Hopkins (150k) vs. WashU (Full ride)

[MD_Throwaway_2016]

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Got into Hopkins in December and was all set on going until I got a full tuition merit scholarship from WashU this past week. Considering my EFC is close to 0, WashU would be giving me a full cost of attendance scholarship (since they add need and merit).

Interested in surgical subspecialties (think ortho, nsgy, plastics, ent..)

I loved WashU when I visited and think I would receive an outstanding education there. Hopkins though, is hopkins and I also loved it after I interviewed!!

Tbh, I like both schools a lot. I prefer St. Louis over Baltimore. Keeping this intentionally vague so as to not dox myself and to not bias your opinions. What would you choose in this scenario?

Edit: havent received my financial aid offer from hopkins yet but its likely to be around 150k. I also dont think they will match

 

[StormPhoenix]

WashU. You like location better, cost is better, Prestige is slightly Hopkins, but you're basically on equal playing field at the tippy top of the tower. I can't really see why you would choose Hopkins tbh, but congrats

 

[TheIllusionist]

people like you are the cannon fodder that meddit uses to blow SDN to smithereens

 

[MD_Throwaway_2016]

One of my concerns here, as shallow as it may sound, is that hopkins has worldwide recognition even amongst lay people. People on the East or West Coast generally dont know WashU unless they are in academia. Am I a complete ***** to choose hopkins?

 

[Pluto98]

In a similar situation (although not exactly the same) but leaning towards the money.

 

[Engrailed]

I think Hopkins is worth the $

 

[Lawpy]

I think Hopkins is worth the $

why

 

[SleazySalesMed]

One of my concerns here, as shallow as it may sound, is that hopkins has worldwide recognition even amongst lay people. People on the East or West Coast generally dont know WashU unless they are in academia. Am I a complete ***** to choose hopkins?

Are you going into medicine to impress lay people? If the answer is yes, pay the money. I know people like that (Looking to impress parents/others), no shame if that's your goal. If it's not, and you still choose Hopkins... Lol you called yourself it, not I

 

[9blade]

Hopkins is a huge name, but free tuition at WashU is still free tuition at WashU. lol. If it's me, I would only pass up free tuition at WashU if you plan on working in a startup or some biotech company where the regular lay person would be impressed with the Hopkins name. Outside and inside of medicine, the Hopkins name is big. WashU's name is only big inside of medicine.

 

[MD_Throwaway_2016]

I am cognizant that attending either school will afford me the exact same career opportunities down the line. The only real difference is that random people not in the midwest will be very impressed by hopkins but not by WashU. Unless they are in academia. Esp, back home (west coast) where people would know one versus the other. Such shallow reasons seem really dumb to choose one over the other but I honestly don't know. By choosing hopkins, I derive more enjoyment early on but "suffer" more later on. By choosing WashU its the opposite. Obv suffering is a strong word here! I know neither case is even close to suffering.

Thanks for your comments. @Goro @LizzyM @gonnif @Med Ed what do you think?

 

[deleted972488]

You said you haven't received your financial aid offer from Hopkins yet, so the COAs may be closer than you think. Obviously wait until then to make a decision.

But you said you recognize that WashU won't close any doors for you. I definitely wouldn't choose Hopkins just for the name.

FWIW, I withdrew from all other places (even higher ranked ones) as soon as I found out I got a COA scholarship that I knew nobody else would match.

 

[Moko]

I am cognizant that attending either school will afford me the exact same career opportunities down the line. The only real difference is that random people not in the midwest will be very impressed by hopkins but not by WashU. Unless they are in academia. Esp, back home (west coast) where people would know one versus the other. Such shallow reasons seem really dumb to choose one over the other but I honestly don't know. By choosing hopkins, I derive more enjoyment early on but "suffer" more later on. By choosing WashU its the opposite. Obv suffering is a strong word here! I know neither case is even close to suffering.

Thanks for your comments. @Goro @LizzyM @gonnif @Med Ed what do you think?

How important is this recognition to you? Do you envision this still being important to you years down the line after you've started a family etc (if that is something you want)? Is this worth potentially needing to work extra years before you can retire comfortably? Only you can decide.

As an example, physicians working at quaternary academic medical centers generally take major pay cuts to work there. Some definitely do it for the prestige, others to be at the forefront of medicine, and/or to treat uncommon diseases and disorders, and so on. Decide what's important for you and go from there. It's not all about money, but money should be a serious consideration for everyone.

Also, recognize that you can still be Hopkins/Harvard trained by going there for residency and/or fellowship, though certainly it'll be easier to do so as an internal candidate.

Regardless, it's good that you're already weighing these factors intelligently. Congrats again

 

[Goro]

I am cognizant that attending either school will afford me the exact same career opportunities down the line. The only real difference is that random people not in the midwest will be very impressed by hopkins but not by WashU. Unless they are in academia. Esp, back home (west coast) where people would know one versus the other. Such shallow reasons seem really dumb to choose one over the other but I honestly don't know. By choosing hopkins, I derive more enjoyment early on but "suffer" more later on. By choosing WashU its the opposite. Obv suffering is a strong word here! I know neither case is even close to suffering.

Thanks for your comments. @Goro @LizzyM @gonnif @Med Ed what do you think?

Free ride anywhere is a lot better than most other choices.

When you have free ride WashU vs anybody else, you'd have to be insane NOT to pick WashU. Hell, if you were my kid, I'd personally drive you to St Louis!

 

[Saturday’s Child]

How important is this recognition to you? Do you envision this still being important to you years down the line after you've started a family etc (if that is something you want)? Is this worth potentially needing to work extra years before you can retire comfortably? Only you can decide.

As an example, physicians working at quaternary academic medical centers generally take major pay cuts to work there. Some definitely do it for the prestige, others to be at the forefront of medicine, and/or to treat uncommon diseases and disorders, and so on. Decide what's important for you and go from there. It's not all about money, but money should be a serious consideration for everyone.

Also, recognize that you can still be Hopkins/Harvard trained by going there for residency and/or fellowship, though certainly it'll be easier to do so as an internal candidate.

Regardless, it's good that you're already weighing these factors intelligently. Congrats again

@Moko bringing that 98 mph HEAT tonight with the incredibly insightful advice. Loving it 😍

 

[Dream of the Endless]

One of my concerns here, as shallow as it may sound, is that hopkins has worldwide recognition even amongst lay people. People on the East or West Coast generally dont know WashU unless they are in academia. Am I a complete ***** to choose hopkins?

Take the money and drive off into the sunset with your new Porsche. 150k (People work for 3-4 years Full time and don't even make this) more debt isn't worth Joe at your local Publix being impressed with your school's name in passing

 

[deleted972488]

150k (People work for 3-4 years Full time and don't even make this)

After taxes it’s more than I’ve made working 7 years full time. Perhaps that’s why it’s frustrating to me when I keep seeing people ask these types of questions. Even if you have no desire to ever own a fancy car or anything of the like, put yourself in the best position to help others.

 

[acstylin]

What if you fall in love with Fam Med? With no debt, you can practice in any field you want. Food for thought.

 

[bonedoc5576]

Save your money. Especially if you want ortho because Wash U is by far the stronger home program

 

[MD_Throwaway_2016]

Thanks for all your responses guys. What might make this even more interesting is if I get an acceptance offer from HMS (which will likely come out this week or next). If I do, my total cost over 4 years at HMS would likely be around 100k. In that situation, would you all still advise on the full ride at WashU? Consider that 100k = 250k after interest and I have to pay taxes on that 250k (which I dont have to do with scholarship money) which basically means, is HMS worth 400k more than WashU long term? Career options are likely the same regardless (as long as I do good at both places).

Edit: another thing to consider is how the scholarship might look on residency apps?

 

[stcl]

I just happened to randomly come across this thread. No question I'd take WashU and be thrilled with that full ride scholarship. USNWR's 2021 list ranks Hopkins #2 and WashU #6. There's ZERO meaningful difference in terms of prestige, matching opportunities, career opportunities etc.

If anything, WashU might actually improve your career opportunities. When applying for residencies, especially Midwest residency programs, PDs like to "yield protect" meaning they might not offer an interview to an East Coast applicant from Hopkins since they think the east coaster won't actually come to the Midwest program. Going from WashU to one of the big name coastal programs, you'll still get interviews since PDs assume everyone wants to move there anyway.

You said you like St. Louis better and would be happier there. St. Louis also has a somewhat cheaper cost of living. And yes, the full ride scholarship will look great on your residency application.

I'm trying to think of reasons to pick Hopkins. The only one I can think of is maybe if you don't plan on practicing medicine and want to do some alternative career in consulting, tech, or finance. But even then, WashU is a much better choice because it's still very prestigious and you won't have 6 figures of debt keeping you from changing careers. How are you going to go back to school for an MBA or whatever to change careers and take on more debt if you've already got 150k+ in debt? No matter how you slice it, WashU comes out as the better choice.

TL;DR: the prestige is effectively the same within medicine, WashU will probably be better overall for your career options, you said you like St. Louis better. Pick the free education at WashU!

 

[Grapesurgery]

I just happened to randomly come across this thread. No question I'd take WashU and be thrilled with that full ride scholarship. USNWR's 2021 list ranks Hopkins #2 and WashU #6. There's ZERO meaningful difference in terms of prestige, matching opportunities, career opportunities etc.

If anything, WashU might actually improve your career opportunities. When applying for residencies, especially Midwest residency programs, PDs like to "yield protect" meaning they might not offer an interview to an East Coast applicant from Hopkins since they think the east coaster won't actually come to the Midwest program. Going from WashU to one of the big name coastal programs, you'll still get interviews since PDs assume everyone wants to move there anyway.

You said you like St. Louis better and would be happier there. St. Louis also has a somewhat cheaper cost of living. And yes, the full ride scholarship will look great on your residency application.

I'm trying to think of reasons to pick Hopkins. The only one I can think of is maybe if you don't plan on practicing medicine and want to do some alternative career in consulting, tech, or finance. But even then, WashU is a much better choice because it's still very prestigious and you won't have 6 figures of debt keeping you from changing careers. How are you going to go back to school for an MBA or whatever to change careers and take on more debt if you've already got 150k+ in debt? No matter how you slice it, WashU comes out as the better choice.

TL;DR: the prestige is effectively the same within medicine, WashU will probably be better overall for your career options, you said you like St. Louis better. Pick the free education at WashU!

Quality post/analysis. I have to agree, take the money!
As far as prestige goes, sure Hopkins is a scratch above washU in medicine. Yet no one will look down on washU by any means, especially with that full scholarship. Outside of medicine, I have to admit, I am not sure if either makes a hard difference to the average person (I’m talking about impressing relatives, people at fancy dinner parties, etc.) I know for a fact many if not all family/friends who are not in medicine have no idea what a powerhouse either Hopkins or washU is. At best they have heard the name Hopkins thrown around a few times on Greys Anatomy. That may be just my experience though I can easily see apply to most people (outside of med). For whatever reason, certain ivies always seem to hog the spotlight. Not that this should be pivotal by any means in your decision, and congrats on your fantastic achievements (seriously, wow!).
Also: don’t forget the compounding interest on the Hopkins cost. And, Baltimore isn’t bad, practice basic city smarts and you’ll be fine. Can be a tad boring though. Sketchier in certain places and maybe at night but fine otherwise, as all cities go.
Still, take the money. And fantastic opportunities at washU.