Advice Needed To Help Me Pick Between 2 MD Schools

[soccerguy974]

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I am looking for advice to help me decide which MD school to go to. I was accepted into both Jefferson (admit ranking: 52) and Nova Southeastern (admit ranking: 108). When comparing the curriculums on admit website, everything is the same besides the fact that Jefferson uses in-house exams while Nova Southeastern uses NBME Based exams. Is one exam style better at preparing students for the step exams? Because I know how important it is to get a good score on the step 2 exam in order to get into competitive specialties and good residency programs.

I am a California resident, so I guess it all really boils down to my goal of getting back to California for residency and doing said residency in a competitive specialty. Would the best way for me to do this be picking the higher rated medical school or picking the medical school that has an exam style most helpful to getting a high step 2 score?

 

[wysdoc]

I am looking for advice to help me decide which MD school to go to. I was accepted into both Jefferson (admit ranking: 52) and Nova Southeastern (admit ranking: 108). When comparing the curriculums on admit website, everything is the same besides the fact that Jefferson uses in-house exams while Nova Southeastern uses NBME Based exams. Is one exam style better at preparing students for the step exams? Because I know how important it is to get a good score on the step 2 exam in order to get into competitive specialties and good residency programs.

I am a California resident, so I guess it all really boils down to my goal of getting back to California for residency and doing said residency in a competitive specialty. Would the best way for me to do this be picking the higher rated medical school or picking the medical school that has an exam style most helpful to getting a high step 2 score?

1. Do your research directly on each school’s website.
2. Which city or area could you feel more at home?
3. How do costs compare?

 

[soccerguy974]

1. Do your research directly on each school’s website.
2. Which city or area could you feel more at home?
3. How do costs compare?

So I take it school rank and curriculum don't matter when it comes to picking a residency.

 

[wysdoc]

So I take it school rank and curriculum don't matter when it comes to picking a residency.

I recommend going to the primary source (the med school site) to research your goals and fit.
Your residency match chances will depend on your performance in whichever med school, not on the school's USNWR or AI generated "ranking"

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I am looking for advice to help me decide which MD school to go to. I was accepted into both Jefferson (admit ranking: 52) and Nova Southeastern (admit ranking: 108). When comparing the curriculums on admit website, everything is the same besides the fact that Jefferson uses in-house exams while Nova Southeastern uses NBME Based exams. Is one exam style better at preparing students for the step exams? Because I know how important it is to get a good score on the step 2 exam in order to get into competitive specialties and good residency programs.

I am a California resident, so I guess it all really boils down to my goal of getting back to California for residency and doing said residency in a competitive specialty. Would the best way for me to do this be picking the higher rated medical school or picking the medical school that has an exam style most helpful to getting a high step 2 score?

Please format pros/cons.

Have you talked with students at each school during your admitted students weekends/webinars? How do they comment about their curricula and their prep for boards? Which program has more experience with away rotations (VSLO) to California?

Which program puts you in less debt? Add the costs to travel (two round-trip flights) from home to Philadelphia vs. Ft. Lauderdale (I think that's the closest airport to NovaSE). Which school is better set up for you to thrive?

So I take it school rank and curriculum don't matter when it comes to picking a residency.

Can you tell us why Jeff uses in-house exams (wouldn't that place more value on your attendance at their lectures and small groups) or why Nova uses NBME exams (so using third-party board prep should help you pass)? How about grading P/F with internal ranking if you wanted to position yourself for a "competitive" residency? You should dig deeper than the superficial dashboards indicate, whether it's on admit, MSAR, or any other resource.

What does matter is the quality of your home programs and the clerkship evaluation process. One "bad review" can ding your chances, so how each school addresses this issue to set up a desirable residency profile is much more important than an overall ranking. Even the doximity ratings require more insight.

 

[maybefuturedoctor7]

Unfortunately I have no information on exams, and I don't know anything about Nova Southeastern. But I hope this helps anyway in case it's a point of consideration for you - I work in primary care in Philly, and we get to hear the patient reviews on the different Philly hospital systems. Patients LOVE Jefferson. Doctors are great, hospital is great and they're the go-to for neurology/neurosurgery. Also, I know two amazing attendings (one went on to a great career at Harvard) who did their medical school and residency at Jefferson. It's definitely a slept-on school!