UM Miller vs Boston University vs FIU (Full-tuition Scholarship)

[mattlima94]

Hey guys. Here is my current scenario:

FIU (Full-tuition Scholarship) vs UM Miller (partial scholarship) vs Boston University (don't know my financial aid package yet but I am assuming it will be the most expensive option).

Currently, I feel like UM Miller is the safest choice. It's a great school, it would be somewhat affordable since I'm from Florida, it's close to my family, and UM is my undergrad institution so I already have a strong network in Miami and within UM. However, due to my interest in health management/policy etc, Boston University seems like an amazing option as Boston has opportunities of national relevance in such areas which do not seem to be equally available in Miami. I have not completely decided which direction to focus my career(clinical vs management etc) and I know I have plenty of time to reflect on that and make my decision career wise. However, I do feel like the decision I make regarding which school to attend will have a great impact in which direction my career will go and the opportunities I will come across. And as for FIU, I am very honored to have received the scholarship, but the fact that they have a number grade report system, are a new school and do not have much of a track record matching into competitive specialties make me feel that the higher price tag of either UM or Boston University is worth it for the better opportunities I will get there. I would greatly appreciate new perspectives on any aspect of the situation. Thanks for the help!!

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[speedyxx626]

Hey guys. Here is my current scenario:

FIU (Full-tuition Scholarship) vs UM Miller (partial scholarship) vs Boston University (don't know my financial aid package yet but I am assuming it will be the most expensive option).

Currently, I feel like UM Miller is the safest choice. It's a great school, it would be somewhat affordable since I'm from Florida, it's close to my family, and UM is my undergrad institution so I already have a strong network in Miami and within UM. However, due to my interest in health management/policy etc, Boston University seems like an amazing option as Boston has opportunities of national relevance in such areas which do not seem to be equally available in Miami. I have not completely decided which direction to focus my career(clinical vs management etc) and I know I have plenty of time to reflect on that and make my decision career wise. However, I do feel like the decision I make regarding which school to attend will have a great impact in which direction my career will go and the opportunities I will come across. And as for FIU, I am very honored to have received the scholarship, but the fact that they have a number grade report system, are a new school and do not have much of a track record matching into competitive specialties make me feel that the higher price tag of either UM or Boston University is worth it for the better opportunities I will get there. I would greatly appreciate new perspectives on any aspect of the situation. Thanks for the help!!

I would definitely not pick FIU out of those three even with the full tuition scholarship. One thing that you'll come to learn in M3 year is that the name of your school matters more than it should if you want to match into a competitive speciatlty. For example, I've heard program directors saying they would take an average student from Harvard over a stellar student from a low tier school in a heart beat. I'm not saying you have to go to harvard or upenn, but at least a middle tier school with a name that won't hold you back if you have the option. If you can't choose between UM or Boston, just pick based off location. Most people (or at least a large portion) match into residencies that are in the same region as their med school...so keep that in mind.

If you want to go into family med or something else that's not very competitive..you can probably disregard my post.

 

[Barley426]

Well, I can speak from experience here. I was accepted to several florida MD schools including UM and I decided the acceptance from FIU with the full scholarship was worth it. This year I matched neurosurgery from FIU, so the name did not completely hold me back.

For full disclosure I did feel like my step score and overall resume had to be much better than other applicants to be considered similarly on the rank list of certain programs, but it's not impossible to match into a competitive specialty from an unknown school. BU and UM will definitely give you more on the name reputation, but I don't regret my choice personally even though sometimes I wished I didn't have to overcome my school's lack of reputation.

It's a good problem to have though, so congrats and good luck.