School Reputation Vs Cost

[Russ1313]

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I have been fortunate to be offered admissions at the University of Michigan and all Michigan in state medical schools. Would the reputation of the school be worth the debt? Looking at about 70K debt. Interested in Academia

Thanks!

 

[Slavic Scot]

Depends on your priorities/what you want to do. Academia? UMich easily. Not academia? cheaper option.

 

[efle]

Are you saying 70k total debt to attend U Mich vs free to attend the other state schools? Or 70k/yr?

 

[Lucca]

70k over 4 yrs is nothing for med school and the Michigan name will take you very far (in residency PD survey, Michigan ranks near the top, just below Stanford).

If it's 70k / yr then much tougher call

 

[JeSuisUnDoc]

70k? Come on bruh. Plus, did others give you a full ride or...?


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[getdown]

Reputation is temporary. Debt is not. You may easily change your mind during medical school and residency and realize the ivory tower of academia with it's ridiculous bureaucracy and politics can be worse than private practice.

 

[jarednogeek]

If interested in academia the prestige may be worth it. If it’s for private practice or regular clinical stuff I can’t see it having any effect on future salary etc

 

[Russ1313]

Depends on your priorities/what you want to do. Academia? UMich easily. Not academia? cheaper option.

Thanks everyone. I’m interested in academia. Interest also in orthopedics. It’s 70K total!

 

[Gilakend]

Thanks everyone. I’m interested in academia. Interest also in orthopedics. It’s 70K total!

70k total? Answer is UMich every single day of the week EASILY.

 

[JeSuisUnDoc]

Thanks everyone. I’m interested in academia. Interest also in orthopedics. It’s 70K total!

The answer is pretty clear


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[Valtun]

Umich 100%. especially since you're interested in academia

 

[solitarius]

I made a similar decision a few years back and the $ difference was about the same.

I chose the better known school, and I don't regret it at all. Better location, likely better fit, and better reputation. That said, I think the other school would have opened similar opportunities. Finally, you think you want to do academia, but how do you know for sure?

 

[getdown]

70K total difference is not a drop in the bucket but not that big to make too much of a difference so just choose whichever school you think will get you where you want to be.

 

[aldol16]

In all financial matters, it's never useful to fixate on the absolute costs. You want to know the incremental cost. What's the incremental cost of attending Michigan over the next best alternative? If it's 70k, that means that you should be asking Michigan for more money because you have scholarships elsewhere. If it's much less than 70k as I suspect, then you should think about the added value to you of going to Michigan, or the incremental benefit of going to Michigan over the next best alternative. The name does matter but how much it matters depends on your personal goals. If you're looking at competitive, highly academic residencies, then the name will matter (to a lesser extent than Step 1 and other things but it plays some role). So you should be comparing the incremental cost and the incremental benefit you would be getting for that cost.

 

[Obnoxious Dad]

Thanks everyone. I’m interested in academia. Interest also in orthopedics. It’s 70K total!

Go to Michigan. Great hospitals. Great faculty. Ann Arbor is about the fifth best college town in the Big 10. That $70K after eight years of interest accruals will amount to approximately $110,000. However, you will get it back.

The only drawback is the institutional arrogance and narcissism. U of M tries to tell everyone they are the best at everything. It gets annoying.