CUSM VS NYMC

[sheeeeesh]

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Hi all,

I have been fortunate enough to be accepted to two medical schools I am currently deciding between. These are two very different schools that appeal to me for different reasons, and I know ill have to be the one to make the decision based on whats most important to me but I would love some feedback and insight into each school and how it may affect me long term.

CUSM

Pros
1. An hour away from home. My mom is sick and being close to her would mean the world to me
2. I'm a little scared of being away from my friends. They're my main support system and I give a lot of credit to them for my sanity. Being so close to home means I could see them on the weekends.

Cons
1. Most obvious- this is a new school. No graduated class so no one has matched yet and I can't see how well people have done. I'm terribly scared to go somewhere where I may be limited in my future career because the specialties I consider myself interested in are all highly competitive. I don't want to limit myself
2. From what I could tell at interview day, there weren't too many research opportunities. Research is really important to me because im interested in it and also because it seems to be a key part of residency apps.
3. In riverside.. kinda in the middle of nowhere. Hate the immediate area.
4. This is dumb but I guess their commit to enroll deadline is in 2 weeks ??? That would mean I have to take myself off the waitlist for Stanford and UCSD, which are my top schools.


NYMC

Pros
1. Such an amazing sense of community I got from interviewing there. Really everyone seemed like family and it seems like people are for the most part happy there.
2. I love how the school has a Jewish vibe to it. I grew up Jewish and actually would love to be in an atmosphere that supports Jews and gives off for holidays like they do.
3. Compared to CUSM, felt like there'd be lot more opportunities to do research there and really get involved.
4. This is an established school, and while its not even a top 50 school, I'd feel more confident that I would get where I would want to go after medical school if I were to go here.

Cons
1. This is huge for me. I'd be 3000 miles away from my mom. I dont want to have regrets later. She's gone through such a difficult time already and shes been praying everyday to have me close by. It's too hard to imagine to leave her.
2. No support system out in New York. I'd be forced to make new friends which would be great but from experience, I have had a hard time with this.
3. In Valhalla, a bit of a drive from the city. I'm a city boy myself having grown up in LA and I worry how I'd adapt to a less exciting and busy area to live in. I guess some students do their rotations 3rd and 4th year in the city which would be really nice.



I want to say I recognize that the main reasons I want to go to CUSM are personal while the main reasons I want to go to NYMC are for my professional future. So I know ultimately I'll have to decide myself which is more important to me. I really am coming on here to see if anyone has gone thru anything similar in making their decision or if you have any school-specific insight (for or against) to enlighten my decision process. Also, any current students at either of these schools that could talk please message me!

 

[Redpancreas]

Hi all,

I have been fortunate enough to be accepted to two medical schools I am currently deciding between. These are two very different schools that appeal to me for different reasons, and I know ill have to be the one to make the decision based on whats most important to me but I would love some feedback and insight into each school and how it may affect me long term.

CUSM

Pros
1. An hour away from home. My mom is sick and being close to her would mean the world to me
2. I'm a little scared of being away from my friends. They're my main support system and I give a lot of credit to them for my sanity. Being so close to home means I could see them on the weekends.

Cons
1. Most obvious- this is a new school. No graduated class so no one has matched yet and I can't see how well people have done. I'm terribly scared to go somewhere where I may be limited in my future career because the specialties I consider myself interested in are all highly competitive. I don't want to limit myself
2. From what I could tell at interview day, there weren't too many research opportunities. Research is really important to me because im interested in it and also because it seems to be a key part of residency apps.
3. In riverside.. kinda in the middle of nowhere. Hate the immediate area.
4. This is dumb but I guess their commit to enroll deadline is in 2 weeks ??? That would mean I have to take myself off the waitlist for Stanford and UCSD, which are my top schools.


NYMC

Pros
1. Such an amazing sense of community I got from interviewing there. Really everyone seemed like family and it seems like people are for the most part happy there.
2. I love how the school has a Jewish vibe to it. I grew up Jewish and actually would love to be in an atmosphere that supports Jews and gives off for holidays like they do.
3. Compared to CUSM, felt like there'd be lot more opportunities to do research there and really get involved.
4. This is an established school, and while its not even a top 50 school, I'd feel more confident that I would get where I would want to go after medical school if I were to go here.

Cons
1. This is huge for me. I'd be 3000 miles away from my mom. I dont want to have regrets later. She's gone through such a difficult time already and shes been praying everyday to have me close by. It's too hard to imagine to leave her.
2. No support system out in New York. I'd be forced to make new friends which would be great but from experience, I have had a hard time with this.
3. In Valhalla, a bit of a drive from the city. I'm a city boy myself having grown up in LA and I worry how I'd adapt to a less exciting and busy area to live in. I guess some students do their rotations 3rd and 4th year in the city which would be really nice.


I want to say I recognize that the main reasons I want to go to CUSM are personal while the main reasons I want to go to NYMC are for my professional future. So I know ultimately I'll have to decide myself which is more important to me. I really am coming on here to see if anyone has gone thru anything similar in making their decision or if you have any school-specific insight (for or against) to enlighten my decision process. Also, any current students at either of these schools that could talk please message me!

I think there's another forum for this. I'll answer, but it's in the wrong place. You've also left out what your career goals are and what the tuitions are although I looked them up and made the assumption that you're a Cali resident.

Congrats! I'm sorry to hear about what sounds like a long struggle with your mom.

The first thing to assess is your mother. What support do you provide to her currently? Are you doing things for her to help her around the house and does she need that assistance? If so, you probably are best off to attend CUSM. You really don't have a choice as you have to do this for your mom. While CUSM doesn't have a match class, most MD schools end up with decent match lists. Nothing extraordinary, but acceptable ones.

NYMC though is the better choice for your career. The match list/name across the board is better. Additionally money wise CUSM is private and has elected the standard 60K rate and NYMC is 60K too. The Valhalla COL is not dramatically higher so the price tag is equivalent.

Overall, I think NYMC is a better choice. Talk to your mom/family about it though. Have you considered she would want what's best for you? You're clearly entertaining the idea of NYMC so I imagine there are arrangements that can be made to take care of her if you were gone. I personally would want to make sure someone in the family can do it without too much trouble, but that's something I apply to myself. Figuring out if it's imperative for you to be with your mom is your personal decision. All we can say is that NYMC is about tier better option than CUSM. In your terms, Stanford is top tier, NYMC is midtier, CUSM is lowtier.

Lastly, wrote this a long time ago. It has some more information for those choosing schools:

Insight into Pre-Medical Decisions from a Resident (factors in choosing a school, life outlook, etc)

Hey SDN Pre-Med Community, I'm now a resident physician and would like to type up a bit about some things I wished I'd known when applying. Forgive me if some of this stuff is now obvious. I know the stakes get higher every year and as a result, pre-meds are becoming more and more knowledgeable...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[wysdoc]

I'm going to move this over to the "Help me Decide" forum, @sheeeeesh - I think you will get more comments there.

Good luck with your decisions!

 

[LunaOri]

How sick is your mom? If her time is limited, or if she needs frequent hospitalizations, you won’t be happy across the country. If she will be able to manage without you for 3-4 years, go to NYMC and then move closer to home for residency.

 

[sheeeeesh]

I think there's another forum for this. I'll answer, but it's in the wrong place. You've also left out what your career goals are and what the tuitions are although I looked them up and made the assumption that you're a Cali resident.

Congrats! I'm sorry to hear about what sounds like a long struggle with your mom.

The first thing to assess is your mother. What support do you provide to her currently? Are you doing things for her to help her around the house and does she need that assistance? If so, you probably are best off to attend CUSM. You really don't have a choice as you have to do this for your mom. While CUSM doesn't have a match class, most MD schools end up with decent match lists. Nothing extraordinary, but acceptable ones.

NYMC though is the better choice for your career. The match list/name across the board is better. Additionally money wise CUSM is private and has elected the standard 60K rate and NYMC is 60K too. The Valhalla COL is not dramatically higher so the price tag is equivalent.

Overall, I think NYMC is a better choice. Talk to your mom/family about it though. Have you considered she would want what's best for you? You're clearly entertaining the idea of NYMC so I imagine there are arrangements that can be made to take care of her if you were gone. I personally would want to make sure someone in the family can do it without too much trouble, but that's something I apply to myself. Figuring out if it's imperative for you to be with your mom is your personal decision. All we can say is that NYMC is about tier better option than CUSM. In your terms, Stanford is top tier, NYMC is midtier, CUSM is lowtier.

Lastly, wrote this a long time ago. It has some more information for those choosing schools:

Insight into Pre-Medical Decisions from a Resident (factors in choosing a school, life outlook, etc)

Hey SDN Pre-Med Community, I'm now a resident physician and would like to type up a bit about some things I wished I'd known when applying. Forgive me if some of this stuff is now obvious. I know the stakes get higher every year and as a result, pre-meds are becoming more and more knowledgeable...

forums.studentdoctor.net

Thank you so much for your thoughtful response. I think I could make arrangements for my mom as she doesn’t depend on me too heavily anymore. But she looks to me a lot for emotional support and I feel like I really do provide that for her a lot.

I want to work in translational medicine. Research and practice. I always associated that with the top 20 schools and I feel like CUSM won’t do the best job of getting me there. I am a Cali resident and I hope to match and practice here later on.

 

[sheeeeesh]

I'm going to move this over to the "Help me Decide" forum, @sheeeeesh - I think you will get more comments there.

Good luck with your decisions!

Thank you

 

[sheeeeesh]

if being close to your mom is like no other medicine she can take that brings her warmth/comfort and uplift her fighting spirit, than the choice is clear. CUSOM will allow you to match to Cali program easier and you will be an MD. God bless your mother.

Will it actually help me match in Cali better than nymc would? I’ve also heard the opposite. My mom will do fine without me, but I’m not sure how much time she has left and I’m not sure how that will play out as far as how she may need me in the future

 

[sheeeeesh]

How sick is your mom? If her time is limited, or if she needs frequent hospitalizations, you won’t be happy across the country. If she will be able to manage without you for 3-4 years, go to NYMC and then move closer to home for residency.

I wish I knew. The doctors aren’t clear on her prognosis. Could be months to years. Not sure at all and the uncertainty is what makes this so hard. I know she will have pretty significant surgeries that will require hospitalizations at some point while I’m in school

 

[theendisnigh]

I wish I knew. The doctors aren’t clear on her prognosis. Could be months to years. Not sure at all and the uncertainty is what makes this so hard. I know she will have pretty significant surgeries that will require hospitalizations at some point while I’m in school

In which case, I would go to CUSM for the support to your mother and the support from your friends. If her treatment becomes complicated, you will certainly need a support system.

 

[sheeeeesh]

In which case, I would go to CUSM for the support to your mother and the support from your friends. If her treatment becomes complicated, you will certainly need a support system.

Thank you. Then it just gets me thinking like am I selling myself short? Now I possibly won’t be the kind of doctor I want to be..? Ah, really difficult situation. But thank you for offering your insight

 

[theendisnigh]

Thank you. Then it just gets me thinking like am I selling myself short? Now I possibly won’t be the kind of doctor I want to be..? Ah, really difficult situation. But thank you for offering your insight

As someone else has said, new MD schools still yield decent match lists. You should be wary of new DO schools, but NOT new MD schools. Whatever you match in will be up to the work you put into your four years.

 

[dgray]

Current nymc M3 student here- life is short, and it seems like your family is really important to you. If your goal is to stay in California, stay in California. Research isn’t superb at NYMC either, but if you have cali connections you can always continue with research at institutions you already have connections with while in school.

 

[Banco]

Go to CUSM, work your butt off, and match in California. You've also gotten interviews at UCSD and Stanford - it means you're an excellent student and know how to succeed academically. You will have to seek out more opportunities on your own for research, but you can absolutely do translational research coming from any medical school in your career.

Most importantly, you will 100% regret being so far away from your mom if she's that sick.