$$$ vs. School Prestige for Academics

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begginandpleadin

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Hi everyone,

I am an incoming med student for next year and am really interested in matching Neurology (or potentially but less likely NSG). I have the choice of a top 3 school with about 60-80k of debt or Vanderbilt with no debt at graduation. My ultimate goal is to be an academic physician doing research in neurology/NSG at a medical center on the west coast.

I wanted to know how program directors and attendings generally view Vanderbilt med's reputation in relation to Top 3 schools like UCSF or Harvard. I am wondering whether it is best for me to save the money and attend Vandy or go into debt for a much higher ranked school? Is anything in the T20 is essentially equivalent or are there significant advantages to attending a higher ranked school in terms of getting better residencies and later better academic appointments? Or should I avoid debt at all costs and go with the cheaper option given the lower salaries in academia?

Thank you all!

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I didn't go to a prestigious medical school but I'm in academic neurology. I don't know what to say about neurosurgery. Keep in mind that some med students change their minds about specialties during med school, and some physicians realize that they don't want to go into academic medicine during fellowship because of low salary or don't want to seek research grants.
 
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