<prompt> Human: Hello,I am a 21 year old undergraduate planning on entering medical school in August 2016. I am already admitted to 2 schools both MD schools and in the US and am waiting to hear back from 4 more that I have interviewed at. So Im wondering 1which option I should choose for medical school and 2 how I should go about financing it and 3 what should I expect debt-wise in the long run.Some background information: I have no debt from undergrad Im on scholarship but I have no money saved for medical school either. I will not get any money from family to help. I have good credit. I hope to be an emergency room doctor, and they make between 230,000-270,000 a year. I filled out my FAFSA, and my expected family contribution was zero and I qualified for 20,000 in financial aid. I believe that generally how medical students fund their education is through federal stafford loans 5.84 interest rate, covers the first 40,000 ish and through graduate plus loans covers the cost of attendance minus the 40,000 from the stafford loan; 6.84 interest. So as far as which medical school to attend, I have a bit of a dilemma. I have been admitted to one school that I could go to almost for free. I have a 10,000 merit scholarship and I may well get more from the school already, and their tuition is only 24,000 in state. So with my 10,000 a year scholarship and 20,000 financial aid from FAFSA, I would expect to only take out between 5-10k in loans per year for living expenses, and this is assuming I dont get any more scholarship money though I expect to. However, it is not in an area of the country that I would ultimately like to live in, nor is it a particularly well respected program. The other school I have been admitted to is mid tier. Cost of attendance there is 76k, but it is in a more desirable part of the country to live in and I could well get some scholarship money as my scores are above their 90th percentile. Average indebtedness upon graduation for them is 204k. Two of the schools Im waiting to hear back from are top tier. Both in great parts of the country and both are top 20 medical schools. Cost of attendance at both is around 80k, but they both have pretty good financial aid so average indebtedness upon graduation is 115,000 for one and 160,000 for the other. I would not expect any merit scholarships from either if I get in, but might small chance get some need based if Im lucky. Im not accepted to either yet though, so it may not even be an option.So anyway, should I go for the free option or consider going mid tier or top tier? Something to keep in mind is that my debt will grow with interest during my residency will last 3-4 years after graduation, and Ill only be making 40-50k. If I take the larger debt, what would be the best method to pay it off ie doing huge payments for 2-3 years or smaller payments over time? Any advice is appreciated!  <response>: Resident here. Go to the least expensive school. This question has honestly come up a few times with friends applying and the reality is there arent really top tier allopathic medical school in the US so excluding osteopathic, Caribbean and foreign medical grads. Theyre really all top tier given the difficulty of acceptance. The important thing is doing well in whatever school you choose so that you can get into the residency of your choice.I had a college friend the year above me who was in a similar situation. She had done extremely well in college, on her MCATs, and was good at interviewing. When the decision came down to it she had been accepted to multiple schools that are considered top tier i.e. Ivy League, but ultimately decided on instate tuition. She did well in medical schoolSTEP exams and is now completing her subspecialty surgical residency at her first choice program. She probably saved herself 200k in the process for the same outcome. 