<p>this is what i am choosing between and it's very very hard for me..</p>
<p>basically undergrad, it shouldn't matter as much since i'm guaranteed into a medical school in both programs, so it comes down to which med school is better (i am leaning towards primary care and heard jefferson is great for that), which is cheaper (penn state's half of northwestern, and my mom is paying for undergrad, which is good but bad because she works insanely long hours and i don't want her working like that for twice as long..), which is closer to home, </p>
<p>penn state kinda has all those factors, the only bad thing is that it has MCAT and higher gpa req (3.5 vs. northwestern's 3.2).. only thing is that i know HPME is what everyone shoots for, and i don't wanna give it up so easily... </p>
<p>last year when i was looking at ba/md programs, i thought northwestern's was #1 out of all of them, and now that i have to choose between northwestern and penn state , it's a 50/50 because of all the little factors that penn state has over northwestern</p>
<p>any advice is appreciated</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>even though i said undergrad doesn't matter as much , i' do realize northwestern is 30 min from chicago where as penn state is nowhere, i'm not so much concerned about the huge population difference, and i do see that northwestern is probably less stressful with the no mcat and lower gpa requirement</p>
<p>any comparisons on feinberg vs. jefferson would be helpful , especially residence matches for jefferson since i can't find those online</p>
<p>If I were you, I would probably pick HPME too because it is so hyped and so prestigious. I would have a hard time turning down something so good!</p>
<p>So I would probably advise you to go the HPME route</p>
<p>But as you said, the PSU program is pretty hard to turn down as well. The lone disadvantage I found was that the campus is in the middle of nowhere and I did have a hard time finding things to do on the weekends (I have few interests though so it could just be me :-) )</p>
<p>As for stress, it's possible that NW would be easier but the general consesus is that it is very stressfree at PSU. You should have no trouble meeting the 3.5 requirement as long as you schedule the classes properly. (3.5 is pretty much one A and one B. As long as you pair every hard science class with an easy science class, you should be fine) The older progs are also very helpful in determining an appropriate schedule and recommending easy nonscience courses (those are pretty much free A's).</p>
<p>The MCAT requirement does add a bit more stress but most find it very manageable after one summer at a Kaplan course. And you get 4 chances to reach that minimum score of 27 too should you need it! (My thinking is this...if you cannot reach a 27 after 4 tries, you probably won't have a fun time surviving medical school!)</p>
<p>Gl with your decision though!</p>
<p>JEFFERSON</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>first) ITS ALOT cheaper
one year less undergrad tuition payment
...plus psu is cheaper than nw anyway</p>
<p>second) as you stated... your leaning towards primary care
Jefferson is great for that... on top of that... jefferson has a very high percentage of students get their first choice residency... so if you ever change your mind... jefferson will be able to accomodate you.. so as far as prestige goes, wat tha hell does it matter?... you will get the residency you want either way!</p>
<p>third) its closer to home!... jefferson has connections to hospitals and residency programs in PA and the northeast area... whereas Northwestern wouldn't have connections nearly as much in this area... so if you plan on practicing in philly area... your ALOT better off at jefferson.. because i know that local medical schools DO HAVE better relationships with residency programs closer to them</p>
<p>fourth) this whole 3.5 versus 3.2 argument is retarded... heres why... a 3.5 at psu is alot easier than a 3.2 at northwestern... you will more than likely be able to maintain both.. BUT... northwestern is a very rigorous academic environment.. its pretty cutthroat... psu=state skool... enuff said
plus... NW is on trimester system... meaning everything is alot faster and more difficult to catch up when you fall behind... psu is easierrrr than NW... ill gurauntee that</p>
<p>but as far as MCATS are concerned... they r a royal b*tch... that is a huge sacrifice you will have to make</p>
<p>i understand that northwestern is prestigious... fine... but is that wat u want???...prestige?... u want to be a doctor... through either med skool... you will be a doctor... and your residency placement is not going to be affected by which programis more "prestigious"... both medical schools get top residencies... so go to the place thats cheaper + closer to home + easier [except the whole MCAT deal]</p>
<p>I agree with the poster above</p>
<p>The one thing I would add is that an applicant from Feinberg with similar stats to an applicant from Jefferson would probably have a slight advantage over the Jefferson student.</p>
<p>mistaippa.... i say jefferson.</p>
<p>i say that because a) financially easier( especially if you are in state).
b) you said "even though i said undergrad doesn't matter as much , i' do realize northwestern is 30 min from chicago where as penn state is nowhere"... you are going to be working you a** off in either program. not much time to do anything other than studying in either program... i mean go to dinner hang out on campus but thats about it. you're not going to have time. p.s. nu's med school is 50k a year. do you want to graduate with a lot of debt?</p>
<p>I would agree that it is financially easier as an in-state resident during the PSU years. But Jefferson is one of the most expensive private medical schools out there costing around $55k to $60k. Medical school is expensive wherever you go (unless you are lucky to attend an in-state med school with in-state eligibility)</p>
<p>As for the free time argument, I would say PSU students have a lot more free time. The problem, then, is that unless you like doing the things on campus (football games, frats, drinking, a couple of bars here and there), there isn't much else to do.</p>
<p>it is true i'll most likely be working my butt off at either program, but i still believe i'll have time for friday night or saturday night to go out, so that's why having a city like chicago right by would have been nice..</p>
<p>the total cost with everything for jefferson is about 57 k a year, but if you look at northwestern's cost, it's 60-75k, depending what year you are in
<a href="http://chicagofinancialaid.northwestern.edu/pdf/2004-05%20Medical%20Budgets.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://chicagofinancialaid.northwestern.edu/pdf/2004-05%20Medical%20Budgets.pdf</a></p>
<p>oh man...i did not know it was that much!!</p>
<p>in that case, i would be leaning towards jefferson then</p>
<p>i also forgot to mention...25% of the students are able to finish their science requirements in time and are allowed to spend the final semester of their time at penn state in a study abroad program</p>
<p>students have chosen to go to ivy league schools, australian colleges, english colleges, french colleges, research labs, educational cruises, etc.. etc... for their final semester instead of staying at psu</p>
<p>if you really get bored at psu, that is always an option to consider (so technically, your stay at psu would include the 1st summer, 1 year, 2nd summer optional, and just the fall semester of your 2nd year)</p>
<p>i'd pick jefferson becasue of the one shorter year and tuition savings. However, the mcat requirement is a major turn off.</p>
<p>it's two years shorter if you go the 6 year route</p>
<p>and if it's any consolation, the writing section doesnt count for psu progs</p>
<p>so if you really wanted to, you could scribble some barely competent english down and take an hour rest to prepare for the biology section!</p>
<p>really? wow, that does make the mcat req. sound much better then!</p>
<p>so if you really wanted to, you could scribble some barely competent english down and take an hour rest to prepare for the biology section!</p>
<p>...thats some funny ****</p>
<p>I would go for Jefferson. Feinberg school of medicine is not as good as people are hyping it up to be. Also, do you want to come out with a ton of loans. Basically, no one cares that much about where you go to med. school, it's your residency hospital that counts in the long run. All your giving up from rejecting HPME is a little ego and money that could be spent else where. I, personally, am choosing between HPME and Rutgers BA/MD. As I have full ride at Rutgers, I'm probably going to choose it and save around $160,000. Further, it's always better to be closer to home. You may want to leave now, but just wait a couple of months. The rest is basically up to you.
PRESTIGE IS ONLY FOR EGOTISTICAL!!!</p>
<p>hydrogen3k, how come you think feinberg school of medicine isn't that good? I just want another perspective because I've been considering many programs.</p>
<p>i think hydrogen is not saying it's bad, but it's not the best of the best just because it's ranked int he top 20 med schools by us news.. i myself agree it's a very good med school, but so is jefferson... </p>
<p>and also about the link i posted, if you average out the medical costs over 4 years at NW Feinberg school of medicine , it's about 61.5 k or so, which is 5k more than Jefferson, so it's not as big a difference as i thought... i guess the 77k 2nd year cost threw me off a bit heh</p>
<p>Nih Grants Tell A Lot About The Med School...</p>
<p>yeah...medical school is expensive wherever you go unless it's a state school</p>
<p>as such, nj residents going to umdnj are gonna pay a lot less (i believe it was $20000 in tuition per year the last time i checked)</p>
<p>Yeah, being a NJ resident at UMDNJ is awesome!</p>