MCW vs. Temple

[calbear1112]

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Sorry about another X school versus Z school but I have like a day to decide and I am really torn!

I am an Oregon resident (west coast) so both are far from my family, and both are basically same level. (in terms of prestige and such)

* Temple
(This was initially my top choice before going through the app cycle because two of my friends raved about this school how happy they are lol)
Pro:
- i like big cities, and philly sounds like a fun place. (even though temple is in north philly, i will probably live in the center city)
- got a very good vibe from the students.
-H/P/F better grading system

Con:
-cost of attendance : 80K/year
but I found out that I got 10K/year scholarship every year for next 4 years (making my tuition the same as in-state) and 42K unsubsidized loan per year.
So I will be able to afford, but I'll be in a lot of debt later on.
-safety issues in the immediate area around the school

*MCW
Pros:
- I was pleasantly surprized by the school and its curriculum; they will be incorporating a new discovery curriculum which seemed great.
- Cheaper (60K/year); even though i did not get any grants and only 20K/year unsubsidized loan.
-cheaper living expense and I will be able to live in a better "place" (living condition)
- i liked the "feel" when I visited- like the students 🙂 a lot of Californians there, which is cool because I went to undergrad in California!

(good beer and only an 1.5 hour away from lollapalooza 😉)

Cons:
-grading system (Honors/High pass/pass/low pass/fail)
-COLD
-it was in a relatively suburb area when I visited.

Any comment would be helpful! I was leaning towards Wisconsin until I got the scholarship and found about the aid from Temple just three days ago 🙁

 

[1289]

Sorry about another X school versus Z school but I have like a day to decide and I am really torn!

I am an Oregon resident (west coast) so both are far from my family, and both are basically same level. (in terms of prestige and such)

* Temple
(This was initially my top choice before going through the app cycle because two of my friends raved about this school how happy they are lol)
Pro:
- i like big cities, and philly sounds like a fun place. (even though temple is in north philly, i will probably live in the center city)
- got a very good vibe from the students.
-H/P/F better grading system

Con:
-cost of attendance : 80K/year
but I found out that I got 10K/year scholarship every year for next 4 years (making my tuition the same as in-state) and 42K unsubsidized loan per year.
So I will be able to afford, but I'll be in a lot of debt later on.
-safety issues in the immediate area around the school

*MCW
Pros:
- I was pleasantly surprized by the school and its curriculum; they will be incorporating a new discovery curriculum which seemed great.
- Cheaper (60K/year); even though i did not get any grants and only 20K/year unsubsidized loan.
-cheaper living expense and I will be able to live in a better "place" (living condition)
- i liked the "feel" when I visited- like the students 🙂 a lot of Californians there, which is cool because I went to undergrad in California!

(good beer and only an 1.5 hour away from lollapalooza 😉)

Cons:
-grading system (Honors/High pass/pass/low pass/fail)
-COLD
-it was in a relatively suburb area when I visited.

Any comment would be helpful! I was leaning towards Wisconsin until I got the scholarship and found about the aid from Temple just three days ago 🙁

Go where you'll save money. If your friends were raving about it and you got a good feeling, sounds good to me. You'll never regret saving money....

 

[drizzt3117]

I would go to mcw. Don't worry about the grading system; it's a pretty chill environment. Also I'm not sure the weather in either place is really different; I've lived in WI and Philly and the biggest diff is WI is much better at snow removal.

 

[penguinism]

If you're worried about living expenses, you can always choose to live in a different, cheaper area of Philadelphia than Center City. If you're looking for a great experience, then live in CC for the first two years and move out to a more suburban (and ~$500/month) area for your clinical years at Temple.

Philadelphia is a great city and there's probably more to do than in Wisconsin, although I've never been to WI so I don't really know!

Also - there are BRIGHT stadium lights set up on Temple's campus and security guards posted 24/7. They take safety seriously. If you walk beyond the campus though then you need to be more careful.

 

[calbear1112]

anymore people want to comment on it? ultimately it's my choice but the comments are very helpful! 🙂 thank you so much!!

 

[mdeast]

What exactly do you mean by unsubsidized loan? If you're talking about Stafford loans they should be the same at either school?

I grew up in Philly and will say that going to medical school there would be fun. There's a lot to do, lots of medical students, lots of trainees, etc. It's a healthcare/biotech city (i.e. many pharmaceutical companies are headquartered in the suburbs). You can easily live in CC and commute up to Temple. I was impressed by Temple's new building when I interviewed 2 years ago (it's beautiful). Little bit less impressed by other things (I remember my interviewer flatly saying "Well, we're a pretty average place. It's not like we're Penn or anything."...which turned me off a bit.). Know next to nothing about MCW.