My Med School Decision

What my decision comes down to:

What kind of doctor do I want to be?
I am interested in pediatrics. It is not a high-paying specialty.
I do not know if research would be a large part of my career, but community service would definitely be. I think I would be able to contribute to both at both the Cleveland Clinic and Stanford Medical Schools.
I would want strong clinical skills, and I see the Clinic as a place where I could develop these skills to a greater extent.
The matches at both schools are great.

What makes me happy?
I love the sun, even though I get sunburned easily. My family and friends are in the Bay Area.
The prospect of no or very low medical school debt is appealing. It would definitely be a nice feeling to walk out of medical school

Adventure
Going to Cleveland might be the growing up experience that I need. I am afraid of committing to being there for 5 years only to realize that I hate it there. From what I have seen, it is a beautiful place. However, since I know very few people there, I am afraid I will end up lonely. I want

The Money
The Cleveland Clinic provides full tuition scholarships. Winner for sure.

Prestige
While Stanford holds great prestige for most people, the Cleveland Clinic might actually have the upper hand in the medical field. The Cleveland Clinic is the most amazing hospital I have ever seen. Overall, I would say Stanford would “win.”

The Atmosphere
The Cleveland Clinic emphasizes professionalism. There is mandatory class at 8 AM every day. Students are expected to be in professional wear every day. There are no exams, but there are many evaluations and lots of “homework,” as far as I can tell. There are very few students. I may or may not be able to make close friends. At least I get along with people easily.
Stanford is much more relaxed; most students don’t attend class. There are exams which seem a bit stressful, but the system is P/NP. There are many opportunities here to dive outside of medicine. I think I seem to mesh better with the people in this program.

My heart lies in the Bay Area, but I do feel like I should choose the Cleveland Clinic. I want to push myself, save my family money. There seems to be so many opportunities at the Cleveland Clinic.

A compromise would be Stanford, capped at 4 years. This would allow me to start paying back loans sooner. Yet I am not confident about being able to distinguish myself at Stanford.

I want to make a decision and own it, but I suspect that I would have doubts either way.

45x2+60x2+100k–(15x2+20x2) = 240K (4 yrs) @ Stanford
Including Med Scholars: ~20K = 220K
80 K at Cleveland Clinic (5 yrs)

140 K difference – less if I live at home.
I should be able to earn this back with a year of practice? But do I want this extra year as a “real physician” after all? Unlike many pre-meds these days, I did not take a year off after undergrad to pursue research. Having a year of research built in is a bit appealing—but the fact that it is required is also daunting.

In the end, I think my day to day life during medical school would be happier at Stanford. If I want to venture out of medicine and consider other fields, then I want to be backed up by the Stanford name. There might be a larger crowd at Stanford, but that is nothing compared to Berkeley! Maybe even my admission to Stanford could help my siblings get in?

I am confident that I would grow to love both places. I would be taken care of by friends and family at Stanford. I would get taken care of by the school (and future friends) at Cleveland Clinic. I am scared about all the risks I will be taking on by going to Cleveland, both in terms of safety and feeling lonely and pressured. I know plenty of people are able to survive there just fine. I am scared about the debt I would incur by going to Stanford.