Biggest Decision of My Life...HELP!!! Tufts vs. NYMC

[johne]

First of all, I'd like to thank you all for your support and advice over the past year. And now it comes down to this...

I am positive that NYMC has a strong sense of community between students/faculty and students/students since everybody lives in close quarters. I know several students already. It is also one hour from my house, 30 minutes from the city, has very good matches (almost equal percentages for first and 1-3 choices with Tufts), more placements in Radiology, and slightly cheaper.

However, Is the Tufts name worth the extra money and relocation to Boston? How close are the students really when most live off campus?

Can somebody help me make up my mind? Please!!

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[Mutterkuchen]

Clearly, this is a serious decision, but don't be too dramatic about it. You will have more important decisions to make in the future as a physician. It sounds to me like you have two great choices, so make it a pleasant process, rather than a stressful one. You may have Elliot-syndrome.

 

[Katie]

interesting how 2 different people can have such different impressions.. when i interviewed at NYMC and told some people there that i would be interviewing at Tufts most of the students said that Tufts was a great school and that they would have loved to have gone there. although the students seemed friendly at NYMC, I found the students at Tufts to be even friendlier and much more enthusiastic about their school. That, along with Tufts' reputation and their honesty about the cost and everything else made Tufts my first choice (with the exception of my state school, UMAB). I think the reputation and location of Tufts are well worth choosing it over NYMC, but that is just my opinion. Although there will always be annoying people in class, most of the students here are relatively friendly, and the grading system is much more laid-back than NYMC. I have heard that NYMC has kind of a competitive environment (compared to many other schools), and if you don't have a car the location can be stifling. Boston has a great public transportation system and tons of students if you want to meet people outside of med school. the opportunities for clinical exposure during the first year through Selectives and the Interviewing course are also among Tufts' strengths. some of the students I talked to at NYMC were kind of disappointed with the low frequency of patient contact they had during the first year (about once a month vs. every week at TUSM). however, I do not attend NYMC, so someone else from there may have a different and equally valid perspective. good luck with your decision and congrats on the acceptances!

 

[laviddee]

yah man!
this is nothin compared to deciding on who to marry right??
not that it's really our decision on who to marry.

but anyways, that's another story for another time. isn't tufts the school that's wayyyyy too expensive?? something like 38k right??

i'm not sure of the exact #, but when i saw the tuition i decided not to apply there..

boston is a cool place though- so i hear.

 

[missbonnie]

Try to find some tufts students. My friend who lives in Boston says Tufts is located in a not so great area (chinatown) and I personally do not think the $$ is worth it. But, it is your life, not mine.

-b

 

[Katie]

I AM a Tufts student and wrote a long essay about this earlier. there is another TUSM student from my class (Neel) who posts on here from time to time, I can get him to post as well if you like but I don't think he'll have too much to add to what I said. plus he always went to Tufts undergrad.

 

[sng33]

If you don't want to go into a high paying specialty I would not choose Tufts since the price with tuition and fees is really tough to swallow. On the other hand Tufts has a much better name and Boston is a nicer area. Personally I know a Vet that that graduated from Tufts and is a pathologist at one of the pharmaceutical companies I used to work for. He regrets going there for the ridiculous amont of loans (like 180,000) even though he makes a good deal of money.

 

[scootad.]

Wait a minute! Tufts is very expensive, but NYMED is not exactly cheap. Its a private school, whats the tuition? Its gotta be at least 30.

We are not talking about a state school here.

I say go to Tufts. If you were deciding between instate tuition at your state school and Tufts then no question I'd pick the state school. But this is NYMED.

 

[UCLA2000]

Do you want to live in New York or Boston? Think environment, and weather.

Which campus did you feel more at home at? Did you like the students at either place better?

Relax both schools are great places to be. Just think about what YOU want.

 

[Mr.D]

FYI (from recent US News):
Tufts - 38,375$/yr
NYMC - 34,294$/yr.

Not much of a difference in tuition, but of course it depends on how generous each is with their financial aid and the costs of living expenses.

If your financial aid package is similar from both schools, I'd pick Tufts. If the difference is more than ~ 10K/yr, I'd go with the more inexpensive school. My two cents.

 

[phinicky]

I have some mixed feelings about NYMC myself. I was pleasantly surprised by the school's atmosphere when I interviewed there, and was very happy when I was accepted. I'm from the area originally, and most physicians had good things to say about the school when I told them that I was planning on going there. However, my plans changed after I got accepted into my first choice school. NYMC is a good school, but its in the shadows of all of the other great NY medical schools (all of which, I think, have better reputations than NYMC). Why would a physician/specialist or professor want to go to NYMC when he or she could go to Columbia, Einstein, Mt. Sinai, NYU, etc. There's really no comparison. Most physicians that I know in Westechester (even some who work at and/or went to NYMC) agreed that my first choice (GW) was a better school. On the other hand, NYMC has incredible clerkships, and you can't get much better their clinical rotations.

Also, I would think that living in Westchester Co. would be a major drawback- you're close too the city, but public transportation to Westchester is terrible late-night (and parking downtown is ridiculous). Personally, I'd choose Tufts.

 

[FunkDoc]

definitely tufts! the name will take you farther in life.

 

[jintonic5]

I think that when it comes down to it, both schools will make you into a doctor, so whatever extra you pay for tufts will probably just increase your chances to become chief of surgery or something like that. Mr. D posted that the difference in tuition is 4,000 bucks a year, so for four years of med school, you would be paying around 12,000 more for the tufts education. Is the increased chance(not even guarantee) of being a chair of some dept or somehting along those lines worth 12g's to you, or are you not interested and just want to heal people?

i dunno about NYMC, but boston kicks @$$(but i'm biased )!! It's a great city, really friendly, and chinatown has its charm GREAT food too!
but NYC is incredible, i must admit

 

[Blazed]

Tuition is not that far apart. See if you can talk to some students at Tufts and get their opinion on the school. Another thing is your going to spend 4 years there so like UCLA 2000 says where would you rather be NY or Boston it is up to you. I been to Boston many times and it is a cool town but small, I am from NY and there is no comparison between the two. NY has everything Boston has and MUCH more.

 

[scootad.]

Too bad NYMED ain't in New York City.

 

[johne]

Wow,

Thanks for all the replies. I did neglect to mention that I will have a car and that I know the city inside out since I went to NYU undergrad. Therefore, I did the whole city thing and I don't mind a quiet environment to study.
I have another week to mull over it.

John

 

[Katie]

I think those two strip clubs have been shut down, there has been a big effort to clean up Chinatown in the past few years.

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Moleculo:
•besides tufts med is just two blocks (i think) from apair of strip clubs•••••

 

[hellokitty]

FYI: It is impossible to find a parking space in Chinatown area if you plan to drive your car to class. The strip joints still do exist. One of them (Centerfold) just opened a few monthes ago. (I was out in Chinatown just tonight and witnessed an "arrangement" made btw a man and prostitute . One reason why future Tufts students should not live close to campus.)

However, given the choice between these 2 schools, I would still chose tufts b/c I feel that I would be more happy there (more organized curriculum).

Go where you think you will be happiest. I too am waitlisted at Tufts, so I would just leave it at that.

 

[sng33]

Although the tuition may look comparable for each school try to get stats on the "total" cost of each. I am pretty sure you will find that after housing and other expense tufts is much more pricey. Just get a finanacial aid package from each and if it is within 5,000 go to Tufts

 

[Blazed]

I went to NYU undergrad also. The village is the bomb, loved the environment around NYU. Seems like you want to stay in NY. If you are going to be happier at NYMED then stay. I probably would choose NYMED, because price is the same and I have the option on staying in the city to do my 3rd & 4th years there.