Hey again everyone, M4 here at a USMD school. Congratulations if you've been accepted to a school thus far! It might be early to have this conversation, if you want my advice to narrow down multiple acceptances, consider the following:

- did you like the interview/people/students you met?
- do you have a support circle in the area?
- MD vs DO = tbh I've ADORED all the DOs I've worked with and they are trained just as well if not better than some MDs, but I can't deny that even in the least competitive specialties, MDs are favored more than DOs, the latter typically has no home programs, are less likely to get interviews, and are more likely to tumble down their rank lists/not match. It's not fair but it's what happens
- how many residencies are offered at their home programs? (look up "<medical school> residency programs" and you should get a good list most of the time) = years down the line, having a home program will help you get research, LORs from a program director (who also likely knows the leadership at other places/name carries more weight), and even a more likely interview from that institution
- Match lists: Look up the most recent match lists at these schools and figure out how many matched in the specialties you're interested in. This might be harder/nerve-racking to evaluate, but also try to assess the quality of the matches (flipping to the residency side of admit.org can help). Home programs absolutely improve the number and quality of matches in those specialties, which you can see here.
- cost = federal loans will start capping at 200k starting this July, so this is a factor so huge that other considerations when deciding on a school are likely to go out the window. Trust me. If you haven't already, start reaching out to the places you're accepted at to try getting some scholarships (do NOT wait on this)
- if you're interested in a particular specialty, how many other programs are in the state/region of the medical school? = this is starting to become a more important consideration than even your home state when applying to residency. You can check where all the residency programs are here: https://medmap.io/specialty
- prestige = yes, it matters but only to a certain degree. I and everyone I know wouldn't look at #3 any differently than #15, same with #60 vs #80. #1 vs #150 might be a bigger deal, but if this isn't the case with you, then again cost, match lists, home programs, vibes all matter more

Again, I know it's early to be thinking about all this, but better to start now than scramble to decide the day before it's required.

Additionally, for those of you who have multiple acceptances at this point in the cycle, I know you've got time before you're required to drop acceptances down to 3 or less, but please consider withdrawing some now. Some of your fellow applicants are sitting on waitlists but no acceptances, and it would be a great courtesy to them to get those As now rather than later, as they are probably thinking about gearing up for another MCAT, application cycle, new letters of recommendation, perhaps even gap year experiences, all of which can waste time, money, and a great deal of stress. I know it's nice to have all these acceptances, and I am proud of your successes, but you can only get your medical degree from one school in the end. Same thing goes for interviews you might have lined up despite having an acceptance from a place you would 100% rather have more.

I'm not asking you to narrow down to 1 either! If you're deciding between Harvard and Ohio State as an Ohio resident, of course you would need to have a larger discussion about cost/location vs prestige with your family and advisors, as well as opportunities for scholarships. However, if you're that same Ohio resident sitting on Harvard, Ohio State, Toledo, Wright State, and Michigan State's DO school, and those latter 3 wouldn't put you closer to family or somehow be cheaper than OSU, please consider dropping those 3 sooner rather than later.

We are all running the same race, so please have each other's backs to all cross the finish line together.