New York Medical College (w/ scholarship) vs Wake Forest

[ConfusedMed89]

So before I was offered a scholarship at NYMC, Wake Forest was my top choice among the schools I had been accepted to. In fact, I almost did not attend my NYMC interview just because I figured I would not attend the school over my other acceptances at the time.

NYMC
Pros

• $20,000/year scholarship plus the opportunity to obtain $5,000/year more through need-based grants
• 30-45 mins commute to NYC
• Not actually located in NYC (I don't think I would enjoy living in the city, personally)
• Straightforward housing arrangements for years 1 and 2

Cons

• No P/F. Graded A/B/C/D/F
• Not the strongest match list as far as competitive specialties are concerned
• Third and Fourth year rotations include sites in Manhattan and other parts of NYC which can be a hassle to find affordable housing for
• Poor weather
  
• In general, just haven't heard a lot of positive things about the school.

Wake Forest
Pros

• Great reputation, research opportunities and abroad opportunities
• Very cheap housing options
• H/P/F grading
  
• I have a small amount of family/friends in the surrounding areas (closest is about a 1.5 hour drive)
• Pretty strong match list

Cons

• Mostly loans offered for COA
• Winston-Salem is a pretty small town
• Not a very diverse area or school (I am a minority student)
• Facilities are kind of old. The gym is pretty tiny and the study area is rather underwhelming

A little about me:

I am a Minority male interested in doing some research abroad and aiming to match into a competitive specialty, but that could change at any time. I have a considerable amount of debt from the loans I took in my undergraduate years so additional debt is something I would like to avoid as much as possible. I'm pretty comfortable about being far from home (which both of these schools are) so distance from home is not an issue. I do like to be able to have a little bit a fun after exams and such so having the opportunity to do that would be nice.

Really lost on what to do here and I don't have too much time left to make my decision. Is it really worth passing on 80-100K to go to Wake? Any input would be helpful!

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[kevinus]

I am a Minority male interested in doing some research abroad Wake Forest and aiming to match into a competitive specialty although NYMC has weaker research, your LoR, AOA, and Step 1+2 scores will predominate. Probably won't matter where you pick, but that could change at any time. I have a considerable amount of debt from the loans I took in my undergraduate years so additional debt is something I would like to avoid as much as possible NYMC gives $$, but living in NYC is very expensive (~2x NC). I'm pretty comfortable about being far from home (which both of these schools are) so distance from home is not an issue. I do like to be able to have a little bit a fun after exams and such so having the opportunity to do that would be nice depends on who you are, but Manhattan offers so much more to discover throughout med school.

Letter grade at NYMC sounds miserable. You may not save as much money as you might believe (20k/year) by going to NYMC. Exploring NYC could be fun, but if I were you, I would avoid NYMC for its grading system.

 

[Valar Dohaeris]

I haven't been able to verify this, but a current M1 at Wake has said, in this year's app thread, that Wake has switched from H/P/F to P/F this year.

As a rising M1, I have no clue if this makes a big difference though.

 

[cyberchicken001]

So before I was offered a scholarship at NYMC, Wake Forest was my top choice among the schools I had been accepted to. In fact, I almost did not attend my NYMC interview just because I figured I would not attend the school over my other acceptances at the time.

NYMC
Pros

• $20,000/year scholarship plus the opportunity to obtain $5,000/year more through need-based grants
• 30-45 mins commute to NYC
• Not actually located in NYC (I don't think I would enjoy living in the city, personally)
• Straightforward housing arrangements for years 1 and 2

Cons

• No P/F. Graded A/B/C/D/F
• Not the strongest match list as far as competitive specialties are concerned
• Third and Fourth year rotations include sites in Manhattan and other parts of NYC which can be a hassle to find affordable housing for
• Poor weather
  
• In general, just haven't heard a lot of positive things about the school.

Wake Forest
Pros

• Great reputation, research opportunities and abroad opportunities
• Very cheap housing options
• H/P/F grading
  
• I have a small amount of family/friends in the surrounding areas (closest is about a 1.5 hour drive)
• Pretty strong match list

Cons

• Mostly loans offered for COA
• Winston-Salem is a pretty small town
• Not a very diverse area or school (I am a minority student)
• Facilities are kind of old. The gym is pretty tiny and the study area is rather underwhelming

A little about me:

I am a Minority male interested in doing some research abroad and aiming to match into a competitive specialty, but that could change at any time. I have a considerable amount of debt from the loans I took in my undergraduate years so additional debt is something I would like to avoid as much as possible. I'm pretty comfortable about being far from home (which both of these schools are) so distance from home is not an issue. I do like to be able to have a little bit a fun after exams and such so having the opportunity to do that would be nice.

Really lost on what to do here and I don't have too much time left to make my decision. Is it really worth passing on 80-100K to go to Wake? Any input would be helpful!

Were you just offered the scholarship to NYMC recently? And is it academic or need-based? Hearing this makes me kinda regret withdrawing from NYMC so quickly lol.

 

[ConfusedMed89]

Thank you for all the feedback. I am leaning towards choosing Wake. Really, the letter grade format at NYMC is one of the biggest cons for me. Feel free to add any more insight on my dilemma if you wish.

Were you just offered the scholarship to NYMC recently? And is it academic or need-based? Hearing this makes me kinda regret withdrawing from NYMC so quickly lol.

I am assuming it was academic based since the letter mentioned obtaining an additional $5,000 from need-based grants (and because I haven't submitted all of my financial aid paperwork to them yet).