Decided.

[capt_levi_93]

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Decided. Thanks all!

 

[deleted1065184]

What specialties do you have interest in and how much research do you plan to do? Also, how resistant is your partner to moving to NYC or doing long distance should you choose to move there?

 

[PuzzlesMD]

50k less debt with Columbia, maybe my logic is flawed but that means you could spend an extra 50k more in housing/flights to Boston/fun activities and 'come out ahead' from your BU debt. Of course you are better off minimizing debt, but I would say the price difference helps make some of the Columbia cons less.. bad?

Also I think a lot of it also depends on what I'mInDer! asked

 

[pierty]

Columbia has graded clerkships as well. The distance between Boston and NYC isn't too bad, but it will still be "long-distance."

It sounds like you want to go to BU for salient reasons, but are worried that passing up Columbia will "close doors". Both are relatively strong as research institutions, but Columbia is stronger, and that comes with reputation. Your focus doesn't seem to be on research, regardless.

To help with the decision, I would ask BU to match or exceed the delta in Columbia's tuition with a scholarship, and then reassess. Ultimately, you will do the best where you are happiest, but I think you will be just fine with either decision.

 

[Medstart108]

I would pick Columbia, ultimately it will be of benefit in my opinion.

 

[thisishardenough]

COLUMBIA!! I'm not sure where you are in Boston, but the BU medical campus is in a lower resourced area of the city (closer to "meth mile"). I lived right around there when I was in Boston and sometimes it was jarring (finding needles on my steps, someone once fainted in front of my car, etc). I also just think Columbia has a world-renowned reputation that is very very impressive and BU has less so that rep. New York is an amazing city (I live here now and prefer it over Boston 10000x)

 

[i-doctor]

If it were Columbia vs. BU with Columbia costing $50K more, then I would say it’s a close call. But with Columbia actually costing $50K less than BU I would easily choose Columbia!
I too lived in both Boston and NYC for school/training and would also recommend NYC. You’ll never regret the time in your life that you got the chance to live in NYC, and you’ll always feel that way, even 50 years from now.

 

[deleted1158770]

I would say that it comes down to how important to you social justice work is during medical school and in your future career.

 

[deleted1095841]

Plenty of people at Columbia work to advance social justice as well, and I'm sure there are strong researchers at BU. Even if schools have stated missions, what I think is more important is the mission of the people (faculty, residents, peers) you end up working with.

I would lean toward Columbia. It will open more doors for you, no matter what area of medicine you want to go into. You'll be able to find social justice focused people there who are doing meanigful and impactful work, and they'll help you get where you need to go in your career. It also happens to be a bit cheaper.

By the way, the Columbia med school is located in a relatively underserved area (Washington Heights) compared to Columbia's main campus.

 

[capt_levi_93]

What specialties do you have interest in and how much research do you plan to do? Also, how resistant is your partner to moving to NYC or doing long distance should you choose to move there?

I'm not super set on any specialty. I'm interested in internal med and maybe sub-specializing in either GI or allergy/immunology. I'm also not certain whether or not I'd want to do research post-grab, so I definitely want the ability to try it out.

My SO would move, it's just a matter or whether the benefits of Columbia outweigh the uprooting.

 

[capt_levi_93]

@I'mInDer! what are your thoughts on the competitive nature of Columbia vs. the prestige gain and research focus of Columbia over BU? My thoughts at this point are that Columbia would give easier access to research, but I'm worried that the school's competitive nature is not worth that benefit..

 

[deleted1065184]

@I'mInDer! what are your thoughts on the competitive nature of Columbia vs. the prestige gain and research focus of Columbia over BU? My thoughts at this point are that Columbia would give easier access to research, but I'm worried that the school's competitive nature is not worth that benefit..

Honestly, it's hard to comment on how competitive any particular school is. It really varies a lot from class-to-class. And ultimately, I personally don't think it's objective enough to be a reason to turn down an institution.

I personally didn't get the sense that Columbia was unusually competitive when I interviewed there, but then again I'm also just not somebody who is bothered by competitive people. As long as they don't try to sabotage me in some way, they're welcome to start doing research in all of their free time starting M1 lol.

Columbia does objectively have far more robust research opportunities than BU. However, I'm not sure how much of an impact that will have on a medical student, who will likely spend less than a few months doing any type of research anyway. You may decide to take a research year though, in which case being at Columbia would be beneficial.

The reality is Columbia is $50k cheaper, your partner is willing to move to NYC, and I don't feel like the concern about having a competitive class is a meaningful con. You may choose BU and find that their class is quite competitive too. Most med school classes have a mix of gunners, chill people, and everybody in-between...no matter what type of school you go to. You can also find social justice activity at Columbia.

Tbh I'm not seeing a big reason for you to choose BU over Columbia unless staying near your family is REALLY important to you.

 

[capt_levi_93]

Decided.

 

[theoceanman]

BU based on the pros and cons. BU is also known to have a lot of research opportunities available, as well as Boston being a research-heavy scene as a whole. BU is still a fantastic and well-recognized school!

 

[BritainKittenMittens]

Probably should continue it in your original one for context: Columbia vs BU

This is really a personal decision and you already know all the pros and cons. Many people would choose Columbia over BU with it also being 50k cheaper. But if you really value being in the Boston area, choosing BU over Columbia isn't ridiculous either.

 

[islandturtle4519]

Columbia is certainly more prestigious, but something I've heard from many administrators is that almost every single USMD program will be able to train you to become an awesome doctor. BU is a fantastic research university, and would afford you with all of the same resources and opportunities as Columbia, just with less of an "elite" name brand. I don't think you're closing many if any doors at all by choosing BU, Columbia might make things a little easier, but personally the tradeoff of a strong social support network for you and your spouse would make me lean to BU. It sounds like the location and class culture are preferable to you, and those are the two things that will likely affect your wellbeing in medical school the most. Its a tough decision for sure, but you can't go wrong either way at the end of the day.

 

[deleted1065184]

You didn't need a new post for this. You wanna go to BU but you're struggling to turn down Columbia bc of its name, so you're looking to us to give you reasons to choose BU. Dude you don't need more reasons, go to BU lmfao.

You're basically going out of your way to try and convince us that you should choose BU, why? As was stated in an earlier comment, this is a very personal decision. I don't think you should be looking to us to validate it and make you feel better about turning down Columbia. You're gonna be fine, stop overthinking it. Choose BU and live your best life lol

 

[thecheddar]

On the same vein as others have said, Brown sent out this really good Ted talk about tough decisions.

Tl;dw: 1) the right answer isn’t always quantifiable. It’s personal.

Fact of the matter is you got into flipping Columbia. No one can take that away from you. If you’re driven enough to land at Columbia, you’re prob capable and driven enough to land a solid residency

https://youtu.be/8GQZuzIdeQQ

 

[chilly_md]

Hey All,
I wanted to re-post this debate,

I merged your threads since this is a continuation of the prior discussion.

 

[canarystones]

You clearly want to go BU. You sound like you would be happier there. Go to BU .

 

[capt_levi_93]

BU based on the pros and cons. BU is also known to have a lot of research opportunities available, as well as Boston being a research-heavy scene as a whole. BU is still a fantastic and well-recognized school!

Thanks for the advice, and love the avatar!

 

[theoceanman]

Thanks for the advice, and love the avatar!

Thank you as well and best of luck to you future doctor!