GEORGETOWN vs. EINSTEIN - may be a tired subject but please help me out!

[juniper88]

Hey guys,

I am having an extremely difficult time deciding between GUSOM and AECOM. I saw that there have already been threads about this, but they may be a bit outdated/thought I might be able to give my thoughts and see what people think. ANY advice would be great.

I feel like there has been a lot of Georgetown hating on sdn in general; I am always skeptical of negative experiences being over-reported, but I feel like there must be SOME truth to this, or I wouldn't keep seeing it all over this site? I was wondering if anyone who has interviewed there, or has friends there, or his/herself is currently at georgetown could address this, and offer some insight re: some of the purported negatives about the school (i.e. competition, grading scale, facilities, lack of administrative support, etc. etc.). Is there truth to all the gtown hating, or is it all just a big Jalby-initiated exaggeration?

Einstein, on the other hand, seemed to me to have a very strong academic program; I really liked the curriculum, P/F grading, and the students seemed very happy and supportive in general. Academics, research and opportunity-wise, it seemed pretty great... the only things about Einstein that seem to irk me (and again, that I have seen people complain about on sdn) are 1) location, and 2) the potential for a strong religious presence.
I personally don't think I mind that it's in the Bronx - I took the bus up from Soho on my interview day and it honestly wasn't that bad, if I want to go into the city on a whim. I am a bit worried about AECOM being a bit too jewish/generally religious for my liking - could anyone comment on this? I consider myself agnostic and was not brought up with any particular religion (thought my parents are technically christian), but I am middle eastern so I was wondering if you think I would feel like an outcast in any way. And is it really that annoying that the library is closed on Saturdays?

About myself, I grew up in a major metropolitan city (the gem of the Midwest), and have no concerns with safety (though the AECOM area seemed quite safe anyway), love the bustle of city life and am an avid fan of public transportation. I have an interest in underserved populations and want to make sure I would be getting diverse patient experiences wherever I go. I have nothing tying me to either city (DC or NYC) other than a couple of friends in both. I am not at all sure what I would like to specialize in yet... I have an initial interest in neurology, but that could change. I do know that I am not really interested in pursuing primary care.

Ultimately, I want to go where I feel I will get the best education, have great preparation for residency and beyond, and will have the best opportunities for research and any service/international opportunities, etc. I would also like to exclude $$ from this discussion, and just focus on the schools, etc.

So... if you were me? Anything positive or negative to say would be great. Basically, any input at all. GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!

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[TheMightySmiter]

TL;DR...sorry. Would you rather live in NYC or DC?

 

[hurricane123]

Interviewed at both but am not a current student so these were just my impressions during my interview days:

-I got a bad feeling at Georgetown. My tour guides were unhappy and were bickering with each other which gave a bad impression and tainted the day for me. I think that although there is a large Jewish presence at Einstein, religion may be more of an issue at Georgetown, where it does affect clinical training to some extent.

-I agree with you that Einstein seemed like a really supportive environment and that the students seem happy there. The ease of housing really appeals to me (being right across from the school) and they seem to have great summer programs and research. From what students told me, the library is actually open Saturdays but there are no librarians working so you can't check anything out but you can study there. Probably not a huge deal if you plan ahead a little. The gym is close Saturdays though. Einstein's clinical training seems to be very strong from everything I've heard.

Congratulations and good luck deciding!

 

[EK601]

Georgetown has a strong religious presence also.

I have heard AECOM has really good international opportunities and for me P/F is a huge advantage over a non P/F school.

With that being said, I have also felt an anti AECOM vibe on SDN (although perhaps I researched to death and unfairly came up with this conclusion!) and the location (while not unsafe or bad) is not as good as Georgetown's in my opinion.

 

[india45]

Hey interviewed at both and haven't heard back but I'll give you my general impressions. I liked Georgetown a lot: It's location was nice, people seemed friendly, and my tour guides were really nice. It's not P/F yet didn't seem all that competitive but I'm sure it is more than a P/F school just given that.

However, I personally liked Einstein more. The tour guides were more personable, everyone seemed happier, and personally NYC is very close by and just a better city than DC. Apart from that, Einstein is P/F and I never really got a religious feeling from Einstein at all...and judging from my username I'm not Jewish myself. It depends on what you want....I think education-wise you can't go wrong...both are tremendous schools that are top 40 schools in most people's eyes. Clinically, you can't really go wrong either you would see a diverse patient population in both places given their location. For me the deciding factor would be how rigorous you would want medical school to be...I got a much more laid back feel from Einstein and personally when you take your step I it's all intrinsic motivation/effort more than where you went...given that I would choose Einstein because it seemed like a more fun and happier place

 

[raltima07]

AECOM imho

 

[Starrynighthope]

My two cents:

I work at Montefiore which is the university hospital for AECOM and thus may be biased but I say go for Einstein for the following reasons:

1) I have spoken to multiple residents and doctors that received their medical education here and they are thrilled about the education they received at AECOM. First and foremost, most said that the clinical experience they received was wonderful and made them really confident about treating patients as soon as they began residency.

2) You mentioned wanting to work with underserved/diverse populations: this is the perfect place for this. Not only do we treat people that have a wide socio-economic range but you will see a lot of people of different ethnicities and that speak different languages. Global health is huge here.. so if you want to travel around the world to treat different populations Einstein could be very accommodating about that.

3) Einstein does seem very laid back but still on point so that's also a plus. Have no doubt you will receive an excellent education here (but the same can be said about Georgetown I guess)

4) As for religion, I am not a student so maybe my opinion is again biased but though AECOM and Montefiore do have A LOT of Jewish doctors/students/residents/etc... I hardly feel that you would feel excluded for not being Jewish. I really only get the sense that the food being kosher on campus is the only thing that really would be impacted by religion. Georgetown is a Jesuit school so that may have an impact (i would think bigger than at AECOM but probably not that big either)

5) Location, location, location. The area where AECOM is situated is pretty decent and you are just a short ride away from the city...


Good luck and let us know what you decide!

 

[babygoat]

For working with diverse & underserved populations... it's got to be Einstein. Montefiore is incredible - I talked with my Einstein interviewer for like 35 minutes just about Montefiore. I think he said it has the largest community health center network in the country; something like 70% of his patients are on Medicaid; the CEO (?) of Montefiore was a community organizer for a decade after leading SDS at his college before going to medical school. What an amazing, progressive environment in which to do your training! I'll be staying in Boston, I think, but if I were to leave (...and if Einstein hadn't wait-listed me) I think it would be a dream come true.

Also, for what it's worth, every tour I went on this interview season included a student saying "whatever you do, go to a P/F school."

Good luck with your choice!

 

[juniper88]

Thanks so much to everyone for their input so far - it has been very helpful!

Does anyone have any positive arguments for Georgetown? Any current students want to maybe offer their perspective?

Also, I was taking a look at the two schools' match lists, and I was wondering if anyone could comment on them. http://www.einstein.yu.edu/admissions/page.aspx?id=29555 vs. http://som.georgetown.edu/prospectivestudents/degrees/faq/match/
They both seem very strong to me - the one concern I have with Einstein's is it seems that the majority of people are staying in New York. Do you think this might just be an issue of personal preference (people who go to Einstein tending to be from NY/east coast, or they just want to stay there anyway)? I just want to make sure that it isn't for some reason difficult for Einstein grads to match outside the state of New York.

Thanks again guys!

 

[BRIAN1986]

Good thinking..

 

[MDseeker]

Hi!

Nice to read your discussion. Could you guys give out your opinion on the comparation between AECOM, Jefferson and Georgetown? If you are accepted by all of these three, which one you are most likely to go and most likely not to go?

Thanks!

 

[nyc1718]

.

 

[fluf0829]

Georgetown hands down. I had the same choice to make and although I am from New York Georgetown has a better reputation and better residency placements, which is ultimately what matters. Also Einstein is in a dangerous neighborhood and I liked certain specifics of the Georgetown curriculum more. If you have specific questions PM me, I'll try to respond ASAP. Good luck!

Are you a gtown student or currently applying? I wouldn't say that georgetown has better residency placements - I think they both have people matching very well. The Georgetown name does carry weight to the lay person, yes, but to what extent should this matter?

jw -what specifically did you like about georgetown's curriculum? I am also deciding between these two schools and personally can't seem to get past the grading scale and sense that people just work way too hard.

 

[Comoroa]

I am a current Georgetown Student and I looooove my school. In the middle of really killer exams right now (and still love it here so that should tell you something). PM me and ask the serious questions you have about Georgetown and I'll answer them after my exams are over Friday. You can also read my responses to other threads where people hate on Gtown. I do try to respond to the P/F thing, the so called competitiveness of the students.

Oh and check out the Washington Post today. There is an awesome article about the HOYA Clinic helping under served populations in DC.

 

[MDseeker]

Are you a gtown student or currently applying? I wouldn't say that georgetown has better residency placements - I think they both have people matching very well. The Georgetown name does carry weight to the lay person, yes, but to what extent should this matter?

jw -what specifically did you like about georgetown's curriculum? I am also deciding between these two schools and personally can't seem to get past the grading scale and sense that people just work way too hard.

Yes, I am currently accepted by Jeffeson, Gtown and Einstein. I need to pick up one of them for my future.

 

[zebalong]

As a non jewish here I completely the religious thing is not really prevalant here. At least it doesn't influence our med school cirriculum. Awhile ago some people said that Einstein wasn't great for gays... the only thing i can say is that it is the complete opposite now. And our gym is open on Saturday the only weird thing is the treadmills aren't (but you can run on the indoor track).

But it is true that yes we are affiliated with Yeshiva and yes there is a good portion of students who are jewish here (I think of it as the "Jewish Harvard" - for many of the jewish applicants this is their top top top choice). Some of the Yeshiva students only apply to Einstein and take multiple application cycles to get in because they refuse to go anywhere else.

The jewish affiliation in my experience is all in good nature and provides for good humor for skit night - but there isn't some religious undertone in all our classes or in the social scene in general. I wouldn't let that hold you back from coming here.

 

[zebalong]

Also Einstein is in a dangerous neighborhood

This is just flat out wrong.. if you truly are from NY and are familiar with the Bronx then you'd know that Einstein is in a very safe area of the city.

 

[joy14]

The Georgetown name does carry weight to the lay person, yes, but to what extent should this matter?

to your future patients...i know tons of people who look up where doctors got their medical school education when they are looking for prospective physicians to go to...i've done it before myself

 

[juniper88]

Also Einstein is in a dangerous neighborhood

This is just flat out wrong.. if you truly are from NY and are familiar with the Bronx then you'd know that Einstein is in a very safe area of the city.

Yeah, I would say that when I interviewed, it definitely did not feel like an unsafe area in any way. I felt very comfortable walking around there.

 

[sibitrum]

Georgetown hands down. I had the same choice to make and although I am from New York Georgetown has a better reputation and better residency placements, which is ultimately what matters. Also Einstein is in a dangerous neighborhood and I liked certain specifics of the Georgetown curriculum more. If you have specific questions PM me, I'll try to respond ASAP. Good luck!

Sorry, have to call this guy out. Seems like hes gunning for AECOM, judging from his post history. Just thought I should let the op know to discount this.

 

[juniper88]

Sorry, have to call this guy out. Seems like hes gunning for AECOM, judging from his post history. Just thought I should let the op know to discount this.

Ha! Truthfully, I was suspecting that. I don't understand how some people can think that might work. Thanks for having my back

 

[drumhead90]

I didn't apply to either school and I never really considered AECOM for whatever reason, so I honestly don't know much about that school. However, I spoke to a Georgetown 4th year medical student who was doing an away rotation at my school. He said, "The best advice I can give you about applying to Georgetown Med is this: Don't Apply." He cited reasons such as poor facilities, lack of advising, non-P/F grading during preclinical years (which causes unnecessary stress), and distant faculty. I was thinking of applying to Georgetown prior to the application cycle, but I ended up not doing so after hearing the medical student's complaints about the school.

However, note that this is coming from ONE medical student, and I'm sure there are students at every medical school that hate their time there. It's definitely possible too that all the negativity on the forums about Georgetown can be attributed to just a handful of disgruntled students, while most people actually like the school. I honestly know next to nothing about AECOM, but I've heard more negativity about Georgetown than just about any other medical school, so I vote AECOM. But definitely talk to medical students at both schools at the second look weekends since this is a major decision and you are deciding where you will be spending the next four years of your life.

 

[juniper88]

I didn't apply to either school and I never really considered AECOM for whatever reason, so I honestly don't know much about that school. However, I spoke to a Georgetown 4th year medical student who was doing an away rotation at my school. He said, "The best advice I can give you about applying to Georgetown Med is this: Don't Apply." He cited reasons such as poor facilities, lack of advising, non-P/F grading during preclinical years (which causes unnecessary stress), and distant faculty. I was thinking of applying to Georgetown prior to the application cycle, but I ended up not doing so after hearing the medical student's complaints about the school.

However, note that this is coming from ONE medical student, and I'm sure there are students at every medical school that hate their time there. It's definitely possible too that all the negativity on the forums about Georgetown can be attributed to just a handful of disgruntled students, while most people actually like the school. I honestly know next to nothing about AECOM, but I've heard more negativity about Georgetown than just about any other medical school, so I vote AECOM. But definitely talk to medical students at both schools at the second look weekends since this is a major decision and you are deciding where you will be spending the next four years of your life.

Thanks for everyone's input. Comoroa - do you feel like this is the sentiment of many people (more M3s and M4s I guess) at Georgetown?

 

[Comoroa]

Thanks for everyone's input. Comoroa - do you feel like this is the sentiment of many people (more M3s and M4s I guess) at Georgetown?

NO! I've NEVER heard that from a student! I would bet that you caught him/her on a bad day before they had their coffee. The vast majority of third and fourth years I've talked to are really really happy. In fact, Match Day is coming up soon, and they will probably be even more happy because we generally match really well. The adminstration really does want us to do well, and Dean Mitchell is one of the most responsive school officials I've ever met at any of the schools I've attended. The facilities aren't new. That's true. But seriously does it matter? A lecture hall is a lecture hall is a lecture hall. Sitting on your butt doesn't change if the room is newer. The hospital is older, but it also does things other hospitals don't do (one of only 5 hospitals in the country to do bowel transplants for example). We rotate at a whole bunch of different hospitals, not just Georgetown, so we get alot of exposure to different patient populations and different specializations. In fact, I'm heading to Washington Hospital Center here in a few minutes to go and practice doing physicals on the in-patient service (as an M2! Yeah, its awesome!)

The non-P/F thing means nothing. Seriously. First two years only matter in that they teach you what you need to know for the boards. I like the grading system we have because I know what I need to study harder. For example, during first year, I got an Honors in Head and Neck, but only passed Cardiovascular (let me tell you I do NOT want to be a cardiologist.). I know that I need to study cardio more than head and neck anatomy for the boards. I highly doubt that any residency director will look at my cardio score and wonder why I "only" passed, especially if I do well on boards.

Here is the best advice I can give you: Go to where you feel comfortable. Do you like how you felt when you were interviewing at Einstein? Do you think you would like to be with the people you interviewed with for hours every day? Do you genuinely feel like you would be happy there? If so, go there. If you felt like that at Georgetown, then go there. That's why I'm here. I thought the people at Georgetown actually cared about me, and that my peers wanted me to succeed as well. (The "hypercompetitive" rumor running around about Georgetown is flat out untrue.)

In the end, rankings DON'T matter. The city you are in doesn't even really matter. What matters is how you feel at the school and the other people you will be around. If you go to the best school in the country and are miserable, you won't do well.

If you really don't know which school you like better after thinking about the things I mentioned above, I highly suggest spending the money to go to Second Look days. I know Georgetown's is in April, and I'm sure Einstein has one soon as well.

Good luck! I'm sure where ever you end up, you will be fine.

 

[Brachyury]

In 2011, AE had $167,000,000 in NIH research dollars; Georgetown had $57,000,000

AE has P/F grading, Georgetown doesn't

To me, the choice is obvious

 

[EK601]

, and I'm sure Einstein has one soon as well.

It doesn't!

 

[moto_za]

AE all the way. I have a distant relative that goes to Gt med and he not happy with the way things are run at GT and with the administrators. PM me for specifics or for his email address. He wouldn't mind questions about the school.

 

[juniper88]

bump. anyone have anything more to add? I've been asking around, and for some reason a lot of people (physicians and a residency director, included) seem to think that I should choose Georgetown because of the "prestige" factor associated with the name, and that the name will open up a lot of doors for me. Is this really true?? Is Einstein really lacking in "prestige"? does that matter?

 

[nyc1718]

.

 

[YPDCC]

Sorry, have to call this guy out. Seems like hes gunning for AECOM, judging from his post history. Just thought I should let the op know to discount this.

Hahaha you are so right

 

[juniper88]

I LOVED Georgetown, my interview day went great and I loved the facilities and affiliations. I'm originally from NY but I'm not too fond of living around Einstein nor am thrilled of their curriculum (message me for specifics). Look at the logistics and don't take people's opinions too seriously, but Georgetown is pretty awesome - id love to go there.

HAHA - it is just so freaking obvious that you are trying to get off the wait list at Einstein (judging by your post history, and the fact that you've already posted something similar on this thread).

GET OUT OF THIS THREAD PLEASE!!

 

[YPDCC]

smh nyc1718 can you be more obvious

imho however i would choose georgetown over einstein. I have friends at both institutions and those at gtown seem happier than those at einstein. I also think georgetown is much better in terms of location. If research is your thing though, I would go with einstein.

 

[Finches]

New Yorker here; lived here for 19 years of my life. Einstein is very well regarded, and the area it's in (not too far from where I was born and raised) is nice as well. The students that I've met from there highly recommended their school to me; can't say the same for Georgetown since I've never been.

 

[Doc Einstein]

To the OP:

I would caution you to make sure that you read on the background on some of the post before you take someone's advice. There are people on here that are hoping to grab your spot in the school and try to convince you to go elsewhere.

Here are my thoughts. Similar to you, I have been accepted to both GT and AECOM. I have chosen to attend AECOM. Here are my thoughts why. Please note that I do not know everything about the schools, and that this is just my personal experience. Also, they are not in any particular order:

1) Happiness of students: I am not sure if it was the timing of my interviews...but.... In GT, I stayed with a student host right after they had their limbs exam, they were all very nervous. My student host was very nice and introduce me to his/her friends. All they sorta talked about was the exam and how much they studied for it. They seemed very stressed. They were all saying how much they had failed and how they had a couple of gunners in their class and such. On the flip side, I also stayed with a student host a couple days before his/her exam at Einstein. She was not stress at all. Although she did study for the whole night, she spent nearly 2-3 hours making dinner and hanging out with her boyfriend. I think a lot of this had to do with the Pass/Fail curriculum in AECOM and the grading style in GT. Personally, I know that I will be studying very hard either way, but I just like the feeling of Pass/Fail better. I am not saying which grading style is better for residency and such, but I like the atmosphere of AECOM better.

2) Match List: I would say that both schools have comparable match list. I remember GT have a lot of students going into surgery and AECOM having a more spread match list. Some might say that GT students do well on their STEP 1, so a lot of its student go into surgery. Some might even say that GT has more students, so it has more students in each field. I am not quite sure, but personally, surgery is a field that I am CERTAIN that I do NOT want to go into....but i dunno...take it for what its worth. Furthermore, I think AECOM students usually stay in NY or the northeast area, whereas GT students are more spread. Since I am interested in staying in NY, I would prefer Einstein. Here is GT's match list: http://som.georgetown.edu/prospectivestudents/degrees/faq/match/ and here is AECOM's match list: http://www.einstein.yu.edu/education/md-program/admissions/match-results-2012.aspx

3) Money and Research: One thing that makes me really nervous about GT is that it has had many financial troubles in the past. AECOM receives tons of money from its research. You can see that when current students talk about the global health opportunities. I am not sure how much of it is true, but my student tour group would brag about first years spending summers abroad with funding from the school. Although I am not sure if I am going to pursue it, I think it would be a interesting opportunity to have. The fact that GT has finance issues scares me a little bit about the future of the institution. At the end of the day, would you rather have your name attached to GT (school with finance issue) or AECOM (school without finance issue).

4) Clinical opportunity: I think they are both good and bad in some ways. I am not sure if this is unique to GT or if it was simply emphasized by Ms. Sullivan. I loved her speech btw. It was very inspirational. She mentions that at GT, students are more involved in patient care and are more involved in the delivery of care than in any other schools. Third years have on-call schedules, so you have more responsibility. Fourth year has that Acting Internship component where you are considered a resident in some rotations. Furthermore, third year is much more flexible in GT than in Einstein. GT have a two-week elective for students in their third year that Einstein don't have. Einstein has a more rigid structure and it also have a required Geriatrics rotation that I am not a big fan of. This means that you might not rotate through what you are interested in until fourth year elective if it is not in the basic core rotation in third year.

5) Hospital System: Einstein absolutely wins. It has one of the biggest hospital networks. Whether it is Jacobi for its level one trauma or Montifore Hospital, they seem to be much better than Georgetown University Hospital. I had my Einstein interview at Montifore hospital, so when I visited it, it was just amazing! The hospital looked great with its glass exterior and such! Georgetown, on the other side, was much more run down. It looked like a gloomy place to me. Just my personal preference.

6) Facilities: At AECOM, I don't think either school had great facilities. But, does that really matter? As long as you learn what you learn, that is all that matter. Does it matter if it is 3 to a cadaver or 6 to a cadaver? Not really, if you learn the material.

7) NYC vs. DC: For me, I like NY better, but honestly it doesn't really play much into my decision. I plan on studying a lot for school, so I doubt I will go into the city a lot. However, the cost of living is a different thing. My GT host had to pay about 1000 with her/his roommate (so they pay 2000 together) for the basement of a house. That is just RIDICULOUS! Einstein is much cheaper, and it is right across the street!

8) Name recognition: Personally, I think that the average Joe on the street will recognize Georgetown and not Einstein. That is because GT is associated with a fabulous law school as well as a great undergraduate. Yeshiva undergraduate isn't all that well known (unless you are Jewish!). However, if we are looking into residency for a medical career, I think that they are both mediocre. Einstein might be slightly better, but honesty if you get all Honors at GT, it is better than getting simply Pass at Einstein.

Last note: I would have been happy at either school. I loved both schools when I visited. To me, it really came down to cost. GT was more expensive, so i went for the cheaper option. If the cost had been equal, I would still have chosen AECOM.

This post was a lot longer than I expected. This is just my personal point of view, so you might feel differently, so take it with a grain of salt!

 

[Se7eN]

einstein

 

[peach0404]

However, if we are looking into residency for a medical career, I think that they are both mediocre.

Wait, so you think that both schools are just "mediocre"?

 

[peach0404]

I applied to both schools, I'm and undergrad at GT now (and have met/talked to plenty of GT med students), and I know people who go to AE, so I'll put in my opinions. FYI, I'm on the waitlist for AE right now and I ended up withdrawing my application from GT post-interview after deciding that I didn't want to stay in DC for another 4 years (completely personal decision that has nothing to do with the quality of the med school or the city). Sorry in advance if it seems at all as though I'm trying to sway you one way or the other, because I'm not. These are all just opinions. Also, there's more info on GT simply because I have more familiarity with it, as I only visited AE a few times.

In the end, I think the decision really just comes down to personal preference as to where you think you're going to thrive. Ultimately the name of the school doesn't matter if you end up doing horribly, ESPECIALLY in this case when the reputations of the schools are so similar (we're not talking Harvard vs. Ross U, here, no offense to anyone )

-everyone I've met from GT and AE seem very happy and the environments seems equally as collegial. People from Einstein harped on the P/F system for good reason. However, I've heard good arguments for the system at GT too (maybe you'll study harder and learn the material better with the added stress). Are you the type of person who'd study just as hard with P/F or do you need the extra pressure to do your best? Or do you do better when the environment is a little more laid-back? It all depends on you personally.

-the immediate area around GT is very nice. There are tons of restaurants/coffee shops/bars/restaurants/clothing stores in GT - it's actually a huge tourist attraction and the streets get pretty crowded on weekends. There's also a Safeway, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe's all within walking distance/easily accessible by bus so you can get your grocery shopping done without a car. I would suggest getting a car, though, because a lot of areas around DC (and northern VA and MD) are hard to get to without one, plus there's no metro that directly services GT. It's easy enough to get into the city, by bus, but with traffic they're rarely on time and it can get kind of frustrating on weekends when they run far less frequently. Plus, you'll need a car when you start 3rd year to get to the farther away hospitals in VA and MD. The area of the Bronx that Einstein's in is pretty nice, but it doesn't compare to GT. However, in my opinion, NYC trumps DC, and it's only slightly harder to get into Manhattan from Einstein as it is to get into downtown DC from GT. Plus, rent at AE is MUCH cheaper. I'm living off campus right now in an area of GT where a lot of the med students live, and I'm paying $950/month...and I share a room with two other people. Another thing to consider is whether you want a cute townhouse kind of place in a neighborhood of students (undergrad, grad, and med students) and townies (GT) versus an on campus apartment building full of other med students (AE). Once again, it all comes down to personal preference. If you're really hoping to meet a mix of people while you're at med school, that might be more easily achieved at GT since you're sharing a campus community with undergrads and grad students. IMO, Einstein seems a little more secluded. That might be good for you if you just want to be immersed in med school. Once again, totally up to you.

-as far as DC vs. NY, I'm very familiar with both as I grew up in NY. I loved going to college in DC - there's tons of stuff to do, and a lot of the museums/attractions are free! There are tons of cool neighborhoods, there's a great nightlife, pretty good concert scene, and great restaurants as well. It is significantly smaller than NYC, though, so I'm excited for the prospect of moving back to NY. The cultural diversity is also smaller in DC. I would say the public transit at both are comparable. NYC's subways run longer into the night (the metro closes at midnight in DC except Fri and Sat when it closes at 3am), but since DC's smaller, it's pretty affordable to take a cab back home from a bar downtown.

-in terms of reputation (if that matters to you) both are wonderful schools, and I've also heard bad things about both as well. A faculty member at GT told me she personally thought that it wasn't that well regarded in the research/academic community, and a lot of people ride on the good name of the undergrad/law school. A faculty member at AE told me she thought that the students there aren't very hardworking and expect things to be handed to them (and she pretty much told me to go somewhere else for med school). No school is perfect, and there's always going to be someone out there hating on any place. I would take anything you hear about a school with a grain of salt.

-I agree that the facilities aren't beautiful at either school, but like someone else said, is that going to actually hinder your ability to learn what you need to become a successful doctor? If you really think they're THAT bad, then you can factor it in. However, as someone who has worked at a lab at GT med for three years, I can tell you that there's still A LOT of cool research being done there despite the fact that they're not the prettiest labs in the world. Einstein's labs seemed a bit nicer IMO (I had an interview at one of them).

This post is getting monstrously long, so I'm going to stop now. Message me if you have any more questions. Also, if you have any opinions on Loyola, I have a similar thread going on Loyola vs. Einstein

 

[Doc Einstein]

Wait, so you think that both schools are just "mediocre"?

I would say that they are "mediocre" in that it is better than your average state med school, but not as great as the big name medical schools, like Harvard, UPenn, etc. I think both Einstein and GT are mid tier medical school, so I think they are considered "mediocre".

 

[RedSox10]

I would say that they are "mediocre" in that it is better than your average state med school, but not as great as the big name medical schools, like Harvard, UPenn, etc. I think both Einstein and GT are mid tier medical school, so I think they are considered "mediocre".

mediocre means average or ordinary, so if they are better than your average school perhaps they'd be one step up from mediocre. but i get your point, neither schools are Harvard caliber and I doubt anyone would argue they were. With 126 MD schools in the country, to be in the 40s, isn't bad, especially when >50% don't get into med school at all. All med schools are good. I know people from DO schools who have gotten Harvard residencies so its all relative and what you make of it.

 

[Jen222]

mediocre means average or ordinary, so if they are better than your average school perhaps they'd be one step up from mediocre. but i get your point, neither schools are Harvard caliber and I doubt anyone would argue they were. With 126 MD schools in the country, to be in the 40s, isn't bad, especially when >50% don't get into med school at all. All med schools are good. I know people from DO schools who have gotten Harvard residencies so its all relative and what you make of it.

Well said

 

[drshoes]

I worked at Einstein over the summer and really enjoyed my time there. The facilities are great, it's surrounded by major hospitals that serve a very diverse population, and the housing is cool since you're right across the street. The location is a plus too because Manhattan isn't too far away.

 

[DoctwoB]

As long as you can handle living in the bronx I'd take einstein.