Help Deciding between Schools!

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dguirg95

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So here's my situation (and I am not complaining I just need some insight). As of now, I have been accepted to 3 Medical schools and I am not sure which one I should attend.

UConn (full tuition and fee scholarship). The issues are the following; I have been at the undergrad for 4 years and i dont know if I can stand living in CT anymore. I'm really really not a fan of the new UConn curriculum where they essentially eliminated lectures and are entirely TBL.

NJMS (offered instate tuition as an OOS). I like the school, but the facilities arent the best and Newark kinda sucks.

Jefferson (no financial info as of yet). I love the school and the area, but the other financial offers are hard to resist.

Still waiting to hear back from Duke and that could change everything but we will see. Any advice as of now? Thank you!
 
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dguirg95 said:
even thought I hate CT and really don't like the curriculum? lol
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Hard to beat the full ride. Doesn't seem like you like NJMS either and it seems like you like Jeff but check the COA on that.

If you get into Duke just go there. Prestige factor outweighs cost. The other 3 schools are all similar.
 
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I would go with Jefferson, but I'm the type of person who doesn't value making financially sound decisions as much as most others do. It all depends on what you value. People will tell you that you are being crazy to turn down those offers, but if location and curriculum are more important to you than don't doubt yourself. You couldn't pay me enough to stay at my undergrad or live in Newark (or most places in Jersey lol).

Good luck with Duke, I'm waiting to hear from them before I decide as well!
 
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applesaucey said:
I would go with Jefferson, but I'm the type of person who doesn't value making financially sound decisions as much as most others do. It all depends on what you value. People will tell you that you are being crazy to turn down those offers, but if location and curriculum are more important to you than don't doubt yourself. You couldn't pay me enough to stay at my undergrad or live in Newark (or most places in Jersey lol).

Good luck with Duke, I'm waiting to hear from them before I decide as well!
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I'm on the border with financials...I'm just not sure student loans are as big of a deal as everyone makes it...I dont need a lavish life my first few years as a doctor and I'll pay the loans off eventually
 
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You crushed the MCAT didnt you? NJMS must love you to give you IS tuition haha. But I would say either uconn or duke if you get in.
 
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dguirg95 said:
I'm on the border with financials...I'm just not sure student loans are as big of a deal as everyone makes it...I dont need a lavish life my first few years as a doctor and I'll pay the loans off eventually
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I mean I'm not saying be irresponsible or anything, just that if you value how happy you think you'll be in a certain place more, it's fine despite what people might tell you about money.
 
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applesaucey said:
I mean I'm not saying be irresponsible or anything, just that if you value how happy you think you'll be in a certain place more, it's fine despite what people might tell you about money.
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I definitely do. Med school is stressful enough, I dont need to be miserable with life outside of school too lol
 
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JPSmyth said:
You crushed the MCAT didnt you? NJMS must love you to give you IS tuition haha. But I would say either uconn or duke if you get in.
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Ahhh why UConn..im almost looking to be justified on turning down a full ride at uconn haha...but yeah my MCAT went well! Good thing too cause my GPA is very avg
 
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dguirg95 said:
Ahhh why UConn..im almost looking to be justified on turning down a full ride at uconn haha...but yeah my MCAT went well! Good thing too cause my GPA is very avg
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I think that simply the fact that you are questioning everyone who says UConn means that you clearly don't want to go. I don't know if this helps you at all, but when I ask for people's opinions I'm more looking for the way their answer makes me feel than actually considering their opinion and that helps me to decide what I really want
 
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applesaucey said:
I think that simply the fact that you are questioning everyone who says UConn means that you clearly don't want to go. I don't know if this helps you at all, but when I ask for people's opinions I'm more looking for the way their answer makes me feel than actually considering their opinion and that helps me to decide what I really want
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Yeah that's a good point haha I know I don't want to go there...I'm just worried down the line that i will regret not taking the money since I dont actually know what kind of effect that could have on my life.
 
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What if you decide you love family med and want to pursue it. But you go to Jefferson and have 300k in debt. And the starting salary for an fm doc is what, 150-200k? That 300 is going to seem more daunting now (plus all the interest, not going to do that math here).

On the other hand if you want to go into Ortho or a similar field, the money won't matter
 
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JPSmyth said:
What if you decide you love family med and want to pursue it. But you go to Jefferson and have 300k in debt. And the starting salary for an fm doc is what, 150-200k? That 300 is going to seem more daunting now (plus all the interest, not going to do that math here).

On the other hand if you want to go into Ortho or a similar field, the money won't matter
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I know I won't want to do family med tbh....I'm between something surgical and Rad onc
 
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dguirg95 said:
So here's my situation (and I am not complaining I just need some insight). As of now, I have been accepted to 3 Medical schools and I am not sure which one I should attend.

UConn (full tuition and fee scholarship). The issues are the following; I have been at the undergrad for 4 years and i dont know if I can stand living in CT anymore. I'm really really not a fan of the new UConn curriculum where they essentially eliminated lectures and are entirely TBL.

NJMS (offered instate tuition as an OOS). I like the school, but the facilities arent the best and Newark kinda sucks.

Jefferson (no financial info as of yet). I love the school and the area, but the other financial offers are hard to resist.

Still waiting to hear back from Duke and that could change everything but we will see. Any advice as of now? Thank you!
Click to expand...
Leverage UConn financial aid to see if you can get something from Jefferson
 
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UConn for sure. If you really hate CT, just do this:

giphy.gif
 
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As long as you're able to at least live comfortably and that's okay with you, go with happiness. Go to Jefferson. I got in there as well and that was probably my second choice. It seems like a great place and I know doctors who went there that are really, really amazing doctors.
 
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dguirg95 said:
So here's my situation (and I am not complaining I just need some insight). As of now, I have been accepted to 3 Medical schools and I am not sure which one I should attend.

UConn (full tuition and fee scholarship). The issues are the following; I have been at the undergrad for 4 years and i dont know if I can stand living in CT anymore. I'm really really not a fan of the new UConn curriculum where they essentially eliminated lectures and are entirely TBL.

NJMS (offered instate tuition as an OOS). I like the school, but the facilities arent the best and Newark kinda sucks.

Jefferson (no financial info as of yet). I love the school and the area, but the other financial offers are hard to resist.

Still waiting to hear back from Duke and that could change everything but we will see. Any advice as of now? Thank you!
Click to expand...
4 years in Connecticut might not be ideal, but getting out of Med school debt free is going to feel amazing, and will give you a lot of freedom and less stress. Since these schools are similarly ranked and the money is the biggest difference between them, I would most definitely go with UConn.
 
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dguirg95 said:
Ahhh why UConn..im almost looking to be justified on turning down a full ride at uconn haha...but yeah my MCAT went well! Good thing too cause my GPA is very avg
Click to expand...
I feel your pain. I'm looking for someone to justify me turning down a full ride to my state school so that I can pay full price at the University of Michigan.
 
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definitely use UConn to leverage financial aid from the other schools... But with that, I would go to UConn. Crush med school and move where ever your heart desires with minimal debt
 
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TSteezy said:
I feel your pain. I'm looking for someone to justify me turning down a full ride to my state school so that I can pay full price at the University of Michigan.
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seriously its so hard lol and its not even that UConn is a bad school..I just don't like it
 
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dguirg95 said:
seriously its so hard lol and its not even that UConn is a bad school..I just don't like it
Click to expand...

Jefferson, UConn, and NJMS are all mid tier schools (Jeff > UConn > NJMS). I don't think one over the other is worth taking out extra loans. Personally, I would take the full ride to UConn. As someone currently paying off close to $400k in loans, it really sucks.

That said, if you get into a very prestigious school (i.e. UMich or Duke), the benefits outweigh the cost and you should go there.
 
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Congrats these are all great schools! Like the other person said it really sounds like you value location/QOL/ a new change of scenery over cost, which is just as fine as the other way around. Alot of people will say go to the cheapest school, alot of people will say go where you'll be happy.

I would say Jeff has a slightly better match list and regional connections than UConn. Class size is also significantly different. Good luck and go to Duke if you get in lol
 
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My father was born in Newark. On behalf of the people there, if you think the city sucks, please don't practice medicine there. The people living there can tell when you don't really want to be there, believe it or not. This goes out to any AdComs also reading this...
 
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nucleispins said:
My father was born in Newark. On behalf of the people there, if you think the city sucks, please don't practice medicine there. The people living there can tell when you don't really want to be there, believe it or not. This goes out to any AdComs also reading this...
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I understand your point, I dont mean to offend anyone who is from Newark, but it's not deniable that it isn't a great city. I mean I wouldn't go to the school unless I WANTED to be there. But wanting to be at NJMS and wanting to be in Newark arent the same I dont think. I can love the school and not love the city it is in
 
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dguirg95 said:
So here's my situation (and I am not complaining I just need some insight). As of now, I have been accepted to 3 Medical schools and I am not sure which one I should attend.

UConn (full tuition and fee scholarship). The issues are the following; I have been at the undergrad for 4 years and i dont know if I can stand living in CT anymore. I'm really really not a fan of the new UConn curriculum where they essentially eliminated lectures and are entirely TBL.

NJMS (offered instate tuition as an OOS). I like the school, but the facilities arent the best and Newark kinda sucks.

Jefferson (no financial info as of yet). I love the school and the area, but the other financial offers are hard to resist.

Still waiting to hear back from Duke and that could change everything but we will see. Any advice as of now? Thank you!
Click to expand...
dguirg95 said:
So here's my situation (and I am not complaining I just need some insight). As of now, I have been accepted to 3 Medical schools and I am not sure which one I should attend.

UConn (full tuition and fee scholarship). The issues are the following; I have been at the undergrad for 4 years and i dont know if I can stand living in CT anymore. I'm really really not a fan of the new UConn curriculum where they essentially eliminated lectures and are entirely TBL.

NJMS (offered instate tuition as an OOS). I like the school, but the facilities arent the best and Newark kinda sucks.

Jefferson (no financial info as of yet). I love the school and the area, but the other financial offers are hard to resist.

Still waiting to hear back from Duke and that could change everything but we will see. Any advice as of now? Thank you!
Click to expand...
I did not know that uconn gives full tuition is it merit based scholarships
 
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I did not know that Uconn gives full tuition scholarships. Is it merit based scholarship? I am apply to Uconn med school in July. I have 4.0 gpa. Mcat is 523 I am ct resident. Do you think I have any chance at Uconn and what it takes to get full tuition scholarship?
 
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cresent said:
I did not know that Uconn gives full tuition scholarships. Is it merit based scholarship? I am apply to Uconn med school in July. I have 4.0 gpa. Mcat is 523 I am ct resident. Do you think I have any chance at Uconn and what it takes to get full tuition scholarship?
Click to expand...

You're a robot, you should definitely get a full ride with those numbers
 
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cresent said:
I did not know that Uconn gives full tuition scholarships. Is it merit based scholarship? I am apply to Uconn med school in July. I have 4.0 gpa. Mcat is 523 I am ct resident. Do you think I have any chance at Uconn and what it takes to get full tuition scholarship?
Click to expand...

Wow amazing numbers, if you have research and extracurriculars you have a great shot at UConn and all med schools. R u a under represented minority?? That will get you in/scholarships.

@dguirg95 r u URM?
 
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panther13013 said:
Wow amazing numbers, if you have research and extracurriculars you have a great shot at UConn and all med schools. R u a under represented minority?? That will get you in/scholarships.

@dguirg95 r u URM?
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Yeah I am URM, which might contribute...I'm also a part of the combined medical program at uconn (non binding program) which could contribute to the scholarships, they might want retention from the program


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
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