Better school vs. better fit - advice please?

[jj12]

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I have been accepted to both of my state schools and I am struggling with my decision. First I have to say that neither are elite or top schools, but I would appreciate any advice.

One school is an academic center, with quite a few research opportunities, more well-known professors, and all kinds of opportunities for clinical experience at several hospitals in the city and throughout the state. However, I feel like I would hate to live in the city and it is twice as far from friends and family. Tuition is about equal, but the COL for this school is higher.

The other school is a primary care focused school, in a smaller town with less research opportunities. However, it is much closer to friends and family and I feel like I would enjoy the location much more, in addition to the smaller class size and lower COL.

My question is, is it worth choosing a school with more research and clinical opportunities over a school that is a better fit? Would attending a smaller, less-known school with less opportunities put me at a disadvantage?

If it helps, my current (broad) interests are infectious disease, pathology, and sports medicine, but obviously could change.

The schools are University of Tennessee and ETSU.

Thanks!

 

[TheRhymenocerous]

You should read Abraham Verghese's book My Own Country – it's about his experiences with the AIDS epidemic while an infectious disease resident at ETSU. Sorry, that's not super helpful for your decision-making, but for what it's worth, things worked out pretty well for Dr. Verghese!

 

[PlaqueBuster]

1. You can do research during the summer at other universities.
2. You will not have much time for family or friends in medical school and if they are both in your state it should be within a 3 hour drive if you ever wanted to meet them.
3. Your residency matches will be based on networking and board scores and that can be achieved anywhere.

First, I would look through the cirriculum and see which one attracts you more (attendence, grading, time for board prep, etc). Second, I would pick based on location.