Harvard vs. Penn

[redeye2019]

Hi everyone! I am very fortunate to have acceptances at some very good schools. I got into both of my top choices and I am honestly very confused which one to choose. Any suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated.

I can’t think of much different pros and cons tbh because these two schools are pretty similar imo. Also the cost is not much of a problem for both schools because I have an outside scholarship that should cover the tuition for the most part at both.

Harvard Medical School

Pros

• I will get the REACH scholarship along with good financial aid (EFC=0), which should cover majority of COA.
• It’s Harvard!
• A ton of research opportunities.
• Early clinical exposure.
• P/F for rotations except for the chosen specialty (from what I understood)
• Boston is less sketchy and cooler than Philly I guess?
• Match list better than Penn? (idk)
• Vandy Hall

Cons

• No summer break?
• 4 hours away from my family in NYC

University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine

Pros

• 2 months summer break!!
• Closer to NYC (2 hours)
• Newer building (l like new buildings lol)
• Philly is cheaper than Boston?
• Very generous aid

Cons

• No dorms
• Less prestigious than Harvard (not significantly tho)

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[Stagg737]

How much of a difference will COA be and which one did you like better? Probably your two most important questions to answer right now unless there's something specific you want to accomplish with your career which and one school would offer far better opportunities than the other. Otherwise congrats, there's not really a wrong decision here.

 

[redeye2019]

How much of a difference will COA be and which one did you like better? Probably your two most important questions to answer right now unless there's something specific you want to accomplish with your career which and one school would offer far better opportunities than the other. Otherwise congrats, there's not really a wrong decision here.

Thanks for your response. I haven’t gotten my financial award package yet but I’ll say there won’t be a difference of more than $20k (max) between the two schools, UPenn being a bit more expensive than Harvard (if they’re not more generous than Harvard)

Afaik, both schools are pretty much the same for any type of career, right? I wana go for a clinical career as of now and not too sure about the specialty at this point so I don’t really know which one to choose based on my future plans.

Also to make things more confusing, I don’t remember much of a difference between the vibes I got from both schools and their students. Also their revisit days are on the exact same days, so now I have to decide which one should I attend, which is another dilemma!

 

[Stagg737]

I haven’t gotten my financial award package yet but I’ll say there won’t be a difference of more than $20k (max) between the two schools

Is this $20k/yr or $20k total? If it's an $80k difference I'd say go with the cheaper one. If it's $20k difference then it's more up to you. Just what I would do (and did) in your situation.

 

[Lawpy]

HMS hands down pretty easily. Both great schools, but when given the option, HMS is the way to go for your career, since the degree will reap huge rewards in the future.

 

[redeye2019]

Is this $20k/yr or $20k total? If it's an $80k difference I'd say go with the cheaper one. If it's $20k difference then it's more up to you. Just what I would do (and did) in your situation.

I’m estimating it to be $20k/year so 80k/yr approximately. I also wana go for the cheaper option but thought maybe the fact that philly is closer and my travel time would be shorter, that’s worth the 80k

 

[redeye2019]

HMS hands down pretty easily. Both great schools, but when given the option, HMS is the way to go for your career, since the degree will reap huge rewards in the future.

Do you say that because of the prestige solely?

 

[Lawpy]

Do you say that because of the prestige solely?

Not just prestige. The wealth of opportunities at HMS is practically unrivaled. You can do anything you want and be successful with a HMS degree, and the networking potential for long-term career success is unbeatable. It's a reason why several people each year regularly turn down full rides at other top schools to go to HMS. Luckily in your case, the costs between the two are comparable, which is even more of a reason to go to HMS.

 

[redeye2019]

Not just prestige. The wealth of opportunities at HMS is practically unrivaled. You can do anything you want and be successful with a HMS degree, and the networking potential for long-term career success is unbeatable. It's a reason why several people each year regularly turn down full rides at other top schools to go to HMS. Luckily in your case, the costs between the two are comparable, which is even more of a reason to go to HMS.

What if Penn ends up giving me a full ride? I’ve been told by one of the students there to tell Penn about my scholarship at HMS and they might offer me full ride but I don’t wana email and then not go if I get the scholarship. That would be sort of like binding. Do you recommend I do that?

 

[meronebib]

I’m estimating it to be $20k/year so 80k/yr approximately. I also wana go for the cheaper option but thought maybe the fact that philly is closer and my travel time would be shorter, that’s worth the 80k

80k is not worth 2 hours in savings to travel to NYC. Not to mention Harvard is the more prestigious school and Boston is arguably the better city. Go to Harvard. Congrats!

 

[Stagg737]

I’m estimating it to be $20k/year so 80k/yr approximately. I also wana go for the cheaper option but thought maybe the fact that philly is closer and my travel time would be shorter, that’s worth the 80k

If it's an $80k difference and you truly want to be a clinician, go to the cheaper school. Like I said, if you're looking for specific research or want a specific position requiring networking, that changes things. If you just want to be a strong clinician then both schools will prepare you for that. Residency will be what matters more. Harvard may open a few more doors for you, but is it worth $80k (which can potentially turn into double that after interest)? Probably not.

Note: This is coming from someone who was in a similar position and chose to attend a much cheaper school which was much lower prestige and am glad I saved that money.

 

[capriccio]

So atm, choosing Penn would mean you would go $80k more in debt compared to Harvard? In that case I would go for Harvard. It might be a bit farther from home, but a 4 hour drive is totally doable for a weekend trip and to me it's not a significant increase from 2 hours (although I'm from the Midwest so maybe my perception of acceptable driving times is a little skewed lol).

 

[redeye2019]

So atm, choosing Penn would mean you would go $80k more in debt compared to Harvard? In that case I would go for Harvard. It might be a bit farther from home, but a 4 hour drive is totally doable for a weekend trip and to me it's not a significant increase from 2 hours (although I'm from the Midwest so maybe my perception of acceptable driving times is a little skewed lol).

Yup Harvard would be cheaper atm, I guess l go with sdn advice and pick Harvard, thanks a lot

 

[puahate]

Harvard. Penn is more expensive and Penn seems to have a competitive environment

 

[Mavski]

If the only thing that's stopping you from Harvard is the 2 vs 4 hours from home, I would definitely suggest going to Harvard since it's cheaper for you. There's a train that runs between Boston and NYC that you could take to see your family. By taking the train you can use the 4 hours of travel time as study time! I've taken it before and it was pretty nice!

 

[lalalallala]

How about fit? I wouldn't say Boston is less sketch than Philly. Penn has a lot of nice apartment dorms right by it that I promise you would rather live in than a dorm. If you really want a dorm then you can be an RA. I don't think the travel time is that big of a deal once you hop on the train. Is Penn cheaper? I don't think reputation difference needs to be a prob here