Is NYMC as pathetic as it sounds?

constructor · Sep 23, 2004

i have an interview there and i don't know if it's worth the money to fly across the country. i'm not impressed with their program, their match numbers, or their location far away from the city. why are they getting so many applications and what're they good for? any honest answers are appreciated.

Uegis · Sep 23, 2004

I have an interview there in November too. It's actually really close to NYC according to some SDN folks that live in NY.

My friend interviewed there last year and said that the school is very student oriented since its strictly medicine, no undergraduate students to worry about. The area is suppose to be pretty nice (but getting worse), and the facilities are new.

But you are correct, their match list isn't very impressive at all. But then again, your Step I and rank probably matters as much as school reputation. I was also undecided on my own interview, but I was going to be in NY anway, so decided to give it a go.

Hopefully, you'll get better responses from other people. I did a search and not a lot of people, if any, from last year's applicants who went there.

PookieGirl · Sep 23, 2004

Here's what I've heard...

A friend who goes there says: prepares you well for the boards (may be because of the didactic and slightly repetitive teaching style), competitive student population due to grading system, not much in Valhalla but you're close to the city, many research opportunities.

A physician from Harvard MS said it's "up and coming."

Think what you want. I'm taking everything I can get until I have an acceptance in hand.

NYCDesi · Sep 23, 2004

constructor said:
i have an interview there and i don't know if it's worth the money to fly across the country. i'm not impressed with their program, their match numbers, or their location far away from the city. why are they getting so many applications and what're they good for? any honest answers are appreciated.

What exactly do you not like about their program? Do you not like the fact that even though they have 190 students, they break them up into smaller groups thus allowing for a much better faculty/student interaction? Or is it the fact that students are paired one-on-one with a primary care physician starting in their very first year allowing for great clinial exposure? Perhaps it's the network of strong affiliated hospitals where students can finish their clinical rotations (St. Vincent's, Westchester, Metropolitan, New York Eye and Ear...http://www.nymc.edu/affhosp.asp)? Or the indepth boards prep which allows for 99-100% of their students to pass the USMLE?
I must say, I am lost.

As for their match numbers - http://www.nymc.edu/admit/medical/info/Match2004.asp
6 matched into optho, 5 into orthopedic surgery (24 into general, platics and neuro), 16 into radiology (both diag and onc)....the list goes on. That seems pretty impressive to me. The only thing missing is dermatology but thats a whole other topic for discussion in itself.

As for how far it is from the city - by car, 35 min. By subway, 20 - 30 min. Can't get any closer than that unless you want to live in the city (which is actually what students do for their clinical years)

And why do they get so many applicants when their avg matriculating numbers are 3.5/30? It's because of Columbia, Cornell, NYU, Mt. Sinai and Einstein. All of which are in the city. So the "top" applicants who apply to all 6 schools end up picking them over NYMC thus lowering its avg numbers. After seeing these lower avg numbers for NYMC, people from all over the country apply thus raising the total # of applicants. It's pretty much a cycle.

IMO, the total # of applicants is useless, considering many people just apply to a lot of schools to raise their odds. What matters is the # interviewed, # accepted and # matriculated.

Sounds like you didn't really research it too well and/or are too picky 'cuz NYMC is a great school (If I get in, I will probably end up going there).
Either way, maybe you should save your money.

Good Luck

constructor · Sep 23, 2004

NYCDesi said:
What exactly do you not like about their program? Do you not like the fact that even though they have 190 students, they break them up into smaller groups thus allowing for a much better faculty/student interaction? Or is it the fact that students are paired one-on-one with a primary care physician starting in their very first year allowing for great clinial exposure? Perhaps it's the network of strong affiliated hospitals where students can finish their clinical rotations (St. Vincent's, Westchester, Metropolitan, New York Eye and Ear...http://www.nymc.edu/affhosp.asp)? Or the indepth boards prep which allows for 99-100% of their students to pass the USMLE?
I must say, I am lost.

As for their match numbers - http://www.nymc.edu/admit/medical/info/Match2004.asp
6 matched into optho, 5 into orthopedic surgery (24 into general, platics and neuro), 16 into radiology (both diag and onc)....the list goes on. That seems pretty impressive to me. The only thing missing is dermatology but thats a whole other topic for discussion in itself.

As for how far it is from the city - by car, 35 min. By subway, 20 - 30 min. Can't get any closer than that unless you want to live in the city (which is actually what students do for their clinical years)

And why do they get so many applicants when their avg matriculating numbers are 3.5/30? It's because of Columbia, Cornell, NYU, Mt. Sinai and Einstein. All of which are in the city. So the "top" applicants who apply to all 6 schools end up picking them over NYMC thus lowering its avg numbers. After seeing these lower avg numbers for NYMC, people from all over the country apply thus raising the total # of applicants. It's pretty much a cycle.

IMO, the total # of applicants is useless, considering many people just apply to a lot of schools to raise their odds. What matters is the # interviewed, # accepted and # matriculated.

Sounds like you didn't really research it too well and/or are too picky 'cuz NYMC is a great school (If I get in, I will probably end up going there).
Either way, maybe you should save your money.

Good Luck

well, i researched what i could and i'll admit you probably know more because you're from ny? i like the things you say about the school but the bottom-line is that only about 75% get matched to their top three specialties? i mean, that's definitely one of the lower numbers i have seen. isn't that really the benchmark of the school's quality? and you said it's competitive - is that because of letter grades or what?

NYCDesi · Sep 23, 2004

constructor said:
well, i researched what i could and i'll admit you probably know more because you're from ny? i like the things you say about the school but the bottom-line is that only about 75% get matched to their top three specialties? i mean, that's definitely one of the lower numbers i have seen. isn't that really the benchmark of the school's quality? and you said it's competitive - is that because of letter grades or what?

There are schools where there's a far lower percentage than 75 who get one of their top 3 choices. But once again, when compared to the "top 5" in NYC (columbia, cornell, mt.sinai, NYU and einstein) this number will obviously be low. Besides, just because you pick a school where 90% get one of their top 3 choices doesn't mean you will also be one of that 90%. The option is there. But the work is still up to you.

In my opinion, and keep in mind that it's only MY opinion, you need 4 things to get a good residency -
1) a kick ass USMLE Step 1 score
2) grades
3) letters of recommendation and finally, the most important
4) CONTACTS!! (who you know)

Optional - 5) Prestige of school. IMO, this matters if its top 20 - 30. If you go to a mid or low tier school, this wont matter. Point is if you are trying to choose b/w Harvard and NYMC, I'd pick Harvard. If you are trying to choose b/w stonybrook and downstate, I doubt the name matters.

The location of NYMC, being that it's so close to new york city, combined with its affiliated hospitals can take care of #s 3 and 4 (by the way, this is completely up to YOU. You have to go out and make contact with residency directors and such who have a say in your residency placement when it comes time. This where your networking skills come into play. It has nothing to do with your school. For example, if you want orthopedic surgery, its up to you to see where there are good programs in new york, like Hosp for Special Surgery for example, and request for your rotation to be done there. If you can make nice with the director while you are finishing your rotation and have him/her notice your skills, that will be an asset when you apply for a residency there.)
1 and 2 are also up to you and once again, YOU are the one who has to decide how strongly you want to perform. Like I mentioned above, NYMC does give good prep for the boards and as for studying, well, thats pretty much common all over the country, whether you study at Harvard or at Ross, you will be prepping for the same Step 1.

As for the school being competitive, I am not sure what you mean. Are you talking about students competing with each other? Or with regards to getting residencies? If it's the former, I doubt it, considering each module only has 20 students. If it's the latter, well, the match list speaks for itself.

Point is - you have to thoroughly research schools (the operative word there being "thoroughly") and pick the one that gives you the best OPPORTUNITY for achieveing your goal(s). I say opportunity because nothing is handed to you. Like Morpheus says in the Matrix - "I can only show you the door. You are the one who has to walk thru it". Once you do your background check on the schools and see whcih ones offer particular nuances and subtleties that could help you, then make your final choice.
Also, you don't have to be near the school to know stuff about it. Everything I cited came right from the website, all you have to do is look.

Choose well,
Good Luck

Mr. Seeds · Sep 23, 2004

Good advice and input. Thanks

Stitch · Sep 23, 2004

Constructor, I'm graduating from NYMC this year, so I might be able to offer some points of view.

Distance from the city: I'm actually able to get into the city very easily. Baring traffic, it's a 30 minute drive to the upper west side, or a 40 minute train ride. If you live in Valhalla or White Plains there are trains every 30 minutes. On campus you do need a car to get to the station, but it's not bad. Many people actually live in the city during their 3/4th year rotations. When they have to, teh commute up is generally pretty easy because traffic is always opposite.

Student body: The students I've worked with are extremely smart but not obnoxiously so. They tend to have a work together attitude rather than a cut throat one, and I'm very glad to have the friends I have. I can really only think of a couple people who really suck. The student senate is pretty active in trying to get the administration's ear to change things.

Teaching: first two years, the profs are very good, and I think they do care about the students. Whenever I had a question, most profs were readily availalble to me. We do have close to a 100% passing rate for the boards, which in a large party may be do to the fact that they like to give you a LOT of tests (at least compared with friends at other medical schools). We might be a bit test happy, to tell the truth.

Hospitals: The clinical years vary according to hospital. My experiences have been good, but some people's haven't. You do get a wide variety of training, whether it's inner city Metropolitan, or surburban Connecticut. A word of warning would be that Metro isn't the best hospital to train at, but St. Vince's is pretty good. Westchester medical center is the only tertiary care center from the Bronx to Albany, and they just opened up a new children's hospital two weeks ago (a reason to come if you like peds).

In terms of match numbers, I can only tell you that it depends on what you're interested in. We match a lot of radiology because the physician who runs the radiology program at Westchester is amazingly good. We also tend to do well in the primary care fields.

Research: Let's face it, we're not NYU or Columbia or Cornell. We don't have the money coming in, though people are trying to step that up. You can still do summer research, but it's not a major research institution. I personally can't stand doing research, so I didn't fully explore this aspect.

Administration: Here's my real beef with the place. The admin is desparately trying to prove themselves to the other NYC schools. I do not feel that the admin really gives a damn about it's students, and I know a number of people who have been pretty mistreated by the school. They treat you more like high school students than upcoming professionals. That said, you don't have to have much interaction (hopefully) with the admin for the most part. Simply based on this, plus the cost of tuition (see below), I'm not sure I'd go here if I had to redo things.

Cost: Keep in mind that NYMC is one of the most expensive med schools, so unless you're rich, you will end up in a lot of debt. My tuition is around 38k/year, and the cost of living in Westchester is high, though not as high as NYC. The school does give good student housing to help out, but I'm not sure where the rest of my tuition goes, because they don't provide a lot of other benefits to the students (not a lot of technology investment).

I hope this was a fair representation. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Good luck.

P.S. A word to the wise, it's sometimes better to be a little more tactful when referring to schools (i.e. 'pathetic'), even if you think you might not be interested. You're likely to get a less biased response, plus, believe it or not, a lot of people read these forums who could possibly figure out who you are.

EvoDevo · Sep 23, 2004

Stitch said:
...plus, believe it or not, a lot of people read these forums who could possibly figure out who you are.

No puede ser!!! 😱

😉 he's right about the figuring things out, folks. Word to the wise.

Stitch · Sep 23, 2004

EvoDevo said:
No puede ser!!! 😱

😉 he's right about the figuring things out, folks. Word to the wise.

Plus, any allopathic american school is going to train you well. If you're after reputation to hang on your wall, that's fine. But you can get good training at other schools too.

constructor · Sep 24, 2004

Stitch said:
Constructor, I'm graduating from NYMC this year, so I might be able to offer some points of view.

Distance from the city: I'm actually able to get into the city very easily. Baring traffic, it's a 30 minute drive to the upper west side, or a 40 minute train ride. If you live in Valhalla or White Plains there are trains every 30 minutes. On campus you do need a car to get to the station, but it's not bad. Many people actually live in the city during their 3/4th year rotations. When they have to, teh commute up is generally pretty easy because traffic is always opposite.

Student body: The students I've worked with are extremely smart but not obnoxiously so. They tend to have a work together attitude rather than a cut throat one, and I'm very glad to have the friends I have. I can really only think of a couple people who really suck. The student senate is pretty active in trying to get the administration's ear to change things.

Teaching: first two years, the profs are very good, and I think they do care about the students. Whenever I had a question, most profs were readily availalble to me. We do have close to a 100% passing rate for the boards, which in a large party may be do to the fact that they like to give you a LOT of tests (at least compared with friends at other medical schools). We might be a bit test happy, to tell the truth.

Hospitals: The clinical years vary according to hospital. My experiences have been good, but some people's haven't. You do get a wide variety of training, whether it's inner city Metropolitan, or surburban Connecticut. A word of warning would be that Metro isn't the best hospital to train at, but St. Vince's is pretty good. Westchester medical center is the only tertiary care center from the Bronx to Albany, and they just opened up a new children's hospital two weeks ago (a reason to come if you like peds).

In terms of match numbers, I can only tell you that it depends on what you're interested in. We match a lot of radiology because the physician who runs the radiology program at Westchester is amazingly good. We also tend to do well in the primary care fields.

Research: Let's face it, we're not NYU or Columbia or Cornell. We don't have the money coming in, though people are trying to step that up. You can still do summer research, but it's not a major research institution. I personally can't stand doing research, so I didn't fully explore this aspect.

Administration: Here's my real beef with the place. The admin is desparately trying to prove themselves to the other NYC schools. I do not feel that the admin really gives a damn about it's students, and I know a number of people who have been pretty mistreated by the school. They treat you more like high school students than upcoming professionals. That said, you don't have to have much interaction (hopefully) with the admin for the most part. Simply based on this, plus the cost of tuition (see below), I'm not sure I'd go here if I had to redo things.

Cost: Keep in mind that NYMC is one of the most expensive med schools, so unless you're rich, you will end up in a lot of debt. My tuition is around 38k/year, and the cost of living in Westchester is high, though not as high as NYC. The school does give good student housing to help out, but I'm not sure where the rest of my tuition goes, because they don't provide a lot of other benefits to the students (not a lot of technology investment).

I hope this was a fair representation. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Good luck.

P.S. A word to the wise, it's sometimes better to be a little more tactful when referring to schools (i.e. 'pathetic'), even if you think you might not be interested. You're likely to get a less biased response, plus, believe it or not, a lot of people read these forums who could possibly figure out who you are.

thanks for the honest response. i don't think i meant pathetic as strongly as the setting of a message board might have led it to be interpreted. based on what i read, the school didn't really seem to have anything that's different from other schools, and their website doesn't exactly try to point out unusual or interesting things about the school, so that's what i meant. i know it's a good school, but sorry about my wording.

BigRedPingpong · Sep 24, 2004

Here's my 2 cents for NYMC:

I visited the campus several times during application season last year when I was applying. I actually know an MS2 who goes there right now. The campus atmosphere is nice. Very quiet and close to the city. Although, not as close as einstein or Downstate. It takes about 45 min to get downtown by car and probably more time to find a parking space on a friday night when is probably the only time you will go down to the city. The average board score at NYMC is suprisingly high for a "non-ranked" school. That's probably one of the reasons they have so many matches in to competitive specialties.

Also, one more important point to note about NYMC:

THEY WILL BE CLOSING THE STUDENT HOUSING ON 92nd STREET AS OF NEXT YEAR. SAY GOODBYE TO CHEAP LIVING IN THE CITY, IF YOU ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET ROTATIONS IN THE CITY BY THE LOTTERY SYSTEM.

Bottom line good school, but keep in mind the small things that can make your medical school experience uncomfortable.

uclabruin2003 · Sep 24, 2004

if no one wants to go there.....that better news for me! i would be so happy to attend nymc! sign me up!

Is NYMC as pathetic as it sounds?

constructor

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Uegis

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PookieGirl

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NYCDesi

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constructor

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NYCDesi

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Mr. Seeds

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Stitch

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constructor

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