Cornell Vs Umich

[Epaper12]

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Need some advice deciding between two great schools. I have no clue what specialty I'm interested in, but I am interested in working with a diverse population and global health. I may want to match on the west coast (not sure but definitely on a coast). Need to decide soon!

Michigan

Pros:
* Full tuition Scholarship with an extra $20k in aid. I will probably need about $35k in loans over 4 years.
* 1 Year preclinical
* Flex Quizzing
* Administration seems very welcoming
* Focus On student Wellness

Cons:
* Ann Arbor - I've lived in a college town for the last 4 years and visiting Ann Arbor felt like more of the same. I really wanted to live in a city
* Cold


Cornell

Pros
* NYC - I've always wanted to live here
* 1.5 years preclinical
* 61k in fin aid for this year with the Debt-free initiative (Maybe 100-150k in loans over the next 4 years)
- I can't guarantee I will get the same aid every year because they are strictly need-based
Much more diverse environment
* Family will be closer (Although, I don't really care about family support)
* P/F Quizzes


Cons
* Administration seems much less warm than Michigan
* Weekly Quizzes
* Less money compared to Michigan. I will be in more debt despite their "debt-free initiative"
* High COL area

I've always wanted to live in NYC. Although Ann Arbor is cool I sense I will be bored quickly. I was set on going to Cornell until I got this scholarship from Michigan. I feel like living in Manhattan is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but also feel like taking about 100k more in loans in a much higher COL location would be foolish. Basically, I want to live in a big diverse city, but I may regret the extra loans once the novelty wears off. Money vs Location. What do you guys think?

 

[dctrstrange2020]

I don’t think you can go wrong with either program, obviously! Congrats on these options. What you seem torn about is just such a deeply personal thing to consider: location or debt. 100K is a significant COA difference, so for me personally, I would take that Michigan scholarship in a heartbeat. But you seem to be much more interested in location. Sorry for not adding anything profound, but what you are torn between really will come down to your personal comfortability. Good luck!

 

[Epaper12]

I don’t think you can go wrong with either program, obviously! Congrats on these options. What you seem torn about is just such a deeply personal thing to consider: location or debt. 100K is a significant COA difference, so for me personally, I would take that Michigan scholarship in a heartbeat. But you seem to be much more interested in location. Sorry for not adding anything profound, but what you are torn between really will come down to your personal comfortability. Good luck!

Thanks for the input! I’m leaning Michigan atm.

 

[dctrstrange2020]

Thanks for the input! I’m leaning Michigan atm.

I think especially if you are already worried that the novelty of NYC will wear off before you have even gotten there, that 100K will look that much heavier. But again, both amazing options and a huge congrats and what sounds like a great application cycle!!

 

[magged]

I feel like that full scholarship definitely makes a difference and would be a hard opportunity to pass. I definitely get wanting to live in NYC but as someone who went there for undergrad the novelty does wear off a bit and I think it’s an environment that’s not for everyone. Also, I was so busy studying that I actually couldn’t do the things o wanted to in the city. Maybe you could shoot for residency in NYC or do an elective clinical rotation/summer program in NYC?

Need some advice deciding between two great schools. I have no clue what specialty I'm interested in, but I am interested in working with a diverse population and global health. I may want to match on the west coast (not sure but definitely on a coast). Need to decide soon!

Michigan

Pros:
* Full tuition Scholarship with an extra $20k in aid. I will probably need about $35k in loans over 4 years.
* 1 Year preclinical
* Flex Quizzing
* Administration seems very welcoming
* Focus On student Wellness

Cons:
* Ann Arbor - I've lived in a college town for the last 4 years and visiting Ann Arbor felt like more of the same. I really wanted to live in a city
* Cold


Cornell

Pros
* NYC - I've always wanted to live here
* 1.5 years preclinical
* 61k in fin aid for this year with the Debt-free initiative (Maybe 100-150k in loans over the next 4 years)
- I can't guarantee I will get the same aid every year because they are strictly need-based
Much more diverse environment
* Family will be closer (Although, I don't really care about family support)
* P/F Quizzes


Cons
* Administration seems much less warm than Michigan
* Weekly Quizzes
* Less money compared to Michigan. I will be in more debt despite their "debt-free initiative"
* High COL area

I've always wanted to live in NYC. Although Ann Arbor is cool I sense I will be bored quickly. I was set on going to Cornell until I got this scholarship from Michigan. I feel like living in Manhattan is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but also feel like taking about 100k more in loans in a much higher COL location would be foolish. Basically, I want to live in a big diverse city, but I may regret the extra loans once the novelty wears off. Money vs Location. What do you guys think?

I think especially if you are already worried that the novelty of NYC will wear off before you have even gotten there, that 100K will look that much heavier. But again, both amazing options and a huge congrats and what sounds like a great application cycle!!

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

You have residency and potentially fellowship to try out new places. Unless you really don't like Ann Arbor, you should go for Michigan.

 

[rainbowpremed]

I understand the compulsion to compare the two schools to each other, but also keep in mind that 100k is really low for med school debt on a macro scale. Tons of students regularly take out 300k+ loans and pay it back without any issues. It may seem like a lot right now, but relatively, 100k is really low. Basically what I'm saying is don't be scared of 100k of debt if Cornell is where your heart is. [Disclaimer: I am looking at 250k of loans so 100k sounds like a great deal to me lol.]

I'll also throw in this caveat. I moved to a big city in the northeast for my gap year bc I wanted a "change" and it cured me really quick of any desire to live long-term in a big city. Four years is a long time to live somewhere so you want to make sure you love the area—and actually love living in the area—before committing to go to school there.

 

[Epaper12]

Looks like I'm heading to Ann Arbor this Fall. Thanks for all the help everyone!

 

[dctrstrange2020]

Looks like I'm heading to Ann Arbor this Fall. Thanks for all the help everyone!

Congratulations!!!

 

[rep_the_don]

Looks like I'm heading to Ann Arbor this Fall. Thanks for all the help everyone!

Go Blue!!!