MD Program (Loma Linda) vs Special Linkage Program (Temple ACMS)

[abra cadabra]

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Hi everyone, I am very thankful to have had success this application cycle as a reapplicant. Please help me with making my decision. I understand that the clearest path is most likely LLU but I want to make sure of it. I am OOS for both (Temple is much closer tho). I am unsure what specialty I am seeking but want to keep options open for competitive ones.

Using admit.org it seems their school rankings are pretty equal (#88 versus #95) but I don’t know if residency PDs see them as equals (would appreciate any insight here). I also have no insight on which program produces a match list more ideal for competitive specialties or their average step 2 scores.

Loma Linda MD Program (clinical years in AdventHealth Orlando)
(+)(+)(+)(+) prospects of matching West (CA) or East Coast (FL)
(+)(+)(+)(+) abundance of home programs in competitive specialties
(+)(+)(+) P/F grading in preclinical and clerkship
(+)(+) small class size during clerkships
(+)(+) get MD in 4 years
(-) not SDA but grew up in a Christian education system so don’t anticipate much of an effect
(-) AOA
(-) near San Bernardino which seems unsafe
(-)(-) seems focused on matching primary care
(-)(-) 7 hours (2 flights) to family/friends
(-)(-) not a research-heavy institution

Temple ACMS (clinical years in North Philly)
(+)(+)(+) abundance of home programs in competitive specialties (albeit less than LLU)
(+)(+)(+) seems to be research-heavy + lots of institutions in Philly
(+)(+) single 1.5 hour flight to family/friends
(-) AOA
(-) admit.org says there's internal ranking (?)
(-) total 5-year tuition is around ~$10K more than LLU's total tuition
(-)(-) get MD in 5 years because of ACMS program
(-)(-) acceptance is conditional on achieving a 3.60+ with no grade below B- in ACMS year (**during interview, director indicated that this is not difficult to achieve)
(-)(-) North Philly seems relatively more unsafe and rough
(-)(-)(-) clerkship is H/HP/P/F

 

[Johnwicksdog]

Funny I was/am in the exact same position as you. Accepted to a lower-tier MD school I'm not that excited about and Temple ACMS. After talking to a lot of people and doing a lot of research, I'm taking the acceptance and you definitely should too. MD is an MD and any differences in rank in terms of matching for me or for you can be made up with our own efforts in school (networking, research, etc). Take the sure thing, save a year and the 40k for the ACMS year and choose Loma Linda!

Ps. Loma Linda and Temple are both private schools with base tuition at temple at ~60k x 4 (+40k for ACMS) and Loma Linda at ~69k x 4 so I have no clue how you got that huge COA differences in fact, I think Loma Linda would overall be cheaper. Good luck!

 

[abra cadabra]

Funny I was/am in the exact same position as you. Accepted to a lower-tier MD school I'm not that excited about and Temple ACMS. After talking to a lot of people and doing a lot of research, I'm taking the acceptance and you definitely should too. MD is an MD and any differences in rank in terms of matching for me or for you can be made up with our own efforts in school (networking, research, etc). Take the sure thing, save a year and the 40k for the ACMS year and choose Loma Linda!

Ps. Loma Linda and Temple are both private schools with base tuition at temple at ~60k x 4 (+40k for ACMS) and Loma Linda at ~69k x 4 so I have no clue how you got that huge COA differences in fact, I think Loma Linda would overall be cheaper. Good luck!

Thank you for your answer, I agree that your effort is much more important than the program! I have updated the COA as you're right I was looking at the wrong source for LKSOM's tuition. The tuition difference was actually a major factor in my dilemma so this clears things up more! I think another major factor however is the distance from my support system

 

[HopefulApplicant667]

Assuming that you retire at the same age regardless, going to Temple means that you will have 1 less year of attending level salary. When considering starting medical school later, note that the opportunity cost of one less year in your career of attending-level salary is astronomically high when you include compounding investments. It's at least 300k, plus that ACMS tuition & additional loans for living expenses (unless you are independently wealthy). I think that physicians and physicians-to-be as a group have a gross preoccupation with wealth, but that is a huge consideration. If there were life circumstances militating to the east coast - a partner near philly, family, or hometown roots - I think that could offset the opportunity cost, but otherwise it makes no sense.

Edit: Missed your reply about the support system. I think that could easily tilt the response. Staying sane, being in community, and feeling supported are invaluable, especially during stressful times.

 

[The OTC]

my 2 cents is to take the loma linda acceptance because we don’t know what grad loans look like after this year. If you matriculate this fall, you will be able to obtain grad plus loans through the rest of your medical education (if i read correctly - double check me though)

i don’t mean to fearmonger but everything is so up in the air. The extra year at temple may cost you more than expected for you and your family

 

[FodRN]

Hi everyone, I am very thankful to have had success this application cycle as a reapplicant. Please help me with making my decision. I understand that the clearest path is most likely LLU but I want to make sure of it. I am OOS for both (Temple is much closer tho). I am unsure what specialty I am seeking but want to keep options open for competitive ones.

Using admit.org it seems their school rankings are pretty equal (#88 versus #95) but I don’t know if residency PDs see them as equals (would appreciate any insight here). I also have no insight on which program produces a match list more ideal for competitive specialties or their average step 2 scores.

Loma Linda MD Program (clinical years in AdventHealth Orlando)
(+)(+)(+)(+) prospects of matching West (CA) or East Coast (FL)
(+)(+)(+)(+) abundance of home programs in competitive specialties
(+)(+)(+) P/F grading in preclinical and clerkship
(+)(+) small class size during clerkships
(+)(+) get MD in 4 years
(-) not SDA but grew up in a Christian education system so don’t anticipate much of an effect
(-) AOA
(-) near San Bernardino which seems unsafe
(-)(-) seems focused on matching primary care
(-)(-) 7 hours (2 flights) to family/friends
(-)(-) not a research-heavy institution

Temple ACMS (clinical years in North Philly)
(+)(+)(+) abundance of home programs in competitive specialties (albeit less than LLU)
(+)(+)(+) seems to be research-heavy + lots of institutions in Philly
(+)(+) single 1.5 hour flight to family/friends
(-) AOA
(-) admit.org says there's internal ranking (?)
(-) total 5-year tuition is around ~$10K more than LLU's total tuition
(-)(-) get MD in 5 years because of ACMS program
(-)(-) acceptance is conditional on achieving a 3.60+ with no grade below B- in ACMS year (**during interview, director indicated that this is not difficult to achieve)
(-)(-) North Philly seems relatively more unsafe and rough
(-)(-)(-) clerkship is H/HP/P/F

If your comfortable can you share your stats please