Location as MSTP criterion

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

EsseQuamVideri

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2009
Messages
84
Reaction score
2
In making your list of schools to apply to how much weight would you initially give to school location? I have about 23 schools I'm interested in due to strength of research, faculty, funding, etc and I've traveled more internationally than I have within the US. It's hard to cut out schools based on locations you've never even been to.

It's pretty expensive to apply to so many and weed them out later. Is it even wise to apply to a place you don't think you would be happy, geographically?

Members don't see this ad.
 
In making your list of schools to apply to how much weight would you initially give to school location? I have about 23 schools I'm interested in due to strength of research, faculty, funding, etc and I've traveled more internationally than I have within the US. It's hard to cut out schools based on locations you've never even been to.

It's pretty expensive to apply to so many and weed them out later. Is it even wise to apply to a place you don't think you would be happy, geographically?

Apply to as many as you can afford. As you even say, if you've never even been there, what makes you think you won't like living there? But if you know you won't like the place (in spite of the above comment), why bother applying?
 
keep in mind that schools that are in undesirable locations are easier to get into because fewer people apply. For example, some programs that are clearly overrated simply due to location are: Einstein, NYU, UC Irvine, UC Davis.
Some programs that are clearly underrated simply due to location are: UAB, Iowa,Colorado.

For example, UAB gets way more NIH funding than Einstein, and is ranked over 10 spots higher than Einstein. However, Einstein gets twice as many applicants. Now why do you think would people rather go to Einstein??

Remember that you're going to med school to get training, not to party in a big city.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Remember that you're going to med school to get training, not to party in a big city.

You are going to a school to get training but you are also living about 10 years of your life there, do you want to spend 15% of your life in an area you don't enjoy?

I applied to 10 schools because location was very important, ultimately its going to depend on how well you do wherever you go. At every school you will see that some people do very well and others do not, doesn't matter if its the highest or lowest US news rank...
 
I didn't use location as a criterion in my initial choice of where to apply, and overall I'm glad I didn't. (When you choose a program though it becomes a lot more important, I think.) I'd really recommend applying broadly at this point though, interviewing is so important in finding out what you're looking for in a program.


You are going to a school to get training but you are also living about 10 years of your life there, do you want to spend 15% of your life in an area you don't enjoy?

I applied to 10 schools because location was very important, ultimately its going to depend on how well you do wherever you go. At every school you will see that some people do very well and others do not, doesn't matter if its the highest or lowest US news rank...
 
I didn't use location as a criterion in my initial choice of where to apply, and overall I'm glad I didn't. (When you choose a program though it becomes a lot more important, I think.) I'd really recommend applying broadly at this point though, interviewing is so important in finding out what you're looking for in a program.
Thanks for this post. In retrospect, to get a better sense of the programs you applied to before you even sent an application, is there anything you wish you had done? Any kind of networking or extra research about the schools you applied to?

Or is interviewing pretty much the only way to figure out what a program is truly like?
 
For me, location is and has always been a major priority. But this is a personal decision. If you are not someone who strongly desires certain outdoor activities, big cities (for various reasons), or a location nearest your family, you can live pretty much anywhere and this all becomes a moot point.

As for training vs. partying, I signed up for MSTP to do both :p.
 
I think how big of a criteron this is will vary for each person. My advice to anyone, though, would be to not rule out places based on location until you have multiple acceptances to choose from. Before then, I think it is crucial for 85% of qualified MSTP applicants to apply broadly, because for whatever reason there is a lot of random variability in where good applicants end up getting accepted. I think unless you are a superstar, you should wait until the very end of the process to begin factoring in location, because I have seen many very strong applicants get screwed by disqualifying themselves from very good schools.
 
Top