I'm leaning toward choosing Einstein over my state school, Temple. The only thing that would really sway me is a lot of scholarship $$ from Temple. For me, the overall cost at Temple is 41K (Tuition: 26K, Living: 15K) and Einstein is 46K (Tuition: 32K, Living: 14K). My parents are helping with the living aspect, so I'd like to save them money and take the rest of the burden on myself.
I think the training at Einstein is superb. I have a friend who is about to graduate from Einstein and she said that her clinical years at Einstein were amazing. She started shadowing a doctor her first year, worked in a free clinic second year, and trained in both the Bronx and Manhattan. Jacobi is one of the largest public hospitals in NYC after Bellevue.
They also have a lot of endowment $$ from NIH and other organizations. My friend was able to earn a MPH at Columbia tuition-free thanks to Einstein and then she also went abroad after her third year for two months. Einstein will pay for you to do practically anything, well within reason.
I'm interested in doing my residency in NYC and eventually practicing there, so I'm choosing the more expensive private school over my state school. 40% of student at AE eventually train at one of their eight hospitals. 70% stay in NYC and the rest get residencies in top hospitals. You have to really try hard to do poorly during your clinical years and boards not to get one of your top 3 choices. Temple students tend to stay in the Philly or Pittsburgh area, and I think that my options would be limited. Those who do leave PA are like the top 10% of their class!
Finally, Einstein is P/F, straight up. Second year, it's H/P/F and during your clinical years, they add on narrative evaluations. I also heard that since many of the residents were once AE students, you tend to be treated less poorly than at other schools!
I could elucidate on the few negative aspects that I wish Einstein had such as the strong Orthodox influence (library and gym closed after sundown on Friday through Saturday), the lack of a bookstore, the non-existant social life around the Bronx, and the shared apartments for first and second years, but it's pretty trivial in the grand scheme of my decision. I also don't mind the area too much because I'll have a car. (Yes you have shotgun if you read this souljah) I'm bringing my car, so I'll be able to get out of the area and study, shop, or unwind.
Good luck with your decision. Sorry I can't tell you more about NJ!
