NYU - need to choose & worried about residency match

[hello]

---

Members do not see this ad.

*really* need help folks- so please advise. i got off nyu waitlist a few days ago and was really psyched. but then my parents and i dug up this yrs' us news med school ratings and apparently nyu's '01 grads being awarded one of top 3 residency choices fell to 64.8%, incidentally the lowest % reported amongst the top 50 schools. from a residency perspective, does this say something about the school or just about a messed up year?

also, does anyone know anything about dean brienza's approachability? in one past letter i wrote that i'd withdraw from my current acceptance to go to nyu. didn't know if trying to talk truthfully to him about my current concerns might clarify things/prevent any harsh feelings if i didn't end up at nyu...

*sigh* i feel like a neurotic pre-college/medling all over again

help.

 

[Nuclearrabbit]

what is the other school you are considering?

the "so and so" percent getting top residency choices is a ridiculous statistic. it is dependant on what residency programs you apply to in the first place. you decide this based off your class rank and usmle scores with an advisor. obviously, an average student won't be advised to apply to john hopkins neurosurgery. the match statistics are bogus, look at where people go, not at the percentages.
You should not be using these meaningless values in determining where you will be spending the next 4 years of your life.
i'd consider: cost, big-city vs. suburb, interview impressions, curriculum, etc..
don't base your decision off valueless match statistics.

 

[hello]

the other school is unc, which also managed to score a 4.0 on residency directors respect (vs nyu's 3.5)

i grew up in a small town in unc, and i wasn't very happy there =( -- makes me very scared to return to the state, after a much happier 4 yrs out of it in boston.

if i can just explain to myself (*and my parents*) specifically why nyu's stat got so skewed, then i'd feel much better.

 

[Nuclearrabbit]

in addition, each class year will be unique in it's contributions. you may find out that a previous year, or the upcoming year, may have an "amazing" match. don't interpret a schools matchability, based off one list. increase your sample size.

in addition, a low percentage may be indicative that students were applying for top notch residency programs. maybe they set the bar really high. perhaps what was 4th on their residency match list, was still a really good program.

from what i hear about NYU, is be prepared for the big-city life, especially if you aren't from an urban environment. one criticism i heard from somebody from NYU was that you may run into higher than average pretensiousness. nevertheless, you'll see this at alot of schools, especially among higher ranked schools. (my friend at yale said the same thing)

NYU is a good school, again, i don't know what other school you are considering, but you should consider yourself lucky.

Good luck.

 

[Olanzapine]

Before you withdrawl from any other school, just be forewarned that I have friends who were accepted into NYU a few years ago who got very little in the way of financial aid. I think that they expect their students to borrow ~40,000 a year to attend.

 

[Nuclearrabbit]

UNC?

i'd say make the decision based off cost (i'm assuming in-state tuition), and location.
forget about the numbers. do you want to live in new york or north carolina? do you mind the cost differences?

 

[Olanzapine]

If you are a NC resident, you should *defininitely* go to UNC. I think that it's the cheapest state school in the country, and it has a good rep. Don't sacrifice ~20 yrs of paying debt for 4 yrs of med school that would be the same in NC (and may even be superior to residency program directors according to you).

 

[lollie2006]

Although NYU's % match is not high, they have a good reputation in NYC and their match list is impressive. Like others said the % top 3 match is a bs number because it is easily manipulated.
I loved NYU, but I should warn you I only got $3000 in grants fom them vs. $20,000 that I'm getting at the school I'm planning on attending. So if money is a factor, UNC is the way to go. Best of luck 🙂

 

[Fluffy]

Why don't you think you will be one of the 60% that DO get that first choice match? Don't go making decisions based on statistics like that. You are an individual, and you will make or break your match, not some stupid statistic that is only 60% instead of 80%!!!!!! Let's get real here, what you do, what you know, and who you are will get you the residency position you want, not that statistic. Go where you will be happy, and don't make decisions based on one small piece of information. Take all the factors combined and make a list of what's important to you and how each school measures up. Both NYU and UNC are excellent schools anyway, so either way, you will be getting an outstanding education. Life will be what you make of it, so do whatever you want and what makes you happiest.

 

[goldie]

Whatever choice you make (either is great!), please do it soon, as I'm dying to get into NYU and am on the wait list. Please have mercy on us!

Good luck with whatever decision you make!

 

[hello]

haha =P i'm trying goldie. i completely understand where you're coming from. waitlists are *awful.* and thanks to all of you for the advice. i am a unc resident, but dad says we can work out the financial stuff as long as i'm happy. i'm seriously considering emergency medicine, but i know things always change. that's why i was worried about looking specific specialities on the match lists. ai. well, still open to any more opinions folks want to throw out - and thanks again!

 

[Whisker Barrel Cortex]

I agree with the many of the above posters who say that the %matching in 1st choice is a pretty misleading and not very useful statistic. The most important part of getting into a good residency is being offered an interview there. If you don't get an interview, you cannot rank them. Thus, someone who went to a Carribean school (no offense intended, just unfortunate reality) might get their first choice of Rural Terrible Hospital because they were not offered an interview at Columbia, while a grad from NYU might get their second choice of Columbia because they didn't match at their number 1 choice of Mass General.

As the Chairman of Medicine at our school likes to say, he believes that if a very high number of people get their top choice, he considers his advising a failure. The reason he puts forth for this is that this means the students he advised could have gone to an even better program if he/she had tried.

So, don't put so much stock in this number. Look instead at what programs people have matched in and in what specialties and compare them to where you might want to be in 4 years. Good luck.

 

[FunkDoc]

hello, if i were in your shoes, i'd go to nyu. c'mon, nyc is the capital of the world! the culture, the people... forget about the residency match statistics.

i love new york!