Hackensack Meridian (Full tuition scholarship) vs. UVA

[acecobra17]

Help! I was really leaning toward UVA for awhile now, but just found out about Hackensack merit scholarship which would essentially reduce my debt by hundreds of thousands, so I am definitely reconsidering. I am interested in neuro/anesthesia/psychiatry, but open to other specialties.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you all for you help!

Hackensack Meridian

Pros:

* merit scholarship!
* close to home
* hospital system is notable in NJ
* accelerated program with guaranteed match after 3 years in hackensack university medical system

Cons:

* new school/unranked with no established reputation
* match not as strong (prob because it's so new)
* rotations will involve lot of driving
*accelerated curriculum with fewer breaks

University of Virginia

Pros:

* good reputation
* great match
* nice college town/location with natural surroundings
* better work/life balance

Cons:

* No aid offered-$300,000 in debt + interest
* far from home so family/support system not nearby

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[anonimo21]

i was gonna say UVA just off of the title hands down until I read the cost difference + being away from home.

 

[anonimo21]

Take Hackensack bc they only offer guaranteed residency in only a few specialties and they happen to conveniently be in all the specialties you mentioned that you’re interested in

 

[sousa7]

Can you reach out to uva to match at least some?

 

[KnightDoc]

It's definitely a ton of money, and the school has nowhere to go but up, so it's worth considering no matter what. But I think the "guaranteed residency" is being misunderstood.

Yes, the whole point of the program (and, at a higher level, of establishing the school) is to create a pipeline to feed doctors into their system, similar to what Kaiser is doing in CA. That said, with them ramping their class size up from around 40 to around 160, I VERY seriously doubt they can guarantee everyone any specialty they happen to want that the system offers. Kind of like in the military, you might have a guarantee to be able to fill what they need filled, not necessarily what you want.

They will not only be constrained by the number of slots they have, but they also might not want to have to exclude excellent candidates from outside in favor of less excellent ones who think they have priority through a guarantee. If the guarantee is not in writing, it's a carrot to lure you in that will ultimately be worth no more than the paper it is (not) written on.

 

[acecobra17]

Can you reach out to uva to match at least some?

I tried that, but they said they couldn’t give me anything :/

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Depends on how open you mean by “open to other specialties”

Anything competitive—UVA (but at least follow through with at least anesthesiology because you may regret your decision if you go into Peds or Psyc)

Other—defintely hackensack (with a 3 yr program your actual financial gain could be upwards of 700000 if you match anesthesiology which is within range for any USMD student)

Nobody knows how step 1 pass fail will affect matching so it may be better to go with a known entity.

Is the 300k before or after interest. I feel like 300k with interest is doable but when you start getting into 300k pre interest, that is when you have a serious financial albatross unless making 500k+

 

[CrabcakesandFootball]

(Disclaimer on Hackensack WL) To me this seems like a question of if the money saved by going to Hackensack outweighs what you like about UVA ( better work life balance, environment, and reputation advantages with regards to residences with Step 1 going P/F). If you like certain aspects of Hackensack's curriculum or student experience go there. If there was no way you would have choses Hackensack except for its free you should look into other ways to pay of the loans which will be acquired from going to UVA. There are some programs which will help you pay off loans once you graduate such as the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program if you work for a hospital. These programs do have downsides such as having to work in a hospital and possibly delaying the time until you make absolute bank depending on your speciality. If your chosen speciality will likely make you work in a hospital you can consider that the debt from the loans may not have an impact on you. Long story short: If you like aspects of Hackensack which don't have to do with money you should seriously consider going there. If the only significant draw to Hackensack is the debt of attending UVA look up all the different debt paying options. Money isn't the only thing in life do what will make you happiest in the long run.

 

[hellohelloooeh]

Opting to go to Hackensack over a T25 because of its proximity to my support system + COA so super similar situation. DM me if you want to talk!

 

[throwaway123342]

Would definitely pick UVA unless your residency plans are noncompetitive (both in specialty and location)

 

[Banco]

300k price difference. Bruh, go to Hackensack. If you're a student that's worked hard enough to get into UVA and get a huge merit scholarship at Hackensack, it's reasonable to think you'll continue working hard in medical school and maximize matching success. Don't let arbitrary ranking metrics dictate your life. You'll be fine.