Anyway, good luck on the boards.
One way to look at this, which I hope will cause a lot less stress, is that you have a win-win situation going on here. If you make the bad decision, you will still get compensated very well. And the "bad" decision is far better than most peoples' best decision in their job prospects.
As for the student loan, look at the bright side in that it actually helped you achieve a goal instead of having $200,000 dollars go through your hands being spend on illicit drugs and being in and out of prison and being attached to a gang. You don't have to kill somebody or be in danger of being bumped off had it been someone higher up in a gang that you owed had you lived in a different life, different neighborhood, different situation. Yes, you have to pay that $200,000 in loans, plus what interest accrues, but you can do it over time.
You worked very hard to get to where you are and part of that is what you did as a person, but the other half (which we have no control over) is that I assume you didn't grow up in the barrio and have to fight off being attached to a different lifestyle not of your choosing. Of course, I see you are in the Bay Area, and if you did come from the streets of East Oakland or the Mission District in SF, and still got to where you are at, then my apologies to you.
Whatever your background, you have been blessed with brains, combined with your strong work ethic, and (probably) at least some shelter from some of the inevitable issues from what happens largely on the other side of the tracks in the areas I mentioned and others. Your right alignment of personality and sheer luck have put you in the perfect position to actually have to "worry" about a 100K job vs a 120K job at age 26. Outside of your school, how many people at your age do you know with these job prospects in this recession? Again, you are in a win-win situation and happiness rarely comes from our situation, but more from our state of mind. The said baseball player from my earlier post, now a much more lowly paid minor league coach, has perspective and is a happier person. Fame and fortune made him bitter, but perspective of seeing where you are at as a baseball player, vs. comparing yourself to Barry Bonds and Jose Canseco, put everything into sharper focus.
My guess is that once you pass your boards, and then get whatever job you choose on, you will find yourself in a comfortable routine you will get used to and actually laugh at this thread your started. Heck, you may even see some youngster under you in the future who will show these very same concerns you have posted on this thread. Like everyone is saying, you are in a pretty good position so there's little need to worry too much. You are younger than most of us (probably) and you will likely have the energy to do either job well and put up with long commutes and not let it bother you.
Good luck.
