Medical Which school should I choose?

[MusicDOc124]

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I am currently choosing between Kaiser Permanente with full cost of attendance covered and Penn with no aid. My parents would likely be able to contribute around 200k, so I would have at least 200k in loans, but it is somewhat of a burden on them even if they are able. Is there any world in which this is worth it? I am not sure what I want to do, but I don't want to close any doors now. I do want the possibility of going into academic medicine, although I am not particularly interested in any super competitive specialties right now. Any thoughts/advice?

Full cost of attendance.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

IMO, 150% full cost of attendence.

 

[Goro]

Kaiser all the way

 

[GoSpursGo]

For academic medicine, where you go and who you know DOES kind of matter, but I would say moreso it matters where you do residency. Unless your heart is set on something uber-competitive, It's really hard to justify in my mind such a massive difference in cost. Go to the name brand for residency when THEY are paying YOU, not the other way around.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Thanks for the advice! If familial contribution can cover the full cost and I take no loans, or very minimal loans, would it be worth it to go to Penn? It still feels like an obscene amount of money when I could pay nothing, but I also am thinking the name and reputation might be worth it.

I guess if your family forks the bill and they are ok with it and you are ok with that.

 

[GoSpursGo]

It’s really impossible to quantify or monetize the value of going to penn over an unranked school. There is also an intangible “happiness” factor of where you spend your next 4 years, and whether you would rather be on the east or west coast.

Ultimately it is your time, and your family's money, and you don't have to apologize to anyone for spending those things in the way that you think will bring you happiness. But to a lot of people, almost nothing could be worth $200k especially when you can do residency at a name brand place in the future—keep in mind, the whole reason Kaiser is giving you this money is because they believe you would be one of the shining stars on their match list, so they should remain invested in your success once you get there. You will likely be successful no matter where you go.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

It’s really impossible to quantify or monetize the value of going to penn over an unranked school. There is also an intangible “happiness” factor of where you spend your next 4 years, and whether you would rather be on the east or west coast.

Ultimately it is your time, and your family's money, and you don't have to apologize to anyone for spending those things in the way that you think will bring you happiness. But to a lot of people, almost nothing could be worth $200k especially when you can do residency at a name brand place in the future—keep in mind, the whole reason Kaiser is giving you this money is because they believe you would be one of the shining stars on their match list, so they should remain invested in your success once you get there. You will likely be successful no matter where you go.

Totally agree with this. If you do well at any school you will have doors open.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Do you know what 200K in debt means? I don't know what your undergrad loans are, but it's a decent house depending on where you live. Or a small condo depending on where you want to live. Unless you get a full ride through the HPSP, take the full COA.