Difficult Decision: Help Wanted

[CalicoKat]

A lot of people have posted the should-I-go-here-or-there threads, so I thought I'd add one to the mix to see if people had opinions. I am not intending to brag; I am extremely grateful to have these choices, but am still having trouble making them. I am choosing between Case Western Reserve with a significant scholarship and Baylor with no scholarship at all. I've appealed to Baylor's committee to match my scholarship, but it may still be significantly more expensive than Case unless Baylor is VERY generous.

Major pros to me at Case: I could get an MD/MA in bioethics, and my major now is bioethics. Case has a better primary care program, and I hope to go into primary care. And of course, I'll have a lot less debt.

Major pros at Baylor: It's in my hometown, it's warm, I know several people in the incoming class, and my dogs would always be close by.

I feel like I'm deciding between social comfort at Baylor and what could possible be a more fulfilling academic experience at Case (though I could have a very good social experience at Case, and obviously Baylor offers a great education, too, just not one with as much emphasis in ethics).

Any thoughts are appreciated. Best of luck to everyone in this process.

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[ms. a]

Have you looked into Baylor's ethics track? We have a track specifically set up for people interested in pursuing bioethics issues. I believe it runs all four years. You don't get a masters, but you do get some sort of distinction, I believe. Also, I you'll get a perfectly fine preparation for primary care at Baylor, trust me.

 

[oniwindu]

They're both great schools. Since you're interested in primary care, I would go with the school that would leave me with less debt upon graduation.

 

[BlueMagpie]

I agree with Oniwindu.

You can also try this silly but somewhat helpful exercise:

Write the names of the schools on two seperate pieces of paper, fold them and have someone mix them up for you and then choose one and pretend that this is the school you will now have to attend. What is your gut reaction? Do you feel relieved or upset?

Good luck with everything!

 

[YzIa]

I agree with Oniwindu.

You can also try this silly but somewhat helpful exercise:

Write the names of the schools on two seperate pieces of paper, fold them and have someone mix them up for you and then choose one and pretend that this is the school you will now have to attend. What is your gut reaction? Do you feel relieved or upset?

Good luck with everything!

I think thats a great idea.
Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't Baylor tuition something like $7-8,000/year to start? If so, I think that you should entirely disregard finances as you are going to graduate with under $70,000 of debt which can easily be paid off.

 

[CalicoKat]

Wow--thank you all for your helpful suggestions. Yes, Baylor has very low tuition, but books also cost over 6K and fees are another couple thousand, so it ends up costing more than Case. I didn't mean to insult Baylor's primary care at all--really, I don't think I can go "wrong" with either school b/c they're both excellent; I'm more wondering if there's a better choice and how much finances should be a consideration.

 

[YzIa]

Wow--thank you all for your helpful suggestions. Yes, Baylor has very low tuition, but books also cost over 6K and fees are another couple thousand, so it ends up costing more than Case. I didn't mean to insult Baylor's primary care at all--really, I don't think I can go "wrong" with either school b/c they're both excellent; I'm more wondering if there's a better choice and how much finances should be a consideration.

Its my opinion that finances shouldn't be a major factor in your paticular decision.

 

[drwlo]

I'm biased since I'm going to Baylor but fees are only that much the first year. I think thats typical because of anatomy lab.

I think you should go to Case though, it sounds like you like it better and it'd be less money. You'll make tons of friends, everyone in your class will be new.

Imagine that they're both free. What would you do then?