Harvard vs. Stanford vs. Columbia vs. Yale vs. Pritzker

[KanekiS1E12]

I'm currently choosing were to attend and fortunately have a lot of programs that I'm excited about. I don't have anyone I'm close with within medicine and would appreciate opinions. I really get a lot of fulfillment in the activism advocacy and outreach work I've been involved with and continuing this work is important to me. My master's research work involved a lot of bioinformatics and I'm interested in continuing this type of work and maybe moving from application to methods development (I probably need more formal math coursework to do this though). I'm entirely self supporting so financial considerations are pretty important to me. I also like the outdoors and the freedom of having a car.

Harvard Pathways (~25k debt)
Pros

• Great financial aid offer.
• Prestige. Is the sentiment that HMS provides access to different connections/opportunities true? I've never had any connection to any of these institutions directly or peripherally so I truly have no idea how much I should consider this.
• Endless research opportunities.
• Vandy seems cool to make friends.
• Surrounding communities that are underserved/ a lot of opportunities to continue my passions for outreach advocacy and community building. There appears to be many systems in place which do this already.
• Residency programs. Not certain about my specialty of interest yet, but it seems like there's opportunities for everything here.
• In house bioinformatics dual degree options.
• Would I regret turning Harvard down?

Cons

• Boston has a high COL. I couldn't afford to live on my own given their estimated budget. I couldn't afford to bring my car to campus.
• I don't know if I really fit in with the current students or admits.
• Required in person classes 5 days a week pre-clinical.
• Condensed preclinical curriculum seems like it would prohibit me from building community with my classmates / prevent me from exploring my passions until 3rd year.
• Boston winters seem painful.
• The curriculum doesn't seem to be very flexible. I wan't to develop into an amazing physician but also want to have some agency in what is emphasized within my development. I'm not sure if the pedagogy matches what I value.
• Vandy is a dorm and I'd have to give away all of my furniture.

Stanford (~0 debt)
Pros

• Zero debt.
• The students seem to feel very supported by the program.
• The curriculum seems like a perfect fit. It seems like can explore and develop all of my passions while becoming a physician. Maybe (?) the flexibility of the curriculum would allow me to seek out / develop opportunities to interface with underserved communities and continue my outreach and advocacy efforts.
• I can take additional coursework in any department.
• I can afford to live by myself on campus or off campus given the financial aid they provide.
• I can bring my car.
• Lots of research / TA funding.
• Strong bioinformatics emphasis within the curriculum.
• Weather and access to nature.
• High % of URM and disadvantaged students.
• I think I'd be least stressed here given the curriculum / finances/ location.

Cons

• Palo Alto seems boring and I cannot see myself finding community there.
• 45 minutes from SF.
• I wish their were more systems in place to serve the underserved here.
• Is there any difference between the opportunities I'll have within medicine coming from Stanford compared to HMS?
• Their residency programs seem to be less highly regarded than HMS and VP&S but they match extremely well at other institutions.

VP&S (~0 debt)
Pros

• Zero debt. Maybe high COL in NYU could result in unforeseen expenses which would cause me to take out minimal loans.
• The students seem to be happy here.
• So many opportunities for outreach and so many diverse populations to interface with.
• NYC would be an adventure.
• In house dual degree bioinformatics program
• I love the students I've met, I've felt most comfortable with these students. Lots of diversity in the class.
• Really cool med ed building.
• Strong match lists.

Cons

• NYC is a little overwhelming and puts me a bit on edge.
• Safety is a concern.
• I cannot bring my car.
• Limited access to nature.
• Clerkships seem particularly stressful.
• There is a really low % of disadvantaged students here.

Yale (0 debt)
Pros

• 0 debt
• The Yale system is something I'd thrive in, it is definitely the best fit insofar as the curriculum is concerned.
• Lots of opportunities for outreach and building systems which promote equity.
• I can bring my car.
• Good funding for research.
• It seemed like the students and faculty were very tight-knit and there was a lot of support for students.

Cons

• No house bioinformatics dual degree options.
• I don't know if I really fit in with the current students in the same ways I did at other programs.
• New Haven is not where I want to live at this point in my life.

Pritzker (0 debt)
Pros

• 0 debt
• Interesting neighborhood and access to the rest of the city.
• The emphasis on social justice and service to the underserved resonates with me very deeply.
• The student body seems really close.
• In house bioinformatics dual degree.
• Lots of opportunities for outreach and there already seem to be systems in place which promote equity.
• I can bring my car.
• It seemed like the students and faculty were very tight-knit and there was a lot of support for students.

Cons

• Will my opportunities be limited at all here compared to other programs?
• Cold winters and relatively limited access to nature.
• Their residency programs seem to not be as highly regarded as some of the other programs.
• I'm having a hard time with coming up for cons for this program.

*I also got the Geffen at UCLA so that is another option if there are any reasons I should consider this program over the ones listed?

Summary: I'm currently leaning towards Stanford but heavily considering all of the programs listed. If there is anything I am failing to consider I would appreciate opinions.

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[mangowolf]

you seem most excited about Stanford and have a full ride there. Go to Stanford! The only thing that might sway you is that Harvard does have a slight leg up in prestige within medicine & also has P/F clinicals. The 25k difference is probably minimal. But at the end of the day, you can’t go wrong and should choose where you will be the happiest and where you most want to go.

edit: Palo Alto is incredibly boring, yes, but SF is a drive away and there’s other places to visit in the Bay like Carmel, Monterey, etc. that are more scenic/exciting. You are totally right that commitment to underserved is very lacking at Stanford but there are certainly communities to care for there (ie East Palo Alto) and even if structures aren’t in place, you can be the first to develop them. As for whether Harvard could give you some mystical connections that no other institution can, I’ve been struggling with this question myself. Stanford actually does have the “lay prestige” that could help you outside of medicine, although within medicine the name brand isn’t as strong as the undergrad, imo. It kind of depends what sort of career you envision for yourself and how much connections and prestige will matter (ie do you want to be the surgeon general or work in health policy? Want to be the dean of a med school someday? Etc.)

 

[chilly_md]

Stanford, it would be nice to be able to live on your own and bring a car for maximum flexibility.

 

[Dogruffle01]

Stanford.

Stanford med has the most students who graduate and don’t go into clinical medicine
( and still find equally successful jobs). You lose 0 prestige.

You don’t have P/F clinicals , but lol it’s Stanford. It’s a top 10 school , unless you only dedicated to ivory tower derm, your gonna match.

As an URM, the helping the underserved during medical school is overhyped to me. IMO, if you from that life, you’ve lived with the underserved your entire life, and if you truly get fulfillment from it you can spend the rest of your life helping. Those 4 years of med school are negligible and can be spent learning to become the best doctor to help these groups. There’s always an opportunity to be clinical or to seven down the road.

Side note : you could work on a biotech innovation at Stanford that ends up helping way more underserved people than you could ever help by yourself.

 

[srirachamayonnaise]

Stanford all the way for you, especially when you don't think you would fit in well at HMS.

 

[KanekiS1E12]

you seem most excited about Stanford and have a full ride there. Go to Stanford! The only thing that might sway you is that Harvard does have a slight leg up in prestige within medicine & also has P/F clinicals. The 25k difference is probably minimal. But at the end of the day, you can’t go wrong and should choose where you will be the happiest and where you most want to go.

edit: Palo Alto is incredibly boring, yes, but SF is a drive away and there’s other places to visit in the Bay like Carmel, Monterey, etc. that are more scenic/exciting. You are totally right that commitment to underserved is very lacking at Stanford but there are certainly communities to care for there (ie East Palo Alto) and even if structures aren’t in place, you can be the first to develop them. As for whether Harvard could give you some mystical connections that no other institution can, I’ve been struggling with this question myself. Stanford actually does have the “lay prestige” that could help you outside of medicine, although within medicine the name brand isn’t as strong as the undergrad, imo. It kind of depends what sort of career you envision for yourself and how much connections and prestige will matter (ie do you want to be the surgeon general or work in health policy? Want to be the dean of a med school someday? Etc.)

If I do end up being interested in becoming the dean of a medical school, in your opinion, how much of an advantage would attending HMS be? I appreciate the comment about being able to develop those systems, that idea excites me.

 

[KanekiS1E12]

Stanford.

Stanford med has the most students who graduate and don’t go into clinical medicine
( and still find equally successful jobs). You lose 0 prestige.

You don’t have P/F clinicals , but lol it’s Stanford. It’s a top 10 school , unless you only dedicated to ivory tower derm, your gonna machine.

As an URM, the helping the underserved during medical school is overhyped to me. IMO, if you from that life, you’ve lived with the underserved your entire life, and if you truly get fulfillment from it you can spend the rest of your life helping. Those 4 years of med school are negligible and can be spent learning to become the best doctor to help these groups. There’s always an opportunity to be clinical or to seven down the road.

Side note : you could work on a biotech innovation at Stanford that ends up helping way more underserved people than you could ever help by yourself.

Thank you for the comment. Not dedicated to Ivory Tower derm lol. I'm also not concerned about graded clinicals. I think the idea of working with the underserved would be more for my own fulfillment, I recognize the impact I make as a student will be limited and my development as a physician eventually have a greater impact these groups, but being completely removed from the type of communities I grew up around, especially when I'm finally interacting with patients, seems like it would be difficult for me.

 

[mangowolf]

If I do end up being interested in becoming the dean of a medical school, in your opinion, how much of an advantage would attending HMS be? I appreciate the comment about being able to develop those systems, that idea excites me.

Hard to say. At HMS second look they were bragging some high % of all the medical deans came from HMS or something. But it’s not like you couldn’t become the dean of a med school from Stanford, and going to Harvard doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be a med school dean by any stretch of the imagination. It doesn’t even guarantee you’ll match into your top choices.

HMS’s main advantage, in my personal opinion, is the name branding it gives you to people outside of medicine. So if you someday wanted to leave medicine to be a politician or surgeon general or work in finance or investment banking, you have that Harvard name that will carry you outside of medicine. That’s why a pretty high % of HMS grads actually DO end up opting out and never even practicing medicine, they decide to just be a consultant and whatnot. To be fair, the same is true for Stanford grads where many eventually end up doing things outside of medicine often related to tech (Silicon Valley obviously) so you’d have to think if HMS offers something special in a field you are seriously interested in. Something like working in health policy comes to mind which makes sense given its location on the East Coast, or maybe global health since Harvard’s name is internationally known/Partners In Health work.

 

[crimson-cat]

If you're serious about community, happiness, serving the underserved and moving into developing methods rather than application, I think Pritzker could be great for you. UChicago produces lots of cool methods stuff, and the Toyota Institute does lots of neat ML work. If you are more focused on the bioinformatics industry and prestige, I'd go Stanford for obvious reasons. HMS is definitively the top for combination of research, industry, and clinical opportunities, but doesn't seem like you'd be happy there as the cons you've listed are very real with the addition of it not being great for underserved work (though imagine not as bad as Palo Alto). If easy access and frequent work with underserved populations are important to you, Stanford and to a lesser extent HMS won't be ideal.

Overall, you can definitely succeed any of these places. I'd say go Stanford if you're willing to sacrifice some access to underserved for tech opportunities. Go to Chicago if you are willing to sacrifice some layman prestige and tech opportunities for serving the underserved.

 

[KanekiS1E12]

If you're serious about community, happiness, serving the underserved and moving into developing methods rather than application, I think Pritzker could be great for you. UChicago produces lots of cool methods stuff, and the Toyota Institute does lots of neat ML work. If you are more focused on the bioinformatics industry and prestige, I'd go Stanford for obvious reasons. HMS is definitively the top for combination of research, industry, and clinical opportunities, but doesn't seem like you'd be happy there as the cons you've listed are very real with the addition of it not being great for underserved work (though imagine not as bad as Palo Alto). If easy access and frequent work with underserved populations are important to you, Stanford and to a lesser extent HMS won't be ideal.

Overall, you can definitely succeed any of these places. I'd say go Stanford if you're willing to sacrifice some access to underserved for tech opportunities. Go to Chicago if you are willing to sacrifice some layman prestige and tech opportunities for serving the underserved.

Thank you! I really appreciate this perspective. During my interview and second look, they didn’t mention any opportunities to collaborate with researchers at the Toyota institute. That seems really exciting. Also the ability to be surrounded by communities I hope to serve seems to be a major plus for me in regards to Pritzker. Can I PM you?

 

[medschoolw1nner]

I think if you are really interested in working with the underserved community and want to experience that first hand during medical school then HMS/Pritzker/VP&S are the ways to go. Sadly Stanford has a predominantly white population and treats the richer of patients considering UCSF is across the Bay and is more likely to take on the diverse population.

I know VP&S rotate at some really cool hospitals that serve the underserved and large immigrant populations (James Peters in the Bronx/Washington Heights).

Then again HMS name brand value is unmatched and will set you up incase you do want to become a dean. It also feels like the middle ground between all of your choices as well.

Choose Stanford if you want to be maybe the most relaxed and enjoy the sunlight

Congrats on your success and good luck!