[Decided]

[cards789]

Decided! Thanks everyone for the perspective.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[txpremed1234]

10000% Penn. you're incredible, awesome job

 

[Dr. Sahab]

Penn

 

[ACKjp]

Penn has all the important pros, I’d go there personally

 

[sparky21]

penn!! free and support system plus an amazing school and amazing location. congrats on an incredible cycle!

 

[cards789]

Congrats! Fwiw, I'm in a similar position of choosing between HMS with about 300k more in loans vs a Penn peer school with a full-ride (WashU) that's a bit closer to home. The biggest chunk of advice I've gotten has been to take the money and run, unless you absolutely hate the location. The fact that Penn is also in your preferred location and right next to your support system makes the choice clear, imo. I'm also very big into health policy and a piece of advice I've gotten is that you can just take a research year and get your MPP/MPH/MS at Kennedy or Bloomberg.

Also just from personal observation (so take it with a grain of salt), but the bulk of people I've met who turned down full-rides from Washu/Penn for HMS at full loans either have a ton of family monetary support, or goals in academic medicine where PSLF would make more sense.

Thanks for the perspective! I do have long-term goals of working in academics, so some non-profit employers might qualify me for PSLF. I do think the more personal factors all point towards Penn over HMS and Hopkins at this point. My only concern was if there was any real tangible difference in the doors opened by HMS or Hopkins over Penn? I highly doubt this (e.g., look at how well UCSF students do in the match since UCSF is a juggernaut, though UCSF has a bigger name on the west coast and arguably less of a "brand" than Harvard). But people keep mentioning it to me, and I wanted some additional perspective on this.

 

[JukeBoxHeroo]

Thanks for the perspective! I do have long-term goals of working in academics, so some non-profit employers might qualify me for PSLF. I do think the more personal factors all point towards Penn over HMS and Hopkins at this point. My only concern was if there was any real tangible difference in the doors opened by HMS or Hopkins over Penn? I highly doubt this (e.g., look at how well UCSF students do in the match since UCSF is a juggernaut, though UCSF has a bigger name on the west coast and arguably less of a "brand" than Harvard). But people keep mentioning it to me, and I wanted some additional perspective on this.

0 difference. Penn is also a juggernaut in medicine. You will be in the exact same position at Hopkins, Harvard, or Penn. Even if you pursue a purely academic career there will be the exact same doors open no matter which of those schools you go to. Definitely take Penn and start a career off debt free.

 

[cards789]

Tbh parsing apart any differences in academic medicine outcomes at this level is a bit outside my area of expertise because I want to stay as far away from research/academic med long-term as possible lmao. But my impression is that any marginal differences between these schools will come down to your own ability to do research, obtain grants, etc, and not the school itself.

If your long-term dream is to do residency/fellowship/attending at an HMS affiliate specifically, as opposed to any other peer institution in the country, then you may get a slight boost coming from HMS due to home program bias. However, that's really splitting hairs and, at least for me, definitely not worth any difference in debt.

Also, if you're ok with sharing and just to help my own decision lol, but what were the other schools on your list that you narrowed down?

Sure, PM me!

 

[It’s Over!!!]

I'm putting fit aside for a moment because this really seems to come down to the value in a brand name for you.

There is no difference between these schools as far as outcomes or any limitations on your future options.

You'd be paying extra simply for a name.

To insiders, Harvard=Hopkins and if Harvard/Hopkins is not also equal to Penn, it is so damn close as to be pretty much meaningless.

To outsiders, Harvard is on an island itself. In fact, I guarantee most lay people would probably assume Yale is the next most prestigious medical school after Harvard.

So in my mind (as someone who is seriously leaning towards Hopkins and didn't get interviewed by Harvard or Penn) I don't see any reason you would pay more to go to Hopkins over Penn just because of the name. There is little to no difference to insiders and absolutely no difference to outsiders.

I think Harvard might be a little different. There is value for some in being able to say they went to Harvard. It makes them feel really good and it instantly grants credibility like no other academic brand does. It's not something I would pay extra for but I don't want to dismiss the reality that a rational person might reasonably pay a premium to have Harvard follow them the rest of their lives, even over amazing institutions like Hopkins or Penn. I'm not advocating for this point of view--I'm merely acknowledging that it exists. I think to pretend that there is no value in this for some or even many is just denying reality.

You just need to decide how much debt you are willing to assume to pay for whatever additional prestige you believe the Harvard brand might give you. It might be zero. It might be much greater than zero. It will be an imperfect guestimate at best. Think about your future plans and how heavy the debt burden will be on your life and in particular on your mental health.

And then make your decision and don't look back.

Congrats on having truly amazing options!

 

[Hollow Knight]

Penn. The difference in those school is negligible and $200,000 is a house loan (well, it used to be, the market is crazy these days)

 

[deleted1065184]

Absolutely no difference in strength of academic medicine/research. Only benefit of Harvard or Hopkins would be for ego. Take the money, your future self will be very thankful.

 

[Egg-Benedict]

I am one of those people who turned down full rides from places like WashU, Vandy, Penn, etc. to go to Harvard, and oh boy do I regret it. There is absolutely 0 difference in the doors Penn can open compared to Harvard. With your pros and cons list, I would tell you to go to Penn even if the cost were the same. It would be absolutely foolish for you to choose Harvard.

Anyone making a similar choice can feel free to DM me about it.

 

[Bowel-Plumber]

I’ll do you one better. Even if you had full rides to Harvard and Hopkins I’d still choose Penn.

You said it yourself. Your Family and SO are in Philly and it has your whole life there. You don’t know how valuable that will be to your success in med school. I’m just an incoming student as well but I could imagine the stress of not being with my SO, not seeing my mom, and missing out on so much in life like friends weddings and life events is more stressful than having tiered clinical grades. Not to mention the stress of the debt, I’ve been saving that for later.

You’re comparing a god tier school for free to another god tier school for hundreds of thousands of real dollars you’ll need to pay back (especially with these interest rates it’s insane). It’s not like you got into a random unranked school in the middle of no where Kentucky. You’re comparing a school that has an MCAT median of 520+ and is ranked in like the T3 and has a line of students who would give a kidney for an interview invite, let alone an acceptance and full ride.

If you’re looking for a sign to choose Penn, this thread is it. Between the support system you have in Philly and the free tuition it’s a no brainer. Those other schools aren’t doing anything for you that Penn can’t do.

FYI, I have not applied to any of these schools so I’m not on any waitlists or have any conflicts of interest

 

[MercifulCamper]

Thanks for the perspective! I do have long-term goals of working in academics, so some non-profit employers might qualify me for PSLF. I do think the more personal factors all point towards Penn over HMS and Hopkins at this point. My only concern was if there was any real tangible difference in the doors opened by HMS or Hopkins over Penn? I highly doubt this (e.g., look at how well UCSF students do in the match since UCSF is a juggernaut, though UCSF has a bigger name on the west coast and arguably less of a "brand" than Harvard). But people keep mentioning it to me, and I wanted some additional perspective on this.

I go to UCSF. All the schools you got into are peer schools. There is no academic medicine prestige difference between Penn, HMS, Hopkins, Columbia, UCSF, WashU, and Stanford. Lay prestige is another thing but it matters nothing for your match day and in 99% careers in and even adjacent to medicine. Go to Penn. Listen to the people that have come before you that regret choosing HMS over scholarships at these peer schools.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Go debt free at Penn. Rake in residency at Harvard. Faculty appointment at Hopkins. PROFIT.