St. Louis vs Temple

[Okazaki Frag Grenade]

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Hi SDN

Needing some guidance on choosing between these two schools. I'm very grateful to be in a position to choose, and obviously want to make the best decision. Financially, they come out about the same, so not a huge difference there.

St. Louis
Pros
True P/F, no rankings
Big on student wellness and trying to ensure that students are healthy
I liked St. Louis, and would be closer to wife's family than Temple
Commuting to school would be easier
COL is lower than Philly

Cons
Doesn't seem huge on research
Not as much "name recognition" as Temple (maybe?)

Temple
Pros
Brand new facility
Students seemed very excited about Temple
"Name recognition" (again, maybe?)
Tons of extracurricular opportunities and perhaps more research

Cons
Far from family, and would not like Philly as much (not a big city person)
Graded pre-clinical years
Area around Temple seems rough

As of now, my long term goals would maybe be academic medicine, or at least a position where I can balance clinical and research work, as I enjoy having a variety of tasks. Would either one of these schools set me up better than the other? Thank you all!

-- Oh and I did read other SLU vs Temple threads to see if they were helpful, but I figured one more wouldn't hurt.

 

[sunset57]

I think you've highlighted the differences very well.

Re St Louis, the most significant positives would be true pass fail, proximity to family, lower COL and easier commute. All would help maintain/improve your quality of life during the next 4 years. I thus voted for SLU.

Re Temple, I think the most significant positives would be access to research and happy students. And yes, the immediate area around Temple is rough.

Re name recognition and a career in academic medicine, it will depend a lot more on what you accomplish during the next 4-10 years vs whether it's done at SLU or Temple.

If you haven't done so already, it's probably worthwhile taking some time to talk to students (especially MS3 and MS4) and faculty at both schools.

Try to get a realistic idea of access to, and time for, significant clinical or bench research.

Good luck, both are great options.