2011-2012 NYU vs Dartmouth vs University of Rochester

[jfoster5366]

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I am trying to decide which school to pick, between NYU, Dartmouth, and maybe Rochester, but probably not.

1. Students: I have been told from a few people that the students at NYU tend to be young and immature, and therefore more competitive, edgy and pretentious. Does anyone have any thoughts about the NYU students? Im a laid back non-trad applicant who has been traveling the world for a few years and am a bit afraid that I will not really like my classmates at NYU, whereas that wouldn't really be an issue at Dartmouth where I think I would probably fit in better.

2. Prestige/Residency: I was recently told by someone that Dartmouth is a significantly more prestigious program and that I would have a better shot at competitive residencies than from NYU. I was under the impression that they had similar match lists. Is it really better to come from Dartmouth for a good match? Also, should I be considering Rochester more since it is ranked quite a bit higher than NYU or Dartmouth (even though I dont care about those rankings)?

3. Lifestyle/location: Please dont respond to my inquiry with comments about how different NYC and Hanover are. I know that. I am from NY and went to college in rural New England so I know I can be happy either place. This is not really a concern for me.

4. Clinical Training: I plan on going in to either Infectious Disease or Emergency Medicine so I feel that I will get a much better training for that if I am in NYC since it has Bellevue. Is there any chance Dartmouth comes close to NYU on that front?

5. Lastly - International medicine is my thing. I plan on living and working outside the US for the rest of my life, so attending a school with a strong international program is important to me. Both schools websites do not have much information regarding their international opportunities, so does anyone know more in regards international work.

Oh, and should I really be considering UofRochester? I dont like Rochester so much, but maybe there is something there? It just seems hard to ignore it when its ranked so highly.

Thanks for any responses!

 

[drizzt3117]

NYU ftw.

 

[raltima07]

Nyu

 

[TheGloaming]

Does cost come into play?

 

[stethoscope228]

I would choose dartmouth. It seems to fit the criteria you are looking for more than any other school!

 

[drizzt3117]

I would choose dartmouth. It seems to fit the criteria you are looking for more than any other school!

Except the OP said they want to do EM or ID... Not sure exposure to snowmobile accident and lyme disease will set them at the front of the pack.

 

[Dartmouth1230]

Both Dartmouth and NYU are similarly prestigious and have relatively strong match lists (NYU has a greater NYC bias, obviously). Also, all three are ranked pretty much the same (NYU: #30, Dartmouth: #32, Rochester: #32). Based on your interest in infectious disease/emergency medicine, I'd go to NYU. Also, one thing that drew me to NYU (I'm most likely going there next year and turned down a Rochester invite), was their strong global health program. About a third of NYU students pursue some sort of international health opportunity. Plus, NYU is great at providing funding for these opportunities.

It honestly sounds like NYU is the best fit all things considered.

 

[NeuralNetwork]

1. Students: I have been told from a few people that the students at NYU tend to be young and immature, and therefore more competitive, edgy and pretentious. Does anyone have any thoughts about the NYU students? Im a laid back non-trad applicant who has been traveling the world for a few years and am a bit afraid that I will not really like my classmates at NYU, whereas that wouldn't really be an issue at Dartmouth where I think I would probably fit in better.

Sounds like hearsay without much backing. The average matriculant age of the class is a 1 year difference from what I've seen posted around (with Darmouth being higher), but consider the fact that there are twice as many students in the NYU class so you are more likely to encounter a lot of different type of people. When I interviewed there, I met a very diverse mix of first years from all different backgrounds.

2. Prestige/Residency: I was recently told by someone that Dartmouth is a significantly more prestigious program and that I would have a better shot at competitive residencies than from NYU. I was under the impression that they had similar match lists. Is it really better to come from Dartmouth for a good match? Also, should I be considering Rochester more since it is ranked quite a bit higher than NYU or Dartmouth (even though I dont care about those rankings)?

I wouldn't imagine there would be much difference, except I'd imagine that being in a city with many hospitals and medical schools would afford better opportunities for networking and thus enhance your chances.

4. Clinical Training: I plan on going in to either Infectious Disease or Emergency Medicine so I feel that I will get a much better training for that if I am in NYC since it has Bellevue. Is there any chance Dartmouth comes close to NYU on that front?

Far better training in the city, especially with Bellevue

 

[TheMightySmiter]

NYU rejected me post-interview but the students I met there were awesome. I think you'd Get better clinical exposure there considering your interests. That said, you seem to be looking for a reason to choose Dartmouth and if that's the case, go there just because you liked it better. You can always do some away rotations in NYC.

 

[ialwayslose]

Dartmouth has a better name than NYU, so yes that might give you an edge (I would guess). Dartmouth also has impressive opportunities for international medicine and away rotations all around the US for diverse clinical exposure. NYU is in a more exciting place.

 

[Dartmouth1230]

Dartmouth has a better name than NYU, so yes that might give you an edge (I would guess). Dartmouth also has impressive opportunities for international medicine and away rotations all around the US for diverse clinical exposure. NYU is in a more exciting place.

Dartmouth as an undergrad may have a better name than NYU, but both medical schools are equally respected among residency directors. Also, if you wanted diverse clinical exposure, you wouldn't have to go on away rotations all around the US at NYU.

 

[drizzt3117]

Dartmouth has a better name than NYU, so yes that might give you an edge (I would guess). Dartmouth also has impressive opportunities for international medicine and away rotations all around the US for diverse clinical exposure. NYU is in a more exciting place.

I don't know how people could possibly think this is a good thing...

 

[kautionwirez]

I don't know how people could possibly think this is a good thing...

yeah if you want to do that go to the caribs!

 

[Bizzy]

Dartmouth as an undergrad may have a better name than NYU, but both medical schools are equally respected among residency directors. Also, if you wanted diverse clinical exposure, you wouldn't have to go on away rotations all around the US at NYU.

Agreed. NYU has an excellent reputation in the medical world.

 

[tikvah2012]

Global Health/Emergency Medicine: Given your interest in global health and Emergency Medicine, I'd have to say NYU seems like the best fit for you. As another individual mentioned 1/3 of the students pursue an international health opportunity at NYU and they have a very developed global health program. For Emergency med-you can't get better ED exposure than at Bellevue.

Students: When I went for my interview, I did not get the impression that the students are more pretentious and competitive at all- if anything I felt the opposite. I stayed with a student host and was able to go to a potluck with about 25 of the MS1s and I felt like the students got along very well. They emphasized how much they work together, study together (share their study materials with their class), and go out together. Of all the schools I interviewed at I actually got the best impression in terms of the happiness of the student body here. I don't know anything about the students at Rochester or Dartmouth

Prestige- I really have a hard time believing that the ranking difference between the 3 would make a difference- its a difference of 2 . I think all 3 are good enough schools that it will matter much more what you do and how you do it at med school that will determine your options for residency.

 

[RedSox10]

I heard the same thing from my premed adviser about NYU students being young and competitive (I'm a non-trad, too). Whether or not its just hearsay, I don't know.

I do know that Dartmouth gives substantial aid (not including "merit") to its students because it has a lot of money . I'm not sure about NYU but my guess is that Dartmouth will be cheaper once you factor in institutional aid and cost of living. I'd go with Dartmouth.

 

[blazer123]

Nyu in my opinion

 

[Shmemifly]

Honestly, differences in curriculum and opportunities will be miniscule. To my knowledge there is some difference in prestige erring towards Dartmouth (the attendings i've talked to say Dartmouth is very traditional/rigorous and so is known to produce strong grads), but it's probably not a large difference and would reverse in and around New York. I would disregard in major decisions the small differences in 'strong xyz program' and 'networking opporunities' will have on your experience.

Let money and sense of place be the deciding factor. Go to second looks, feel out the schools, the student bodies, the regions with your most intuitive belly. I felt at the interview days that NYU treated me like it was a corporation and I was a customer, where Dartmouth treated me like an individual - for some that would be TOTALLY insignificant, but for me it mattered a lot. I also had a truly snobby kid in my interview group and a meaningless interview at NYU so that probably didn't help.

Edit: actually, i lied. yes, medical education is medical education, but the 1.5 integrated curriculum v 2 year traditional curriculum is probably a valid point to consider. As someone who's psyched for the academic/classroom side of things, that still falls towards Dartmouth for me.

 

[KinasePro]

To my knowledge there is some difference in prestige erring towards Dartmouth (the attendings i've talked to say Dartmouth is very traditional/rigorous and so is known to produce strong grads)

Disagree. The only difference in prestige is layman's prestige. In medicine, these schools are nearly identical (I might give the edge to NYU for having better residency programs).