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private vs public schools

Discussion in 'General Residency Issues' started by vm26, Oct 7, 2002.

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  1. vm26

    vm26 Member
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    Hi everyone
    I'm in the process of applying to NY med schools. I was wondering if going to a private school (NYU, NYMC, Sinai, Einstein, Cornell) over a public one (Downstate, Stonybrook) would give me a significant advantage when applying to competitive residency programs. I guess I am trying to see if there is any practical reason to amassing an extra 40-60K in debt. Thanks in advance for your time and comments.
     
    #1 vm26, Oct 7, 2002
  2. Winged Scapula

    Winged Scapula Cougariffic!
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    If the ONLY difference in your application was attending a higher ranked school, then it might make a difference in a competitive field. However, it rarely comes down to this single factor. More typically, your USMLE scores, LORs, clinical grades, etc make up the bulk of residency selection. Obviously, these factors are up to YOU (ie, you have some control over them) whereas you often don't have the choice of schools or what residency directors think about them.

    Is it worth an extra $40-60K? IMHO, most likely not unless you are comparing say Harvard and Podunk U, or you are leaning toward matching at a highly prestigious program (but in general, the answer is no).

    Best of luck.
     
    #2 Winged Scapula, Oct 8, 2002
  3. OP
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    vm26

    vm26 Member
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    Thanks for your feedback.
     
    #3 vm26, Oct 9, 2002
  4. jargon124

    jargon124 Senior Member
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    I just wanted to chime in on this because I was asking the same question last year. I had the choice of attending several different well-ranked private schools vs. my state school (University of Arizona) which is not even ranked. I chose my state school after speaking with lots of students from various schools and stages with respect to their medical careers. The bottom line that where you go to school (as long as it is a US allopathic school) will have little if any effect on your residency admissions prospects except if you are looking at the very top institutions in ultra-competitive specialties (i.e. Dermatology at MGH). Even with that being said, generally no doors are closed to you - last year a UA student matched Otolaryngology at Hopkins...hope this helps!
     
    #4 jargon124, Oct 10, 2002
  5. ny skindoc

    ny skindoc Senior Member
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    My experience has been that for most US medical graduates the specific med school does not make much difference as far as potential opportunities.However grads of the most prestigious schools have a much better chance at matching at the elite name hospitals and may be favored in the more competitive specialties.But this is true only for a very small number of med schools perhaps the top 15 or so. Among the schools you mention Cornell's name and faculty connections will count come residency time and NYU does very well in getting people into top hospitals in competitive fields.The other schools have very similar quality match lists to each other,all very good ones so I would not worry too much.Pick a place you would be happy in either for educational,geographic or financial reasons.
     
    #5 ny skindoc, Oct 17, 2002
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