Emory vs Einstein: Please help!!

[m.rawley68]

Hi everyone,

I'm having a really, really hard time choosing between these two schools. Any help would be so appreciated.

EMORY PROS:

• I really like that their curriculum gives 5-6 months dedicated research time + 1.5 preclinical
• I really like the Atlanta area: it's suburban but can quickly go to the city, lots to do, lots of places to eat (I'm not a good cook lol), great weather, etc.
• I did my gap year with Emory, so I already have a lot of connections here
• T25 med school: With step 1 now being P/F, I'm wondering if "prestige" will matter more
• Associated with a University, so there's the law school, Business school, public health school etc. Seems like a more academic environment with more opportunities to meet people
• Has announced it will be in person next year
• Lots of apartments nearby that are really nice and affordable

EMORY CONS:

• It's far from home (I'm from New York and I really want to match back to New York for residency)
• Right now, I'm interested in competitive specialties (I'm really interested in derm), so just thinking ahead I could see myself taking a research year in between 3rd and 4th year. I would prob try to do the research fellowship in NYC, but I feel like it would be disruptive to have to move for a year from ATL to NYC
• Their match list HONESTLY does not seem much better / prestigious than Einsteins. There's a lot less NY matches, that might be student preference though. Of the places they send students to residencies for in NY, Einstien sends students to those exact same places
• COA is the sticker price (52k tuition, plus COL and healthcare)

EINSTEIN PROS:

• Their match list is really impressive in New York, and matching in NY is my priority: Regionally strong med school
• Easier to make connections in NYC for residency because I'll be close by (also I'd imagine I'd make upperclassmen friends / meet professors who did NYC residencies, and I think making connections is super important)
• If I wanted to do a research fellowship between 3rd and 4th year in NYC, it'd be so simple to do, plus Einstein offers grant money for fellowships
• Closer to friends and family in NY
• I've heard that the student body is very close
• I was selected as an Einstein Service and Research Scholar, so I will receive 20k per year scholarship

EINSTEIN CONS:

• Student housing is affordable, but I also hear complaints, like that the elevator doesn't work frequently and that it's pretty run down / old
• The facilities are very old and the library is super small (I know this sounds shallow, but I'm someone who hates studying in their room and is very externally motivated)
• The Bronx is not a fun area / not an ideal social or dating scene: it's at least 45 min to an hour from NYC
• Einstein is a "college" - it isn't really associated with a University so I feel like my chances for meeting people outside of medical school are very low
• Might not be in person: I can't stand "Zoom" university lol
• Lower ranked (T40)

Sorry that was so long! Basically, as a school, I really like Emory. But I'm so afraid that going to Emory won't allow me to make as good NYC connections and that I ultimately won't be able to match back to NY coming from Emory, especially if I'm interested in competitive specialties. I think I'd be a happier student at Emory, but the whole time I would be anxious that I'd get stuck in the south lol. By contrast, at Einstein I think I would be less happy with the medical school, but at least I would be content that I'm in NY and will probably have no problem matching residency in NY. Please let me know what you think!

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[Putkernerinthehall]

Sounds like Einstein will be less expensive ? How much less over four years and does that matter to you ?

 

[m.rawley68]

Sounds like Einstein will be less expensive ?How much less over four years and does that matter to you ?

Einstein will be less expensive prob around 80-90k less. Money is a factor in my decision but ultimately I'm not going to let 80-90k of loans be the deciding factor

 

[2.9GPA]

I'm in a very similar situation as you but it's Brown vs. Einstein. My pros and cons look very similar to yours. Hard to justify moving away from NY and spending more tuition when the ultimate goal is to end right back up in NYC. At the same time, 4 years in the Bronx may be rough. Seems like dating outside the Einstein bubble would be a challenge but possibly overcomable with dating apps, etc. Would be interested to see what Einstein students say about life there.

 

[m1redsox]

I’d go with Einstein. Family and $100k+ (after interest) is a big deal. I don’t think the ~10-15 spots in “prestige” will make a huge difference. However, with you wanting derm, you could make a really strong argument for going to the more prestigious school. At the end of the day, you’ll have to work hard for derm regardless of the school you attend, but Emory might make it slightly easier.

 

[m.rawley68]

I’d go with Einstein. Family and $100k+ (after interest) is a big deal. I don’t think the ~10-15 spots in “prestige” will make a huge difference. However, with you wanting derm, you could make a really strong argument for going to the more prestigious school. At the end of the day, you’ll have to work hard for derm regardless of the school you attend, but Emory might make it slightly easier.

Yah that’s true. I’ve compared a lot of the places where they send students for derm residents thought and honestly Einstein’s looks really strong. This year they’re sending two people to Cornell, one to yale, one to Dartmouth, and one to Monte. By contrast emory is sending one to Emory, one to Aurora St Luke’s medical center in WI, and one to northside hospital in GA. To me, it seems like Einstein sent derm students to more competitive derm residencies, which I don’t understand considering the “prestige” difference

 

[RSVBT]

I'm in a very similar situation as you but it's Brown vs. Einstein. My pros and cons look very similar to yours. Hard to justify moving away from NY and spending more tuition when the ultimate goal is to end right back up in NYC. At the same time, 4 years in the Bronx may be rough. Seems like dating outside the Einstein bubble would be a challenge but possibly overcomable with dating apps, etc. Would be interested to see what Einstein students say about life there.

Hey, MS1 here. Happy to chat. (I can even show you around campus with our new visitor guidelines if you're vaxxed).

In general, life here has been great so far. I actually now prefer this area to living in Manhattan. It's quieter, there's a beach, parks, botanical gardens, city island, and takes me ~30min to get to the fun stuff downtown. My favorite thing is our free gym which has a swimming pool, basketball courts, squash courts, sauna, and whirlpool. (Right next to housing). It's all I can ask for, honestly.

DM me about dating, lol

 

[RSVBT]

RE: some of the specific cons

-We were the only medical school in NYC to have had students on campus since the beginning of the year. We have had in-person labs/clinicals/discussion sections since August 2020 and and now starting to allow lectures in person too.
-I can understand the concern about meeting people outside of the college. I think it's up to the effort you put in.
-All of our elevators are now completely renovated!
-No one uses the library. We have full classrooms that you can take to yourself/with a group of students to study. They're great.

Emory is amazing too though.. I have been doing public health work there. Cannot go wrong with it for sure. I would go just for the weather.

 

[wagonwheel23]

By contrast emory is sending one to Emory, one to Aurora St Luke’s medical center in WI, and one to northside hospital in GA. To me, it seems like Einstein sent derm students to more competitive derm residencies, which I don’t understand considering the “prestige” difference

You are looking at prelim and TY years. Northside and Aurora St Luke's do not have dermatology residencies. So, those students are doing PGY-1 at those programs and then going elsewhere for derm.

 

[Banco]

For your situation, Einstein all the way. There is no significant prestige difference here, like at all.

Einstein is a nationally well recognized school, 90k cheaper, in NYC where your family friends are, and you want to end up in NYC anyway. That's a no brainer.

 

[m.rawley68]

For your situation, Einstein all the way. There is no significant prestige difference here, like at all.

Einstein is a nationally well recognized school, 90k cheaper, in NYC where your family friends are, and you want to end up in NYC anyway. That's a no brainer.

Hey, thanks so much for your input. My concern is that even comparing program director rankings, Emory’s is about 20 spots “higher” than Einstein’s. So I’m kinda just like, if I wanted to do something competitive like derm, should I go to the better ranked school? Also, if I think I would have a better quality of life at Emory / in ATL, and therefore went to emory, do you think I’d have a harder time matching in NY for residency as an emory graduate compared to an Einstein graduate?

 

[pierty]

Hey, thanks so much for your input. My concern is that even comparing program director rankings, Emory’s is about 20 spots “higher” than Einstein’s. So I’m kinda just like, if I wanted to do something competitive like derm, should I go to the better ranked school? Also, if I think I would have a better quality of life at Emory / in ATL, and therefore went to emory, do you think I’d have a harder time matching in NY for residency as an emory graduate compared to an Einstein graduate?

You are over-thinking. Emory and Einstein are both excellent, and the choice between them is a wash. PD rankings are not accurate because of sampling problems.

You should watch the “the paradox of choice“ TED talk by Barry Schwartz. He describes the difference there between “maximizers” and “satisficers”. The latter tend to be very successful, and more content with their success, than the former (the maximizers make marginally more money, but second-guess everything, are always stressed out, and are overall much more unhappy).

Everyone values different things, but your list seems to favor Einstein (I’m looking at cost and f&f; future plans can change throughout med school). Either way, don’t worry too much about the decision. You’ll do great if you’re happy (and you’ll be happier if you’re not constantly debating what will make you happier)

 

[Banco]

Hey, thanks so much for your input. My concern is that even comparing program director rankings, Emory’s is about 20 spots “higher” than Einstein’s. So I’m kinda just like, if I wanted to do something competitive like derm, should I go to the better ranked school? Also, if I think I would have a better quality of life at Emory / in ATL, and therefore went to emory, do you think I’d have a harder time matching in NY for residency as an emory graduate compared to an Einstein graduate?

You're overthinking it. Program director rankings are a very rough yet flawed guide. You can see in match lists that plenty of people match competitive specialties from Einstein yearly. I really wouldn't let USNWR rank influence you here. The rank difference here will be only to satisfy your own ego - no one else will be impressed you chose Emory over Einstein because it's rank 25 vs. 38 or whatever.

To your second question, I think you'll be fine trying to match in NY from Emory - most of the biases we see on match lists are student preference based. One clear advantage you'll get from Einstein is for their own home residencies - but then again you don't know if you'll want to do residency at Einstein, so overall, you can match to NY from both schools. It will largely depend on your application and its competitiveness.

 

[wondervisions]

You're overthinking it. Program director rankings are a very rough yet flawed guide. You can see in match lists that plenty of people match competitive specialties from Einstein yearly. I really wouldn't let USNWR rank influence you here. The rank difference here will be only to satisfy your own ego - no one else will be impressed you chose Emory over Einstein because it's rank 25 vs. 38 or whatever.

To your second question, I think you'll be fine trying to match in NY from Emory - most of the biases we see on match lists are student preference based. One clear advantage you'll get from Einstein is for their own home residencies - but then again you don't know if you'll want to do residency at Einstein, so overall, you can match to NY from both schools. It will largely depend on your application and its competitiveness.

100% agree.