How fascinating then, that in other threads, Tufts is not in your Top 6, and you seem set on going to UCSF or MGH. Guess all the warm fuzziness of NEMC (what an oxymoron) isn't enough to offset the prestige (and warm weather), and who can blame you? I suppose you are a Tufts student (probably AOA based on where you got interviews, congrats, I was definitely NOT) as I was. I am basing my comments mostly on my experiences in other departments at NEMC and hearsay from others. I will grant that Tufts' fellowship placement and the prestige of where residents went to school is better than UMASS's (though y'all have sent people to UMASS for Cards and GI) or Dartmouth's, and I absolutely love Boston. But, at Tufts, with the exception of the time I spent at Faulkner and Baystate, I never really felt like I fit in as a WASK female from a less than wealthy family who went to a state school for undergrad. At UMASS, I feel SO comfortable talking with and socializing with everyone; no one here cares that I'm not Jewish or Asian or that I don't have a big engagement rock on my finger. And no one cares at all here if you went to Harvard for undergrad or whether or not you were AOA. I am happy and my confidence in myself as a physician has taken off here. If I don't get a fellowship at MGH or UCSF, I'll live.
If you like one-hospital programs with many Mandarin and Catonese speaking patients (which is awesome if you speak either language), and good critical care, NEMC is a solid program. If you are into multiple hospital programs with even more diverse populations and/or programs that have a more of a geographical stronghold (i.e. no competition from other local programs), I would go with programs like Brown and even lowly old UMASS in Woosta. Of course, the majority of people on this board seem to be $#**ing themselves over being rejected by BWH and MGH, dear Lord, get over it already!
to each his own, I suppose. Definitely preaching to the wrong choir on here..
