But deciding which medical school to  attend isn't as straightforward as  

some might suggest. These are the considerations  to determine which med school is best for you.

Dr. Jubbal, MedSchoolInsiders.com.

Before you can determine which  medical school you want to attend,  

you need to determine which  medical schools to apply to.

The average student applies to 15-20 schools,  but I generally advise students to apply to  

too many schools rather than too few. Think of  it from a risk assessment perspective. If you  

don't apply to enough schools, there's a higher  risk you don't get any acceptances, requiring  

you to reapply in a future cycle or reconsider  another career path. That's a huge downside.

If you apply to too many schools, on the other  hand, the main downsides are cost and the time it  

takes to write additional secondaries. Cost can be  mitigated through the fee assistance program, and  

writing secondaries gets easier the more you do,  as you're able to recycle similar essays between  

programs with only slight modifications. There's  an asymmetric upside to applying to more schools.

I personally applied to 40 schools, which in  hindsight was more than I needed to. But I  

received over 20 interview invitations, attended  more than 10, and had several acceptances.  

It was far better to be in a position  to decline an interview invitation  

rather than wishing for more. And with multiple  acceptances, you're in a stronger position to  

secure stronger financial aid packages  and decrease your student loan burden.

When determining which schools to apply to,  your stats should obviously guide you to a  

certain degree. But you should also consider  how strong their in-state preferences are.  

Some public schools take a tiny  percentage of out-of-state applicants,  

and if you're out-of-state, that may change  whether you think it's worth it to apply there.

After applying broadly, hopefully you have  one or more acceptances to choose from.  

This is an excellent position to be in.  Here are the most important considerations:

First, prioritize the location. You'll be  in medical school for at least 4 years,  

and your location can play a huge  part in your overall experience.

Location can mean being close to friends  and family, who will be your sources of  

support in medical school in addition  to your newfound friends and colleagues.

Location can mean being in an environment  you're familiar and comfortable with.  

Or it can mean exploring a new city  or region that fancies your interest.

I chose UC San Diego for medical school in  part because of the location. I love it there,  

and I figured it's great to be in a low stress  environment like San Diego, with beautiful  

beaches, amazing weather, and reasonable traffic,  while in a higher stress period of my training.

The location of your medical school  also plays a large role in your fit.

Fit is somewhat of a nebulous term, referring  to how you relate to the medical school culture.  

Some suggest you look at the school's mission  statement to get an idea of their interests,  

values, and goals. In my experience, mission  statements are too broad and generic. Rather,  

consider your experiences interacting  with the school and its people.

You'll get a feel for it on interview day,  and certainly if you attend a second look  

weekend. Even if you're doing a virtual  interview rather than attending in person,  

you can still get an idea of the  school's persona and priorities.

Do you vibe with the other students there?  Do they feel like your people? What about  

the faculty and staff you come across? Do they  care about similar things that you care about?  

Maybe that's underserved medicine or primary  care. How does the environment feel and the  

immediate surroundings - this, after all, is  where you'll be spending a great deal of time.

This is the time to consider what  type of doctor you want to be,  

and whether this environment will  help you work towards that goal.

While cost is important, I don't think this  should be your primary consideration. The White  

Coat Investor certainly feels different, arguing  that medical schools provide comparable education,  

and choosing the cheapest school  is almost always the best decision.  

If all medical schools were created equal,  this would be a strong argument. After all,  

the compounding effect that works for you with  investments also works against you with debt.

Cost includes more than just your tuition as  well. Attending medical school in San Francisco  

or New York City will have higher associated  costs of living compared to Omaha or Ann Arbor.

We know that location and fit are obviously  highly variable based on the institution,  

but aren't medical schools  otherwise more or less the same?  

Not quite, bringing us to our final point,  prestige and your intended specialty.

The reality is that prestige can certainly  play a role in your future residency  

matching opportunities. Particularly if you're  trying to train in a competitive specialty,  

the reality is that your pedigree can  certainly be an asset in helping you have a  

leg up. This prestige effect continues  on through fellowship applications,  

getting additional degrees like an MPH or MBA,  and even with your future doctor job applications.  

There will certainly be some butthurt comments  below, as this can damage sensitive egos,  

but that's just the reality of it, and I don't  water things down. This is Med School Insiders.

More prestigious programs are also more likely  to be affiliated with larger medical centers that  

have a wide breadth of specialty exposure. If  you're set on matching into ENT or neurosurgery  

but don't have those departments at your medical  school, you're at a substantial disadvantage.  

First, you won't get proper exposure until  your fourth year of medical school when you  

do away rotations. It will also be more  difficult to find a long term mentor who  

can guide you or go to bat for you  during your residency application.

You can look up the various departments at  a medical school or affiliated hospital,  

or you can ask during your interview  day. Ideally, you want medical school  

faculty in your specialty of interest, as these  individuals are involved with research, teaching,  

and mentoring of medical students. Community  physicians that have a looser association with  

the hospital can sometimes become great  mentors if they take a liking to you,  

but that's the exception, not the rule, as there  isn't the same obligation to your education.

The stability of the department  is also highly relevant here.  

If the neurosurgery program at a medical school  was put on probation or has been subject to  

controversy or scandals resulting in high turnover  of leadership, you'll want to tread carefully.

When deciding on a medical school to attend,  I want you to be able to have your pick.  

Why can't you attend the medical school that's  in a city you love, that fits you like a glove,  

that's highly ranked and that doesn't put you  in hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt?  

I feel so fortunate that I was able to find that  for myself with UC San Diego. And a big part of  

that was becoming the most competitive applicant I  could be. By having multiple schools vying for me,  

I was in a position to secure the merit-based  scholarship awarded to only one student each  

year that covered my entire tuition and most  of my living expenses. If you want to learn  

from my failures and triumphs, I've developed the  Premed Roadmap to Medical School Acceptance course  

to guide you. Use coupon code CHOOSE20 for 20%  off your purchase through the end of the month.

When deciding on a medical  school, MD vs DO vs Caribbean  

is massively important. Check out my video  explaining the pros and cons of each,  

or how to choose a specialty. Much  love, and I'll see you guys there.