Medical What should my contingency plan for campus selection fiasco be?

[MusicDOc124]

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Hi experts,

Briefly, I am accepted at my state school’s central campus rather than my local extension site. I want to prioritize my wellbeing, and a priority to me is to stay around my friends, family, and girlfriend who are here locally. I also have a free living situation which is wonderful if I can stay. The cost difference is large - I project $279k at the central campus vs $219k at my home location. The state school can’t do anything for me unless someone in my local site drops out, which may well not happen until the April 30 deadline. Then I can take that spot. They do not allow switches between the campuses otherwise.

The other two options are Duke ($239k) and the UCSF/Berkeley Joint Med Program (JMP) ($339k).

I really have my heart set in staying local for my medical education. I have so much support here, and lots of valuable connections. That said, I recognize that I’m fortunate to have other optIons. While I really liked Duke, the JMP is a bit quirkier - 2.5 years at Berkeley doing an MPH and learning the basic curriculum via problem-based learning. Anatomy is at UCSF and you do have opportunities to participate in UCSF interest groups. It’s 5-year duration and large price tag are downsides, and I’d miss being part of a conventional MD cohort such as at Duke. That said, twin degrees from leading universities coupled with relative proximity to my home and where my parents live is really appealing.

What would you suggest in this 5 day period before the April 30 deadline? I’m going to schedule a quick call with the state school to hopefully clarify communication lines with them. I’m in the odd spot of potentially deciding my medical school in April 30. If I can’t move to my home campus, I might as well go to either Duke or the JMP since they are arguably better (or cheaper, in Duke’s case).

I was taken aback by my campus placement (a dean had reassured me I’d stay local) and have only had about a week to process. As such I feel like I’m on my back foot re: choosing between the JMP and Duke. Any thoughts on the merits of these two programs? I think I’d fit into Duke’s curriculum better, but I’m adaptable and I’m not sure if that’s worth moving across the country for.

Thank you for any thoughts and guidance. Hope you experts are staying healthy and well.

You mention numerous times that you want to stay local and prioritize family, friends, and relationships. These are all very important for most people, and for those where these are important, they can sometimes make or break student performance.

Going off your statements, you have numerous GREAT options. But if I were you, I'd stick with your home school, even if it's not the location you want. My reasoning here is because you are still but a drive away, and even after the April 30 deadline, there is still a chance you can switch because people drop programs all the time as waitlists move, or people decide the field is not for them. I'd ensure you stay in communication consistently about this to increase the likelihood of the switch in location/campus. If you choose to go to another school, this possibility goes away, and in either case you're looking at a much longer drive or a flight which adds up on costs and time, not to mention if something like this pandemic were to continue or occur again, then makes seeing family and friends more difficult, which will already be strained by the distance and time needed to devote to studying.

You truly can't go too wrong with any of these decisions.

One thing of note, do you feel you need an MPH for what you want to do long term? If not, then the added time and costs are not warranted. If the 4-year option is not available in this case, that's a different story, but apples to apples need to be considered.

Again, in your case by how you describe things, I'd stick with the home state school.

Good luck with your decision, and congratulations!

Thank you very much for your thorough reply! I appreciate the encouragement. You've brought up the dreaded 'third option' which is to commit to the state school knowing that I may need to move, with the gamble that I might get placed back in my home community! This is actually the same suggestion one of my mentors brought up earlier today - I think I need to consider it more.

It certainly does maximize my chances of getting to stay local. It saves me tens of thousands of dollars vs. the JMP, and it keeps me much closer to home than distant North Carolina.

The pandemic is really an X factor here. It's not impossible that we'll just be online in the Fall, anyway. Maybe that would make moving irrelevant, at least in the short term.


Again, thanks for giving me something to think about. Take care!

 

[Goro]

Go where the tuition is the cheapest. In the long run, your attending salary will be the same no matter where you go.

 

[MusicDOc124]

Thank you for your insight. That would technically be Duke, although the state school is the gamble of being more affordable IF they can transfer me back to my home location. It's hard to say how much the $40k difference there would affect me once I'm actually into my career.

The money factor is huge when all else is equal, or when the spread is much larger.

I dont think the $40k should be much a deal breaker in the grand scheme when comparing things in the $200-300k range with the factor of family and such being in the mix here.

If there was no family, friends, or relationships in the mix (i.e. none of your acceptances were close), then I'd say Duke. Because it's the cheapest outside of hometown campus, and even only $20k more compared to living at home, but at least with Duke, you get a little bit more of a name and opportunity that comes with it, and it wouldn't hinge on possibly getting another campus.

Yeah, I agree. This would have been a pretty easy choice if it weren’t for the community and girlfriend here in town. But, as it is, I’m lucky to have options and feel good about the relative standing of Duke and my other options.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I'd stay with your home school, but you can tell them you would be willing to take a spot in the satellite location if one is available. Also, this is probably just for two years for you to be more anchored in one location before clerkships around the state.

It's true, it's not like a four-year commitment to that specific location. That's definitely one of the quirks (and strengths, I'd say) of this program.