How important should WEATHER be in deciding where I'll go to med school?

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lololol777

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Long story short -- I'm deciding between two schools i've been accepted to, one East Coast the other West Coast (Cali). For all intents and purposes, academics/research opportunities and benefits are equal. However, the West Coast school will potentially be anywhere from $20k - $60k more expensive and my parents are paying zero, now and in the future lol. However, coming from the East Coast, I know that I'll be much more content in a place where the weather is warm year-round (enjoy being outdoors)... but I would get by if I was on the East Coast, as I've live here all my life...just really, really hate the cold. Will I be studying so much that it won't matter? Is it worth the extra price tag to go to Cali, with the boost that comes for residency (if I wanna practice there) given that I'm paying this all off myself?
Thanks!
 
If you want to live in a warmer area, go for it. Of course, the downside could be the higher cost. Is the higher price tag worth it? That you have to think about. It is 4 years of your life, and it's important to go where you will feel happy and fit well. If you want to practice and/or train in Cali, going there can be a benefit as well.

I'm sure someone will pop in here and say "LOL you'll be locked in the library so much it won't matter!", which will get shot down in seconds. 😛
 
I would say money, especially that much, is a MUCH more important factor to consider than weather.


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If you prefer practicing in Cali, going to a school in Cali will help to some extent (regional biases). Otherwise, I wouldn't pay more to go to Cali.
 
I think 20,000 over four years is too much to ignore. You also have to consider interest as well over that time. Does the east coast schools have a reputation of placing students all over the country ? Either way I'd probably go east coast, especially if you're looking at anything close to 60,000
 
i also hate the cold weather but you just have to learn to dress right- lots of layers.
 
only you can answer this. it seems insane to me to factor weather into your decision at all, especially if you're paying 20-60k more for it. that being said, I like snow and snowsports, but I also like warm weather so I can be happy in most climates.

just keep in mind as you decide that if you dress properly you won't be cold even if it's bone chilling cold outside. It's just a bit more of a hassle to layer and delayer all the time. There are tons of winter sports you can take up as well so you won't be stuck indoors.
 
I think you should stay on the east coast. I like my beaches not crowded 😛

Jk but is it 20k or 60k more? There's a huge range and if the difference is 20k I would consider it, but 60k is getting into "not worth it" territory. You could buy a brand new Porsche for that and crank up the heater whenever you want 😉
 
Weather is as important as you personally think it is.

If you go to that east coast school, will you be glad you saved 40k or would you be willing to rip 40k out of your pocket and burn it in desperation to generate a miserable amount of heat and escape the cold, if only just for a moment?

..what? I'm not projecting!! Hahaha 😉
 
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It depends on how extreme the east coast weather would be. I didn't apply to any SUNYs because I would be miserable spending the next 4+ years in this weather. In the case of 4 feet of snow per winter or sunshine and some extra debt, I would choose the sun and debt to make me happier.


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An extra 20-60k in debt is not worth it for the weather.

At least for me, the warm weather and sun was nice for the first year, but after that, I got tired of it. I just wanted a break from the 75 degree year-round weather (as weird as it sounds). Having lived on both the east and west coast, I can say that having 4 seasons is way better for me, and I imagine a lot of other people would feel the same. I'd rather things change up a bit.
 
lololol777 said:
Long story short -- I'm deciding between two schools i've been accepted to, one East Coast the other West Coast (Cali). For all intents and purposes, academics/research opportunities and benefits are equal. However, the West Coast school will potentially be anywhere from $20k - $60k more expensive and my parents are paying zero, now and in the future lol. However, coming from the East Coast, I know that I'll be much more content in a place where the weather is warm year-round (enjoy being outdoors)... but I would get by if I was on the East Coast, as I've live here all my life...just really, really hate the cold. Will I be studying so much that it won't matter? Is it worth the extra price tag to go to Cali, with the boost that comes for residency (if I wanna practice there) given that I'm paying this all off myself?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

I am in the same situation. From NYC, deciding to go to a state school here in NY vs a West Coast private school (Haven't been accepted to both yet, but one can dream!) 🙂

I am leaning towards the nicer weather, however do keep in mind that it will be harder to travel/get in an East coast residency once you are settled in the West coast, so I might also be prepared to do residency in CA too.
 
Warmer weather... Screw the library get some vitamin d while you study! Lol.

I'm actually having a similar debate between New Mexico and Minnesota... Cold winters or sunshine year round. The cold school would actually be the more expensive one though.
 
lololol777 said:
Long story short -- I'm deciding between two schools i've been accepted to, one East Coast the other West Coast (Cali). For all intents and purposes, academics/research opportunities and benefits are equal. However, the West Coast school will potentially be anywhere from $20k - $60k more expensive and my parents are paying zero, now and in the future lol. However, coming from the East Coast, I know that I'll be much more content in a place where the weather is warm year-round (enjoy being outdoors)... but I would get by if I was on the East Coast, as I've live here all my life...just really, really hate the cold. Will I be studying so much that it won't matter? Is it worth the extra price tag to go to Cali, with the boost that comes for residency (if I wanna practice there) given that I'm paying this all off myself?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

I've lived in Cali my whole life (I love it but I'm gonna play devil's advocate here). Some people I know get tired of the 85 degree weather year round. It's snowing all across the country right now and Cali has a water shortage because we've gotten no rain all year. Even the mountains had no snow this year. I don't know, if you're not a huge beach person you might find out you miss fall/winter/spring.
 
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This thread sounds very similar to another one posted last week...I will say the same thing.

Weather is not worth 20k, in my opinion. HOWEVER they key line is that you'd like to go back to Cali... That is not an easy feat for most east coasters. I know many med students from Cali who are in a much more difficult position to get back there for residency.

Bottom line: if you're currently in California and you have an acceptance there and you want to go back, it seems silly to leave.
 
I don't think weather is worth that much money, but everyone has their price. The more important point as others have touched on is whether you'd like to end up in CA for residency. It is generally more difficult (though not impossible) to go to the "desireable" areas - i.e., the coasts - for residency if you aren't already from those areas. Local connections and networking can be a huge help. Particularly if you are interested in a more competitive specialty, I think "where do I want to end up?" is a much more important question than "is the weather worth it?" for the long-term.
 
How did you make this decision about where to go for college? I think you should ignore the weather. Third year you won't have any time to care, fourth year you can do rotations away during the coldest months.
 
When I was applying to med school, I was coming off four years of nasty midwestern winters, in a college town where it got dark around 4:30 pm in the winter. I grew up in the South and knew I needed a break. I geographically restricted my applications to accommodate this. I applied to some not-great weather places, but I knew I really needed some better weather than what I'd had.

When it came time to apply to residency I applied far and wide, having had four years of great weather to recharge on.
 
You should think about where you want to work in the future. If you want to work in Cali, it's a lot easier to get a residency if you have ties to the area.
 
20k for all four years? In the grand scheme of things, I would go for the weather. Personally I hate snow
60k for all four years, as it has been said, getting into the expensive category and its really up to you.
Now if we're talking per year, then forget about it and go to the cold school.
 
I'm from the east coast and I'm struggling with this decision myself. Here are the factors that I've considered:

-It's not necessarily about the weather. It's about where you'll be most happy, which will eventually determine how successful you are in medical school. I HATE the cold and seasonal affective disorder impacts me more than I'd like to admit so "weather" does play an important role outside of what I call the Pina Colada ideal.

-If I don't make the leap cross country now, when will I ever have the opportunity again, which leads me to my final and most important factor (which is based more on conjecture than fact, so maybe someone else can enlighten me) --

-Getting into a Ca residency will be much easier, but coming back to the east for residency shouldn't be difficult either since no one would question why you would want to come home. Conversely, getting a Ca residency from a east coast school would be more difficult unless you had a compelling reason.

Anyway, money does matter in the end, and I don't think I would turn down a full ride from any of the east schools that I got into in favor of my one Ca school. However, the odds of that happening...
 
It's HUGE for me and the main reason I will be choosing a west coast school over many east coast schools.
Reasons:
1) I have pretty bad asthma and it spikes incredibly with the cold. I've felt this first hand when interviewing at east coast schools. I don't want to be miserable and sick with an already difficult curriculum.
2) The sun makes me really happy. The ability to step outside in the sun for a break is absolutely amazing.
3) I really want to stay in CA for residency/practice and a CA school really helps with that.

Nothing (cost, etc) can replace happiness, imo.
 
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midnight0il said:
I'm from the east coast and I'm struggling with this decision myself. Here are the factors that I've considered:

-It's not necessarily about the weather. It's about where you'll be most happy, which will eventually determine how successful you are in medical school. I HATE the cold and seasonal affective disorder impacts me more than I'd like to admit so "weather" does play an important role outside of what I call the Pina Colada ideal.

-If I don't make the leap cross country now, when will I ever have the opportunity again, which leads me to my final and most important factor (which is based more on conjecture than fact, so maybe someone else can enlighten me) --

-Getting into a Ca residency will be much easier, but coming back to the east for residency shouldn't be difficult either since no one would question why you would want to come home. Conversely, getting a Ca residency from a east coast school would be more difficult unless you had a compelling reason.

Anyway, money does matter in the end, and I don't think I would turn down a full ride from any of the east schools that I got into in favor of my one Ca school. However, the odds of that happening...
Click to expand...
Maybe I'll see you at USC? 😀
 
lololol777 said:
Long story short -- I'm deciding between two schools i've been accepted to, one East Coast the other West Coast (Cali). For all intents and purposes, academics/research opportunities and benefits are equal. However, the West Coast school will potentially be anywhere from $20k - $60k more expensive and my parents are paying zero, now and in the future lol. However, coming from the East Coast, I know that I'll be much more content in a place where the weather is warm year-round (enjoy being outdoors)... but I would get by if I was on the East Coast, as I've live here all my life...just really, really hate the cold. Will I be studying so much that it won't matter? Is it worth the extra price tag to go to Cali, with the boost that comes for residency (if I wanna practice there) given that I'm paying this all off myself?
Thanks!
Click to expand...

The weather affects some people's moods, so if you're one of them, that's definitely something to think about. After all, you want to be as emotionally stable as possible when you're under constant stress.
 
Don't listen to people who don't hate the cold, tell you to just dress in layers, tell you it's not that bad since you'll be inside studying all the time, etc. People who don't hate the cold do not understand, and they never will. Go for warmth, it's worth it in the long run; as others point out, it'll be hard to move out there if you don't do your schooling out there.
 
If I were you, I would go for the money and avoid the debt. As a junior at a college in the freezing-ass north coast, I realized that the problem is not the cold weather. It is having to walk in the nasty weather. If I had a car and could drive everywhere without having to walk much, then the weather would be much less of an issue for me. In med school, you will have a car, so you don't have to walk so I reckon weather would be less of an issue.
 
It totally depends on the person; I hate the cold too, but I'm the type who can make it through anything as long as there's an end in sight. Also remember that this might be a "grass is greener" situation. If you've never lived in CA you might not realize the issues you'll have to deal with once you're there.
Plus don't forget the old quote "the coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco" - there's a big difference between SoCal and NorCal so it definitely depends on the school as well.
 
coconut monkee said:
If I were you, I would go for the money and avoid the debt. As a junior at a college in the freezing-ass north coast, I realized that the problem is not the cold weather. It is having to walk in the nasty weather. If I had a car and could drive everywhere without having to walk much, then the weather would be much less of an issue for me. In med school, you will have a car, so you don't have to walk so I reckon weather would be less of an issue.
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Avoiding debt is great and I'd advise it in most situations, but for people who HATE the cold, this is not the problem. I can't speak for OP, but personally I am cold and miserable 24/7, indoors and outdoors, when it is cold outside. I am glad that you found a solution for you and it's not just that you hate the cold (which kind of sucks and is inconvenient, I can tell you). So, think about what it is you really don't like, OP. But, there is no replacement for the heat of the sun, for some of us.
 
I only applied to schools in warm areas, I have really bad seasonal depression and its hard for me to get out of bed when its cold and miserable outside.
 
EMDO2018 said:
I only applied to schools in warm areas, I have really bad seasonal depression and its hard for me to get out of bed when its cold and miserable outside.
Click to expand...

Same. Going to the east coast isn't worth it unless if it's NYC or Boston. Or
JHU obviously. Besides doctors on the east coast get paid less compared to those on west coast and in the northwest region
 
*Heart* Stanford...If I can get it, that is. I hate the cold too. Once it was so cold (like minus 10 or something) that the door to my dorm was frozen over so I couldn't open it. I had to call campus security to help me get it open. That was very sad. I hate the cold too. I'm a sunshine person :soexcited:
 
cloud.strife said:
LOL you'll be locked in the library so much it won't matter!
Click to expand...


Damn, beat me to it haha.

Chillywilly said:
Same. Going to the east coast isn't worth it unless if it's NYC or Boston. Or
JHU obviously. Besides doctors on the east coast get paid less compared to those on west coast and in the northwest region
Click to expand...

Umm, lolwhat? You realize this trashtalks: UMiami, FIU, FAU, UofF, USF, UCF, Emory, MCG, MUSC, USC, UNC, Duke, UMD, UVA, VCU, PSU, UPitt, UPenn, UMass, UVM, Brody-East Carolina, EVMS, Howard, Brown, Buffalo, Upstate, Rochester, Albany, Stony Brook, Hofstra, UMDNJ, Thomas Jefferson, Drexel, Georgetown, GWU, and I am certain there are a host of other schools I've missed.
 
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bakedbeans18 said:
Damn, beat me to it haha.



Umm, lolwhat? You realize this trashtalks: UMiami, FIU, FAU, UofF, USF, UCF, Emory, MCG, MUSC, USC, UNC, Duke, UMD, UVA, VCU, PSU, UPitt, UPenn, UMass, UVM, Brown, Buffalo, Upstate, Rochester, Albany, Stony Brook, Hofstra, UMDNJ, Thomas Jefferson, Drexel and I am certain there are a host of other schools I've missed.
Click to expand...

I meant east coast as in the colder states. Obviously Florida is an exception
 
Actually I think it's extremely snobbish to say that the northeast isn't worth it except Boston and New York. I can understand not wanting to be there because of the cold, but there are a lot of wonderful places in the northeast (and amazing schools). Just sounds kind of...ignorant?
 
Chillywilly said:
I meant east coast as in the colder states. Obviously Florida is an exception
Click to expand...

Even still, half of the east coast shares the same climate as California, don't be silly.

Stay thirsty my friend.

QAsPsych said:
Actually I think it's extremely snobbish to say that the northeast isn't worth it except Boston and New York. I can understand not wanting to be there because of the cold, but there are a lot of wonderful places in the northeast (and amazing schools). Just sounds kind of...ignorant?
Click to expand...

Agree completely. I'm going to an awesome medical school in a dope location that isn't Boston or NYC. This school wasn't my top choice, but it was far behind either. The other schools? They weren't in Boston or NYC either, and I'm from the east coast.



East Coast > West Coast. Let us re-ignite the rivalry.
 
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bakedbeans18 said:
Even still, half of the east coast shares the same climate as California, don't be silly.

Stay thirsty my friend.



Agree completely. I'm going to an awesome medical school in a dope location that isn't Boston or NYC. This school wasn't my top choice, but it was far behind either. The other schools? They weren't in Boston or NYC either, and I'm from the east coast.



East Coast > West Coast. Let us re-ignite the rivalry.
Click to expand...

I guess I have a different outlook. But is lived on the east coast all my life. And everyone is entitled to their opinions 😉
 
Living in one of the snowiest places in the country... I've done it all my life. I hate it. Especially because seasonal depression usually hits me pretty hard. So that makes me want to consider it. However... I've heard people say that medical school can be a really tough part of your life and that you should try to have your support system as close to you as possible, if you can. So give that a think. But also consider this... will it be more expensive to live there, in addition to just school being more expensive? There's a lot of money on the line, there. Ultimately, though, it's up to you.
 
indianjatt said:
If you can tell me what parts of the east coast share the same climate as California, I will be indebted to you for life.
Click to expand...

North Carolina kind of parallels NorCal, seasonally, and then once you get down to Florida and Georgia, you've got Southern California status.
 
pietachok said:
Oh no, no, no. Humidity.
Click to expand...

Okay fine, the major point is (with the exception of the freak 2 inches of snow in ATL this year) you don't have the same blistering cold weather people associate with the NE united states. Jeez.
 
My 2 cents, think about where you want to be longer term. My Dad did med school in Michigan, then residency at Stanford. California was wonderful weather wise, but the Bay Area (and S. California) are incredible expensive (unless you mean by East Coast either Boston or NY). The income taxes are really high, real estate prices outrageous and the public schools are pretty bad (I went to a private kindergarten in Palo Alto). People usually develop connenctions through residency that lead to staying in the same state after residency (especially since you are already licensed in that state). In our case, the expense of living in CA was too high, so I ended up growing up in Ann Arbor, going to public schools, U of Michigan and will probably die and be buried in Michigan. Weather is only really terrible in winter (about 4 months). Spring Summer and Fall in Michigan are pretty nice.
 
There is a doctor at a nearby hospital that went to the Caribbean for med school because he "wanted to go to medical school in paradise." He is doing very well now, and attributes his success to being happy in medical school. If warm weather is really what you want and will make you happy, go for it.
 
smuscs said:
There is a doctor at a nearby hospital that went to the Caribbean for med school because he "wanted to go to medical school in paradise." He is doing very well now, and attributes his success to being happy in medical school. If warm weather is really what you want and will make you happy, go for it.
Click to expand...

LOL.

Is this an American physician? If so, chances are that's a cover for why they went to a Carribean medical school. The stakes are too high to attend a foreign medical school by choice. I'd recommend mortons salt, you know, so you can have a grain of it here.

Stay thirsty my friends.
 
On the topic of picking a school based on weather... I went to undergrad at Tulane. I grew up in an area that got plenty of snow, and one of the things that was really appealing to me was the weather.

I graduated in May 2006. Do that math. Things don't always work out the way you expect.
 
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