Case Western vs Columbia?

[taboo]

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Their not the same dates, but some round about switch I need to do knocks one out. So Columbia is obv in a much cooler city but they only take 3 (2 usually columbia I gather, and case western takes 6 I think? Any thoughts about this anyone, the actual programs, which one to pick?

 

[speyeder]

If you're a strong applicant and you're not that worried about matching, and you have a strong desire to be in NYC, then pick Columbia. It's the stronger program. However it is very difficult to match there. You will be essentially vying for 1 position.

If your goal is to maximize your chances of matching, I would pick Case Western. It has more positions, fewer internal applicants from their own med school and is probably less selective/competitive than Columbia.

 

[taboo]

That's a hard statement to figure out though....I'm strong enough to have gotten a good amount of interviews, but so many people are strong, (esp on this website!) to be guarenteed to match somewhere I like, well I have no idea....Columbia sounds way more appealing but that one spot worries me, playing this probability game is tricky, does it make more sense to apply to the larger less inbred program even if the other is a little more appealing? Who's to tell really how strong I am? I need a statitician or economist. Any more insight anyone?

 

[Gaskell]

I think it depends on what other interviews you have. Do you have enough that you feel comfortable using one of your interview days on Columbia?

If you really want to be at Columbia, then I would go for it. However, everything I've heard about Columbia, both on this board and outside of it, suggests to me that they end up with most of their spots filled with their own med students.

If you have other NYC programs to interview at, or aren't too set on ending up in NYC, I would agree that Case is the better program for maximizing your chances at matching.

Pick the program you won't regret not interviewing at. It sounds like you have a tough choice...good luck 🙂