California Northstate vs NYMC Accelerated Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences M.S. Program

[icedlattelover]

I applied during the 2023-2024 cycle and I ended up getting 1 MD interview and then eventually got rejected from that school.

So, I was planning on doing NYMC's Accelerated Interdisciplinary Biomedical Sciences M.S. Program this upcoming academic year with the intention of signing the Linkage Agreement, which would allow me to be conditionally admitted into NYMC SOM for matriculation in 2025 as long as I meet the 3.4 GPA requirement throughout the master's.

However, I was surprisingly offered an interview from California Northstate 2 weeks ago and then got accepted this week.

I am conflicted whether to go with my original plan and do NYMC's masters/linkage program, or matriculate into California Northstate this July. Personally, I like NYMC better as a school (and proximity to NYC) and I know NYMC is more established, but I am not sure if its worth taking another gap year (it would be my third gap year) and paying for tuition for a master's. On the other hand, I know that California Northstate is facing accreditation issues.

A little bit about me - I am an ORM from California on my second gap year.

California Northstate
Pros
-Attend MD medical school this year
-Close to my family who lives in California
-Higher chance of matching into a California residency program

Cons
-Issues with accreditation
-For-profit school; not-so-great reputation
-Expensive tuition; would need to take out private loans
-Match rate is good, but the school is heavily primary-care focused and most students match into internal medicine at not very well-known hospitals (I am not interested in internal medicine; and no students matched into plastics, derm, OB/GYN, etc this year).
-No home hospital

NYMC AMP/Linkage Agreement
Pros
-SOM has a really good match rate across specialties (many students have matched into derm, plastics, ortho, etc this year)
-More established school with great STEP pass rates; accredited
-NYC is my favorite city and it would be a dream come true getting to live that close to the city; plus you can choose to do rotations in Manhattan all of M3 and M4
-I can take out federal loans rather than private loans
-Home hospital

Cons
-There is a chance I could potentially not meet the 3.4 GPA requirement (you take the same classes as the medical students, and I heard the second semester classes are pretty challenging)
-I would have to pay another year of tuition for a master's; however, NYMC's medical school tuition is cheaper than Northstate's so I am not sure if I would be taking out the same amount of money anyways in loans from either school due to higher interest rates for private loans
-I would have to wait another year before matriculating into medical school

I am super conflicted and have to make my decision soon so any advice or thoughts is very much appreciated, especially if you are enrolled in either program!! Thank you.

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[rarya2]

I’ve heard pretty bad things abt northstate. Many ppl say DO is better than northstate

 

[MD_Maker]

Yes, people here specifically say lots of bad things about Northstate. But I've met a few actual students who had good experiences (though may be facing significant debt). NYMC is private and their students see a bit of debt as well. Ultimately, up to you. But if it were me, I'd go with Cal Northstate today and not do any extra premedical work before eventually going to medical school. I took a lot of time off before med school and during, to pursue another degree, and I FEEL old. Going to med school young and being a young attending is pretty great. You face different stressors in your 30s and a great many can be fixed with cash money

 

[jvquarterback]

Call NYMC and tell them what’s going on. See if they’ll let you in. Did you interview there?