[Help] Scholl vs NYCPM

[josebiwasabi]

Hello,

I currently have the pleasant dilemma of choosing either Scholl, NYCPM, OCPM, and Barry. At this point I've managed to narrow it down to Scholl and NYCPM. My deadline to decide is May 26th, but I want to choose ASAP so I can get my student housing application in. I am currently leaning towards NYCPM but I'm nowhere near 100% decided. I know that choosing a pod school is a personal decision, and in my opinion both of them are fine schools where I can see myself succeed.

I wanted to get some advice from current Scholl/NYCPM students and recent grads. Words of wisdom from those in their clinical years and/or residencies would be especially appreciated! (Please no blatant homerism!)

Good things about Scholl
-Clearly a very strong academic institution
-Nice facilities including the anatomy lab, library, and cafeteria
-High board pass rates
-Practice management course
-3k academic scholarship
-Great externship schedule and opportunities
-CLEAR lab for research opportunities
-Amazing alumni base/network
-Study abroad option for the MSc in Wound Healing at Cardiff University (Wales)
-GF of 5+ years has a very steady job in Milwaukee (However, all the Scholl students I talked to said that they didn't really have many weekends free so I'm not sure how often I would get to see her during the school year even though she would be geographically near...)

Things that bothered me about Scholl
-They did not do well for their residency placement this cycle. I asked them point blank during the interview and they weren't happy about their results this year, and couldn't really give a good reason as to why those students had not matched.
-Unfurnished student housing (but cheaper monthly rent)
-Will probably need a car, especially if I want to visit my GF.
-I wasn't really feeling North Chicago
-Although I like being integrated with the MDs, I can't help but feel that the administration and professors would spend more resources on the MD students (this may not be true, I honestly don't know)
-Very hard to have a high GPA. Will this hurt you for residency placement? (One of my interviewers is in charge of scholarships and he said that continuing students who have around a 3.3 are in pretty good shape for some pretty significant scholarships, which seemed like a relatively low GPA to me, I was expecting that number to be around 3.5)
-Clinic did not seem very busy (maybe it was an off-day?)


Good things about NYCPM
-Extremely high first-time board pass rates (I think it was 99%?)
-Lecture hall was way better than Scholls (I'm left-handed and I can't stand the theatre seating. Even if they have left-handed desks my seating options are really limited.)
-Course/test schedule (I like the mostly semester-long courses since it adds stability to your routine. Long hours of class and mandatory attendance don't bother me.)
-MPH opportunity with Mt. Sinai
-Diverse student body, relatively high number of Asians (pretty important to me)
-Serving the underprivileged population base
-Clinic (huge patient load, wide variety of cases)
-Awesome alumni base/network
-Full time faculty on the 5th floor that are solely there to help DPM students
-That intangible feeling of "fit"
-Location (Yes, I know it's in a rougher part of NYC but my undergraduate school was in a working class area in Los Angeles. Honestly it felt like more of the same to me--I didn't feel unsafe. Also, I don't plan on living in NYC in the future, I feel like if I don't live there now I never will.)
-FURNISHED student housing
-No need to buy a car
-Ping pong fanatics (not really important lol, but I like playing)
-I have more friends in the NY area than Chicago

Things that bothered me about NYCPM
-Other than the lecture halls, facilities themselves are not that great (but props to the administration for renovating a bunch of stuff recently)
-Far away from GF (but she said if she were to visit, she'd rather visit me in NYC lol)
-I believe it has a high rate of attrition compared to Scholl (although I'm extremely confident that I will not be one of those students who drop out of the program.)
-High cost of living overall. (However, I wouldn't need a car. I live a pretty frugal lifestyle.)
-It didn't feel as strong academically compared to Scholl (I'm not a pod student yet so I don't really know if I can say that.)


Questions for NYCPM/Scholl 4th years/residents
-How prepared did you feel compared to students from other schools?
-If you had to redo the experience, would you choose the same program?
-In retrospect, what would you say is the biggest positive and biggest negative about NYCPM/Scholl?
-Did most of the students in the top 1/3 or so of your classes get placed into strong PM&S-36 residency programs?
-How responsive is the administration to student concerns?


I apologize for the giant wall of text, but I really have a lot on my mind. It's such a big decision to make!

Thank you in advance for any help!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[PADPM]

In my opinion, as someone who has spent many years interviewing graduates from all the schools, I would choose Scholl hands down.

Yes, there are excellent graduates from all schools and pros and cons with each school. But my personal opinion, based on the students I've met over the years, residents I've met, etc., I would choose Scholl. At one time the school was in the heart of the nicest part of Chicago....then it would REALLY be a no brainer!

 

[emericana]

I cant comment on NYCPM because I didnt apply there because I did not want to:

Live in Harlem
Live in the most expensive city in the country

I was neck and neck between Temple and Scholl and chose Temple because its closer to my home (Boston), I wanted to live in a city, so the few moments I wasnt study I would be able to fully take advantage of, and because it just felt like I "fit in" there.

That being said it was a VERY hard decision to make. Scholl is a amazing school and I know I would have really taken advantage of my time there very well.

From the list you made above, it seems like Scholl should be a nobrainer for YOU.

Hello,

I currently have the pleasant dilemma of choosing either Scholl, NYCPM, OCPM, and Barry. At this point I've managed to narrow it down to Scholl and NYCPM. My deadline to decide is May 26th, but I want to choose ASAP so I can get my student housing application in. I am currently leaning towards NYCPM but I'm nowhere near 100% decided. I know that choosing a pod school is a personal decision, and in my opinion both of them are fine schools where I can see myself succeed.

I wanted to get some advice from current Scholl/NYCPM students and recent grads. Words of wisdom from those in their clinical years and/or residencies would be especially appreciated! (Please no blatant homerism!)

Good things about Scholl
-Clearly a very strong academic institution
-Nice facilities including the anatomy lab, library, and cafeteria
-High board pass rates
-Practice management course
-3k academic scholarship
-Great externship schedule and opportunities
-CLEAR lab for research opportunities
-Amazing alumni base/network
-Study abroad option for the MSc in Wound Healing at Cardiff University (Wales)
-GF of 5+ years has a very steady job in Milwaukee (However, all the Scholl students I talked to said that they didn't really have many weekends free so I'm not sure how often I would get to see her during the school year even though she would be geographically near...)

Things that bothered me about Scholl
-They did not do well for their residency placement this cycle. I asked them point blank during the interview and they weren't happy about their results this year, and couldn't really give a good reason as to why those students had not matched.
-Unfurnished student housing (but cheaper monthly rent)
-Will probably need a car, especially if I want to visit my GF.
-I wasn't really feeling North Chicago
-Although I like being integrated with the MDs, I can't help but feel that the administration and professors would spend more resources on the MD students (this may not be true, I honestly don't know)
-Very hard to have a high GPA. Will this hurt you for residency placement? (One of my interviewers is in charge of scholarships and he said that continuing students who have around a 3.3 are in pretty good shape for some pretty significant scholarships, which seemed like a relatively low GPA to me, I was expecting that number to be around 3.5)
-Clinic did not seem very busy (maybe it was an off-day?)


Good things about NYCPM
-Extremely high first-time board pass rates (I think it was 99%?)
-Lecture hall was way better than Scholls (I'm left-handed and I can't stand the theatre seating. Even if they have left-handed desks my seating options are really limited.)
-Course/test schedule (I like the mostly semester-long courses since it adds stability to your routine. Long hours of class and mandatory attendance don't bother me.)
-MPH opportunity with Mt. Sinai
-Diverse student body, relatively high number of Asians (pretty important to me)
-Serving the underprivileged population base
-Clinic (huge patient load, wide variety of cases)
-Awesome alumni base/network
-Full time faculty on the 5th floor that are solely there to help DPM students
-That intangible feeling of "fit"
-Location (Yes, I know it's in a rougher part of NYC but my undergraduate school was in a working class area in Los Angeles. Honestly it felt like more of the same to me--I didn't feel unsafe. Also, I don't plan on living in NYC in the future, I feel like if I don't live there now I never will.)
-FURNISHED student housing
-No need to buy a car
-Ping pong fanatics (not really important lol, but I like playing)
-I have more friends in the NY area than Chicago

Things that bothered me about NYCPM
-Other than the lecture halls, facilities themselves are not that great (but props to the administration for renovating a bunch of stuff recently)
-Far away from GF (but she said if she were to visit, she'd rather visit me in NYC lol)
-I believe it has a high rate of attrition compared to Scholl (although I'm extremely confident that I will not be one of those students who drop out of the program.)
-High cost of living overall. (However, I wouldn't need a car. I live a pretty frugal lifestyle.)
-It didn't feel as strong academically compared to Scholl (I'm not a pod student yet so I don't really know if I can say that.)


Questions for NYCPM/Scholl 4th years/residents
-How prepared did you feel compared to students from other schools?
-If you had to redo the experience, would you choose the same program?
-In retrospect, what would you say is the biggest positive and biggest negative about NYCPM/Scholl?
-Did most of the students in the top 1/3 or so of your classes get placed into strong PM&S-36 residency programs?
-How responsive is the administration to student concerns?


I apologize for the giant wall of text, but I really have a lot on my mind. It's such a big decision to make!

Thank you in advance for any help!

 

[PADPM]

I cant comment on NYCPM because I didnt apply there because I did not want to:

Live in Harlem
Live in the most expensive city in the country

I was neck and neck between Temple and Scholl and chose Temple because its closer to my home (Boston), I wanted to live in a city, so the few moments I wasnt study I would be able to fully take advantage of, and because it just felt like I "fit in" there.

That being said it was a VERY hard decision to make. Scholl is a amazing school and I know I would have really taken advantage of my time there very well.

From the list you made above, it seems like Scholl should be a nobrainer for YOU.

However, it seems that the higher Asian student population may be very important to him, since that's what he already stated. And if he is concerned about the cultural issue he may want what may not exist at Scholl.

 

[DancerPod]

Things that bothered me about NYCPM
-Other than the lecture halls, facilities themselves are not that great (but props to the administration for renovating a bunch of stuff recently)
-Far away from GF (but she said if she were to visit, she'd rather visit me in NYC lol)
-I believe it has a high rate of attrition compared to Scholl (although I'm extremely confident that I will not be one of those students who drop out of the program.)
-High cost of living overall. (However, I wouldn't need a car. I live a pretty frugal lifestyle.)
-It didn't feel as strong academically compared to Scholl (I'm not a pod student yet so I don't really know if I can say that.)

Hello josebiwasabi,
I am not from Scholl, so I cannot speak to that at all. I am also not a fourth year or resident. That being said, I can speak to how things are now, compared to how they may have been. The 2015 initiative has been causing changes among all of the schools, so you may want input from those of us that are here now as well as the valuable input you'll get from those who have graduated.
That being said:

-Other than the lecture halls, facilities themselves are not that great (but props to the administration for renovating a bunch of stuff recently)

Realize that the school is upgrading constantly. They've started recently on upgrading the clinic. There is a huge push from the students on this, and the administration is responding.

-Far away from GF (but she said if she were to visit, she'd rather visit me in NYC lol)

I can't say anything to this. Long distance relationships are hard. Good luck no matter where you go.

-I believe it has a high rate of attrition compared to Scholl (although I'm extremely confident that I will not be one of those students who drop out of the program.)
-It didn't feel as strong academically compared to Scholl (I'm not a pod student yet so I don't really know if I can say that.)

I don't know if this is true, I haven't talked to Scholl about their attrition rate. If it is true, the only thing it says to me is that more people at NYCPM don't put in the work to pass the classes. Wouldn't that mean we are MORE academic than Scholl? In reality, and this I do know for a fact, all of the schools recently started meeting and formalizing learning objectives for each class. This started happening last year. This was done to provide a level of uniformity in Podiatric education, and to ensure that all students went into the boards on a fairly equal footing (seeing as professors from all institutions write board questions). Now this doesn't mean that all schools teach those objectives in the same fashion, each school will have professors that are amazing in certain topics, while professors in other topics may not shine so brightly. What it does mean is that no matter where you go, that school should give you the opportunity to learn the agreed upon objectives that all of the other schools give their students. To me, this means that how the school "fits" you is incredibly important, since theoretically you will be learning the same material (again, perhaps not in the same way) that any other podiatric student will learn.

-High cost of living overall. (However, I wouldn't need a car. I live a pretty frugal lifestyle.)

You are smart to factor in the car. I moved to New York from California about 5 years ago. While some things are definitely more expensive, not having a car takes an enormous load off of the budget. The students that live in student housing don't necessarily even need a subway pass. Most that I know either walk or take the school shuttle. Your choice.

Congratulations on your acceptance to both schools. I'm sure no matter what you decide you will get a fantastic education.
Good Luck!

 

[josebiwasabi]

thanks for the feedback everyone!

yes, having a sizable asian student population is indeed important to me. can anyone comment on the asian community within scholl? also, since i am korean i'm concerned that i wouldn't be able to have access to korean food and groceries in north chicago.

i checked it online on google maps and there is a korean church 4 miles away from campus which is great, but the nearest restaurant is 11 miles away. there's an asian grocery store (Rt Asian Food Mart) just 1 mile away but i have no idea what their selection would be like. oftentimes these stores are more geared towards southeast asian or chinese food which is not what i would be interested in. when you go closer to the chicago area there are good options, like H-mart and Assi (famous korean supermarkets) but those are like 40 minutes away. the options are much closer for NYCPM (H-mart is 20 minutes away and a smaller place is 10 min)

i kind of feel like i know that in the back of my mind scholl will offer a stronger academic experience but i would be happier/have a better fit at NYCPM. which would be more important? it's really hard for me to ignore what PADPM mentioned in the first reply. but it's also hard for me to ignore the feeling that NYCPM was a better fit for me than Scholl.

 

[DrMushroomFoot]

Wouldn't that mean we are MORE academic than Scholl?

The answer would be NO. It just means NYCPM accepts more students that should NEVER have been accepted in the first place. This does NOT mean NYCPM is academically better or worse than Scholl.

 

[DancerPod]

The answer would be NO. It just means NYCPM accepts more students that should NEVER have been accepted in the first place. This does NOT mean NYCPM is academically better or worse than Scholl.

LOL. I am not saying this is the case. That's why I go on to say "In reality..."
It seemed as though the argument was that Scholl was more academic because more people cannot make it through NYCPM. I was poking fun at a logical fallacy, not trying to actually argue in support of a statement. I apologize if that was unclear.

 

[PADPM]

thanks for the feedback everyone!

yes, having a sizable asian student population is indeed important to me. can anyone comment on the asian community within scholl? also, since i am korean i'm concerned that i wouldn't be able to have access to korean food and groceries in north chicago.

i checked it online on google maps and there is a korean church 4 miles away from campus which is great, but the nearest restaurant is 11 miles away. there's an asian grocery store (Rt Asian Food Mart) just 1 mile away but i have no idea what their selection would be like. oftentimes these stores are more geared towards southeast asian or chinese food which is not what i would be interested in. when you go closer to the chicago area there are good options, like H-mart and Assi (famous korean supermarkets) but those are like 40 minutes away. the options are much closer for NYCPM (H-mart is 20 minutes away and a smaller place is 10 min)

i kind of feel like i know that in the back of my mind scholl will offer a stronger academic experience but i would be happier/have a better fit at NYCPM. which would be more important? it's really hard for me to ignore what PADPM mentioned in the first reply. but it's also hard for me to ignore the feeling that NYCPM was a better fit for me than Scholl.

You really must be prepared to live in the city, whether it is Philadelphia, New York or Chicago. The cost of living is significantly higher in the city, including parking and a lot of other ancillary items including food, restaurants, etc. The advantage of Scholl is that it is really outside of the big city, so you aren't paying city prices for the above items and aren't caught up in the hustle.

It's a shame to hear about the Scholl clinic, because when the school was IN Chicago I believe it's clinic rivaled NY as the busiest.

I fully understand and appreciate your desire to be around your Korean community. But there is nothing wrong with ethnic and cultural diversity. As long as you have the ability to find a Korean church for worship, exploring communities OUTSIDE of your own ethnic background may be the best thing you can ultimately do.

In private practice, you probably will have to treat patients of all cultural backgrounds, and learning about other cultures has great advantages. If you go to school in NY will you be trapped into ONLY hanging out with those with a similar ethnic/cultural background??

If that is the case, it's almost sad because it would be no different than the caucasians all hanging out together, the African-Americans all hanging out together, etc., etc. It's almost self segregation.

Once again, I understand that there are cultural differences and you respect and want to maintain your culture by worshipping at a Korean church and eating traditional Korean foods, etc. But I'm sure that can be accomplished at any of the schools on your radar, and should not influence your educational decision, nor should the amount of Korean students in the class.

 

[josebiwasabi]

thank you Ankle Breaker and PADPM for the feedback

@Ankle Breaker:
i noticed the amount of externships offered for Scholl as well when i went through the booklet again last night. definitely something huge to take into account.

can you tell me how hard or easy it is to get furniture for your apartment? is there an IKEA or something similar nearby? how much does it cost to own and maintain a car there? i know that gas was $4.50+/gallon when i went for my interview. i know that the snow and bad weather during the winter months can be pretty brutal. what kind of car do you need?

and thanks for answering my questions and clarifying a bunch of my misconceptions


@PADPM:
although i didn't live in what you could call a typical city, i went to USC which is basically in a poorer area of LA. downtown is maybe 2-3 miles from campus. i'm pretty used to "city" life and the distractions and higher costs that come with it.

i realize my post came off as me sounding like i only associate with people that come from a korean and/or asian background but i assure you that is not the case haha. my high school was about 90% caucasian and my girlfriend of 5+ years is german/swiss. USC is perhaps the most diverse university in the world and i had a VERY diverse group of friends. it's not the fact that i would choose NYCPM solely because of the asian community there. that would be pretty dumb to choose a professional school for that reason alone. i'm just concerned that there is a lack of such a community at scholl. and even though i don't solely associate with koreans, it's nice to have people around that speak the language, listen to korean music and watch the same tv shows, movies, etc.

i completely agree with you, by the way, that people should explore cultures and peoples beyond their own ethnic background; it can only help. and i fully intend to care for and treat patients of all background when i enter practice.

 

[adnguyen]

I'll be going to Scholl this fall and I remember there was an IKEA about 20-25 minutes away from school. I'll definitely be doing all of my furniture shopping there.

 

[TheFootDoc]

Ah~ I see that you've joined the NYCPM Class of 2015 group on facebook. Does this mean you'll be joining us for the Fall?

 

[josebiwasabi]

heh i actually joined both the nycpm and scholl groups to maybe glean some info off the pages

you can message me and say hi though! lol

 

[Sig Savant]

NYCPM had a 100% residency placement rate this year.
Korea town in NYC - some of our students like to hang out here, shop there, etc. I've been, and as an english speaker, I depended on my friends to order for me at the restaurants.
Living in a city is great for me. I'm never bored. Always a new area to check out.
I can't believe someone has that close to a 4.0 at any school. I can guarantee that no one has a GPA that high in NY. What is your class rank? NYCPM is by no means easy, it is very rigorous. Hence the 99% part 1 pass rate. Our deans list has a handful of names with people above 3.5.
You are correct with the alumni, they are awesome.

 

[josebiwasabi]

I'd just like to tell everyone that I've made the decision to commit to NYCPM, especially when they offered me a $10,000 scholarship ($2,500 renewable for 4 years with the stipulation that I maintain a 3.2). In the end I went with "fit." I just felt better at NYCPM than Scholl. I feel like I would be successful at either school, (I am very prepared to work my butt off) but I think that living in an environment where I feel more comfortable would enable me to perform at a higher level.

Thanks for all your support and feedback!

 

[aPeainthePod]

For someone who has been around the block on these forums you should recognize that schools vary in how they do their grading. Both the Chicago medical school and Scholl at RFUMS have a whole grading scale where they only give out C's (70-79), B's (80-89), and A's (90-100). There is no +/-

So obviously this benefits students who might just eek out a 90 or 91 which would give them a 4.0 for that course but it does not benefit students who have an 89.4 and end up with a B. The grading scale has its positives and negatives.

Sig, we get it dude, NYCPM is the new Harvard of podiatry. You and Dr. Mushroomfoot can argue about that one.

That's actually true, NYCPM is indeed the HARVARD and a leader in Podiatry!!!