition. Seriously, do it.

Really though, a full ride is a pretty cool deal and tough to get. That's quite a compliment to you - so in addition to making it cheaper, I would also consider the fact that Pritzker must really think highly of you. Which has to be worth something too. Either way, congrats. Those are some good schools!

 

[Dr. Pepper]

Just from reading your pros and cons list, I'd say that you should consider curriculum and family/friends.

It seems like you enjoy Baylor's curriculum better than Pritzker's, but it also seems like you'll have closer friends at Pritzker.

Honestly (this is just me), med school is hard just about anywhere. I'd much rather go for a place which doesn't have as many tests, so I'd go Baylor.

With all that said, they're both great schools and I'm sure you'll be happy either way.

Best of luck with the decision,
-Dr. P.

 

[alesdu1]

I vote Chicago. Baylors avg mcat is higher than chicagos, so youd also probably expect higher step 1s...dont let that deter you. wow i had no idea about so many tests...yikes...

anyway, if you like living in "big cities" go to chicago. although houston is a huge city interms of population, it doesnt have that "city" feel/not very compact. just my .02 though...

 

[nosugrefneb]

Just to clarify a few things and raise a couple of questions for consideration:

Pritzker cons: ...18 tests in first 10 weeks...

Sure, that's a ton of tests. I personally loved it, though. I would much rather have baby tests very often that don't cover all that much than take a few massive exams at the end that cover an entire quarter. Having so many is a great way to dilute poor scores if it happens...not so much with only a few exams. In a way, although you have so many tests, it's a reduction on your stress level because individual exams just matter that much less.

...not so great Step 1 scores...

Look at the match list.

Baylor Pros: ...out by noon...

Then what? Go lay out in the sun? More likely, you'll be either staying inside and studying. Would you rather read a textbook on your own, or have lectures by experts in their field?

...2nd best cancer hospital(MD andersen) and i want to be an oncologist...

There is no denying that MD Anderson is insanely good for oncology and cancer research. But, Chicago is certainly no slouch either, and I'd argue they're quickly closing the gap on some of the top-of-the-top places. Trust me: I'm doing cancer research here, and there are some ridiculously smart people here.

Just some things to think about. I know practically nothing about Baylor, so my apologies if this seems a bit biased (how could it not be?).

 

[mlle3000]

EB - sounds like you want Pritzker more than Baylor from what you've posted here and in other threads. of course, my vote is for Baylor (i'd give my right arm to go to Baylor), but honestly.....it sounds like your reasons for wanting Pritzker match my reasons for wanting Baylor (cost, people being in that city, faculty, etc)...

even though i'm jealous , kudos for weighing out your options. good luck. let us know what you decide!

 

[QuantumMechanic]

2nd best cancer hospital(MD andersen) and i want to be an oncologist and ultimately do residency here.

remember that MD Anderson is a University of Texas facility NOT a BCM facility.

Its kinda the same deal as going to UT-Memphis and having access to St. Jude. Its there, but its not going to be the focal point of your education, and you are really going to have to go out of your way to do research or other things there.

I specifically asked about this on the Baylor interview, and the guy was rather cold about the possibilities (he kept babbling on about how due to the lack of affiliation that there was no official programs or things for Baylor students to do there, but he mentioned that research projects could be done in conjunction with MD Anderson)...probably why I got waitlisted now that I think of it, oh well.

furthermore, unless you go into radiation oncology, your path to oncology, whether through surgical, pediatrics, medicine, or something more obscure like gyn will have residency in between medical school and the oncology fellowship.

one last point, MD Anderson is a major research cancer center...I don't know what your oncology career goals are currently, but if they don't perchance involve research, then MD Anderson won't be the ideal place for you to do a oncology fellowship.

 

[Xibye]

...what? if his scholarship is full ride they're giving him $15-20,000 after paying off tuition/fees (cost of attendance for MS1 is $57k and tuition/fees are ~40)
QUOTE]

Isn't a free ride simply $0 tuition? I never thought it required living assistance to be considered a free ride.

If that's correct, then cost of living is extremely important to factor in because money is money whether spent on tuition or housing/food etc. $10k more in living costs, for example, feels the same as $10k more in tuition. Debt is debt.

My vote is whichever place give you the truly minimum debt. Both are great schools.

 

[potato51]

remember that MD Anderson is a University of Texas facility NOT a BCM facility.

Yep, except for one department that's joint between MDACC and BCM, the institutions are not affiliated. When I worked at MDA, Baylor students had to arrange away rotations to work there.