UT Southwestern (full ride + stipend) vs. Emory (my one tru love)

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wubear0613

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hi guys, i've been pretty torn between these two awesome choices and need some third party/fresh insights. 😱
also i couldnt figure out how to start a poll

just in terms of what i'm really looking for in a medical school:
-want to match into internal medicine but also want to keep mind open about more competitive specialty like surgery
-value learning about global health and health systems, want to incorporate those into my career
-would prefer to match into a west coast residency (my SO lives here)
-in terms of cost as a decision factor, im not sure yet. i would have to take on the burden of loans by myself, and dont really want to lean on anyone for help to pay them off. i dont really have an idea of how 300k+ debt impacts lifestyle or anything, so if anyone wants to speak to that that'd be great.

UT Southwestern
*pros: parkland hospital, amazing clinical research opportunities, community health track and fellowship opportunity available to those who are interested, would graduate with not that much debt which is huge, after second look it seemed like a pretty supportive environment

*cons: greater emphasis on basic research, not many global health opportunities for students aside from the student interest group, unsure if this would funnel me into a texas residency because SW seems like its more of a state powerhouse, unsure if this could place me in a competitive residency on the west coast (could be wrong, need advice)

Emory
*pros: low key fell in love with it after i interviewed (have not gone to second look yet), ATL is a dope city, grady hospital and the accompanying focus on providing healthcare to underserved communities, amazing opportunities in global/public health and health systems (cdc, carter center, rollins school of public health, health innovation collabs with GA Tech), global health work seems to be more accessible (why do i feel this way? maybe because of the public health school?), great research opportunities in general, people do well with matching on the west coast

*cons: insane amount of debt

please help ahhhhhh
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From what I have heard, UTSW is an amazing school with a fantastic reputation, so I don't think you would have any issue matching into the specialty of your choice from there. As a fellow person in love with Emory (no luck on getting an interview this year, but it would have been a top choice if I had), I can certainly understand your love for the school. But I think there is only a nominal difference in reputation between the two schools, if any.

However, I can speak to how it feels to pay off debt. Between my husband and me, we had over $100k in debt from undergrad and I thought it was a bear to pay off - the burden was always there, hanging over our heads. And the economy tanked while we were paying it off, so that made things a lot worse. My friends who have gone to medical school have basically all told me to avoid debt if possible, and that is something I have considered carefully now that I'm deciding between schools. In fact, most of my physician friends have told me not to bother going to med school at all since it's so expensive. That means that if you get not only a free ride, but a stipend on top if it, you'll be in an amazing job to do whatever you want when you get out - once you're done with residency, you can work the hours you want or take a lower paying position in a better location since you won't have to worry as much about finances. If both of these schools were very different in terms of reputation, it might be worth taking on the extra debt. But despite my love for Emory, I would take the scholarship and run. In this case, the difference of over $300k is HUGE and the difference between the schools is negligible. The only thing that will hold you back for residency is how well you perform.
 
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Honestly if you are still having trouble making a decision when UTSW has given you so much money, it really seems like your heart is set on Emory

Money is obviously huge however, have you tried contacting Emorys financial aid department?
 
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@DBC03 honestly, i haven't had a lot of input from people on how debt affects lifestyle, and a lot of people just told me that sure, i'd have to pick a higher paying specialty, but it wouldn't necessarily hold me back from living my life. thank you so so much for your input

@JPmoleymole yeah haha...i think i made this post because i thought there was a chance that people would reaffirm emory anyways, but it's probably not the move. i contacted the admissions office with one of those "negotiating" emails that people send when they get a scholarship offer at another school and they told me they'd get back to me around easter or so. haven't heard anything yet.

can any of you guys speak to matching on the west coast for either of these schools? it seemed like from the 2018 match list emory had a lot more out west, or does this not really matter?
 
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wubear0613 said:
@DBC03 honestly, i haven't had a lot of input from people on how debt affects lifestyle, and a lot of people just told me that sure, i'd have to pick a higher paying specialty, but it wouldn't necessarily hold me back from living my life. thank you so so much for your input

@JPmoleymole yeah haha...i think i made this post because i thought there was a chance that people would reaffirm emory anyways, but it's probably not the move. i contacted the admissions office with one of those "negotiating" emails that people send when they get a scholarship offer at another school and they told me they'd get back to me around easter or so. haven't heard anything yet.

can any of you guys speak to matching on the west coast for either of these schools? it seemed like from the 2018 match list emory had a lot more out west, or does this not really matter?
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sent you a PM
 
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It’s difficult to interpret match lists since there’s quite a bit of self-selection in the match process. It’s possible that many people at UTSW prefer to remain in TX (low taxes, high pay, TX residents are fairly big fans of TX), while Emory has a more diverse group that might include more people who wanted to move west. I’m struggling with the same issue on interpreting match lists, but when I saw that both schools I’m interested in have matched students into the programs and locations I’m interested in, I finally called it a wash. In my case, it looks like money is going to be the deciding factor.

Keep us posted on the negotiations.


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
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UTSW is a state school with 90% of students from TX. Texans really, really love Texas and a large amount of my classmates have lived here all their lives and don't want to leave. There's a good percentage that match out-of-state so I would say it's just a lot of self-selection. Emory is private so there's a lot more diversity about where people want to live.

I'm not super involved with global health here but I know a lot of people who are, and a lot of them do global health stuff outside of the office (like setting up their own away rotations or own research projects). So the student interest group/office of global health aren't massive but they aren't the only avenue to do global health at UTSW. Plus, I can't remember for sure but I think Emory has mandatory lecture? That's a massive dealbreaker haha. Please feel free to message me if you have any questions about UTSW (current MS1!)
 
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Texas has a higher income than cost of living than most states, and most Texas schools keep most of the grads, but there is no law that would keep you there.

I hate Houston, and I would take a full ride without blinking. (gosh darn, it is Dallas. Dallas is better than Houston. . . . Its been a while since I interviewed there).

I’m very debt adverse. You will make better decisions for you, and probably make more money in the long run if you don’t have huge student loans. $300k at 4% is $3000/ month over 10 years (I’d advise you to pay off faster).
 
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This seems very simple to me. The schools are likely the same in terms of quality of education and 'prestige' . You could buy a house and two cars in Atlanta when you move there for your residency...
 
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All I got to say is if you consider graduating without debt, you will never have to truly worry about paying off loans. That means of the 50000+ you make as a resident, you don't have to allocate any to paying off loans and instead can be used for savings, fun, or whatever you want to do with it! You don't have to deal with the headache of accruing interest or making sure there's enough money at the end of the month to pay back those loans. UTSW and Emory are comparable schools and Austin is a lovely city to be in + BBQ.

Edit: UTSW is in Dallas, point still stands though.
 
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A$AP ROCKY said:
All I got to say is if you consider graduating without debt, you will never have to truly worry about paying off loans. That means of the 50000+ you make as a resident, you don't have to allocate any to paying off loans and instead can be used for savings, fun, or whatever you want to do with it! You don't have to deal with the headache of accruing interest or making sure there's enough money at the end of the month to pay back those loans. UTSW and Emory are comparable schools and Austin is a lovely city to be in + BBQ.
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LOL @NITRAS and @A$AP ROCKY , UTSW is in Dallas :shy:
 
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TRT7 said:
This seems very simple to me. The schools are likely the same in terms of quality of education and 'prestige' . You could buy a house and a two cars in Atlanta when you move there for your residency...
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LOL. you're not wrong
 
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Skittsie13 said:
There's a good percentage that match out-of-state so I would say it's just a lot of self-selection. Emory is private so there's a lot more diversity about where people want to live.
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I definitely didn't think about this...can I pm you for more questions?
 
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I actually had to make the same decision and I've been super happy with my decision to go to UTSW. The clinical training is amazing and Dallas is a more affordable city than Atlanta. PM me if you want more info!
 
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You're obviously smart if you got into UTSW and on top of that a fat compensation, hell I just want to get into UTSW! The smart play is to go the debt free route, if you are smart enough you will do well almost anywhere you go. As a TX resident (I assume you are from out of state) I can confirm that almost everyone here in TX at my UG wants to either stay in TX for their career or continue their academic career here, it truly is a great state.
 
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thegrind33 said:
You're obviously smart if you got into UTSW and on top of that a fat compensation, hell I just want to get into UTSW! The smart play is to go the debt free route, if you are smart enough you will do well almost anywhere you go. As a TX resident (I assume you are from out of state) I can confirm that almost everyone here in TX at my UG wants to either stay in TX for their career or continue their academic career here, it truly is a great state.
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i'm actually in-state, but just really loved emory when I visited. thank you for your feedback!
 
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Create a poll. But UTSW is my choice. Your reasons for turning down all that money are not substantial enough in my opinion.

As someone else mentioned, you can do an MPH at emory. Essentially getting the best of both worlds.
 
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