In my last article, I discussed the various considerations one must assess when selecting the ideal college (if you have not read my last article…shame on you! Drop everything and take a look). This time around, I will talk about the decisions I made when choosing a medical school, and how I tried to reduce the amount of student debt I borrowed along the way. As stated before, I am not an expert in this field, but I hope that by explaining my choices (and mistakes) regarding the medical school selection process, I can impart a bit of wisdom so that your decisions are easier to make.
Admittedly, applying to medical school is a whole different ball game compared to applying to undergraduate programs. There are far less options out there, and even the lower-tier schools are extremely competitive. Whereas I only applied to one school during my college admissions process, I knew I had to hedge my bets when applying for medical school (especially given my C in organic chemistry, and somewhat mediocre MCAT score). This ultimately meant applying broadly (quantity) and strategically (quality).
I had heard from my student advisor, and from those who had applied to medical school before me, that many medical schools give preference to in-state students. In-state applicants are not only more likely to get interviews at schools in the state in which they reside, but if accepted, their tuition is (slightly) discounted as well. I, a lifelong New Jersey resident, applied to medical schools at a time when there were only two medical schools in the state. I did not like those odds. I therefore decided to list the address where my brother and dad lived as my own address when completing the primary medical school application. They lived in Florida, and Florida’s five medical schools (seven now) seemed to provide me with significantly more options. Given my roots in both Florida and New Jersey, I ultimately applied to all of the medical schools in these states, as well as several in New York, Pennsylvania, and the DC area.
Despite dishing out a large sum of money to apply to nearly twenty schools, I only received four interview invitations. Three were from schools in Florida, and I always wonder if I only received those offers because I was considered an in-state resident. The odds of being admitted into these medical schools, however, were still against me, and I was placed on the waitlist for all four of these schools. It was not until two months before the start of my first year of medical school that I finally got the relieving call that I had been accepted to be a student at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine’s Regional Medical Campus (yes, the full name is a doozy).
Given the short amount of time before the start of classes, I had to quickly decide how to cover the cost of my medical school tuition and living expenses. While financial aid was available to me during my undergraduate years, I knew there would be less options available to me as a graduate student. In fact, even though I was still in the same financial shape as four years prior, I was not offered any financial aid as a medical student. Although some medical schools offer merit scholarships, and outside scholarships can be found on the internet, most medical students (and other graduate students for that matter) do not receive any financial aid. If their families are unable to pay for educational expenses, tuition money must come from elsewhere.
Luckily for me (and likely many other students), significant federal loans are available for graduate students. In the end, I borrowed $55,000 (the maximum allowed) each year I was in medical school. I worked the whole summer prior to starting medical school, and saved several thousand dollars. I also bit the bullet and decided to live at home (a topic I will discuss in future articles). I therefore felt that the annual $55,000 I borrowed in student loans would more than cover my annual tuition of about $45,000 (which was $15,000 less than what out-of-state students paid), and living expenses.
While $220,000 in student debt from just four years of medical school is certainly a hefty sum, I estimate that I saved at least $60,000 by applying as a Florida resident and emphasizing Florida-based schools when sending out my initial medical school applications. By then matriculating at a school close to my family’s home, I also saved around $20,000 in rent over a two-year period (I moved into my own apartment for the final two years of medical school). All told, these choices reduced my student debt burden by at least 20 percent.
Of course, choosing the ideal medical school is more than just deciding which one is the most affordable. Once you graduate from medical school, you are considered a doctor regardless of where you earned your medical degree. But if you want to have the most options available for residency and future jobs, other factors come into play. For one thing, reputation should not be underestimated. When applying for residency, fellowship, and future jobs, where you went to medical school is what appears first on your CV. It can therefore serve as an instant conversation-starter during interviews, or serve as a deal-breaker to even getting an interview. In this sense, choosing a better school that is more expensive may make the most sense if you are pursuing a career in a competitive field.
Location is also important, as many residencies give preference to applicants from their affiliated medical schools. Most residency programs create a “rank list” of interviewed applicants, and they may find it risky to rank someone near the top who lives thousands of miles away and is unlikely to relocate for residency. Many of my medical school friends remained in South Florida for residency, and while they may not have been the most competitive applicants, I think where they went to medical school ultimately played a role in how they were ranked by their accepting residency programs.
From my own personal experience, where I went to medical school came up numerous times when I was on the interview trail for residency. I wanted to move back to the New York City area, and in order to prove my interest, I spent much of the interviews explaining my ties to the city. I even used my grandparents’ New Jersey address on my CV in the hopes of not deterring any potential programs from dismissing my application due to where I went to medical school.
All told, choosing the ideal medical school is clearly a multifaceted decision. There are certainly many decisions you can make in order to cut expenses and minimize the amount of debt you need to borrow as a medical student. With this said, reducing educational costs must still be balanced with making choices that will set yourself up for success in your future career.
Adam Rothman is a guest writer for Student Debt Diaries and is currently a medical professional in the New York City area. He is a brother of Jordan Rothman, the founder of Student Debt Diaries. You can reach Adam through email at adam@studentdebtdiaries.com