How much does money factor into your school choice?

[KingTutATL]

Everyone is always talking about the schools that they apply to. If you get into the best med school do you just go 200,000 in debt or go to an instate school?

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[tigress]

I would choose the least expensive school. If it were a significant monetary difference, I would even go to a school I didn't like nearly as much as another choice. Facing debt from med school for both my husband and me is a slightly overwhelming prospect.

 

[JDWflash44]

I worked with a well-known orthopod/shoulder specialist for a year and his advice to me was go where it is cheapest (in US, allo). He went to SUNY buffalo because he got a full scholarship, he also got into Northwestern and Brown. He says as long as you kick a$$ at any school and do good on your exams you can get the residency you want. He was from buffalo originally and did his undergrad at Northwestern. He got a residency at Syracuse i believe, then did his fellowship with Jim Andrews at American Sports Medicine in Birmingham, AL. Just his $.02.

 

[tinkerbelle]

At first I thought money was really important and so I should just go to the cheapest place possible However, I sorta just decided that I want to expereince new things and I want to go to a school I know I will love. Hence, I just turned down my state school (with an awesome 36 k price tag) for another school (with a not so wonderful 50k price tag). But it's only money, right? We'll make it back eventually... or at least that's what I keep telling myself

 

[CanIMakeIt]

I decided to keep my state school over the two places I absolutely loved. So I guess a little less debt is more lucrative to me. Plus I can't complain about my state school .... it was my top choice going into the process

 

[DrHopeless]

Yah State School for me, if they ever get to my app so I could finally turn it in.

 

[dr.z]

I worked with a well-known orthopod/shoulder specialist for a year and his advice to me was go where it is cheapest (in US, allo). He went to SUNY buffalo because he got a full scholarship, he also got into Northwestern and Brown. He says as long as you kick a$$ at any school and do good on your exams you can get the residency you want. He was from buffalo originally and did his undergrad at Northwestern. He got a residency at Syracuse i believe, then did his fellowship with Jim Andrews at American Sports Medicine in Birmingham, AL. Just his $.02.

Well stated. I would go for cheapest place possible.

 

[sandg]

I am rather suprised by the responses so far, but I consider them very sound advice. I seem to remember similar threads from the past where the overwhelming majority said to "follow your heart...you'll be able to pay back the debt."

I tend to agree with the responses here. Despite the bickering about this issue that occurs on SDN, the name of your med school will not matter if you rock the boards, do some research, honor your core rotations, etc. Conversely, a great school name will not save you if you don't do those things. A simple glance at some residency websites will demonstrate that the residents usually come from a range of schools.

One thing I thought about when choosing a scholarship at my state school over several other schools with poor aid packages is this: graduating with little debt (<$10, 000 due to the scholarship + my own savings) will allow me to pick any career specialty I want. I would have hated finding out I really enjoy general IM or FP or some other field on the lower end of the physician pay scale only to choose another specialty so I could make more money and pay back massive debt. Something else to consider: there have been several threads in the allo and residency boards lately where quite a few posters have said they would not go into medicine again. A common reason cited is the debt itself, but more importantly, the feeling of having to stick with medicine because that was the only way to make enough income to pay back the loans. If you graduate with less debt, you might not feel trapped and perhaps you will not become as unsatisfied as some on SDN in this era of declining reimbursement.

Just my two hundreths of the dollar.

 

[KingTutATL]

Personally I would go to a cheaper school, if possible, because we already have debt from my husband being in med school, and double the debt is double the worry. It factors in so much that I'm applying to a school I sort of don't want to go to just because if I got in I would have a full tuition (plus books, computer, etc.) scholarship. I just wouldn't be able to turn that down, even though it would require moving and figuring out a way for my husband to transfer for third year, and it wouldn't be my top choice otherwise. Unfortunately my top choice, Drexel, is really expensive. I just spent the entire afternoon reading about loans!

Luckily, I probably won't even get in to that school because my stats aren't good enough ...if I do, it's going to be an excruciatingly hard decision to make.

are you and your husband both in or going to medical school? I always love to ask my doctors as many questions as i can. I'm probably one of the few people, with the exception of everyone on this board, that enjoys seeing their doctor. My opthamologist told me he went to ohio state and that it truly didnt matter so long as you did well.

 

[donnap86]

I hope I get into a state school here in florida because I only plan on borrow tuition and fees and schools here all mostly have a good reps. UF instate is like ~18K, USF17K, FSU ~14-15K but they keep raising theirs, UM is the most expensive with tuition and fees alone at ~28K and that good for a private school. I say stay instate keep ur grades up and u'll be just as competitive in a match as someone from Johns Hopkins.

 

[tacrum43]

I would choose the least expensive school. If it were a significant monetary difference, I would even go to a school I didn't like nearly as much as another choice. Facing debt from med school for both my husband and me is a slightly overwhelming prospect.

I have to say that after choosing a state school for undergrad, I would spend the extra money to go to the med school I liked the best, especially if it had a better reputation.

 

[sunnyjohn]

I plan on going with the best aid package.

I plan on being part pay-doctor, part med missionary, so I don't want massive debt ruining my plans.

Yep, I'm a cheap tightwad.

 

[bigdan]

Finances were about 80% of my selection criteria. I initially only responded to secondaries at schools that I would enjoy the location of. Then, once I had multiple acceptances, I looked long and hard at the numbers.

I LOVED Emory, but liked Stony Brook a lot. I've developed a love of Stony Brook now with the ridiculous money they've given me. I cannot justify the 200K dollar difference in loans between the schools for the exact same degree.

Good luck to all.

dc

 

[sunnyjohn]

I too think I could find love in my heart for any US medical school that offered me a full scholarship or covered over 75% of the 4 years.

 

[MadameLULU]

If you really like a school, it never hurts to ask for more money...that's just something to think about