Hopkins vs. Northwestern vs. NYU

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Status
Not open for further replies.
DrDestroyMD

DrDestroyMD

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2012
Messages
191
Reaction score
4
Members do not see this ad.
Hey everyone,

I have been very fortunate this cycle, and have gotten accepted at some awesome schools. Since I've solicited basically everyone I know in real life, I thought I would ask my good friends at SDN what they think about my school decision situation. As of the moment, I am choosing between Hopkins/Northwestern/NYU.

Hopkins
-Prestige/reputation is the best
-Nation's #1 Hospital, would be great clinical experience
-Really liked the new student facilities
-Not too sure about living in Baltimore, especially in terms of safety
-Familiar with surrounding area (spent the last two years living near DC)
-Financial aid: All loans, mostly unsubsidized

Northwestern
-Great location, could definitely see myself living in Chicago
-Not too keen on heavy PBL, but I could learn to live with it
-Financial aid: $160,000 merit scholarship, waiting on info about any need-based aid (most likely will be loans to cover the rest of the cost)

NYU
-NYC Location and all the opportunities it brings
-Affiliations with some great clinical facilities (Langone, Tisch)
-1.5 year preclinical curriculum
-Many friends from college and my post-bac program go to schools in NYC
-Full cost of attendance scholarship for all four years (~$300,000 for Tuition + Room/Board)

Note: All these schools are a significant distance from my family in California.

Any insight and/or advice would be appreciated! Thanks.
 
All three are great schools. Given that there is a big difference in scholarship money, I would recommend going to the cheapest option, which looks like NYU.

Given the choice between multiple top 20 schools, cost of attendance trumps any difference in education, real or perceived.
 
Yeah that's a tough one. All three schools are great, it would be tough for me to turn down full cost of attendance scholarship.
 
Agree with above, especially since you dislike Northwestern's curriculum. If you have reservations about Baltimore then I would definitely not pick Hopkins over NYU for free.
 
I'd vote NYU given your situation.
 
If someone offered me $300,000 to go to medical school, I would take it in a heartbeat.

NYU ten times out of ten.
 
Jeez, full cost of attendance?!?! That's so amazing! I would take that in a second 🙂
 
definitely NYU. you're not getting enough of a reputation boost from hopkins in comparison to walk away from close to half a million dollars (if i'm reading it correctly that you're getting $300k + room and board in NYC)
 
imnamerican said:
If someone offered me $300,000 to go to medical school, I would take it in a heartbeat.

NYU ten times out of ten.
Click to expand...

This x100. I would pounce on that in a heart beat. Wow. $300,000 is not worth the ever-so-slight dip in "prestige" from going to NYU (when you basically have the same opportunities and name brand). Plus when you disclose that you were given a 300k scholarship, your "stock" will be larger than a Hopkins grad anyhow in the eyes of residency directors.
 
Take the Full COA Scholarship from NYU without question.
 
Did not know full COA scholarships exist for med schools.

NYU. Your future self will thank you.
 
I would take the money at NYU, but...

tomhaverford said:
This x100. I would pounce on that in a heart beat. Wow. $300,000 is not worth the ever-so-slight dip in "prestige" from going to NYU (when you basically have the same opportunities and name brand). Plus when you disclose that you were given a 300k scholarship, your "stock" will be larger than a Hopkins grad anyhow in the eyes of residency directors.
Click to expand...

This is almost entirely false. In a 5 tier system, NYU is 1 to 3 tiers below JHU (depending on whether you weight primary care and hospital reputation). Your scholarship at the start of medical school is entirely irrelevant going into residency. It's like telling a med school you got a full ride 4 years ago - good for you, what do you bring to the table now? They're investing in a person's skills as well as networks when they bring a person into their residency, and Hopkins - and the people you'd get to know at Hopkins - will matter there.

However, on a personal basis, not owing any money at graduation will make a huge difference in your being able to pursue specialties you otherwise wouldn't if you'd paid the price at Hopkins.
 
grandma said:
Do you think you will regret passing up Hopkins? I'm facing a similar decision as you (Hopkins vs. excellent school for cheap), and I think that's main question I am getting hung up on.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what's holding me up. It's tough to say no to Hopkins...
 
NYU with the scholarship. NYU's been on the rise steadily over the years, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's a top 10 school within 3 or 4 years, so it's not like you're losing out on much "prestige" going there.
 
It would be tough for me, but I think I'd go to NYU. All are top schools. My main decision would be between NYU and Hopkins.

You get to live in NYC for 4 years with with living/food basically covered.
 
DrDestroyMD said:
That's exactly what's holding me up. It's tough to say no to Hopkins...
Click to expand...

IMO, it's even tougher to say no to more than a quarter of a million dollars...

Best of luck on your decision. You'll land a killer residency either way. Just in one of these scenarios, your wallet will be a lot lighter. 😛
 
tomhaverford said:
This x100. I would pounce on that in a heart beat. Wow. $300,000 is not worth the ever-so-slight dip in "prestige" from going to NYU (when you basically have the same opportunities and name brand). Plus when you disclose that you were given a 300k scholarship, your "stock" will be larger than a Hopkins grad anyhow in the eyes of residency directors.
Click to expand...

Clichebomb said:
NYU with the scholarship. NYU's been on the rise steadily over the years, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's a top 10 school within 3 or 4 years, so it's not like you're losing out on much "prestige" going there.
Click to expand...

Lol. Let's not get carried away here. NYU is basically the 4th best school in NYC and its not even a top 20 school. We're not talking about a full-ride at Duke or UCLA v. Hopkins.

You'll have a better chance of matching at UCSF or Stanford for residency from Hopkins. That being said, NYU is a really good school and a full-ride is a tough thing to pass up.

If you went to Hopkins, would you utilize the extra opportunities there (research, public policy, public health, faculty connections) or would you just be going there for the prestige?

What type of physician do you hope to become someday?
 
alpinism said:
Lol. Let's not get carried away here. NYU is basically the 4th best school in NYC and its not even a top 20 school. We're not talking about a full-ride at Duke or UCLA v. Hopkins.

You'll have a better chance of matching at UCSF or Stanford for residency from Hopkins. That being said, NYU is a really good school and a full-ride is a tough thing to pass up.

If you went to Hopkins, would you utilize the extra opportunities there (research, public policy, public health, faculty connections) or would you just be going there for the prestige?

What type of physician do you hope to become someday?
Click to expand...

As of now, I'm very interested in ortho. As ortho is very competitive, I would be looking to build up my ECs where ever I go. Research opportunities, especially clinical research opportunities, in ortho/sports medicine are very important to me. I know Hopkins' ortho is top-notch, but I'm not educated enough on NYU at the moment to provide an informed opinion about the ortho faculty/research there.
 
Have you not spoken to the admissions director/financial aid coordinator at Hopkins yet? Although I'm not sure of JHU's financial aid policies, I'd imagine that they have a decent sum of money to throw around for scholarships. At some schools, merely calling them up and informing them that you received scholarships at other schools is enough for them to offer you more. If you indicate to them that financial considerations is the only thing holding you up, they may be willing to work with you. Since you're already accepted, schools are more inclined to start catering to you in order to recruit their acceptees to come to their particular school.
 
darkjedi said:
Have you not spoken to the admissions director/financial aid coordinator at Hopkins yet? Although I'm not sure of JHU's financial aid policies, I'd imagine that they have a decent sum of money to throw around for scholarships. At some schools, merely calling them up and informing them that you received scholarships at other schools is enough for them to offer you more. If you indicate to them that financial considerations is the only thing holding you up, they may be willing to work with you. Since you're already accepted, schools are more inclined to start catering to you in order to recruit their acceptees to come to their particular school.
Click to expand...

I tried this with Hopkins to no avail /shrug
 
I also tried that, and no dice.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using SDN Mobile
 
Are you attending or have you attended any of the second looks?

My vote right now is for NYU. Unless you want to become the leading academic faculty in a particular specialty I don't think Hopkins is worth what would be almost a 600 thousand dollar swing.

Also, I don't know how wealthy your family is but if you guys are crazy loaded and your parents are willing to contribute significantly to Hopkins, hey, why not.
 
All three second looks are this weekend, and I'm going to the Hopkins one. I'm not asking my parents to contribute any money towards my medical education. I'll get a feel for Hopkins this weekend and then re-evaluate.
 
You take that $240k+ that you'll be compounding at 6.8/7.8% over your 4 years of medical school and 3-8 yrs of residency (if paying back at IBR rates), and you are talking about a lot of future lost wages to attend Hopkins. It's an amazing institution, but you could either get to the end of residency (which will be determined by your Step 1 score regardless of which of those 3 institutions you choose) you can either be debt-free, or $$350k in the hole, which will be like a $30k pay cut in real terms for the first 15 years of your attending career. Don't do that.
 
You are blessed to the maximum. Full scholarship to medical school at NYU!!!
 
Also, as a Niners fan, why would you want to go to JHU and be in Baltimore 😀
 
SilentSoldier said:
Also, as a Niners fan, why would you want to go to JHU and be in Baltimore 😀
Click to expand...

Haha true. Although there are Giants fans in NYC, and the Giants loss two years ago haunts me almost as much as the SB loss.
 
DrDestroyMD said:
Haha true. Although there are Giants fans in NYC, and the Giants loss two years ago haunts me almost as much as the SB loss.
Click to expand...

That is true, looks like its northwestern for you then 🙂
 
If you're interested in a top academic career in ortho or in being involved in hospital administration, then my vote would be for Hopkins. But if you're not interested in academic medicine or hospital administration, then go to NYU.
 
DrDestroyMD said:
All three second looks are this weekend, and I'm going to the Hopkins one. I'm not asking my parents to contribute any money towards my medical education. I'll get a feel for Hopkins this weekend and then re-evaluate.
Click to expand...

Hopkins has one-on-one meetings with finaid advisers during second look weekend. Not sure how helpful they will be, but maybe it'll be easier to sway them into giving you more money through an in-person conversation?
 
Wow, I would kill for a full COA scholarship.

Come to NYU! Especially since you're interested in ortho - there is a very strong program here. We have the Hospital for Joint Disease (a dedicated ortho hospital). This year's graduating class successfully matched 5/5 ortho applicants, four decided to stay at NYU.

I have quite a few friends at Hopkins, also great reputation -- but NYC >> Baltimore (especially if you want to get established in the area for residency), and $300k is a huge scholarship. I didn't even know medical schools gave out financial aid packages that large.
 
Wow, congrats on all your hard work and achievements, threads like this make
me say FML lol i have to go to an average state medical school...

I personally would go with NYU, no debt no stress, NYC, and a great education....that would make my current depression go away in a heart beat lol

Good luck with you decision, you can't go wrong with any 3.....
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

H
Meharry vs. WCUCOM
Replies
2
Views
760
Hwilliams
H
wysdoc
2024-2025 Northwestern
8 9 10 11 12
Replies
578
Views
177K
hadassah_04
H
wysdoc
2024-2025 Johns Hopkins
14 15 16 17 18
Replies
862
Views
226K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
wysdoc
2024-2025 NYU (Grossman)
9 10 11 12 13
Replies
640
Views
237K
sz909
S
wysdoc
2024-2025 NYU - Long Island
2 3 4
Replies
167
Views
47K
cheesegirlpuff
C
Top