UPenn vs Northwestern (scholarship)

[bobeanie95]

Hi everyone, I was hoping I could receive your input on choosing between UPenn and Feinberg. My dream school has always been UPenn. However, I recently received a significant scholarship from Northwestern, which is making my decision more difficult. Any feedback is appreciated!

UPenn
Pros:
+closer to friends family (1.5 hours away)
+1.5 pre clinical curriculum, Step 1 after clerkships
+prestige
+extensive opportunities within UPenn (PennMed, Upenn undergrad/grad schools in the area)
+I felt the best "fit" on interview day
+I would like to match/practice in the Northeast

Cons
-COA (around 360k total)
-rumor has it that Penn students are very competitive?

Northwestern
Pros
+Chicago
+COA (around 115k total)
+Feinberg students seemed happy and laid back

Cons
-Far from friends and family, a plane ride away
-most people match in the Mid-West (could be application bias)
-lack of socioeconomic diversity in patient population
-Step 1 before clerkship

EDIT: My apologies, I meant to post this in Help Me Decide: X vs Y.

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[asrw77]

Tell Penn - they're usually pretty good about matching scholarships!

 

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

COA and distance from home are really the only things you have to consider.

Things like clerkship/Step 1 timeline aren’t really going to affect you in the long run. If you’re capable enough to get into either school, you can handle any med school curriculum.

I wouldn’t really consider prestige a factor. Even though UPenn is higher than NW, both are within the top 20 and many schools fluctuate in the range. Stanford wasn’t even top 10 a while ago and became #2 all of a sudden, and NYU went from #34 to top 15.

Not to mention the fact that the difference in prestige won’t be significant enough to be the reason for getting rejected from a specific residency program.

EDIT: Don’t worry about competitiveness too much. Being a middle student at UPenn is better than being a top student at Albany (especially when you rock Step 1).

 

[DubbiDoctor]

and NYU went from #34 to top 15.

Top 10 for 2019 rankings

 

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

Top 10 for 2019 rankings

Ok...

 

[WingedOx]

Penn has (or at least they did when I was in med school) Pass/Fail clinical rotations, which is a HUGE advantage to students, so that's a major point for Penn.

However, I find it really really hard to encourage people to turn down a scholarship, particularly to a school as good as Northwestern. Also, Chicago > Philly.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

specially when you rock Step 1).

if you rock step 1 then you aren't a middle student...

 

[bobeanie95]

COA and distance from home are really the only things you have to consider.

Things like clerkship/Step 1 timeline aren’t really going to affect you in the long run. If you’re capable enough to get into either school, you can handle any med school curriculum.

I wouldn’t really consider prestige a factor. Even though UPenn is higher than NW, both are within the top 20 and many schools fluctuate in the range. Stanford wasn’t even top 10 a while ago and became #2 all of a sudden, and NYU went from #34 to top 15.

Not to mention the fact that the difference in prestige won’t be significant enough to be the reason for getting rejected from a specific residency program.

EDIT: Don’t worry about competitiveness too much. Being a middle student at UPenn is better than being a top student at Albany (especially when you rock Step 1).

Right, the biggest thing holding me back from UPenn is the cost. Over a 200k difference is significant. I feel like I would be happier at Penn, but I'm not sure if it's worth the money

 

[LoveBeingHuman:)]

if you rock step 1 then you aren't a middle student...

I meant middle in terms of ranking in your med school class

 

[efle]

For a quarter million more debt, so more like 350k more by the time it is paid off, I don't think it's very easy to justify Penn. Northwestern is also a major research center with a fantastic match list every year. I think you'd probably be paying $350,000 to end up matching the same.

 

[Master_of_Savage]

Go to the cheaper school. Don't subject yourself to copious amounts of debt if you don't have to, especially when the institutions are similar.

 

[letmeinplox]

Penn will open doors. Try to match merit aid but if not you'll still have no problems paying it off

 

[bobeanie95]

Penn will open doors. Try to match merit aid but if not you'll still have no problems paying it off

what makes you say Penn is worth the extra 200k (plus interest)?

 

[curbsideconsult]

I feel like I would be happier at Penn, but I'm not sure if it's worth the money

Isn't the saying, "you can't put a price on happiness?" Is that just too much of a unicorns-and-rainbows way of thinking?

 

[WingedOx]

Isn't the saying, "you can't put a price on happiness?" Is that just too much of a unicorns-and-rainbows way of thinking?

I mean, it clearly does have a price: over a quarter million dollars, and that's a generous interpretation based on fairly aggressive repayment.

 

[el_duderino]

Couldn't justify Penn with that sort of cost difference. Northwestern is a good, respected school and you will get little advantage from the Penn name.

Chicago really is better than Philly, too.