Help me decide! UArizona-Phoenix vs. U Utah

[that_library]

A little bit about me: I am OOS for both, however I do “benefit” from being an Idaho resident and as an added bonus, my parents live in Phoenix. Therefore, I can technically become in-state for both, by establishing AZ residency with my parents for UA, and by the state of Idaho subsidising my education at Utah. I will get into the cons as to why that is not necessarily great for me.

Interests: I am Romanian-born and I speak Spanish fluently after graduating with a degree in it and living abroad. I am very interested in working with the Hispanic, underserved population. In terms of specialty, gravitating towards Pediatrics but could also see myself in more competitive specialties like ENT or Derm depending on my interests in med school.

UA-Phoenix:

Pros:

• Support from parents
• Excellent weather
• Many opportunities to serve the Hispanic community, including travel to Latin America and border migrant health
• Varied hospital experiences: they call it a “distributive model” which means there are multiple clinical partners and hospitals instead of a centralized hospital system. Includes the VA, Phoenix Children’s and the Mayo Clinic.
• Students seemed to be very relaxed and chill
• Scholarly project requirement means different ways of approaching research, establishing relationships with mentors
• Hiking is fairly close and available, I am also getting into running so the opportunity to go run outside pretty much year round is great

Cons:

• Never imagined myself living in the desert
• Expensive! Even as IS, it would still mean lots of loans, expensive rent to live close by (I would like to avoid paying for a parking pass or spending time in traffic every day)
• Name recognition? Some of you may be able to elucidate this further for me, but being from the PNW, I can’t say that I’ve heard UA having the same kind of recognition as Utah. I guess I’m just worried about possibly matching in more competitive specialties from here. My goal is to do residency in the PNW or Northern East Coast (Maine stands out for me)
• Starts early July. I know this shouldn’t have a lot of gravity, but I do have pretty big events where I would have to long-haul travel happening in July when I would be neck deep in Intro to Medicine. I’m not sure how easy or hard it would be to just leave (I would be leaving past the mandatory orientation weeks, though)

Utah:

Pros:

• IS tuition baby!!
• Late start in August, which allows me to get settled and get everything else in order fairly well
• Excellent, excellent, excellent centralized hospital system, one of the best children’s hospitals in the country
• T40 school
• Lots of research opportunities
• Able to work with underserved Hispanic communities
• Students felt like a true family during the interview, and also, overall the best interview experience of all.
• SO MANY outdoor recreation opportunities very close by

Cons:

• And this is the big one. Truly the only reason I am not jumping and accepting the Utah offer today. IDAHO RESIDENT REQUIREMENT. For those that are not familiar, Utah accepts 10 students every year from Idaho and allows them to attend with IS tuition. However, it means that for however many years Idaho subsidizes my education, I owe them the same amount of years in service. That means after residency, I owe Idaho 4 years of working in the state. I love my state, don’t get me wrong, but I feel like it would be limiting me and possibly my future family, having to relocate and upend our lives. Now, I can also repay them the amount of money the subsidized me for, but that feels like A LOT. Especially if I choose a specialty that is known to be less high-paying like Family Medicine and even Peds (which I have a strong love for and could see myself doing for sure). I’m wondering if anyone has thoughts about this, if they’ve heard of people having gone through the same thing and have either embraced it or found a way to go around it.

Some of the minor things:

• No familial support, no one I know is there, and I am not familiar with the area
• Having actual winters

Any help and insights you guys have would be so appreciated!! Congrats to everyone who got As this cycle, and I have faith in those that are still waiting!!

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[ThanosThighs]

Felicitari! Vorbeşti Romaneşte? I lived in Romania for 2 years! That's so cool! I guess I'm biased to Utah because I currently live there and am waiting to hear back from them post interview, but I have heard great things about their new curriculum. I think Utah has more resources and opportunities for every specialty, but it's hard to give up 4 years to Idaho. But also, 4 years in the span of your life to save money on tuition might be worth it. I don't know much about U of A Phoenix, but the U is a phenomenal school that has some prestige to its name. Utah does match well everywhere in the country too.

 

[chilly_md]

Arizona. Utah is too much and I believe you are locked into that agreement since they have separate seats set aside for Idaho residents. They would not let you reclassify to IS like other OOS students.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Phoenix sounds like it fits your mission much better, even though it is a newer program. (You won't see as many Spanish-speaking patients in Idaho.) They seem very community-centric. Reschedule your other vacations until you have an appropriate break scheduled.

I also presume the campus benefits from the University of Arizona brand and system.

P.S. why residency in the Northeast? Maine?

 

[that_library]

Felicitari! Vorbeşti Romaneşte? I lived in Romania for 2 years! That's so cool! I guess I'm biased to Utah because I currently live there and am waiting to hear back from them post interview, but I have heard great things about their new curriculum. I think Utah has more resources and opportunities for every specialty, but it's hard to give up 4 years to Idaho. But also, 4 years in the span of your life to save money on tuition might be worth it. I don't know much about U of A Phoenix, but the U is a phenomenal school that has some prestige to its name. Utah does match well everywhere in the country too.

Da sigur! I grew up there until I was 15. I love when people have lived there too, they tend to have the wildest stories lol. Thank you so much for your insight!

 

[that_library]

Phoenix sounds like it fits your mission much better, even though it is a newer program. (You won't see as many Spanish-speaking patients in Idaho.) They seem very community-centric. Reschedule your other vacations until you have an appropriate break scheduled.

I also presume the campus benefits from the University of Arizona brand and system.

P.S. why residency in the Northeast? Maine?

I know, it was probably the main reason UA appealed to me. Unfortunately, they aren't vacations, they are family commitments and it's not in my power to reschedule, otherwise I totally would.

Maine is because I worked with a doctor I admire who did his residency there and he talks very greatly about the experience.

 

[that_library]

Arizona. Utah is too much and I believe you are locked into that agreement since they have separate seats set aside for Idaho residents. They would not let you reclassify to IS like other OOS students.

I thought so too. I already signed a contract even before I interviewed.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I know, it was probably the main reason UA appealed to me. Unfortunately, they aren't vacations, they are family commitments and it's not in my power to reschedule, otherwise I totally would.

Hmm... if you decide for UA, find out what their absences policy is. Otherwise if you can't go, I think your family will understand that you need to focus on becoming a doctor.

 

[GETBUCKETZ]

Hi, I am also from Idaho but applied to Utah as a Utah applicant. I chose to apply as a Utah resident because I wanted to have that freedom to choose where I want to live after residency. I ended up getting a pre ii R from Utah and got accepted to U of A - Phoenix. I also would love the chance to work with spanish speaking populations because I also am fluent in spanish. I have volunteered at a clinic here in Utah that serves the spanish speaking immigrants, but I think there will be far more opportunities in AZ. I noticed you had the opportunity to work with hispanic populations as an advantage for Utah but I think AZ probably will provide a better opportunity.

 

[HeftyGo37]

Hi there! Seeing this kind of late, but I am currently a med student at UA - Phoenix, but did my undergrad at University of Utah. Very familiar with both schools and would be happy to chat. Not sure if you are married or have a significant other, but one HUGE advantage of UA - Phoenix is that your spouse can get a job with any of the in state universities (ASU, NAU, UA), which allows you to get qualified tuition reduction, enabling you to essentially get free tuition ($25/ semester). IS vs OOS status doesn't matter either. Such an amazing financial opportunity that is often under advertised for UA.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

one HUGE advantage of UA - Phoenix is that your spouse can get a job with any of the in state universities (ASU, NAU, UA), which allows you to get qualified tuition reduction

Do you have documentation on this???

 

[HeftyGo37]

Do you have documentation on this???

Well I receive this benefit myself can send you images of my tuition account if you'd like. But you can find it on the policy page on each public university's website. Here is UA's: Qualified Tuition Reduction | Policies and Procedures
Since the college of medicine does not follow the traditional semester schedule for credit purposes, the credit restriction also does not apply - so the QTR truly does cover all of tuition. It is the best deal ever!

 

[RunnerDad]

Not sure if you are married or have a significant other, but one HUGE advantage of UA - Phoenix is that your spouse can get a job with any of the in state universities (ASU, NAU, UA), which allows you to get qualified tuition reduction, enabling you to essentially get free tuition ($25/ semester). IS vs OOS status doesn't matter either. Such an amazing financial opportunity that is often under advertised for UA.

This is accurate. (My spouse is a state university employee in AZ and our kid did four years undergraduate for about $10,000 total including all fees and extracurricular stuff. Zero undergrad student loan debt.) Of course, if the student's spouse is themselves in school or pursuing their own thing, it may not be desirable for them to work for a state university; that's a personal decision.

Moving to AZ was one of the best decisions we ever made. It's hot as hell from June through September, but the other eight months are to die for.

 

[GETBUCKETZ]

Well I receive this benefit myself can send you images of my tuition account if you'd like. But you can find it on the policy page on each public university's website. Here is UA's: Qualified Tuition Reduction | Policies and Procedures
Since the college of medicine does not follow the traditional semester schedule for credit purposes, the credit restriction also does not apply - so the QTR truly does cover all of tuition. It is the best deal ever!

Do you know if there are many positions available at the COM campus or do most spouses work at ASU? I'm assuming employment at Banner does not qualify, correct?

 

[HeftyGo37]

Do you know if there are many positions available at the COM campus or do most spouses work at ASU? I'm assuming employment at Banner does not qualify, correct?

Many spouses work in the COM admin offices! I would say there's a good mix between UA and ASU. There are also public university affiliates to these institutions that qualify - I don't have a list off the top of my head, but no I don't believe Banner qualifies. However, if there is a spouse in nursing or somewhere else in healthcare, they are sometimes openings with the UA - PHX simulation lab, so that would be a possible opportunity. Another note, the spouse only needs to be enrolled 0.5 FTE (20 hrs/week) to receive the benefit.