I'm afraid I'm going to pick the wrong medical school to attend

[Mizo]

So, I got accepted to Tufts. It's a good school, I like it there.

However, I was waitlisted at Mt. Sinai, Wash U in St. Louis, and UPenn. Wash and Penn are in the top 10 schools, by ranking in America. Mt. Sinai is also ranked above Tufts.

People have been telling me to choose a school I like. Truth is, I like them all. I don't care about location, and all the people seem great. The research doesn't matter too much, since I have broad interests, and will work in anything. Opportunities are roughly the same at all of them.

So, what should I use to pick? Is it ok to use the ranking? I have faith in myself to do well wherever I go. ESPECIALLY: Should I be worried about my professional career if I go to Tufts over say UPenn?

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[Appless]

if you like them all equally then go to the cheapest. If they are all similar in cost, then id say go to the most "prestigious" one as from your post you seem to care about that somewhat. School name does matter in this process (though not as much as other things). If you cant base it on location/feel/cirriculum/2nd look...then go for money/prestige i guess in your case. As far as should you be worried...the answer is no. Tufts can produce as many great academic docs as mt sinai would. Honestly though im sure you can find some concrete things that are different and things you would like better. The way the material is presented both in the clinical and non clinical years is different and location wise you can jsut feel the same about them all. They at the very least all cost something different and tufts is one of the most if not most expensive schools in the country. On that ground alone, if i got into another school id skip tufts.

 

[byurazorhog]

There should be a commandment against all of these "oh I have such a hard time choosing among these great schools I got accepted into" posts. Perhaps someone should look into creating a special category for them so most pre-meds preparing to apply don't have to see these and get even more nervous about the whole process. Seriously if you don't think you'll be happy at a school because of any overriding factor (for me, hot weather, so no Texas schools and anything south of Tennessee, or rural so no West Virginia, North/South Dakota...) then don't even apply there in the first place. If you get accepted at all to any other place, be happy and go away. Go to the medical school student section where people can give you better advice about what's actually happening at the relevant schools.

 

[loveoforganic]

It's a tough decision for some people. No biggie.

Agree with the first reply.

 

[metallica81788]

I second Elijah's post.

I would go with any of the waitlisted ones should you get accepted. Tufts is really expensive and the others would be more likely to give you some aid. Since you like them all and don't care about location, you might as well go with the cheapest (you're not settling, they're all good schools) or the most prestigious, since that seems to be important to you (nothing wrong with that).

 

[dw2158]

speaking as someone who's planning on sinai but really wants to get off columbia's waitlist... stop torturing yourself. you are WAITLISTED at these other schools. plan on tufts. remain hopeful but realistic about the other schools. don't treat them as if they are actually options, though. plan on tufts.

 

[caveat87]

if you like them all equally then go to the cheapest. If they are all similar in cost, then id say go to the most "prestigious" one as from your post you seem to care about that somewhat. School name does matter in this process (though not as much as other things). If you cant base it on location/feel/cirriculum/2nd look...then go for money/prestige i guess in your case. As far as should you be worried...the answer is no. Tufts can produce as many great academic docs as mt sinai would. Honestly though im sure you can find some concrete things that are different and things you would like better. The way the material is presented both in the clinical and non clinical years is different and location wise you can jsut feel the same about them all. They at the very least all cost something different and tufts is one of the most if not most expensive schools in the country. On that ground alone, if i got into another school id skip tufts.

I also agree with this. It is very likely that this healthcare overhaul will affect physician pay so it probably makes sense to take the least expensive option. Compound interest can be a real killer and seriously affect your quality of living in the future. Living near Boston my whole life, I can tell you Tufts has a great regional reputation even with Harvard and BU not too far away. If tufts ends up being your only option, you are definitely not in a bad position.

 

[Narmerguy]

speaking as someone who's planning on sinai but really wants to get off columbia's waitlist... stop torturing yourself. you are WAITLISTED at these other schools. plan on tufts. remain hopeful but realistic about the other schools. don't treat them as if they are actually options, though. plan on tufts.

Hmm, I hadn't even thought about that but it's very true.

 

[Suenya]

As others said, plan on Tufts, it's where you are accepted. Otherwise, since you don't care about location (which is hard to understand because I care so much, personally) I would go by cost and then prestige. If you get off the waitlist at a cheaper school, go for it.

 

[TexasPhysician]

if you like them all equally then go to the cheapest.

This is all that matters. Any of those schools will make you a great doctor.

 

[Ian1223]

People dont usually get accepted from waitlists.

You only have one acceptance. Relax. Decide based on tuition first, prestige second.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

People dont usually get accepted from waitlists.

You only have one acceptance. Relax. Decide based on tuition first, prestige second.

I believe the rule of thumb is that from 3 wait-lists you'll get 1 acceptance. So there's still a possibility that he'll be hearing back from one of those schools.
But I will agree with most of the people here, you should be planning on tufts, as well as not caring about the prestige factor.

 

[dw2158]

I believe the rule of thumb is that from 3 wait-lists you'll get 1 acceptance. So there's still a possibility that he'll be hearing back from one of those schools.

i have never heard that... i feel like schools' admissions strategies are all too different from each other to be able to come up with a blanket rule like that

 

[slowbutsteady]

Posts like this are really annoying even if they make sense.

Dude, you didn't get into those other schools. You have NO decision to make. They did not, and likely will not, accept you!!!!

Just go to Tufts and become a doctor.

Geez.

 

[alibai3ah]

OP I'm a bit surprised you don't care about location....I mean St. Louis vs. New York vs. Philly vs. Boston?????

Family near by? A place you can live with for 4 years? Friends in the area? Fun place to be? I'm sorry but location is one of the most important factors to me.

With these 4 great schools I'd pick
1) Price
2) Location
3) Prestige

EDIT: To the post above, he is just posting this question to see what would happen if he got off the waitlist. I don't think there is anything wrong with that.

 

[rockaction]

i have never heard that... i feel like schools' admissions strategies are all too different from each other to be able to come up with a blanket rule like that

ESPECIALLY with schools like WashU, Mt. Sinai, and Penn. I imagine getting off the waitlists there is considerably harder than your average state school.

 

[drizzt3117]

ESPECIALLY with schools like WashU, Mt. Sinai, and Penn. I imagine getting off the waitlists there is considerably harder than your average state school.

It just depends, but Wash U in particular has a big unranked waitlist which will make things tough.

 

[LIDO]

I believe the "3 wait list = 1 acceptance" rule was derived by a few crazy neurotic premeds on SDN.

Some schools have tons of WL movement (Dartmouth, Downstate, UB), and other schools will have barely no movement (UPenn, Harvard). Some schools will fluctuate by the year (Duke).

All the advice given by other members is pretty accurate.

Congrats on your Tufts acceptance!