your opinion please....

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Falco2525

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Okay I can go to the University of Minnesota-TC and pay 180k or I can go to the University of Chicago-Pritzker and pay 250k.

Is the price significant enough to choose Minnesota over a top 20? I honestly am having a difficult time with this decision.

One Further question what if Chicago was 200k and Minnesota 180k...does that change the decision?

Please give any feedback you wish I could use all of your opinions!
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Like the young boy in India told Mohinder in Heroes, you have your answer.
 
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Falco2525 said:
Okay I can go to the University of Minnesota-TC and pay 180k or I can go to the University of Chicago-Pritzker and pay 250k.

Is the price significant enough to choose Minnesota over a top 20? I honestly am having a difficult time with this decision.

One Further question what if Chicago was 200k and Minnesota 180k...does that change the decision?

Please give any feedback you wish I could use all of your opinions!
Click to expand...

70k > The difference in the schools. That's my opinion.
 
Just go to U of M and save yourself 70k of debt.

Falco2525 said:
Okay I can go to the University of Minnesota-TC and pay 180k or I can go to the University of Chicago-Pritzker and pay 250k.

Is the price significant enough to choose Minnesota over a top 20? I honestly am having a difficult time with this decision.

One Further question what if Chicago was 200k and Minnesota 180k...does that change the decision?

Please give any feedback you wish I could use all of your opinions!
Click to expand...
 
Falco2525 said:
Okay I can go to the University of Minnesota-TC and pay 180k or I can go to the University of Chicago-Pritzker and pay 250k.

Is the price significant enough to choose Minnesota over a top 20? I honestly am having a difficult time with this decision.

One Further question what if Chicago was 200k and Minnesota 180k...does that change the decision?

Please give any feedback you wish I could use all of your opinions!
Click to expand...

i would go pritzker for the 250/180 comparison. I would DEFINITELY go pritzker if it were 200/180. And I have no money and I am poor and all of that (whats 70K when pritzker is so so so much more reputable if you want to go to a competitive residency)
 
Pritzker :thumbup:

And if it's a 200/180 choice, then there should certainly be no question.

(Barring, of course, personal preference. From your original post I'm assuming that you like pritzker bette.)

~Silk and Steel
 
It's only 70k. Go to the better school.
 
Unless you have some over-riding reason to take the cheaper school (family, marriage, etc), go to Chicago. Especially if you are considering a competitive specialty, where the name can seriously help you match.
 
I am a little surprised to hear your responses and a few are not exactly what I was thinking...I thought that the 70K difference may be enough to warrent U of M mainly because I keep hearing on hear choose the cheaper school. Thank you all for your input it is really helpful...please continue to add comments cause I could use them all
 
Falco2525 said:
I am a little surprised to hear your responses and a few are not exactly what I was thinking...I thought that the 70K difference may be enough to warrent U of M mainly because I keep hearing on hear choose the cheaper school. Thank you all for your input it is really helpful...please continue to add comments cause I could use them all
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Well what do you want to do with your MD?

If you want to get into Academia, Pritzker is not only better, its one of the top top top in the nation.
 
Stolenspatulas said:
Well what do you want to do with your MD?

If you want to get into Academia, Pritzker is not only better, its one of the top top top in the nation.
Click to expand...

Im interested in going into Neurosurgery...I would like to work in Academia too...although I am not 100% sure that I completely understand what being an academic physician entails
 
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Falco2525 said:
Im interested in going into Neurosurgery...I would like to work in Academia too...although I am not 100% sure that I completely understand what being an academic physician entails
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Here's the deal....with what you want to do, go to Chicago. There is really no question about it. Why? B/c there is so much incest at all the big-name schools. And you want to get some brotherly love my friend. Now what does that translate into? It means going to Chicago gives you a higher chance of getting a residency at Chicago or a related institution, which gives you a better chance of possibly getting on faculty at a related institution, etc. You can do anything from anywhere, but if you really want to be a neurosurgeon and work at a big academic place, you better have some good odds on your side cause you'll need them.
 
Falco2525 said:
Im interested in going into Neurosurgery...I would like to work in Academia too...although I am not 100% sure that I completely understand what being an academic physician entails
Click to expand...

Neurosurg is competitive. Go to Chicago and get what you want. Go to a state school and you will be fighting your a$$ off to get noticed. You will never feel the difference in price down the road, but if you end up doing Gen Surg when you wanted to do neurosurg . . . well, you'll sure as hell feel that.
 
Tired said:
Neurosurg is competitive. Go to Chicago and get what you want. Go to a state school and you will be fighting your a$$ off to get noticed. You will never feel the difference in price down the road, but if you end up doing Gen Surg when you wanted to do neurosurg . . . well, you'll sure as hell feel that.
Click to expand...

Perfect response.
 
i live and work in hyde park and its boring. i would have gone to TC if they didnt reject me. at pritzker even the knapps building where they have classes look boring to me. probably been here too long
 
If you really want to specialize go to Pritzker -- you'll have an easier time getting a residency in that field and it'll be worth the money in the long run.
 
i've been asking people this question also and it seems like i'm always told:

~by physicians: go to the CHEAPEST school you get accepted to
~by medical students/premed students: go to the best schools

there is always a HUGE difference between what med students vs. physicians tell me. that's why i think that on SDN, an overwhelming majority will tell you to go to the "best" or highest ranked school. in the end, it's your decision, if you think that you will be happier at one school, go there. if you think you will be able to live with the fact that you turned down one school that is cheaper than the one you chose, so be it. in the end, no one else is going to have to pay back your loans except you. on the other hand, there are a wide range of loan repayment programs (via NIH) that will help you cover the cost of your loans if you do research. what my roundabout response is saying, is that you have a win-win situation. you are accepted at 2 great schools, now you have to decide which one you value more...
 
WitchDoctor said:
i've been asking people this question also and it seems like i'm always told:

~by physicians: go to the CHEAPEST school you get accepted to
~by medical students/premed students: go to the best schools
Click to expand...

Same here. HOWEVER, I notice that the physicians that always say that are those that went to non-top tier schools yet still landed solid residencies and jobs. So they're all those that were in the top of their class, and thus for them, it didnt make a difference bc they did awesome in medschool anyway.

Seriously, the better more reputable school you go to, the less awesome you have to be to make yourself stand out. And thats the bottom line.
 
Stolenspatulas said:
Same here. HOWEVER, I notice that the physicians that always say that are those that went to non-top tier schools yet still landed solid residencies and jobs. So they're all those that were in the top of their class, and thus for them, it didnt make a difference bc they did awesome in medschool anyway.

Seriously, the better more reputable school you go to, the less awesome you have to be to make yourself stand out. And thats the bottom line.
Click to expand...

actually, the physicians who told me this all went to top 5 med schools (i won't name the school to keep my anonymity) but i was surprised that docs from highly ranked schools would say this? :confused: who knows, maybe they know something we don't know.

also, my mentor went to my unranked state school and ended up being the head of his department in a fairly competitive field. so, i guess it's not impossible to be competitive if you didn't go to the "best" ranked school
 
WitchDoctor said:
actually, the physicians who told me this all went to top 5 med schools (i won't name the school to keep my anonymity) but i was surprised that docs from highly ranked schools would say this? :confused: who knows, maybe they know something we don't know.

also, my mentor went to my unranked state school and ended up being the head of his department in a fairly competitive field. so, i guess it's not impossible to be competitive if you didn't go to the "best" ranked school
Click to expand...

well your experience definitely differs from mine. hmm.
 
OP, based on your comments and your sig, it seems to me that you WANT to go to Chicago, but you feel like you should save yourself the money and go to TC. 70k is a lot of money, but I have a feeling that if you're already trying to convince yourself that you SHOULD go to TC, even though you'd rather go to Chicago, then you might end up unhappy at TC. Everytime something goes wrong, you'll think "Oh, I should have gone to Chicago, I bet that wouldn't have happened there", and like someone above mentioned, if you don't get the residency you wanted, you will probably blame it on your school. So now the question is, would you rather deal with regrets about the program you chose, or the money you spent?

Also, go to second look at Chicago and get a good feel for how much you like it.
 
as a neurosurgeon the possibility exists for you to one day bring home a monthly income of $70k (most likely in private practice). i'm not saying you're going to make a mil a year, but if you really want to and work hard enough and have the business savvy, it's possible. so essentially you could have 4 years of happiness and pay off the guilt in 1 month. just saying.
 
everyone thank you for your replies...I do personally like Chicago more...I am also going to visit the school again soon.

On a second note I do have one other reason to choose U MN...my SO was recently accepted to their grad school program...I like Chicago better but the money and the girl are tempting me to MN...its not like MN is worse than Chicago because I dont feel that way but I personally like Chicago as a school better for its class size, personal attention, name, and opportunities...I am hoping that my SO gets into grad school in Chicago so that I can be swayed more to Chicago
 
Falco2525 said:
Okay I can go to the University of Minnesota-TC and pay 180k or I can go to the University of Chicago-Pritzker and pay 250k.

Is the price significant enough to choose Minnesota over a top 20? I honestly am having a difficult time with this decision.

One Further question what if Chicago was 200k and Minnesota 180k...does that change the decision?

Please give any feedback you wish I could use all of your opinions!
Click to expand...

This is a bit tougher decision than I faced (mid-tier private vs. my state school), but my vote is still to go with the state school. the way medicine is headed, I want to minimize my debt as much as possible. U of Mn is a solid school and will provide you with the tools to match succesfully in whatever specialty you wish, the rest is up to you.

Don't forget that you are asking a bunch of premeds, too. If you want some better advice, go ask the practicing docs in whatever specialty you might envision yourself practicing one day (or even a PD of a residency program) and see what they say. I sat down with a surgery PD at a very prestigious (top 20) school in the south and he gave me the aforementioned advice.


Good luck.
 
Falco2525 said:
everyone thank you for your replies...I do personally like Chicago more...I am also going to visit the school again soon.

On a second note I do have one other reason to choose U MN...my SO was recently accepted to their grad school program...I like Chicago better but the money and the girl are tempting me to MN...its not like MN is worse than Chicago because I dont feel that way but I personally like Chicago as a school better for its class size, personal attention, name, and opportunities...I am hoping that my SO gets into grad school in Chicago so that I can be swayed more to Chicago
Click to expand...

I like Minneapolis better than Chicago. I go to the U of MN right now and they are doing a lot of restructuring to position themselves as a bigger research institution (even though it is a state school like someone else pointed out). It probably won't make much of a difference in the long run which school you choose, regardless of what others are saying, so I would go to the one that works out best for you. If your SO plus $70k means a lot to you right now then it may be worth more than going to a school with a better name???
 
A lot of medstudents/premeds have no idea what is like to pay off loans since they have never had a job. I have a pretty large debt just from my undergraduate college because I chose to go to a private school vs. a public one. Having a large amount of loans does significantly impact your life style. 180k in loans is a huge amount itself, 70K is a lot more. Remember by the time you graduate go through residency etc. you may be married, have kids, have a nice big fat mortgage to pay, car payments, insurance payments, utilities, basic necessities etc. Sure when you were a premed that $200,000 a year salary looked like you could pay off anything, but that $250,000+undergrad debt+interest might take 10-20 years to pay off depending on what kind of life style you want to live. That extra 70k could put your kid(s) through college or buy you a better house. In the end though, the choice is yours.
 
novawildcat said:
A lot of medstudents/premeds have no idea what is like to pay off loans since they have never had a job. I have a pretty large debt just from my undergraduate college because I chose to go to a private school vs. a public one. Having a large amount of loans does significantly impact your life style. 180k in loans is a huge amount itself, 70K is a lot more. Remember by the time you graduate go through residency etc. you may be married, have kids, have a nice big fat mortgage to pay, car payments, insurance payments, utilities, basic necessities etc. Sure when you were a premed that $200,000 a year salary looked like you could pay off anything, but that $250,000+undergrad debt+interest might take 10-20 years to pay off depending on what kind of life style you want to live. That extra 70k could put your kid(s) through college or buy you a better house. In the end though, the choice is yours.
Click to expand...


Keep in mind that it is up to you what you want. If you choose to avoid those super expensive things like a huge house, new cars, etc., for a little bit longer, you can pay off the extra 70K in no time. The reality of the situation is that new docs elevate their lifestyles GREATLY as soon as they can. So pick what matters more to you: going to UChicago and having $70K less in the future to spend on stuff. That's really what it comes down to. It's not a question of IF you can pay it off, but do you WANT to pay for it.
 
Robizzle said:
Like the young boy in India told Mohinder in Heroes, you have your answer.
Click to expand...

I had to smile at the Heroes reference. I'd got to U. of Chi if I was in the OP's situation.
 
Look at this another way.

You go to wherever and apply for scholarships after your first year and otherwise do things that will get you where you want to be for residnecy e.g. research, leadership activities, class rank, etc.

What made you apply to these schools in the first place?

Not to be a cad or anything like that, but didn't you plan on what to do if something like this happened?
 
Falco2525 said:
Okay I can go to the University of Minnesota-TC and pay 180k or I can go to the University of Chicago-Pritzker and pay 250k.

Is the price significant enough to choose Minnesota over a top 20? I honestly am having a difficult time with this decision.

One Further question what if Chicago was 200k and Minnesota 180k...does that change the decision?

Please give any feedback you wish I could use all of your opinions!
Click to expand...

Pritzker is notorious for giving away scholarships. Are you sure they've made all decisions in way of that?? Perhaps you should ask them whether that's a possibility before making premature decisions.
 
gujuDoc said:
Pritzker is notorious for giving away scholarships. Are you sure they've made all decisions in way of that?? Perhaps you should ask them whether that's a possibility before making premature decisions.
Click to expand...

maybe there's a list of all the students they'll be giving scholarships to....

...are you on the list?
 
pennybridge said:
maybe there's a list of all the students they'll be giving scholarships to....

...are you on the list?
Click to expand...

hahahahahaha NOOOO!!!

I have a very good friend that applied last year receiving a full ride offer from there. I also know of another SDN poster that had gotten an 80k offer from there but then got a full ride offer from UMich.

So that is why I'm telling you to look into it. I don't know the details of your profile but if you qualify you never know.
 
UTpremed said:
Keep in mind that it is up to you what you want. If you choose to avoid those super expensive things like a huge house, new cars, etc., for a little bit longer, you can pay off the extra 70K in no time. The reality of the situation is that new docs elevate their lifestyles GREATLY as soon as they can. So pick what matters more to you: going to UChicago and having $70K less in the future to spend on stuff. That's really what it comes down to. It's not a question of IF you can pay it off, but do you WANT to pay for it.
Click to expand...

don't forget the interest that will rack up while in school, residency, and beyond. If the OP ends up in NS, thats an additional 7 years x 6% APR (current rate)... that $70k will add up quick.

OP, look into the strength of your state schools residency programs. Here, we have great programs in neurosurgery (semmes-murphey) and orthopaedics (campbell clinic). The faculty at high powered programs can definitely help their students match.
 
also, if i remember right from my interview day, doesn't uchicago provide their own interest-free loan packages?

I remember there was something different from how their fin aid works.... anyone remember?

any current pritzker kids know?
 
Stolenspatulas said:
Same here. HOWEVER, I notice that the physicians that always say that are those that went to non-top tier schools yet still landed solid residencies and jobs. So they're all those that were in the top of their class, and thus for them, it didnt make a difference bc they did awesome in medschool anyway.

Seriously, the better more reputable school you go to, the less awesome you have to be to make yourself stand out. And thats the bottom line.
Click to expand...

A lot of physicians that I've met have also repeatedly told me "Don't go into Medicine" :laugh:

I think it's true that the more reputable the school, (usually) the better resources they have in helping you succeed later in life. At least, that's been the case with me in undergrad. If you find yourself to be a self-motivated individual able to rise above the rest at UMN, go for it, but if you think extra help wouldn't hurt, then go for Chicago. In terms of the SO, Chicago and Minneapolis aren't too far away, even though commuting constantly for the next four years would suck. Best wishes for both you and your SO!
 
Choose Pritzker. The name will open doors for you throughout your career, long past the lean years when the extra money borrowed seems overwhelming. With your aspirations for neurosurgery, the status of the school may well become a factor.

Four years seems like forever when you're young, but they are really only a brief blip in your life and career. Please don't be shortsighted or tightwaddish when making this important choice.

My perspective is as a spouse of a physician and parent of a current applicant who shares your dilemma. In the end, we hope he chooses the name/status over the money saved.

I do hope your SO has a Chicago option . . .
 
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