Did I choose the wrong school?

[fredo baggins]

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I seek guidance...

I withdrew my acceptance from UA-Tuscon and Drexel today and committed to NYMC because of a 15k/yr scholarship they offered me. After reading about all the negatives ppl on sdn have to say about NYMC (e.g. reputation, Touro affiliation), I'm wondering if I made a poor decision today.

I'm WL at Dartmouth and Rosalind CMS and don't foresee any $ offers there...

Did I make a mistake? What do I do if DMS or RFU offers a seat?

Thanks for the help!

 

[jturkel]

I seek guidance...

I withdrew my acceptance from UA-Tuscon and Drexel today and committed to NYMC because of a 15k/yr scholarship they offered me. After reading about all the negatives ppl on sdn have to say about NYMC (e.g. reputation, Touro affiliation), I'm wondering if I made a poor decision today.

I'm WL at Dartmouth and Rosalind CMS and don't foresee any $ offers there...

Did I make a mistake? What do I do if DMS or RFU offers a seat?

Thanks for the help!

I would have gone to U of A in Tucson EASILY over Drexel and NYMC. More reputable, excellent hospital, and actually a solid curriculum for its being a state school. better weather than the other places, pass/fail, standardized patients, the societies is great...... I was originally going to go there over BUSM

it is difficult to turn down money, so your decision cannot solely be called poor. IIRC, NYMC is now somewhat affiliated with an osteopathic school or something. If I got into DMS or RFU, I would take those over NYMC.....RFU over NYMC b/c of location and DMS over NYMC b/c of prestige/program/hospital/etc. I think it would be worth the extra money in loans. Those are payable. Most doctors I talk to now regret not going to another school as they were too afraid to take out such large loans....only to learn it would have only ended up taking them another yr or 2 max to pay them off.

edit: i am biased, by the way. i went to u of a for undergrad and have friends down there. however, i do sincerely feel it is a better program than nymc and drexel and the avg person would definitely prefer the weather/lifestyle/environment there.

 

[utah3219]

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[utah3219]

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[AyCaramba]

I don't think you made a mistake. SDN tends to be a bit of an echo chamber, and you have to trust your own priorities and instincts above whatever information you run across here. If you get off the waitlist at Dartmouth, consider it, but otherwise, I think you made a reasonable choice. Your opinion is worth just as much as any other individual or collective one you might find on SDN.

 

[flip26]

For most people, NYMC is a safety, or fall back, school. Or for some, it is close to home, or close enough to NYC to be enticing. Otherwise it is hard to find many people for whom NYMC would be a first choice school over say a state school or a higher ranked private.

With money, however, NYMC is a perfectly intelligent choice.

Don't worry about what others think.

 

[Rzarecta]

Agreed. I think NYMC is a very solid choice. I met many students from that program during my interview trail and they had only great things to say about their program. Furthermore they were some of the friendliest and humble applicants.

 

[Kb041]

Don't listen to the naysayers!

You made the choice that you knew in your heart of hearts was the right one for you. You are just having second thoughts which are natural for someone who just made such a huge life decision!

Putting a poll up on SDN might have altered your view away from what you knew was best for you. I say if you're happy you made the right decision. Plus you'll have an extra 60 grand!!! 🙂

 

[softmed]

Don't fret about these people saying they're affiliated with a DO school. That's not even slightly true. They're affiliated (or going to be) with Touro, who own/sponsor something like 15 colleges and a bunch of graduate schools. Two of their graduate schools happen to be osteopathic medical schools. It's like saying that if you go to SUNY Downstate you're basically going to an online college because SUNY owns Empire State College. Or more accurately, SUNY Downstate is affiliated with an online college.

 

[whoknows2012]

I would have gone to U of A in Tucson EASILY over Drexel and NYMC. More reputable, excellent hospital, and actually a solid curriculum for its being a state school. better weather than the other places, pass/fail, standardized patients, the societies is great...... I was originally going to go there over BUSM

it is difficult to turn down money, so your decision cannot solely be called poor. IIRC, NYMC is now somewhat affiliated with an osteopathic school or something. If I got into DMS or RFU, I would take those over NYMC.....RFU over NYMC b/c of location and DMS over NYMC b/c of prestige/program/hospital/etc. I think it would be worth the extra money in loans. Those are payable. Most doctors I talk to now regret not going to another school as they were too afraid to take out such large loans....only to learn it would have only ended up taking them another yr or 2 max to pay them off.

edit: i am biased, by the way. i went to u of a for undergrad and have friends down there. however, i do sincerely feel it is a better program than nymc and drexel and the avg person would definitely prefer the weather/lifestyle/environment there.

Probably some of the most stupid advice I've ever heard. In fact, it's most often the opposite where a person chose a more expensive school and regretted the huge amount of loans they had to take out and pay back. Assuming you get $15,000 over 4 yrs, that saves you $60,000 which in terms of paying back loans comes out to around $100,000 extra...not worth it if you ask me. Also, $100,000 extra is NOT something you can pay back in an extra 2 years, sorry Jturkel.

This is only in response to this bit of bad advice, not my actual opinion of what you should've chosen. It was clearly a tough decision but I think that if you made it for the right reason you'll be fine.

 

[theprodizzle]

Just because SDN people said negative things doesn't mean that the negative things are true. Sure, there may be some truths, but most are merely opinions. Seems like you chose the school that worked best for you and you should be confident about that. If the other two waitlists work out, at least you will have choices to pick what will work better. Nonetheless, NYMC is a great school (that's just my opinion and the impression I got from interviewing and doing some of my own research).

However, if you'll be considering withdraw that acceptance, I sure could use some waitlist movement help...Just kidding, I kid.

 

[ButImLETired]

Probably some of the most stupid advice I've ever heard. In fact, it's most often the opposite where a person chose a more expensive school and regretted the huge amount of loans they had to take out and pay back. Assuming you get $15,000 over 4 yrs, that saves you $60,000 which in terms of paying back loans comes out to around $100,000 extra...not worth it if you ask me. Also, $100,000 extra is NOT something you can pay back in an extra 2 years, sorry Jturkel.

This is only in response to this bit of bad advice, not my actual opinion of what you should've chosen. It was clearly a tough decision but I think that if you made it for the right reason you'll be fine.

FWIW, I've met 2 docs who have told me the same thing- that they chose the money, and they wish they hadn't. So it might be "stupid advice" according to you, but it certainly isn't a crazy thought that no one shares.

 

[flip26]

FWIW, I've met 2 docs who have told me the same thing- that they chose the money, and they wish they hadn't. So it might be "stupid advice" according to you, but it certainly isn't a crazy thought that no one shares.

These docs attendings? How old? Did they give up the chance to go to a Top 10 over a couple thousand bucks for their lowly state school? Or what...

For the OP, he is picking and choosing from, for all intents and purposes, peer level schools, further down the food chain, where it is hard to believe that he is giving up some huge opportunity by picking one over the other, thus cost becomes a larger factor.

The context of the thread matters. The schools involved in the decision matter. And the "era" matters.

And listening to what established docs think, given that they attended med school in an era when tuition was much lower, and the amount of debt they took on was lower, and interest rates they could consolidate at were much lower, is not very useful for the debt that people entering med school today face especially in light of the declining physician compensation people face now and in the future.

 

[longhorn09]

Haha, OP, so you've picked NYMC...Are you serious?😕






































I'm just kidding. EVERY single US MD school will give you legit education and the chance to success. Plus, it significantly reduce your financial burben of going to med school. I don't see why you have to regret about your choice.

 

[naijaboi]

FWIW, I've met 2 docs who have told me the same thing- that they chose the money, and they wish they hadn't. So it might be "stupid advice" according to you, but it certainly isn't a crazy thought that no one shares.

The grass is always greener on the other side. I too have met doctors who wished they followed the money and not the prestige.

To the OP: You made your choice because you thought it was best for you. You should be happy with it. I don't know much about NYMC, but I am sure their students are more likely to be happy than not. SDN is a small sample of to-be medical students (and a very opiniated sample at that). I would take what people say on here with a grain of salt.

 

[LeftyUM]

FWIW, I've met 2 docs who have told me the same thing- that they chose the money, and they wish they hadn't. So it might be "stupid advice" according to you, but it certainly isn't a crazy thought that no one shares.

I'm with you on this one ButImLETired. Many of the doctors I know also wish they hadn't followed the money (some recent docs out of residency as well). Certainly not "stupid advice", jturkel is in the right mindset.

 

[flip26]

I'm with you on this one ButImLETired. Many of the doctors I know also wish they hadn't followed the money (some recent docs out of residency as well). Certainly not "stupid advice", jturkel is in the right mindset.

Sounds more like sour grapes to me...

 

[w8ting2exhale]

This is NOT the time to have second thoughts!! What's done is done. If you don't get off the waitlist at Dartmouth, rest assured that NYMC is a decent school and will provide you with a good education...you'll still reach your goal of being a physician and if you work hard, you won't be limited at all. No use debating this issue now when it's all set and done.

 

[fredo baggins]

Thank you everyone for your advise. I actually just recently learned about SDN and didn't know about the poll option🙁. I forgot to mention that I am OOS for Tuscon. In the end, you can say that money and a nice change from CA drew me to NYMC. Come to think of it, I have a physician cousin that is always complaining about his debt from RFU...I don't want that.

Thanks guys!

 

[Suenya]

Most doctors I talk to now regret not going to another school as they were too afraid to take out such large loans....only to learn it would have only ended up taking them another yr or 2 max to pay them off.

In fact this is the exact opposite I've heard from every doctor. Granted, it might be because most of the docs I know went to top schools (the hospital I work is rather highly ranked for the department and in general), but those that didn't also said it was a good decision.

Everyone also said that it's a rather individual decision. The closest I heard to that was an attending that told me that if I really prefer one school over another strongly I should go to the one I prefer because the money won't be too much of a problem. But he also said that if there's any doubt, go to the cheaper school. And he was the only one to not implicitly say to choose cheaper.

Cheap is good. And while NYMC is often considered a safety (it wasn't somewhere I was personally considered in) I've never heard anything negative about the quality of doctors it produces. I would have made the same decision in your shoes.

 

[ROGI]

If i had 15k to go to NYMC...i would choose it in a heartbeat....but that may be because i chose NYMC over Drexel without any cash 🙂. Even with this new Touro thing and the loss of St. Vincent's, the school STILL seemed more enjoyable to me than Drexel. I've heard all the talk about it being a "safety school" and that even NYMC students don't like going there, but I didn't feel any of that. My interview went well, they were very prompt in responding post interview (I waited 20 weeks post interview to get a response at Drexel). The anatomy lab and the education building were ten times better than the one at Drexel. Agreed, student dorm living is the worst, but think how much better you will be doing academically with very few distractions and living so close to campus. You are only there for 2 years really, so my plan is to put my head down and work my butt off. Plus, doing most of your rotations in NYC is unmatched by Drexel. Of course I don't know philly/pitt/NJ hospitals, but I would much rather train in NYC. The students i encountered seemed very happy, which was not the case for my interview at Drexel. I'm sure there is someone on the Drexel threads that posted the EXACT opposite paragraph about why he/she picked Drexel, but that's the beautiful thing, we go with what we "feel" is best, no matter what anyone tells us. I can't speak for Tucson, but I think you made a great choice - you went with what felt right. Wondering if you have picked the right school is totally normal....i do it all the time.....but I would be freaking out if I picked Drexel just because people said it was better, even though i hated it and loved NYMC. Definitely looking forward to meeting you! my name is Igor, see you in August!

P.S. Congrats on the cash!!!!! That is sick!

 

[Salt and Lime]

I know absolutely nothing about NYMC and its degree of affiliation with Touro's osteopathic programs. But... why would being affiliated with a DO school be such a bad thing?

 

[Pedie Packs]

Why would docs (current attendings) be salty about what school they picked? Or price over prestige etc.

I feel like everything goes out the window when you start medical school. And anyways, you can always pursue prestige for your residency match.

I've shadowed some fantastic doctors at a top notch hospital at my ugrad, and when I go look at their CV's, I'm surprised to see that they've come from all over: NYMC, Ross, U of M, OSU, Toledo, Missouri... (I'm sure they weren't groveling about where they did medical school at any point of their day, lol) . Like someone else said, you are saving yourself up to 100k. Congrats on the scholarship, get these thoughts out of your head and do your best in August!

 

[junjinie]

I think that you're old enough to make your own choices, and I firmly believe that the only things you can be proud of are decisions that you have made for yourself.

I applaud you for not making a poll like every other person here and instead going with your gut.

Bravo. 🙂

P.S. No offense to the people who make polls. I don't condone making ill-informed decisions, but I think that the OP or anyone on SDN for that matter would go and choose a medical school without even considering his other options.