Columbia-Bassett vs NYU

[zenzero]

Columbia-Basset ($150k total price tag)
Pros

• (+++++)The ethos of Bassett program is perfectly aligned with my goals and personality (interest in rural & urban medicine, passion for small communities, desire to reflect on the process of training and be surrounded by other similarly reflective students). I believe this program would support my somewhat non-traditional approach to medicine (big focus on social dimensions of care and making community-level change, in addition to clinical stuff), which would offer emotional & professional value.
• (++++) The mentorship of the Bassett program would focus not just on my professional growth but my social, emotional, and moral wellbeing.
• (+++) Major Clinical Year - With the Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship and the small hospital system/town vibe in Cooperstown NY, I would get to know my attendees much more intimately. I believe this would make the experience more enjoyable and would allow them to write stronger letters of recommendation for residency.
• (++) A slower-paced schedule with testing occurring every 6 weeks (vs. 2 for NYU) during pre-clinicals.
• (+) Prefer Washington Heights to the NYU Langone neighborhood.
• (+) The strength of Narrative & Social Medicine at Columbia.

Cons

• I would graduate with debt (~$100k, accounting for my savings).

NYU ($0 - would graduate with no debt)
Pros

• (+++++) Full-cost of attendance scholarship. It’s hard for me to envision how much freedom this would give me relative to $100k of debt. I am interested in less-remunerative specialities and in community-based work.
• (++) I would receive part of my training at Bellevue, a public hospital.

Cons

• The intensity of the three-year curriculum, which involves biweekly tests in the first year.
• I am undecided about my specialty and alarmed that I would be pressured to decide a year earlier in my training process.
• I have some concerns about the composition of my class, which skews younger (average matriculating age 23; I am 26). I have also heard that NYU tends to attract a subset of hyper wealthy students that gives the social dynamic an interesting vibe.
• I don’t love the neighborhood where the medical school is, or the fact that nearly all students live in one cramped dorm building.

Summary: I believe the Bassett program would support my professional, social, and moral development as a professional oriented towards the social dimensions of medicine. NYU, while providing an equally high-quality training experience, would provide added stresses (accelerated curriculum and earlier specialty choice), but would allow me to graduate debt free.

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[DoneDone3451]

NYU

 

[lazymango93]

NYU

+1, graduating with no debt is huge and it's an excellent program

 

[LunaOri]

Columbia-Bassett. Usually I would advocate for the cheaper option, but Bassett seems like a perfect fit for you, and you will be able to pay back your loans within a few years as an attending.

 

[zenzero]

Columbia-Bassett. Usually I would advocate for the cheaper option, but Bassett seems like a perfect fit for you, and you will be able to pay back your loans within a few years as an attending.

Thanks for this! Do you have any experience paying back loans? I'm just so uncertain about what that experience of debt and repayment would be like, both psychologically and practically in terms of how it would shape my choices (where to live, where to work, etc...)

 

[LunaOri]

My experience paying back loans was a very long time ago, but it was just a matter of including that payment in my budget planning. Even as a resident, unless you are living in a super high cost area (like San Francisco) you will be able to make payments, and as an attending it should be no problem. The amount of debt you will have is manageable—some graduates end up with several times that debt. Yours does not need to influence what specialty you choose or where you ultimately live (rural areas pay more!)

 

[xUnrevealed]

• The intensity of the three-year curriculum, which involves biweekly tests in the first year.
• I am undecided about my specialty and alarmed that I would be pressured to decide a year earlier in my training process

I know that people at NYU often take an extra year to do something, whether that be get a masters, do research, etc.. It's not too different from other schools (say, Vanderbilt, or UCLA even w/ the 1.5 yr preclinical change). It's also important to note that you have, straight-up, guaranteed residency (I believe) at NYU should you choose to apply early, which is nice & alleviates that three-year deadline from my POV

• I have some concerns about the composition of my class, which skews younger (average matriculating age 23; I am 26). I have also heard that NYU tends to attract a subset of hyper wealthy students that gives the social dynamic an interesting vibe.

I believe this is true, but I also feel like these statements relatively apply to Columbia too (not as much, but not by THAT much of a difference).

I think that the main thing is goals - do you think that pursuing a MD in a rural health program is worth the $150k? From my perspective, I feel like the answer to that is no, since a focus on rural health implies that you'll be applying to rural health residency programs, which already are less competitive and provide sufficient experience & direct mentorship akin to Columbia-Bassett. But you def know more about that answer than me