What should be the most important factor in selecting a school?

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Would most people have found it worth it to pay an extra 20k a year for a school they liked better than just the cheapest one? What is the difference in your monthly loan payment for a school thats 30k versus 50 or 60k?
 
Phrasing said:
Would most people have found it worth it to pay an extra 20k a year for a school they liked better than just the cheapest one? What is the difference in your monthly loan payment for a school thats 30k versus 50 or 60k?
Click to expand...
It really depends on the schools, you might be able to get better advice if you say the schools that you're deciding between
 
"Fit" is a tough one because I'm pretty skeptical that a few hours on campus and conversations with a few students can give you a good sense of whether you'd be happy somewhere. Unless there is something big and obvious that would make you miserable I'd go with cost, location, rep and how often they send people on to what you'd be interested in
 
For me personally: location (because it's often synonymous with "fit") > cost >prestige. Everything else matters less.
 
Might depend on your plans. Many on the board say that if you want to go into some specialties, or want to do research, you need to go for prestige. If you are going to do less competitive specialities then go for lesser cost.
 
Haha this thread is quickly devolving, y'all gonna get thread-specific banned 😛
 
walloobi said:
Haha this thread is quickly devolving, y'all gonna get thread-specific banned 😛
Click to expand...

They could ban me, but then the world will never get to see my completed MDapplicants profile. Wouldn't that be a shame? 😛
 
aldol16 said:
They could ban me, but then the world will never get to see my completed MDapplicants profile. Wouldn't that be a shame? 😛
Click to expand...
we got an ochem master and a baller over here it seems😎😉
 
aldol16 said:
Whether you're going to get laid in the city you're going to be in.
Click to expand...

How do you know if you will get laid in the city you're in? I'm looking for a school where this will be possible because I didn't get laid in college, and I think that establishing emotional intimacy will be a great part of achieving happiness.
 
samantha1982 said:
How do you know if you will get laid in the city you're in? I'm looking for a school where this will be possible because I didn't get laid in college, and I think that establishing emotional intimacy will be a great part of achieving happiness.
Click to expand...
I have great news! There's a med school opening in Las Vegas!
 
aldol16 said:
Whether you're going to get laid in the city you're going to be in.
Click to expand...
  • More than half of all people will have an STD/STI at some point in their lifetime.1
  • Recent estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Infection show that there are 19.7 million new STIs every year in the U.S.2
  • In 2008, there were an estimated 110 million prevalent STIs among women and men in the U.S.. Of these, more than 20% (22.1 million) were among women and men aged 15 to 24 years.2
  • The total estimated direct cost of STIs annually in the U.S. is $15.6 billion (2010 US dollars).3
  • In a national survey of US physicians, fewer than one-third routinely screened patients for STDs/STIs.4
  • Each year, one in four teens contracts an STD/STI.5
  • One in two sexually active persons will contract an STD/STI by age 25.6
  • About half of all new STDs/STIs in 2000 occurred among youth ages 15 to 24.7 The total estimated costs of these nine million new cases of these STDs/STIs was $6.5 billion, with HIV and human papillomavirus (HPV) accounting for 90% of the total burden.8
  • Of the STDs/STIs that are diagnosed, only some (gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia, hepatitis A and B) are required to be reported to state health departments and the CDC.
  • One out of 20 people in the United States will get infected with hepatitis B (HBV) some time during their lives.9 Hepatitis B is 100 times more infectious than HIV.10
  • Approximately half of HBV infections are transmitted sexually.11 HBV is linked to chronic liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver cancer.
  • It is estimated that as many as one in five Americans have genital herpes, a lifelong (but manageable) infection, yet up to 90 percent of those with herpes are unaware they have it.12
  • With more than 50 million adults in the US with genital herpes and up to 776,000 new infections each year, some estimates suggest that by 2025 up to 40% of all men and half of all women could be infected.13, 14, 15
  • Over 14 million people acquire HPV each year16,and by age 50, at least 80 percent of women will have acquired genital HPV infection.23 Most people with HPV do not develop symptoms.
  • Each year, there are almost 3 million new cases of chlamydia, many of which are in adolescents and young adults.7
  • About two-thirds of young females believe doctors routinely screen teens for chlamydia.17 However, in 2003 only 30% of women 25 and under with commercial health care plans and 45% in Medicaid plans were screened for chlamydia.18
  • At least 15 percent of all American women who are infertile can attribute it to tubal damage caused by pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), the result of an untreated STD. Consistent condom use reduces the risk of recurrent PID and related complications: significantly, women who reported regular use of condoms in one study were 60 percent less likely to become infertile.19
  • Consistent condom use provides substantial protection against the acquisition of many STDs, including statistically significant reduction of risk against HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, and syphilis.20, 21, 22
 
Healer@1994 said:
  • More than half of all people will have an STD/STI at some point in their lifetime.1
  • Recent estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Infection show that there are 19.7 million new STIs every year in the U.S.2
  • In 2008, there were an estimated 110 million prevalent STIs among women and men in the U.S.. Of these, more than 20% (22.1 million) were among women and men aged 15 to 24 years.2
  • The total estimated direct cost of STIs annually in the U.S. is $15.6 billion (2010 US dollars).3
  • In a national survey of US physicians, fewer than one-third routinely screened patients for STDs/STIs.4
  • Each year, one in four teens contracts an STD/STI.5
  • One in two sexually active persons will contract an STD/STI by age 25.6
  • About half of all new STDs/STIs in 2000 occurred among youth ages 15 to 24.7 The total estimated costs of these nine million new cases of these STDs/STIs was $6.5 billion, with HIV and human papillomavirus (HPV) accounting for 90% of the total burden.8
  • Of the STDs/STIs that are diagnosed, only some (gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia, hepatitis A and B) are required to be reported to state health departments and the CDC.
  • One out of 20 people in the United States will get infected with hepatitis B (HBV) some time during their lives.9 Hepatitis B is 100 times more infectious than HIV.10
  • Approximately half of HBV infections are transmitted sexually.11 HBV is linked to chronic liver disease, including cirrhosis and liver cancer.
  • It is estimated that as many as one in five Americans have genital herpes, a lifelong (but manageable) infection, yet up to 90 percent of those with herpes are unaware they have it.12
  • With more than 50 million adults in the US with genital herpes and up to 776,000 new infections each year, some estimates suggest that by 2025 up to 40% of all men and half of all women could be infected.13, 14, 15
  • Over 14 million people acquire HPV each year16,and by age 50, at least 80 percent of women will have acquired genital HPV infection.23 Most people with HPV do not develop symptoms.
  • Each year, there are almost 3 million new cases of chlamydia, many of which are in adolescents and young adults.7
  • About two-thirds of young females believe doctors routinely screen teens for chlamydia.17 However, in 2003 only 30% of women 25 and under with commercial health care plans and 45% in Medicaid plans were screened for chlamydia.18
  • At least 15 percent of all American women who are infertile can attribute it to tubal damage caused by pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), the result of an untreated STD. Consistent condom use reduces the risk of recurrent PID and related complications: significantly, women who reported regular use of condoms in one study were 60 percent less likely to become infertile.19
  • Consistent condom use provides substantial protection against the acquisition of many STDs, including statistically significant reduction of risk against HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, and syphilis.20, 21, 22
Click to expand...
I'm basically a dad.
 
Healer@1994 said:
  • It is estimated that as many as one in five Americans have genital herpes, a lifelong (but manageable) infection, yet up to 90 percent of those with herpes are unaware they have it.12
Click to expand...

Healer@1994 said:
  • With more than 50 million adults in the US with genital herpes and up to 776,000 new infections each year, some estimates suggest that by 2025 up to 40% of all men and half of all women could be infected.13, 14, 15
Click to expand...

One shouldn't cite these statistics without some qualifying statements. First, one reason why we're such a sexually backward society is because we stigmatize everything related to sex. At one extreme is the gay men and AIDS "hypothesis." We've thankfully moved away from that, but think about why STIs are stigmatized. For example, why do people feel more uncomfortable going to the doctor for an STI as opposed to a bacterial infection? Chlamydia is a bacterial infection. So is strep. Why is one more stigmatized than the other? We shouldn't contribute to the stigmatization of STIs. Sex is a normal part of life.

I cited these exact examples because of how misleading these numbers are. It shows how you can take statistics and put whatever spin you want on it. At first glance, this is concerning because it seems like a herpes epidemic. But now think about it. Do you understand herpes? Have you ever had a cold sore in your life? A cold sore is the herpes virus - it's HSV-1. Most people don't stigmatize cold sores. It's a part of life and over half of the U.S. is thought to have been exposed to it at some time (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK47447/). HSV-2 is the one known colloquially as genital herpes. But did you know that you can spread HSV-1 to someone else's genitals and somebody else can also spread HSV-2 to your mouth? 9/10 people worldwide are thought to have one form of the virus. Ask yourself - why is there a stigma when the virus expresses itself on the genitals but not when it expresses itself on the mouth?
 
aldol16 said:
One shouldn't cite these statistics without some qualifying statements. First, one reason why we're such a sexually backward society is because we stigmatize everything related to sex. At one extreme is the gay men and AIDS "hypothesis." We've thankfully moved away from that, but think about why STIs are stigmatized. For example, why do people feel more uncomfortable going to the doctor for an STI as opposed to a bacterial infection? Chlamydia is a bacterial infection. So is strep. Why is one more stigmatized than the other? We shouldn't contribute to the stigmatization of STIs. Sex is a normal part of life.

I cited these exact examples because of how misleading these numbers are. It shows how you can take statistics and put whatever spin you want on it. At first glance, this is concerning because it seems like a herpes epidemic. But now think about it. Do you understand herpes? Have you ever had a cold sore in your life? A cold sore is the herpes virus - it's HSV-1. Most people don't stigmatize cold sores. It's a part of life and over half of the U.S. is thought to have been exposed to it at some time (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK47447/). HSV-2 is the one known colloquially as genital herpes. But did you know that you can spread HSV-1 to someone else's genitals and somebody else can also spread HSV-2 to your mouth? 9/10 people worldwide are thought to have one form of the virus. Ask yourself - why is there a stigma when the virus expresses itself on the genitals but not when it expresses itself on the mouth?
Click to expand...
I've never had a cold sore 😎

TBH I didn't read all the statistics. Just being a killjoy for the sake of humor. :laugh:
 
0688FE38-942F-4851-B611-539D0AF1C260-1410-0000011D3A8DE38E_tmp.jpg
Ad2b said:
Until that "age" has a coronary infarction while prone 🤣
Click to expand...
True story
 
I think that alot of premed students dont spend enough time looking at the differences in curriculum. Testing schedules alone can impact you more than you think. I have friends at various medical schools that for example test every 2 weeks, every month or like my institution, one high stakes exam at the end of every unit so about once every 2-3 months. The curriculum can make or break the first two years, if I had to be tested every 2 weeks, I would have an ulcer by now. My friend on the other hand said she would have a panic attack if she had to take high stakes exams all the time. But to answer your questions I would go by goodness of fit first = curriculum and campus culture, location second= close to family or not lol, good restaurants, decent living costs, and then I would go by cost and prestige last. I dont think that prestige matters much, my school is relatively new and low ranked and we have some pretty impressive matches.
 
🤣

we need an emoji for "train derailment" 🙂 lol

😆
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Should substance abuse recovery be used in essays?
Replies
12
Views
3K
LizzyM
LizzyM
FutureDOCTORR123456789
What are some benchmarks in terms of hours I should be hitting by the time I apply no gap
Replies
10
Views
1K
FutureDOCTORR123456789
FutureDOCTORR123456789
hommefatale
What Really Matters in a Med School App?
Replies
20
Views
2K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
F
Selecting LORs for activities?
Replies
1
Views
317
Goro
Goro
X0001234
Which medical schools produce the most academic physicians?
Replies
2
Views
1K
LizzyM
LizzyM
Top