Sinai versus NYU versus Columbia (and Cornell while we're at it)

[Scooby Doo]

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Just wondering what everyone's opinion was on the differences between these programs. I was recently accepted to Sinai and I loved it when I was there. I am in the last interview group with NYU and debating whether or not to make the trip all the way from the West Coast to check it out and interview there.

Cornell if you have time too 🙂

Are there any major differences between these schools? I met many people at columbia who turned down sinai to go there and only one guy at sinai who turned down columbia to go to sinai.

I also heard that Sinai is having some problems with debt following the merger with NYU...will this lead to any major problems down the line do you think?

 

[BlackPuma]

NYU and Sinai have both been having HUGE problems with their debt with regards to the merger...I personally think that this merger like the UCSF Stanford will eventually dissolve....so at this point not to go these schools is best! there are also a couple of really "bad scandals" involving the school...

personally, columbia and cornell are so much better! 😀 but don't listen to waht I say, simply look at the ranking, NIH funding and student matching of the other two schools...

 

[Thewonderer]

personally, i would choose Cornell. this is not even a contest. Cornell has the prestige and most importantly, the location. Also, NYU is known to be stingy with grants. People get 4k from them while getting offers of 10k and 25k from schools like Penn and Cornell. Mt. Sinai, I believe, has good financial aid. Columbia...the location sucks.

 

[Scooby Doo]

As of now my top new york choice is Sinai...

Columbia I think is really lecture intensive..am I right here? I really need to go back and look at it...but if I got accepted there I would prolly go back on what I say 🙂

Watcha, how much do you know about the debt stuff?

 

[BlackPuma]

Originally posted by Scooby & Scrappy Doo:
•As of now my top new york choice is Sinai...

Columbia I think is really lecture intensive..am I right here? I really need to go back and look at it...but if I got accepted there I would prolly go back on what I say 🙂

Watcha, how much do you know about the debt stuff?•••


debt? their all private schools therefore they all suck 😀

 

[caffeinegirl]

let's see..from what I can remember about these schools (I applied last year) here it goes

NYU: Great program, especially clinically. Bellevue offers a ton of opportunities for med students. The basic sciences are more lecture based. I really liked this school, and the students there were awesome (others in this forum from NYU reiterate this repeatedly 🙂 )

Mount Sinai: Another great school, and from what I remember, its curriculum was going through some revamping in order to include more "small group" PBL-like stuff. Again, the students were great, and the location was nice too. The hospital is nice too, though I've heard mixed reviews about their clinical experience...

Columbia: Amazing school, a very diverse class (experience-wise too)...though not in a great part of the city. Very lecture based "didactic" education, but has a very good reputation. If you're not used to NYC life, it'll take some adjustment, especially if you're in Washington Heights 😉 A down-side: more expensive than the other schools, though I'm not sure about financial aid

Cornell: Very cool school, with lots of money. They just got ANOTHER $150 mill grant. Good financial aid packages as well. Great students, PBL format for first two years (you get out at noon!!). Lots of research opportunities...and did I mention the brand new facilities (dorm, library, labs, lecture hall)?? Very cushy and nice, and in a good part of town. The housing is also nice too (though small...)

I recommend that you look at all of these schools carefully when you get their decisions back. What you may think is important now may change come March 15th and you're deciding where to go. So do as much research as possible, look over the financial aid packages, and go to their revisit weekends. Meet the students there, and find out what LIFE is like. Because when it comes down to it, what you'll actually LEARN will be the same in all of these schools; it's how you LIVE that'll count more (at least that's how it was for me).

best of luck!
🙂
caffeinatedly yours,
caffeinegirl

 

[Scooby Doo]

Caffeine girl,

Where did you end up getting into and where did you end up going? And Why? 🙂

 

[caffeinegirl]

Hey Scooby
it's such a long story!?! Well, I'm here at Duke,and the main reason was cost of living and financial aid (it was the last place on earth I thought I'd end up to be!!)
As for the NY schools, I was fortunate to be accepted into NYU and Sinai, and waitlisted at Cornell and Columbia. They're all great schools, but I'm happy to be at Duke (for reasons which I've said in other posts).
🙂

 

[mvalento]

all of these are great schools- of course, i'm biased because i go to NYU. but i chose NYU over a higher ranked school because the students were awesome compared to other places i interviewed at, plus i don't give much credence to the rankings. if you check out NYU's match list, it is quite impressive...where you will match is more a function of what you do while in med school, not where you go (there are exceptions, of course). NYU has a great location, as does cornell. i don't know much about sinai because i didn't apply there, but i hear the students are cool. the other two, i didn't apply to those, either.

bud

 

[squeek]

I'm currently a med student at Cornell, and I had a bit different experience interviewing at NYU. At the time, (two years ago), I was rather nonplussed--perhaps it was only the two students who took me around, but they weren't very happy with their program. I didn't dislike what I saw, but the students just didn't seem pleased to be where they where. Also, if I remember correctly, housing is VERY expensive at NYU. Make sure you ask if housing is subsidized--at any NYC school!

In contrast, I loved Cornell when I visited (I'm also from the West Coast, so I feel your pain regarding multiple plane tickets and having no admissions offices work with you to coordinate East Coast interviews!) The student education center is the nicest of any school I visited, class lecture notes are distributed free of charge, all slides are put on the web for access from home, free printing, and the student body is fairly laid back. Also, housing is subsidized, the neighborhood is safe, they let you paint your apartment however you want it, and Central Park is 6 long blocks away. I'm finishing up my second year, and I'm still glad I came here.

I didn't apply to Sinai or Columbia, so I can't really compare, although I've heard quite a number of physicians refer to NYU and Sinai as "2nd tier" schools in comparison to Columbia and Cornell (Granted, they were Cornell docs, so take that with a grain of salt).

A student in my class has a wife at Columbia P&S, and it is much more lecture-based than Cornell. Rumor has it that Columbia does better on USMLE Step I, probably due to the more rigorous lectures. I don't know how they compare with residency matching, although I know Cornell students consistently place very well.

One thing: Cornell financial aid is good only if your parents earn less than $80,000 a year. I think you are required to take out $18,000 a year in loans, regardless of your parents financial status. Any loans over that are determined by parent income, your income, etc. If your parents make more than 80K, you're probably out of luck as far as grants.

So. I hope this helped. I'd be happy to answer any other questions if you have them...

 

[Scooby Doo]

Thanks for all the great input everyone!

As of now, I only have one choice..and that's Sinai. Cornell is not being very nice about working around my schedule right now. I can't afford to fly out there another time for them. I am going to call them up tomorrow or the next day and tell them I need to know by this Friday if I can get a spot for an interview b/c I can't afford flying out there again after NYU. Any suggestions on how to do this without bugging the hell out of them? I am sure they hate me already b/c I have called twice and sent an email as to the exact dates I will be there...grrr...

 

[squeek]

Well, I had to make the extra trip. In med school interviews, the applicant is always the poor
(wo)man out.

Cathy Cabrera is the woman who takes care of scheduling interviews, and she is very nice. However, I don't think she has the ability to bump your application for early review if it hasn't come up yet--which it sounds like is the case. (I got an interview notice in late February, interviewed 3 weeks later, and was accepted the next week).

My advice, having made the extra trip and being very gland I did--it's only going to cost you another $300 or so. It IS a lot, and you might have to beg your parents for frequent flyer miles (I did), but a good med school is not something to put aside for the cost of one ticket. If you get the interview and think you stand a good chance, go for it.

Trust me--$300 will seem like a VERY small amount in two years, when your loans are nearing the $80Ks.

Good luck!

 

[mvalento]

housing at NYU is subsidized. it is as cheap as you can find it in manhatten. i doubt if any of the other NYC manhatten schools are cheaper.

as far as NYU being '2nd tier'...that makes me smile. of course, i am certainly biased. but the reason i decided not to go to a top 10 school was because every student there made a point of obsessing over the ranking (i'm not kidding- EVERY student mentioned it- even when i was a pre-med i didn't care that much). it was pretty funny, and kind of sad. anyway.

the students are the reason to come to NYU.

bud

 

[JJ4]

Actually -- housing is subsidized at Sinai too -- well at least for MSTP students. And it's A LOT better than NYU housing.

 

[JJ4]

In any case, while we're at it -- how would Mayo compare with Sinai and NYU??

 

[rikkitikki]

Sinai does have the best housing first year. NYU has really dorm style housing the first and possibly even later years. i just met some NYU med alum who are so bitter about their housing experience and the University's not putting more effort into it that they refuse to contribute to the school. Also slight correction Cornell has classes until one pm not noon and there is one day a week in the afternoon spent at a preceptorship.(still a great schedule) Housing is dorm style but single rooms with one shared bath for two rooms- not the possibility of soubles and baths on hall as NYU has.

 

[mvalento]

it is true, NYU housing is not great. however, affordable housing is hard to come by in manhatten. all of the students i know that live off campus in my class want to get university housing because of the convenience/cost. 1st years, and most 2nd years, do live in dorm-type housing. there are some better housing options for upperclassmen. there are few people in my class who find it to be a huge burden, and it is nice having everyone close by. of course, i stayed in dorms all 4 years in college so this is nothing new and does not bother me.

bud

 

[humanity111]

I don't know why people get worried about cornell's curriculum, its the same one as used at harvard...

 

[Gigantron]

I don't know why people get worried about cornell's curriculum, its the same one as used at harvard...

About nine years late, brah.

 

[ArcGurren]

HOLY THREAD RESURRECTION, Batman!

 

[GoSpursGo]

Har dee har har 🙄

Thread closed.