I'm in a similar situation, and I think I'm gonna choose NYU.
I got a message from a person in dschool at NYU, and it sounds good...
"I'm a D2 at NYUCD and overall pretty happy here. We're a very tight-knit class and I couldn't think of a bad thing to say about how large we are -- except that the wet lab is too small. Manhattan is expensive, no matter where you live, but living close to school CAN be manageable. Get a converted room or jump in on a share. If you want your very own studio or 1 bedroom you're going to shell out for it. Save by commuting.
Honestly, the biggest positive here is the people. Most of the students and most of the faculty are simply amazing. I'm not in clinic yet, but I hear that having such a large and diverse patient population is also a huge plus -- plenty of cases to go around."
You should try to hunt down some people on the forum at those two schools and ask them some specific questions, it's been really helpful for me in making my decision.
good luck!
