Hi there! I hope you are staying safe, healthy, and as sane as possible with everything going on.
I'd really appreciate any input or advice you may have on deciding between Pitt, Emory, Northwestern, and Mount Sinai. I'm really thankful to be able to make this decision and love and respect each school. At this point, I'm starting to have trouble distinguishing between them so any help is appreciated.
To my knowledge, all schools are Pass/Fail, unranked in the pre-clinical years which was important for me. I am interested in going into something surgical, for whatever that is worth. Here are the pros/cons that I came up with (if you disagree with anything I put, please let me know – most of this is anecdotal).
What do y'all think?
Thanks!
Pitt
+Really enjoyed my interview day
+*Prestige (#14 USNWR, #10 residency PD) *in the framework of a pass/fail STEP 1 exam, I felt it necessary to factor in
+Great in surgery
+Moderate COA for me
+Really good number of research opportunities
+ 3 half days per week, 2 full days (3 afternoons preserved for independent study, shadowing, research, etc)
+1-2 exams per pre-clinical class with optional weekly non-graded quizzes to help keep you on track
+House advisor system and FAST groups so readily have a faculty mentor and peer mentors
+Seems like the connections that faculty have would be extremely helpful for residency and it seems like faculty really support students when they’re applying
+Takes one science/organ systems class at a time during pre-clinical years
+Ease of living (can have a car, easy to get things like groceries, etc.)
+Outdoorsy things I like to do are more readily accessible (than New York and Chicago)
? Anatomy is taken up front rather than integrated
? Having a hard time figuring out what clinical grading is like here
? Feels hit or miss as to whether I jive with the students
-24 month pre-clinical
-Sounds like Pass/Fail for the pre-clinical years is based only on a curve by standard deviation so a certain % of the students are guaranteed to fail exams (gives me a bit of worry since this would be my highest ranked school and it feels like it might not be as “stress free” of a pass/fail style in comparison to the other schools that include a hard cut off for passing in addition to using standard deviation to pass more people if the average is low.)
Emory
+Really enjoyed my interview day too
+18-month pre-clinical curriculum
+Family in Atlanta
+Love the clinical exposure at Grady
+Dedicated time to do research for 6 months before applying to residency
+Decently prestigious (#24 USNWR, #19 residency PD, not sure how this truly compares to the others since USNWR ranks this the lowest but residency directors seems to still view it higher than Sinai, in there with Northwestern, and not too far from Pitt)
+I’m really into community involvement and feel like I would be surrounded by like minded people here
+Small groups with faculty physician that is maintained all 4 years so really can get close with core group of classmates
+Exam every 3-4 weeks
+3 half days, 2 full days per week
+Anatomy is integrated
+Mostly take 1 science class at a time / always 1 organ systems class at a time
+Seems like they’re really willing to work with you to see you succeed in their curriculum
+Ease of living (can have a car, easy to get things like groceries, etc.)
+Outdoorsy things are more readily accessible (than New York and Chicago)
? No idea on financial aid at this point but on the expensive end to start
?Clinical grading has many more options (letter grading with +/-’s , but it is NOT on a curve for whatever that’s worth)
-Only 3 or 4 weeks of a summer break after M1 (this I’m sure is how they built in 6 months of research in M3, but I fear that that wouldn’t allow for time to push publications through that would have otherwise been feasible if time was allotted earlier)
Northwestern
+20 month pre-clinical curriculum
+Family in Chicago
+Great number of research opportunities
+Prestigious (#18 USNWR, #16 residency PD)
+Really awesome clinical exposure that starts at the beginning of M1 through “Education-Centered Medical Homes that provides longitudinal exposure to a panel of patients (bonus of meeting older students for the sake of getting their general advice during this too)
+Feel like now is the time of my life to go for a big city vibe
+Also seems dedicated to serving community
+Seems like it is not impossible to achieve honors during M3 (this is anecdotal, if anyone thinks it is different please let me know!)
+1 exam per pre-clinical module with ungraded assessments to see if you’re on track
+3 half days, 2 full days each week
+Colleges/societies so get close with a faculty member and your group
+Take 1 science/systems class at a time
+Integrated anatomy
? Interview day didn’t do that much for me with students coming off as a little intense at times, but I’ve loved the students I’ve interacted with since
-Most expensive COA
Mount Sinai
+18-month pre-clinical curriculum
+Family in New York
+Get to choose when you take exams and quizzes from the comfort of wherever you want
+Very dedicated to serving community / advocacy
+Diverse clinical sites for rotations
+Pretty similar vibes on clinical grading to Northwestern
+Cheapest COA for me
+Faculty seem extremely open to making connections with students
+No ranking, like at all, even clinical years
+Again, really like the big city vibe
?Weekly graded assessments (either exam or quiz) so lower stakes per examination but also possibly more sustained stress
?Hit or miss for me jiving with the students, some kind of seemed intense
-1 half day, 4 full days per week
-Sometimes do take a couple science/organ systems blocks at the same time so have exams/quizzes overlapping on different topics over the same couple days
-Could maybe start to feel “dormy” with everyone living together
-Maybe less opportunities for research and less prestigious in comparison to others? (#20 USNWR, #35 residency PD)
I'd really appreciate any input or advice you may have on deciding between Pitt, Emory, Northwestern, and Mount Sinai. I'm really thankful to be able to make this decision and love and respect each school. At this point, I'm starting to have trouble distinguishing between them so any help is appreciated.
To my knowledge, all schools are Pass/Fail, unranked in the pre-clinical years which was important for me. I am interested in going into something surgical, for whatever that is worth. Here are the pros/cons that I came up with (if you disagree with anything I put, please let me know – most of this is anecdotal).
What do y'all think?
Thanks!
Pitt
+Really enjoyed my interview day
+*Prestige (#14 USNWR, #10 residency PD) *in the framework of a pass/fail STEP 1 exam, I felt it necessary to factor in
+Great in surgery
+Moderate COA for me
+Really good number of research opportunities
+ 3 half days per week, 2 full days (3 afternoons preserved for independent study, shadowing, research, etc)
+1-2 exams per pre-clinical class with optional weekly non-graded quizzes to help keep you on track
+House advisor system and FAST groups so readily have a faculty mentor and peer mentors
+Seems like the connections that faculty have would be extremely helpful for residency and it seems like faculty really support students when they’re applying
+Takes one science/organ systems class at a time during pre-clinical years
+Ease of living (can have a car, easy to get things like groceries, etc.)
+Outdoorsy things I like to do are more readily accessible (than New York and Chicago)
? Anatomy is taken up front rather than integrated
? Having a hard time figuring out what clinical grading is like here
? Feels hit or miss as to whether I jive with the students
-24 month pre-clinical
-Sounds like Pass/Fail for the pre-clinical years is based only on a curve by standard deviation so a certain % of the students are guaranteed to fail exams (gives me a bit of worry since this would be my highest ranked school and it feels like it might not be as “stress free” of a pass/fail style in comparison to the other schools that include a hard cut off for passing in addition to using standard deviation to pass more people if the average is low.)
Emory
+Really enjoyed my interview day too
+18-month pre-clinical curriculum
+Family in Atlanta
+Love the clinical exposure at Grady
+Dedicated time to do research for 6 months before applying to residency
+Decently prestigious (#24 USNWR, #19 residency PD, not sure how this truly compares to the others since USNWR ranks this the lowest but residency directors seems to still view it higher than Sinai, in there with Northwestern, and not too far from Pitt)
+I’m really into community involvement and feel like I would be surrounded by like minded people here
+Small groups with faculty physician that is maintained all 4 years so really can get close with core group of classmates
+Exam every 3-4 weeks
+3 half days, 2 full days per week
+Anatomy is integrated
+Mostly take 1 science class at a time / always 1 organ systems class at a time
+Seems like they’re really willing to work with you to see you succeed in their curriculum
+Ease of living (can have a car, easy to get things like groceries, etc.)
+Outdoorsy things are more readily accessible (than New York and Chicago)
? No idea on financial aid at this point but on the expensive end to start
?Clinical grading has many more options (letter grading with +/-’s , but it is NOT on a curve for whatever that’s worth)
-Only 3 or 4 weeks of a summer break after M1 (this I’m sure is how they built in 6 months of research in M3, but I fear that that wouldn’t allow for time to push publications through that would have otherwise been feasible if time was allotted earlier)
Northwestern
+20 month pre-clinical curriculum
+Family in Chicago
+Great number of research opportunities
+Prestigious (#18 USNWR, #16 residency PD)
+Really awesome clinical exposure that starts at the beginning of M1 through “Education-Centered Medical Homes that provides longitudinal exposure to a panel of patients (bonus of meeting older students for the sake of getting their general advice during this too)
+Feel like now is the time of my life to go for a big city vibe
+Also seems dedicated to serving community
+Seems like it is not impossible to achieve honors during M3 (this is anecdotal, if anyone thinks it is different please let me know!)
+1 exam per pre-clinical module with ungraded assessments to see if you’re on track
+3 half days, 2 full days each week
+Colleges/societies so get close with a faculty member and your group
+Take 1 science/systems class at a time
+Integrated anatomy
? Interview day didn’t do that much for me with students coming off as a little intense at times, but I’ve loved the students I’ve interacted with since
-Most expensive COA
Mount Sinai
+18-month pre-clinical curriculum
+Family in New York
+Get to choose when you take exams and quizzes from the comfort of wherever you want
+Very dedicated to serving community / advocacy
+Diverse clinical sites for rotations
+Pretty similar vibes on clinical grading to Northwestern
+Cheapest COA for me
+Faculty seem extremely open to making connections with students
+No ranking, like at all, even clinical years
+Again, really like the big city vibe
?Weekly graded assessments (either exam or quiz) so lower stakes per examination but also possibly more sustained stress
?Hit or miss for me jiving with the students, some kind of seemed intense
-1 half day, 4 full days per week
-Sometimes do take a couple science/organ systems blocks at the same time so have exams/quizzes overlapping on different topics over the same couple days
-Could maybe start to feel “dormy” with everyone living together
-Maybe less opportunities for research and less prestigious in comparison to others? (#20 USNWR, #35 residency PD)
