NYU vs. USC (a confusing situation!)

[hamidace]

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I have been fortunate enough to be accepted at two good schools: USC and NYU. I know there are threads that have compared USC and NYU medical schools. However, the interesting fact is that I am married and my wife has been accepted to both USC and NYU dental schools as well! We have a very hard time deciding which school to attend. We are considering several facts which I will mention.

1. We currently live in California and plan to stay here after graduating from school. I know being a USC medical student increases your chances of getting accepted to a california residency.
2. NYU dental school has a traditional curriculum while USC dental school is 100% PBL and my wife totally hates PBL.
3. NYU dental school is very big and takes about 250 students whie USC dental school takes about 130 students, but there are rumors that USC dental students do not graduate on time.
4. Both schools are very expensive 🙁 but the fact that we have to sell our furniture here, buy furniture in NY, buy plane tickets and ... makes NY's costs a litte bit more.
5. NYU is in a great neighborhood while USC is not and it is great to live in NY for four years.
6. Our families live in California (orange county)
7. California has a beautiful weather, but NY is cold!

I would really appreciate any comments here. What would you do if you were in our shoes? Please help...

 

[chad5871]

2. NYU dental school has a traditional curriculum while USC dental school is 100% PBL and my wife totally hates PBL.
3. NYU dental school is very big and takes about 250 students whie USC dental school takes about 130 students, but there are rumors that USC dental students do not graduate on time.

These two stick out to me. It sounds like your wife would have a much better time learning at NYU than USC. Even given the additional expense, I would say it would be worth it to go to NYU if she would be happier there. Plus, I think NYC trumps California - you can always move back after professional school!

And congrats to you two for getting in at such great schools! Good luck!

 

[loganhayes]

NYU is a much better school than USC overall. It has a reputation that it is very hard to get into (undergrad, grad, law, and med). In fact, for its undergrad, it is more difficult to get into NYU than Columbia. So, it is quite prestigious to go to there. You can always get your residency in CA later. But trust me, NYU is a great school and it is in an awesome neighborhood there. You will love it. If you want to save some money, you can live in NJ (pick areas closer to NYC), take the PATH train, and NYU is not far from the WTC stop.

Don't worry about the weather. My brother has lived there for a while and he absolutely loves it there. He said, you're a ***** if you complain about the cold. And guess what, he ain't going back to Cali.

As for furniture and start-up cost to live in NY, don't sweat it. It is small compared to the benefits you will get by living in NY and going to NYU. I'm from CA, too, and will be moving to NY as well for med school. I use the ReloCube service at UPack and will be able to ship all of my stuff (close to a one-bedroom's) for $2400. Translation: I will be shipping my furniture, flat-screen TV, and my other earthly belongings. You can ship your car to NY for $1100 (standard, in my opinion). If you need details, PM me.

 

[thejonqproject]

I found both schools to be very similar in regards to curic, cost , clinical. They both have p/f for the first two years, both are relatively expensive, and both have great clinical experinces at county and at bellvue.

USC has a great optho center and NYU has a great derm center attached to the hospitals.

For me...it really comes down to living in Los Angeles or living in Manhattan. you can't really go wrong with that choice though. Although I did see that you are married...and NYU seemed to have a much younger crowd when I interviewed there ( they stressed how much they go out 🙂 ) as compared to Keck.

 

[BigBear123]

I would like to hear some (current) NYU vs. USC input. I'm also from CA and would love to live in New York City, but the cost of living there terrifies me, and I don't have a support network out there. However, I'm a pretty social person and think I could make friends pretty easily. Also, I think that the area around USC isn't great, and I'm not a fan of driving everywhere. Weather is not a factor for me...if anything, LA is too hot! Advice?

Edit: Sorry for bumping this thread it's totally old

 

[matanpucla]

seeing as I'm on the USC waitlist, i think you should go to NYU...😀

but seriously, it seems to me like in terms of cost, USC will be cheaper, although your wife might like NYU dental if she doesn't like USC PBL so much. i wish you all the best in your choice.

 

[MedPR]

I have been fortunate enough to be accepted at two good schools: USC and NYU. I know there are threads that have compared USC and NYU medical schools. However, the interesting fact is that I am married and my wife has been accepted to both USC and NYU dental schools as well! We have a very hard time deciding which school to attend. We are considering several facts which I will mention.

1. We currently live in California and plan to stay here after graduating from school. I know being a USC medical student increases your chances of getting accepted to a california residency.
2. NYU dental school has a traditional curriculum while USC dental school is 100% PBL and my wife totally hates PBL.
3. NYU dental school is very big and takes about 250 students whie USC dental school takes about 130 students, but there are rumors that USC dental students do not graduate on time.
4. Both schools are very expensive 🙁 but the fact that we have to sell our furniture here, buy furniture in NY, buy plane tickets and ... makes NY's costs a litte bit more.5. NYU is in a great neighborhood while USC is not and it is great to live in NY for four years.
6. Our families live in California (orange county)
7. California has a beautiful weather, but NY is cold!

I would really appreciate any comments here. What would you do if you were in our shoes? Please help...

The cost of a couple of plane tickets and some furniture isn't significant enough to be a part of this decision imo.

Other than that, I have nothing to add 🙁

 

[Finches]

NYU is a much better school than USC overall. It has a reputation that it is very hard to get into (undergrad, grad, law, and med). In fact, for its undergrad, it is more difficult to get into NYU than Columbia. So, it is quite prestigious to go to there. You can always get your residency in CA later. But trust me, NYU is a great school and it is in an awesome neighborhood there. You will love it. If you want to save some money, you can live in NJ (pick areas closer to NYC), take the PATH train, and NYU is not far from the WTC stop.

Don't worry about the weather. My brother has lived there for a while and he absolutely loves it there. He said, you're a ***** if you complain about the cold. And guess what, he ain't going back to Cali.

As for furniture and start-up cost to live in NY, don't sweat it. It is small compared to the benefits you will get by living in NY and going to NYU. I'm from CA, too, and will be moving to NY as well for med school. I use the ReloCube service at UPack and will be able to ship all of my stuff (close to a one-bedroom's) for $2400. Translation: I will be shipping my furniture, flat-screen TV, and my other earthly belongings. You can ship your car to NY for $1100 (standard, in my opinion). If you need details, PM me.

lolwut x2

 

[sector9]

Closing thread as it has been necrobumped. Feel free to create your own thread in the School Specific Discussions thread to have an updated discussion on this issue.