WashU (Full Tuition) vs Michigan (Full COA) vs Weill Cornell (Debt-Free)

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Ferdaos

Ferdaos

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Hi SDN! I am very fortunate to get to pick which med school I go to. That being said, I am having a hard time deciding between my top three schools because I love different things about all three programs and would love to hear your thoughts. I haven't received the final financial package from all schools but I am sure that the COA will be similar (+/- $10k) for all three.


WashU
Pros
  • Full Tuition Scholarship
  • No Internal Ranking/AOA
  • Slightly higher ranked (idk how much that matters for competitive residencies)
  • BJ Hospital is one of the best for ortho
  • Seems to have the strongest match list
  • Clinical grades are not curved or capped

Cons
  • Weaker MD/MBA than other two
  • STL<AA<NYC

Michigan
Pros
  • Full COA Scholarship
  • 1 yr pre-clinical (students have a lot of freedom in the last two years to do what they want)
  • One of the best surgery programs in the country
  • Strong MD/MBA program
  • AA is more diverse than STL
  • Potential great roommate found (although would have to hunt for apartments)

Cons
  • AOA before residency apps
  • Clinical grading is curved and capped
  • The coldest out of the three options


Cornell
Pros
  • Comparable COA to other two options
  • NYC>AA>STL
  • Great global health opportunities
  • Strong MD/MBA program
  • HSS/Cornell is one of the best for ortho
  • Clinical grading is not curved or capped
  • Students seemed to have the most free time
  • "Ivy" name (might not matter for MD but probably does for MBA)
  • On-campus housing (don't have to hunt for apartments)

Cons
  • AOA before residency apps
  • Lower prestige than the other two? (idk how much it matters for competitive specialties)


Summary: Currently, I am set on ortho and that likely won't change, so I want to go somewhere where I have the best shot at matching. Secondly, I am from Texas and would probably want to do my residency somewhere in the South. Lastly, I really value having ample global health opportunities.

UPDATE: Michigan is now offering me full COA scholarship so I would graduate debt free! And Cornell is out of the picture because of their financial aid package, so I am now choosing between WashU (they're offering me $15k less a year) and Michigan. Thank you guys so much for all your feedback, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!
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I feel that you will have an equal chance matching to ortho at all 3 programs since they are all top 20. I would personally chose the school and program you would be happiest at for the next 4 years. Congrats on great options!!
 
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@puppylove101 Thank you very much! Looking at Doximity, HSS/Cornell is ranked #1 and WashU is #2 for ortho. I don't know much about Doximity rankings but do you think I should give them any weight in my decision? Also, do you know if there is a program that increases my chances of matching in the South?
 
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Go to Cornell. You seem to love the city. Johnson and Ross are about the same in MBA. tbh, out of magnificent 7, the rest of the MBA programs are all treated the same.
 
Ferdaos said:
@puppylove101 Thank you very much! Looking at Doximity, HSS/Cornell is ranked #1 and WashU is #2 for ortho. I don't know much about Doximity rankings but do you think I should give them any weight in my decision? Also, do you know if there is a program that increases my chances of matching in the South?
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Disclaimer - I am an incoming MD student so I defer to adcoms or more senior members who have experience in med school decisions/residency.

But to me, the difference between #1 versus #2 doesn’t matter. You seem to prefer NYC based on your previous post, so I would go there if you would be happiest. You would be able to match anywhere in the south from any of those schools! From what I’ve heard from current residents in competitive fields like ortho, once you are in a certain range of highly ranked schools, what you do in medical school matters more than the school you go to.
 
If you're the type of person to get these As and scholarships, you're the type of person you will match into ortho regardless of which school you choose. And all three are great schools anyway. Go with your gut (which seems to be leaning Cornell)!
 
Was Cornell also a full tuition scholarship? Are these all merit/competitive scholarships then since you have not received your financial aid packages? Great work!
 
srirachamayonnaise said:
Go to Cornell. You seem to love the city. Johnson and Ross are about the same in MBA. tbh, out of magnificent 7, the rest of the MBA programs are all treated the same.
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I am leaning a bit towards Cornell. But not having to worry about AOA (especially for a competitive residency) at WashU sounds awesome. I would love to hear your thoughts about how much weight I should give for AOA
 
docMaine said:
Was Cornell also a full tuition scholarship? Are these all merit/competitive scholarships then since you have not received your financial aid packages? Great work!
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WashU and Michigan are merit scholarships but Cornell doesn't offer any merit scholarships (all of their aid is need-based since 2019). But based on my EFC, Cornell will most likely at least cover tuition and fees.
 
I have personally been accepted to Cornell and will most likely be going there.

In your case however, I'd probably go with WashU or Cornell (because you wanna do ortho), depending on how much location matter to you.

For WashU the most important pros are:
1) merit-based aid, so you always know the amount you're getting.
2) Cheaper CoL overall, although Cornell's subsidized housing kinda cancels this one out
3) No AOA

For Cornell:
1) NYC (and a great location in NYC too)
2) Global Health

I don't see any reason why you should get an MBA given these are not M7 and you don't seem to want to do anything administrative or entrepreneurial (although you can correct me if I'm wrong here).

As for match list, I have no clue if we're looking at the same one because Cornell's average match list is pretty insane. WashU's is BARELY better, if at all. At this level, grades and ECs matter much more. Although you should keep in mind that students in both schools match back pretty frequently, so if you're set on an NYC residency vs. a Barnes residency you should definitely keep that in mind.
 
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DZ2106 said:
I have personally been accepted to Cornell and will most likely be going there.

In your case however, I'd probably go with WashU or Cornell (because you wanna do ortho), depending on how much location matter to you.

For WashU the most important pros are:
1) merit-based aid, so you always know the amount you're getting.
2) Cheaper CoL overall, although Cornell's subsidized housing kinda cancels this one out
3) No AOA

For Cornell:
1) NYC (and a great location in NYC too)
2) Global Health

I don't see any reason why you should get an MBA given these are not M7 and you don't seem to want to do anything administrative or entrepreneurial (although you can correct me if I'm wrong here).

As for match list, I have no clue if we're looking at the same one because Cornell's average match list is pretty insane. WashU's is BARELY better, if at all. At this level, grades and ECs matter much more. Although you should keep in mind that students in both schools match back pretty frequently, so if you're set on an NYC residency vs. a Barnes residency you should definitely keep that in mind.
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Thank you so much for your helpful advice! I agree with your most important pros which is why I'm torn between the two. But hopefully after Second Look (if cornell decides to host one!) I'll feel "at home" at one of the schools, making my decision easy.

In terms of getting an MBA, I took some classes in the business school, which I really enjoyed, and ended up double majoring in economics. 20 years down the line, I think I'd want to pursue an administrative role. And I know that by then I would've probably forgotten what I learned during my MBA. But I like the idea of doing it in one year and soon after undergrad (economic concepts are still fresh in my brain).
 
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Ferdaos said:
Thank you so much for your helpful advice! I agree with your most important pros which is why I'm torn between the two. But hopefully after Second Look (if cornell decides to host one!) I'll feel "at home" at one of the schools, making my decision easy.

In terms of getting an MBA, I took some classes in the business school, which I really enjoyed, and ended up double majoring in economics. 20 years down the line, I think I'd want to pursue an administrative role. And I know that by then I would've probably forgotten what I learned during my MBA. But I like the idea of doing it in one year and soon after undergrad (economic concepts are still fresh in my brain).
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Just keep in mind that if you keep the same trajectory and make ortho in a T20 residency, you can easily make a milli or two (or three!) a few years out of residency/fellowship

Sure, you can get your MBA done in 1 year, but as per economics, you will not have a total cost of 50,000, as it could easily be worth 1.05 million when including implicit costs. Only you can decide if that's worth it.

Either way, that's probably a solid case for Cornell, seeing as they have the second-best MBA degree and 1st best ortho program out of your choices. Although it's not super common to match HSS unfortunately, the ortho match lists can be pretty solid. Plus, you like NYC the most. So that's a win-win-win all around imo

And we can potentially be team ortho at Cornell together! 🙂

Btw, here are Cornell's match lists in 2018/19 and 2021. 2021 was not as impressive for ortho but 2018/19 were pretty damn solid



 
DZ2106 said:
Just keep in mind that if you keep the same trajectory and make ortho in a T20 residency, you can easily make a milli or two (or three!) a few years out of residency/fellowship

Sure, you can get your MBA done in 1 year, but as per economics, you will not have a total cost of 50,000, as it could easily be worth 1.05 million when including implicit costs. Only you can decide if that's worth it.

Either way, that's probably a solid case for Cornell, seeing as they have the second-best MBA degree and 1st best ortho program out of your choices. Although it's not super common to match HSS unfortunately, the ortho match lists can be pretty solid. Plus, you like NYC the most. So that's a win-win-win all around imo

And we can potentially be team ortho at Cornell together! 🙂

Btw, here are Cornell's match lists in 2018/19 and 2021. 2021 was not as impressive for ortho but 2018/19 were pretty damn solid



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That is a great point about MBA since it isn't covered by Cornell, or by any other med school for that matter. Let's hope that Cornell arranges a second look so I can get a feel for the school. Thank you for those links, and hopefully, I see you at WCMC!
 
Ferdaos said:
That is a great point about MBA since it isn't covered by Cornell, or by any other med school for that matter. Let's hope that Cornell arranges a second look so I can get a feel for the school. Thank you for those links, and hopefully, I see you at WCMC!
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Are you on the Cornell GroupMe? They have virtual second looks and are considering in-person.
 
DZ2106 said:
Are you on the Cornell GroupMe? They have virtual second looks and are considering in-person.
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Yeah I am. I went to the virtual event they had, and that's where I got the vibe that M1s have so much free time.
 
Ferdaos said:
Yeah I am. I went to the virtual event they had, and that's where I got the vibe that M1s have so much free time.
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Same, they were definitely super chill. It almost gave off a college vibe, but with smarter students lmao
 
did you make a final decision? facing a similar choice (merit based full tuition at another T20 vs Cornell debt free) and curious what your thoughts are! @Ferdaos
 
Omg I hope you didn't sway away from Cornell because of "lower prestige" nonsense

You want ortho, like NYC, and want global health connecs - it's like tailor made for you.
 
Banco said:
Omg I hope you didn't sway away from Cornell because of "lower prestige" nonsense

You want ortho, like NYC, and want global health connecs - it's like tailor made for you.
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Thr money swayed me away. It really was a great fit but nothing tops the COA scholarship from Michigan
 
Ferdaos said:
I haven't made the final decision yet but Michigan offered me a full COA scholarship so that's likely where I am going!
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Congrats on the full COA from UMich! I would have made the same decision. Go Blue!
 
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