Jefferson ($18k/yr scholarship) vs Temple ($40k/yr scholarship)

[hagalaga19]

Hey y'all, I have until Thursday to make this decision so if you're lurking I'd love your opinions. I hope to go into something somewhat competitive (like rads or gas - not derm, but not FM). COA is about the same at both before scholarship (essentially $90k/yr, all things considered). After factoring in FA, COA of LKSOM is about $50k and Jeff is about $72k. Also have been involved in research for 5 years now and hope to do more.

Jefferson
Pros

• Higher PD and research rankings
• Better location in Philly
• Definitely liked the vibe more, actively talk to a few current students and just genuinely felt like a more enjoyable place to go
• Seem to have more freedom in rotations, and exam weeks seem like a nice thing for med school
• Already have been approved for a nice apartment that is a 6 minute walk from campus

Cons

• Ginormous class size
• More expensive now, with financial aid considerations
• Rankings, but in all honesty I don't see that stressing me out too much.

Temple/LKSOM
Pros

• More than 2x as much scholarships
• Still a good MD school, wouldn't be super limited if going into something less competitive
• Similar facilities between the two

Cons

• Worse area to live in Philly, will be with my S/O who works from home exclusively
• Lower ranked for both research and in PD rankings, would only matter if pursuing harder residencies though I know
• Nobody really seemed excited to be there on interview day

Summary: I definitely would prefer Jeff, but didn't know if the more than double amount of scholarship from LKSOM would be worth swaying my decision for. Thanks everyone!

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[voxveritatisetlucis]

Temple. Jefferson isn’t worth the extra cost

Edit: Wait, if COA is the same, go Jefferson. How is that even possible though? Is temple really 22k more year?

 

[dogmomtodoc]

Go with the school you will be the happiest with, Jefferson for you. I don't think the cost difference is significant enough to justify going to a school that both you and your SO will be less happy with.

 

[hagalaga19]

Temple. Jefferson isn’t worth the extra cost

Edit: Wait, if COA is the same, go Jefferson. How is that even possible though? Is temple really 22k more year?

Tuition for LKSOM is roughly $58k/year, Jeff is 61k/yr. Temple gave 22k more in scholarships (LKSOM = 40k/yr scholarship, vs Jeff 18k/yr scholarship)! Sorry for the lack of clarity

 

[JohnJacobJingleheimer]

can your rerun your numbers and double check that COA is 90k/ year after the 40k scholarship at Temple? This doesn’t sound correct. If you’re publishing COA without the scholarship, please update with COA/ year at both schools AFTER factoring in scholarship. Need a more straightforward depiction of the finances before we can accurately chime in.

 

[hagalaga19]

can your rerun your numbers and double check that COA is 90k/ year after the 40k scholarship at Temple? This doesn’t sound correct. If you’re publishing COA without the scholarship, please update with COA/ year at both schools AFTER factoring in scholarship. Need a more straightforward depiction of the finances before we can accurately chime in.

Ah I understand, my apologies. I'll edit now!

 

[BritainKittenMittens]

22k/yr for four years isn't huge if you like one school more than the other. From your pros list for temple doesn't seem like you're tkk excited about it, and feels like settling. I'd go with Jefferson. Being in a nicer part of Philly will affect your day to day experience.

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

I somewhat disagree. 88k is alot if you aren’t going to get a huge bump in prestige. If it was Penn vs Temple, then you pay the 88k but I’m not sure if it makes sense in this case. To put it into context, you would be paying about an extra 1100 a month on 88k

But I guess this also depends on your financial situation. If you will be getting parental help or your SO is also going to be a doctor, it starts to matter much less

 

[TuckGamePerfect]

If housing location is a concern, many of the Temple medical students don't live in North Philadelphia. Many live in similar areas to Jeff students and take the Broad St line up to the medical building.

 

[hagalaga19]

I somewhat disagree. 88k is alot if you aren’t going to get a huge bump in prestige. If it was Penn vs Temple, then you pay the 88k but I’m not sure if it makes sense in this case. To put it into context, you would be paying about an extra 1100 a month on 88k

But I guess this also depends on your financial situation. If you will be getting parental help or your SO is also going to be a doctor, it starts to matter much less

No family aid (I wish) and SO is planning on getting PhD in Lit/English when all is said and done with my schooling. But she'll be workin full time with a salary around $60k and I'll still be tutoring on the side for a few hours that will be enough to cover at least $1-1.5k/month in expenses outside of loans. Not necessarily goin prestige, just the objective PD rankings, which I guess also wouldn't matter too much. Only concern is about wanting something semi-competitive when that difference in rankings (Jeff is around 42, Temple around 78) would matter!

If housing location is a concern, many of the Temple medical students don't live in North Philadelphia. Many live in similar areas to Jeff students and take the Broad St line up to the medical building.

Yea, this scholarship came in this morning so I definitely have to look more into it. But even still, just walking around/commuting in North Philly didn't seem to be like it'd be a super enjoyable time, lol. I've at least been there before so I have some idea of it!

 

[JohnJacobJingleheimer]

Ah I understand, my apologies. I'll edit now!

No worries! The edit was perfect. Much less math involved for us now hahaha.

Personally, I don’t think Jefferson is worth 88k more. My only stipulation would be if Jefferson has a much stronger home program in a specialty you’re highly interested in and their research is much more proliferative. I think they’re very comparable schools, so on average, don’t see the near 6 figure difference being worth it. Another thing to think about is total COA over 4 years, not just the difference. To me, if one was a full ride and one was 88k that would be a much easier pill to swallow, considering 88k to go to the med school u want is still an awesome deal. Once comparing 200k and 300k, however, you look at one number that is large but average for a med student, and the other that is large and a huge burden for many specialties (namely primary care). I think my number would be 50k extra… 88 is just too much for me, personally, given that they’re such similar programs.

 

[JohnJacobJingleheimer]

Not necessarily goin prestige, just the objective PD rankings, which I guess also wouldn't matter too much. Only concern is about wanting something semi-competitive when that difference in rankings (Jeff is around 42, Temple around 78) would matter.

I personally think the tangible difference would be nearly nonexistent. I think these two schools lie in the exact same tier, with schools like BU, Georgetown, Tufts, UF, etc. a step ahead of them. Both very solid mid tiers with strong reputations. Wouldn’t get too caught up in the rankings, unless the match lists between both schools over the past 4 years demonstrate a stark contrast.

 

[JohnJacobJingleheimer]

I agree there is no tangible difference in prestige worth being considered here. But since you go on to reference their relative rank anyways we may as well be correct here. 2023 PD rankings have: BU (#40), Jefferson (#43), Tufts and UF and Georgetown (All three tied at #45), and Temple (#63)

The PD rankings also have Yale behind Wisco, tied with OSU and Colorado… I’m just forming my own independent thought here and offering my opinion, since that’s all that the PD rankings are anyway. There is no system to their ranking.. just an amalgamation of opinion. Name recongnition is important to me, personally, in regards to prestige; for that reason, I put those schools a step above a school like Jefferson or Utah, strictly in terms of prestige, whereas the actual resources are totally comparable. Just my opinion.

 

[hagalaga19]

Right, but all things considered, it'd be kind of stupid to take out $88k more in loans just based on liking a school more right? I know that's obviously a personal question, just gauging everyone else's thoughts on what they would do. Like, we're talking second choice of schools I interviewed with (Jeff) vs 7th out of 8 (LKSOM)