Torn on how to rank my programs. I'm a mediocre, low tier US MD student, and I'm interested in a competitive fellowship, like Cardio, or Heme/Onc. My top 4 are Dartmouth, Hofstra Northwell (NS/LIJ), Stonybrook, and Mayo FL.
I would prefer to live in a city. I'm brown and on the younger side, so I'd also like it if my class was more diverse and on the younger side as well.
Dartmouth fulfills none of these expectations, but people keep telling me it's the most prestigious program I've gotten an interview from and that I'd be a fool to pass on it.
I'm really trying to convince myself that I could make it through 3 years of residency at Dartmouth, since I've lived in rural areas for my education. People are saying residency is so time consuming that I really won't have the time to notice that I'm living in a rural area. I could potentially drive 2 hours to Boston if I ever got a day off, but I don't know how realistic that is. I'd be a 4 hr drive from home so I could potentially see my family once a month. And in terms of the basic necessities, the area does seem to have nice apartments, grocery stores etc, but it's still basically a village. The lack of brown people also really nags at me.
In terms of the other programs, I'm very confused on what to think of them as well.
Hofstra- Solid urban location, great access to Manhattan, 100% US MD program, large and wealthy hospital system. Only 1.5 hrs from home and I could literally hop on the train to go home. This was my #1 for a LONG time because of the location and the 100% US MD but I'm now questioning this. It seems to have very little rep/prestige? People are saying outside of NYC Hofstra has pretty much no recognition. Now not sure what to think since I'm getting mixed reviews.
Stonybrook- very diverse class, seem to all be on the younger side, location seems solid although not as urban as Hofstra. Really think I'd like working with the people there. 2.5 hrs from home, not a bad drive. But again, seems to not really be prestigious at all. Seems like a run of the mill mid/low-tier academic center.
Mayo Florida- Great location in North Florida but really far from my family in the Northeast. Class size is small, but seems diverse enough. Mayo seems to have a great reputation, and Mayo FL is the #1 hospital in Florida. Very impressive research support. But, they did SOAP 3 people in last year (seems to be an anomaly)? Plus, it is kinda a branch campus of Mayo MN so does that mean it's not as great as the others in my list?
All four programs have in-house fellowships in all subspecialties.
What do you guys think? Please help me out. I'm gridlocked. I want to have a life but I want to have a career too.
I would prefer to live in a city. I'm brown and on the younger side, so I'd also like it if my class was more diverse and on the younger side as well.
Dartmouth fulfills none of these expectations, but people keep telling me it's the most prestigious program I've gotten an interview from and that I'd be a fool to pass on it.
I'm really trying to convince myself that I could make it through 3 years of residency at Dartmouth, since I've lived in rural areas for my education. People are saying residency is so time consuming that I really won't have the time to notice that I'm living in a rural area. I could potentially drive 2 hours to Boston if I ever got a day off, but I don't know how realistic that is. I'd be a 4 hr drive from home so I could potentially see my family once a month. And in terms of the basic necessities, the area does seem to have nice apartments, grocery stores etc, but it's still basically a village. The lack of brown people also really nags at me.
In terms of the other programs, I'm very confused on what to think of them as well.
Hofstra- Solid urban location, great access to Manhattan, 100% US MD program, large and wealthy hospital system. Only 1.5 hrs from home and I could literally hop on the train to go home. This was my #1 for a LONG time because of the location and the 100% US MD but I'm now questioning this. It seems to have very little rep/prestige? People are saying outside of NYC Hofstra has pretty much no recognition. Now not sure what to think since I'm getting mixed reviews.
Stonybrook- very diverse class, seem to all be on the younger side, location seems solid although not as urban as Hofstra. Really think I'd like working with the people there. 2.5 hrs from home, not a bad drive. But again, seems to not really be prestigious at all. Seems like a run of the mill mid/low-tier academic center.
Mayo Florida- Great location in North Florida but really far from my family in the Northeast. Class size is small, but seems diverse enough. Mayo seems to have a great reputation, and Mayo FL is the #1 hospital in Florida. Very impressive research support. But, they did SOAP 3 people in last year (seems to be an anomaly)? Plus, it is kinda a branch campus of Mayo MN so does that mean it's not as great as the others in my list?
All four programs have in-house fellowships in all subspecialties.
What do you guys think? Please help me out. I'm gridlocked. I want to have a life but I want to have a career too.