BU versus NYU

NYU hands down...who knows, the craiglist killed might have an accomplice

NYU is where its at

I must admit I'm a bit biased since I didn't visit BU. I can, however, say that I was highly impressed with Bellevue as a hospital. Since it's a public hospital in arguably the most important US city, it gets a lot of traffic from people coming in from abroad. At the revisit weekend they told us that people will come from other countries, get off the plane and ask for a cab ride to Bellevue since they turn no one down regardless of ability to pay. This means that the hospital is somewhat crazy, but would be an amazing place to see everything (even weird tropical diseases from all over the world).

As far as the student body goes, it's really hard to say. At every school I visited the students I met seemed pleasant enough--it's always hard to tell what percentage of the students are normal versus the crazies. The people you meet are always nice...but I always wonder about the students who AREN'T there to meet prospective students.

Anyway, I'm really excited to go to NYU this fall b/c it seems like an exciting place to be. The match list this past year was great and New York is such a vibrant place to live. I can't wait to start school!

I'm going to be at BU next year. When I went back for a second look, I met up with a student who was in your exact position and she chose BU. I think her impression of the student body was a big part of her decision.

Both schools have a ton to offer and NYU wins handily in the location category. But you need to be somewhere where you'll be comfortable. At first I would choose NYU, but there are certain parts about NYU that would make this decision, for me, a tough one. Dorms, a really young class, and living in those dorms with really young classmates are what come to mind first.

the dorms aren't great, but it is nice to have the option of paying $650 a month for a place to live in Manhattan.

I went with NYU - but I don't think you can really go wrong with either choice.

and NYU is pass/fail for year one and two. I thought BU had letter grades ? but I could be getting it confused with another school.

OP, I say go where you would feel is the right place for you. Costs aside, I would choose NYU over BU because I can't imagine leaving NYC for med school, but since financial aid plays a role, I would also factor that in. If worse comes to worse, make a list of Pros and Cons for each school and whichever school has the most Pros, go with that one.

mca said:

the dorms aren't great, but it is nice to have the option of paying $650 a month for a place to live in Manhattan.

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LOL. I wouldn't choose NYU just to obtain a Manhattan zip code, but to each his own.

that's obviously not at all what I was saying - someone mentioned the NYU dorms as a reason not to attend NYU. All I was saying was that the dorms are a nice option to have.

BU is pass/fail for the first 2 years as well.

jollygr33n said:

I must admit I'm a bit biased since I didn't visit BU. I can, however, say that I was highly impressed with Bellevue as a hospital. Since it's a public hospital in arguably the most important US city, it gets a lot of traffic from people coming in from abroad. At the revisit weekend they told us that people will come from other countries, get off the plane and ask for a cab ride to Bellevue since they turn no one down regardless of ability to pay. This means that the hospital is somewhat crazy, but would be an amazing place to see everything (even weird tropical diseases from all over the world).

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This story was also told to us (at BU). BMC is a safety net hospital as well so they don't turn anyone away. I talked with an IM resident who confrimed the getting off a plane at Logan and getting in a cab and coming to BMC story....so it has happened at least once here....maybe it happens more at NYU.

I didn't feel like there was any competition this (as a 1st year). It's all pass/fail and everyone wants to see everyone else succeed so people help each other. There is access to tutors and no one faults you for using one.

***I can't comment on NYU. I didn't apply there

I'll be going to BU next year. one thing i like about it is that there is a lot of research and freedom to switch into the 5 year MD-MPH program if that's what you're into. I cant say anything about NYU, I didn't apply there.

Have you tried to look up the Match results from the past 2-3 years, or the class averages in the Step 1 and 2 exams?

A note about the boards from someone who's done them twice (well step 1 and 2CS/CK), don't bother comparing schools based on how well they "prep" you for the boards. These are easily studied for with or without anything your school offers. How well you do on them is completely up to you, not up to your school. And looking at a school's board scores is not gonna show you anything but how everyone else did, not about how you did.

This is the ultimate answer of NYU v. BU: Would you rather live in Boston or New York City for four years. You cannot love living in both. You can enjoy one and love the other at MOST. They are very different cities. There's a reason the sports fans of both cities hate each other, lol.

Most things that people think are important in looking at a school as pre-meds turn out to be BS in the end. The very few ones that hold up by the end of your 4 years are: location (where you'll enjoy living, and what part of the country you'll have an easier time getting residencies in), price, and gut feeling about whether you would get along with the people that end up going to the school.