ahoyerwaver
New Member
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2019
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Hey all, appreciate any input. Some quick background, I grew up about 30 mins north of Boston, have lived here since undergrad completing an SMP at Tufts and am have ~75k in debt already. I don't have a preference for specialty yet, but I do enjoy onc, derm (with full time work experience), peds, and primary care. I can see myself loving my time and thriving at either school, so I am mainly focused on finances and some lifestyle differences, especially what each location offers
Tufts:
PROS:
-Close to home, very familiar with the area and the Tufts campus/program
-Good name recognition, especially considering I want to live/have my medical career in MA (hoping to do residency anywhere on East Coast)
-Already have friends in the area/in the program, I also have a part time job that is very flexible that I can keep which is basically paid study time for a few hours per week
-Really nice facilities, good opportunities for clinical rotations
CONS:
-Quite expensive, ~10-15k more per year than NYMC (although the option to live at home for a couple years could bring this down somewhat)
-I'm further away from my brothers and my college room mates/best friends (we are all extremely close)
NYMC:
PROS:
-My brother and sister-in-law live in Brooklyn, many of my closest college friends in NYC, and halfway between home in MA and other close college friends in DC. Even though it is not as close to home, I actually feel it is sort of the perfect location for seeing the people I care about most.
-Chance to do something different for 4 years, as much as I love Boston I know (or at least intend) that I'll be here for my whole life, and I feel like I may thrive getting away for a few years. I'm also getting more into camping/outdoor activities and love visiting NYC on occasion, and much easier to do both of these than if I were in Boston
-On campus housing is a huge draw for me, as it's much cheaper than Boston rent and I would prefer to avoid the hassle of landlords/leases/etc.
-Match list was fairly strong this year, although perhaps not as strong as Tufts
CONS:
-Not as well-known program, doesn't have as much "name recognition", PD score quite low comparatively (even though match list was still good)
-Facilities weren't as nice, but still fine
Ultimately, the fact that I've written a total of 4 cons between the schools I think is telling that I would truly love attending either of them.
So my real concern is: am I being stupid and overplaying cost/program reputation? Tufts is ~40-60k more over 4 years, but that's not much when looking at multi-hundred thousand dollar debt anyway. Conversely, NYMC has lower "name recognition" and a lower PD score, but is that actually as important as some people make it out to be?
My choice is really coming down to go with the somewhat more expensive, familiar option with arguably better option for residency, or the somewhat cheaper option with perhaps worse residency prospects but the opportunity to be in a great location re: support system and lifestyle for the next 4 years.
Also if anyone has insight on the differences between the two in the following areas I would appreciate it: research opportunities, student community (familiar with Tufts not NYMC), anything else that I may not have considered.
Any thoughts appreciated!
Tufts:
PROS:
-Close to home, very familiar with the area and the Tufts campus/program
-Good name recognition, especially considering I want to live/have my medical career in MA (hoping to do residency anywhere on East Coast)
-Already have friends in the area/in the program, I also have a part time job that is very flexible that I can keep which is basically paid study time for a few hours per week
-Really nice facilities, good opportunities for clinical rotations
CONS:
-Quite expensive, ~10-15k more per year than NYMC (although the option to live at home for a couple years could bring this down somewhat)
-I'm further away from my brothers and my college room mates/best friends (we are all extremely close)
NYMC:
PROS:
-My brother and sister-in-law live in Brooklyn, many of my closest college friends in NYC, and halfway between home in MA and other close college friends in DC. Even though it is not as close to home, I actually feel it is sort of the perfect location for seeing the people I care about most.
-Chance to do something different for 4 years, as much as I love Boston I know (or at least intend) that I'll be here for my whole life, and I feel like I may thrive getting away for a few years. I'm also getting more into camping/outdoor activities and love visiting NYC on occasion, and much easier to do both of these than if I were in Boston
-On campus housing is a huge draw for me, as it's much cheaper than Boston rent and I would prefer to avoid the hassle of landlords/leases/etc.
-Match list was fairly strong this year, although perhaps not as strong as Tufts
CONS:
-Not as well-known program, doesn't have as much "name recognition", PD score quite low comparatively (even though match list was still good)
-Facilities weren't as nice, but still fine
Ultimately, the fact that I've written a total of 4 cons between the schools I think is telling that I would truly love attending either of them.
So my real concern is: am I being stupid and overplaying cost/program reputation? Tufts is ~40-60k more over 4 years, but that's not much when looking at multi-hundred thousand dollar debt anyway. Conversely, NYMC has lower "name recognition" and a lower PD score, but is that actually as important as some people make it out to be?
My choice is really coming down to go with the somewhat more expensive, familiar option with arguably better option for residency, or the somewhat cheaper option with perhaps worse residency prospects but the opportunity to be in a great location re: support system and lifestyle for the next 4 years.
Also if anyone has insight on the differences between the two in the following areas I would appreciate it: research opportunities, student community (familiar with Tufts not NYMC), anything else that I may not have considered.
Any thoughts appreciated!
