Mayo vs. Stanford

[BulldogZA]

Hey guys,

I just got off the waitlist at Stanford and I have two weeks to decide whether or not to go there. I don't know what to do! I was set to go to Mayo and now I don't know. I never thought I would get in to Stanford and so I never thought about it. I talked with my family and we came up with this list for each school and I was hoping to get some input from fellow SDNers...

Mayo:

-Location. Mayo is close to home (~3 hrs)
-Mayo Clinic
-Dean's scholarship (full-tuition)
-Small class (50 students)
-Interesting curriculum (6 wk blocks followed by 2 wk selectives)

Stanford:
-Location. I went to school in the area, so I know the area well. The weather is beautiful all-year round and there is a lot to do in the Bay Area.
-Strong research
-Small class (86 students)
-Association with a major university/undergraduate campus
-Better residency placements (?)

Any ideas? Thanks!

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[Moniker]

Hey guys,

I got an unexpected phone call from the Associate Dean of Admissions at Stanford yesterday and he offered me a spot in the class! Well, this puts me in a difficult (but good!) situation because I now have to choose between Mayo and Stanford. I don't know what to do! I've asked everyone I know and I still don't know how I will choose between these two great schools. I've come up with this list of pros for each school and I was hoping to get some input from fellow SDNers on which school to choose.

Mayo:

-Location. Mayo is close to home (~3 hrs)
-Excellent hospital
-Full-tuition scholarship (Dean's scholarship)
-Small class (50 students)
-Interesting curriculum (6 wk blocks followed by 2 wk selectives)

Stanford:
-Location. I went to Stanford for undergrad, so I know the area well. The weather is beautiful all-year round and there is a lot to do in the Bay Area.
-Access to top faculty/researchers
-Good reputation
-Small class (86 students)
-Association with a major university/proximity to undergraduate campus
-Better residency placements (?)

Any ideas?

post your question in preallo where it belongs. it's pretty obvious you are looking for people to tell you how wonderful both schools are to boost your ego. maybe we could get a few stanford med students and mayo med students in here to fight over you?

...and you've already put "medical student" as your status?

 

[Monica Lewinsky]

Mayo looks like it will be cheaper for you which is probably the trump here.

I would say that residency programs will like you more as a Mayo grad rather than a Stanford grad, all other things equal, but thats just my opinion about the schools' reputations.

 

[soeagerun2or]

Join the peace corps and re-apply in 2 years and hope for a top 5 school.

 

[MadameLULU]

Moving to preallo

 

[BulldogZA]

I didn't mean it that way at all! I just wanted to get an outside opinion because it's kind of an important decision and I seriously don't know what to do. I know these threads are repetitive, so I apologize if I made the wrong impression.

 

[MadameLULU]

Both are good schools. I'd go to Mayo since you have a scholarship.

 

[ihatescience]

I can understand why you'd be torn-- both schools are amazing. When it came time for me to make my decision, it was based on aid. The fact that you got a full-tuition scholarship at Mayo is amazing in itself. However, since I'm one who focuses on aid, I would choose Mayo (but with great hesitation). Do what feels right-- are you ready for something new? Both schools would give you the same leverage in terms of future goals.

 

[flip26]

...heavy on the mayo...

 

[frubeak]

to the person who said the BulldogZ was cocky, I don't think so at all. They're trying to make a tough decision and are looking for support and since SDN is a support forum, then we should SUPPORT them and give our advice. so chill out whoever you were.


This is an incredibly difficult decision as both schools are great. I actually just got into Mayo 3 days ago and am still on cloud 9 from the phone call with Marcy, so my biased opinion says go to Mayo!


Stanford is great, too though. Maybe you could ask yourself what type of medicine you're planning to pursue and which school has strengths in those programs? You should also ask yourself if the specialty you're planning on choosing will let you pay off that debt you'd accrue at Stanford as quickly as if you went to Mayo (ie if you like primary care, you might face some financially tough times since the pay isn't as great).


California is great, but you could always do your selectives there!

Good luck with your decision

 

[frubeak]

oh, and here's a saying from a residency director that I found on SDN a week ago when I was debating between Case Western Reserve and University of Colorado (this was before that Mayo phone call) and ended up choosing Colorado for happiness of location.

something along the lines of "just because you join a gym filled with fit people doesn't mean that you are guaranteed to become fit like them" Kinda showed me that the reputation/ranking of a program doesn't mean that I will be guaranteed to be successful if I attend. It all depends on the work that I put into my education and this can be achieved at any institution.

Anyways, thought that might help with your pro/con list that says Stanford is a stronger program with a potentially better match list. Good luck again!

 

[babi]

You would be crazy not to take the full tuition offer from Mayo. Why in earth would you want to get into debt if you do not have to. If you are good and serious and persistent you will get into the residency of your choice regardless of which school you chose to attend. just my 2 cents

 

[TheRealMD]

You would be crazy not to take the full tuition offer from Mayo. Why in earth would you want to get into debt if you do not have to. If you are good and serious and persistent you will get into the residency of your choice regardless of which school you chose to attend. just my 2 cents

If he just got in yesterday/today, I'm guessing that they don't have a scholarship package ready for him yet.

 

[wood41]

would it be selfish if i told you to go to stanford so i could maybe get into mayo? lol... im playing because im utterly jealous of you!!!

congrats!

 

[kdburton]

I'm not sure if this makes a huge difference, but I've heard that where you go to med school (region, not school) may make a difference whether or not you're going to be able to make it to a different region for residency afterwards. It may have something to do with your network and the contacts you build in med school, but for instance I've heard that people who go to med school on the east coast have a hard time getting a residency spot on the west coast - and vice versa. With that said if you want to apply for residency in the midwest eventually then Mayo would maybe be a better school for you. Or if you want to end up on the west coast then Stanford may be better. Again, I'm not sure how much of a difference this ends up making (and I'm sure it has a lot to do with how competive of a field you're going into as well). The other thing you have to think about when contemplating going to Mayo is what specialty you're into. The patient population at a school like Mayo and its affiliated hospitals is going to be a lot less diverse and much smaller than most other schools.

 

[BluePhoenix]

I'm not sure if this makes a huge difference, but I've heard that where you go to med school (region, not school) may make a difference whether or not you're going to be able to make it to a different region for residency afterwards. It may have something to do with your network and the contacts you build in med school, but for instance I've heard that people who go to med school on the east coast have a hard time getting a residency spot on the west coast - and vice versa. With that said if you want to apply for residency in the midwest eventually then Mayo would maybe be a better school for you. Or if you want to end up on the west coast then Stanford may be better. Again, I'm not sure how much of a difference this ends up making (and I'm sure it has a lot to do with how competive of a field you're going into as well). The other thing you have to think about when contemplating going to Mayo is what specialty you're into. The patient population at a school like Mayo and its affiliated hospitals is going to be a lot less diverse and much smaller than most other schools.

I don't think this is really a problem at Mayo if you look at the match lists. They got a pretty good number into the top hospitals in MA. Coming from either school, you should be able to go wherever you want (assuming you do just as well at both). The two main factors that are different would be cost and location...so decide based on that. They both have great reputations, small class sizes, tons of research opportunities, etc. However, location is significantly different.

 

[kdburton]

I don't think this is really a problem at Mayo if you look at the match lists. They got a pretty good number into the top hospitals in MA. Coming from either school, you should be able to go wherever you want (assuming you do just as well at both). The two main factors that are different would be cost and location...so decide based on that. They both have great reputations, small class sizes, tons of research opportunities, etc. However, location is significantly different.

I think a majority of the students at Mayo have significant scholarships (most are greater than 50% I believe), but the only problem is that Rochester, MN is basically built around the hospital and theres not much else there - don't get me wrong though because Rochester can still be a fun city. Minneapolis/St Paul are the closest major metropolitan areas but they are cold as hell most of the year (I grew up and went to school there). However, even if Stanfords financial aid packages are significantly less (which may not be the case), the difference in the total debt you'll graduate with probably won't be significant considering you're going to be a doctor. Location is probably the biggest factor then, but you have to keep in mind that Mayo's practice extends to FL and AZ and as far as I know students can rotate to those locations in their clinical years.

 

[Character]

for me, stanford for all reasons...its a great part of california(nor cal/bay area...not that crappy soulless, culture less socal).. only school that i'd chooses over stanford is sf or the manhattan schools.

 

[Phoenix.]

I echo wood's sentiment.

I don't know much about Stanford, but I agree it really seems to come down to location and money. So if it were me, the first thing I'd do would be to tell Stanford my position, and see if they're able to offer any money to bridge the gap.

Anyway, it sounds like you can't go wrong, and a large part of this decision will be where you think you'll be happier. Good luck - and don't forget to post in the mayo thread to let us Mayophiles know what you decided. I love Mayo, but I have lived in the Bay Area before, and I realize what a tough choice you face.

 

[BluePhoenix]

Another thing to consider....beyond just the cost of tuition is the cost of living in either area. The cities around Stanford are expensive and WAY more expensive compared to housing in Rochester, MN. Not a big deal when you're a doctor but if you're taking out loans to pay for living expenses, there might be a big difference in either cost or what you can afford.

Yes, it's cold in MN but it's not like you're moving to the Arctic, seriously. You're in med school so it's not like you've got TONs of free time. The Twin Cities have plenty to do and honestly, I think it's far easier for concerts and stuff than in NYC or CA (I've lived in all three places), where everything sells out insanely fast and costs twice as much. And you do have the option of doing rotations at the other locations or traveling during selectives. If you're a city person, you might have trouble in Rochester, but at the same time....Stanford's not exactly in a big city either (more CA sprawl).

 

[premedrod]

Hey guys,

I just got off the waitlist at Stanford and I have two weeks to decide whether or not to go there. I don't know what to do! I was set to go to Mayo and now I don't know. I never thought I would get in to Stanford and so I never thought about it. I talked with my family and we came up with this list for each school and I was hoping to get some input from fellow SDNers...

Mayo:

-Location. Mayo is close to home (~3 hrs)
-Mayo Clinic
-Dean's scholarship (full-tuition)
-Small class (50 students)
-Interesting curriculum (6 wk blocks followed by 2 wk selectives)

Stanford:
-Location. I went to school in the area, so I know the area well. The weather is beautiful all-year round and there is a lot to do in the Bay Area.
-Strong research
-Small class (86 students)
-Association with a major university/undergraduate campus
-Better residency placements (?)

Any ideas? Thanks!

if i were you, i would definitely go to mayo. they're one of the top universities and you're getting full tuition scholarship....you cant beat that...
why would you want to go to a school where you'll have over 100k in loans to pay back...that would suck...although stanford is more famous, i dont think it would be worth it...
GO TO MAYO!!!!

 

[rawr88]

I think you should try something new and go to Mayo. Life is too short to keep going back to the same place over and over.

 

[Fay]

Congrats!! Both are amazing schools!

My suggestion:
1. If research is your focus, go to Stanford. If clinical is your focus, go to Mayo.
2. Go with gut feeling.

 

[custard]

Congrats!! Both are amazing schools!

My suggestion:
1. If research is your focus, go to Stanford. If clinical is your focus, go to Mayo.
2. Go with gut feeling.

I agree with this. Stanford seems to be more of a research powerhouse.