State school vs. Private school ?

[rangers1]

I'm seeking some advice about choosing between my state medical school and a private one. The schools in question are either of the two New Jersey medical schools, Robert Wood Johnson or New Jersey Medical, and Boston University.

I guess the question is this: Is it worth paying a far greater cost to attend the more prestigious private school or save the money and got to a lesser known state school?

Does the added cost of this mentioned private school result in improved career prospects that would not be available by getting a degree from the less prestigious state schools?

I'd appreciate any insight by those who have been faced with a similar decision, by those at either of these schools as well as anyone with an opinion whatsoever. Thanks a lot.

KFD

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[noah]

I don't going to UMDNJ puts you at any sort of disadvantage at all in terms of getting into a good residency program, especially in the northeast. If you were choosing between UMDNJ and a top 10 school, it might be a different story. As you know, BU is pretty expensive and doesn't offer much aid - this may result in some serious debt after school, factor in interest payments and you may be looking at several hundred thousand dollars that you owe. I don't think the additional cost is worth it at all, UMDNJ trains great docs and you have a choice of two fine schools

Good luck and congratulations on being done with this process.

 

[rangers1]

Thank you very much for your advice. I'd love to hear any other comments.

 

[Stephen Ewen]

This is general information and principles, and not just to your particular situation. It is more clarifying your options than directing.

In my opinion, when one has multiple acceptances to US schools in-hand, the decision as to where to go should be primarily based upon economics. That is, who is offering you the best financial aid package and setting you up such that you have as little debt as possible after graduation? The answer to that question should be where you go to medical school. Exceptions I see are as follows:

--If you must place high priority upon the geography of the location of your schools, such as if you must maintain proximity to a sick parent, or if your spouse cannot transfer jobs or seek alternate employment, and his or her working is significantly facilitating your medical school years

--If research is the primary goal of your attending med school, and a particular school
whose acceptance you hold is emminent in your particular research area(s)

--If a particular school whose acceptance you hold is emminent in offering their students education for particular clinical fields, such as geriatrics, women?s health, etc.

--If a particular school whose acceptance you hold follows a particular cuurculum you
have placed a high personal commitment upon to undego, such as Problem Based Learning, or a particular philiosophical bent

--If the school maintains a particularly low student to faculty ratio

Otherwise, I feel one should make where they go to be primarily an economic decision.


[This message has been edited by Stephen Ewen (edited 05-01-2000).]

 

[hodgepodge]

Money is important, but is far from being the sole criterion for choosing where to go to medical school. It's not like we're going to be making 40k a year as physicians. When deciding where to spend the next 4 years (and the years spent thereafter when realizing the impact your school name will have when determining where you do your residency) of your life I would recommend going where you think you'll be happiest. That takes a variety of individual factors into consideration and therefore is a personal choice. Probably not the advice you're looking for, but the only one who's going to make the right decision for the right reasons is you. good luck.