Loma Linda vs. UTSW vs. Cornell

[TheCatalyst]

---

Members do not see this ad.

LLU v. UT-Southwestern v. Weill Cornell

Pleasant predicament I am in. But which would you choose?

Before you continue imagine, note that:

1. You are a Seventh-Day Adventist, with immediate Family members attending LLU

2. You, your girlfriend, and mother live within an hour of Dallas (where UTSW is). You are also a TX resident.

3. You believe in PBL, and are obsessed with Cornell and NYC (have cousins up there too).

Also note:

1. Family and religious principles are very important to you.

2. Cost (and of course, your girlfriend) is also important to you.

3. Prestige and NYC can't hurt either.

If you were accepted to all three, which would you choose? Thanks in advance for your opinions!

 

[SoyRicoSuave]

State school. $$$$ and GF. This is assuming you have future intentions of marrying this GF. A med school is a med school finding someone you can actually see yourself marrying is very very rare.
If the GF was out of the pic I'd say take the debt hit and go with Cornell, amazing school and amazing area that will open up a lot of doors and give you a crazy experience.

 

[unleash500]

state school hands downs. cheap instate tuition+ girlfriend + family. This is like most premed's dream in selecting a med school.

Loma linda doesn't seem to offer you anything different than UTSW. As I am an assuming that you are already in a religious environment near Dallas. LLU is expensive as well.

Same with cornell unless you want prestige + nyc location. Which to me isn't worth the money.

 

[mdeast]

Most practical pick seems UTSW. Close to family, great, well respected school, cheaper.

Throw out Loma Linda, you'd be silly to go there just because of religious reasons....Cornell and UTSW with benefit your career by a significant factor and it's expensive anyway and not in a super desirable location. You'll learn more at either UTSW or Cornell just by not being around a homogenous philosophy of thought. Differences are good.

Cornell is a great option. But given that UTSW is highly ranked, cheaper, closer to family, etc. it might be an inconvenient option. I wouldn't pick a school based on curriculum. To be honest, a lot of people think PBL has advantages (especially in theory and from the perspective of a pre-med). Reality of med school is you want as little required class time as possible. You need that time to study so you can pass exams, do well on Step 1, and maintain balance in your life on weekends when you have time off. Even if you still fall into this camp, you'll adjust to any curriculum and end up learning the material no matter where you go to school. On the other hand, your gut seems to drive you towards Cornell. If you don't mind risking your GF and taking on a bit more debt, why not give a new city a chance?

 

[TheCatalyst]

Yeah you all make good points guys thanks for your time!