T30 vs T130

[luckymonkey13]

I want to keep this vague, but I am mainly concerned about the price difference between the two med schools I have been accepted to. For context, I will be taking out full loans for tuition and my living expenses.

School 1 is a T30, and I am confident in the program. Its well-known and has a great reputation. I think they have their program down to a science, and I know I would be able to pursue any specialty I am capable of doing myself.

School 2 is a T130, I am less confident in the program but not totally turned off by it, and it seems to be slightly less stressful than the T30 though I feel like I may not fit into their student population?? Their students mostly love it, rarely hear bad things and the bad things are typically pretty minor.

My only hesitation about attending the T30 is the cost difference. It would be about $30,000 over the four years ($7,500 per year-ish) cheaper for me to attend the T130. I am really stressed about loans, as I would be at about $200,000 loans for the T30 for the 4 years.

Is that difference of cost ($30,000 all said and done, without accounting for interest of course) worth it to attend at T30? I think living expenses/costs outside of tuition will be comparable, so that is a non-factor for me. For reference, I do not know what I want to specialize in (not drawn to primary care or peds- and on the other end of the spectrum- I not interested in neurosurgery or CT surgery, if this helps at all).

I appreciate any honest opinions

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[newkungfukenny]

30k is nothing when it comes to loans. Are you saying 200k vs 170k loans at the end of the road? That's negligible if the t30 is where you want to be and you feel you will thrive more at

 

[luckymonkey13]

30k is nothing when it comes to loans. Are you saying 200k vs 170k loans at the end of the road? That's negligible if the t30 is where you want to be and you feel you will thrive more at

Yes, it will be about 200k vs 170k in total so the difference is about 7.5k per year. Are you really saying 30k is negligible? It kind of makes me sick thinking about, but I am also low-income so a physician salary is money that I could never imagine, so maybe I am not being sound thinking this is a big deciding factor?

 

[newkungfukenny]

Yes, it will be about 200k to 170k in total so the difference is about 7.5k per year. Are you really saying 30k is negligible? It kind of makes me sick thinking about, but I am also low-income so a physician salary is money that I could never imagine, so maybe I am not being sound thinking this is a big deciding factor?

Lol i'm also low-income and also only matriculating this cycle, so of course I'm not the biggest expert, but i'd suggest looking at

Home | White Coat Investor and other online resources regarding loans.

but essentially, with 7.5k per year you're looking at a couple hundred extra/month (if even that) being taken from ur resident and attending salary to go to the school you'd much rather go to. you get what you pay for and 30k extra in debt is worth it imo if its the school you have your heart set on

 

[eyeeye_captain]

If it’s 170k vs 200k, and we keep it simple, ignoring interest during residency etc.

If you took a job making 250k (intentionally lowballing it), your net income in a state with a national median tax rate (~5.5%) is about 165k.

The median household expenses yearly in the US are about 80k. So if you can live pretty average and put the remaining 85k toward the loans, even at 9%:

You’re debt free in 27 months with the 170k and in 32 months with the 200k. If you get a bigger check or have lower expenses, you’re done even faster. 400k and you can do it in 1 year at that pace.

All of this to agree with the above. 30k sounds like (and is) a lot of money, but not so much in the big picture. Go where you’re more comfortable and likely to do well.

 

[chilly_md]

Go to the higher ranked school. The cost difference is not substantial if that is the only thing holding you back, which it sounds like it from your post.