Columbia V. Harvard

[ILovetheOC]

Which would you choose? If anyone goes to either school or is considering either, what appeals to you least? most?

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[Rendar5]

NYC > Boston. enough said for my opinion.

 

[quideam]

No Way!!! Boston >>>> NYC

It's MUCH more beautiful, has much more vegetation (TREES!!!!) and it's a much friendlier atmosphere, in my opinion, than NY.

Also, it's HARVARD. Come on.

 

[Eraserhead]

IMO, NYC beats Boston by a landslide.

 

[GTea]

NYC>>Boston. My friend goes to Harvard, and she doesn't like anything there aside from the school itself.

 

[TheFlash]

You know what Harvard grads call the feeling that people get when they tell them they went to Harvard? It's called the "H Bomb," because of the leveling effect of its reputation over any other school. Columbia, any way you look at it, doesn't have the same effect. True, they're both great schools, but if you're lucky enough to be faced with this decision, I can't see any reason not to go with the Big H. Better resources, better research opps, a more flexible non-traditional curriculum, and MGH(!!!) at your disposal.

 

[VCMM414]

If these two are my only choices... then probably Harvard. IMO MGH is not that big of an advantage over NYP, if at all, since Harvard is only affiliated with it. This means that HMS has little control over physicians, and thus the education, at MGH. NYP on the other hand IS Columbia's teaching hospital. I have a feeling that the teaching at NYP is on-par if not better than at MGH. And of course NYP is an excellent hospital also.

Then again there are other Harvard hospitals out there. BID, B&W, MEEI etc., all of them at the top of their respective fields. Tons of options to be sure, but these are all affiliates, so again the level of education may vary quite a bit.

Thank goodness there are other med schools out there.

 

[gujuDoc]

what does MGH stand for?????


I have seen pictures of HMS and heard many things from a couple of native Bostonian people whom now live in Florida. They have both told me that it is by far one of the most beautiful and charming cities in the world. I would go there any day of the week if I got an acceptance into their medical school.


I like the fact that they have the New Pathway program as well as the HST program and the MSTP program, which offers much diversity to the option which you may apply for.


NYC would be a fun city to visit. However, if I had to choose a place to actually live in, it would be Boston, because Boston is more charming.

I really think like someone said in a different post about HMS vs. JHU, pick which school you feel comfortable with and which school you like the program, atmosphere, etc. etc of better. Because in the end it is you who will spend four years in the city and you want to be happy with everything to do well.

 

[VCMM414]

MGH = Massachusetts General Hospital
B&W = Brigham and Woman's Hospital
BID = Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
MEEI = Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
NYP = New York Presbyterian Hospital

 

[fuzzylogic]

how about yankees vs red sox??

the truth is that it depends on how you feel. you will be in school for the next four yrs and it will be a long road if you end up somewhere unhappy. go to the revisit weekend and see how you like about the school and the environment. just my 0.02.

good luck

 

[crazy250]

another no brainer. harvard all the way! who cares about location when you can go to the best school in the country. heck, if harvard was in the middle of nowhere, i would still pick it over columbia in the city of new york.

 

[Sixdegrees]

New York City is better (most definitely individually-dependent though), but I'd choose Harvard.

The students who go to the schools are pretty different I'd say. Class personality matters. I'm not saying one is better than the other...just different. Same thing with the curricula.

Rep is negligible.

Harvard's hospitals are slightly better but who'd make a choice based on that.

 

[TheFlash]

Originally posted by Sixdegrees

Rep is negligible.

I agree with all you have to say, except this. Harvard and Hopkins leave all other schools in the dust in terms of reputation among the general public. Of course, people choose other schools over them all the time, since rep isn't everything. In fact, rep should a very minor factor in your decision to pick which school you'd be happiest attending.

 

[CalBeE]

For me personally, I'd choose Columbia over Harvard, but I think for most people, the resource available at Harvard's still unparallelled by any other school.

Boston may not be as great as NYC, but it's still BOSTON! We're not comparing NYC with a small town in north Dakota.

Plus if you withdraw from Harvard, it'll help out us waitlistees at Columbia

 

[ice_23]

Originally posted by TheFlash
You know what Harvard grads call the feeling that people get when they tell them they went to Harvard? It's called the "H Bomb," because of the leveling effect of its reputation over any other school. Columbia, any way you look at it, doesn't have the same effect. True, they're both great schools, but if you're lucky enough to be faced with this decision, I can't see any reason not to go with the Big H. Better resources, better research opps, a more flexible non-traditional curriculum, and MGH(!!!) at your disposal.

They actually call it the "H bomb?" That's pretty hilarious!

-Ice

 

[TheFlash]

Originally posted by ice_23
They actually call it the "H bomb?" That's pretty hilarious!

-Ice

Heh, yeah. I first read about the "H bomb" in Time Magazine, which refers to it as "campus lingo for the powerful effect Harvard credentials have on potential suitors." I didn't believe the hilarity of it, so I asked a friend who goes to Harvard undergrad if that was a token phrase. He smugly admitted that they actually do throw the "H bomb" around Boston.

 

[boomuntilnoon]

i reckon there are more (diverse) faggots in NYC than in Boston... remember people, the OP is a black gay man... priorities!!!

 

[BerkeleyPremed]

Originally posted by boomuntilnoon
i reckon there are more (diverse) faggots in NYC than in Boston... remember people, the OP is a black gay man... priorities!!!

This post is basically just asking for its author to get banned. DrMom's prescription for this poster: Banned.

Anyway, I think I would choose Harvard over Columbia. However, I think BOTH schools are VERY prestigious and the difference in quality between these two powerhouses is very small. The only reason I would choose Harvard is because of Massachusetts General and because I like Cambridge better than Morningside Heights (the undergrad campus of Columbia is here...I think the med school in Manhatten).

 

[boomuntilnoon]

Originally posted by BerkeleyPremed
This post is basically just asking for its author to get banned. DrMom's prescription for this poster: Banned.

*snickers*

I am just being honest... besides, if you look at some of his previous posts, you will see that the OP wants to find a boyfriend in medical school, but his situation is "unique" because he is a black gay man. Hell, I'm a ****** too... get over it.

 

[lyragrl]

Originally posted by BerkeleyPremed
I like Cambridge better than Morningside Heights (the undergrad campus of Columbia is here...I think the med school in Manhatten).

Umm... both the u-grad campus and the med school are in Manhattan. Morningside (main campus) is south of Washington Heights (health sciences) but they're both in Manhattan.

 

[thewebthsp]

Once you get to that level, I think you have to determine which school is for YOU. I didn't even apply to Harvard, after a very condescending email sent by one of their administrators to me in response to a question I had (after I was already on the fence about applying there).

I think Columbia is an incredible place, very intense, but it will put you in good stead. Yale, Penn, Cornell, Duke, UMich, WashU, UCSF etc... are all awesome places. And of course there's no place (not even Harvard) like Hopkins.