Guest hcruz496 Posted November 26, 2017 Share Posted November 26, 2017 I need some advice in choosing a school. I have been fortunate enough to be accepted into two different programs. Let me start by saying that I am a non-traditional student. Where I go my husband and two kids will have to go too. The school I think may be better educationwise is not necessarily the one I think will be the best move for my family. School A: 1A. Has cadaver lab 2A. Has simulation lab 3A. Been around since 1992 4A. 99% 5 year first time PANCE pass rate 5A. 27 months-12 months didactic-15months clinicals 6A. Area with higher cost of living 7A. area with awful traffic 8A. tuition of $107,000 School B: 1B. Has no cadaver lab 2B. Has no simulation lab 3B. Been around since 2005 4B. 100% 5 year first time PANCE pass rate 5B. 27 months-15 months didactic-12 months clinicals 6B. Area with lower cost of living 7B. Husband really wants to move there 8B. Tuition of $73,000 9B. Student to faculty ratio is 6:1 Should I be worried that school B doesn't have a cadaver or simulation lab? It does have a 100% 5 year first time PANCE pass rate. I am leaning more towards school B because it is $34,000 less and reason 7B. I think if my husband and kids enjoy living there they will give me more time to study. If I were a traditional student and didn't already have debt and a family to consider I think I would choose school A but 100k+ in grad loans plus debt from undergrad is nothing to take lightly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karebear12892 Posted November 26, 2017 Share Posted November 26, 2017 Personally, I would choose school B based on lower tuition and lower cost of living. I'm about halfway through my PA program and we don't have a cadaver lab or simulation lab either, but I feel very prepared to care for real patients and I don't feel as though not having these resources has disadvantaged me in any way. Congratulations on your acceptances and feel free to PM me if you have questions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProSpectre Posted November 26, 2017 Share Posted November 26, 2017 I attend a program with a gross cadaver lab, and while it is an interesting learning experience (and many view it as a right of passage in medicine), I don't think it is the only way to learn anatomy. It may not even be the best way; I think it is just so ingrained in medical training that people think it is a must have. Do you know if program B uses prosected cadavers, or is it a digital training medium that is used? Either way, I don't think you will get an inferior education due to not having cadavers, and any time you would spend doing the dissection itself you can instead spend on learning the anatomy (dissection is time consuming, and I would argue that most people don't actually learn all of the material until well after a given dissection is complete). While program B isn't as old as program A, its still an established program at 12 years old, and if it is better for your family (and $30K less tuition to boot), I wouldn't feel bad about choosing it over program A. Edited to add: You may want to talk to current students about the difference in time between the didactic and clinical portions though; one offers 3 extra months of didactics, and the other 3 extra months of clinicals. My program is 15 month didactic to 12 month clinical, but more clinical time could be nice (just maybe not at the cost of a shorter didactic year). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hcruz496 Posted November 26, 2017 Share Posted November 26, 2017 35 minutes ago, ProSpectre said: I attend a program with a gross cadaver lab, and while it is an interesting learning experience (and many view it as a right of passage in medicine), I don't think it is the only way to learn anatomy. It may not even be the best way; I think it is just so ingrained in medical training that people think it is a must have. Do you know if program B uses prosected cadavers, or is it a digital training medium that is used? Either way, I don't think you will get an inferior education due to not having cadavers, and any time you would spend doing the dissection itself you can instead spend on learning the anatomy (dissection is time consuming, and I would argue that most people don't actually learn all of the material until well after a given dissection is complete). While program B isn't as old as program A, its still an established program at 12 years old, and if it is better for your family (and $30K less tuition to boot), I wouldn't feel bad about choosing it over program A. Edited to add: You may want to talk to current students about the difference in time between the didactic and clinical portions though; one offers 3 extra months of didactics, and the other 3 extra months of clinicals. My program is 15 month didactic to 12 month clinical, but more clinical time could be nice (just maybe not at the cost of a shorter didactic year). Program B uses an anatomage table to teach anatomy. Program B doesn’t have a geriatric rotation whereas A does, other than that clinical rotations are all in the same areas. I also thought more time in clinical would be better, more hands on learning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JD2012 Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 $34k? That's quite a bit. I could buy a used Porsche 911 with that money, just saying! Or that's about at least a year or two of student loans. Program B for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clballin Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 I would choose school B. My program did not have simulation lab or cadaver lab (although we shadowed a medical examiner for 1 day) but in my opinion as long as you have a great clinical rotation experience and pass the PANCE, that’s where it counts. Up to you in the end but saving on student loans to me would be a big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenn22 Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 School B seems like a good compromise for you and your family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmostaTexan Posted November 29, 2017 Share Posted November 29, 2017 School B sounds best all around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hcruz496 Posted November 29, 2017 Share Posted November 29, 2017 I declined A yesterday. Btw it was Midwestern in Downers Grove. I had a hard time deciding because their campus truly is AMAZING. I just couldn’t get over the cost difference. No turning back now lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProSpectre Posted November 29, 2017 Share Posted November 29, 2017 3 hours ago, hcruz496 said: I declined B yesterday. Btw it was Midwestern in Downers Grove. I had a hard time deciding because their campus truly is AMAZING. I just couldn’t get over the cost difference. No turning back now lol. Do you mean you turned down School A? That was the more expensive one, correct? I'm guessing so since Midwestern is in Chicago (horrible traffic and high cost of living). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hcruz496 Posted November 29, 2017 Share Posted November 29, 2017 6 hours ago, ProSpectre said: Do you mean you turned down School A? That was the more expensive one, correct? I'm guessing so since Midwestern is in Chicago (horrible traffic and high cost of living). Yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlmostaTexan Posted November 29, 2017 Share Posted November 29, 2017 Ok I read your reply last night and I thought "Surely she meant to type A...." I'm glad when I logged in this morning it's corrected lol! Congratulations!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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