Mt. Sinai vs. Emory

[cmsmstp]

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I am trying to make a decision between Mt. Sinai and Emory for MD/PhD and am wanting input from others. I loved Mt. Sinai and NYC but the financial problems of the hospital are a big negative mark, especially when you consider the length of the MSTP program. I also really enjoyed Emory, it has a lot to offer and is (in my opinion) probably a better school than Mt. Sinai with better residency placements. Any input you guys have about either school is greatly appreciated.

 

[DarkChild]

what areas of research are you interested in?

 

[bahraini]

Hello cmsmstp,

I am curious to know when you heard from Mt. Sinai . . I have been waiting for them for ages . .

Anyways, I would chose Sinai over Emory because I am definitely a more city person. Personally, I feel that the hospital problems wouldnt affect you that much, especially because of the flexibility in the places you do your electives. The research training I think is really good because of the absence of any undergraduate link (Emory has an undergrad division).

I guess you would have to decide based on the availability of faculty in your research area. . . Don't worry at all about life in Manhattan - its the best. I can guarantee you that much, plus imagine the giant network of medical schools / students that you will be a part of.

ish

 

[cmsmstp]

My research interests are mainly in the area of cell biology but I find things in almost every area that I would love to work on. I guess it will just come down to lifestyle issues.

 

[DarkChild]

cmsmstp - i interviewed (MD-only) at MSSM and honestly I wouldnt really consider them for MD/PhD. I definately saw signs of the budget tightening on the school. While the students seemed very happy, I was really amazed that they were that psyched and that positive in what I thought were less than decent digs. For instance, did you see the first year lecture hall? The seats were chewed up and ratty, the hall itself was pretty run down. Then there was the student lounge - which was really a big space with picnic tables, an old computer and a rickety looking piano.
I cant rag on MSSM too much though - the faculty I met there and the students really seemed to want to make an impact on their community (and did) and I could really appreciate their sincerity and dedication to helping people. But I still wouldnt go there for 7+ years. Plus there were the really negative things my MD interviewer at MSSM said about academic medicine. It was great that he was that candid with me, but still... (see my comments in the salary post on this page) Oh one more thing about MSSM - maybe I'm biased cuz I didnt meet any PhDers or even MDs doing bench/clinical research (I met an epidemiologist (sp?) ) but my impression was that the schools faculty was surprisingly anti-intellectual. There was my one interviewer who bashed my dreams of doing academic medicine (i guess it was my mistake for not tailoring my rap for MD and MD/PhD programs ) and my other interviewer, who after I spent 5 minutes explaining my research goes... "So.... what's that good for?"
Emory. I dont know anything about it, except its also called "Coke University" 😱 I really dont think they are going to have financial issues any time soon. Plus its hotlanta. Isnt the girl to guy ratio there seriously like 9:1?

 

[ATLien1224]

Hey cmsmstp, I didn't interview at Sinai (I went to Einstein and NYU, didn't really like either of them, figured Sinai would be more of the same), but I definitely thought Emory was awesome. Of course, I'm biased...I grew up down in the ATL. But even so...it's a sweet place to go to school. Students are fun (did you meet Yair when you were down there? he's a badass), faculty is excellent, Mary Horton does a great job as administrator. I really liked it. Atlanta was the only city that could have lured me away from New York (but didn't in the end since I didn't think Emory had a reputation comparable to that of Columbia). It's nice to have the undergrad campus right there (more social facilities, more clubs/activities...the gym is impressive as well.) I also got the impression that Emory is really on the rise...they've taken a bunch of good faculty from other schools, plus they're pouring a lot of money into research. They could easily be a top 15 med school in 10 years. My impression of Sinai, however, is that they're starting to fall off a bit.

The one big problem with Emory: full grading scale!! My buddies in the first year class seem to be working way too hard. Yes, Emory kids kick ass on the boards, but it's because they've been having their ass kicked for two years by having to worry about getting A's (instead of just going for that gentleman's P). Also if you're in for some serious clinical experience, working at a crazy public hospital (Grady) could be good for you...but I don't know if it's for the faint of heart.

Anyways, I have a natural bias towards Atlanta. Weather is great (and when it gets hot, everything has air conditioning, unlike New York), girls are good looking (and the ratio, while not 9:1, is pretty damn good), town is fun (lots of restaurants/bars)...it's a sweet place to live. I definitely want to move back down there at some point. However, I love living in New York as well...I just want to make it clear that I don't think you could go wrong with either location. I know it's a tough choice, but I think I would say go for Emory.

 

[surge]

Originally posted by bahraini
Hello cmsmstp,

I am curious to know when you heard from Mt. Sinai . . I have been waiting for them for ages . .

I was wondering the same thing... until yesterday, when I recieved a wierd email from Roya....

So, they say I'm on "high holds", and they want to fly me out to NYC in order to "find out where your interest lies concerning our Program".

What gives? Anybody else got this?
I'll probably go out of curiosity.... We'll see what happens.

 

[jaynest]

Hey Surge!

Yeah, I got a "high hold" notice from Sinai also. I took them up on their offer and revisited. Apparently, they only put 5 or 6 people on the high hold list. As far as I know, they've made 9 acceptance offers (four of which have been confirmed). That leaves 5 spots left. If one of those five people drops for another school, one of the high holds will fill that slot. According to Diomedes, they'll be ranking the high holds over the next few weeks (literally, we will be ranked and numbered). According to Diomedes, Sinai thinks everyone on the high hold list is roughly equal, so the ranking will be based on commitment to the program and to diversity. That is, if you're interested in neuro, you're less likely to get in, simply because 2 of the 4 people already committed to attending are into neuro.

Anyways, you should definitely go to the revisit if you're interested in going to Sinai. I should warn you, the revisit isn't as well put together as other revisits, simply because it's not a big "revisit day." Rather, it's just individual high hold people in isolation. It was worthwhile for me, however.

Overall, what's your take on Sinai? Also, did you apply to Einstein or NYU?

I'm seriously debating between the three and actually think I'm leaning towards Einstein, but I can't be certain at this point (even though I've already revisited all three schools). Good luck to you in your program selection process.