NYU vs Duke

[ok-patient]

Hi all,

I'm super grateful to have been accepted to both of these schools. I got into NYU off the waitlist earlier this week, after choosing Duke for my 'plan to enroll', and now need to decide between the two by Thursday next week. Since I got off the waitlist I've been leaning towards NYU, but am second guessing everything and really don't know what to do. I'm lucky to have a financial situation that allows me to choose a school not entirely based on cost, so the free tuition at NYU isn't a complete no-brainer.

NYU
Pros:
New York City
Really great clinical training sites
Option to graduate in 3 years
Free tuition -- but this is not a deciding factor due to finances
Closer to family -- easier to get home for the weekend by train/bus without planning super far in advance
Lots of friends in New York, would be nice to have people to hang out with outside med school
Exams every other week on Fridays

Cons:
Starts July 8 (vs. July 29 at Duke) - not a huge deal but taking away half of the summer I had expected :')
Mandatory summer research fellowship after 1st year -- every project is different so could hopefully get something flexible/hybrid but I'd like to have flexibility to go home and visit my partner. On the other hand, they make it extremely easy to get set up with a project and you don't have to network on your own like at many schools)
Slightly lesser rank
Graded clinicals, but no quota on how many people can get honors etc
Housing in New York - cramped student housing, expensive if i choose to live outside the student housing after 1st year
Farther away (short flight) from partner for at least 1 year
In-house exams

Duke
Pros:
Closer to partner (2hr drive)
P/F pre-clinicals and clerkships
Higher rank and more prestige
No requirement during M1 summer
Curriculum more established -- NYU's is still relatively new
NBME exams (I think)

Cons:
Not much to do in Durham, I feel like I may feel isolated here
Won't know anyone there besides the people I meet in school -- would be nice to have an outlet outside of school
Farther from family (short flight)
More expensive
Exams every other week on Mondays, students don't seem to mind but Friday sounds more enjoyable to me

I'm extremely conflicted on what to do. Like I said I've been leaning NYU but writing this out makes it seem like Duke has less cons. Idk. I don't think I'd want to go to NYC for residency if I were to attend Duke, so I feel like this is my "last chance" to have the NYC experience. Any insight you may have is appreciated

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[shy_hulud]

Caveat: Admitted at Duke and a few other NYC schools (tho not NYU)

Congrats! First of all, I wouldn't worry too much about any prestige difference in or outside medicine; Duke might have a slight, slight edge, but I wouldn't base any decision around it. I know you also mentioned that cost isn't much of a factor, but what's the total difference across four years? Money's still money, any cash spent on the cost difference could be earning interest while you're in med school and help pay for a house down payment later down the line.

Reading this, my biggest takeaway is that this comes down to location and proximity to your family/SO. Do you see yourself being with your SO for the long-term? If yes, would you prefer to be closer to them or your family? You also seem to really like NYC (I'm also a city person) and having your friend network close by is also really valuable. Fwiw, I talked to quite a few Duke students who also grew up in cities, and they all really liked that Durham is "easy living," especially in light of all the challenges in med school. The med students I've talked to in NYC (UES and washington heights, for context) like the city and its resources, but they all also talked about some of the challenges that NYC brings in med school (esp the housing situation).

Have you lived in NYC or a similar, large city before? If yes and you really enjoyed it, I'd heavily weigh that in your decision. Additionally, what do you see as your long-term career goals for medicine, and which region do you foresee yourself living in for the future? As part of that, is there a particular reason you're leaning towards NYC for med school, but it being off the board for residency?

 

[ok-patient]

@shy_hulud Thank you so much for the reply, I really appreciate it. I agree re: your takeaway. I do see myself with my SO long term, but I feel like it may be more important for me to be closer to home than to them, because they will be trying to move closer or to NYC in the future if I go to NYU. And I value the ability to go home and see my family, something I'm not able to do that easily from where I'm living right now which has been hard for me. I also don't have a ton of friends where I live right now, which is very isolating despite being in a city, so I think that living in the same place as friends will be beneficial for my mental health as well.
I haven't lived in NYC before, but I have lived in Boston and enjoyed it. Boston is much smaller and more lowkey than NYC though (but almost just as expensive!). I am slightly worried about the city aspect of it, especially being a student and potentially feeling like I'm being pulled in a bunch of different directions. And the noise pollution🥲. This is an extreme contrast to Durham where there isn't as much going on and it would be easier to focus on school. I was also looking forward to being able to get a larger/nicer apartment in Durham, so the NYC housing situation is definitely not something I'm excited about.
I'd like to end up in the northeast or DMV area. What I meant by this being my "last chance" for NYC was that, after finishing med school at almost 30, I don't envision myself wanting to begin living in NYC -- at that point I'm going to be thinking about marriage, starting a family, etc, and without having any prior experience in NYC, I don't think I'll want to do that there. Not that 30 is old by any means, but just what I see for myself.

 

[roundgarlic]

Hey! I'm going to NYU and chose it over Harvard. My two cents on the cons that you've listed about NYU:
- NYU admin/OME is very kind and approachable from my experience thus far. If you wanted a project where you would be putting in the required amount of work but would have the flexibility to visit your partner and family, I feel like it would be possible. You could even email them now and ask if it would be possible, I emailed Dean Rivera many times in the week leading up to decisions.
- Graded clinicals ended up not being that big of a con for me because it seems like people like the opportunity to distinguish themselves and according to NYU, ~75% of people get honors
- I had to make peace with the lower rank, ultimately I think when you hit a level of school the prestige difference matters less and I don't think that going to NYU will close any doors that Duke would open!

Obviously I'm a little biased and I think you will succeed no matter what, but just wanted to provide my impression! Feel free to DM me if you want to chat about any of what I said or anything else NYU related! I also have a friend that chose NYU over Duke!

 

[RunnerDad]

Congrats on these two options. They definitely present quite a choice in terms of what kind of everyday lifestyle to expect. As a former (last century) NYU student in Manhattan (Greenwich Village/Union Square) and then young professional in Brooklyn with a semi-unemployable film & tv degree, I'm offering some thoughts on the potential living situation there; you probably already know most of this, being from Boston, but for anyone else reading this and considering a student life in New York it may be relevant, too.

In New York the available square footage for private space has been essentially maxed out for more than 50 years. What can't be built out, is built up. Many NYC rental listings don't even mention the square footage of an apartment, which for any other major city is unheard of. That's because your rent is a factor primarily of location, maintenance, and amenities. No one really cares about square footage, just about usability. Student housing is expensive for student housing, but still a discount compared with market rents. Many students living off campus share space with other like-situated people; there is definitely value to be had in three or four people sharing a 3BR apartment, in terms of per-person rent, and you can find some very unique and cool spaces that way, with the trade-off of not having the entire place to yourself.

You won't have any difficulty matching from either of these schools. So if getting stuck in NYC after you get your MD is a concern, don't worry about that. You'll match virtually anywhere.

I spent every last penny and more on being an undergrad in NYC, and although now I shake my head at some of my choices (with the benefit of 35 years of hindsight) -- maybe I could have done without all those Broadway shows and late nights at the Blue Note -- I don't regret going to school there one bit. I'll never get to do that again, and it was worth it for the experience.

Good luck on your decision!!

 

[ByThe+C]

NYU because you are closer to your support system, location, and it seems you like the curriculum more. The rank difference is negligible IMO.

Am I biased because I am on Duke's waitlist? Yes, yes I am.

Edit: NYU is higher in 2023 Program director ranks. https://preview.redd.it/wtrtblxchdr...bp&s=9d4a9ab23ef2ac642fde4a32f09cf68484efb143

 

[shy_hulud]

NYU because you are closer to your support system, location, and it seems you like the curriculum more. The rank difference is negligible IMO.

Am I biased because I am on Duke's waitlist? Yes, yes I am.

Edit: NYU is higher in 2023 Program director ranks. https://preview.redd.it/wtrtblxchdr...bp&s=9d4a9ab23ef2ac642fde4a32f09cf68484efb143

Rankings are pretty trash all around, but PD combined score is more flawed than a lot of other systems, to the point that even US News is discontinuing its inclusion.

 

[ByThe+C]

Rankings are pretty trash all around, but PD combined score is more flawed than a lot of other systems, to the point that even US News is discontinuing its inclusion.

If both rankings are flawed then My point still stands that the rank difference is negligible and IMO the poster will have the prestige of coming from NYU since everybody knows how high your stats have to be to get in.

 

[shy_hulud]

If both rankings are flawed then My point still stands that the rank difference is negligible and IMO the poster will have the prestige of coming from NYU since everybody knows how high your stats have to be to get in.

Yeah no I agree that any rank difference at this level is marginal; my point was that if you have to choose a ranking system to parse apart schools, composite PD score is not ideal even relative to other metrics.

 

[FFforM1122]

gotta go nyu here