3 days to decide... Tulane vs. NYMC

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Pghboy18

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Just found out that I was accepted to NYMC.

3 days to decide. I like both places. I think NYMC has a slightly better location, Tulane has slightly better academics. Don't know much about the cultures.

Help me out...
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Pghboy18 said:
Just found out that I was accepted to NYMC.

3 days to decide. I like both places. I think NYMC has a slightly better location, Tulane has slightly better academics. Don't know much about the cultures.

Help me out...
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In the interest of full disclosure, I'm on the NYMC waitlist. However, I'd go with Tulane. I applied there too. Tulane definitely has a better academic reputation, and NYMC's future is sort of cloudy with the Touro support now. I don't mean to say I expect the school to collapse - absolutely nothing of the sort, just that people are talking about it and it's not always seen as a positive move.
 
What's your financial situation like?
 
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NYMC is kind of physically isolated unless you have a car, and you will need a car for rotations (all over the place) and unless you are an experienced driver, that NYC area traffic is a nightmare. Of all the schools I interviewed at, NYMC had the unhappiest students.

I have fam in NOLA, love the place. Even so, I did not apply to the school because I would not want to live down there, especially from May to October when it is hot and humid as hell...and they have some crime issues, too, bro.
 
BlueElmo said:
What's your financial situation like?
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Will be taking out loans for 100% of expenses. Also have about 27Gs out from undergrad. So in other words, not great.
 
flip26 said:
NYMC is kind of physically isolated unless you have a car, and you will need a car for rotations (all over the place) and unless you are an experienced driver, that NYC area traffic is a nightmare. Of all the schools I interviewed at, NYMC had the unhappiest students.

I have fam in NOLA, love the place. Even so, I did not apply to the school because I would not want to live down there, especially from May to October when it is hot and humid as hell...and they have some crime issues, too, bro.
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Yeah, I hear you on NOLA. The culture seemed great, but I can see how the climate could be pretty tough. And certain parts of the city were absolutely dismal.

I'm not worried about traffic - I live in Boston right now and drive in NYC quite a bit. I didn't get the sense that NYMC students were unhappy, but I wasn't there for all that long.


Tulane strikes me as a stronger academic school, but I'm interested in infectious diseases, an area in which NYMC is particularly strong. Can anyone address academics firsthand?
 
I keep hearing about how "bad" a reputation NYMC has, especially with the impending merger. But my sources are always applicants. I haven't heard anything concrete from the medical community in this regard.
 
flip26 said:
NYMC is kind of physically isolated unless you have a car, and you will need a car for rotations (all over the place) and unless you are an experienced driver, that NYC area traffic is a nightmare. Of all the schools I interviewed at, NYMC had the unhappiest students.

I have fam in NOLA, love the place. Even so, I did not apply to the school because I would not want to live down there, especially from May to October when it is hot and humid as hell...and they have some crime issues, too, bro.
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I don't mean to instigate anything but I was just curious as to how you came to this conclusion. I also interviewed there and at a couple of other schools, and found the students at NYMC to be on par in terms of enthusiasm. I do agree that it is a geographically isolated school and that traffic can be bad going into the city.
 
If you're interested in infectious diseases, definitely consider Tulane. Tulane's Trop Med School is one of the best in its field, not to mention the Micro Dept that teaches Med Micro has some big names attached to it. Research opportunities, both in the basic sciences and public health, are abundant. Not to mention, like Dr. Beckman said, NOLA is the north-est city in the Caribbean so you really do see some rare diseases.
 
Pghboy18 said:
I keep hearing about how "bad" a reputation NYMC has, especially with the impending merger. But my sources are always applicants. I haven't heard anything concrete from the medical community in this regard.
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This is often an idea perpetuated on SDN for no known reason, but possibly related to people originally sounding off negatively about the potential Touro merger. NYMC is very well known in the NY area and if this is where you plan to get a residency, it is not a bad place to be at. Take a look at the match list if you haven't seen it which is very impressive. On the other hand, applicants who come for one day for an interview cannot possibly gauge more than a few factors, and I can guarantee you the students here are generally very happy, and we are for the most part a close knit bunch. We do a lot intramural sports together (if this is something that interests you) and on the weekends, and especially weekends where there is no impending tests, there is often a large conglomerate of students that go out together either in NYC or White Plains. Contrary to what gets spread on this forum, the Touro merger will afford NYMC more/better rotation sites NOT less (even with St. Vincent's closing). Check the application thread for the update about the 3.25 million dollar grant we just received for disaster medicine development...it seems quite interesting. Other than that people already covered the main areas of cost, where you prefer to be, etc. I wont tell you where to go since I am clearly biased, but I can answer any and all questions regarding the culture here at NYMC...good luck with you decision
 
scr1813 said:
If you're interested in infectious diseases, definitely consider Tulane. Tulane's Trop Med School is one of the best in its field, not to mention the Micro Dept that teaches Med Micro has some big names attached to it. Research opportunities, both in the basic sciences and public health, are abundant. Not to mention, like Dr. Beckman said, NOLA is the north-est city in the Caribbean so you really do see some rare diseases.
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:thumbup:
 
XVivo said:
I don't mean to instigate anything but I was just curious as to how you came to this conclusion. I also interviewed there and at a couple of other schools, and found the students at NYMC to be on par in terms of enthusiasm. I do agree that it is a geographically isolated school and that traffic can be bad going into the city.
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Not so much a conclusion but an opinion, based on observation, and based on the students that I met on interview day, compared to the students I observed and met at all the other schools where I interviewed. I got the distinct impression that the majority of students at NYMC only got accepted at one school - NYMC - and it was literally not a first choice school for anybody. It is the ultimate NYC / northeast backup/safety school, and it shows in the attitudes of the students.

If your experience differs, by all means go with it.
 
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Pghboy18 said:
Definitely a valid point. Don't know if this decision could be any harder... Heading down to NO on an early flight tomorrow to take another look at the school.
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Good luck. The people in NOLA are the friendliest you'll meet anywhere. I do love the people, and the local culture, but make sure you are comfortable with the areas where you would have to live...and the heat, too.
 
Pghboy18 said:
Yeah, I hear you on NOLA. The culture seemed great, but I can see how the climate could be pretty tough. And certain parts of the city were absolutely dismal.

I'm not worried about traffic - I live in Boston right now and drive in NYC quite a bit. I didn't get the sense that NYMC students were unhappy, but I wasn't there for all that long.


Tulane strikes me as a stronger academic school, but I'm interested in infectious diseases, an area in which NYMC is particularly strong. Can anyone address academics firsthand?
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If you're interested in infectious diseases go with Tulane. First, Tulane has some incredible ID researchers. More importantly they have a 4 year MD/MPH is tropical medicine that you want to get if ID is your main career ambition.

So my recommendation is to first go Tulane, and more importantly to get in touch with the MPH department so that you can start classes this summer.

The climate isn't very bad (The summers aren't good but I love not freezing in the winter), you shouldn't be in the dismal parts of the city, and it is definitely nice to have Mardi Gras off, even during rotations.
 
softmed said:
Tulane

Weather is better
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Thanks for the great advice. I think I'm taking a flight down to NO tomorrow and going to see NYMC on friday. I was set on N.O. until tonight... Pretty brutal to let people know three days before the deadline (not that I'd want them to change their minds...)
 
Those who claim that Tulane's academics are better, can you substantiate? And by how much do you think they're better?
 
Tulane, I was also accepted there. Loved it!

And for infectious disease, this shouldn't be hard. Tulane has an amazing Trop Med program.
 
From the ID people I've talked to, Tulane and UCSF are always among the very top programs in the field...
 
Pghboy18 said:
Yeah, I hear you on NOLA. The culture seemed great, but I can see how the climate could be pretty tough. And certain parts of the city were absolutely dismal.

I'm not worried about traffic - I live in Boston right now and drive in NYC quite a bit. I didn't get the sense that NYMC students were unhappy, but I wasn't there for all that long.


Tulane strikes me as a stronger academic school, but I'm interested in infectious diseases, an area in which NYMC is particularly strong. Can anyone address academics firsthand?
Click to expand...

See below post. Duh.

scr1813 said:
If you're interested in infectious diseases, definitely consider Tulane. Tulane's Trop Med School is one of the best in its field, not to mention the Micro Dept that teaches Med Micro has some big names attached to it. Research opportunities, both in the basic sciences and public health, are abundant. Not to mention, like Dr. Beckman said, NOLA is the north-est city in the Caribbean so you really do see some rare diseases.
Click to expand...
 
Clearly, I'm biased, BUT if ID is truly your thing, then Tulane wins by a landslide (as many others have pointed out). Truth be told, I'm from Jersey and am terrified of the humidity, but I'm pretty sure I'll learn to adjust (plus, "winter" must be beautiful down there!). Nawlins is a much nicer city, with a friendly population of people, and the cost of living is so much less than in NYC - every time I go out in the city, I drop so much money...much more than going out in New Orleans. Personally, being form the area, I was ready to be out of the coldness (both figuratively and literally) of the North.

Personally, things I thought really set Tulane apart from the rest were 1) it's strength in public health 2) the student body and administration 3) the city and culture 4) it's technology.

Enjoy your trips and good luck deciding!
 
Just thought I'd throw my opinion out there..Tulane for sure. I applied here and would've loved an acceptance here. Beautiful weather too
 
Tulane Tulane Tulane!!!!!! I'll see you there in August!!!
 
visited NYMC today. Very impressed- much more so than I was during my interview. Anatomy lab is the nicest (and best smelling) that I've seen. Also like the campus feel. People were great... for the most part. I think that the women working in student services were some of the rudest that I've dealt with during my application process. Friendly admissions office made up for it.

Tulane gets its second look on Monday. Decision just got a lot harder today.
 
Pghboy18 said:
visited NYMC today. Very impressed- much more so than I was during my interview. Anatomy lab is the nicest (and best smelling) that I've seen. Also like the campus feel. People were great... for the most part. I think that the women working in student services were some of the rudest that I've dealt with during my application process. Friendly admissions office made up for it.

Tulane gets its second look on Monday. Decision just got a lot harder today.
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Just realize that you're only going to be in the anatomy lab for like 3 months tops out of your total 4 years.
 
long said:
Just realize that you're only going to be in the anatomy lab for like 3 months tops out of your total 4 years.
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Also remember that the anatomy lab has been mostly empty for about five months now.

Nice that it's above ground, but I have to be honest. Most of the anatomy labs I visited this past year were above ground.
 
Pghboy18 said:
visited NYMC today. Very impressed- much more so than I was during my interview. Anatomy lab is the nicest (and best smelling) that I've seen. Also like the campus feel. People were great... for the most part. I think that the women working in student services were some of the rudest that I've dealt with during my application process. Friendly admissions office made up for it.

Tulane gets its second look on Monday. Decision just got a lot harder today.
Click to expand...

What time did you come? (I have a reason I'll explain after your answer)
 
whoknows2012 said:
What time did you come? (I have a reason I'll explain after your answer)
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Very good points about the anatomy lab - I understand that it's a small part of the overall education. And their anatomy program lasts the entire first year, so the lab wasn't empty. I was just struck by how nice it was.

I arrived on campus at about 12:30 and stayed until around 3. Ended up taking a tour from one of the facilities management guys who had been around the school for about 15 years and had a lot of good practical insight about living situations etc.
 
Last edited:
I can't believe you're still considering NYMC. Seems so obvious to me!
 
illegallysmooth said:
I can't believe you're still considering NYMC. Seems so obvious to me!
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I'm leaning toward Tulane, but NYMC was surprisingly nice. The reason that I'm still considering it is location. Friends, family, and girlfriend are all in NY. I also don't believe that the differences in reputation between the two schools in terms of academics are so dramatic that location shouldn't be a factor at all. Finally, I interviewed at Tulane over six months ago and haven't been back. I remember loving the school, but it's not fresh in my mind. Maybe my visit on Monday will close the case.
 
Pghboy18 said:
I'm leaning toward Tulane, but NYMC was surprisingly nice. The reason that I'm still considering it is location. Friends, family, and girlfriend are all in NY. I also don't believe that the differences in reputation between the two schools in terms of academics are so dramatic that location shouldn't be a factor at all. Finally, I interviewed at Tulane over six months ago and haven't been back. I remember loving the school, but it's not fresh in my mind. Maybe my visit on Monday will close the case.
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I think those are good reasons for NYMC. You are thinking about this in the correct way.

FWIW, I think Tulane is a tad overrated on SDN, mainly because it is in NOLA, and I think NYMC gets an unfair rap, and even I have added to that with my comments.

Location RE family and maybe cost? Are they roughly equivalent in cost to you?
 
Location is a big deal...being close to friends and family has proven to be invaluable to me this year, and I believe it has been one of the reasons that I have found MS1 to be relatively stress free. If I were in you position I am not sure what I would do but you have to be comfortable being away from those close to you. On the other hand if you truly feel Tulane will afford you opportunities you cannot get at NYMC (which is definitely possible/likely) and this is something very important to you then it is clear Tulane should be your choice. Definitely don't underplay location though, because I know a lot of people here (NYMC) who turned down "better"(I say that tongue in cheek because NYMC has a fine reputation that people manage to mis-represent on SDN) reputation schools (UMDNJ, UCONN, among others) because they would either be close to NYC or close to friends and family. Either way definitely keep that in mind.
 
flip26 said:
I think those are good reasons for NYMC. You are thinking about this in the correct way.

FWIW, I think Tulane is a tad overrated on SDN, mainly because it is in NOLA, and I think NYMC gets an unfair rap, and even I have added to that with my comments.

Location RE family and maybe cost? Are they roughly equivalent in cost to you?
Click to expand...


I don't have aid packages in hand from both yet, but my family likely earns enough money that I'm not going to get anything need based, but not enough that they can finance my education, so I'm more than likely going to end up paying the sticker price, which is similar for both schools. Cost really isn't a huge factor either way.
 
whoknows2012 said:
Location is a big deal...being close to friends and family has proven to be invaluable to me this year, and I believe it has been one of the reasons that I have found MS1 to be relatively stress free. If I were in you position I am not sure what I would do but you have to be comfortable being away from those close to you. On the other hand if you truly feel Tulane will afford you opportunities you cannot get at NYMC (which is definitely possible/likely) and this is something very important to you then it is clear Tulane should be your choice. Definitely don't underplay location though, because I know a lot of people here (NYMC) who turned down "better"(I say that tongue in cheek because NYMC has a fine reputation that people manage to mis-represent on SDN) reputation schools (UMDNJ, UCONN, among others) because they would either be close to NYC or close to friends and family. Either way definitely keep that in mind.
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Thanks for the encouragement. I think med school is a challenging enough experience that day to day happiness can be pretty important.
 
I think you'll get a gut feeling, one way or the other, after revisiting Tulane.
 
Pghboy18 said:
Thanks for the encouragement. I think med school is a challenging enough experience that day to day happiness can be pretty important.
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I liked the dorm/apt setup at NYMC, but I don't have a car. But since you have a car, I would think that setup would be more ideal than anything in NOLA...
 
flip26 said:
I liked the dorm/apt setup at NYMC, but I don't have a car. But since you have a car, I would think that setup would be more ideal than anything in NOLA...
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Yeah - the student on-campus housing looked great.
 
You mentioned that most of the negative comments you have heard about NYMC were from medical students, so I thought I would contribute. I worked at MD Anderson Cancer Center for 2 summers and the hematopathologist I worked under said he had two students join his team for residency, both from NYMC. He was upset with the quality of their training and said they were some of the least knowledgable residents he had ever had. Of course, this could be due to the students themselves and not necessarily due to the school.
 
UTlonghorn said:
You mentioned that most of the negative comments you have heard about NYMC were from medical students, so I thought I would contribute. I worked at MD Anderson Cancer Center for 2 summers and the hematopathologist I worked under said he had two students join his team for residency, both from NYMC. He was upset with the quality of their training and said they were some of the least knowledgable residents he had ever had. Of course, this could be due to the students themselves and not necessarily due to the school.
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Not necessarily due to the school? Are you kidding? How could this have anything to do with NYMC? If these residents weren't trained well then they shouldn't have gotten into that residency program, making it either the residency programs fault, or the students fault...NYMC matchlists are impressive so that should close the book on this issue...
 
illegallysmooth said:
Are you serious? No way I would live there. Worse than my undergrad dorms.
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Saw the student housing from the outside. Didn't get a chance to go in, but loved the fact that it was close to class.


That notwithstanding, I'm going to Tulane. It was a very difficult decision, and in all honesty I'm mostly going with my gut and the fact that the med school is associated with a relatively well-known research university. I also think that the day to day experience may be slightly better at Tulane and would rather attend class in a an urban environment.

That said, NYMC seems like a great place. Didn't see or learn anything to substantiate any of the negative press. Would certainly have been happy to go there.

Thanks for all of the great advice. Good luck everyone.
 
Change is good, and I think you have made a good choice here.
 
Another piece of feedback that I thought I'd post.

I managed to speak with the dean of admissions at a large allopathic school in Philadelphia about the choice. He heavily favored NYMC based on the fact that clinical training opportunities are much better overall in New York. He said that although Tulane has had the better reputation in the past, the school isn't what it once was, especially in terms of the clinical training opportunities, and that one certainly isn't losing any cache in going to NYMC.

Just one opinion, but it seems to run counter to a lot of what's posted about NYMC on these forums.
 
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