Kaiser Permanente vs. Boston University (BU)

[shurtado]

I was recently accepted to Kaiser Permanente, and although I had accepted a deferral at BU, I'm conflicted on what to do. I'm currently living in New York and want to stay one more year here, but I'm not sure yet if Kaiser will grant me a deferral. Obviously, financially, Kaiser is the better option, but I'm concerned that it being a new institution may affect matching to residency programs, and I also don't know how I feel about there being no third or fourth year medical students. Unfortunately, I feel as though prestige/name of the school does have some impact on matching, so BU gets point for that. But BU is also extremely expensive, and it would be very nice to graduate medical school relatively debt-free. I have a meeting this week with someone at Kaiser to discuss potentially getting a deferral.

Anyone have any advice/thoughts on this decision?

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[shurtado]

Forgot to mention I'm interested in pediatrics and potentially psychiatry. I used to live in LA (went to UCLA and born and raised in SF Bay) so fine with the area but not dying to go back to California yet. I'm waitlisted at Cornell but not sure when I will hear back from them.

 

[Skittsie13]

BU is affiliated with what is probably the top residency in pediatrics, if that helps considering your interest in the field!

 

[proudofmykids]

Pediatrics and Psychiatry are two of the lowest paid and least competitive specialties. You’d be crazy to not take Kaiser.