How important is "debt" when it comes to choosing between schools?

[Kashue]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I've heard different opinions on debt - some say, don't worry about it as long as you get a good quality education while others say, you should aim to graduate with as little debt as possible.

I'm asking this question because I'm curently deciding between schools: A public school(stony brook) versus a private (Case or NU). I think my happiness would be equal in all 3 and some place other then NYC would be awesome (sorry, but I despise NYC), but I'm wondering whether if I'd want the extra 40-50k in debt if I choose to go to a private school. Also, I'm interested in academic medicine and I've heard it matters where you graduate from.

 

[Brickhouse]

I think if you have the luxury of choosing a cheaper school, you should do it....

unless one is like St. Georges and the other is Harvard, of course.

 

[missbonnie]

go where you want to - happiness is tantamount.

 

[ckent]

I think that it comes down to a personal preference. You should always try to recognize that it's your money that you will be spending or borrowing, so you should decide what you want to do with it. Would you rather go to school X over say going to school Y and using the money saved to buy a new Mercedes and going out to eat every night or whatever you like to spend money on. If school X seems worth it, then go for it. Med school debt is like buying a house, except you don't get a house at the end. You can spread the payments out over time and most people can manage up to 200K debt under current physician salaries. Just don't expect that going to school X will guarentee you a dermatology or radiology spot, you will have to work hard irrespective of where you go, and school X might help you get your door in the foot, but the rest is up to you. Personally, I'd go with the cheaper school, but others would disagree.

 

[jlee9531]

those are two awesome schools and you really cant go wrong choosing between the two.

where did you like it better?

50K debt for me would be a big factor...

unless i was going to be very unhappy at the cheaper institution...i might go that route.

 

[Adapt]

50K is a lot. I would go to the cheaper school if the differences were negligible.

 

[Mr. Rosewater]

well, i wouldn't be so quick to discount CW or NU. I interviewed at, and like SB, but if i wanted a competitive specialty or something then i'd prolly just go to wherever i think will help me get that specialty.

Also, i don't think 50K means $hit. if that debt helps you get a better position, you could make that in a month or so.

 

[merlin]

i'm a second year and my take on it is you might want to think about what you want to do and how that debt might impact your future. it all sounds abstract, and when i was entering med school the idea of 150K of debt was fairly abstract and so i didn't think much of it. but now that i know that international medicine is something that i really want to pursue, i'm not sure that is compatible with the debt that i am going to have. i guess what i am saying is that you are really going to be bound by your debt once you graduate and will influence what you can do (such as travel internationally where you might not make enough money to minimally pay back your loans). not that i have really helped your decision any more. cheers.

 

[uclacrewdude]

if i had gotten into more than one program, i woulda picked the cheaper one, probably. im going to amass close to 200K in debt by the time this is over. though honestly, i was lucky to have only temple available to me, b/c i cant imagine being happier anywhere else (well, except for cali). if you're equally happy anywhere, i would suggest the cheaper schools unless you plan on doing buttloads of research for scholarships and stuff

 

[Tezzie]

I think you have a choice between 3 really good schools Kashue.

I would say the first school to rule out would be CWRU. I think that Stony Brook carries as much clout as them. Although CWRU is a very solid program there is no point to going there vs Stony Brook (other than location of course).

Now when it comes to NWU vs Stony Brook things can get tricky i guess. Northwestern is a great program. Name recognition when in med school is important (esp for competitive residencies). But i am not sure how much edge would NU have over Stony Brook and if it was big enough to say turn down SB. However i was told that NU grads don't have huge amounts of debt when graduating (there was a thread about it - that explains it so do a search).

If i were you i would chose NU.

Congrats on all of your acceptances.

 

[drlexygoat]

although the prospect of 200k+ in debt frightens me, it's not weighing in on where I end up. I've been accepted to two different schools about 75k in debt in difference. Although that's a mighty big number, I can't put a price on a better education and my happiness over the next 4 years.

 

[OrthoFixation]

Paying back student loans sucks. You have to pay taxes on your income before the loan payback is deducted, so the amount of income is jacked up.

Choosing an expensive school might well shape your decisions on what field you choose. For example, FP averages ~$150K so that $200K debt would linger for quite a while. A specialty might pay $200K to $300K+.

If the educational results are similar, choose lower debt. Where you do your residency has more impact on your pay than the med school. Of course, the higher prestige school could land a better residency. The equalizer is board scores. I would take slightlly less prestige and kick butt on boards for a lesser debt.

If academia is your goal, prestige is more important, or so I've been told.

 

[HollyJ]

I think it depends on a lot of things.
-Do you have debt from undergrad?
-How comfortable are you with debt?
-Can you borrow money from your family?
-Do you have any idea what you would like to go into?
-How much would you hate New York?

 

[darkcity998]

SUNY Stonybrook is a great, affordable school, but I don't think it compares to NU. When you get your financial aid package, you may just end up with loans from SUNY and maybe grants from NU (Will tuitions go up for SUNYs?). Plus, if you want to get out of NY and you're interested in academic medicine, NU becomes more appealing. If you plan to teach in a SUNY, then Stonybrook is fine for that.

 

[Kashue]

Thanks everyone for your wonderful responses .
I knew SDN would be a great place to ask!

As to how much I hate NYC, well, after living here for all of my life, it has lost its charm. I got accepted to two NYC schools, but more then likely, I'm going to decline (not stony brook, because I don't consider it in NYC).

My family will make "nil" contribution to my medical education because we're poor, so the cost will be my burden.

NorthWestern has a debt cap of 135k and I absolutely loved Chicago or probably where NU is located: Lake Michigan is so beautiful. Also, I've heard the SUNYs tuition will be increasing over the years, which makes me concerned. I just got the housing packet from SB, and was suprised by how much they are asking for rent: ~ 900-1000 dollars for a 1 bedroom apt on campus(I'm married).

As to residencies, I don't know, maybe radiology, radiation oncology or internal medicine, followed by a fellowship in oncology.

 

[kito]

Originally posted by Tezzie
Now when it comes to NWU vs Stony Brook things can get tricky i guess. Northwestern is a great program. Name recognition when in med school is important (esp for competitive residencies). But i am not sure how much edge would NU have over Stony Brook and if it was big enough to say turn down SB. However i was told that NU grads don't have huge amounts of debt when graduating (there was a thread about it - that explains it so do a search).

It scares me to no end but I am with the Tezzster on this one. Things do get tricky between NW and SB. If you really are interested in academic medicine then NW may be the way, but not then every other indicator in my opinion points straight to SB. For starters, money aside, you need to take a look at the match lists. If you look at the top quarter of each of the classes you will find that the residencies are rather comparable. So if you do well at each school you are just as likely to match to your super competitive ENT residency. So as far as matches go I think its a wash. As far as education qualilty goes its a wash. As far as rep goes you need to go with NW but as far as buck$ go you need to go with SB. Its your call, and it depends on how important a teaching career really is to you.

 

[ollie2003]

when i asked a doctor that i knew about this (an ob/gyn high risk preg. specialist) she said that a difference of ~80,000 between the two school I was deciding between was "not really that much".

maybe ask some doctors you know what they think the real difference is. i think its hard to pinpoint since we are all poor and at least i can't fathom that amount of money being "not much"

 

[HoodyHoo]

Mr. Rosewater,
what school is going to help you get a specialty in which you can make $50K in one month. This sounds like horse****. If it's not, please enlighten me.

 

[ek6]

I would go Northwestern all the way. Don't they have an awesome curriculum, based MUCH less around lectures? (which I heard were approx. 10hours per week?) Their campus is beautiful and I heard that they have a high student satisfaction rate.

Also, since it was brought up - how much does prestige of a school matter in academic medicine? I ask this, because this is the first time I've heard of this and I'm also interested in this field as well.

 

[AlternateSome1]

I am under the impression that reputation is very important for academic medicine. That is just from a few posts on here though, as I have never seriously looked into it.

~AS1~

 

[Mr. Rosewater]

Originally posted by HoodyHoo
Mr. Rosewater,
what school is going to help you get a specialty in which you can make $50K in one month. This sounds like horse****. If it's not, please enlighten me.

well, there are no schools w/ magic "50k/mo" residencies, however ortho surgeons, plastic surgeons, cardiologists and maybe others can make around 600K/yr or 50K/mo. therefore, if a school better enables you (through better training or better rep.) to get one of those specialties (if you like that sort of practice) then the debt is clearly worth it.

btw, i'm aware that i'm not quoting avg. salaries, i'm quoting salaries that are clearly on the high end, but they're there.

 

[OrthoFixation]

I think $1M would be on the high end of large pay specialties. I know an optometrist in his 17th year of practice making beyond $1M (in Oklahoma, not CA, FL, or NY). He was quick to admit that he was certainly not the norm and probably was one of five in the state making this many shekels.

An ortho told me his income was only limited by the number of hours he wanted to work. He said: 4 days/wk & 35-40 hrs ~=$350K; 5 days/wk & 50+ hrs ~= $500K+. No proof to support this, just his experience.

 

[Sharkfan]

Yay ortho!

God, I hope that money is out there. Student loans make me nervous... being $100,000 in the hole seems a tad freaky to me! (This, of course, coming from someone who always pays her credit card accounts in full each month.) 🙂

 

[Pembleton]

If it were my decision, I'd probably go to the cheaper school-- then again, I have debts from grad school to consider.

 

[OrthoFixation]

I'm all for the less expensive schools. I don't know that my interest will end up with ortho. The hours are brutal. I am all about trade-offs. My family is most important. Don't take my post as a brag on ortho's, just observations.

It took me so long to pay off just $20K in ugrad loans, I am very debt conscious and will do everything to keep mine <$125K and maybe <$100K.

Until you have paid them back (loans, credit cards, whatever), borrowing money is essentially painless and very dangerous. Kind of like using plastic. I strive, but do not always achieve, payment in full every month.

Debt could force you into a field that is not your first love just to cover the notes.