Pitt vs. Albert Einstein

[JReezy]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I recently was accepted off the waitlist from Pitt, which I really enjoyed during my visit for my interview. I actually stayed for the whole weekend with a college friend who is currently an MS1, and I really enjoyed the students, facilities, and was pleasantly surprised by the city (which admittedly I had low expectations for). On the flip side, I have been living around or in NYC for almost my entire life, and I still love it. The opportunities and atmosphere of NYC is hard to match anywhere.

Pitt:

Pros:
Research ranking/national reputation
Seemingly more sociable students
Access to more hospitals
Connections to other grad schools & undergrad
Mentoring (?)

Cons:
Not as glamorous of a location
Weather
Maybe not as favorable for NYC residencies


Albert Einstein:

Pros:
NYC
Closer to home
Better weather
Maybe more favorable for NYC residencies

Cons:
Less national reputation
Students didn't seem as cohesive (?)
Not-as-nice facilities

As of now, I ideally want to do my residency in NYC. However, Albert Einstein's NYC-heavy match list might just be due to selection bias. Overall, Pitt seems to have a better national match list, and it was recently voted the most livable U.S. city, which must mean something.

Thanks for all the help, everyone! Good luck to all.

 

[penguinism]

I would say Pitt! I was accepted to both schools, and I think Pitt was a better fit for me. They are both strong in research, but Pitt has a better national reputation and more NIH funding. I have only been to Pittsburgh once and the Bronx once (both for my interviews haha), but I enjoyed Pittsburgh a whole lot more. The Bronx might be in NYC but it's still pretty far away from all of the fun stuff downtown. Pitt gives you free bus passes so you can travel around the city as you please. 🙂

Also, I agree with you about the Einstein students seeming less cohesive. At the accepted students dinner everyone was nice and friendly, but I got a really weird vibe from some of the students on my interview day. However, that was just a small sampling from the entire class. 🙂

Best of luck deciding - maybe we'll be classmates at Pitt!

 

[flodhi1]

I would still say go Pitt even though there is a jail smack middle of a highway in Pittsburgh and I absolutely hate the city.

 

[saveourpens]

I would still say go Pitt even though there is a jail smack middle of a highway in Pittsburgh and I absolutely hate the city.

hmm you're right about the jail but I never thought that something resembling a large office building would be such a turn off to someone.

To the OP, I think I speak for everyone on the wait-list at Pitt when I say that you would be very happy in New York!

 

[Ismet]

Pitt! I've lived in Pittsburgh for the last 4 years, and honestly the weather isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be. It has been voted the most livable city in the US for the last 2 or 3 years and has made some amazing strides in going green and cleaning up the horrible pollution from the steel industry. That said, Pittsburgh is still fairly dirty (I've seen some cadavers in the anatomy lab that had black lungs but never smoked - it was just from a lifetime in Pittsburgh). Not sure if that factors into your decision at all, but I'd say it's more of a factor than the weather.

Pitt also really takes care of their students. Like penguinism said, your student ID gets you unlimited free rides on the bus system and the T, so you can get pretty much anywhere without a car or taxi (except the airport 🙁). They also offer free "arts encounters" that include a free dinner and free ticket to a show or performance (like the ballet, opera, PSO) as well as heavily discounted tickets if art/music is your thing. You also get free admission to all the Carnegie museums, the Warhol museum, the conservatory, and the zoo. People usually underestimate how much Pittsburgh has to offer 🙂

I'm sure if you do well at a top school like Pitt, you will be able to match in NYC if you wanted!

I would still say go Pitt even though there is a jail smack middle of a highway in Pittsburgh and I absolutely hate the city.

It's probably one of the prettiest jails in the country though! You can't even tell when you drive by 🙂

 

[jesse120]

hmm you're right about the jail but I never thought that something resembling a large office building would be such a turn off to someone.

To the OP, I think I speak for everyone on the wait-list at Pitt when I say that you would be very happy in New York!

that made me pretty hard

 

[Evergrey]

It has been voted the most livable city in the US for the last 2 or 3 years and has made some amazing strides in going green and cleaning up the horrible pollution from the steel industry. That said, Pittsburgh is still fairly dirty (I've seen some cadavers in the anatomy lab that had black lungs but never smoked - it was just from a lifetime in Pittsburgh).

Fun link for reference http://library.med.utah.edu/WebPath/CINJHTML/CINJ050.html

 

[redpanda]

I would still say go Pitt even though there is a jail smack middle of a highway in Pittsburgh and I absolutely hate the city.

You are aware that there are plenty of holding facilities if not long term jails in New York, right?

 

[RedSox10]

You seem to really dislike Pittsburg weather versus NYC weather (put it as a con for Pitt and a pro for Einstein). I didn't know the climate in both of these areas was very different from one another.

Despite a 5 degree difference in Fahrenheit being a big factor for you, I'd still choose Pitt over Einstein any day.

 

[flodhi1]

hmm you're right about the jail but I never thought that something resembling a large office building would be such a turn off to someone.

To the OP, I think I speak for everyone on the wait-list at Pitt when I say that you would be very happy in New York!

You are aware that there are plenty of holding facilities if not long term jails in New York, right?

What do you think will happen if a prisoner escapes the "large office building"? .... Yeah someone's car will get jacked. Pittsburgh is not a diverse area compared to the places I have lived so it's not my cup of tea. With that being said I still think Pitt medical school is a highly respected academic institute and OP should pick it over Einstein.

 

[saveourpens]

What do you think will happen if a prisoner escapes the "large office building"? .... Yeah someone's car will get jacked. Pittsburgh is not a diverse area compared to the places I have lived so it's not my cup of tea. With that being said I still think Pitt medical school is a highly respected academic institute and OP should pick it over Einstein.

Lol are you serious? The last person to try to escape ended up falling 200 feet to his death. I think security is pretty tight.

It's actually entertaining to drive by and see if you can spot a prisoner through the windows.

 

[JReezy]

You seem to really dislike Pittsburg weather versus NYC weather (put it as a con for Pitt and a pro for Einstein). I didn't know the climate in both of these areas was very different from one another.

Despite a 5 degree difference in Fahrenheit being a big factor for you, I'd still choose Pitt over Einstein any day.

Well, it's a little more than 5 degrees, but then again, I'm not worried about adjusting. It was just one small factor that I thought of when pondering about cons.

And as for prisons, I'm not too overly concerned about stumbling into a runaway inmate and trying to fight him off with my otoscope. Regardless, thanks for all the feedback, everyone.

 

[NedLudd]

I recently was accepted off the waitlist from Pitt, which I really enjoyed during my visit for my interview. I actually stayed for the whole weekend with a college friend who is currently an MS1, and I really enjoyed the students, facilities, and was pleasantly surprised by the city (which admittedly I had low expectations for). On the flip side, I have been living around or in NYC for almost my entire life, and I still love it. The opportunities and atmosphere of NYC is hard to match anywhere.

Pitt:

Pros:
Research ranking/national reputation
Seemingly more sociable students
Access to more hospitals
Connections to other grad schools & undergrad
Mentoring (?)

Cons:
Not as glamorous of a location
Weather
Maybe not as favorable for NYC residencies


Albert Einstein:

Pros:
NYC
Closer to home
Better weather
Maybe more favorable for NYC residencies

Cons:
Less national reputation
Students didn't seem as cohesive (?)
Not-as-nice facilities

As of now, I ideally want to do my residency in NYC. However, Albert Einstein's NYC-heavy match list might just be due to selection bias. Overall, Pitt seems to have a better national match list, and it was recently voted the most livable U.S. city, which must mean something.

Thanks for all the help, everyone! Good luck to all.

Hey, I'm an MS1 at Einstein. I know very little about Pitt so can't compare them directly for you, but just wanted to comment on our students not seeming cohesive or as sociable--absolutely a misperception. I would have a very hard time believing that there are any schools out there with more social students or a stronger sense of community (unless we're comparing Einstein to the community feeling of tiny classes at Mayo, CC, etc.). Honestly, I have had more fun this past year than I ever had during undergrad. My classmates are uniformly outgoing, friendly, inclusive, social, and very quick to help each other out (there are so many student-made study aids and tips being sent out near test time that it's overwhelming). The fact that nearly all of us live in the same apartment buildings is great for the "community feeling"; during any given week, you'll see large groups of our class hanging out or having drinks in the courtyard, throwing parties, having smaller groups over or making dinner for each other in their apartments, going to a bar across the street together, or heading into the city in groups to do anything from grabbing dinner, doing the shopping/museum thing, or bar crawling. Everyone is super inclusive and make liberal use of the "everyone's invited" policy. My point being, I've had a total blast this past year, and I genuinely love my class. FWIW, the MS2s seem equally cohesive, and there is quite a bit of MS1-MS2 socializing. They are also very quick to help us out and give us advice and study guides for our courses.

It's difficult to judge this during the interview day, I know. You're kind of left on your own, and the tour guide groups are a randomly jumbled mix of first and second year students who may or may not know each other. I wouldn't let your interview day perceptions color your view of our student body at all. It's quite the opposite.

Another point you make is that we might have access to fewer hospitals/medical centers. I'm unaware of Pitt's affiliates, but we have a pretty substantial list--I believe seven affiliated systems, spanning at least four of the boroughs of NYC (might be all five, just not sure about Staten Island), and elsewhere in NY, including Long Island. It's a very extensive network. I think anyone would be hard-pressed to take full advantage of all of its opportunities in the four years they're here. I hear time and time again, unsolicited and from people unaffiliated with the school, that one of Einstein's strengths is phenomenal clinical training. I'm sure Pitt does an awesome job with the clinical years as well, but it's tough to beat the Bronx population for learning opportunities 😀.

Anyway, I'd be glad to answer any questions from an MS1 perspective if you have them. I'm very happy with my decision to come here, and haven't looked back. Either way, they're both great schools so it'd be hard to go wrong. Good luck!

 

[Alejandro]

I'll be an upcoming M1 at Pitt-just thought I'd share some of my thoughts through the decision making process. I was originally waitlisted at Brown, and felt confident that I could probably get off the waitlist there. So essentially, I was in the debate about holding out for Brown vs Pitt. For similar reasons with AECOM, Providence isn't that bad of a place to live, and Boston is only 40 minutes away via commuter rail.

I ended up choosing Pitt because I wasn't going to let a city deter me from getting a quality education. What mattered a lot was realizing that most of my time will be spent doing academic things anyway, such that whatever shortcomings Pittsburgh had (no ocean, not hustle/bustle city life, weather) were all going to be insignificant for the education I was going to receive. I'm coming from Seattle, and I've only been getting 😕 followed by 🙁, when I mention I'll be going to Pittsburgh for med school. (Remember the super bowl? YEA.) Any attending, medical staff, etc all have been 😀 followed by 😎 when I talk about PittMed. So yes, the city will be a different pace of life, but I don't think that it will be that big of a deal. As many have said...it's only four years. AND, I'm sure coming out of a school like Pittsburgh, you'll probably get the connections to match at a place that doesn't resemble the burgh, if you so hate it so much.

I thought second look was great, and the things that you like out of many other schools will be equally present at PittMed. I think the greatest challenge is getting over the city. I don't think the city is all that bad-I was initially creeped out by Oakland when I first came..., but then after going out with the class, it was actually pretty chill. The school is definitely top-tier, not just from the silly USN report rankings, but by the faculty, the programs, and what the students can all vouch for.

Hope this helps,

 

[twizzlers713]

Pitt is an awesome school, go there!