Going to a state school because "you can always go somewhere else for residency"

[iPod765]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I was wondering what the opinions on doing this are. Where people end up for residency is decently up in the air. However, you can control ending up somewhere you like if you perform fairly well in medical school (and depending on specialty).

I personally chose to go to my state school on May 15th despite the fact that I want get out of the midwest later in life. I am very happy with my choice. However, I still do have a waitlist from an east coast school. I flat out love the school, but it seems like spending the extra $100,000 just to get out to the east coast sooner rather than later is a bad decision. That is, if I even got in, of course! haha.

 

[PMPMD]

Some state schools have excellent reputations (UCSF, UCLA, UTSW, etc) while not all private schools are tops. Resdencies do give some consideration to med school name, but most of the decision comes down to what you do while you're there. GPA, step 1, research, etc are more important IMO.

 

[UFCOM2016]

Hey iPod,

I was in a similar situation, although I am going though a program that accepts students during the end of their sophomore year, so I did not have the choices you did. The point was brought up during the interview though, "Why commit here so early, you would be competitive at many other wonderful schools?"

I had been hearing the same advice, that your residency is more relevant and the time when you really start becoming an independent, knowledgeable physician. You will lose the prestige and the name of some well known medical schools, and you may sacrifice the quality of facilities and education to a small extent.

In my case, having half the debt coming out of the medical school was well worth staying in state and not opening up some more options. In my opinion, if you work hard on the academic side, while getting a large volume of varied hands on experience during MS3 and MS4, you will get your money's worth out of nearly any medical school.

It doesn't hurt that I really do enjoy Gainesville, except in the summer. It is way to hot and there is no beach. L

 

[TexasPhysician]

I think its a good plan. Medical school costs climb quickly, so minimizing them is important. I attended a state school and received interviews at every OOS residency I applied to, including Duke, Emory, Vanderbilt, etc. You can go anywhere from a state school with good grades/scores/etc. You've got a sound plan.