I feel so incredibly lucky to be choosing between 2 amazing places. I’m feeling so torn and have gotten mixed advice. I’d appreciate any thoughts you can share!

COA: Harvard ~$305k / Einstein ~140k

would need ~$50k in private loans and ~$40k institutional over the 4 years at harvard.

I’m pretty set on academic medicine (probably psych but maybe rads?), so expecting to PSLF fed loans. I gap-yeared in suburbia and had a miserable time, so a more urban location closer to nightlife is really important to me.

Harvard

+ better network/connections which would give an edge (even if it’s slight) for an academic career.

+ have close friends from college nearby, really want to have some non-classmate friends around

+ living in a more central location in Boston/more connected with other young people; feels like itd much easier to have the social life I want. I really loved the city.

+ I really enjoyed the visit, left loving the school

+ the curriculum seemed very intentional and well-thought through.

+ I like getting to see classmates in person every day for flipped class

- COST. Part of me would feel so dumb for turning down free tuition. Still, with PSLF, the difference in debt I actually pay back would be less at ~$90k + interest. I would take a private loan with deferment during residency, which makes it sting less.

- less patient diversity

———

Einstein

+ FREE TUITION!

+ social justice focus & diverse patient pop

+ proximity to nyc - I love New York and have great friends and family ~1.5 hrs from campus

-immediate location in Bronx. This is a big one for me. I want to be able to walk 15 mins from my apartment to, e.g., spontaneously grab a beer with friends on a thursday here and there, and it doesn’t seem like a thing at Einstein, being in a primarily residential area. realistically I don’t see myself making the 3 hr round trip to see the friends i alr have in nyc very often. If anyone knows the bx better than me and I’m wrong about this please lmk!

-i prob wouldn’t like learning largely thru attendance-optional lectures

-I didn’t love the tour and had a hard time seeing myself at einstein while visiting.Trying not to weigh this too heavily bc it is likely more a symptom of seeing a school through a 2-hr tour in comparison to a big 2-day event than anything else.

At the end of the day, cost aside, Harvard is definitely my preference. But I’m having a lot of trouble deciding if that preference for the reasons above justifies higher cost. Any advice or thoughts would be much appreciated! Thank you for reading :)