tufts vs. downstate

[dr.quack]

hey guys,
i just got my letter from tufts and i was all set to join the md/mph program at downstate, which starts this june....what are your thoughts on the merits of attending tufts instead of downstate. money is the big issue, and i will be taking out loans for ALL of it - so, if i plan to go into research/acadmics, which school would be the better choice?
Thanks!
ps. i got into tufts' md/mph program as well, which nicely starts in august, giving me one last real summer.

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[atsai3]

dr.quack,

I would suggest you base your decision on the choice between Tufts MD vs Downstate MD, not the Tufts MD/MPH vs. Downstate MD/MPH. I think (but am not sure) that the Tufts and Downstate MPH programs are not standalone programs (ie, based in a school of public health), so struggling to pick one or the other based on whether you are "going into research/academics" is not that fruitful.

Another option you might consider is to go to Downstate MD, and then during your second year of medical school apply to standalone MPH programs. The Harvard one, for example, is 9 months, so it can easily accommodate your rotation schedule. (Hopkins is 12 months and is a little less flexible, and others like Columbia take 2 years.) With the money you save by going to Downstate instead of Tufts, you can pay for a better MPH education.

As for the Tufts MD vs. Downstate MD decision, I would hazard a guess that the reputational differences between the two are not great enough to make enough of a difference (in your bid for an academic career) to compensate for the enormous upfront tuition differential. That isn't to say there aren't other differences that could account for the differential (eg., "I want to live in Boston", "Tufts has a better anatomy curriculum", or whatever, etc).

Cheers
-a.