CalMed vs. Seton Hall

[Mistasunshine]

Calmed:
+California
+Weather
+More easily match and practice on West coast, specifically California
-no Federal loans
-more expensive
-living with extended family to save money (would it be worth it to not do this? Kind of awkward living in my aunt's house for 4 years, have one annoying cousin)
-H/HP/P/F (is this that much worse than P/F?)

Seton Hall:
+Near SO ( graduating 2019, not sure where he's going for his job) and family
+Less expensive tuition and save money living at home (is it not worth it to move out if I'm 25 minutes away? I want to be independent but NJ so expensive, at least 700$+ if living with roommate, 1,200 by myself...)
+preclinical P/F
-weather
-harder to match West coast residency/practice there after doing East coast residency?
-living at home

Tbh my heart loves Cali but makes more financial sense to attend Seton Hall. Curriculums are pretty equal/similar and I'm not really interested in early entry to residency offered by Seton Hall.

Also my parents want me to attend Seton Hall. They were willing to help me pay for calmed rather than take out private loans when it was my only acceptance but I don't think they're very willing now especially since my younger sister is applying to med school in two years. I'll be emailing calmed to ask if they can help with more scholarship money but not sure if they can offer enough to make it financially equal to Seton Hall.

Please help knock some sense into me if Seton Hall is clearly superior and I'm being too hung up on Cali for my own good!

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[LavarBall]

I’d pick seton hall just for the living scenario. Idk what your relationship with your relatives is like but living with my aunt for 4 years sounds like absolute HELL to me, and I even have very good relationships with all my relatives.

If your parents were willing to help you pay see if they would be open to providing for living arrangements while at seton hall, especially since you’d be saving money on tuition going there.

Also 25 minutes is not exactly down the street. As of now, I’m going to be attending a school 25 minutes from my house and will be living at the school. Med school is hard so I figured why make it harder by adding unnecessary complications such as commuting everyday and being distracted by my brothers. A current student who commutes mentioned that if living away from the school you are likely to be involved in less just because of the inconvenience of commuting.

It’s still close enough to go home for dinner, laundry, spend free time with family whenever you need. Personally I think the extra loans for living away from home are worth it but that’s something you have to decide based on your preference.

 

[LavarBall]

Also didn’t notice that calmed is not P/F for preclinical. That would be the dealbreaker for me. Again, med school is hard so why add another complication of stress about letter grades like you did in undergrad? (They might as well just call H/HP/P/F A,B,C,D. They’re not fooling anyone lol)

 

[Mistasunshine]

I’d pick seton hall just for the living scenario. Idk what your relationship with your relatives is like but living with my aunt for 4 years sounds like absolute HELL to me, and I even have very good relationships with all my relatives.

If your parents were willing to help you pay see if they would be open to providing for living arrangements while at seton hall, especially since you’d be saving money on tuition going there.

Also 25 minutes is not exactly down the street. As of now, I’m going to be attending a school 25 minutes from my house and will be living at the school. Med school is hard so I figured why make it harder by adding unnecessary complications such as commuting everyday and being distracted by my brothers. A current student who commutes mentioned that if living away from the school you are likely to be involved in less just because of the inconvenience of commuting.

It’s still close enough to go home for dinner, laundry, spend free time with family whenever you need. Personally I think the extra loans for living away from home are worth it but that’s something you have to decide based on your preference.

That's true, I'll try to talk to them about letting me rent someplace, especially bc I believe it'll be hard for me to make close friends by living off campus (my best friends in college are my roommates!) Thank you for your advice! I'm feeling more comfortable with the idea of giving up Calmed, but is it still worth it to ask Calmed for scholarship money? Might as well see what they say? I would try to fight to live near the school rather than my aunt's house which is 35 minutes away from the school.

 

[LavarBall]

That's true, I'll try to talk to them about letting me rent someplace, especially bc I believe it'll be hard for me to make close friends by living off campus (my best friends in college are my roommates!) Thank you for your advice! I'm feeling more comfortable with the idea of giving up Calmed, but is it still worth it to ask Calmed for scholarship money? Might as well see what they say? I would try to fight to live near the school rather than my aunt's house which is 35 minutes away from the school.

Yea you might as well ask them to see what they say. But wherever you go I would try to live on your own because I think it’ll be better for you in the long run despite being more expensive(less distraction, developing lifestyle more independent of your family, more involvement at school if you live close etc)

EDIT: by “on your own” I mean away from your parents. I think getting a roommate who is also a student to bring down the cost is the way to go

 

[CyrusHabs7695]

Seton hall


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[humblethinker]

Seton hall


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Can you elaborate on your reasoning behind this recommendation?

 

[darkpauladin]

Seton hall, you have no real good pros for calmed other than beautiful cali

 

[Mistasunshine]

Will it be difficult to match SoCal after going to Seton Hall??? Def a big concern as I want to practice there in the future...right now I'm interested in family medicine, pediatrics or obgyn but also open minded to other specialties...

 

[humblethinker]

Will it be difficult to match SoCal after going to Seton Hall??? Def a big concern as I want to practice there in the future...right now I'm interested in family medicine, pediatrics or obgyn but also open minded to other specialties...

Any new school might put you at a disadvantage for residency placement---anytime you are an unknown product there will be hesitancy but that's not to say you can't work hard, make connections, and write your path regardless of where you attend. Previous match lists for inaugural classes have been pretty solid from what I have seen, but that says more about individual pursuit and determination, rather than the specific program. Both Hackensack and ARMC are good affiliated hospitals with home residencies so that definitely is good. Why do you think you did not get admitted to a non new school but were admitted to two brand new programs?

 

[Mistasunshine]

Any new school might put you at a disadvantage for residency placement---anytime you are an unknown product there will be hesitancy but that's not to say you can't work hard, make connections, and write your path regardless of where you attend. Previous match lists for inaugural classes have been pretty solid from what I have seen, but that says more about individual pursuit and determination, rather than the specific program. Both Hackensack and ARMC are good affiliated hospitals with home residencies so that definitely is good. Why do you think you did not get admitted to a non new school but were admitted to two brand new programs?

That's true. I think I just had average stats and ECs and was not that great interviewing at the beginning of the cycle. A big part is that I submitted the primary the first day for the two new schools and was better at interviewing by then.

 

[Mistasunshine]

Congrats on getting into both. Seton Hall- Hackensack Meridian will be the premier med school very soon. You have 4 beautiful seasons despite this past winter being atypically cold and long. Don’t underestimate the cost difference- it’s very hard to pay back debt. Don’t underestimate being close to family. Cal med is not giving extra money to anyone - a friend of mine who got in to both was deciding between the two - she is from NJ and she did not get extra money to Cal Med. and he is a great person and decided to go to Seton Hall and you’d get to have him in your class.

Thank you! Is your friend on sdn? Could you ask her to DM me, would like to further discuss with her if she doesn't mind!

 

[Kingsmen2018]

Seton hall and it’s not even close. I’ve lived in California my whole life. The mistique about it is honestly MEH. Also, San Bernardino isn’t the California you think of, it’s a giant shot hole

 

[humblethinker]

Which school did you feel is more organized and will best help you meet your goals?

 

[humblethinker]

Seton hall and it’s not even close. I’ve lived in California my whole life. The mistique about it is honestly MEH. Also, San Bernardino isn’t the California you think of, it’s a giant shot hole

The Inland Empire has a lot to offer and has many unique aspects to it. Unsure of the area around Seton Hall so I can't comment on that. But in IE, you are close to beaches and mountains and you have a lot of sun without as much traffic as LA. One thing OP should weigh heavily, especially with both being new schools getting very high qualified numerical applicants....Seton Hall is P/F and CalMed is H/HP/P/F which is essentially grading. There is already going to be stress due to disorganization in new programs so adding in competition to the mix is not a great idea. There also is a reasonable question as to how long it will take a brand new private university to gain a reputation and CalMed being part of a new university vs Seton Hall being established and with a great health network makes me lean SH for the OP.

 

[mantis1010]

Seton hall and it’s not even close. I’ve lived in California my whole life. The mistique about it is honestly MEH. Also, San Bernardino isn’t the California you think of, it’s a giant shot hole

Agreeing with Kingsmen on this one. SoCal resident my whole life as well. Would not recommend this school if you had another option. If you really want to move here for residency, focus on making your app the best it possibly could be while at Seton Hall. Having the 3+1 curriculum and a true P/F grading scheme is honestly the best setup a school could offer. I'm hoping to snag an interview at Seton Hall because I would much prefer to go to school there than be here.

As for the area, it's not bad, but it isn't really great either. It's definitely not what you think of when you first think of California (i.e. Bel Air, Westwood, Beverly Hills, etc.) and if you want to leave the area, you're definitely going to need a car to get around. I don't know what the area is like around Newark, but I understand that public transport is way better there than it is here plus you have your family and friends there, which is a big plus while going through med school.

Lastly, like you said, going to CalMed (at least for the first two years) will require you take out private loans, which no one is a fan of. Also, the temporary location is located in a strip mall, with an anticipated timeframe of the actual facilities being completed in two years (but like most construction projects, there will be delays). If I was put in this position, I would pick Seton Hall, hands down even though I would leave my friends and family because I think Seton Hall is actually bringing something amazing to the table whereas CalMed did not really "wow" me at my interview.

 

[LavarBall]

I don't know what the area is like around Newark, but I understand that public transport is way better there than it is here

Seton Hall is in Nutley, not Newark. Nutley is a decently nice suburb and not anything like Newark so based on what you said I’d assume the area around seton hall is much nicer than calmed. Seems like another reason to go with seton hall

 

[Mistasunshine]

Thanks for all your responses guys, I think that Seton Hall would be best for me and I will focus on trying to match California for residency. I really hate hate hate winter with a passion but willing to bear it for 4 more years especially since Seton Hall has pass fail and I would be able to take out Federal loans. I did reach out to Calmed regarding scholarship money but will probably not sway my decision unless significant.

 

[Mistasunshine]

Idk if anyone can confirm this or not, but does the multiple acceptances deadline of April 30 still apply in this situation where both schools opened their apps rly late in the cycle? Maybe 6b of traffic rules applies to this situation? The AAMC Application and Acceptance Protocols - Admission Officers

 

[Mistasunshine]

Yes it applies.

6b?

 

[Asherawh]

My view of 6b is that you should receive information on financial aid and any questions you may have before the deadline so that you can make an informed decision.
The rules don't really have any exceptions as long as you receive all the information you need to make a decision before the deadline.

 

[Asherawh]

On the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine website (Admissions Process and Procedures - Seton Hall University) it says:
Accepted applicants must respond within two weeks with their intention to accept or decline the offer of admission.