Mount Sinai vs. Rutgers RWJ

[studentdoctor543]

Hi everyone! As the April 30th deadline nears, I would love to hear your thoughts on which medical school I should choose! Mount Sinai is my dream school, but I received no financial aid from them so I will need to take out $400k loans by the time I graduate. I qualified for in-state tuition at Rutgers RWJ so I would only need to take out $250k loans.
I am unsure what I want to specialize in, but I am currently interested in anesthesiology, derm, and internal med. Both schools are P/F for preclinicals.

Mount Sinai
Pros

• more prestigious, better match list
• more research opportunities
• very focused on student wellness -> all the students i've talked to love the school and seem happy (and I loved their second look day)
• NYC is a great place to train (diverse patient population, strong clinical training, Sinai has the biggest health system in NYC)
• cheap subsidized housing
• boyfriend works in NYC
• nice facilities
• no AOA

Cons

• HUGE loans ($400k without interest)
• living in NYC is scary to me. I prefer quieter cities, having a car, and being close to nature

Rutgers RWJ
Pros

• in-state tuition ($250k loans without interest)
• suburban
• lower cost of living (could find a cheap luxury apartment)
• close-knit culture
• wouldn't feel as much pressure (financially) to go into a competitive specialty in case i change my mind in med school and want to pursue family med or pediatrics

Cons

• less prestigious
• 93% match rate this year (lower than the average NRMP match rate), although many still match into competitive specialties
• less NIH funding = less research opportunities
• boyfriend's commute to work would be >1 hour
• facilities not great
• I'm afraid of being a "guinea pig" for the Rutgers merger -> could be an administrative headache
• AOA

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[studentdoctor543]

if you voted, please lmk your reason!! thanks!

 

[hydroflaskhomie]

I agree ^, even though $150k is a lot of money, Mt Sinai will give you a lot of opportunities here. A vote for Mt Sinai from me.

Sinai probably has the second best location of the NYC programs (only Cornell is better). My friends there love the subsidized housing and the clinical experience.