Inflection point to justify cost difference of a medical school

[haikuhero]

Researching, it seems the SDN consensus is "go to the cheaper school". Or at least it was in previous years where I could find threads.

However, if the difference is 1000$ cheaper, you look to other factors. If the difference is $200,000, you go cheaper.

But where do we really draw the line? (Total difference, summed over 4 years) 50k? Neighborhood of 20-40k? Under 100k?

Would love to hear your wisdom.

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[Mr.Smile12]

Resources

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[GoSpursGo]

Depends for each person. Additional relevant factors likely include but are not limited to: relative difference in "prestige," location, relative competitiveness of specialty pursuing (if known), existing undergraduate debt, and a number of subjective criteria (ie "vibes").

If someone wants to go into a surgical subspecialty and school A is known as a powerhouse for that specialty and is located in the state that the applicant eventually wants to live in, then you could reasonably be willing to pay $200k more because it checks literally every other box that matters. OTOH, if someone wants to go into FM and doesn't care where they go for a few years while in training, then maybe even saving $10k might be worth it.

 

[FlowRate]

In anecdotal terms, the debt/loans spread for schools I got in to (12 years ago) was 100k-150k, with an additional ~12k/yr expected parental contribution. I was lucky that the "best" school was also the cheapest. With everything behind me at this point, I think 25k is not worth fretting over if there are significant other differences that make you want to go to the more expensive school. Once you're getting into 50k and especially 100k territory, definitely need a strong reason not to go to the cheapest school.

 

[Hollow Knight]

There's a book by the White Coat Investor that, while simplified, breaks down the debt problem. I think there's also a calculator on SDN somewhere. The rule of thumb is to try not to borrow more than twice what you'll make in a year.

If you're dead set on IM, FM, or peds, go the cheap route. If you're dead set on neurosurgery or MOHS, you might should consider the fancier school- however, I would advise you to be wary of the fact that med school may just kick you in the teeth. I got a 520+ MCAT and a 4.0 in college, and I'm a super average med student; I wouldn't be competitive for derm even if I was interested in that field. I'm just not that smart.

I have a classmate who is married to a med student; together, from college and undergrad, they're going to leave med school with almost $800,000 in debt!

I'm not telling you what the right or wrong answer is, I'm just saying to really think before you borrow. I got into a higher ranked school that had a total COA of $400,000. To be a primary care physician, I just think that amount of student debt is bordering on the unreasonable. I went with my "low tier" state school instead, but for FM, no PD is going to care.

 

[WildWing]

Here's the White Coat Investor book for students (affiliate link benefits SDN):

https://amzn.to/45MKPyY

 

[Angus Avagadro]

There's a book by the White Coat Investor that, while simplified, breaks down the debt problem. I think there's also a calculator on SDN somewhere. The rule of thumb is to try not to borrow more than twice what you'll make in a year.

If you're dead set on IM, FM, or peds, go the cheap route. If you're dead set on neurosurgery or MOHS, you might should consider the fancier school- however, I would advise you to be wary of the fact that med school may just kick you in the teeth. I got a 520+ MCAT and a 4.0 in college, and I'm a super average med student; I wouldn't be competitive for derm even if I was interested in that field. I'm just not that smart.

I have a classmate who is married to a med student; together, from college and undergrad, they're going to leave med school with almost $800,000 in debt!

I'm not telling you what the right or wrong answer is, I'm just saying to really think before you borrow. I got into a higher ranked school that had a total COA of $400,000. To be a primary care physician, I just think that amount of student debt is bordering on the unreasonable. I went with my "low tier" state school instead, but for FM, no PD is going to care.

You make a great point. My wife graduated in the top 10 % of her med school class and was astonished at how smart her classmates were. She used the word " scary" smart. People with high stats often get a real shock when they get to med school. I always say run your own race and don't follow how others study. As far as cost, I still think cost is hard to ignore and students should do the math to see if that school makes sense for them and their goals. Keep in mind most students change their specialty goals from when they start med school.