Cheap School vs. Dream School

[Gut Shot]

By the way, I am biased in this particular debate, although I generally advocate the cheaper school whenever possible. MCV is my alma mater, and I though it was great. Not once did I feel bereft of opportunities, although I was generally too busy to take full advantage of them.

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[DropkickMurphy]

My dreams are cheap.

I was about to ask "What if your dream school is the cheapest one that will take you (so long as it grants an MD)?"

 

[Wizard of Oz]

The responses here are typical for pre-allo, and whoever said that they are opposite for med students/residents was probably right.

And for the person who said that you should just throw money at whatever dream you have, I don't think that you understand what your extra 100K is buying you. Nothing--same material, same degree, same rotations, same board exams. It's you vs. the USMLE (everybody in the country), not you vs. other students at your school or your school vs. another. Yeah there might be a slight residency advantage here or there, but it is extremely different to quantitate that difference because board scores and rotation evaluations heavily outweigh such a minute factor.

The big names spend a lot of time and effort to make you believe that their product is better. Gotta have that name recognition! Just keep in mind that the research mission of the school (which is what typically sets the big names apart from the others) will have absolutely no effect whatsoever on your ability to learn USMLE I material, which will serve as your first and best indicator of matching the residency you want.

The fact of the matter is that the content is the same everywhere, and there are only about three or four different ways that the content is delivered among all 125 accredited US allo schools.

The main reason that I might choose the expensive private school (if somebody was paying my way, that is) is for the diversity of the student body, and I'm afraid that 100K is way too much of a difference to buy my happiness in that avenue without said subsidies.

Ready for another analogy?

Med school material is like a grocery list of things you need to know. You can go to Wal-Mart and pick up the items cheaply or you can go to a more expensive store and get the same product for more money. Sure you may haggle over the quality of stuff like the produce, but not only is that not the bulk of your calories, the appearance of the food is subjective and some may prefer the Wal-Mart produce anyway. I guess you could still argue over the quality of the cashiers/teachers or something, but honestly, med school is all self-checkout. There's notbody to hold your hand for the boards.

 

[jillibean]

I already listed a couple (small class size, free/cheap projects abroad), a required community health improvement clerkship, student run clinics, etc.

I go to the cheaper school if this is your rationale.... $75,000 could pay for a pretty nice summer abroad. Also couldn't you become involved in a community health clerkship without it being a requirement?

 

[Boris Badenov]

They say do the practical thing, where you end up does not depend on where you go to school, residency programs take very little of their affiliated medical schools

^^^^ That is so not true.

Where you went to med school matters a lot when you're applying for residency.

 

[CCLCMer]

I wouldn't call it realism, given that your views are shared by only an extreme minority of individuals.

And, I hate to break it to you, but you don't seem happy. You seem bitter and angry. If you are happy, you do a better job of hiding it than anyone I have ever seen.

No, sirus's views aren't shared by "an extreme minority of individuals." They're shared by an extreme minority of PRE-MED individuals. You get a major fiscal reality check when you receive your first bill for $20,000 in tuition for a single semester and realize that there are seven more of those coming your way. Sirus is totally right on this one. Some day, you are going to have to pay back all those loans that were thrown at you with the greatest of abandon while you were a student. Think you can declare bankruptcy and get out of them? Think again. There's only one way out of your school loans besides paying them off, and that one way is in a six foot pine box.

In my case, I lucked out that my favorite school was also the one that was cheapest for me to attend, because CCLCM gives their students awesome financial aid. I know that several of my classmates also got so much aid that this school was cheaper to attend than their state schools would have been. But as much as I love this school, if I hadn't gotten any financial aid, I wouldn't have come here over my state school. I don't think there is anything anyone could say that would convince me that an education here is worth twice as much or more than the education you would get at any state school in this country.

doctorsareneat, if I were you, I'd wait for now and see what kind of financial aid Rochester gives you. Sometimes private schools give enough grants that they are cheaper to attend than public schools. But if the difference in cost isn't negligible, then I say go to VCU.

 

[NEATOMD]

Nevermind...shouting in to the wind

 

[Towelie]

No, sirus's views aren't shared by "an extreme minority of individuals." They're shared by an extreme minority of PRE-MED individuals. You get a major fiscal reality check when you receive your first bill for $20,000 in tuition for a single semester and realize that there are seven more of those coming your way. Sirus is totally right on this one. Some day, you are going to have to pay back all those loans that were thrown at you with the greatest of abandon while you were a student. Think you can declare bankruptcy and get out of them? Think again. There's only one way out of your school loans besides paying them off, and that one way is in a six foot pine box.

In my case, I lucked out that my favorite school was also the one that was cheapest for me to attend, because CCLCM gives their students awesome financial aid. I know that several of my classmates also got so much aid that this school was cheaper to attend than their state schools would have been. But as much as I love this school, if I hadn't gotten any financial aid, I wouldn't have come here over my state school. I don't think there is anything anyone could say that would convince me that an education here is worth twice as much or more than the education you would get at any state school in this country.

doctorsareneat, if I were you, I'd wait for now and see what kind of financial aid Rochester gives you. Sometimes private schools give enough grants that they are cheaper to attend than public schools. But if the difference in cost isn't negligible, then I say go to VCU.

I agree with everything you write about tuition. Going to a cheap school is important, so long as you would be happy at that school.

But you should read more of sirus's posts. They are overly pessimistic drivel. He assumes that doctors will be making minimum wage 10 years from now. Does he know anything about the medical job market, or 10 year projections based on experts' opinions (which can be found all over the place)? No. He's just BSing. I have yet to meet a physician that shares even a small fraction of sirus' negative views about the future of physicians' compensation.

 

[modelslashactor]

75k? for the love of god, go to the cheaper school. anywhere on earth but a pre-med forum this wouldn't even be a debate.

 

[Doctor~Detroit]

Nevermind...shouting in to the wind

i thought you had a good point. re-post it!

 

[dutchman]

My dream school is a cheap school.