Harvard vs Mayo AZ (full ride)

[Often]

Harvard is my absolute #1 choice. I was thrilled to get an interview, loved the campus, vibes, students, faculty, curriculum, you name it. However I also really enjoyed Mayo AZ and is a close #2. My worry is I got a full ride to Mayo AZ, but for whatever reason my financial aid package for Harvard leaves much to be desired.

Harvard
Pros

• Reputation, curriculum, dedicated STEP time
• Short move for me
• Good public transportation
• More opportunities in Boston for my spouse
• Better public schools for my kid
• Fantastic vibes from the students/faculty
• Love the Boston/Cambridge area

Cons

• Awful aid (realistic cost of almost $310,000)
• More expensive CoL

Mayo AZ
Pros

• Cheaper CoL
• Well established nationwide hospital system, lots of opportunities for rotations away from the AZ campus
• Like the idea of selective weeks
• High STEP scores
• Full ride (realistic cost of around $130,000)
• Good vibes from faculty, students, and administration

Cons

• Not as high prestige
• Not Boston
• Mediocre public schools for kid
• More challenging for spouse to find work in their field
• Moving across the country
• Not Harvard

My issue is that by the time I will start repaying my debt from medical school, my child will be getting ready for college. If I choose Harvard they may gain a slight advantage from the public schools being much better in Brookline/Cambridge, but my debt burden will also be much higher and I would hate for that to impact their choices for education. If I choose Mayo AZ my debt wouldn't be much of a factor, but the school system there has a lot of room for improvement (not my words, a faculty member's.) My spouse is also beginning a new career and the opportunities in Boston dramatically outpace the ones in Scottsdale. I feel like my options are so subjective, I have no idea what to do.

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[Qrtpcr]

Harvard

 

[crimson-cat]

You'll be making that much in a year once you get into practice, almost regardless of specialty. Your partner will probably also make significantly more over the 7+ years of med school + training if you're in Boston instead of Scottsdale. Plus you actually like the interview day vibe! (a true rarity amongst my class at least) Come to HMS, pretend money doesn't exist for a few years, be where you and your partner will be happy, and let your kid grow up in the most academic city in the country.

 

[ArdorAyurveda]

Better opportunities for spouse and kid -- Harvard name will take you far -- pick Harvard.

Perhaps the debt is the compromise that you have to take in order to maintain good economic opportunities for your spouse.

Congratulations on your acceptances!

 

[tardigrada]

Long-time lurker here on SDN, but actually registered for membership in order to respond to this thread – I am in a very similar situation and have spent SO many hours thinking through these questions. I am also currently trying to decide between a T5 school that I loved, in a city where my spouse has great job prospects and we have a support network, but where the cost of living is high and I'd have to take out significant loans – versus a T20 school that I liked, in a city where my spouse has pretty lousy job prospects and we have no support network, but the cost of living is low and I got a full tuition scholarship. (Public schools for my kids aren't great in either city, so for better or worse that's not really a significant factor.)

For me, as it seems for you too, the main swing is financial. T5 school has everything going for it except the money. T20 school has mainly the money going for it. My spouse and I are expecting that their job will support the majority of our family's cost of living while I'm in medical school, so we've basically decided to go where they find a job (or where their job prospects are better come April 30) – which means we're probably heading to T5 school. Or for you, Harvard. And I'm psyched! The debt burden is real – my oldest child will also be preparing to apply to college by the time I finish residency, and I have two more behind that one – but at least for our family, that future burden doesn't outweigh everything else we will gain in the present by going to the place we really want to go. And those present gains ripple into the future as well, in ways we both can and can't see from this vantage point.

I would never tell anyone on this kind of thread where to go, but maybe these thoughts will help you clarify your decision-making levers.

I also feel the need to note:
1. One of your "pros" for Mayo AZ was opportunities to get away from AZ...
2. I am originally from Arizona, and it is GORGEOUS. But Scottsdale/Phoenix area is definitely its worst foot forward.

Ultimately, this is a great "problem" to have (as I've told myself many times). Congratulations on great choices and best of luck in your decision!!

 

[FamousLinen]

Accidentally voted Mayo. Go to Harvard.

 

[Often]

Long-time lurker here on SDN, but actually registered for membership in order to respond to this thread – I am in a very similar situation and have spent SO many hours thinking through these questions. I am also currently trying to decide between a T5 school that I loved, in a city where my spouse has great job prospects and we have a support network, but where the cost of living is high and I'd have to take out significant loans – versus a T20 school that I liked, in a city where my spouse has pretty lousy job prospects and we have no support network, but the cost of living is low and I got a full tuition scholarship. (Public schools for my kids aren't great in either city, so for better or worse that's not really a significant factor.)

For me, as it seems for you too, the main swing is financial. T5 school has everything going for it except the money. T20 school has mainly the money going for it. My spouse and I are expecting that their job will support the majority of our family's cost of living while I'm in medical school, so we've basically decided to go where they find a job (or where their job prospects are better come April 30) – which means we're probably heading to T5 school. Or for you, Harvard. And I'm psyched! The debt burden is real – my oldest child will also be preparing to apply to college by the time I finish residency, and I have two more behind that one – but at least for our family, that future burden doesn't outweigh everything else we will gain in the present by going to the place we really want to go. And those present gains ripple into the future as well, in ways we both can and can't see from this vantage point.

I would never tell anyone on this kind of thread where to go, but maybe these thoughts will help you clarify your decision-making levers.

I also feel the need to note:
1. One of your "pros" for Mayo AZ was opportunities to get away from AZ...
2. I am originally from Arizona, and it is GORGEOUS. But Scottsdale/Phoenix area is definitely its worst foot forward.

Ultimately, this is a great "problem" to have (as I've told myself many times). Congratulations on great choices and best of luck in your decision!!

Wow thanks so much for the feedback! I didn't mean to make it sound like getting away from AZ was a pro! Just that they have a unique option since Harvard doesn't have hospitals at 3 corners of the US. I don't mind the desert weather at all and we're really outdoorsy people. I'm just gonna think about it some more, especially with the perspective that this is a good problem to have. Good luck with your choices too, I really like the idea of ripples into the future too, super positive humbling idea. I don't think either choice will lead to a poor outcome, so that makes me feel kinda warm and fuzzy.

Thanks everyone so much!