Help!! I still haven't made a decision and it's May 13th!!

[tova]

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I am so stressed out!! It's still between Jefferson, BU, and Downstate. I really wanted to stay in NYC, but everyone has been telling me Downstate isn't as good a school, I really didn't want a whole grading system, and I am afraid a lot of the clinical work is scut work and not quality experience. All the docs I have spoken to say to go to BU b/c it has the best faculty and reputation. I agree the quality of teaching is probably best there, but I went to BU twice since I have been accepted and the students just didn't seem happy, the curriculum doesn't look so great (not so innovative), and I just didn't seem to fit in with the students I met there. I am not so much a party type. I like to just go for dinner, movies, to a museum, etc. with friends. Re Jefferson, I think it's definitely in the middle of the Downstate and BU in terms of quality, I like the idea of the apt style dorms, but I don't like the idea of the possibility of going all over Pennsylvania, Delaware and NJ for rotations. Also, there's no certainty that I would even get an apt style dorm because I sent in the housing form just about a week or so ago. I haven't been away from NY much. I went to undergrad here (NYC). That's not to say I haven't been away from my parents. I've been away from them for a few months, with me in NYC and them out of town. Also, they are pretty old, like 72 and 64 so I am kind of concerned about going far from them (though they really don't mind). Please give any thoughts you may have!! So confused!!!

 

[tova]

Oh, and I forgot to add that money is NOT an issue--they are all equal for me. Thanks

 

[SarahGM]

I do remember reading through med student feedback at my undergrad (where former undergrads from my school wrote back about how they liked their current med school)- and I remember everyone saying how competitive and cut throat the BU students were. I know this is anecdotal, but I thought it might help you...

 

[tova]

I do prefer an organ systems based curriculum, which Downstate and Jeff have. Please more comments!!

 

[vtucci]

For what it is worth... I have heard that Downstate's Gross Anatomy is really outstanding. I know this doesn't speak to the clinical years but if the school takes such an interest in the basics I would be surprised if the clinical years are not at least a very good experience.

Good luck!

 

[ocean11]

From what I heard Jefferson and BU are more reputable..... Jefferson is what I would choose.

IF I were you I'd check out the residency match lists and then the type of departments and affiliations that all the schools have.

 

[Super Rob]

Of the three places you are deciding between, I am familiar with Boston University.

Boston University has a good reputation for research and Boston has the highest ratio of physicians to non-physicians in the country. The clinical exposure you would receive at Boston City and other hospitals in the BU system is outstanding. In terms of overall reputation, however, BU should not tear you away from other schools you may be more interested in attending simply because of its name. What you need to do is ask yourself what kind of medicine you THINK interests you the most. You should have a good idea based on your experiences and your personality. If you had to pick a residency today, what would you pick as your top three choices?

If those choices are non-competitive fields and you are not contemplating an academic career, then go wherever the hell you want to go. If you know, however, that you will likely pursue dermatology as your career or you absolutely want to end up at MGH in four years, then you should get ahold of as many of the school's matchlists as you can to see the sort of programs graduates generally match at, pick up a copy of US News to get a sense of how residency directors from all around feel about the program, and see what sort of opportunities are available to undergraduates of the three programs in terms of research and clinical experience.

tova, it sounds like you really want to go to Downstate, but you're concerned about what goes on during 3rd year and after. Talk to some students, especially those who have just matched. See what they think. Hope this helps... oh, and realize that when it comes to picking a med school, there is NO WRONG DECISION. They're all great!

 

[Amy B]

Those schools have to have students you can call and talk to about their experiences. I would suggest calling the admissions office and asking for the names, emails and phone numbers of any student they know that could talk with you about their opinions.

I would also suggest you go to each over the next few days if you can and spend time at each one. I guess you should have done that already, but you may still have time.

Good luck.

 

[tova]

Thanks guys. I have actually gone to each one since being accepted, and I have spoken to students. Re the students, it's been hard to get an unbiased perspective because the students all work for the Admissions office. Anyway, I really don't know what I want to go into. I think I'd probably want to practice in NYC. I looked over the match lists for all the schools, and it's clear that BU has the best list. However, what really bugs me is that the students just didn't seem happy! Jeff is known for family practice especially. I don't know if I'd really want to go into that, prob. not, but I guess it would be valuable to make you a good overall doc. so that you can get a better overall perspective of medicine. My parents seem to think Jeff might be best, not as competitive/better quality of life, though they have nothing to really base this other than what I have told them after speaking with students/visiting the schools. Any other comments would be much appreciated!!

 

[SoulRFlare]

not to be a harbinger of doom, but keep in mind that May 15th is a Saturday, so you should contact your schools by tomorrow. Good luck in making your decision!

 

[tova]

SoulRFlare, Thanks. Yeah, I know I have to contact the schools by tomorrow.

 

[LaurieB]

I have two suggestions for getting unbiased opinions from students:

1. Call your premed advisor ASAP and try to get names of students who graduated from your school and went onto BU, Jefferson, or Downstate for med school. Then call those students since they will be a more random sample than the ones provided by the admission's offices.

2. Do a search on SDN for each school name and see if you can find people from these schools (some will have their school in their signiture or profile). Then, PM those folks to see what they think and if they'd be willing to talk to you.

I hope this helps. You have a tough, but fortunate choice to make. Congrats on your acceptances and good luck making a decision. You can't go wrong.

Laurie

 

[Celestron2000]

I say, all other things being equal, go with your gut. If money is not a factor, and you have no idea what you want to specialize in, than it's just a question of where you would be happiest. Most likely you already have a favorite, but feel you need to justify your decision. Take heart in the fact that there is no "wrong" decision and pick the school that you want to. I just turned down my only other admission, and boy was that difficult... I understand how hard it is to close those other doors... Just pick one and walk ahead confidently. I think that the only way you'll regret your decision is if you choose against the one that you really wanted to go to because of some practical/logical reason. I believe we go where we're meant to.

Maybe I'll see you at Jeff... but pick the one that's right for you.

 

[liynus]

Hi Tova,
I'm having the same exact problem. Instead I'm debating between Albert Einstein and DownState. I have 2 friends in DownState who like it, but they are both in their sci basic years. And like most medical students, they could not tell you the difference between schools, because they only goto one. Could you tell me why, you heard the clinical years at DS weren't so hot? I heard of the students running the hospital, which entails scut but also independence, which an attending I talk to says it attributes to the amazing clinical skills you see out of DS people. I've also had people critique about the prestige factor, though if you want to stay in NYC their match list looks pretty decent. PM me, and I'll send you an email addy mabye we can both figure this out by tomorrow.

Charles

 

[tova]

Thanks so much for all of your comments and support!

I have another related question. Do you guys think the prestige factor matters much? I know this has been debated incessantly on SDN. But, I am just thinking, schools move up and schools move down. Say Jeff moved down just 1 point, it would no longer be on the top 50 list. What does that matter? Also, what does it matter if Jeff has a 2.8 score and BU has a 3.3 score or something.

 

[burlypie]

I just turned down GW for Jefferson. I like Philly, I like the curriculum, the grading, the students seemed super nice (even those that I talked to on the street NOT working for the admissions office). ALso, keep in mind that Jefferson's Clinical training is extremely well respected and, according to the dean (?), Jeff used to be teid w/ HArvard at the top of the rankings before USN&WR changed their criteria. I got avery good feeling for it. PLus, it's very close to NY by train so you could easily go home for a visit 🙂

 

[seev99]

u should go to BU

 

[Lochmoor]

It's kinda funny to see you east coast folks having a hard time deciding between schools that are in major metro areas that are less than 4 hours apart.

(Philly and NYC are only ~1-2 hours apart!!??)

I grew up in the midwest and went to a school close to home ---4 hours away. 2 hours is nothing. I have a friend that goes to school in San Antonio and his parents live in Austin--about 1 to 1 1/2 hour drive. He drives home at least once a month.

So, I wouldn't let location decide too much for you. Philly is a big city, Jeff is a good school, and it's still pretty close to home.

 

[liynus]

I called the Downstate Admissions office today, and they put me in touch with a 3rd year who I was able to really give the 3rd degree to. First off tova, he said if u are really on the fence and don't mind losing your $100 deposit, the deadline isn't really May 15th. I think this is for those who are really really unsure, I for one am not going to test it out.

As for DS clinical years, they rotate at Staten Island, which has great teaching it's a community hospital with private docs, but you can call the private docs at their homes to get updates on the patients so it's pretty chill. Keep in mind, this is after he told me about his blase view of Staten Island in general before this (you know how most people think of SI, if you live in nyc). Kings County Hospitalhe said yeah you push patients around, draw your own bloods, but so do the residents and attendings. So it's pull your own weight, the trade off is that you get to be the doctor for your patient. Do everything for him/her, be really involved in the decision making, I think here the attending/resident will trust you, and defer the case to you. I guess you do everything here, cool and not cool. Everyone I talked to love these public hospitals, Bellvue for the NYU kids, because they are the best places to learn. Also he said, he's encountered other students at other schools during his rotations that don't feel comfortable drawing blood, etc. which is something you will easily master at Kings County. Downstate hospital is the next one, this is a private hospital, so you get less hands on, it's very specialized so it's only OK for teaching. I got the sense you may not know what's going on all the time, because it's so specialized. Lenox Hill is the last one I can think of, it's posh posh, private docs, though he says the teaching isn't bad. It definitely does have one of the best cardiology programs in the nation, so do that there would be great. There's also St. Vincent's -Manhattan, I know 3rd years who rotate there the attendings (who I know) at least in the community medicine dept are really laid back and supernice.

Hope this helps.

 

[tova]

Thanks liynus. Yeah, I know if you put your share in at Kings County you get to do a lot. I've just heard that the atmosphere is really rough. One person said you get just as good clinical experience at Jeff, but I am wondering if it's more of an observatory role. Any thoughts? I heard you can have your own patients at Jeff. .. they are called ward patients. . .anyone else hear of this?

 

[tova]

Any other thoughts? What do you guys think of the reputation difference between Jeff and BU? I think my quality of life would be better at Jeff, but am concerned b/c people don't seem to understand why I'd consider choosing Jeff over BU. Thanks

 

[bearpaw]

Any other thoughts? What do you guys think of the reputation difference between Jeff and BU? I think my quality of life would be better at Jeff, but am concerned b/c people don't seem to understand why I'd consider choosing Jeff over BU. Thanks

since you make it pretty clear that you're choosing between jefferson and bu, lemme chime in. I think BU is a better choice because of its matching, location, and name. For starters, you already saw the match list.

Boston beats philly if you're looking for an urban college scene. I think Jefferson, with the frats and all, is probably more like a state school college scene. I know a few at BU and they really like the social scene, its a big school...with the masters and dental kids you have a lot of people to meet.

Also, i think BU is pretty much recognized by everyone as a decent private school. Unless you're holding US News you probably don't know whether nyu or bu is ranked higher. You have to understand that on SDN, there are some schools that kids love to talk about, and jefferson is one of them. I think the notion of knowing a school is good when the rest of world has not heard of it is kind of appealing here. However, in real life i don't think jefferson is going to be really recognized and if you wanna match at NYC, i am absolutely sure that BU is better for that.

I know what you're saying about BU not feeling right when you were there, but its different when you go to a school. I think the whole gut feeling thing is kind of a wash, as you need to meet your classmates and go to classes and just live life at the school to really know what its about. Till you do that, you should base your decision on more tangible factors, like location, facilities, class composition. If you're worried about your classmates, look at where they matriculate from. I'd guess most people at Jefferson are coming from PA, but i dunno. I am pretty sure most BU kids will be from private schools and probably well off. That is probably more indicative of what kind of scene you're looking at.

but yeah, if you're against BU, then just go to jefferson. Don't let the rep be the only reason to go to BU. The rep difference isn't anything to worry about. Just go where you can be happy.

 

[Pemulis]

I can't comment on the schools themselves (I'm not even officially a pre-med yet; I'm still in grad school and considering going back again for post-bac pre-med when I finish next year), but I am in school in Philly right now, and can tell you that 1) It's a pretty cool city to be a student (I'm from NYC originally), and 2) Finding apartments here is not a problem, so if you get shut out of the dorm you should still be able to find a good apartment within walking distance of Jeff.

Also, just a bit of life experience advice: NEVER do something because other people tell you it will be a better experience for you. If you didn't get a good vibe at BU, don't go there, even if tomorrow it is named the greatest med school of all time. The process of becoming a doctor (or doing anything) is important, not just the result. In four years, you will be an MD regardless of which school you go to, so pick the place you think you will fit in best and get the most out of. Not only will you enjoy your four years, but you will end up being a better doctor for it.

 

[LaurieB]

tova,

What did you decide?

Laurie

 

[Spitting Camel]

Please say you chose BU! You're the only other person I know of on SDN potentially going there 🙁

 

[SoulRFlare]

tova,

What did you decide?

Laurie

yeah...we need an update! 😉

 

[LaurieB]

tova, just saw that you withdrew from BU and GW. Did you choose Jefferson or downstate? Just curious. --LaurieB