Too many choices!! Non trad student w/family

[matopet2]

I am in to both MD and DO schools. CCOM,AZCOM, Wright State, and GWU.I am still waiting to hear from 10 schools OUR (wife& 2 kids(5 month old and a 3.5 year old.)best support structures are in DC and Chicago.Cheapest schools are in ohio. GW is a great school but expensive and i love the curriculum . who knew too many acceptances coul be a bad thing? I am willing to wait and see what happens w/financial aid. My wife is stressed out and so am I. I am not the 22 yeqar old who can pick up at the last minute and go. She is not willing to do military and i am not keen on public health service. However, the state of Illinois pragram would allow me to to do EM/IM or EM/PEDS and do my pay back in IM or PEDS.The only school i am into in Ilinois is CCOM, but i am waiting to hear from 2 schools. I think if i go to CCOM and do well I can get into any residecy I want. I am no lomger looking at the DO/MD thing just where I can do the best. My family is the most important thing. I see lots of oppurtunity. Any thoughts or perspectives? --Thanks

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[Hippocrates]

Congrats!!! I know how tough it is to choose the right school. My advice to you and I am sure you already did, is to talk to your family and discuss all your options. Personaly, in your position, I try to stay close to family as much as possible. Med school is going to be time consuming and you will need other family members near by who can help you out. If you decide to stay in Illinois, that is great!! I would meet you at CCOM's orientation this coming fall. CCOM was my final pick and I am looking forward to attending. I can tell you that GW can be hectic due to its location, I attended graduate school there. I did not like it while I was attending there, it was just too expensive and frankly not worth the money. I did not see anything special about the school. Very expensive!!! Anyways, good luck to you and I hope to see you at CCOM in the fall.

Samir

 

[Doc Oc]

I am not sure if my suggestions will be pertinent to your situation, especially since you referred to several academic and career-oriented reasons for being torn between the schools, but I thought I'd throw them out there and maybe they'd help after you have it narrowed a little more.
1)Cost of living in Dayton,OH is very low, especially compared to Chicago and D.C.
2)I know there are "nice" parts of most large scary cities, but even so, maybe you could find some info on the web about the crime rates in these cities, especially since you'll be so busy with med school.
3)Are you going to buy or rent your future living space? Some places are great to buy, crazy to rent, or vice versa.
4)You already seem to be looking into residency placements from these schools, so while you're at it, you may as well take a peek at their recent USMLE scores.
5) The commute between school and home. When you're that strapped for time, it could add up. Also, it might be neat to go home for lunch and hang out with the kids mid-day.

I can think of more, but again, I have no frame of reference to base my questions on. Are you and your wife from metropolitan areas? Do you want an apt or house? What kind of job does she have, and where will it be easier to find work? Where will it be easier to find good daycare, if you need it? What are the schools that your 3.5 year old will end up attending like, and do you want pre-school?

Good luck with your decision, and I hope some of this ends up helping!

 

[Extermo]

First, congratulations and much success to you in the future. My comment is actually a question and somewhat self-serving, but I hope you can assist me. I too am a non-traditional, wanna be D.O. I am interested in knowing what you did to prepare yourself for medical school and what stats (e.g. gpa, mcat score, experience) you possess to make yourself so attractive to these schools? Any insight you can give is much appreciated.

 

[ana]

By "support structure," I am assuming you mean help with child care? If that is the case, then you must stay where it will be available. Reliable and ethical child care is difficult to come by and is absolutely priceless.

If not, then I would say go where the tuition structure will allow you to keep more of your loan money/financial aid and the cost of living is very low.

I'll tell you how financial aid works. Your need will be calculated (and based on your situation, I'll guarantee that it is going to be high) and you will probably end up maxing out your stafford subsidized/unsubsidized loans. You will probably end up having to secure additional school sponsored and private loans to meet your family's needs. You could potentially borrow up to $50K per year total. Get the picture? The less the tuition, the less the cost of living, the more money you have for food on the table!

Also, you should be inquiring about the following things:

1. insurance coverage for spouse and kids (how much, what kind, dental, etc?). How much is it and what is the coverage like?

2. Is reasonably priced on campus family housing available? This will save you gas and commuting time. You will be able to come home during the middle of the day. Your family will be surrounded by other spouses/kids of med students and will have a social support.

Good luck.