Meharry vs. Penn State

[jaeman]

My people, I have a big decision to make just like many others. I know this is not a unique situation and that there are dozens of threads out there just like this one. However I would still appreciate any advice. I am a Canadian student (black male) who has been accepted to Penn State and Meharry. I have made a pros/cons list but its too long to put everything up on this thread, so here are a few points which I am considering:
1) I liked Penn State (alot)... but I loved Meharry when I went for my interviews. I think I would be comfortable at both places.
2) I have always lived in medium to large cities. Nashville is a large city with a small town feel and Hershey is... well its small, lol.
3) Penn State does have a better reputation and possibly better opportunities for top residency matches (although I am aware that it all depends on how well you do regardless of school).
4) I would be an international student so i'm not getting any financial aid from either school, but Meharry would be a bit cheaper.

Ok I will stop now... I know this is a good problem to have so I am not complaining, but PLEASE HELP!

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[beerog2003]

I think that the most important thing is to go to the institution where you think you will thrive. Make a ranked list of things that you want to get out of your medical education and see if these institutions offer those things.

If you thrive in medical school (inside the classroom and during rotations), and do well on your board exams then the opportunities are endless no matter where you are training.

Between your two schools:

I would say if you were more interested in primary care the I would say MEHARRY

If you are more interested in something like dermatopathology then I would say PENN STATE

If you are undecided about the field you want to go into, then I would look at other things like:

If you struggle with standardized test at all, then I would say MEHARRY.
They have many mechanisms in place to offer support through taking your boards (I have to qualify this statement by saying that I don't know what Penn State has in place).

That being said, Meharry focuses more on non-qualitative attributes of their applicants than other medical schools and they still have very respectable pass rates on the board exams.

Just my 0.02 cents man. Congrats on entering c/o 2013...

 

[DoctaJay]

Meharry starts in like June. That was a kicker for me.

 

[jaeman]

beerog... thanks for your advice it is much appreciated. DoctaJay, the fact that Meharry starts in June/Early July is also a slight problem for me (actually its more than slight, lol). Decisions decisions.