Rush vs. UMass (In-state)

[juniorpremed1000]

A little background - I'm interested in probably a medicine specialty and in caring for underserved and marginalized communities. Originally from the Northeast and went to college in the Midwest. Also really into global health and would love the opportunity to do research abroad for several months/go to a school with a strong GH program. Very into community service and health equity initiatives. Looking for a diverse school that genuinely cares about its community.

UMass Med (In-state)

Pros

• In-state tuition: ~$37K/year!!! (CoA $70K) + "Learning Contract" option where they pay off 2/3 of your tuition if you go into primary care (which is definitely an option for me)
• Higher rank (#45 research, #10 primary care)
• Great match list if I want to stay in MA/New England area (I probably want to do residency in Boston or NYC, but so many factors could change this)
• Diverse patient population + cool programs working with refugees in Worcester and Springfield
• Accepted into PURCH (Urban and Rural Health) track - small cohort of ~20 students sounds great, training is focused on working with marginalized populations (incarcerated, refugees) which is exactly what I want to do. Only concern is that the program seems mostly white + rich - weirdly not many POC
• Established + strong global health program (I think?) - there's a GH track you can elect to-do with ample opportunities to do research abroad/community projects
• Close to home (also a con though) - close to family + already know some people in my class going in
• Traditional/hybrid curriculum
• Newer facilities + huge campus

Cons

• In Worcester, MA (Western Mass) - not the most glamorous town/not the safest area. Kinda boring, not much to do, run down town with not much nearby.
• Would have to move to Springfield (even more Western MA) for 2nd half of med school, city with very rural surroundings
• TOO close to home - I went OOS for undergrad and really appreciated having space from family, but I'm also torn since I don't want to miss the next 4-8 years of my parents' lives
• Primary care focused
• Faculty and students seemed more cold and closed off, less hand hold-y. Not great vibes.

Rush Medical College

Pros

• DOWNTOWN CHICAGO!!!! Love the city, could see myself living here in my 20's, I live in a big city now and I love the urban life
• Amazing mission fit - love their committment to community service and real diversity. Seems like admin really cares about their students in a down-to-earth way, very nurturing and friendly, the RCSIP programs and programs around Chicago (with Cook County, local schools, etc) are exactly what I want to do with my career
• Diverse patient population AND diverse students - one of the most diverse med school classes + leadership I've seen. Looks like a school that walks their talk in terms of diversity which is really important to me.
• Faculty and students seemed genuinely nice and invested in individual students. Every interview/SLD session left me feeling warm and fuzzy
• Pretty sick match list, definitely possible to match back to the Northeast
• Amazing training at partner hospitals - Cook County, Stroger

Cons

• Lower rank (#64 research, #69 primary care)
• More expensive, tuition is ~$57K/year (CoA ~85K)
• 100% flipped classroom - I think I work better with traditional lecture, but the current students swear by it? Would be a huge change
• Would have to start from scratch in Chicago in terms of making friends + building support systems (but went to college in the Midwest, so friends are a couple hours away and actually might be nice to start fresh)
• Not really sure about their GH programs? They exist but they haven't talked much about it

Summary: Overall, I feel like I definitely fit more at Rush in terms of mission and location (it was an immediate THIS SCHOOL IS ME!), but it's hard to turn down UMass with its in-state tuition, higher ranking, and proximity to home. I know I'm very lucky to have options, but I feel like I'll end up settling at UMass because it just makes sense logistically. I'm sure I could do well and find my people at either place, so there's really no wrong option. The real question it's worth around ~$80-100K extra in debt to go to the school that's a better "fit" but is more expensive and a lower rank. WWYD?

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[deleted1054719]

Frankly, it sounds like you're just more excited about Rush and I think that really does matter. The cost difference is not negligible at $60k pre-interest over four years, but in your shoes, I think I would personally choose Rush. I agree that UMass has a striking lack of diversity. Really not sure why this is the case exactly but even outside of the PURCH program, they just don't seem to have too many POC (which does seem like a not insignificant factor for you). The difference in city vs rural living is also a big factor to think of here and as someone in their early 20s, I'm not sure I'd be too willing to spend a good bit of it in Springfield.

Overall, your pros for Rush feel much stronger than your pros for UMass and your cons for Rush are pretty much all negligible besides the cost while UMass's cons feel like they'd seriously hurt your quality of life. Flipped classroom is pretty much how most med schools operate anyways, as far as I'm aware (in terms of self-studying being a huge component of pre-clinical)

 

[juniorpremed1000]

Just got into Tufts' 4-year MD/MPH program for 75K a year too - adding that to the mix!

 

[Banco]

What are the total costs for all 3 over for years?

Tufts might be your ideal compromise of being near family but also in a big city. Plus the MPH in 4 years is a nice touch.

 

[preeeeeeeemed]

What are the total costs for all 3 over for years?

Tufts might be your ideal compromise of being near family but also in a big city. Plus the MPH in 4 years is a nice touch.

Rush - 228K tuition; 336K total CoA over 4 years

UMass - 148K tuition; 280K total CoA over 4 years

Tufts - 268K tuition; 384K total CoA over 4 years (NO MPH)
With MD/MPH - 300K tuition; 412K total CoA over 4 years

 

[Mr.Blackdoc.5]

Rush - 228K tuition; 336K total CoA over 4 years

UMass - 148K tuition; 280K total CoA over 4 years

Tufts - 268K tuition; 384K total CoA over 4 years (NO MPH)
With MD/MPH - 300K tuition; 412K total CoA over 4 years

From a cursory view of this, the cost of living seems very high. You could very easily cut this down, perhaps even to less than 15k a year, if you get a roommate, meal prep, etc.

 

[Banco]

Rush - 228K tuition; 336K total CoA over 4 years

UMass - 148K tuition; 280K total CoA over 4 years

Tufts - 268K tuition; 384K total CoA over 4 years (NO MPH)
With MD/MPH - 300K tuition; 412K total CoA over 4 years

I find it hard to believe your living costs are going to be that high at UMass.

Hard to turn down the money savings especially since it’s a good school to boot.

 

[preeeeeeeemed]

I find it hard to believe your living costs are going to be that high at UMass.

Hard to turn down the money savings especially since it’s a good school to boot.

100% agree. Housing is quite cheap in Worcester, and as @Mr.Blackdoc.5 said, it can be reduced even more with meal prep, roommates, etc. Also pro of UMass is it’ll be easy to visit family for holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas) without having to fly, further saving on cost.

I think I’m leaning UMass right now, but keep thinking about how different my life would be in downtown Chicago (also a chance to grow even more, away from family and my comfort zone).

 

[Banco]

100% agree. Housing is quite cheap in Worcester, and as @Mr.Blackdoc.5 said, it can be reduced even more with meal prep, roommates, etc. Also pro of UMass is it’ll be easy to visit family for holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas) without having to fly, further saving on cost.

I think I’m leaning UMass right now, but keep thinking about how different my life would be in downtown Chicago (also a chance to grow even more, away from family and my comfort zone).

If it makes you feel better, you could always go to a bigger city for residency.

 

[preeeeeeeemed]

If it makes you feel better, you could always go to a bigger city for residency.

Another update that stirs the pot. UMass finally got back with official aid (it was just an estimate before) and it’s around 41K for UMass vs. 51K for Rush (subtracting health insurance, etc). Definitely makes cost less of a factor.

I think now it comes down to the pros and cons. Biggest con of Rush is the 100% flipped classroom approach, but love the location and mission fit.

Biggest con of UMass is Worcester location and unsupportive admin, but major draw is its match list in the Northeast.

 

[thetenthletter]

Another update that stirs the pot. UMass finally got back with official aid (it was just an estimate before) and it’s around 41K for UMass vs. 51K for Rush (subtracting health insurance, etc). Definitely makes cost less of a factor.

I think now it comes down to the pros and cons. Biggest con of Rush is the 100% flipped classroom approach, but love the location and mission fit.

Biggest con of UMass is Worcester location and unsupportive admin, but major draw is its match list in the Northeast.

Commenting here, I'm most likely attending UMass. There are some nice towns next to Worcester (Shrewsbury is great and has one of the lowest crime rates in the nation) which have lower COL than Boston. You'll also have an easier time matching into residencies in the Northeast/MA since you'll be able to do away rotations easily here.

The biggest plus with UMass, for me, is the research: there are a lot of great PI's here with a lot of funding. It'll be easy to find a paid research position where you can get your research numbers up fairly quickly. I've worked at both UMass and Tufts in research, and the former position gave me generous compensation and several publications.

 

[drgoldenboy]

Another update that stirs the pot. UMass finally got back with official aid (it was just an estimate before) and it’s around 41K for UMass vs. 51K for Rush (subtracting health insurance, etc). Definitely makes cost less of a factor.

I think now it comes down to the pros and cons. Biggest con of Rush is the 100% flipped classroom approach, but love the location and mission fit.

Biggest con of UMass is Worcester location and unsupportive admin, but major draw is its match list in the Northeast.

I'm going to Rush. I would go to UMASS if I were you. Rush sounds more exciting. But also,
1) UMASS will set you up well for getting into the big boston hospitals
2) lower COA will mean 2-3 years less of payments for your education
3) The PURCH program sounds awesome, and as you've said you'll have an opportunity to work with diverse group of patients.
4) Closer to support network will be nice. You don't have to go home every weekend. But some would be good.

Being in a rural environment kinda sucks when you are in your 20's. But then you'll get into MGH or Beth Israel and never again.

But...then again....if you're single Chicago would be way better.

 

[juniorpremed1000]

Thank you everyone for your help! I think I'm choosing UMass due to the more traditional/hybrid curriculum as opposed to fully flipped, true P/F, international opportunities, research opportunities, and amazing match list in New England. The lower cost is always a plus too. Maybe I'll end up in Chicago one day - who knows! 🙂