I’d say Miami but only because I see myself living there in the future and you’d have better opportunities to do your residency there if you attend school there, so I am definitely biased.
edit: but I love how you put hot and humid down for Miami when you are from Arizona lol. I had an interview in Arizona and I thought the sun was going to kill me, Florida isn't nearly as bad!
Hahaha the humidity makes it so much worse! I grew up in Phoenix, AZ and wouldn't mind living here in the future. I can't quite picture myself being in Miami long term but to be fair, I've only been there for 3 days during my interview. Miami's "better" clinical opportunities and residency prospects are definitely enticing.
Any other cons for U of A? It doesn’t sound like you’re against it that much and personally, 100k would be a big enough difference that would make me hesitate to pick UMiami.
No other cons specifically for U of A I could think of although I feel like the pros of U of Miami are quite substantial. Ran some quick numbers yesterday based on 6% interest and U of A came out at $229,735 vs U of Miami at $324,597. Interestingly, just about every older, more experienced, wiser (?) docs I have spoken with recently have recommended the cheaper option. Many of them have mentioned that they themselves went to a state school and work alongside numerous physicians who have gone to prestigious schools (Harvard, Yale, Hopkins, etc.) who are no better than they are or frankly, are a lot worse than they are. They have told me that I will receive an excellent education at either school and that it will ultimately be the individual student that will make the difference. I also had a good friend (PGY9 anesthesiology, trained at Northwestern) who have told me that while she is often asked where she completed her residency and fellowship, almost no one ever asks where she went to med school. She also told me that she was glad to have chosen U of A vs USC (her other choice at the time) because, in addition to lower cost, she otherwise would've had to compete against a lot of really smart kids and may not have been able to stand out as much.
I'd choose miami due to better residency prospects.
Miami definitely has an impressive match! But U of A have also placed people into competitive specialties (ortho, plastics, optho, etc.) at awesome places (Hopkins, Stanford, UCSF, etc.)!
Thank you guys for your responses! I'll be meeting up with several docs I work with / friends who are docs within the next few weeks who I can discuss this with on a more personal level. I was initially leaning toward Miami but now I'm swaying toward U of A.
Keep your inputs coming!
