Hello everyone!
I was lucky enough to receive acceptances from four schools, thanks to all of the advice from Dr. Ryan Gray (I have been listening to his podcasts for years), and now I am beginning the process of deciding which medical school to attend, and would love some advice!
Out of the schools I was accepted to, there are two that I am more seriously considering, so I will only discuss those here for simplicity. The first is Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Boca Raton, FL, and the second is the University of Miami (UM).
Background: I am from West Palm Beach, FL, only about 20 minutes away from FAU, and about 2 hours from UM. FAU is a smaller, newer school, with less of a reputation than UM, but also significantly less expensive. I could live at home if I went to FAU, and my boyfriend also attends FAU for graduate school. In regards to UM, I was accepted to both the MD and MD-MPH programs there. Should I choose MD-MPH (which I am leaning towards), I would spend the last two clinical years at their regional campus in West Palm Beach, so really I could live at home at that point, too, but the first two years I would have to deal with the crazy traffic and expensive lifestyle associated with Miami, as well as spending considerably more time commuting to home to visit my boyfriend/family. I really don’t feel like I fit in more at either school, and the class size for MD-MPH is about the same as the class size at FAU. I’m just having a hard time deciding between the comfort and ease of living at home, saving money, having home cooked meals all of the time, being near my boyfriend/family (if I attend FAU), and the higher prestige, better teaching hospitals, opportunity to do a dual degree, and potential “excitement” of living in Miami, at least for the first two years (if I attend UM for MD-MPH). My boyfriend and family will support me either way, but I wonder if the slight prestige bump is worth the extra investment and headache of living further away from friends and family.
Cost of Attendance UM for MD: $65,793
Cost of Attendance UM for MD-MPH: $73,652
Cost of Attendance FAU: $57,429
Cost of Attendance FAU if I live at home: ~ $47,429
Please let me know your thoughts!