Can't decide, Pitt or Columbia

I know many of you will say that it's a stupid question, and to hands down to with Columbia, because, hell, it's Columbia, but I feel that there's other factors. I wrote a email to my research adviser who's also a bit of a mentor asking for advice, and I'm waiting to hear back from her, but I just thought I'd ask the SDN community for any thoughts as well. Here's a big excerpt from the letter.

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As you know, I just finished interviewing at Howard, Columbia, and The University of Pittsburgh. I was accepted at Howard two weeks ago, and while I would have been completely content with going to Howard, I wanted to wait to hear back from Pittsburgh, because at the Columbia interview, they had more or less hinted that we were only interviewing for Wait list positions.

Just yesterday morning I received my acceptance packet from Pittsburgh, and I was very excited, because I didn't think I had much of a chance at Columbia, and I liked Pitt overall more than I did Howard for various reasons. I thought I was all set, and that even though I wouldn't be able to stay in California, I would be going to a school that I really did like.

But, just as I was about to walk out the door to take my deposit check for Pittsburgh to the Post Office, the mail came extremely late and I got accepted to Columbia!

Now I'm very torn over the decision. When I had been asked this week if I would choose Pittsburgh or Columbia, I had said Pittsburgh, but I'm not quite sure if that was just me rationalizing that I thought I didn't have a chance at Columbia.

I'm trying to compare the Pro's and Con's of the schools, and I can't quite decide.

Columbia:

Pro:
-Very Friendly Faculty, it felt like it was a big family environment.
-It's very highly rated, often in the top 3.
-They have a higher rate of students being accepted into specialty
Programs. I am currently considering Ortho (as I'm sure most pre-dents
do), and I know it is very competitive to specialize in.
-Nearly everyone goes on international service trips.
-Everyone there really loved it.
-My head is saying that I should go with Columbia.

Con:
-Not in a very nice area (far away from the main campus), similar to the areas a few blocks away from USC. I'm not sure if it's just that I haven't experienced it very much, but I'm just not sure I like the big city feel. I'm not sure if I'd feel safe walking around at night alone, but again, I'm not sure if this is based in fact or just my assumptions. This is the biggest Con for me.
-Older Facilities, I didn't like their Sim lab very much, they still have the heads on sticks that fit into a hole in the bench. Though I thought the clinics were nicer, but more cramped than Pittsburgh.
-More and harder classes. They take significantly more medical and science classes, but I'm not totally sure if this is a Con in the long run.
-Less Clinical experience, I got the impression that you don't see the inside of the clinic until almost your third year.

Pittsburgh

Pro:

-The area around the campus was much nicer, it is in what could be considered the college town area of Pittsburgh. I really liked the area, and the feel I got from it. I felt very safe walking around. A very big Pro for me.
-Newer Facilities. Completely paperless filing, all digital x-rays. The Sim lab was recently remodeled, and they have a complete station that resembles a dental chair including light, suction, and dummy patient (w/ torso and everything) and LCD screen for every student. Right across the street from their state of the art basketball arena and awesome gym.
-More research focused, I felt like I made a connection with one of the head researchers there, and I would be able to get into research, which I have enjoyed in my undergrad.
-I would be able to take classes to get my Anesthesia certification as an elective in my 3/4 year.
-I would be able to take the Western Regional Boards there so I could come back and have a license California if I decide to not specialize.
-More clinical experience. From the first day you are in the clinic assisting and helping 3/4 years with charting and other assisting work.
-Cheaper to live near, and I could get a much bigger place to live than I could in Manhattan, and I like to have space.
-My gut says to go with Pittsburgh.

Cons:
-Lesser known school
-Less chance to specialize (or so it seemed).
-While the faculty was very friendly, it didn't have the same family feel that Columbia did.
-Their clinic felt a little older, but they did still have the paperless filing and digital x-rays.
-I hear there isn't very much to do, it doesn't have everything going on like it does in the big apple.

I'm feeling very conflicted about choosing, because I think I have a better overall feel from Pitt, but I've also got the feeling that if I go to Pittsburgh, I'll regret not taking the opportunity to go to Columbia, which is such a renowned school. For both, money isn't really something I'm considering, and I know I'll be heavily in dept either way. Though I'm still not sure, I definitely think putting my thoughts down in writing was helpful!

I would really value any insight or advice you could give me, because I have to decide by Friday, as both schools want deposit checks by Tuesday.

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Thanks for spending the time to read this, I'd appreciate any thoughts, or letting me know if I'm wrong anywhere! 🙂

Good luck with your decisions.

I'll see you at Pitt in the fall if you decide to go with Pitt!

tough call, buddy. i know its not easy in the least to decide between two great schools, especially ones that are so different. you really can't go wrong though. go to wherever you think you will have a more enjoyable 4 years. if that's still a tossup, then pick something else that you find the most important thing to you and decide on that. for me it was $$, but for you it might be nicer clinics or a better rep. in the end, only you can decide.

best of luck and a major congratulations!

go with the better basketball team... i think pitt wins

i'm wondering which school did you decide on?

good luck and congrats

Though I know I may regret the amazing opportunity, I found that regret really is something that will happen either way. I ended up going with Pitt because I thought it was a better fit. Also, one of the bigger draws to Columbia was that they had said that last year everyone who applied to Ortho (what I'm interested in), was accepted somewhere. I emailed Rose from Pittsburgh to ask if I could get some information about their specialty numbers and some additional curriculum information so I could compare it to the info I had from Columbia, and one of their heads of admission, Dr. Etzel, actually called me about 15 minutes later and talked to me for like 45 minutes. I was very frank about my situation, and I brought up that everyone got accepted for Ortho from Columbia, and he said, "Oh, yeah, everyone from Pittsburgh who applied for Ortho got accepted last year too." So that leveled the specialty front a bit more, even though I know the Columbia name would help me one way or another to get into Specialty.

If you read my OP above, one of the things I mentioned about Columbia that impressed me so much was how welcoming the faculty was, and I really enjoyed that. When I went to Pitt I didn't get the chance to talk directly with many faculty because so many people were interviewing, like 40, compared to like 10 at Columbia, so I didn't get that same feel. After talking with Dr. Etzel at length, I was very impressed by his willingness to be frank and honest about all of the Pro's and Con's (though from the Pitt viewpoint), and to really go the extra mile for applicants. He even called me back like 5 minutes later with some additional info that he forgot to mention. While the big family atmosphere from Columbia was AMAZING, and honestly one of my biggest Pro factors on Columbia's side, I started to get a similar, though possibly not quite as deep, feel from Pitt.

Like I said before, I'll be forever honored that I was accepted to Columbia, and that I was seen by them as of that high of caliber, but after a lot of deep thought and consideration I just felt like Pitt was a better fit for me personally.

I hope this helps anyone who is in a similar situation as I was. Oh, and before I forget, congrats to Columbia Wait Lister #1! 😀

Vicviper said:

Though I know I may regret the amazing opportunity, I found that regret really is something that will happen either way. I ended up going with Pitt because I thought it was a better fit. Also, one of the bigger draws to Columbia was that they had said that last year everyone who applied to Ortho (what I'm interested in), was accepted somewhere. I emailed Rose from Pittsburgh to ask if I could get some information about their specialty numbers and some additional curriculum information so I could compare it to the info I had from Columbia, and one of their heads of admission, Dr. Etzyel, actually called me about 15 minutes later and talked to me for like 45 minutes. I was very frank about my situation, and I brought up that everyone got accepted for Ortho from Columbia, and he said, "Oh, yeah, everyone from Pittsburgh who applied for Ortho got accepted last year too." So that leveled the specialty front a bit more, even though I know the Columbia name would help me one way or another to get into Specialty.

If you read my OP above, one of the things I mentioned about Columbia that impressed me so much was how welcoming the faculty was, and I really enjoyed that. When I went to Pitt I didn't get the chance to talk directly with many faculty because so many people were interviewing, like 40, compared to like 10 at Columbia, so I didn't get that same feel. After talking with Dr. Etzyel at length, I was very impressed by his willingness to be frank and honest about all of the Pro's and Con's (though from the Pitt viewpoint), and to really go the extra mile for applicants. He even called me back like 5 minutes later with some additional info that he forgot to mention. While the big family atmosphere from Columbia was AMAZING, and honestly one of my biggest Pro factors on Columbia's side, I started to get a similar, though possibly not quite as deep, feel from Pitt.

Like I said before, I'll be forever honored that I was accepted to Columbia, and that I was seen by them as of that high of caliber, but after a lot of deep thought and consideration I just felt like Pitt was a better fit for me personally.

I hope this helps anyone who is in a similar situation as I was. Oh, and before I forget, congrats to Columbia Wait Lister #1! 😀

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I doubt this will go to a waitlister. It will go to someone in the latest bunch of interview dates, like this past Friday.

You're probably right, but I was being a tad tongue in cheek. 🙂 I know that there are so many people who have Columbia as their number one school, and if my choosing Pitt lets someone else have the happiest 4 years that they could have if that's the right fit for them, I'm very glad, and wish them the best of luck!

hey vicviper,

i was just accepted to pitt. last friday and i was wondering if you would not mind chatting on the phone for a few minutes. is this possible??

JohnniesK9 said:

hey vicviper,

i was just accepted to pitt. last friday and i was wondering if you would not mind chatting on the phone for a few minutes. is this possible??

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Ahh, this post takes me back, haha. How does AIM/Yahoo work for you?

Vicviper said:

Ahh, this post takes me back, haha. How does AIM/Yahoo work for you?

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I guess I could install AIM again. I have not used in in a long time. do you have gmail??

JohnniesK9 said:

I guess I could install AIM again. I have not used in in a long time. do you have gmail??

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Sent you an email!