- Joined
- Feb 24, 2017
- Messages
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Hi everyone! I find myself in a very lucky position, deciding among great schools. I feel very grateful to have these opportunities, but wanted to get some input from fellow SDNers! I've been admitted to several schools this cycle, but the ones I'm considering the most are Harvard, Yale, Weill Cornell, and UCSF. I'm interested in neurology and would like to incorporate research into my career. While I'm leaning towards neurology, I like neuroscience in general and could also see myself in neurosurgery, psychiatry, anesthesia, or other related fields. Here are the pros and cons of each school. I'm still waiting on financial aid decisions, but I imagine it would be comparable between the schools.
Harvard
pros
-prestige, which might matter for residency and academic medicine, not sure
-many research opportunities
-affiliated with several great hospitals
-Boston is a nice city and I could see myself living there
-several advisors and deans have reached out to me, giving me the impression that HMS cares a lot for its students
cons
-no lectures, only group based learning. I tend to be a fan of lectures, but haven't had too much experience with PBL, so that could change.
-it's several hours from metropolitan NY, where I have family, SO, and friends.
-larger class size (165)
-do not get to choose in which hospital I do the majority of clinical rotations
-need to pay 15k if I do an extra research year
Yale
pros
-the Yale System of no grades and very few required exams sounds amazing!
-had a very positive interview day experience
-also get the sense that the school cares a lot about its students
-don't need to take shelf exams during clinical years!
-can take classes for free at any of the Yale schools
-vast research opportunities as well, and get funding for doing a tuition-free research year
-I hear New Haven has very good food
-small class size around 105
cons
-2 hours away from NYC
-the affiliated hospitals are not top 10. Not sure if this matters or not, just comparing it to other choices.
UCSF
pros
-San Francisco seems like a fun place to live in
-top ranked not only in research but several other specialties
-vast research opportunities
-affiliated with state-of-the-art hospitals, from what I heard on interview day
cons
-while SF is a cool city, it is very far from NY. It might be a big adjustment to move and live there.
-traveling to NY to visit family, friends, and SO would get expensive
-some students seemed very unhappy with the new curriculum during my interview day
-most students live off-campus. I think it would make it more challenging to make friends.
Weill Cornell
pros
-it's in NYC! and the subsidized rent is fantastic for the Upper East Side
-close to family, friends, and SO
-has tons of research opportunities given it's affiliation with MSKCC, Rockefeller, HSS, and NYP
-also had a very positive experience during my interview day
-small class size of around 105
-close to central park
-I would do rotations in NYP. In the future, I see myself doing residency in NYC and I think NYP would be one of my top choices
cons
-weekly quizzes first semester, though I've heard they're low-stress
-not sure if the difference in prestige/ranking matters, compared to the other schools
-I've heard students here can be a bit intense, though the people I met seemed chill
Conclusion: Trying to decide between 4 fantastic schools. I realize I'm very lucky and just want some opinions of how to make the right decision. Since I am interested in academic medicine, I'm not sure how much prestige/rankings count. Any help is greatly appreciated! I should mention I can only make it to 2 revisits, since 3 are on the same weekend. I'm going to revisit Harvard and Yale. If anyone has already gotten into residency and can comment on how much your school mattered for your match, that'd be great. Thanks everyone!
Harvard
pros
-prestige, which might matter for residency and academic medicine, not sure
-many research opportunities
-affiliated with several great hospitals
-Boston is a nice city and I could see myself living there
-several advisors and deans have reached out to me, giving me the impression that HMS cares a lot for its students
cons
-no lectures, only group based learning. I tend to be a fan of lectures, but haven't had too much experience with PBL, so that could change.
-it's several hours from metropolitan NY, where I have family, SO, and friends.
-larger class size (165)
-do not get to choose in which hospital I do the majority of clinical rotations
-need to pay 15k if I do an extra research year
Yale
pros
-the Yale System of no grades and very few required exams sounds amazing!
-had a very positive interview day experience
-also get the sense that the school cares a lot about its students
-don't need to take shelf exams during clinical years!
-can take classes for free at any of the Yale schools
-vast research opportunities as well, and get funding for doing a tuition-free research year
-I hear New Haven has very good food
-small class size around 105
cons
-2 hours away from NYC
-the affiliated hospitals are not top 10. Not sure if this matters or not, just comparing it to other choices.
UCSF
pros
-San Francisco seems like a fun place to live in
-top ranked not only in research but several other specialties
-vast research opportunities
-affiliated with state-of-the-art hospitals, from what I heard on interview day
cons
-while SF is a cool city, it is very far from NY. It might be a big adjustment to move and live there.
-traveling to NY to visit family, friends, and SO would get expensive
-some students seemed very unhappy with the new curriculum during my interview day
-most students live off-campus. I think it would make it more challenging to make friends.
Weill Cornell
pros
-it's in NYC! and the subsidized rent is fantastic for the Upper East Side
-close to family, friends, and SO
-has tons of research opportunities given it's affiliation with MSKCC, Rockefeller, HSS, and NYP
-also had a very positive experience during my interview day
-small class size of around 105
-close to central park
-I would do rotations in NYP. In the future, I see myself doing residency in NYC and I think NYP would be one of my top choices
cons
-weekly quizzes first semester, though I've heard they're low-stress
-not sure if the difference in prestige/ranking matters, compared to the other schools
-I've heard students here can be a bit intense, though the people I met seemed chill
Conclusion: Trying to decide between 4 fantastic schools. I realize I'm very lucky and just want some opinions of how to make the right decision. Since I am interested in academic medicine, I'm not sure how much prestige/rankings count. Any help is greatly appreciated! I should mention I can only make it to 2 revisits, since 3 are on the same weekend. I'm going to revisit Harvard and Yale. If anyone has already gotten into residency and can comment on how much your school mattered for your match, that'd be great. Thanks everyone!