Another where would you go thread!!!

[bbtbay]

Hey all-

I've posted about this before and still am trying to gather more information in trying to make a decision. I am a Cali resident and have lived in a big city for the greater part of my life. Where wouild you go -- U of Illinois-Urbana, Drexel, Penn St., or NYMC and why???

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[naimist]

I interviewed at Penn State and Drexel and while I loved both of them, Penn State fits me better so that's what I would pick. I know nothing about UI-Urbana, but of the other three, if you're used to a big city, I guess Drexel's the closest to it. Although PSU is only about 10 miles away from Harrisburg and NYMC's probably about 20 minutes outside of NYC. I've also heard of NYMC being referred to as UC-Valhalla so if you want to be amont other Cali residents, that may be the place to go. I would suggest transportation however, since Valhalla isn't the most happening of places.

 

[sdnstud]

I interviewed at all 4 schools so I guess I should post my $0.02

I'd rank the schools as follow:

UIC (in-state), Penn State, NYMC, Drexel, UIC (out-of-state)

If you're an IL resident, it is a no brainer. UIC is cheaper, and arguably better than the other 3 schools. If you're not an IL resident, UIC's tuition is over $60,000. Personally, I would not pay this much to attend UIC, unless it is the only school you got accepted to.

I really liked Penn State. From research to clinical rotations, this school is solid in every aspect. I really liked Penn State's emphasis on patient care. The Patient Project is an excellent idea, and its humanities program is second to none. The students are truly happy there. The instructors, the community physicians all embrace students' needs with open arms. Penn State's primary care ranks in the top 10 in the nation. Though, Penn State's rural location can/and do deter many applicants.

Many people (esp. on SDN) view NYMC as a "lower-tier school." Well, that is true and not true. NYMC does have a very low matriculation rate. The school has to accept over 700 student to fill a class of 160. NYMC does have a "weaker recruiting power" than its neighboring schools, namely Columbia, MSSM, Cornell, NYU. It is also true that NYMC received close to 10,000 application a year, yet its entering class's average GPA and MCAT is "only" at national the means. On the other hand, NYMC has some strengths. In fact, when I visited there, I thought it was a decent school. It has huge hospitals on campus, nice research/teaching facilites, excellent step 1 scores, and affilations with NYC hospital.

 

[cammy1313]

I concur with sdnstud. I can also add my two cents on a few things.

First of all, I dislike NYMC for many reasons. The first off being my tainted point of view before getting there. My mother and father worked as physicians there for many years, and even taught some courses. Both agreed that the medical education at NYMC was bad. They both earned their MDs in Peru so the fact that they felt their foreign education was better than that at NYMC already put me in the wrong frame of mind pre-interview. I did try to keep an open mind but I just kept finding fault with the school. The fact that 90% of students live in dorms gave me the undergrad freshman feel which was a huge negative (I've been out of school for 4 years and do not miss dorm life). Also, the curriculum seemed very outdated. Their only efforts at modernizing it were in their very nice, newly remodeled facilities.

As for Drexel, the precarious state of their accreditation (past or present) is enough for me to choose any of the other more solid and stable schools for my education. But that's my pragmatism coming into play there.

 

[albinomidget]

I concur with sdnstud. I can also add my two cents on a few things.

First of all, I dislike NYMC for many reasons. The first off being my tainted point of view before getting there. My mother and father worked as physicians there for many years, and even taught some courses. Both agreed that the medical education at NYMC was bad. They both earned their MDs in Peru so the fact that they felt their foreign education was better than that at NYMC already put me in the wrong frame of mind pre-interview. I did try to keep an open mind but I just kept finding fault with the school. The fact that 90% of students live in dorms gave me the undergrad freshman feel which was a huge negative (I've been out of school for 4 years and do not miss dorm life). Also, the curriculum seemed very outdated. Their only efforts at modernizing it were in their very nice, newly remodeled facilities.

As for Drexel, the precarious state of their accreditation (past or present) is enough for me to choose any of the other more solid and stable schools for my education. But that's my pragmatism coming into play there.

It is very sad to see that you take part of the information and then make a decision. When you practice medicine, you should really try to make an informed decision, hopefully with evidence based medicine. Drexel has NEVER had any accreditation problems. The previous schools did have some financial problems, but since the med school now has a few million in surplus, I don't think that will be a problem.

To the OP, just look up some of my posts. I've made several posts to the affirm of Drexel. If you have any questions you can PM me.

 

[bbtbay]

I just wanted to "refresh" this thread because I am still making a decision between Penn St and NYMC. Any more thoughts? Also, does anyone know if you can hold a spot at more than 1 school after May 15th? When do you have to give one school your definite answer that you are going there? Thanks!

 

[Medikit]

I just wanted to "refresh" this thread because I am still making a decision between Penn St and NYMC. Any more thoughts? Also, does anyone know if you can hold a spot at more than 1 school after May 15th? When do you have to give one school your definite answer that you are going there? Thanks!

Call up the schools indvidually and ask if it's okay.

 

[tigress]

As for Drexel, the precarious state of their accreditation (past or present) is enough for me to choose any of the other more solid and stable schools for my education. But that's my pragmatism coming into play there.

I realize this is an older post. But yeah, Drexel hasn't ever had any accreditation problems, and they are very financially secure now that the school is part of Drexel U.

As far as NYMC, I am close to a professor there. I don't want to repeat exactly what he said, but he has left me with a fairly negative impression of the school. I think it is in a pretty place, though, and perhaps he is just tough on his students. I think one thing I don't like about the school is the conservative/religious bias. It's not blatant, and I'm sure it's not pushed on the students to any large degree, but this prof does say that he would never be able to mention abortion, and they're fairly strict about gay student organizations and things.

Between Penn State and NYMC there is no question in my mind that I would choose Penn State. But I think the feel of the schools is very different (well I've never actually been to Penn State, but based on what I've read and heard). Choosing between Penn State and Drexel would be much more difficult. Hopefully I'll have a similar choice to make in a year

good luck

 

[PTPoeny]

I interviewed at Penn State, NYMC and Drexel and I really liked the atmosphere are curriculum at Drexel. From talking to people my impression is that Drexel and Penn State having basically equivalent reputations are far as getting into residencies. I would go where you feel most comfortable.

 

[casanova70]

So, between UI-Chicago (out of state) and NYMC (also out of state), who is the winner?

 

[LADoc00]

None of the above? Is that an option?

 

[casanova70]

None of the above? Is that an option?

sadly it is not, i have to choose and i have to choose, like, yesterday.