What does this mean? Just curious. Many of us that went to MSTP schools had to move to get where we are. Are you married and settled down?
I completely agree that if you are interested in something that is not a traditional track and NOT associated with MSTP, then you are better off attending a non-MSTP school. I can't really think of any such thing off the top of my head, but I'm sure there are many such fields.
I think the point of this thread has become "what if any advantages are there to MSTP over non-MSTP"? I think the real advantage is that MSTP programs are in heavily academic environments with a good reputation for academic research. How many of the top 20 medical schools have MSTP programs? I would venture to guess that if a residency program sees that you are MSTP, they know you have research training from a quality insitution. Let's face it- there is little/no regulation in maintaining quality among PhD programs like there is in medicine (there are no PhD boards or any standardized tests). Is your residency program going to be impressed with you just because you have a PhD? Or are they going to be impressed because you have a PhD from a highly reputable institution/program with a highly reputable/famous PI? Many of the directors of the top institutions know each other well, and if you are familiar with your own directors this may take you places you may not normally be able to go.
As an example of the above, I will cite personal experience. I am defending my thesis March 8th (2 weeks!), and I'm trying to set up an away elective at a VERY competitive institution that is by many considered the top program in the country for Pathology. I emailed the director of the program, and told them a little (very little) about myself but mentioned my institution. They asked me why I wanted to do an away elective since there are so many good opportunities where I am. I responded that I did not want to stay in this particular institution after medical school, and for the moment the school I was contacting was my top choice. They then instructed me how to set up the elective and that they would help. But they also asked me to say "hi" to my mentor, as they are long-time friends.
Now this could happen to people at non-MSTP schools as well, but my point is that this is more likely to happen at MSTP schools, where there seems to be a self-fulfilling prophecy of nepotism.