hidadimadcom
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Hey everyone! Just got off the Temple WL and have to make a decision by the end of next week. I've selected PTE for OSU but I would appreciate any advice since my situation is quite complicated. Sorry in advance for the long post!
For some background, my partner and I both had a dream program we wanted to attend and we sent LOIs to this school after we were waitlisted earlier this year. At the time, I was accepted to OSU and she was accepted to Penn State, which is ~6 hours away from each other, however, Penn State is close to both our families so she'll have a great support system. Additionally, OSU is ~3 hours from our "LOI School." Over time, we've become content with the distance but now with the wait-list movements from other schools, the situation is getting pretty messy. At the center of the problem is the uncertainty of knowing if either of us will be accepted to the "LOI School" which we will have to attend if accepted. Obviously the best case scenario is if we both get into our top choice, but we know that's highly unlikely.
Ultimately, my proximity to her is a major factor, and Temple is ~2 hours from Penn State. At first glance, it seems like an obvious decision to go to Temple to be closer to my home and partner but there's a small possibility that she ends up at the "LOI school" while I don't, making the distance between us back to ~5 hours. In that situation, I know I would highly regret turning down OSU for temple knowing that OSU is a better school for me and closer to the "LOI School"
Summary: Unsure how much weight I need to give to these different scenarios. I loved almost everything about OSU and second look confirmed that for me. It has a strong neuro and optho department and I know it'll set me up well in the future when we need to couples match. Temple is a solid program as well that is potentially closer to my partner, but with the uncertainty of our status with our "LOI School" I'm in a weird position.
Ohio State
Pros
--Prestige/rank (T30)
--Tons of research opportunities
--Highly flexible curriculum with very few mandatory activities
--Urban environment (Columbus)
--Fantastic neurology/ophthalmology departments
--Total COA ~300k (20k scholarship)
--Can earn in state residency
Cons
--Far from home (6 hr drive) and no local support system
--Internal ranking (ranked in quartiles based on preclinical and clinical grades)
--Matches primarily to Midwest
Temple (North Philly)
Pros
--Close to home (1.5 hour drive) and have a great support system nearby
--Urban environment
--Lots of community service opportunities
--P/F (internal ranking but only based on clinical grades?)
Cons
--North Philly is not the safest but most students live off campus anyway
--Lower rank than OSU
--COA ~ 350k (Haven't received financial aid yet so this is an estimate)
--2 years preclinical instead of 1.5 years
--Anatomy is condensed into an 8 week course at the start of preclinical
For some background, my partner and I both had a dream program we wanted to attend and we sent LOIs to this school after we were waitlisted earlier this year. At the time, I was accepted to OSU and she was accepted to Penn State, which is ~6 hours away from each other, however, Penn State is close to both our families so she'll have a great support system. Additionally, OSU is ~3 hours from our "LOI School." Over time, we've become content with the distance but now with the wait-list movements from other schools, the situation is getting pretty messy. At the center of the problem is the uncertainty of knowing if either of us will be accepted to the "LOI School" which we will have to attend if accepted. Obviously the best case scenario is if we both get into our top choice, but we know that's highly unlikely.
Ultimately, my proximity to her is a major factor, and Temple is ~2 hours from Penn State. At first glance, it seems like an obvious decision to go to Temple to be closer to my home and partner but there's a small possibility that she ends up at the "LOI school" while I don't, making the distance between us back to ~5 hours. In that situation, I know I would highly regret turning down OSU for temple knowing that OSU is a better school for me and closer to the "LOI School"
Summary: Unsure how much weight I need to give to these different scenarios. I loved almost everything about OSU and second look confirmed that for me. It has a strong neuro and optho department and I know it'll set me up well in the future when we need to couples match. Temple is a solid program as well that is potentially closer to my partner, but with the uncertainty of our status with our "LOI School" I'm in a weird position.
Ohio State
Pros
--Prestige/rank (T30)
--Tons of research opportunities
--Highly flexible curriculum with very few mandatory activities
--Urban environment (Columbus)
--Fantastic neurology/ophthalmology departments
--Total COA ~300k (20k scholarship)
--Can earn in state residency
Cons
--Far from home (6 hr drive) and no local support system
--Internal ranking (ranked in quartiles based on preclinical and clinical grades)
--Matches primarily to Midwest
Temple (North Philly)
Pros
--Close to home (1.5 hour drive) and have a great support system nearby
--Urban environment
--Lots of community service opportunities
--P/F (internal ranking but only based on clinical grades?)
Cons
--North Philly is not the safest but most students live off campus anyway
--Lower rank than OSU
--COA ~ 350k (Haven't received financial aid yet so this is an estimate)
--2 years preclinical instead of 1.5 years
--Anatomy is condensed into an 8 week course at the start of preclinical
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