Advice for Californian deciding on east coast schools

[dr cot]

1. I have 4 days to decide between NYU, Tufts, and Case Western. My question to those in the same situation (having to go to the east coast from the west, and by the way, anything east of Colorado is east coast to me) and to those east coasters is if there's a huge difference between these schools (reputation) and taking consideration their locations. Which would be better for a guy that kinda likes a city (not sure if I would since I'm use to one to two story buildings), enjoys the outdoors or enjoys seeing the sky and some trees while walking outside, yet wants to have the best education and position to go into residency.

2. Should the affiliated hospitals of the medical school be of huge importance to me? For instance, Case western has the cleveland clinic, NYU has Bellvue, and Tufts really doesn't have a known badass hospital (it seems like Harvard has taken all the Bostonian badass hospitals).

3. Does the medical school a person attends have any effect on residency? Or is the residency option just based on boards, interviews, letters of rec. (do these letters look better if doctors at better schools write them -- do top notch medical schools have more top notch physicians and thus better letters of rec.?)

Thanks for any help. I'm just in a bind deciding between Case, NYU, and Tufts; I'm trying to figure out how to seperate the three rather than basing it all on where I'd rather live.

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[Mman]

perhaps you could enlighten me about the relationship between Case Western and Cleveland Clinic. When I applied to CWRU back in the day, I remember University Hospitals being part of CWRU. CCF was just a completely separate system. Do CWRU students have lots of core rotations at CCF now? Or is it more of a nice hospital system down the road that you can do some electives at?

I honestly don't know.

 

[dr cot]

From what I see on the coursework site for third years is that there are three main hospitals for rotations. Cleveland Clinic is one of them. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

perhaps you could enlighten me about the relationship between Case Western and Cleveland Clinic. When I applied to CWRU back in the day, I remember University Hospitals being part of CWRU. CCF was just a completely separate system. Do CWRU students have lots of core rotations at CCF now? Or is it more of a nice hospital system down the road that you can do some electives at?

I honestly don't know.

 

[Packamylase]

1. I have 4 days to decide between NYU, Tufts, and Case Western. My question to those in the same situation (having to go to the east coast from the west, and by the way, anything east of Colorado is east coast to me) and to those east coasters is if there's a huge difference between these schools (reputation) and taking consideration their locations. Which would be better for a guy that kinda likes a city (not sure if I would since I'm use to one to two story buildings), enjoys the outdoors or enjoys seeing the sky and some trees while walking outside, yet wants to have the best education and position to go into residency.

2. Should the affiliated hospitals of the medical school be of huge importance to me? For instance, Case western has the cleveland clinic, NYU has Bellvue, and Tufts really doesn't have a known badass hospital (it seems like Harvard has taken all the Bostonian badass hospitals).

3. Does the medical school a person attends have any effect on residency? Or is the residency option just based on boards, interviews, letters of rec. (do these letters look better if doctors at better schools write them -- do top notch medical schools have more top notch physicians and thus better letters of rec.?)

Thanks for any help. I'm just in a bind deciding between Case, NYU, and Tufts; I'm trying to figure out how to seperate the three rather than basing it all on where I'd rather live.

Doesn't Tufts have dibs on Baystate Medical Center?

 

[dr cot]

Yes it does. I have no idea what kinda hospital it is. Is it a good hospital to be affiliated with? I have no idea.

Doesn't Tufts have dibs on Baystate Medical Center?

 

[CaliPlease]

The schools you are considering are all good medical schools. While some may be higher in the US News rankings than others, none will hurt or impress more than the others, so that probably does not matter for residency. As everyone says, the most important thing is how you do in the school you choose. So where you live does count for you! Go where you will be happiest, be it the city or the feelings you got at the school. If you were deciding between HMS and Podunk U, then you should go to HMS. But since you are deciding between all good schools, picture yourself at each of them. Don't worry about people saying that Cleveland sucks and Boston or New York are wonderful, for example, because you may not be an urban person. Think about where YOU THINK YOU WILL BE HAPPIEST. Then, the little differences in ranking, if there are any, and if they matter, will be insignificant. GO WHERE YOU THINK YOU WILL THRIVE!!! (Incidentally, for me, I would give NYC a chance, but I've never lived there either)

 

[Dmizrahi]

1. I have 4 days to decide between NYU, Tufts, and Case Western. My question to those in the same situation (having to go to the east coast from the west, and by the way, anything east of Colorado is east coast to me) and to those east coasters is if there's a huge difference between these schools (reputation) and taking consideration their locations. Which would be better for a guy that kinda likes a city (not sure if I would since I'm use to one to two story buildings), enjoys the outdoors or enjoys seeing the sky and some trees while walking outside, yet wants to have the best education and position to go into residency.

2. Should the affiliated hospitals of the medical school be of huge importance to me? For instance, Case western has the cleveland clinic, NYU has Bellvue, and Tufts really doesn't have a known badass hospital (it seems like Harvard has taken all the Bostonian badass hospitals).

3. Does the medical school a person attends have any effect on residency? Or is the residency option just based on boards, interviews, letters of rec. (do these letters look better if doctors at better schools write them -- do top notch medical schools have more top notch physicians and thus better letters of rec.?)

Thanks for any help. I'm just in a bind deciding between Case, NYU, and Tufts; I'm trying to figure out how to seperate the three rather than basing it all on where I'd rather live.

Funny...I grew up in New Jersey and moved to california...so here it goes, i'm probably one of your better resources about the geographical differences and such for each place. Let my start of by saying i'm not a fan of ohio...there isn't much goin on there. If it were me it would be between boston or New York. While New York is a really really awesome city, its pretty grungy and i must say i'm pretty biased to Boston. Boston has some really good resteraunts except it gets really ****in cold...especially coming from cali. But NY also gets chilly...so the choice is yours. Girls are hotter in ny i think anyway...plus you've got the jersey shore and long island in the summer!

 

[Schaden Freud]

Yes it does. I have no idea what kinda hospital it is. Is it a good hospital to be affiliated with? I have no idea.

Baystate's really good. Although if choosing between Tufts and NYU, I'd certainly pick NYU.

Tufts is located in Chinatown, which in my opinion is one of the most disgusting parts of Boston. Plus Boston is A LOT colder than NYC...

Go to NYU (or Case).

 

[waterlily]

I'm from CA too and I visited Cleveland, NYC, and used to live near Boston. So I agree with a poster above, I don't think you'd be satisfied with Cleveland location. Not much going on and the location just isn't as pretty as CA...all brick buildings it seemed...But if you are looking for a more calm way of life and a smaller town feel, then Cleveland would be your best bet then.

 

[MDMAMA]

Having experience with all three cities, here is my opionion. Case is a wonderful school with a great reputation in the midwest. The city is livable and has many of the cultural and sports draws of larger cities. Cost of living is lower than the other two. You know that NY is a large metropolis with all the advantages and disadvantages of a big city. Tufts is located in a very exciting, student rich city. Transit is great, the ocean and the mountains are nearby. Boston and Manchester have great low cost airlines. If the schools are equal in your mind, I'd think about Boston.

 

[slb830]

I thought New England Medical Center was the main teaching hospital for Tufts - in Chinatown.

Who knows though.

 

[sponge]

3. Does the medical school a person attends have any effect on residency? Or is the residency option just based on boards, interviews, letters of rec. (do these letters look better if doctors at better schools write them -- do top notch medical schools have more top notch physicians and thus better letters of rec.?)

well, residency directors do have opinions about teh clinical programs at various medical schools. It is possible to place at a top residency from any med school, but it's quite a bit more possible from certain med schools that place well year after year. Some schools just provide better clinical experiences, and the residents that come from those schools are better residents. (If residency director sees that every student he takes from School A is really good, she would be more likely to look at applicatns from A more favorably in teh future). I think that makes more of a difference than which physician writes your recommendation. Still, there is certainly a difference between schools in matching to good residencies, especially in certain subspecialties. Check those lists, especially in the fields you are interested.

 

[Caligirl05]

First of all, Dr. Cot where are you from in California because the transition to the East Coast will be very different if you are from say Modesto than if you were from San Francisco.

I am originally from the Bay Area and then went to Massachusetts for college. As other posters have said I do not think you would be as happy in Ohio, I would choose between New York and Boston and for me it would be an easy decision.

1) The weather is better in New York
2) I find that New York has a lot more to do than Boston afterall New York is the city that never sleeps. The shopping is better the food is better, the transportation is better, basically I think New York is all around the better city.
3) Cost - I believe Tufts is the more expensive medical school
4) NYU has the better reputation
5) In terms of being able to walk around in a green area in either of these cities there isn't much, but I love Central Park. Either way you can always leave both cities and go out to the country for the weekend.
6) The adjustment to the culture of the East Coast is going to be about the same for both of these cities so I don't think that should play a part in the decision.

So basically, I would pick the city you like more and go there. I had a great experience coming from California to the East Coast. Just pick the school where you will be the HAPPIEST, because at the end of the day all of the reasons anyone can give you are only their reasons for making a decision, but you are the only one who truly knows what will make you happy.