Mt Sinai vs Johns Hopkins

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futuredoctorwazzup

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Johns Hopkins

Pros
- Prestige. From what I understand Hopkins is in a tier of school where prestige really goes a long way towards shaping your career
- Have the #1 public health school in the nation, and I'm interested in public health and thinking about potentially pursuing an MPH
- Lots of great global health stuff going on (also an interest of mine)
- If I weren't to do psychiatry I would probably pursue IM and their program is #1 in the country
- low COL

Cons
- I am very interested in psychiatry at this point and it looks like for the past couple of years they haven't matched as many people to top programs as Sinai? Even though from what I understand their own program is fairly strong
- I'm moving with my SO and he has 0 network in Baltimore and isn't supper jazzed about moving there

Mt Sinai

Pros
- as expensive as NYC is, living in NYC has always been a dream of mine
- Psychiatry is one of their strongest departments and it looks like people have matched very very well these past couple of years
- students seemed laid back and the school seems like it really prioritizes student wellness
- Loved the social justice emphasis

Cons
- not sure how well the family housing system will work for me and my SO considering we don't have children (as in we might not receive family housing?) Anyone with knowledge about this as it relates to Mt Sinai please chime in!
- NYC is expensive! Although I don't think I'm going to qualify aid from either school the COA at Sinai will likely be higher and I'm paying for med school 100% on my own
- Doesn't have the prestige of Hopkins overall
- I'm a bit older and am worried about the younger overall age of the class

Thanks so much for your help everyone!!!

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Congrats on both acceptances!

Ok, so let's first establish that NYC >>>> Baltimore.

However, I would still choose Hopkins for the prestige, but hey, I'm like that. There is quite a gap between Mt Sinai and Hopkins in terms of prestige (especially for residency directors). Psychiatry isn't the most competitive specialty (so prestige may not matter too much for you), but you never know if you decide to change down the road.

I also wouldn't worry about the match list. There are many reasons why Hopkins may not match well into psychiatry, including that their students don't want psychiatry, or their students want to match to calmer, suburban areas/areas near family (especially after living in Baltimore, lol).
 
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IF you get accepted to Hopkins, you go to Hopkins. It's just a fact.
 
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Med school is an investment in your future and just the name value of Johns Hopkins will open so many doors for you. Although I concede that NYC is a stellar city, I question if you will be able to enjoy it to the fullest when you are burdened with studying. And you will only be in Baltimore for 4 years anyhow. Like Meronebib mentioned earlier, I wouldn't read into JH's matchlist too much. I think their students simply choose more competitive specialties.
 
Congrats! These are both stellar acceptances. 100% I would go Hopkins my friend. Hopkins is literally one of the best academic medical institutions in the world, it is just in a tier above Sinai honestly.

Honestly, psychiatry is among the less competitive specialties (compared to say ortho, derm, etc.), and I highly doubt your match would be adversely impacted AT ALL by coming from Johns Hopkins haha. On the contrary, I bet you are seeing less matches to Psych because a lot of the Hopkins kids are the types who are gunning for those more competitive specialties. Hopkins is the best of the best in the US, and if you go...the sky is the limit (actually the sky isn't even the limit, maybe like space! haha)

All that being said, they are both fantastic schools. I suppose if you had strong reservations about Hopkins (hated the student culture, etc.) then you should go to Sinai. Otherwise, I would choose the Hop.

Congrats again!
 
Based on your comments above, I would vote Sinai because happiness trumps prestige for me.
 
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Neither program will hold you back from your goals. It comes down to quality of life. Do you want a small house with a backyard or a cramped apartment? Do you want to own a car? Do you like getting out of the city or staying in it when you happen to have a free weekend? I've lived in NYC and live near Baltimore now. I'd choose Hopkins. Baltimore is a super cool city. I know people in both the med school and the grad school now. #1 thing they all say is "I liked Hopkins, but was scared to move to Baltimore. Now living in Baltimore is one of my favorite things about coming here."
 
Go wherever you'll be happiest, both are phenomenal schools. I'd prob choose Sinai.
 
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