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- Jul 4, 2019
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I have narrowed down my choices to these 2 awesome schools! Super lucky (obviously) to have these choices, but this is proving to be a much more difficult decision than I anticipated. I have very little "gut feeling" about either school.
Both schools have global health opportunities, awesome faculty, early experience in hospitals, mentoring societies, and a bunch of other things in common. I tried to mention only the distinguishing pros and cons between the two. I will be a great doctor at both, financially I will be fine, facilities at both are world class, both are adventures in their own way and I will explore and make friends at both. But there are still some distinctions!
I am recently married and unsure about specialty, possibly ortho. Completely unsure what to do. That's why I'm asking you all. I am 55% NYU and 45% KP at the moment and have no clue what to decide. Any input at all is helpful, seriously anything!
NYU
Pros
Cons
Kaiser Permanente
Pros
Cons
Summary: It boils down to if I want to take risks and have adventures in my life while having security in the medical school experience (NYU), or if I want to have security in my personal life with a familiar environment and people, while taking risks, trailblazing, and having adventures within the medical school experience (Kaiser). I would be more comfortable taking the lifestyle risk and potentially love or hate NYC if I was on my own. But for the sake of my wife, I also need to see how she will spend her next 4 years. Financially both are great, but Kaiser is just amazing. I have no undergrad loans, so I am going to be quite good financially. NYU seemed like the perfect choice this whole cycle, but Kaiser has done everything fantastically from what I've seen.
PLEASE HELP.
Both schools have global health opportunities, awesome faculty, early experience in hospitals, mentoring societies, and a bunch of other things in common. I tried to mention only the distinguishing pros and cons between the two. I will be a great doctor at both, financially I will be fine, facilities at both are world class, both are adventures in their own way and I will explore and make friends at both. But there are still some distinctions!
I am recently married and unsure about specialty, possibly ortho. Completely unsure what to do. That's why I'm asking you all. I am 55% NYU and 45% KP at the moment and have no clue what to decide. Any input at all is helpful, seriously anything!
NYU
Pros
- Full Tuition. Cost of attendance will be about 24k a year for me. I anticipate having to take out 30K in loans each year to cover my wife and I's expenses
- Established and on the rise. NYU is doing great things as an institution. I am interested in ortho (for now), and I will match into competitive specialties easier than Kaiser, not to say I can't at Kaiser.
- Guaranteed subsidized student housing. I know this contributes to a community feel and building friendships with my classmates. I know in undergrad it was great living in dorms for interacting with other students.
- Housing location relative to the student housing. Being able to walk to campus and most of my clinical experiences is awesome. I love the way the hospitals are set up with Bellevue, Tisch, Kimmel, VA, Langone, all the NYU buildings are walkable, like the rest of NYC!
- The adventure of living in NYC. The food, city life, diversity, cultural experiences. I've been on the west coast my whole life and am intrigued by living on the east coast. Not completely sold on it, but it does excite me to think about. Tangentially, weekend trips across the east coast excite me too! Visiting NJ, Carolinas, Vermont, Maine, Pennsylvania is all easier from NYC.
- Location within NYC. Midtown Manhattan is awesome. The location within the city is far enough from a ridiculously busy pace, but still in a place that I can enjoy a full NYC experience. I can definitely explore NYC to the fullest.
- More students. More people in my social group that will be my own age (or similar) will be good for social life. Having upperclassmen will provide mentorship and more social interaction!
- Dual Degree Program. I am not completely decided because it would add a year, but an MD/MBA would be super cool and interests me a lot. Stern MBA is even more alluring. MPH in 4 years is also really enticing.
- Intramurals and clubs. Already established and the larger student population means more chances to do things like play basketball with peers and find a club that interests me.
- Orthopedics. NYU Langone is a killer orthopedic institution. I will have world-class mentors to learn from and I will access as much ortho research as I want.
- Non-mandatory classes. Many things, including lectures, are not mandatory at NYU. Meaning I will be able to take a day off when I need. Or take many, many days off if I want to. Especially pertinent to me as this means I will be able to enjoy NYC with my wife when we feel the need. Taking a lunch to go to a sick food place seems like a fun option to have.
- Testing. Testing every two weeks means every other weekend is off.
- Curriculum. Seems to have flexiblity within lectures while still incorporating newer innovations in education. They are pretty strong in being progressive as far as medical education goes and I expect them to be attentive to what works and what doesn't.
- Matching. I am not sold on living in NYC for the next 10 years, but say I get there and love it, 3 year MD that fast tracks you into an NYU residency is a greeeeaaat option. Regardless, the NYU name will carry more weight for residency than Kaiser will. Notwithstanding that fact, I think I will stand on my own two feet when it comes to residency, but anything helps considering uncertainty of pass/fail step and where the world is in 4 years.
Cons
- Finances. Taking loans out is okay. 75k in loans is also okay with me. But pales in comparison to Kaiser's offer.
- Cost of Living. Eating, moving, traveling, sleeping, breathing. It's all more expensive in NYC and I don't want to be terribly frugal while I'm there. Will probably slowly increase spending and get expensive quick.
- Further from family. Not many people in mine, or my wife's, family will be able to visit us regularly. If something bad happens or something exciting happens it is nice to be easily accessible to family.
- Weather. I love being outdoors, and while upstate New York and the surrounding areas offer tons of outdoors things, I will not be able to step outside and enjoy the sunshine like I am used to doing. My whole life I have been used to sunshine and blue skies, there is no saying how much the cold and drab weather will effect me, but I'm sure it will.
- NYC. Very busy, I like thinking about NYC, but maybe I actually hate the pace and crowded-ness.
- Family life. If my wife and I end up deciding to have a kid, or accidentally have one, NYC will be close to miserable with a kid. Especially for my wife once clerkships start and I am less helpful. Don't anticipate it, but who knows.
- Smaller living space. The dorms are cheap for New York, but they're not extravagant by any means. Couples housing is sharing a studio in the student housing, so we'd be two in a space for one. Its not ironically small, but still small.
- Covid. NYC will likely be the worst place for Covid for a while to come. I don't want to put too much on pause and my life in New York will be put on pause more than anywhere else.
- People. I will vibe with the people worse than I will at Kaiser. More people, sure. But I'm undeniably a west coast guy through and through.
- Wife's Desires. One main con is that my wife is not eager to move to New York City. She'll be further away from her family. Less sunshine for her. She's a little scared of living in a big city and isn't sure how safe she will be in New York. She doesn't think she'll feel comfortable taking the subway and stuff like that. I have no problems with these things generally, and I think its a good chance for her to grow as a person. She's okay with going to NYU but fears she'll be more lonely or even depressed in New York.
Kaiser Permanente
Pros
- Money. All that I said about NYU can, for some people, be negated by the difference of about 65K each year. (35k grant compared to 30k loans). Over four years thats a 260k difference. While the loans at NYU alone do not seem bad in a vacuum. We are looking at a difference of up to 260k between the two institutions.
- Weather. Pasadena has sunny skies, palm trees, beaches nearby, need I say more? Skiing, hiking, and surfing all in the safe day might be an exagerration, but its a pretty sweet idea.
- Inaugural class pampering. I am amazed at the lengths that Kaiser has gone so far to spoil us and incentivize top-tier students to attend. I can get used to be treated like that for 4 years. They're providing hotels for all interviewees, sending us palm trees, they will call us whenever we want. They will provide us with Surface Pro tablets, pay for all out Uworld, FirstAid, etc. They are all in on your success. This is intangible and is more of a feeling than a material pro, but its a huge reason I haven't withdrawn.
- Family Friendly. I can decide to have kids more comfortably if I'm in Pasadena and will worry less about how that will go over.
- Leadership. I will be surprised if every student at Kaiser doesn't have their name somewhere in an organization or club's leadership. There are infinite opportunities to start clubs and lead your groups because, well, everything needs to be started.
- Funding. I know NYU has money also, but it feels like the money at Kaiser is more accessible to students. For example, I can go to the dean of [something] and say I was thinking we could do a class trip to Alaska. And the odds of that happening at Kaiser are much higher than NYU. At NYU they have their forms and their well-defined limitations on what can and can't be done. At Kaiser I feel that they will be that much more eager to support me.
- Facilities. My God. If you haven't already, go take a look at the medical school building tour on YouTube and tell me that isn't the place you would want to be stuck in if the world has a zombie apocalypse. Yoga, gym, meditation, coffee, study rooms, cafeteria, lounge areas, cool chairs, sunlight. It has everything I thought I would need and more. The
- Faculty. There is a very unique opportunity to grow close to mentors and the faculty, including the founding dean who is awesome, in a way that I don't think is possible anywhere else. This is not to say that at NYU I will not have close mentors, but it just can't compare to a full time medical school's staff walking with 48 students.
- Student class. These are reeeeeaaaaaalllllyyyyy qualified students. I would not underestimate the quality of students at Kaiser. I can only imagine the awesome things that will happen when you take 48 students who are really motivated to succeed, likely sacrificed some prestige for KP, and are being carefully nurtured and taken care of by world-class faculty...
- Lifestyle. I think my wife and I will live as close to royalty as we want to. We'll have plenty of spending money and the environment to support it, even though Pasadena does have a high cost of living. Really, the idea of living in Pasadena is awesome and enticing, likely similar to what I want in my residency. However, experiencing something new in NYC might make this lifestyle a little less standout because the other lifestyle also seems cool.
- Matching. I want to match on the west coast, so ideally Kaiser gives me the best chance to match in the area. KP LA has residency programs and they offer some in many specialties. However, they do not have an orthopedic residency, only fellowship, so if stuff really hits the fan, back up in my current specialty of interest is nonexistent. But I do not worry from matching out of Kaiser at all. This is just worst case scenario.
- Wife's desires. My wife will enjoy SoCal more when she is on her own and I am studying or whatever than she will New York.
Cons
- Brand New. Inevitably, I will not have a typical medical school experience. The hiccups and set backs that will occur are going to happen. I need to be okay with that, knowing that it is a new institution, but I'm not 100% sure I will be okay with that. Being the first year is a pro and a con depending on the specific you're looking at. "Inaugural class" if you want to be positive, and "inexperienced" or "untested" if you want to be critical.
- LA traffic. There are plenty of clinical sites, I will get to experience diverse clinical settings, but I will have to drive around in traffic which I am not fond of. It is not that bad, really, but in comparison with NYU's row of walkable hospitals...it really doesn't.
- Less peers. I look forward to meeting new people in medical school and finding my own social group. Not networking, but friendships. With only 48 students and no upperclassmen, I will be limited. The 48 students will be very close and I already know they are exceptional, but less people is less people however you spin it.
- School identity. No affiliated graduate schools (partnership with CalTech for MD/PhD) for Kaiser whereas NYU has access to public health, business, and many other professional schools that may help build a social group. There are no traditions, there are no people telling you how much they loved their rotations with a doctor. Clubs will be smaller. I can't imagine any club will have more than a dozen or so students (and even that is a quarter of the class). There are no intramural sports where we can compete with other groups or join an undergraduate team.
- Stricter schedule. Classes are mandatory and while there is flexibility, there's a good amount of required work. Less likely to be able to take a day off or meet my wife for lunch on a whim. Mon-Fri 8-5 are pretty much blocked out between the mandatory classes and individual flexible time. This also includes the vacation time. NYU has a little more vacation time during summers for global health things or research.
- Curriculum. I have always been a "study on my own and get the content fine" person. Kaiser is big on small groups and non-lecture learning. I am okay with either curricular approach, and they're not terribly different. But I think I may not get as much out of the constant small groups as other students with different learning styles may. That being said, it is really recently developed and basically as cutting edge as curriculum gets. Maybe I should view this as a unique opportunity to learn my trade in innovative ways. The virtual anatomy, for example, is great and I loved it. I can totally view myself learning well with that VR anatomy stuff. Both schools use problem based learning and use small groups often. But NYU's lectures might be a little better for me.
- Transportation. Along with the fact that I have to drive all over LA, is the fact that I will not be biking and walking everywhere which is my personal preference. My wife feels more comfortable not on public transport, but she will accommodate what I decide. (She is also very involved in my decision, don't worry)
Summary: It boils down to if I want to take risks and have adventures in my life while having security in the medical school experience (NYU), or if I want to have security in my personal life with a familiar environment and people, while taking risks, trailblazing, and having adventures within the medical school experience (Kaiser). I would be more comfortable taking the lifestyle risk and potentially love or hate NYC if I was on my own. But for the sake of my wife, I also need to see how she will spend her next 4 years. Financially both are great, but Kaiser is just amazing. I have no undergrad loans, so I am going to be quite good financially. NYU seemed like the perfect choice this whole cycle, but Kaiser has done everything fantastically from what I've seen.
PLEASE HELP.