Sinai vs. Mayo

[JJ4]

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Sorry folks. I've posted this once and I'm doing it again. I just can't seem to decide. Yes I'm from NY but for some reason I'm toying with the idea that Mayo will be a very unique experience. I'm MD/PhD so cash isn't the issue here. In all honesty I'm not much into clubs and bars so that part of NY doesn't really grab my attention as I've lived in NYC my whole life. I'm most interested in training right now. I think in the end I'll probably want to settle back in NYC due to family and social networks and all that. But for my training years I'm completely torn as to where I should go. Any suggestions you guys have will be cool. Please contribute...thanks!

 

[bebe2]

I have to agree with you on the whole social network thing. If that is important definitely stay in NYC. If you go to Minnesota you will be there for 7-9 years.

Think of your decision in terms of which city would like to spend close to a decade.

I know this doesn't answer questions of school's prestige, training, etc but where you spend that time should also be important

Just my 2cents

 

[mpp]

Cost of living is another factor. Although your school is paid for and you'll receive a stipend, that stipend won't go nearly as far in NYC as it would in Rochester. If you've never lived in a small town, you just might like it. And there is nothing like that forty below wind chill to get you raring to go in the morning (this of course comes from a guy living in Fairbanks, Alaska...)

 

[oldman]

man, i wish i got into mayo.

 

[JJ4]

Hey mpp:

Was that supposed to be enticing?? 😀

 

[dragon kid]

you got to be kidding me! mayo or sinai!? it is an no brainer -- sinai is the choice.

come on, think about it. medical school is about living the next four years at a place where you see yourself at. Personally, after these previous 4 years of pre-med hell, I am not going to deal with 4 more years of that again. also, you will see more medical cases in the big city during your clinical years. do you really care about the rankings of medical schools? no matter where you go, you are going to be a doctor. besides, it is where you do your residency that matters...not where you went for college, not where you went for medical school. I mean, looking back at the medical school application process, where you gone for college does not matter at all...what matters is you - as an applicant.

anyways, the point being, both schools are great medical schools. but it is where you see yourself at and the life style you want to lead.

I would go mount sinai.

gc

 

[bald]

i'd hardly say that where you went to school doesnt matter.

first, reputation does matter. if it didn't, there would be no desire for rankings, we wouldnt talk about them, and people wouldn't consider the fact that one applicant went to university of tiny town zero competition and the other went to harvard. that's just stupid.

second, i think the kind of education you get at upper tier schools is very different than some state schools or "less" reputable schools. I just judge this from my personal experience, and the experiences of my close friends at other schools.

I agree that something like school reputation is not as important as your scores, your essays, and your personality - but to say that it doesnt really matter is strongly overstating the truth.

bald

 

[KDMD]

If you choose Mayo, pack lots of sweaters!
Check out <a href="http://www.weather.com" target="_blank">www.weather.com</a> before you make any decisions 🙂

 

[JJ4]

See...the thing is dragon kid --- I didn't feel really depressed on visiting Mayo. The people were very cool and they had some awesome places to hang out and the school had a jazz band (and I play the drums). In NY, most of the social scene revolves around bars and clubs (at least thats how it is now, and thats cool, but after living here my whole life, the club scene gets very old). Also, in regards to patient diversity, I think Mayo has a larger patient volume than ANY hospital in NYC. NY has A TON of hospitals split up 1/4, 1/4, 1/4, 1/4 between Sinai, NYU, Columbia and Cornell. Just for fun, let's see (just in NYC ALONE --- not including the Queens, Long Island and Jersey affiliates):

1)NYU, 2)Sinai, 3)Bellevue, 4)Presby, 5)Cornell, 6)North General, 7)Lenox Hill, 8)Harlem Hospital, 9)St.Luke's, 10)St.Michael's

Damn!! And students can ONLY rotate thru THEIR hospital affiliates. So volume at any ONE hospital in NYC is not that much. Also of the above mentioned places: NYU, Sinai, Presby, and Cornell are "HANDS-OFF" centers. Whereas Mayo, contrary to popular opinion is very "hands-on."
Also, in regards to patient cases, Mayo is the largest referral center in the country.

I think the main thing drawing me to stay in NY is the fact that my family is here. Other than that, I think Mayo blows many schools outta the water in terms of training and taking a real genuine interest in teaching. Now as for location --- I love NY!! I grew up here and will likely return here (should I go to Mayo). I just felt the bureacracy was very heavy in the NYC schools although (not to be biased) the MSTP students were taken care of VERY WELL as compared with our MD counterparts (again, thats just a feeling...please don't trash me on that).

When I visited Mayo, the dean took me around PERSONALLY to all the buildings and even took me in with him to see a patient he was seeing that had an interesting case of "benign Lou Gehrig's disease." At Sinai, I doubt Arthur Rubenstein is that approachable. I think Sinai students are very happy for the most part -- although in past years they felt like they got jipped on some of the better residency slots due to the bureacracy --- but that's the case at ANY NYC school (although the worst MSTP match this year at Sinai was at Cornell Medical Center -- while almost everyone at Mayo continues to stay at Mayo for residency). I

I really gotta think about everything (particularly my lab interests ) very hard.

With that said. I think Sinai is a fine institution -- I actually turned down NYU,Pitt, and Case for it (MSTP) and the MD prog at Yale. The students are cool and the research is pretty good -- and the collaboration between the other NYC schools is very good (the NYC MSTP students get together bi-annually for meetings and conferences). However, the training at Mayo is not one to just shove off. May God's will be done. 😀

 

[mpp]

I think your last post spells it out. The only reason you are even considering Sinai over Mayo is that your family is near by. This is of course very important but, to me, not quite as important as feeling regretful later in life that you went to the wrong school. You seem to have nothing bad to say about Mayo but have criticisms, albeit minor ones, about Sinai. At Mayo, your family will always be a phone call, short plane flight, or two-day drive away. By the way, my parents, brother, and two nephews live in Manhattan, and I have other brothers and sisters in New England so someone else will be in the same boat with you in regards to family matters.

Go Mayo...like you said you'll be back in NYC later in life. Experience life elsewhere for half-a-dozen years or so...

 

[oldman]

mayo also has facilities in arizona and florida. can you rotate through those areas? if so, then you'll be able to see medicine in 3 entirely different parts of the country as well!

 

[mpp]

Yes, you can do your clerkships at all three sites with support (housing, travel, etc.) from the school. They are also pretty supportive (from what I was told during interviews) of away clerkships for schools that offer them. They also have a popular <a href="http://www.mayo.edu/mms/clerk.htm" target="_blank">visiting clerkships</a> program so that students from other schools can do some rotations at the Mayo clinics.