Stanford vs Columbia

[FlutteryPetal]

Firstly, as a nontraditional applicant whose had a lot of turns in the road, to be standing here right now feels incredible, and I am so grateful. Now that I'm here making a decision between two amazing schools, I'm having trouble deciding, especially because I feel the two schools are very different, both in excellent ways.

I've yet to hear from financial aid, but knowing how financial aid worked out in college, I feel safe assuming it would be about equivalent for both schools.

Stanford
Pros:
- Dat match list tho. I’m interested in a surgical specialty (likely general) and seeing the past match lists for gen surg and other surgical specialties makes it very enticing
- P/F curriculum, no AOA (!!!)
- The weather!!
- Closer to family (although still across an ocean)
- Kind of excited to drive and be closer to nature

Cons:
- From NYC, it would be a very far move, and it would be far from SO. I would have to learn to drive lol
- I’m pretty interested in research, but ultimately foresee my career having a more clinical focus. I wonder if I would feel out of place at a place like Stanford
- Not as diverse patient population


Columbia
Pros:
- I live close to Columbia already, so I wouldn’t have to move at all. Would live with SO
- A lot of extracurriculars I’m interested in (education, working with children/young adults, working with homeless population)
- NYC has a lot more to offer when it comes to my hobbies (going to watch movies, biking down the river, walking around central park etc.)
- Seems to have more of a focus on clinical skills (though I may be wrong, please correct me if I am!)

Cons:
- Less of a norm to take time off to do research
- Not as consistent/impressive of a match list for surgical specialties


Overall, I feel that if I want to pursue ALL my interests in and out of medical school, Columbia is the way to go, but if I want to focus on medical school and doing well and matching into a competitive specialty, Stanford is the way to go. I keep hearing from students that you should pursue all your interests and still be a whole person outside of medical school, but when I did this in college, I did way took this way too far and ended up with a lower end GPA and had to repair with a post-bacc. Knowing this, should I try to focus on schooling and go with Stanford, or is medical school already so busy that I should go where I have every opportunity I can to enjoy the free time I have? Also, I know NYC well because I live here, but I wonder if I’m underestimating how much Palo Alto/west coast has to offer when it comes to things outside school.

I would appreciate any and all perspectives on how y’all have made your decisions (if you already have) and what thought process went behind it. Thanks in advance everyone!

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[Banco]

You can go into any specialty anywhere you want equally as easily for either of these schools. You're overthinking it. Simply go to the one that you like more. If you have inclinations for being on the west coast vs. east coast for residency, maybe that's one way to decide. Serious SO consideration is another.



Also, your match list con for Columbia is highly misguided to say the least. That's not how that works.

 

[EdgeTrimmer]

I would say go with Columbia given SO. Medical school is stressful and coast to coast relationship is tough. I commuted between NYC and SF for a year and it's very hard. As per residency matching, lot of it is self selection process and I doubt that Stanford gives any advantage over Columbia.

 

[zorcandpals]

dont they call columbia surgions and surgeons?

but given your list of pros and cons columbia probably makes the most sense

 

[deleted1065184]

but if I want to focus on medical school and doing well and matching into a competitive specialty, Stanford is the way to go.

Can you explain what you mean by this? Columbia's match list looks incredible, including in competitive specialties. I can't imagine Stanford would afford you better matching opportunities than Columbia.

 

[crimson-cat]

Stanford is traditionally a 'research school' but all top medical schools it's not uncommon to take time for research. The match lists between the two are more or less equivalent, especially considering the Columbia has a broader list of top-tier home programs than Stanford. I wouldn't read too much into the match lists as they are very hard to evaluate for a premed (and even med students and MDs looking outside of their specialty). Decide what you want to do about your relationship and then choose the city you want to be in

 

[FlutteryPetal]

Thank you so much for all the responses so far!! With regards to my SO, I guess the only reason it's been on the lower end of priorities for me is because my partner has a more flexible job than I do, so chances are that they would join me in a year or so if I moved to CA, and I've been in long distance relationships that were fairly easy, so I feel that this holds weight than it might in other circumstances. That said, a transition is still a transition, so that's not something to ignore either, so I appreciate the good points and feedback.

As per residency matching, lot of it is self selection process and I doubt that Stanford gives any advantage over Columbia.

especially considering the Columbia has a broader list of top-tier home programs than Stanford. I wouldn't read too much into the match lists as they are very hard to evaluate for a premed

These points are very fair and exactly the kind of insights I was looking for! I must admit I was likely shortsighted in comparing the two, and like many have mentioned, it's hard to make broad judgments over two comparable lists.

Can you explain what you mean by this?

I guess what I mean by this, and my only remaining outstanding question, is about the environment and opportunities outside of research offered. For some background, I went to a small high school abroad, which meant I had few opportunities to do cool things, so when I went to college in a city where there were TONS of cool opportunities, I went overboard and overcommitted to a lot of activities which resulted in difficulties with time management and I burned out fast. I know I tend to get overexcited and feel passionately about a lot of different things, but it has worked against me at times and left me overworked and burnt out. I want to avoid this in medical school, and I was wondering if the fact that Stanford is in a pretty quiet suburb might work well for me in that sense. There's enough opportunities for me to pursue that would keep me happy and busy (Cardinal free clinics, plenty of research opportunities), but also not so much that I would overload myself the way I could totally see myself doing in NYC. I know it really comes down to my own time management and priorities, but knowing that I was so bad at it in college, I guess I'm concerned about putting myself in a situation where I could easily burn out and/or be distracted by so many things in NYC.

 

[deleted1069450]

I think the fact that your SO can move is huge. Honestly, I think where you match or your career trajectory after medical school is largely up to you at this point. Neither Stanford nor Columbia would limit you. Would you rather end up on the east coast or the west coast? Maybe getting out of NYC would be nice and you could explore a different part of the country. Or maybe it's more important of you to have settled roots in NYC. I have always gotten the impression that Stanford students are more relaxed, but you should talk to as many students as you can to figure out the different vibes. I also sense that Stanford students tend to go into more unorthodox directions--again, a student would know better.

But overall, congrats on the incredible options and if I were you I would feel very good about your career prospects and really just pick the environment you'd rather spend the next four years in, assuming that finances do end up being equal.

 

[RNARNARNA]

(Disclaimer: I'm leaning SMS myself)

You can match in any specialty at either institution, but keep in mind that there will be a regional/home program bias that you can leverage come residency apps. Ask yourself, would you rather have that boost at programs in NYC or on the West coast?