NYMC vs Drexel

[balaA7180]

Hey All,

After attending 14 interviews over the last year, I finally received 2 acceptances last month (on the same day!). Being from the West Coast, I know very little about either Drexel or New York Med. I was wondering if anyone could offer me any insight into either of these two schools. I also heard from my eye doctor that Westchester County Medical center may lose their accreditation due to financial troubles. Is there any truth to this? Good luck to everyone and congrats to everyone that have been accepted to schools during this horrific admissions process!

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[docquaker]

imho, drexel and nymc are pretty similar in terms of education, clinical exposure, match lists, so what it really comes down to is whether you would rather be in philly or nyc? for many people, the big draw to nymc is the chance to do 3rd/4th years in nyc, but it's not for everyone. if you're not a big city person, then philly might be a better choice.

good luck with your decision. i'm on the waitlist at both schools, so either one would be fine with me=)

 

[ForensicPath]

Drexel is actually within the city limits of Philadelphia whereas NYMC is about 40 minutes away from NYC.

I actually had to make the same decision a few weeks ago and I chose Drexel. I had a better "gut" feeling from the school when I was there. I like the fact that Drexel is on the forefront of integrating technology with medicine and the medical education. I also like philly.

 

[mimi1]

I'm a little biased regarding Drexel, but here's a list of great things about the school:

Just to name a few reasons:

1. Drexel is one of the only medical schools that recognizes that students learn in different ways and therefore offers different curriculum to choose from. When will the other schools figure this out too??

2. The school is one of the most technologically advanced medical schools.

3. From everyone I have spoken to at Drexel, I have heard that the faculty is extremely supportive, responsive, and helpful. They are there to TEACH.

4. Drexel offers clinical rotations through different types of hospitals in PA and NJ. Therefore, you get diverse clinical training in all sorts of settings and locations.

5. The student body at Drexel is more diverse than any school I visited in terms of age, ethnicity, background etc.

6. Drexel offers a campus in a safe, quiet location with access to all the resources, activities,and fun found in Philly.

7. Drexel's history is quite unique since it evolved from being the first women's medical colleges!

8. Drexel emphasizes community outreach more than most schools. I believe that serving the community is a fundamental aspect of medicine.

9. Drexel's matchlist is not too shabby.

10. For a private school, Drexel's tuition is not so bad.


GO DREXEL!!

*
P.S. FYI I turned down an interview invitation at NYMC.

 

[b1nge]

i would go to drexel

 

[VCMM414]

1. Drexel is one of the only medical schools that recognizes that students learn in different ways and therefore offers different curriculum to choose from. When will the other schools figure this out too??

This is true; it is nice to have that option. To be fair though, this really shouldn't be that big of a deal for most people. If you don't like a school's curriculum, don't go there. I know that sometimes people don't have the luxury of multiple acceptances, but for everyone else, you can easily take a school's curriculum into account when deciding on where to enroll.

 

[VCMM414]

for many people, the big draw to nymc is the chance to do 3rd/4th years in nyc, but it's not for everyone. if you're not a big city person, then philly might be a better choice.

It's true that Philly is no NYC, but since when did Philly not offer the "big city" environment? In any case, while you may or may not do 3rd/4th years in NYC if you go to NYMC, you MUST spend 3rd/4th year at in-city Philly hospitals if you are at Drexel. Therefore, I think NYMC is actually the better choice if one is not a big city person.

 

[myID]

you MUST spend 3rd/4th year at in-city Philly hospitals if you are at Drexel.

This is not true. As mimi said, Drexel offers rotations all over PA and NJ. I am pretty sure that students are also allowed to do clinical rotations all over the US and in foreign countries.

Oops, I forgot to add. To the OP: congrats on your acceptances and good luck with your decision.

 

[VCMM414]

This is not true. As mimi said, Drexel offers rotations all over PA and NJ. I am pretty sure that students are also allowed to do clinical rotations all over the US and in foreign countries.

Oops, I forgot to add. To the OP: congrats on your acceptances and good luck with your decision.

Oh yea, sorry I utterly forgot about this.

 

[balaA7180]

Thanks for the feedback and praise, everyone. Sounds like a lot of you prefer Drexel over NYMED--do you guys think residency programs prefer their students to have done their residencies in big cities?

 

[idq1i]

The constant financial turmoil at Drexel is a reason for concern

 

[balaA7180]

The constant financial turmoil at Drexel is a reason for concern

How do you like NYMC thus far?

 

[idq1i]

How do you like NYMC thus far?

I enjoyed my first year. Great faculty, great facilities, good board-prep-directed curriculum, great student body, excellent location.

Any specific questions?

 

[discoharrison]

I interviewed at both also. I would choose NYMC in a heartbeat. There is too much uncertainty at Drexel regarding MCP hospital closing etc.

 

[balaA7180]

Hey IDQ,

Thanks for the reply--do you really believe NYMC has an excellent location? I felt like the campus was in the middle of nowhere; no grocery stores, no bars/clubs, no gyms, no shopping malls, no nothing anywhere. Granted, I did not spend a long time in Valhalla, but the whole town just seemed really dead and I think the geese walking around kind of added to that deserted effect.

Don't get me wrong, despite the lifelessness of the campus, I've heard some good things about NYMC and I am leaning towards going there because they've given me a scholarship. If you could reflect on the social scene in Valhalla, that would be really helpful. Thanks.

 

[idq1i]

Hey IDQ,

Thanks for the reply--do you really believe NYMC has an excellent location? I felt like the campus was in the middle of nowhere; no grocery stores, no bars/clubs, no gyms, no shopping malls, no nothing anywhere. Granted, I did not spend a long time in Valhalla, but the whole town just seemed really dead and I think the geese walking around kind of added to that deserted effect.

Don't get me wrong, despite the lifelessness of the campus, I've heard some good things about NYMC and I am leaning towards going there because they've given me a scholarship. If you could reflect on the social scene in Valhalla, that would be really helpful. Thanks.

Fair enough. I meant "great" as safe, quiet, scenic. I commute from NYC, and I enjoy the contrast.

I'm not sure what you mean by "social scene," but there are clubs, bars and malls not too far away from campus. If you get really bored, NYC is a 30min ride away. The dorm denizens are quite social and they always organize some sort of outings.


When I was interviewed (and sunsequently accepted to) at Drexel, I got a really bad vibe from the school. The 30min intro about the 30 names the school has used set the tone for the rest of the day. The neighborhood that the school is in was also really shady. If you leave the main campus and take a left, you will see what I mean.

I'm sure that Drexel has fine professors that give a fine education to their students. Their IMF/PIL program choices were also interesting. However, I just felt that it wasn't the school for me.

I picked NYMC over drexel, downstate, upstate and SUNYSB

 

[balaA7180]

Thanks IDQ,

How do you feel about your chances of doing ALL your rotations in the city? Also, what do you know about Westchester Med being shut down? Is that just a rumor? How would that affect my medical education?

 

[babinski bob]

As a soon to be 3rd year med student at drexel (went thru ifm program), I can confirm that there is NO FINANCIAL turmoil with drexel. It's so funny how people are misinformed and enjoy propagating misinformation! The only turmoil is that one out of like 20+ clinical sites shut down. Drexel does NOT run MCP hospital (the facility that is set to close). I can say throughout my 2 years here, whatever 'financial turmoil' that few may speak of has not affected me. I received a fantastic education and am using much of my class notes to study from as a prepare for boards. You probably can't say this about many med schools (few students would ever use their notes) but our courses are so well organized/taught, that this is possible. Anyhow, i'm looking forward to 3rd and 4th years now and think it's great to have the opportunity to be exposed to different populations/hospitals during the clinical years... I can't say anything bad about NYMC since i don't know much about it but i can say that Drexel is a fantastic and supportive school. By the way, the school is also in a very safe area and many students simply live right across from school or walk to school.

 

[idq1i]

Thanks IDQ,

How do you feel about your chances of doing ALL your rotations in the city? Also, what do you know about Westchester Med being shut down? Is that just a rumor? How would that affect my medical education?

Wetchester will never be shut down - the county needs a hospital to handle their indigent poulation. They were just given a lot of money to help with their fiscal problems. As a matter of fact, they are opening a Children's Hospital in the next few days

As for NYC rotations, we have Metropolitan and St. Vincent's. Many students chose to do their rotations there. NYMC owns an apartment building on 95th and 2nd(?)

 

[balaA7180]

Hey Bob,

Where are you gonna do your rotations?

 

[idq1i]

As a soon to be 3rd year med student at drexel (went thru ifm program), I can confirm that there is NO FINANCIAL turmoil with drexel. It's so funny how people are misinformed and enjoy propagating misinformation! The only turmoil is that one out of like 20+ clinical sites shut down. Drexel does NOT run MCP hospital (the facility that is set to close). I can say throughout my 2 years here, whatever 'financial turmoil' that few may speak of has not affected me. I received a fantastic education and am using much of my class notes to study from as a prepare for boards. You probably can't say this about many med schools (few students would ever use their notes) but our courses are so well organized/taught, that this is possible. Anyhow, i'm looking forward to 3rd and 4th years now and think it's great to have the opportunity to be exposed to different populations/hospitals during the clinical years... I can't say anything bad about NYMC since i don't know much about it but i can say that Drexel is a fantastic and supportive school. By the way, the school is also in a very safe area and many students simply live right across from school or walk to school.

Hey, no one was attacking drexel. Relax. I went out of my way to say that it provides their students with a fine education. If you feel that pointing out that a large affiliated hospital will be closed, or that the last managing company went under (weren't they also charged with fraud?) is wrong....well....what can I tell you

 

[izzyfine]

I interviewed at both NYMC and Drexel but would choose NYMC over Drexel in a heartbeat. In fact I terminated my application at Drexel shortly after returning from my interview before they even handed down a verdict.

For me it was mostly a geographical issue. With Drexel you have to drive all over Pennsylvania for rotation sites (I think they even send a few students to Pittsburg) At least at NYMC the rotation sites seemed more centralized mostly Westchester Med. and St. Vincents (both level 1 trauma centers).

I didn't like the fact that the first two years at Drexel seemed so isolated from clinical care. I guess I wanted a school with a level 1 trauma center in the backyard.

Also, Drexel seemed focused on primary care (a field which I was not that interested in) and I didn't think that the technology was that amazing and overall the school seemed sort of small...kinda cramped.

Finally, their history was very complicated and listening to the long history of changes in management and name didn't instill a sense of confidence in the financial stability of the school. (However, to be fair Westchester Med. is also in financial jeopardy as well).

At least that was my impression after leaving the interview (which was on a saturday strangely enough).

Now I don't mean to bash Drexel. I think anyone who graduates from Drexel would have received an excellent education, but it just wasn't for me. On the otherhand, if you enjoy driving, like PA, and are considering primary care then I would def. urge you to consider Drexel strongly.

Hope this input helps,

Izzyfine-

 

[vinoyp]

One negative I have with NYMC is that first year is insanely long. It starts the beginning of August and goes through June 11. Afterward, we get barely a two month break before starting again early-mid August.

We get 2 weeks Christmas break, 1 week spring break, and then all the standard holidays plus some Jewish ones, although they try to schedule our breaks to coincide with as many of these single holidays as they can.

Otherwise, great dorms, great people, great campus, great faculty (with the exception of one or two departments). Westchester is a major hospital and has acquired an excellent reputation in many fields, especially transplant surgery. If you want to do research, the school will go out of it's way to set you up with a project. Excellent anatomy lab as well.

Oh yeah, one more negative (as far as I'm concerned) is the lack of an undergraduate campus. We are really quite secluded here in Valhalla, living in our graduate studies bubble. I kinda miss the feel of an undergrad campus and that college town atmosphere, maybe auditing a course or two here and there in something not medically-related. Ah well. There's always Westchester Community College or Pace, I suppose.

--Vinoy

 

[Pixye1]

i had the choice to choose btwn nymc, drexel, and temple. although i chose temple between the two i would definitely choose drexel.

 

[balaA7180]

You guys are all awesome!! Thanks for helping me make a more-informed decision.

 

[babinski bob]

I'm doing nearly all of my 3rd year rotations in Philly. I have a couple outside of Philly but the school provides housing for us so I'm not worried. Actually, the Pittsburgh site is one of the best clinical education sites we have. In fact, there were so many people that wanted to do their whole year there that they couldn't accomodate everyone and had to decide by lottery. It's at Allegheny General which has incredible rotations for surgery, medicine, and obgyn. Lots of hands on stuff there... But just one of many great sites to speak of...

The schedule at Drexel for the 1st year is nearly identical to NYMC it seems... We start around August 10-12ish??? and finish up first week of June. Same 2 week xmas break, a week for spring break, and a couple scattered holidays in between. However, they really ease you into classes for the first couple of weeks to help acclimate all the students to the rigor of med school which is a nice thing. For example, the first week of classes is just 4 hours a day and then over the next 2-3 weeks they go up to 6 hours... We rarely have more than 6 hours of class a day...

SEcond year we start same time but finish up at the very beginning of May. So that leaves us 8 weeks to study for step 1 and take a vacation.

 

[izzyfine]

Oh, also there was an article on NY Times today about the new pediatrics building that Westchester Medical is putting up. Hopefully, that will provide students with even more clinical opportunities.
That was one thing about NYMC the building and campus looked awesome and their anatomy lab was SO well ventilated...you could hardely smell it.

 

[Zweihander]

Another major positive about NYMC is the free clinic project we're working on now. I don't know if Drexel has a student-run clinic or not, but NYMC is (hopefully) set to have one in a couple of years, so anyone entering in the fall will have the opportunity to be involved both in establishing the clinic and in running it later on. It's a great opportunity from both a clinical and a public health perspective, and there are a lot of students here who are really gungho about the project. This shouldn't be the reason you choose to go to NYMC, but it is something else to think about.


peace

 

[MErc44]

I interviewed at both NYMC and Drexel but would choose NYMC over Drexel in a heartbeat. In fact I terminated my application at Drexel shortly after returning from my interview before they even handed down a verdict.

For me it was mostly a geographical issue. With Drexel you have to drive all over Pennsylvania for rotation sites (I think they even send a few students to Pittsburg) At least at NYMC the rotation sites seemed more centralized mostly Westchester Med. and St. Vincents (both level 1 trauma centers).

I didn't like the fact that the first two years at Drexel seemed so isolated from clinical care. I guess I wanted a school with a level 1 trauma center in the backyard.

Also, Drexel seemed focused on primary care (a field which I was not that interested in) and I didn't think that the technology was that amazing and overall the school seemed sort of small...kinda cramped.

Finally, their history was very complicated and listening to the long history of changes in management and name didn't instill a sense of confidence in the financial stability of the school. (However, to be fair Westchester Med. is also in financial jeopardy as well).

At least that was my impression after leaving the interview (which was on a saturday strangely enough).

Now I don't mean to bash Drexel. I think anyone who graduates from Drexel would have received an excellent education, but it just wasn't for me. On the otherhand, if you enjoy driving, like PA, and are considering primary care then I would def. urge you to consider Drexel strongly.

Hope this input helps,

Izzyfine-

I think every school in the US has an emphasis on primary care. Almost every school graduates at least half their class in primary care fields, this is because of the shortage of primary care doctors. I remember from the Drexel match list that they didn't seem to have anymore primary care matches than the other schools I saw.

 

[Pixye1]

i forgot to say why i would choose drexel over nymc...when i interviewed at nymc the students seemed super apathetic. i asked the students on tour why they picked nymc and they were like...cuz it was the only school i got into. when i asked what they liked about it..they were like...well you get a good education....you can get a good education @ any school! the people i stayed with bitched about how their class was very cliquey and that living on campus was like doing the "dorm thing" all over again...that is totally not my thing. i didn't like the fact that nymc was in a very cushy area, i needed something more urban and gritty since i've lived in a cushy environment all my life and would like something new. i also liked the fact that philly is a smaller city.

 

[balaA7180]

i forgot to say why i would choose drexel over nymc...when i interviewed at nymc the students seemed super apathetic. i asked the students on tour why they picked nymc and they were like...cuz it was the only school i got into. when i asked what they liked about it..they were like...well you get a good education....you can get a good education @ any school! the people i stayed with bitched about how their class was very cliquey and that living on campus was like doing the "dorm thing" all over again...that is totally not my thing. i didn't like the fact that nymc was in a very cushy area, i needed something more urban and gritty since i've lived in a cushy environment all my life and would like something new. i also liked the fact that philly is a smaller city.

Thanks for the feedback. Just out of curiosity, where will you be attending this fall?

 

[Pixye1]

Temple! still in philly

 

[idq1i]

i forgot to say why i would choose drexel over nymc...when i interviewed at nymc the students seemed super apathetic.

i asked the students on tour why they picked nymc and they were like...cuz it was the only school i got into.

when i asked what they liked about it..they were like...well you get a good education....you can get a good education @ any school! the people i stayed with bitched about how their class was very cliquey and that living on campus was like doing the "dorm thing" all over again

The *****s that said all these things to you are not representative of our class. PM me their names if you feel like it. Your name will not come up.

 

[Pixye1]

I PMed you. once again, this was my impression of the school. i also interviewed right in the middle of midterms i think so the students may have been super stressed.

 

[balaA7180]

How about rotation opportunities? Which of these schools provides more opportunities to do clerkships in an urban environment? Thanks again for all the responses--you guys have been extremely helpful!!

 

[idq1i]

How about rotation opportunities? Which of these schools provides more opportunities to do clerkships in an urban environment? Thanks again for all the responses--you guys have been extremely helpful!!

Is NYC urban enough for you?

St. Vincent's (Village), level 1 trauma
Metropolitan (spanish harlem - sorta)
WMC (not really urban, but it is a tertiary care center - collects patients from all over the state)

 

[babinski bob]

How about rotation opportunities? Which of these schools provides more opportunities to do clerkships in an urban environment? Thanks again for all the responses--you guys have been extremely helpful!!

If you go to Drexel, you can do an entire year in Pittsburgh at Allegheny General. Pittsburgh is pretty urban i'd say. It's a huge hospital.
You can do many of your rotations at Hahnemann in downtown philly. If downtown philly isn't truly urban, i dunno what is. But in any case, you have your choice of urban or rural in philly due to the number of affiliates that we have...

 

[balaA7180]

Is NYC urban enough for you?

St. Vincent's (Village), level 1 trauma
Metropolitan (spanish harlem - sorta)
WMC (not really urban, but it is a tertiary care center - collects patients from all over the state)

Hey Idq,

NYC is the epitomy of urban environments, but am I guaranteed to get rotations there? What are the chances that I can live in NYC my final two years and get all my rotations there? Isn't there some lottery system that determines where people get their clerkships? Thanks for all the feedback.

 

[idq1i]

Hey Idq,

NYC is the epitomy of urban environments, but am I guaranteed to get rotations there? What are the chances that I can live in NYC my final two years and get all my rotations there? Isn't there some lottery system that determines where people get their clerkships? Thanks for all the feedback.

Check your PM

 

[izzyfine]

I think every school in the US has an emphasis on primary care. Almost every school graduates at least half their class in primary care fields, this is because of the shortage of primary care doctors. I remember from the Drexel match list that they didn't seem to have anymore primary care matches than the other schools I saw.

I don't know. I mean I know that we need primary care docs but some schools I went to seemed overly focused on primary care, while others seemed more geared toward research. Also I think that Drexel had very few people in the MD/PhD program compared with other schools.

 

[MErc44]

I don't know. I mean I know that we need primary care docs but some schools I went to seemed overly focused on primary care, while others seemed more geared toward research. Also I think that Drexel had very few people in the MD/PhD program compared with other schools.

that's true but research doesn't mean anything to me. I have no interest in it and probably wouldn't want to go to Drexel for research. However, one guy I met on the interview and MD/Phd student, that Drexel has good neurobiology research, something along the lines with spinal chord injuries.

 

[Jet915]

Last year, I interviewed at both schools and if I had to choose, I'd go with NYMC. The main reasons are that the school is in a safe area, the facilities are brand new, the hospital is nearby and they do really well on the boards. The only bad thing is it's in Valhalla which is pretty small and secluded. I personally didnt get a great vibe from Drexel. I stayed with a host and the area seemed dangerous, the school was fenced in, an M1 told me he was mugged and my M2 interviewer told me he didn't like the school. That was just my experience. Plus, the hospitals were kinda scattered and not near the school at all.

 

[balaA7180]

that's true but research doesn't mean anything to me. I have no interest in it and probably wouldn't want to go to Drexel for research. However, one guy I met on the interview and MD/Phd student, that Drexel has good neurobiology research, something along the lines with spinal chord injuries.

I'm not sure if there's any correlation with the number of MD/PhD students and how good the school is at research...