Columbia MSTP vs Yale MSTP vs Washington MSTP

[IonBoi]

Extremely lucky to have several wonderful options. I am really torn between these 3 schools, however. I will be attending all 3 second looks.

I am undecided on specialty, though my research interests lean heavily towards ion channels and my specialty choice will likely reflect that.

COLUMBIA
Pros:
(+) New York City seems like a fun place to spend my 20s
(+) Has extremely strong neuro/biophysics research
(+) Has the quickest time to graduation. I know that time in the program is very dependent on PhD length, but Columbia shortens med school by a year so that the average time to grad is ~7 yrs.
(+) Probably has the best associated hospital
(+) Brand new education building
(+) The P/S club seems cool
Cons:
(-) Very expensive CoL
(-) Could not afford a house/condo. Maybe a co-op?
(-) Competition seemed high in both the med school and in the labs
(-) Not a great interview day impression
(-) A.O.A and class ranking

YALE
Pros:
(+) I LOVE the idea of the Yale system. If I was doing just the MD, this would be the biggest advantage out of any program.
(+) I can afford a house here
(+) Loved the people at the interview days
(+) Several labs I could see myself in
Cons:
(-) New Haven. I didn't think it was that bad when I interviewed, but I have heard bad things.
(-) Older facilities (esp. some research labs)

WASHINGTON
Pros:
(+) Seattle is my favorite city of the three
(+) There are 10+ labs I could see myself fitting into (ion channel powerhouse)
(+) Can afford a house here
(+) Loved the interview weekend
Cons:
(-) Lowest prestige (marginally so)
(-) Primary care focus of the medical school
(-) Doing a WWAMI rotation doesn't sound that cool to me
(-) Starts in June. This shouldn't matter that much, but I would really like some time off from lab before matriculating.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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[freedoctor17]

Your yale and washington cons don't seem too serious compared to the Columbia ones. I don't know much about mstp though but maybe @Lucca can help

 

[Lucca]

These are all terrific programs, congratulations!

I think you should factor in how you feel about second looks given the cons you’ve listed. In terms of research fit, it seems Columbia and UW are the best, and that’s worth a lot. I didn’t interview at Columbia so I can’t weigh in as much on that one, but I loved both Yale and UW. On the med school side, I think Yale wins because of the Yale system and you don’t seem as enthusiastic for UW WWAMI focus. Prestige wise I think you’re looking at equivalent options, just look at the match lists they are all terrific.

Does Columbia not subsidize / guarantee housing? With the stipend it should be possible to afford a place.

From just the impressions you listed, I think Yale and UW are the best choices for your priorities but I am weighing research fit and personal happiness the heaviest as that is what I think is most important so take that how you will

 

[vaticrunner]

Does Columbia not subsidize / guarantee housing? With the stipend it should be possible to afford a place.

I think OP means literally buying a house in New York is not that feasible. At UW, we went to a student's house for the pizza party and that is not probably going to happen in NYC on the stipend. From what I remember from the Columbia Interview day, the student housing is affordable and although the first year accommodations aren't spectacular the Towers are pretty good from what the students at lunch said. I am not in a position to comment on the Yale experience, but based off of your list I would go with Yale or Columbia just depending on what type of atmosphere you like the most. I was in a similar boat as you-went to Columbia for my interview and wasn't impressed but mostly because of lack of research fit. I would just narrow things down to lifestyle and research. I would definitely sacrifice some top mentors if it meant that I wasn't cooped up in a room suffering from high cost of living and competition, but that is just me. (Disclaimer-I withdrew from Columbia wl after realizing it just wouldn't be right for me.)

Also as an aside. The students actually seemed to enjoy the Wami stuff at UW because it supposedly helps you gain experience since it is one on one and you aren't competing against other students on the rotation.

 

[IonBoi]

These are all terrific programs, congratulations!

In terms of research fit, it seems Columbia and UW are the best, and that’s worth a lot. I didn’t interview at Columbia so I can’t weigh in as much on that one, but I loved both Yale and UW. On the med school side, I think Yale wins because of the Yale system and you don’t seem as enthusiastic for UW WWAMI focus.

This is my main dilemna, I think. I like the Yale MD the most, but I like the Columbia and UW PhD pieces the most. I am unsure how much each element will affect my overall experience... Second look will definitely play a role in my decision.

 

[Lucca]

This is my main dilemna, I think. I like the Yale MD the most, but I like the Columbia and UW PhD pieces the most. I am unsure how much each element will affect my overall experience... Second look will definitely play a role in my decision.

It’s a tough one. Honestly unsure of what I’d even do in this situation. But you can’t go wrong! Congrats on the excellent choices

 

[WedgeDawg]

Columbia M4 (MD only)

Couple things to help you decide - class ranking doesn’t matter other than to decide AOA and is based solely on your third year. Preclinical is unranked and effectively ungraded (there are tests but there’s not really a penalty to failing other than retaking the test - nothing on transcript).

They are also making it so AOA is not announced prior to residency apps (I think it’s going to become a pre-graduation thing). This means it will effectively become a no-AOA school like Harvard, Yale, Stanford, whatever and therefore class rank won’t matter.

I can only speak for my class, but I felt that on the whole we are super collaborative and not competitive in a bad way. People support one another and there is a TON of inter-class mentor ship and teaching.

NYP is a phenomenal place to learn medicine. You come out clinically extremely skilled. I wouldn’t trade my training here for the world.

I can only speak for my lab, but we have a system where one person leads a project and anyone who wants to can put some work in and get their name on the paper, and there are tons of projects happening at once. Probably varies by lab.

Housing isn’t amazing, but if you have questions PM me and I can give you some details I don’t want to post publicly for anonymity reasons.

Overall you can’t go wrong. Three amazing schools. Full disclosure, I wanted to go to Yale for med school but was waitlisted. Now that I’m almost done, I would do this all over again at Columbia. Phenomenal experience, great people, great learning environment, great training, great research.

PM me if I can help you with your decision at all. And congrats!

 

[confudidoeskimo]

I was also considering between Yale and UW. I think based on your pros/cons list, Yale and UW seem to be better choices than Columbia. Interview day impression is huge, and if the school's culture isn't a good fit, it'll be a tough 8 years. But at the same time, it's good that you're going to each school's second look, because I've heard impressions can change in the more laid back atmosphere of revisits vs interviews.

I initially thought of the UW WWAMI rotations as a con, but upon speaking to students during the interview weekend it seems like a huge plus. It's pretty unique in that there's a high level of hands-on experience and responsibility during the rotations as you're often the only med student at the clinic. Seems like a great way to build practical clinical skills early on in your training. Also, the primary focus of the school shouldn't affect MSTP students much IMO - the hospital has great residency programs for tons of specialties and the MSTP match list is phenomenal.

I've narrowed down my options to two schools at this point - UW and one other. I chose UW over Yale primarily because of location. Research fit for me between the two was really a wash, and unlike many others, I didn't think the Yale system would work so well for my personal work style. So the decision came down to factors that would dictate my happiness at the school for 8 years. Hope to see you at revisit!