NYMC vs TCMC (New York/Scranton)

[lpava]

Hello guys!

I have recently been accepted to both New York Medical College, and The Commonwealth Medical College and I'm having a really hard time deciding where to go. Both are private schools with incredibly high tuition! I would be moving with my fiance and we cannot live on campus at NYMC, making finding an affordable place quite difficult.

Pros of NYMC
Nice match list
Near NYC
Lots of affiliated hospitals in Westchester, Connecticut, NYC, NJ..etc
Level I Trauma Center


Cons of NYMC
EXPENSIVE cost of living! (Cant live on campus)
Students were not as friendly on my interview day..(they were not mean, just not as friendly as TCMC)

--


Pros of TCMC
cheap cost of living
community vibe during interview
nice new facilities
P/F


Cons of TCMC
New School, no match yet
Accreditation problems already
Scranton, PA

Thank you !

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[deleted127837]

NYMC. I haven't even heard of TCMC, but accreditation problems? Hells to the no, buddy.

Also, interviews are supposed to encourage you to attend. "Community" is the only thing they have to sell you on that, since they have an untested curriculum, untested students, and really no way to improve the experience in an objective manner until you're already stuck there. So keep that in mind.

 

[113]

NYMC

TCMC has a stated mission of producing PCPs, so you might want to avoid it if you're into specializing. Though it's hard to judge how serious TCMC students are about this until a couple years of match results are released.

 

[cinamin]

NYMC

TCMC has a stated mission of producing PCPs, so you might want to avoid it if you're into specializing. Though it's hard to judge how serious TCMC students are about this until a couple years of match results are released.

yeahh... kind of like how nearly every school's mission is for PCP/underserved...this school does seem really big on it but obviously you don't have to go that route... i doubt even half of their students will.

I would remove "accred probs" from your con list though. Once their class graduates, they will be fully accred. in 2014. They are hoping to get affiliated with a major Philly school like Jefferson or Temple btw... so this might become more of a regional campus, stand on its own, or have a special affiliation. Something to keep in mind.

Between these two schools, I would say that cost of living and LOCATION are huge differences. I would say the main con of TCMC is that not many people have heard of it / not as large as network out there in the workforce but I don't think that is a dealbreaker. TCMC has a unique 3rd year - you should decide if that would be a pro or con I think.

 

[cest la vie]

Pick the more established school, NYMC without a question. I would feel very nervous attending a school that has not fed a graduating class into residency programs. IMO, facilities and general friendliness of class members are pretty minor and kind of moot, especially since it looks like you will be living with your fiance.

 

[AnthonyBourdain]

NYMC.


Isn't TCMC the school where their own students tell you to attend only if you didn't get in anywhere else. They really do push primary care. Don't fence yourself in.

 

[cinamin]

NYMC.


Isn't TCMC the school where their own students tell you to attend only if you didn't get in anywhere else. They really do push primary care. Don't fence yourself in.

i actually met a few students that chose TCMC over other schools

 

[lpava]

Thanks everyone for the responses! I knew it was probably going to go the way it did..NYMC. For some reason though I wanted to give TCMC a chance also. (Probably because the idea of having to spend 1500 for 1 bedroom apt in NY scares the crap out of me!) But in all honesty, I understand everyones concerns. Yes, TCMC is new and their 3rd year is sort of interesting- I just dont know if I want to be a "guinea pig"..but then again thinking that a school is not set in its ways sounds kind of awesome as well.

The merger with other universities worries me..why do they need to do this? I know the deal with Scranton U went down, but are they in financial burden? I apologize for not being as informed on this yet. I will have to do some research. I don't really like the idea of my school (if I were to go there) becoming just part of another school..

The good thing is that at least they will graduate their first class this year..so it will give me more information.

I do have to remind everyone I thought NYMC was an awesome school and the only reason Im doubting is the high cost of living! but perhaps il just have to deal with it

 

[cinamin]

Thanks everyone for the responses! I knew it was probably going to go the way it did..NYMC. For some reason though I wanted to give TCMC a chance also. (Probably because the idea of having to spend 1500 for 1 bedroom apt in NY scares the crap out of me!) But in all honesty, I understand everyones concerns. Yes, TCMC is new and their 3rd year is sort of interesting- I just dont know if I want to be a "guinea pig"..but then again thinking that a school is not set in its ways sounds kind of awesome as well.

The merger with other universities worries me..why do they need to do this? I know the deal with Scranton U went down, but are they in financial burden? I apologize for not being as informed on this yet. I will have to do some research. I don't really like the idea of my school (if I were to go there) becoming just part of another school..

The good thing is that at least they will graduate their first class this year..so it will give me more information.

I do have to remind everyone I thought NYMC was an awesome school and the only reason Im doubting is the high cost of living! but perhaps il just have to deal with it

Yes they are looking for an affiliate for $$$. As you can imagine, it costs a boatload to run a med school and without having another major institution to give it funds (this was worded WAY better during the interview presentation day), it just makes it harder.. they need to pay the salaries, gizmos of everything, building, etc. I can't even imagine what else. Take a school like Temple Med. They are connected to Temple undergrad, so if they ever need extra $, they could get it funneled from the undergrad. Same concept with a lot of other major med schools tied to an already existing undergrad. So it's harder for TCMC because they just popped up out of the ground, not to mention in a VERY VERY poor area of the U.S. Even the town of Scranton was "broke" at one point. Having said all that, it's hard to say if this is a "bad" thing or if it would in fact be better once they have an affiliate/sister school in place

edit - I forgot to mention that we don't even know what tuition is here yet.. likely will be increased, so imo you can't quite compare costs yet b/c the tuition here might be remarkably higher than that of nymc. Hard to say.

 

[lpava]

Yes they are looking for an affiliate for $$$. As you can imagine, it costs a boatload to run a med school and without having another major institution to give it funds (this was worded WAY better during the interview presentation day), it just makes it harder.. they need to pay the salaries, gizmos of everything, building, etc. I can't even imagine what else. Take a school like Temple Med. They are connected to Temple undergrad, so if they ever need extra $, they could get it funneled from the undergrad. Same concept with a lot of other major med schools tied to an already existing undergrad. So it's harder for TCMC because they just popped up out of the ground, not to mention in a VERY VERY poor area of the U.S. Even the town of Scranton was "broke" at one point. Having said all that, it's hard to say if this is a "bad" thing or if it would in fact be better once they have an affiliate/sister school in place

edit - I forgot to mention that we don't even know what tuition is here yet.. likely will be increased, so imo you can't quite compare costs yet b/c the tuition here might be remarkably higher than that of nymc. Hard to say.

Well that is good to know! I was just comparing last years tuition for both schools and I made the assumption that they would stay the same.. Ugh..

And that makes sense that running a medical school must be really expensive! Btw, I dont know where I must have been because I dont remember them talking about this during my interview?
Thank you so much for the information though..I knew TCMC was new and had in the past accreditation problems that will be fixed, as you said in 2014, but I had no idea they were in financial trouble! This definitely makes NYMC that more appealing if cost is not gonna be that much of an issue when I compare it to an increase in tuition from TCMC...

 

[zedonks]

Yup, and also keep in mind that the LCME (the med school accrediting agency) is going to come back to evaluate TCMC 8 years after it was first founded (it does this with every med school it evaluates the school every 8 years from the day it was founded), so that would be 2016... aka a year before you graduate. If TCMC _still_ has financial problems in 2016 and gets put on probation again (the reason they were put on probation last year*), then you're in a real pickle when applying for residencies. I really do hope that TCMC does find an institution to partner with. When I interviewed there they seem to have such a dedicated staff and student body- not to mention that scranton loves the school (since they see it as a good source of economic growth.) But I wouldn't bet my med school education on it.

Edit:*I know someone will add this so I'll say it now, one of the _other_ reasons they were put on probation was because of leadership issues (their previous dean/ president resigned in 2011)

 

[plasmamorris]

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to mention some things so that people who are still considering TCMC to get an appropriate view of TCMC. I am currently finishing up a Masters degree at TCMC and will be enrolling in their MD program next year.

First and foremost - the accreditation issues that TCMC faced are in the past. I understand there is some confusion with regard to their current status - the probation TCMC was placed on was one based in financial and leadership issues. Soon after this probation period - TCMC brought in a former LCME executive to correct the issues they were facing as an interim dean. She corrected the issues and TCMC was taken off of probation and was even complimented for some of the things the school does well. After her departure they had another interim dean for approx.6 months and now we have Dr. Scheinman who is here to stay. Financial issues are common for TCMC because of the way it was brought together. Basically a community consortium decided a medical school would be incredibly helpful for the region's physician shortage. This allows TCMC to maintain it's unique curriculum without the oversight of a major university (as you can assume - new medical curricula are not the norm for major universities). As such, the school is looking for an affiliation that will best represent the schools interests. This has been much of Dean Scheinman's job since his arrival and he has had many meetings with many different institutions. (We as students and staff get updates on all of this - pretty cool how transparent the school is with this stuff.) As of now, Blue Cross Blue Shield has been a huge sponsor and one of the biggest investors in the school. This has provided TCMC with a financial cushion until 2018 (so no worries for anyone entering for next year's class). This doesn't mean, however, that TCMC is not actively looking for affiliation. It definitely is and while I can agree becoming a part of another institution has it's issues - NYMC is actually in the same situation. It too had financial issues and has since been bought out by Touro University (Touro has 3 DO schools under it's umbrella as well as graduate schools and an undergraduate institution). "After engaging in extensive negotiations and due diligence, the Archdiocese of New York and Touro College reached an agreement in late December 2009 for Touro to replace the Archdiocese as the sponsor of New York Medical College. The transaction was completed in mid-May 2011." (straight from NYMC's history site)

TCMC is currently entering the last phase of a new medical school. Once it graduates its inaugural class this May - TCMC will be fully accredited. This is common LCME procedure. This is what allows next yr's class to be 100+ students. LCME will be re-evaluating TCMC but it constantly re-evaluates EVERY medical school (see SUNY Upstate - now on probation). Academics and faculty have never been an issue for TCMC and I don't foresee that they will be. Our research faculty has been pulling in many prestigious federal grants, competitive independent grants and is conducting albeit limited but excellent research.

As for the LIC (TCMC's 3rd year approach to clinical education) is actually a model that was started at Harvard and is starting to take hold in other medical schools across the country. It basically allows you to see many of the core electives simultaneously which is awesome when you need to plan for your away electives in 4th year. Many of the 4th year students have had the advantage of knowing their trajectory for 4th year well in advance whereas their counterparts in other schools did not know what some of the electives entailed until the end of 3rd year. This really helps with getting a head start on recommendations, research, additional electives in areas that students are interested in.

I can respect that picking a new school like TCMC is definitely a decision to consider carefully - however, I'd like to maintain respect for the students that are currently attending or will choose to attend TCMC. It's a fantastic school - one that I've enjoyed my time at. I too am considering other medical schools with TCMC and have made the decision to stay at TCMC. The faculty and my fellow students are great. Scranton is not as lively as other cities - but then again, you're going to be in medical school. I'm not sure how much time you'll have to appreciate the allure of other cities. Scranton as a community is incredibly welcoming and invested in the success of TCMC. Valhalla is not New York city (for better or worse - you decide).

Obviously the decision is yours and I hope this allows you to make a more reasoned than fearful decision. Hopefully it allows others to see TCMC in a more positive light because there are a lot of cool and exciting things happening in TCMC. It has a really bright future.

 

[kautionwirez]

Cons of NYMC
EXPENSIVE cost of living! (Cant live on campus)
Students were not as friendly on my interview day..(they were not mean, just not as friendly as TCMC)

I wouldn't use that as a factor.

One pro is if you are interested in Nsurg, NYMC is very friendly with getting students involved with that field.

 

[hallowmann]

I do have to remind everyone I thought NYMC was an awesome school and the only reason Im doubting is the high cost of living! but perhaps il just have to deal with it

If your only concern with NYMC is money, don't worry about it. Its obviously more established, has a bigger alumni base, is more well known, etc. Either way you are going to be taking out big loans, and you'll pay it off when your a doctor, so money isn't nearly as important as being happy and comfortable with your school and the opportunities it gives you for 4 years. TCMC is great, but if you have reservations why even risk it? Just go to NYMC. Make the decision and don't look back.

 

[lpava]

Hi Everyone,

I just wanted to mention some things so that people who are still considering TCMC to get an appropriate view of TCMC. I am currently finishing up a Masters degree at TCMC and will be enrolling in their MD program next year.

First and foremost - the accreditation issues that TCMC faced are in the past. I understand there is some confusion with regard to their current status - the probation TCMC was placed on was one based in financial and leadership issues. Soon after this probation period - TCMC brought in a former LCME executive to correct the issues they were facing as an interim dean. She corrected the issues and TCMC was taken off of probation and was even complimented for some of the things the school does well. After her departure they had another interim dean for approx.6 months and now we have Dr. Scheinman who is here to stay. Financial issues are common for TCMC because of the way it was brought together. Basically a community consortium decided a medical school would be incredibly helpful for the region's physician shortage. This allows TCMC to maintain it's unique curriculum without the oversight of a major university (as you can assume - new medical curricula are not the norm for major universities). As such, the school is looking for an affiliation that will best represent the schools interests. This has been much of Dean Scheinman's job since his arrival and he has had many meetings with many different institutions. (We as students and staff get updates on all of this - pretty cool how transparent the school is with this stuff.) As of now, Blue Cross Blue Shield has been a huge sponsor and one of the biggest investors in the school. This has provided TCMC with a financial cushion until 2018 (so no worries for anyone entering for next year's class). This doesn't mean, however, that TCMC is not actively looking for affiliation. It definitely is and while I can agree becoming a part of another institution has it's issues - NYMC is actually in the same situation. It too had financial issues and has since been bought out by Touro University (Touro has 3 DO schools under it's umbrella as well as graduate schools and an undergraduate institution). "After engaging in extensive negotiations and due diligence, the Archdiocese of New York and Touro College reached an agreement in late December 2009 for Touro to replace the Archdiocese as the sponsor of New York Medical College. The transaction was completed in mid-May 2011." (straight from NYMC's history site)

TCMC is currently entering the last phase of a new medical school. Once it graduates its inaugural class this May - TCMC will be fully accredited. This is common LCME procedure. This is what allows next yr's class to be 100+ students. LCME will be re-evaluating TCMC but it constantly re-evaluates EVERY medical school (see SUNY Upstate - now on probation). Academics and faculty have never been an issue for TCMC and I don't foresee that they will be. Our research faculty has been pulling in many prestigious federal grants, competitive independent grants and is conducting albeit limited but excellent research.

As for the LIC (TCMC's 3rd year approach to clinical education) is actually a model that was started at Harvard and is starting to take hold in other medical schools across the country. It basically allows you to see many of the core electives simultaneously which is awesome when you need to plan for your away electives in 4th year. Many of the 4th year students have had the advantage of knowing their trajectory for 4th year well in advance whereas their counterparts in other schools did not know what some of the electives entailed until the end of 3rd year. This really helps with getting a head start on recommendations, research, additional electives in areas that students are interested in.

I can respect that picking a new school like TCMC is definitely a decision to consider carefully - however, I'd like to maintain respect for the students that are currently attending or will choose to attend TCMC. It's a fantastic school - one that I've enjoyed my time at. I too am considering other medical schools with TCMC and have made the decision to stay at TCMC. The faculty and my fellow students are great. Scranton is not as lively as other cities - but then again, you're going to be in medical school. I'm not sure how much time you'll have to appreciate the allure of other cities. Scranton as a community is incredibly welcoming and invested in the success of TCMC. Valhalla is not New York city (for better or worse - you decide).

Obviously the decision is yours and I hope this allows you to make a more reasoned than fearful decision. Hopefully it allows others to see TCMC in a more positive light because there are a lot of cool and exciting things happening in TCMC. It has a really bright future.

Thank you so much for a different perspective! I see that most of the people here are all about NYMC and nobody has anything good to say about TCMC. Thanks for that! I definitely do think the LIC at TCMC is very interesting and I know I would very much enjoy it. Right now I'm still debating whether I should attend the second look there or not. On the one hand I feel that even if I do I will end up going to NYMC for the reasons already mentioned, yet I feel like I should not be so biased and give TCMC a chance. I dont know.. I'm wondering when they will post their match list results? Do you know anything about this? I know that match lists is all about the individual student, but it will be really interesting for me to see how many students end up going into a specialty rather than primary care (since the mission of this school is so focused on primary care),,and also I want to see how many of the students actually stay in NEPA.

If your only concern with NYMC is money, don't worry about it. Its obviously more established, has a bigger alumni base, is more well known, etc. Either way you are going to be taking out big loans, and you'll pay it off when your a doctor, so money isn't nearly as important as being happy and comfortable with your school and the opportunities it gives you for 4 years. TCMC is great, but if you have reservations why even risk it? Just go to NYMC. Make the decision and don't look back.

Its hard for me to jut make a decision, in my list NYMC wins, but for somer reason I always think what if..
Although I havent thought of choosing TCMC, and thinking what if..since I don't really think of going there.
I know I shouldnt be thinking about the money but an apartment at Scranton at $500 compared to $1400 at NYMC sucks!!

Thank you everyone for your responses!

 

[plasmamorris]

I'm glad my long winded response was helpful to you. As for the match list - a full version hasn't been posted on the website yet. However, a 4th yr has posted a full list on SDN at: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=895261&page=14

It's at the very bottom. Overall it's a pretty good list.

I'm glad you're choosing NYMC for the reasons of that it is an awesome school. To be honest - it is a pretty great school and I think you would be making a sound decision. Like I said, as long as you weren't choosing NYMC out of fear of TCMC, then you'll be alright.

All the best for next year and beyond.

 

[lpava]

I'm glad my long winded response was helpful to you. As for the match list - a full version hasn't been posted on the website yet. However, a 4th yr has posted a full list on SDN at: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=895261&page=14

It's at the very bottom. Overall it's a pretty good list.

I'm glad you're choosing NYMC for the reasons of that it is an awesome school. To be honest - it is a pretty great school and I think you would be making a sound decision. Like I said, as long as you weren't choosing NYMC out of fear of TCMC, then you'll be alright.

All the best for next year and beyond.

Thank you! That is nice list, I'm glad! TCMC deserves better than what the forums here suggest..


Also, NYMC just offered me a 20K scholarship for every year of medical school.. this definitely seals the deal for me with 80K less in loans !

Thank you again everyone!

 

[hallowmann]

Thank you! That is nice list, I'm glad! TCMC deserves better than what the forums here suggest..


Also, NYMC just offered me a 20K scholarship for every year of medical school.. this definitely seals the deal for me with 80K less in loans !

Thank you again everyone!

Wow, that's crazy nice! Congratulations! That should make up for the cost of living difference and then some!

 

[lpava]

Wow, that's crazy nice! Congratulations! That should make up for the cost of living difference and then some!

Thank you! I'm so grateful for it and I agree..it will make up for the cost of living plus some more!