Decision time! Just want some opinions

[C@lidoc]

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So I'm making my final decisions and I want to make sure I'm making the best choice.

I'm choosing between Cornell, NYU, Sinai, Pitt, and UCSF. I'm not going to factor in money because the difference between all won't be too significant for me. I'm interested in exploring some surgical specialties and being involved in research, but more clinically oriented.

1. UCSF
Pros:
-Location (Love SF)
-Family in CA
-Reputation
-No internal ranking
-I hear it's one of the best clinically, but idk what this means or if it's true.

Cons:
-Might be restricted to CA for matching (don't know how true this is)
-Public, and might have funding issues. I prefer to go to a private school, but maybe this won't matter.

2. Cornell/NYU/Sinai
I'm listing them all together since I honestly can't tell them apart much. So maybe people can help give me more pros/cons for these.
General Pros:
-NYU, haven't lived here before but I really liked it every time I came to visit
-Lots of different hospital systems, and access to very diverse patients
-Better chance at some east coast prestigious residencies

Cons:
-Not close to any family
-I don't like the cold too much, but maybe I could adjust

3. Pitt
Pros:
-I liked the area, and it seemed like a cool place to live, but maybe not better than SF
-I liked my time there, about the same as the other places
-Maybe better chance of prestigious east coast residency ?

Cons:
-No family
-Cold, maybe? Not a fan of their sports.

I think my gut is telling me UCSF, but I want to consider all places. I really have never liked public schools so that's what is deterring me from just going with UCSF.

What other aspects should I consider or am I missing?

Any help is appreciated.

 

[Abstractions]

Live the dream, go to UCSF and don't look back.

 

[Spinach Dip]

 

[ThoracicGuy]

So I'm making my final decisions and I want to make sure I'm making the best choice.

I'm choosing between Cornell, NYU, Sinai, Pitt, and UCSF. I'm not going to factor in money because the difference between all won't be too significant for me. I'm interested in exploring some surgical specialties and being involved in research, but more clinically oriented.

1. UCSF
Pros:
-Location (Love SF)
-Family in CA
-Reputation
-No internal ranking
-I hear it's one of the best clinically, but idk what this means or if it's true.

Cons:
-Might be restricted to CA for matching (don't know how true this is)
-Public, and might have funding issues. I prefer to go to a private school, but maybe this won't matter.

2. Cornell/NYU/Sinai
I'm listing them all together since I honestly can't tell them apart much. So maybe people can help give me more pros/cons for these.
General Pros:
-NYU, haven't lived here before but I really liked it every time I came to visit
-Lots of different hospital systems, and access to very diverse patients
-Better chance at some east coast prestigious residencies

Cons:
-Not close to any family
-I don't like the cold too much, but maybe I could adjust

3. Pitt
Pros:
-I liked the area, and it seemed like a cool place to live, but maybe not better than SF
-I liked my time there, about the same as the other places
-Maybe better chance of prestigious east coast residency ?

Cons:
-No family
-Cold, maybe? Not a fan of their sports.

I think my gut is telling me UCSF, but I want to consider all places. I really have never liked public schools so that's what is deterring me from just going with UCSF.

What other aspects should I consider or am I missing?

Any help is appreciated.

UCSF won't limit you to CA residencies...

 

[Blue Blood]

The way you explain it UCSF>>>>>>>everything else.

You won't be limited for residencies and the cold sucks more than you can imagine.

 

[breakintheroof]

Any help is appreciated.

Which do you prefer:

a) Going to a public school
b) Going to a private school in a cold, dark, faraway place thousands of miles from your loved ones where you would have to change your username

Seriously, congratulations on fantastic choices. I am sure more experienced people will tell you that UCSF won't limit you, geographically or otherwise, when it comes to residency. (@ThoracicGuy already has.) Also, while UCSF's patient population might not match that of NYU (Bellevue) or Sinai (Elmhurst), it's otherwise about as diverse as it gets.

I don't like to take one side or another in these threads, but it's hard not to given your OP!

Edited to add: If you'd like an honest inside look about the Match at UCSF, here are their interesting student post-match reports.

 

[MDporfavor8888]

i think this is a no brainer... you see ess eff

 

[WedgeDawg]

Congratulations on your choices! You really can't go wrong with UCSF unless you hate San Fran. For the New York schools, all are strong, though if I were in that situation I would probably choose Cornell, as it's affiliated with NYPH, which gives its students first access to HSS (best Ortho in the country), Sloan-Kettering (for everything oncology), NINY (If brains are your thing, though it's technically Columbia-affiliated), and to an extent Rockefeller University. NYU and Sinai are also strong (NYU arguably is better than Sinai in surgery and Sinai in Internal Medicine, but not really a significant difference). UCSF is strong in everything. Top notch Neurosurgery too if you're interested in that. NYU also has Belleview which means you get a ton of hands on experience basically being someone's doctor.

For me personally no internal ranking is huge, which is why of all the schools you listed, I think UCSF is the most ideal. I know that Pitt and NYU have internal ranking; not sure about Cornell.

 

[gyngyn]

You can see when comparing UCSF's USMLE scores to national means for each specialty that much is forgiven because of where they attended.

 

[Salt Salt]

UCSF of course! 😉

 

[WedgeDawg]

You can see when comparing UCSF's USMLE scores to national means for each specialty that much is forgiven because of where they attended.

I thought your previous comment was funnier 🙁

 

[C@lidoc]

You can see when comparing UCSF's USMLE scores to national means for each specialty that much is forgiven because of where they attended.

I guess I have to look at that. I did hear that they have a lower step 1 average for whatever that means. I know step 1 is probably more related to the individual work though.

 

[gyngyn]

I guess I have to look at that. I did hear that they have a lower step 1 average for whatever that means. I know step 1 is probably more related to the individual work though.

http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Charting-Outcomes-2014-Final.pdf
Look here for Step 1 scores by specialty.
Use the link above for comparison.

 

[C@lidoc]

http://www.nrmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Charting-Outcomes-2014-Final.pdf
Look here for Step 1 scores by specialty.
Use the link above for comparison.

Thank you!

 

[gyngyn]

Thank you!

For example, the mean Step 1 score for a successful US Senior applicant in Ob-Gyn was 226 (page 162).

The mean for an unsuccessful US Senior applicant was 209, the same as the mean for a successful UCSF Ob Gyn applicant! That's a nice boost.