Harvard vs Columbia

[drizzt3117]

A couple of my family members just graduated from Columbia and Cornell, and their experiences were night and day different. PBL is not everyone's cup of tea. A lot of med school everywhere is a google fest.

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[medballer2010]

I also don't get where this thing about Hopkins/Columbia/Michigan being malignant is coming from. Doesn't Michigan have a reputation for the happiest, most well looked after students? From the stuff they keep sending me, the number of students who volunteered to be there during interview day, and the friendliness of everyone, I think Michigan is far from being a malignant place to learn. Hopkins and Columbia probably have that reputation just because until fairly recently, they both still had a grading system. The only school I've heard negative things about when it comes to time in the wards is actually Harvard. I've heard that medical students there don't get a lot of hands on experience because everyone else higher up on the ladder is striving to perfect their own techniques. And Harvard medical students, for good or for worse, are largely left to their own devices during the preclinical and clinical years. I've heard complaints of PBL being a google and blind leading the blind fest. I'm sure this is a good thing for building up problem solving and teamwork skills. But this might be one factor to keep in mind about HMS.

You may be right about Hopkins and Columbia and Michigan is an undoubtedly amazing program which trains great physicians, but if weekly quizzes end up not being for you then the preclinical years could be a very intensive, stressful, and unhappy experience which could be perceived as malignant. Plus Ive heard about some excessive pimping on the part of attendings, making 3rd year hell but I guess the word 'excessive' should be used with caution because I have nothing to compare it to and for all I know that same behavior is taking place at all medical schools. I cant really knock Michigan though, they do everything top-notch.

 

[SwineSue]

A couple of my family members just graduated from Columbia and Cornell, and their experiences were night and day different. PBL is not everyone's cup of tea. A lot of med school everywhere is a google fest.

PBL is really just googling the answers?

 

[mmmcdowe]

PBL is really just googling the answers?

Honestly, some times it is, but then again how often does one use wikipedia instead of busting out a text book? At PBL, you usually don't lug all of your notes and books, so if you don't know something you google it.

 

[StIGMA]

Just another voice about Columbia from a first year. We are Pass or fail, UNRANKED for pre-clinicals. Besides studying the material and going to class (if you are the sort of person that goes to lecture, lecture attendance is not mandatory and is video recorded), there is absolutely no stress. If anything, the administration goes out of their way to make the learning process as smooth as possible. Columbia is a fantastic program and the classmates are wonderful people. If you are so inclined, there are extracurricular activities daily, from journal clubs to bar hopping and everything in-between. Residency placement is solid every year. Go to the revisit, meet your potential classmates, and go to where you will be the most productive and happy.

 

[drizzt3117]

I guess I'm one of those med students who feels preclinical grades (or at least P/F/H for at least 2nd year takes a bit of the stress off. If all of your AOA is based on honoring clinicals you'll see all the gunners bring their guns out for 3rd year and it makes boards that much more important, is that what you want? I'm pretty happy with our system where after preclinicals I have done good enough that a mix of honors and hp/p will be more than enough for AOA but different people may have different feelings about it all.