Harvard vs Einstein

[mtnstomnhtn]

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I feel so incredibly lucky to be choosing between 2 amazing places. I’m feeling so torn and have gotten mixed advice. I am pretty set on an academic career (most likely psych). location is really important to me, as I’ve had a bit of a hard time feeling isolated in the suburb I’m in for my gap year. I’d really appreciate any thoughts or advice you’re willing to share!

Harvard ($305k)
Pros

• Better network/connections which would give an edge (even if it’s slight) for an academic career. my current PI has already offered to connect me with some amazing psych researchers here.
• I have close friends from college nearby, really want to have some non-classmate friends around
• Would get to live in a more central location in Boston/be more connected with the rest of the city; feels like itd be much easier to have the social life I want. I love Boston and can definitely see myself there.
• I really enjoyed the visit, left loving the school.
• i like getting to see classmates in person every day for flipped class; the curriculum style seems better suited to my learning preferences

Cons

• Cost (!!). Part of me would feel so dumb for turning down free tuition. Loans would be $50k private , $40k institutional, and $200k federal. Still, with PSLF, the difference in debt I actually pay back (institutional/private) would be less at ~$90k + interest. I would take a private loan with deferment during residency, which makes it sting less.
• less patient diversity

Einstein ($140k)
Pros

• Free tuition!
• social justice focus & diverse patient population
• proximity to manhattan/brooklyn - I love New York and have great friends and family ~1.5 hrs from campus.

Cons

• immediate location in the Bronx. This is a big one for me. Especially coming from suburbia, i want to be close to lots of other young people and nightlife. It’s also important to me to have some friends outside of med school, and i realistically I don’t see myself making the trip from morris park to where my existing nyc friends live often. Overall, I don’t think I’d have the social life i really want for myself at Einstein, being in a primarily residential area in what felt like the outskirts of the Bronx. If anyone knows the area better than me and I’m wrong about this please lmk!
• i don’t think I’d like doing a bulk of learning largely thru attendance-optional lectures.
• I didn’t love the tour in general and had a hard time seeing myself at einstein while visiting. I’m trying not to weigh this too heavily because it is likely more a symptom of seeing a school through a 2-hr tour in comparison to a big 2-day event than anything else, but the gut feeling is hard to shake.

At the end of the day, cost aside, Harvard is definitely my preference. But I’m having a lot of trouble deciding if that preference for the reasons above justifies the higher cost. Any advice or thoughts would be much appreciated! Thank you for reading 🙂