Florida State, Creighton, or Penn State?

[Ajk47]

Hi!

Fortunately, I have been accepted into one of my state schools, Florida State, and Creighton University. I have interviewed at Penn State, but I won't hear back from them until the last week in April, which is very close to the AAMC traffic rules deadline, so I would like to have a decision made by that time so I can quickly make a decision if I do get into Penn State.

I am having a really hard time deciding between the three schools. Any suggestions/comments/new perspectives would be greatly appreciated.

Florida State
Pros:
-in-state tuition ~$29,000
-great weather (sunny and warm, I'm a Florida girl)
-very collaborative and seems like a family environment
-fantastic hands-on patient care during third and fourth year due to 1:1 interaction with physicians (first assist on surgeries, etc)
-When interviewing here, it just "felt right"

Cons:
-Heavily focused on primary care
-Does not have it's own teaching hospital like Creighton or Penn State
-below average Step 1 Scores
-Residencies scored are mainly community based hospitals
-Residency matches in general are not as good as Creighton or Penn State


Creighton
Pros:
-Administration places a focus on student well-being
-New associated Creighton Medical Center
-very collaborative
-residency matches are very impressive
-Phoenix option for 3rd and 4th yr

Cons:
-very expensive tuition (~$60,000)
-weather (cold)
-Facilities are old/run down

Penn State
Pros:
-heavy basis of humanities
-patient navigator program
-Dual-degree options
-medical school is literally inside the Penn State Hershey Medical Center
-great residency matches
-global health scholars program (I'm extremely interested in global health)
-Better opportunities and more focus put on research
-I like Penn States curriculum the best out of the three schools


Cons:
-Very expensive tuition
-Location/Weather: Hershey seems miserable

Basically, I think I would prefer Penn State over Creighton, but I need help deciphering if a better curriculum (IMO) and better residency matches is worth an extra $30,000 a year. Both Penn State and Creighton have better reputations than Florida State, but is that worth it?

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[hopflyacptd123]

hey so I can kind of relate to your situation.. I'm a FL resident too and I applied to all 3 of these schools and interviewed at 1 (Creighton) and I really liked it. I know what you mean about FSU being so focused on primary care though, but sometimes it seems like kids do match in several different specialties. do you think you want to do primary care?
I don't think you're crazy if you want to go to crieghton or penn state (even though they're more) if you think it will better prepare you for a field you want to enter and you think you will be happy there as well.
at the end of the day, just think about what will make you a happier person/student because that will lead to you being a more competitive residency applicant anyways!

 

[Ajk47]

Thanks so much for your input! did you do your undergrad in Fl?


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[hopflyacptd123]

Thanks so much for your input! did you do your undergrad in Fl?


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Welcome! and yes I did!

 

[WillianIAm]

I would stay close to home based on what you said. That tuition difference is pretty significant. Also, individuals make the medical school, the medical school doesn't make the individual. If you work hard and study hard you can get a high step score and match into any residency program you want. In my opinion, the name of the school shouldn't be significant unless it's like a top 20 or better. Also, the Florida weather...

 

[Ajk47]

I would stay close to home based on what you said. That tuition difference is pretty significant. Also, individuals make the medical school, the medical school doesn't make the individual. If you work hard and study hard you can get a high step score and match into any residency program you want. In my opinion, the name of the school shouldn't be significant unless it's like a top 20 or better. Also, the Florida weather...

Thank you! You're probably right!


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[Astra]

1. Do you want to do a competitive specialty?

2. Are you taking out loans to pay for med school?

3. Do you want to do residency in Florida?

4. How are the research opportunities as Creighton and Penn state?

 

[Ajk47]

1. Do you want to do a competitive specialty?

2. Are you taking out loans to pay for med school?

3. Do you want to do residency in Florida?

4. How are the research opportunities as Creighton and Penn state?

1. As of right now, I'm leaning towards a few lesser competitive specialties, but I don't want to limit myself if I change my mind.

2. Yes, tuition and living expenses will be completely funded by loans.

3. I want to do my residency in Florida or California.

4. Penn state has better research opportunities in general, since students can participate in research year round. A scholarly project is required for each medical student. Creighton students are only able to participate in research during the summers


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[Astra]

I'd choose FSU then.

 

[Frogger27]

FSU 100%. It felt right and is much cheaper. None of those above schools are worth ~30k extra per year