Seriously considering the more expensive school

[ihopeigetit]

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So I'm choosing between two schools and leaning towards the school that costs $100,000 more over the 4 years. Please tell me if I'm crazy.

-while it's not a top 20, people are really impressed by the name and say is be crazy to not attend dispite the cost (they're not medical professionals)

-the school is in the city where I'd like to live my whole life

-the more expensive school is only 30 mins from my parents house and they have offered to pay for everything except tuition if I go I the more expensive school (I'm very lucky).

So that means my only costs will be tuition and fees at the more expensive school, but I'll have to pay for pretty much everything at the less expensive school, evening out the costs a little bit.

 

[TxC]

Do whatever makes you happy. Having your parents pay for a lot of things is a pretty decent deal.

If you name the schools, I think you may get better responses that way. Totally fine if you don't want to though.

Just got into my first school. I think my reaction was pretty typical. You know, a 6'3" guy shaking and almost passing out in the middle of the research lab.

Great reaction BTW; I've been trying to picture it in my head.

 

[Aubrey Graham]

So I'm choosing between two schools and leaning towards the school that costs $100,000 more over the 4 years. Please tell me if I'm crazy.

-while it's not a top 20, people are really impressed by the name and say is be crazy to not attend dispite the cost (they're not medical professionals)

-the school is in the city where I'd like to live my whole life

-the more expensive school is only 30 mins from my parents house and they have offered to pay for everything except tuition if I go I the more expensive school (I'm very lucky).

So that means my only costs will be tuition and fees at the more expensive school, but I'll have to pay for pretty much everything at the less expensive school, evening out the costs a little bit.

Yolo


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ihopeigetit]

Do whatever makes you happy. Having your parents pay for a lot of things is a pretty decent deal.

If you name the schools, I think you may get better responses that way. Totally fine if you don't want to though.



Great reaction BTW; I've been trying to picture it in my head.

I don't mind, Tufts and SUNY Upstate.

And my reaction looked about as absurd as you'd think it would.

 

[TxC]

I don't mind, Tufts and SUNY Upstate.

And my reaction looked about as absurd as you'd think it would.

I feel like Boston is a better city to study medicine. It really has some of the best hospitals in the world.

 

[Eppur Si Muove]

If that is where you want to go then go there. Go where you believe you will be the most successful and have the best experience.

 

[Doug Underhill]

Go to SUNY Upstate. You'll thank yourself during your residency. The difference is an extra house, or an extra supercar, or college for one or maybe even two of your children. Isn't Upstate also more competitive to get into? Tufts is on SDN's list of low-tiers.

 

[johnnytest]

You should try to imagine the place where you will be most happy for the next 4 years and the opportunities you will have to further your career.

 

[Omppu27]

I would think that your parents paying for the COL would practically even things out, yeah? Or maybe tufts would only be 5ish k more a year? If that's the case, then I'd go tufts.

 

[mimelim]

So I'm choosing between two schools and leaning towards the school that costs $100,000 more over the 4 years. Please tell me if I'm crazy.

-while it's not a top 20, people are really impressed by the name and say is be crazy to not attend dispite the cost (they're not medical professionals)

-the school is in the city where I'd like to live my whole life

-the more expensive school is only 30 mins from my parents house and they have offered to pay for everything except tuition if I go I the more expensive school (I'm very lucky).

So that means my only costs will be tuition and fees at the more expensive school, but I'll have to pay for pretty much everything at the less expensive school, evening out the costs a little bit.

#1 Tufts will no way help you because of its name compared to SUNY-Upstate. Maybe some more people have heard of it, primarily because of the undergrad, but that is it. When it comes to residency and beyond, it will make zero difference.

#2 You will have more access to Boston based research and residency programs at Tufts. This will POTENTIALLY increase your odds of matching there. This is entirely dependent on what specialty you are going into and your personal drive. For the majority of medical students, it will matter very very little.

#3 Cost of living in Syracuse vs. 100k in Boston. That is very nice of your parents. You need to do the calculation of how big of a difference it really is, weighing in the fact that you will, "owe" your parents, maybe not literally, but figuratively. On the other hand, you can not replace being close to family (if you want that of course).


Do the math, I think that staying in Boston will be the best at the end of the day.

 

[lmn]

You have your family to support you near Boston, and they are willing to help you financially. Such a strong support base nearby can make a big difference when you go through patches of freaking out and/or just need a break from med school and want to go out to dinner with your family.

 

[Doug Underhill]

I went to an elite private medical school for Ph.D and a state school for undergrad. I honesty enjoyed the state school atmosphere more. If I only get into a state school for MD, I'll be quite happy. Your mileage may vary.

 

[poopsicle]

I've got several friends in Boston for med school, pHD, and PA school. Lots of people favor Boston and it sounds like you do too.

 

[leggo_my_ecmo]

Go to SUNY Upstate. You'll thank yourself during your residency. The difference is an extra house, or an extra supercar, or college for one or maybe even two of your children. Isn't Upstate also more competitive to get into? Tufts is on SDN's list of low-tiers.

I'd agree on the cost aspect, but having his parents pay COL at Tufts would reduce the gap to way less that 100,000 I think. As far as competitiveness and rank, according to the MSAR Tufts has slightly higher admissions stats (but it's only a small difference). And Tufts, while by no means high tier, is definitely not low tier; it's ranked like 50th by US News while SUNY Upstate is unranked.

 

[sazerac]

Unranked is meaningless. It just means the school didn't fill out the USNews survey that year. Mayo was unranked for years, but it was never considered low tier.

Rank Not Published, now that's low tier.

 

[sazerac]

And to answer the OP, I chose the more expensive school, because I liked the environment better. And then that summer they offered me a scholarship, so after I was committed it became the cheaper school anyway. Sometimes life just works out.

 

[FalconSlice]

I feel like Boston is a better city to study medicine. It really has some of the best hospitals in the world.

And since the OP has a place to live for free (aka parents' house) has so many beneficial financial implications (on top of them paying for everything other than tuition).

Not to mention that Boston is terrible for finding both a convenient and reasonably priced apartment. Prices are extremely ridiculous even compared to some of the bigger cities here in the US.

 

[Lamel]

Go to SUNY Upstate. You'll thank yourself during your residency. The difference is an extra house, or an extra supercar, or college for one or maybe even two of your children. Isn't Upstate also more competitive to get into? Tufts is on SDN's list of low-tiers.

That is some list if 34-35 MCAT averages are low-tier material.

 

[Narmerguy]

That is some list if 34-35 MCAT averages are low-tier material.

Yes, what list would this be? I'm not sure there's some definitive list on SDN that suggests that Tufts is low-tier, unless you simply mean that no one on SDN thinks it's high tier (to be fair, some people divide the world into high tier and low tier, but I think such a binary approach is uncommon).

 

[Psai]

Man you kids and your ranks and tiers make me laugh. No one who knows anything is impressed by tufts.

What I will say is that if you want to live in Boston then you should go to a Boston school to make connections there. You already have your family there as a support system so that's a huge plus. There are also many young people from all over the place so making friends shouldn't be too difficult.

Whether or not it is worth 100k is up to you. Rent will be more expensive. There are many little expenses that add up including money for travel and eating. This is not an issue as your parents will make up the difference but still a consideration. For me I'd probably say no to tufts. Debt is an anchor and there's no rule that says that an upstate grad can't match in Boston. Plenty of people from my no name school matched in competitive specialties and locations. But it seems like being in Boston would be good for you. It's all on you to do well.

 

[LizzyM]

Will you be living at home if you attend Tufts? That can help you save $ but it will make it more difficult in some respects in terms of getting to know other students and developing some independence.

Wait until you see your financial aid packages and take into account the cost of "everything else" before making up your mind.

 

[altblue]

That is some list if 34-35 MCAT averages are low-tier material.

Anything less than top 25 is low tier here. 🙄

 

[ihopeigetit]

#1 Tufts will no way help you because of its name compared to SUNY-Upstate. Maybe some more people have heard of it, primarily because of the undergrad, but that is it. When it comes to residency and beyond, it will make zero difference.

#2 You will have more access to Boston based research and residency programs at Tufts. This will POTENTIALLY increase your odds of matching there. This is entirely dependent on what specialty you are going into and your personal drive. For the majority of medical students, it will matter very very little.

#3 Cost of living in Syracuse vs. 100k in Boston. That is very nice of your parents. You need to do the calculation of how big of a difference it really is, weighing in the fact that you will, "owe" your parents, maybe not literally, but figuratively. On the other hand, you can not replace being close to family (if you want that of course).


Do the math, I think that staying in Boston will be the best at the end of the day.

Will you be living at home if you attend Tufts? That can help you save $ but it will make it more difficult in some respects in terms of getting to know other students and developing some independence.

Wait until you see your financial aid packages and take into account the cost of "everything else" before making up your mind.

I think waiting for my financial aid package would be a really good idea. Are either of you concerned about Upstate's recent probation/scandal issues? They didn't seem like a big deal to me, but several people have mentioned them so I think it's worth asking about.

 

[LizzyM]

SUNY Upstates probation was lifted 18 months ago after it made the changes that were required of it. The school has a new Dean. I'd say it is in the clear

 

[pithy84]

Let's look at some MSAR data on these two schools:

Tufts:
MCAT median: 34
GPA median: 3.7 / 3.7

SUNY Upstate:
MCAT median: 33
GPA median: 3.8 / 3.7 (overall / science)

That data strongly implies they are the same exact "tier". Tufts has an insignificantly higher MCAT, and SUNY Upstate has an insignificantly higher GPA. That's a tie, if ever I've seen one.

Personally, I would much rather go to Tufts. I would love to be accepted to Tufts. I am jealous. It has nothing to do with prestige, I just like Boston way more than Upstate New York. Yes, I like Boston $100,000 more. I would throw in an extra $50,000 to have San Francisco's weather plus Boston's everything-else. And maybe $20,000 more for New York City's late-night hours for restaurants and stores. That would be sweet.

I don't have that much money, I would be taking out loans to finance this fantasy city. Imaginary money to buy imaginary cities, it seems appropriate.

 

[WingedOx]

I actually like Syracuse better than Boston all things considered. And a big one of those things is $$$. The money saved for your and your parents can be used to make up for whatever perceived gap in culture is there between the two places (and then some).

Boston is what happens when you pay for New York, but get Philadelphia.