Does anyone actually give up Harvard Med?

[Lucca]

Paul Allen gave up Harvard

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[Raney Schauer]

Old joke I just remembered:
A Harvard guy and a Yale guy are in the men's room, doing their business at the urinals.

Harvard guy finished first and goes to wash his hands.

Yale guy finishes and goes to leave.

Harvard guy: At Haa-vaad, they teach us to wash owah hands aftah using the baathroom

Yalie: At Yale, they teach us not to pee on our hands!

Same joke, but switch Harvard for Great Lakes, Harvard guy for sailor, Yale for Parris Island, and Yalie for Marine.
(retain wicked silly accent)

 

[Goro]

Same joke, but switch Harvard for Great Lakes, Harvard guy for sailor, Yale for Parris Island, and Yalie for Marine.
(retain wicked silly accent)

I've heard it as Army vs Marine as well.

 

[Raney Schauer]

I've heard it as Army vs Marine as well.

Endless versatility, really. It's the very model of a modern modular joke.

 

[TraderJoe1]

This thread popped up on a google search, and I just went through a top-20 MSTP vs Harvard MD-PhD affiliate (not MSTP = first two years would cost me ~195K) decision, so I figured I'd throw in my 2c for anyone who finds it later. Main factor was money, compounded by the fact that that my institution's MSTP grads match competitive/academic residency positions (even the coveted Boston residency slots) left and right in neuro, IM, you name it. Weather and nearness to family helped solidify my decision but were secondary factors for me. If I end up in Boston for residency/beyond, the biggest difference had I gone to HMS would be ~8 years of network building to assist career development in biotech/pharma and academia. That said, I talked to several biotech CEOs/founders, and each said interns and residents are scouted out for involvement in biotech, VC, etc, so network building isn't intractable that late in the game.

 

[~Soñadora~]

I guess I'm still stuck in the mindset of Harvard trumps cost, location, etc., almost anything except family. Don't get me wrong. I am very happy with where I ended up and I'm not sure I would have fared better anywhere else and I know any US med school education will still result in a job and comfortable life yada yada yada, but I'm pretty sure if I had the stats to apply to Harvard and got in, I would definitely go no matter the cost and would assume that pretty much any opportunity would be open to me simply by the weight of the name.

I'm usually very good at putting myself in other peoples' shoes, but I have never been able to do so with this particular situation and I needed some personal anecdotes to get my head out of my *ss to see what these people are seeing. Since I don't know anyone IRL who's ever turned down Harvard, I figured SDN would be the best way to understand someone's frame of mind in this circumstance.

So I can't actually answered your question because I wasn't accepted at Harvard but I did interview there. After my interview there I agonized whether I would go there if accepted. I knew the offer would be impossible to turn down, but I had already interviewed at another decent school (not Ivy or anything) that offered me a full-tuition scholarship and would allow me to graduate with zero debt. I also got very good vibes from that school whereas during my Harvard interview I felt super uncomfortable and completely out of place. I felt that if I did go to Harvard I would be in debt (it was unlikely they would offer me significant aid given my parents' finances) and it was very likely I would struggle to fit in and have a place there. On the other hand, I could graduate with no debt from a place I would likely fit in more. I thought about the choice for months and while I knew which choice I wanted to make I knew that if Harvard accepted me it would be very, very hard to turn down for the prestige alone. In the end, Harvard made the decision for me and it was a relief to not have to choose. They likely also felt I was a bad fit for them. I ended up doing what I really wantedto do but without the guilt of turning down Harvard. Did it hurt that they rejected me? Absolutely. Would I have liked to be accepted there. Of course. But I did have my reasons for not wanting to go there which I felt were pretty strong and made me question going there. I obviously never know what I would've chosen but I can see why someone would turn it down if they had reasons compelling enough.