Kaiser vs Duke vs Colorado

[catchyllama]

Hello! I am extremely grateful to have these choices but am conflicted atm. Never imagined to receive any sort of financial aid/scholarships for medical school, so I was originally prepared to take on a good amount of loans. Given this, I initially went into the cycle very excited about Duke (and still am), but I'm now more seriously weighing the cost of med school and the proximity to my partner and family. I don't know if the cost is worth Duke's prestige/network/opportunities, but I also wanted to make sure I wasn't preemptively "closing doors" as a first-gen/URM. Would appreciate any further insight/direction!! Tysm!

Kaiser
Pros:

• Free (tuition and COL waived; $0 debt total)
• Location and proximity to support system (partner of 5 years lives in LA; not in medicine)
• Clinical training seems very strong
• Students and faculty appear very tight-knit
• Diversity of student body
• Ultimately hoping to match back to CA

Cons:

• Concerned about being able to match into a more competitive specialty and "closing doors" (undecided about specialty atm)
• Fewer research opportunities? (relative to Duke and Colorado)
• LA traffic/commute to clinical sites

Colorado
Pros:

• Cost (full tuition scholarship + stipend; ~$60k debt total)
• Location and proximity to support system (family in CO and partner would be willing to move)
• Extensive research opportunities
• Has several matches to CA each year (20+) and a strong match list in general

Cons:

• Graded clerkships, AOA, and internal rankings
• Diversity of patient population (relative to Kaiser/LA)

Duke
Pros:

• P/F clerkships
• no AOA or internal rankings
• 1 year preclinical w/3rd year dedicated to research
• Have mentors/professional network here
• Prestige

Cons:

• Cost (~$280k debt total)
• Far from family and more difficult for partner to move
• Diversity of patient population (relative to Kaiser/LA)

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[muramasa]

Have you tried negotiating with Duke? They are loaded, I used a full tuition scholarship elsewhere to leverage some significant money with them. Yes Duke has the name brand and will help for academic medicine if you're interested, but given that you want to match in CA and would be saving almost 300k, Kaiser wins over any school imo.

 

[Egg-Benedict]

As someone who took on a lot of debt to go to Harvard vs. going to other schools for free, I can tell you that the supposed prestige was not worth the cost and the distance from family. I would go Kaiser if I were in your shoes.

 

[wazir]

Do you know if merit aids already been given out? That might change the calculus for Duke if you might get one.

 

[catchyllama]

Have you tried negotiating with Duke? They are loaded, I used a full tuition scholarship elsewhere to leverage some significant money with them. Yes Duke has the name brand and will help for academic medicine if you're interested, but given that you want to match in CA and would be saving almost 300k, Kaiser wins over any school imo.

Do you know if merit aids already been given out? That might change the calculus for Duke if you might get one.

Yes, I've sent both offers to Duke but was told they don't match. I know some merit offers have already been given and was also told by admissions that "merit scholarship funds are in flux" (so will have to wait and see). I am holding out some hope for Duke but if cost remains significantly higher, I would choose between Kaiser and Colorado.

As someone who took on a lot of debt to go to Harvard vs. going to other schools for free, I can tell you that the supposed prestige was not worth the cost and the distance from family. I would go Kaiser if I were in your shoes.

As for Kaiser and Colorado, I'm still a little torn. Would like to match to CA for the sake of family/my partner but also want to be set up to potentially match into "competitive" or more specialized programs, as I don't see myself going into primary care. Would Kaiser close this door? And if so, is the $60k difference worth going to Colorado?

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I understand why OP is making the decision much harder than it should be. You want to match to California, be close to family, and want the patient diversity, but hate the traffic??? You are going to school and live in California for free (pay only your ancillary costs like gas?). If your relationship with the 5-year partner is meaningful, budget for the ring and ceremony in a resort location.

 

[wazir]

Yes, I've sent both offers to Duke but was told they don't match. I know some merit offers have already been given and was also told by admissions that "merit scholarship funds are in flux" (so will have to wait and see). I am holding out some hope for Duke but if cost remains significantly higher, I would choose between Kaiser and Colorado.



As for Kaiser and Colorado, I'm still a little torn. Would like to match to CA for the sake of family/my partner but also want to be set up to potentially match into "competitive" or more specialized programs, as I don't see myself going into primary care. Would Kaiser close this door? And if so, is the $60k difference worth going to Colorado?

Did they mention to you when you would hear back? If it's after May 1 I would go with Kaiser but if there's a chance they'll give one before then might be worth waiting till then to decide.

 

[Egg-Benedict]

As for Kaiser and Colorado, I'm still a little torn. Would like to match to CA for the sake of family/my partner but also want to be set up to potentially match into "competitive" or more specialized programs, as I don't see myself going into primary care. Would Kaiser close this door? And if so, is the $60k difference worth going to Colorado?

I don't think it would close that door. Kaiser matched people into specialties like dermatology and urology this year, so clearly it is possible to match into competitive specialties from there. Also, almost two thirds of their class were able to match back into California. I don't think you should worry about matching from Kaiser, and it seems to fit your other goals the best, other than traffic