$$$ vs. School Prestige for Academics

[begginandpleadin]

Hi everyone,

I am an incoming med student for next year and am interested in potentially pursuing Oncology (probably Neuro-oncology). 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 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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[Salt Salt]

I would do Vandy over UCSF. Harvard and Stanford are both great but would do Vandy still.

Why? 60-80k of debt with interest is a lot for an academic physician to pay off (especially if you have other debt). Having no debt opens doors in terms of geography and what options you can take. Vandy is good enough for a talented student to go to any Internal Medicine residency (the prerequisite to most oncology fields). And if you are going to do oncology, you can always do your IM residency at the best place you can, and then keep climbing the ladder and do your oncology training at an even most prestigious institution.

You can factor in other things, like location (would you happier in Nashville or the other place for four years, etc) but I’d just take Vandy.

Edit: Just a med student here, so take my advice with a grain of salt. Also, congrats on being in a very enviable situation! This is a good problem to have.

 

[begginandpleadin]

I would do Vandy over UCSF. Harvard and Stanford are both great but would do Vandy still.

Why? 60-80k of debt with interest is a lot for an academic physician to pay off (especially if you have other debt). Having no debt opens doors in terms of geography and what options you can take. Vandy is good enough for a talented student to go to any Internal Medicine residency (the prerequisite to most oncology fields). And if you are going to do oncology, you can always do your IM residency at the best place you can, and then keep climbing the ladder and do your oncology training at an even most prestigious institution.

You can factor in other things, like location (would you happier in Nashville or the other place for four years, etc) but I’d just take Vandy.

Thank you! So Vandy is generally well received in the field of Oncology?

 

[CCM-MD]

IMO $80k debt to go to Harvard or Stanford is worth it.

 

[gutonc]

Vandy is a very fine place. As are HMS and Stanford. And if you can get out of those places with under $100K in debt, you're doing just fine.

One thing to keep in mind is the pond you're going to be swimming in as a med student (and resident, and fellow, etc). It's a lot easier to stand out in a place like Vandy than it would be at HMS or something like that.

 

[CatFactorial]

Not sure about other realms of academic Onc but if you become a physician scientist (admittedly a big if for anybody), can get up to $35K annually in loan repayment from NIH. Also, public service loan forgiveness in its current form is unlikely to stick around, but if it does and you end up in academics, the training time and likely career track will get you the 10 years in a nonprofit medical center to qualify for repayment.

While loan debt is certainly a major thing to focus on, if you're truly set on academics you will have options to pay it off. The problem is that most people don't know if they will end up in academics. But 60-80K is not much in terms of medical school debt.


Also I didn't read your post carefully to know which top 3 school you're referring to but if it's a California program, that will be a plus if you want to end up in California long-term. Although coming from that pedigree locating to California eventually shouldn't be a problem.

Bottom line is that it really doesn't matter. Nashville is a fine place to be if you can tolerate the bachelorettes.

 

[IMrad]

Vanderbilt 100 percent as long as it (the location) works with the rest of your life. Great medical school and program. Specifically regarding oncology they just got Ben Park from Hopkins and have their NCI spore grants (Breast and GI). For 80k I would certainly take vandy for medical school. if you’re productive in research you’ll get a great residency and fellowship wherever you want to go.

 

[Neuronix]

Thread closed due to cross posting. If you wish to respond, go to: $$$ vs. School Prestige for Academics