NYU vs Hopkins

[roodiehoo]

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Hi everyone, I'm extremely grateful to be considering between these two schools and would appreciate any input with decisions coming up!

My family did not qualify for the Bloomberg scholarship, but despite Hopkins' higher COA, my parents seem to prefer that I go there given the prestige and potentially better training. I'm fortunate that they're willing to support my medical education so that I can be debt-free regardless of where I go, yet I would much rather they put the money towards retirement if there is marginal difference in my chances of matching into a top residency coming from either school. I am still a bit unsure about what specialty I want to do, but I'm currently interested in oncology (medical or surgical), ortho, and ophtho. I'm thinking of going into private practice instead of academic medicine at this moment. With families in California, I want to keep the option open to match back there if I choose to in the future.


NYU (free tuition, ~30k COA/yr)

(+) Free tuition + subsidized housing (~$1200/month) to live in NYC feels like a once in a lifetime opportunity
(+) Diversity of patients, proximity of hospitals, Bellevue
(+) Flexibility to do a research year/dual degree in third year. This would be helpful if I eventually go for a competitive specialty, and the bioinformatics dual degree would be something I want to do.
(+) Option to graduate in three years. This is possible even for competitive specialties if I get selected for the guaranteed residency spots at NYU (I'm open to doing residency in NYC if I enjoy the city a lot!)
(+) Stronger ortho than JHU
(+) More to do in NYC compared to Baltimore. As someone who doesn't have a car, the robust public transportation is a plus.

(0) H/HP/P/F clerkships, though current students said this is not something to worry about since most students get honors. They also said that most don't find out if they received AOA before residency apps.

(–) Seems like a significant proportion of students stay at NYU/east coast for residency. I understand this may totally just be personal preference but wonder if difficulty matching back to the west coast plays a role.
(–) Higher COL, which may lead to a smaller COA difference than what I have estimated.
(–) Have heard that mentorship isn't as strong as it is at Hopkins, not sure if this is true.



Johns Hopkins ($18k of financial aid/yr)

(+) Better prestige may help in applying for residency
(+) Great match list, might be easier to match back to California
(+) P/F through clerkships, barring that no changes take place
(+) Stronger ophtho (though NYU's ophtho match seems pretty good as well)
(+) Renowned JHH. Higher ranked cancer center.
(+) Very strong IM
(+) Could rent a one-bedroom apartment for a slightly higher monthly cost than NYU housing

(–) Much more expensive. COA will likely be at least 210k more than NYU. Will be meeting with the financial aid office to see if they may be able to increase financial aid.
(–) Weaker ortho program and from reading past threads there seem to be issues with some ortho applicants not matching?
(–) Many seem to recommend that getting a car would afford a better experience living in Baltimore but that would mean extra cost.
(–) Crime around the med school and hospital.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this!!

 

[cbum]

NYU has the stronger ortho residency program and support, but I seriously doubt there’s a large enough difference between Hopkins and NYU ortho for it to factor into your decision.

I would honestly choose purely based on location and how you would enjoy school between these two. Based on that it sounds like you would enjoy NYC more, and even with your parents paying, they can save so much for you to pursue an equivalent education at NYU.

 

[m1redsox]

Hopkins is not worth $210k (plus a car) more than NYU

 

[DoneDone3451]

NYU lol

 

[roodiehoo]

NYU has the stronger ortho residency program and support, but I seriously doubt there’s a large enough difference between Hopkins and NYU ortho for it to factor into your decision.

I would honestly choose purely based on location and how you would enjoy school between these two. Based on that it sounds like you would enjoy NYC more, and even with your parents paying, they can save so much for you to pursue an equivalent education at NYU.

I agree! Location wise, I would personally prefer NYC over Baltimore. I wasn't too sure how to best compare the strengths of a specialty between schools, but Doximity seems to rank NYU's ortho residency #4 and Hopkins' #36. It's almost the opposite for ophtho, with Hopkins at #4 and NYU at #42. I'm not sure if the difference in ranking here is in any way indicative of the training quality students receive or the ability for students to match well. Would be curious to hear your thoughts on this!

 

[hydroflaskhomie]

Definitely NYU! Great to be debt free either way but don't have anyone pay for anything unless it's a dramatic difference.

I don't know, but I sincerely doubt that NYU students struggle to match back to the west coast. I would confidently bet it's student preference.

Don't worry about the prestige of residency programs - sometimes it paradoxically is better to be at the school with a "worse" training program because there are fewer learners around/medical students get to do way more. The most important thing is that students match (and match well) out of a school in the specialty you're interested in (make sure you look at >2 years of match lists because for most schools it varies widely by year) and that there exist mentors to work with in that specialty at the school.

 

[cbum]

I agree! Location wise, I would personally prefer NYC over Baltimore. I wasn't too sure how to best compare the strengths of a specialty between schools, but Doximity seems to rank NYU's ortho residency #4 and Hopkins' #36. It's almost the opposite for ophtho, with Hopkins at #4 and NYU at #42. I'm not sure if the difference in ranking here is in any way indicative of the training quality students receive or the ability for students to match well. Would be curious to hear your thoughts on this!

Although the ranking is a subjective metric, it does give a rough perspective of how well-regarded and funded a department is and there are definitely stark differences in some departments like ortho and ophtho between NYU and Hopkins and many other top tier schools. If you have a very clear favorite specialty that you are 99% sure about, then only I would factor that disparity in home program ranking into your decision making. Otherwise, if you have a relatively open mind or simply know you want to pursue surgery, you will have high research productivity and valuable mentors in virtually every department at both of these schools, and I don't think comparing doximity rankings should affect your decision. Lastly, a strong department with esteemed faculty that can help you match to your top choice doesn't always translate to a highly-ranked home program in that same specialty.

 

[roodiehoo]

Definitely NYU! Great to be debt free either way but don't have anyone pay for anything unless it's a dramatic difference.

I don't know, but I sincerely doubt that NYU students struggle to match back to the west coast. I would confidently bet it's student preference.

Don't worry about the prestige of residency programs - sometimes it paradoxically is better to be at the school with a "worse" training program because there are fewer learners around/medical students get to do way more. The most important thing is that students match (and match well) out of a school in the specialty you're interested in (make sure you look at >2 years of match lists because for most schools it varies widely by year) and that there exist mentors to work with in that specialty at the school.

Thanks for your input! What you said about fewer learners leading to more hands-on experience definitely makes sense, I'll keep that perspective in mind. Mentorship and networking opportunities are certainly big factors I'm considering, and hopefully I'll learn more about those aspects of the schools as I talk to more current students.

 

[roodiehoo]

Although the ranking is a subjective metric, it does give a rough perspective of how well-regarded and funded a department is and there are definitely stark differences in some departments like ortho and ophtho between NYU and Hopkins and many other top tier schools. If you have a very clear favorite specialty that you are 99% sure about, then only I would factor that disparity in home program ranking into your decision making. Otherwise, if you have a relatively open mind or simply know you want to pursue surgery, you will have high research productivity and valuable mentors in virtually every department at both of these schools, and I don't think comparing doximity rankings should affect your decision. Lastly, a strong department with esteemed faculty that can help you match to your top choice doesn't always translate to a highly-ranked home program in that same specialty.

Thanks! I'm definitely not set on ortho or ophtho, so I agree that disparity in home program ranking in one specialty shouldn't largely influence my decision. Good to know that the home program ranking isn't a very relevant metric for making med school decisions. It seems like as long as there is faculty with a good network in the field I'm interested then I should be in good shape.