New York City Medical Schools

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
G

grhoch

New Member
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2006
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
I am a Californian trying to come up with a list of medical schools to apply to. I am considering the following New York City schools:

NYU
Cornell
Columbia

Are there any new yorkers out there who could tell me what the area is like around each of these schools. Any other opinions comparing these three would also be welcome!

Thanks!
Members don't see this ad.
 
grhoch said:
I am a Californian trying to come up with a list of medical schools to apply to. I am considering the following New York City schools:

NYU
Cornell
Columbia

Are there any new yorkers out there who could tell me what the area is like around each of these schools. Any other opinions comparing these three would also be welcome!

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I'm not from New York, but I read this website, http://www.overheardinnewyork.com, all the time. They pretty much post quotes that people overhear in the city (along with quotes from other places on different pages, but that is unimportant here). It's hilarious. Anyway, they post a ton of quotes from NYU students, and from what one can gather, those students are dumb. But hey, it's just a website, so I'd take that with a grain of salt while reading it and laughing your ass off.
 
doinmybest5840 said:
I'm not from New York, but I read this website, http://www.overheardinnewyork.com, all the time. They pretty much post quotes that people overhear in the city (along with quotes from other places on different pages, but that is unimportant here). It's hilarious. Anyway, they post a ton of quotes from NYU students, and from what one can gather, those students are dumb. But hey, it's just a website, so I'd take that with a grain of salt while reading it and laughing your ass off.
Click to expand...

great website by the way :D :thumbup:
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I hope Cornell Med. isn't in Ithica. That place is depressing.
 
Cornell Med is not in Ithaca with the undergraduate campus. Ironically, it is in one of the most coveted zip codes in the world - on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

NYU's location is great too, also on the East Side of Manhattan, but in Midtown - the dorms are not great, though...safe, but cramped and have community showers.

Columbia is uptown, the campus is safe but some of the surrounding areas are sketchy.

All three are great locations, and great schools, from what i've seen of them. Good luck!
 
nycNerd said:
Cornell Med is not in Ithaca with the undergraduate campus. Ironically, it is in one of the most coveted zip codes in the world - on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

NYU's location is great too, also on the East Side of Manhattan, but in Midtown - the dorms are not great, though...safe, but cramped and have community showers.

Columbia is uptown, the campus is safe but some of the surrounding areas are sketchy.

All three are great locations, and great schools, from what i've seen of them. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Community showers aren't that bad. At least you don't have to worry about cleaning your bathroom.
 
grhoch said:
I am a Californian trying to come up with a list of medical schools to apply to. I am considering the following New York City schools:

NYU
Cornell
Columbia

Are there any new yorkers out there who could tell me what the area is like around each of these schools. Any other opinions comparing these three would also be welcome!

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Why not Mount Sinai? It's higher-ranked than NYU and has better housing.
 
I agree. Mt. Sinai is awesome! I went to an open house there and loved it!
 
nycNerd said:
Cornell Med is not in Ithaca with the undergraduate campus. Ironically, it is in one of the most coveted zip codes in the world - on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

NYU's location is great too, also on the East Side of Manhattan, but in Midtown - the dorms are not great, though...safe, but cramped and have community showers.

Columbia is uptown, the campus is safe but some of the surrounding areas are sketchy.

All three are great locations, and great schools, from what i've seen of them. Good luck!
Click to expand...


I can attest to that. Columbia is far uptown, the kind of area you wouldn't want to be in alone at night. Although security around campus is great.

NYU in the heart of the city, great place to be. Fairly safe neighborhood very "urban"
 
Expect to have a much higher cost of living in NY.
Plus the weather isn't Cali.

But besides that, best city ever.
 
You must have some amazing Stats/EC's.
 
grhoch said:
I am a Californian trying to come up with a list of medical schools to apply to. I am considering the following New York City schools:

NYU
Cornell
Columbia

Are there any new yorkers out there who could tell me what the area is like around each of these schools. Any other opinions comparing these three would also be welcome!

Thanks!
Click to expand...

NYU - Lower East Side of Manhattan. Colorful, lots of great restaurants. Not far from West Village (Greenwich Village), site of main campus. Always stuff going on. Probably safer in recent years than historically (like, 10 or more years ago). Definitely home to a "young, hip" crowd.

Cornell - Upper East Side of Manhattan. Very upscale surroundings, not not far removed from the midtwon corporate culture. A lot of major business and shopping centers nearby. Not ESPECIALLY easy to get around as some other places... some walking to get to nearest subway. Several great coffee shops. Huge research centers (obviously). Beyond student body, a more mature population here... more apparent wealth.

(Adding Mount Sinai since I work there) - Interesting neighborhood right at the border of the Upper East Side and East Harlem. The neighborhood reflects this diverse melange. Beautiful Central Park sites only a block away, and it's true... some of the student housing is impressive.

Columbia - Harlem. Far less "apparent" wealth then any of the previous three. Of course, it is also free from the stuffiness, and sometimes pretentiousness of midtown or the Upper East Side. Community Service opportunities probably abound around here. Has its ups and downs.

Good Luck!

:luck:

-MSTPbound
 
Someone is going to jump in and post this, so it might as well be me. Columbia isn't in Harlem; it's in Washington Heights, which is a culturally distinct neighborhood north of Harlem. The most salient feature that differentiates Washington Heights from Harlem (and from the rest of NYC, really) is the large population of immigrants from the Dominican Republic. *Lots* of Spanish-speaking patients. Lots of Dominican restaurants. If you go to Columbia, you'll have the opportunity to do some of your rotations in Harlem; however, Columbia's classrooms and dorms are all located in Washington Heights.

MSTPbound said:
Columbia - Harlem. Far less "apparent" wealth then any of the previous three. Of course, it is also free from the stuffiness, and sometimes pretentiousness of midtown or the Upper East Side. Community Service opportunities probably abound around here. Has its ups and downs.

Good Luck!

:luck:

-MSTPbound
Click to expand...
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I'm applying to all 3 as well. Cornell's in the best location out of the three but Columbia, theoretically, should have the most diverse patient population.
 
There's also Stonybrook. I'll describe it:

Stonybrook - middle of nowhere.
 
ugh how bout

Stony Brook - 20 minute drive from Bethpage, possibly the best collection of golf courses on the east coast =D
 
muncher said:
ugh how bout

Stony Brook - 20 minute drive from Bethpage, possibly the best collection of golf courses on the east coast =D
Click to expand...
but the post deserves no answer the thread was about nyc school. Stony brook is not in nyc. how about AECOM or downstate? Now they are actually in nyc. btw stony brook is in an extremely boring area unless that is your thing.
 
MSTPbound said:
NYU - Lower East Side of Manhattan. Colorful, lots of great restaurants. Not far from West Village (Greenwich Village), site of main campus. Always stuff going on. Probably safer in recent years than historically (like, 10 or more years ago). Definitely home to a "young, hip" crowd.
Click to expand...

Just to clarify, NYU Medical School is not on the lower east side of Manhattan and is not near the west village. I believe you are reffering to the undergrad school. The medical school is in the 20's or 30's and 1st ave - so (as someone else mentioned) on the east side in midtown.
Also someone mentioned something about community showers and I'm about 95% sure there are no community showers at NYU. One of NYU's trademarks is that ALL their dorms provide you with private bathrooms for your suite.
 
are you required to live in the dorms at NYU? I guess it's a de facto requirement since housing is supposed to be impossible to find in the City. But theoretically, if you wanted to, could you live in an apartment off campus?
 
Green Pirate said:
are you required to live in the dorms at NYU? I guess it's a de facto requirement since housing is supposed to be impossible to find in the City. But theoretically, if you wanted to, could you live in an apartment off campus?
Click to expand...

You can definitely live in an apartment off-campus, and it will probably end up costing you roughly the same price.
 
Mila said:
Just to clarify, NYU Medical School is not on the lower east side of Manhattan and is not near the west village. I believe you are reffering to the undergrad school. The medical school is in the 20's or 30's and 1st ave - so (as someone else mentioned) on the east side in midtown.
Also someone mentioned something about community showers and I'm about 95% sure there are no community showers at NYU. One of NYU's trademarks is that ALL their dorms provide you with private bathrooms for your suite.
Click to expand...

NYU school of medicine is on 30th-34th and 1st ave. But it is a very short bus( free NYU shuttle) down to union square/west village/ NYU undergrad campus. And unfortunately yes their dorms are most definately community showers(coed). While you do have your own room, you share a bathroom/kitchen with your floor. Housing was one of the main reasons I chose not to attend NYU.
The rent for the first year dorm is around 650 including utilities. You most definately can NOT find an apartment this cheap in Murray Hill( NYU med neighborhood). The average one bedrooms when I was looking were around 1200+
 
husky0684 said:
NYU school of medicine is on 30th-34th and 1st ave. But it is a very short bus( free NYU shuttle) down to union square/west village/ NYU undergrad campus. And unfortunately yes their dorms are most definately community showers(coed). While you do have your own room, you share a bathroom/kitchen with your floor. Housing was one of the main reasons I chose not to attend NYU.
The rent for the first year dorm is around 650 including utilities. You most definately can NOT find an apartment this cheap in Murray Hill( NYU med neighborhood). The average one bedrooms when I was looking were around 1200+
Click to expand...

further clarification: the bathrooms are communal and coed, but the showers are each in individual stalls.
 
husky0684 said:
NYU school of medicine is on 30th-34th and 1st ave. But it is a very short bus( free NYU shuttle) down to union square/west village/ NYU undergrad campus. And unfortunately yes their dorms are most definately community showers(coed). While you do have your own room, you share a bathroom/kitchen with your floor. Housing was one of the main reasons I chose not to attend NYU.
The rent for the first year dorm is around 650 including utilities. You most definately can NOT find an apartment this cheap in Murray Hill( NYU med neighborhood). The average one bedrooms when I was looking were around 1200+
Click to expand...

Average?! $1200 one-bedroom is an amazing price in that area....I'd say the average one-bedroom in the area is ~$1600. My boyfriend, a native NYer says (I just asked) Murray Hill 1BR apts run average $1800-$2200 because "straight people with good jobs live there." But I say 1600 because things get a little bit cheaper over by first ave (by NYU which is first ave btw 27th--bellvue--and 34th--Rusk).
 
Mila said:
Just to clarify, NYU Medical School is not on the lower east side of Manhattan and is not near the west village. I believe you are reffering to the undergrad school. The medical school is in the 20's or 30's and 1st ave - so (as someone else mentioned) on the east side in midtown.
Also someone mentioned something about community showers and I'm about 95% sure there are no community showers at NYU. One of NYU's trademarks is that ALL their dorms provide you with private bathrooms for your suite.
Click to expand...
I'm 95% sure that there is a dorm with community showers. My friend lived in one and they just get a sink in their room.
 
husky0684 said:
NYU school of medicine is on 30th-34th and 1st ave. But it is a very short bus( free NYU shuttle) down to union square/west village/ NYU undergrad campus. And unfortunately yes their dorms are most definately community showers(coed). While you do have your own room, you share a bathroom/kitchen with your floor. Housing was one of the main reasons I chose not to attend NYU.
The rent for the first year dorm is around 650 including utilities. You most definately can NOT find an apartment this cheap in Murray Hill( NYU med neighborhood). The average one bedrooms when I was looking were around 1200+
Click to expand...
650 including utilities is unheard of in manhattan, even if you do literally live in a cubicle.
 
DocFunk said:
I'm 95% sure that there is a dorm with community showers. My friend lived in one and they just get a sink in their room.
Click to expand...

Yeah but if you just stick it out for first year you can move into nicer places with bathrooms like Greenberg or Skirball.
 
Hey, I grew up in NY and live here currently. I've lived and worked near Cornell and NYU med schools. All areas is great, totally unaffordable, but great. The area around Columbia used to be horrible, but it's totally turned around and there is some good affordable places to live there still. All three schools are in Manhattan. NYU and Cornell are on the east side in midtown and Columbia is in Morningside Heights on the west side and way uptown. Basically all areas have fun places to go out at night and are safe. The area around Cornell (close to the upper east side and Sutton Place) are considered the safest parts of NYC. I hope that helps.
 
mountainhare said:
Someone is going to jump in and post this, so it might as well be me. Columbia isn't in Harlem; it's in Washington Heights, which is a culturally distinct neighborhood north of Harlem. The most salient feature that differentiates Washington Heights from Harlem (and from the rest of NYC, really) is the large population of immigrants from the Dominican Republic. *Lots* of Spanish-speaking patients. Lots of Dominican restaurants. If you go to Columbia, you'll have the opportunity to do some of your rotations in Harlem; however, Columbia's classrooms and dorms are all located in Washington Heights.
Click to expand...

Mila said:
Just to clarify, NYU Medical School is not on the lower east side of Manhattan and is not near the west village. I believe you are reffering to the undergrad school. The medical school is in the 20's or 30's and 1st ave - so (as someone else mentioned) on the east side in midtown.
Also someone mentioned something about community showers and I'm about 95% sure there are no community showers at NYU. One of NYU's trademarks is that ALL their dorms provide you with private bathrooms for your suite.
Click to expand...

My bad people. I got my bachelor's degree at NYU (lived on 5th Ave., Wash. Square), and I got my master's degree at Columbia on the Morningside campus, so that's obviously what guided my geographic orientation. I'll try to be more careful next time.

-Mbound
 
A Tree said:
Yeah but if you just stick it out for first year you can move into nicer places with bathrooms like Greenberg or Skirball.
Click to expand...

yeah and the price per month almost doubles..but it is still a good deal on manhattan standards...their grad student housing( for PhDs) is actually really nice and overlooks the east river. They are apartment-style with individual kitchen/bathroom. These are the skirball apartments, but too bad they don't spread that love to their medical students.
 
husky0684 said:
yeah and the price per month almost doubles..but it is still a good deal on manhattan standards...their grad student housing( for PhDs) is actually really nice and overlooks the east river. They are apartment-style with individual kitchen/bathroom. These are the skirball apartments, but too bad they don't spread that love to their medical students.
Click to expand...

oh yeah, when i interviewed here for PhD they did show us apartments with beautiful views for very affordable rent...they do show alot of love for PhD's, they went all out for interview weekend
 
I was going to correct some of the NYU stuff but other posters got to it first, if anyone has any NYU specific questions don't hesitate to PM me.

P.S. The smaller Rubin rooms are $610/month utilities (and for most people cable) included. The rooms are 10x14, except for the corner rooms which are 11x14. The larger rooms are $650/month and are 10x17 (again except for one corner room on each floor that is 11x17). The first floor rooms have really high ceilings (I'm guessing 15') and come with lofted full size beds. The smaller rooms have a pretty good view of the East River (actually it isn't a river but a tidal estuary). The larger rooms used to have a view as well, but then they built Smilow.
 
grhoch said:
I am a Californian trying to come up with a list of medical schools to apply to. I am considering the following New York City schools:

NYU
Cornell
Columbia

Are there any new yorkers out there who could tell me what the area is like around each of these schools. Any other opinions comparing these three would also be welcome!

Thanks!
Click to expand...

An attempt at objectivity in an earlier post:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=5153449#post5153449

Some subjective plugs for the location of P&S:

In addition to being right smack in the middle of the DR, the A train gives you quick access to downtown, you are close to Fort Tryon park (the only place in Manhattan where you can actually feel like you're taking a break from the city) and just accross the bridge from the palisades, if you prefer hiking to taking a walk in the park. Also, P&S is not far from the home of the best theater company in the city (CTH).

However, if you have friends in the upper east side, and don't like cabs, it takes forever to get home at night! (Hence, 4am, posting on SDN) West village? Easy. Meatpacking district? Easy. UE side? pain in the motherf8ckin ass.

Oh, and thanks for nipping the 'Columbia is in Harlem' myth in the bud, mountainhare.
 
dbhvt said:
Oh, and thanks for nipping the 'Columbia is in Harlem' myth in the bud, mountainhare.
Click to expand...

Haha, I actually had you in mind when I typed the word "Someone." ;) That's an impressively thorough essay on Washington Heights that you posted in the other thread, by the way.
 
A Tree said:
Average?! $1200 one-bedroom is an amazing price in that area....I'd say the average one-bedroom in the area is ~$1600. My boyfriend, a native NYer says (I just asked) Murray Hill 1BR apts run average $1800-$2200 because "straight people with good jobs live there." But I say 1600 because things get a little bit cheaper over by first ave (by NYU which is first ave btw 27th--bellvue--and 34th--Rusk).
Click to expand...

I just read a NY Times article that said the average 1 BR apt rent in NYC is $2500, so your numbers sound more realistic than some of what is being posted in this thread.

Do all of the NYC medical schools have guaranteed 4 year housing? Seems like I read something about housing lotteries at Columbia, maybe others...the high cost of apartments, along with the generally high cost of everything else, is a very real barrier to attending a NYC medical school for me...
 
postbacker said:
Do all of the NYC medical schools have guaranteed 4 year housing? Seems like I read something about housing lotteries at Columbia, maybe others...the high cost of apartments, along with the generally high cost of everything else, is a very real barrier to attending a NYC medical school for me...
Click to expand...

I believe the housing person told me that every Columbia med student is guaranteed housing in Bard Hall (the dorm) for all four years if they want it. All first-years are definitely guaranteed housing in the dorm, and then there is a lottery for Towers apartment housing at the end of first year; generally, somewhere between 60 and 80 room shares in these apartments open up every year. If you lose the lottery for one of these 60-80 spots, you are virtually guaranteed one of the spots that opens up at the end of the following year. Rooms in Bard are kinda cruddy and cost about $630/mo. (for 11x13ish); room shares in Towers are spacious and beautiful and cost about $730-830/mo. per person (with great riverviews). Also, off-campus apartments in the Washington Heights area are significantly cheaper than the average for Manhattan; I once read a Village Voice article that said the average 1-br Washington Heights apartment goes for something like $1200ish, but that was quite a while ago, so it may have increased a bit. Let's say $1300-1500ish. (Some P&S person correct me if I'm wrong...)
 
NYU guarantees housing your entire time as a medical student (be it four years, or, erm . . . longer).

There's an MD/PhD here who has lived in the same Rubin dorm room for 8 years now.
 
grhoch said:
I am a Californian trying to come up with a list of medical schools to apply to. I am considering the following New York City schools:

NYU
Cornell
Columbia

Are there any new yorkers out there who could tell me what the area is like around each of these schools. Any other opinions comparing these three would also be welcome!

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I think you should apply to as many schools as you can.
 
How close are the campuses to Yankee Stadium?
 
I'm a former P & S grad. Columbia Med is uptown on 168th and Fort Washington, in Washington Heights. As others have mentioned the area is distinct in that there are a lot of Dominicans and Orthodox Jews (kind of a unique mix). The area isn't dangerous around the medical center, but gets extremely sketchy once you walk more than 1 block in any direction. There is a subway stop for the A-C and 1-9 directly out of the main hospital. The restaurants around the area are mostly chinese takeout, etc. and nothing too nice. If you go there, check out "El Malecon", where they have great Dominican style chicken.

There are no real areas to hang out in Washington Heights, although you can easily take the A express downtown. The major problem is getting back after going out. At night, the area becomes sketchy and taking a subway up can potentially be nerve-wracking. I remember one of my classmates got beat up taking the subway uptown late at night and several others got mugged walking from the subway station to their apartments. Most people take cabs after midnight, but the yellow cabs would sometimes refuse to drive to the area. The area itself is served primarily by gypsy (black) cabs.

There are shuttles to Columbia undergrad (116th and Broadway) from 8 AM until around 10 PM, which is a much nicer area. There is also a shuttle that goes to Cornell medical center since the 2 hospitals are technically combined on an administrative and financial level.

Housing is guaranteed in Bard Hall, but the place is really old, maybe built in the 40's? I was miserable living there because it has co-ed community bathrooms per floor and the heating system uses the old school hot water piping. Almost everyone moves to one of the three Towers after the 1st year and it's easy to get in for the 2 bedrooms. It's hard to get a single or 1 bedroom. The Towers are decent by NY standards for both size and standards. You can get Bay Windows overlooking the Hudson River and the bridge. Very few students live off-campus in Washington Heights. The ones that don't live in the Towers usually move to the upper westside, where it's an easy 1-9 ride uptown.
 
I am going to NYU. The three schools you mentioned are top notch and you should therefore have top notch scores if you plan on getting accepted. You should also consider MSSM, as it is also in Manhattan. (I assume "out of towners" are referring to Manhattan when they say NYC) I felt NYU had the best combination of the elements due to its location, academics, prestige, and student body (not to mention Bellvue). All 4 Manhattan schools are great though, and you should definitely consider them strongly.
 
Law2Doc said:
Yankee stadium is in the Bronx, all these schools are in Manhattan. You can get there by subway but not realistic to walk it. If you like hockey or basketball though, NYU is closest to the Garden.
Click to expand...

What about the Jets or Giants? College football is better than the NFL but unfortunately, it is not very big in the East Coast.
 
johnnydrama said:
NYU Med >> NYU undergrad.
Click to expand...

NYU Undergrad is quite good. The only real dumb people are the ones in the GSP program, which is basically code for "you didnt get into NYU, but NYU wants your money anyway." GSP = 48k/year community college
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

O
Boston University vs. Rush vs. New York Medical College
Replies
0
Views
775
omega8
O
D
New York Long Island med school vs a school ranked in 20s
Replies
8
Views
1K
johnr42700
J
chilly_md
2023-2024 New York Medical College
14 15 16 17 18
Replies
899
Views
178K
_CaptainKaladin_
_CaptainKaladin_
A
New York State Schools HS Graduation Question
Replies
3
Views
393
NPowerB
NPowerB
P
Geisinger (GCSOM) vs New York Medical College (NYMC)
Replies
1
Views
1K
mrsbehindthemd
M
Top