Need help choosing a medical School...

[beloved17]

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So I got an acceptance at UCI and USC and I'm having trouble choosing a school. I'm personally more drawn to USC because I already have an established social network in that part of LA and I like the programs and hospitals there more but its a lot more expensive than UCI's (About 20k a year more). I wanted to ask how you went about choosing a school. Did finances play a major role or should I not be worried about paying off loans since I will eventually be making a six figure salary? If i go to USC I'll be in 300k in debt and if i go to UCI ill be around 200k in debt. Thanks everyone!

 

[striker15]

Networks are only key to decisions if and when they are support networks not social networks. Social networks mean nothing because you'll have to be studying most of the time and when you're off I doubt your schedule will match theirs. My 2 cents.

 

[Suzybae]

100k is a lot of $$, and it will balloon once you start adding interest... I'm assuming you want to stay in SoCal for residency, and UCI is definitely not going to keep you from that goal! Personally, I think the difference between UCI vs USC is not significant enough to justify the cost differential. The 100k+ may come in useful if you decide you want to get married, buy a house, raise children, etc. while paying off loans. Congrats on acceptances to two great schools, and good luck on your decision! 🙂

 

[mmj277]

Hey OP, this thread might help with your decision!

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/usc-keck-vs-uci.1065387/

100K is a lot of money to consider, I would recommend using the AAMC Med loans calculator to see the possible debt load and whether its something you think is a viable option. While you will be making a GROSS six figure salary, depending on what you want to end up in it might be less than what you are thinking of after car payments, mortgage, kids (if you have them), taxes, malpractice, or private practice overhead (if you go down that route). Neither school will really limit you in the opportunities you have access to, and congratulations on the acceptances!

 

[gymnastMD12]

USC is my dream med school 🙂 but honestly, 100K is going to be a lot especially with interest, and you have to keep that in mind for the future. Is the extra debt worth it?

 

[seeinghowitgoes]

I don't think the effect of the debt is quite that significant in this case.

Debt seems like it'll have the worst effect during residency. At that point, anything you're paying back is actually a significant percentage of your salary, and it thus has the potential to have a significant impact on your quality of life or at least your ability to save via a 401k, etc (losing 5k a year when you're making 50k pre-tax is a big drop).

When you're making 6 figures as an attending, debt seems like it will have a drastically smaller impact on your quality of life as your debt payments will 1) potentially be a smaller percentage of your overall salary anyway and/or 2) you'll still be making 6 figures, so even if you are paying the same percentage of your salary the larger absolute magnitude of your salary will help insulate your quality of life/ability to invest/save, etc.

Thus, for me, the calculus is broken into the short term (aka debt during residency) and long term (aka debt while an attending). One is significant to think about, the other a bit less so for the reasons I outlined above. As such, if you were comparing 0 debt to 100k, I would go the 0 debt almost every time (because in the former case you don't pay back anything during residency, giving you a significantly usable higher income but in the latter case you are), but if you're comparing 200k to 300k, I think you go with the school you like more. Yes the second example is still a 100k difference, but you'll be paying during residency with either choice, and while you'd pay longer with the 300k, once you become an attending I think the effects are felt less, or at least below a threshold of significance, so while it will be a hinderance to pay back longer I don't see it as decision-defining.

That's just me, and don't get me wrong, it's still 100k difference which I know is not trivial. Also full disclosure, I didn't even look at schools on the west coast, so I don't know anything about the specifics of USC vs. UCI - if everything else is equal, then I would still use cost as the final differentiator, but if you were leaning towards USC, I wouldn't.

 

[DoctorWhoo]

I don't think the effect of the debt is quite that significant in this case.

Debt seems like it'll have the worst effect during residency. At that point, anything you're paying back is actually a significant percentage of your salary, and it thus has the potential to have a significant impact on your quality of life or at least your ability to save via a 401k, etc (losing 5k a year when you're making 50k pre-tax is a big drop).

When you're making 6 figures as an attending, debt seems like it will have a drastically smaller impact on your quality of life as your debt payments will 1) potentially be a smaller percentage of your overall salary anyway and/or 2) you'll still be making 6 figures, so even if you are paying the same percentage of your salary the larger absolute magnitude of your salary will help insulate your quality of life/ability to invest/save, etc.

Thus, for me, the calculus is broken into the short term (aka debt during residency) and long term (aka debt while an attending). One is significant to think about, the other a bit less so for the reasons I outlined above. As such, if you were comparing 0 debt to 100k, I would go the 0 debt almost every time (because in the former case you don't pay back anything during residency, giving you a significantly usable higher income but in the latter case you are), but if you're comparing 200k to 300k, I think you go with the school you like more. Yes the second example is still a 100k difference, but you'll be paying during residency with either choice, and while you'd pay longer with the 300k, once you become an attending I think the effects are felt less, or at least below a threshold of significance, so while it will be a hinderance to pay back longer I don't see it as decision-defining.

That's just me, and don't get me wrong, it's still 100k difference which I know is not trivial. Also full disclosure, I didn't even look at schools on the west coast, so I don't know anything about the specifics of USC vs. UCI - if everything else is equal, then I would still use cost as the final differentiator, but if you were leaning towards USC, I wouldn't.

This logic only works if you are living in a world where future earning potential is limitless and life is not finite. We don't live in that world.

Trivializing the debt difference by saying "it won't really affect your quality of life once you're an attending" is a horrible move, as debt compounds with time and inevitably leading to money out of your pocket (money that would certainly help when buying a home, planning vacations, raising children, etc...). Your quality of life may be fine once your an attending, but if you are not intelligent with your money it is essentially like handing the banks a Porsche... because you felt generous?

That said, I still chose USC over UCI... because I felt the cost difference was justified after careful deliberation, not because I decided the cost difference was insignificant in the long run.

 

[seeinghowitgoes]

This logic only works if you are living in a world where future earning potential is limitless and life is not finite. We don't live in that world.

Trivializing the debt difference by saying "it won't really affect your quality of life once you're an attending" is a horrible move, as debt compounds with time and inevitably leading to money out of your pocket (money that would certainly help when buying a home, planning vacations, raising children, etc...). Your quality of life may be fine once your an attending, but if you are not intelligent with your money it is essentially like handing the banks a Porsche... because you felt generous?

That said, I still chose USC over UCI... because I felt the cost difference was justified after careful deliberation, not because I decided the cost difference was insignificant in the long run.

Just for clarification, I don't disagree, and I'm aware debt compounds (that's why I said I would use cost as the differentiator all else being equal). I apologize for misrepresenting that - the debt is certainly not trivial.

I suppose my only point is I could imagine debt hurting even more in residency (when paying back any debt will be a relatively big chunk of your overall salary) than as an attending (when maybe you can't go to the Bahamas, but you'll be able to afford a fine car, etc, etc due to the larger salary, though I do imagine this relies a bit on personal preferences and definition of quality of life/personal thresholds for "good" standard of living, too). Thus, in this case when you're comparing a lot of debt to a lot of debt plus some more, when you'll be paying as a resident and an attending anyway, if you have a desire to go somewhere I just personally wouldn't let cost be the deciding factor.

 

[midnight0il]

Just for clarification, I don't disagree, and I'm aware debt compounds (that's why I said I would use cost as the differentiator all else being equal). I suppose my only point is as I could imagine debt hurting even more in residency than as an attending (as an attending paying back debt maybe you can't go to the Bahamas, but you'll be able to afford a fine car, etc, etc), so in this case when you're comparing a lot of debt to a lot of debt plus some more, if you have a desire to go somewhere I wouldn't let cost be the deciding factor.

Dat opportunity cost.

But seriously, go where you think you'll do well and afford you the greatest opportunity. If they're on par, then I would I factor in cost difference.

Btw, you don't necessarily have to factor in debt during residency since you can apply for forbearance and just pay down the interest so it doesn't capitalize. I consider residency to be another form of education, not when my working career actually begins.

 

[elektroshok]

Go to the cheapest Medical school you can. Honestly.

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[greenflower]

UCI for sure! Great school and will not hold you back for residency! 100K + interest will hold you back for life!