UCSF vs. NYU vs. Johns Hopkins

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Skarl

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Made my decision thanks all!
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Congrats on your acceptances. I am luckily in your situation as well. UCSF, Hopkins and Penn (not officially yet from Penn). High stats but very non traditional. also I have lived in NY for a good chunk of my life. I decided against Hopkins because my SO just refuses to entertain the thought of living in Baltimore. I was thrilled to get accepted at UCSF as an OOS. Before that, I didn't even entertain the idea of moving to the west coast before the cycle began. However, after my interview at SF, I was so convinced that I would have a good time there. In your situation, if you have all your support system there, it's kind of a no brainer to pick UCSF. I am still a bit anxious and on the fence of UCSF because I am afraid I won't like living in SF after many years in NYC. Well, for you, you already know you like SF!

NYU is a terrific school but I personally don't like the east village that much and it's so so expensive there now, much more so than SF. I don't know whether you heard that during the interview, Dr. Wofsy mentioned that they were almost there for free tuition (they already got 300 million), it will start either this year or next year. So do take that into consideration.

Happy deciding! It's so hard.. to make that decision!
 
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There's no bad choice here... Which makes @mrwup's point especially valid. If your SO is "the one" do what you can to sustain the relationship. But only if they're "the one"
 
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It looks like your real choice will be between UCSF and NYU. Your cons for Hopkins are a perfectly reasonable justification for not considering a school.

It's really up to you to weigh how much you value your relationship with your SO in the upcoming years or potentially more financial security (and the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive or necessarily in competition). I would personally go with NYU because the promise of free tuition is too valuable and would theoretically make for greater financial security later in life. If you can go LDL for 4 years, then you could try to match back to CA (and it seems many from NYU match back to CA). The prestige points you mention are marginal at best and insignificant at worst.
 
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Congrats on your choices. I'd say that the order in which you've listed these programs is very telling of your personal preference...go where you'll best realize your full potential!
 
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When I interviewed, the 300 million definitely wasn't confirmed. Maybe something changed, but there would surely be some kind of press release if they already secured the donation.
 
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UCSF

Easy decision.

Whether SO is "the one" or not, moving away from family or support was the hardest part of med school for all my OOS classmates. If you have a tight knit family moving away is not the move imo.
 
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blurb_123 said:
When I interviewed, the 300 million definitely wasn't confirmed. Maybe something changed, but there would surely be some kind of press release if they already secured the donation.
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I interviewed in Nov. He sounded very sure about it. Secured as legally binding yet? Not so sure. He said press release wouldn’t come out until after April 30. Well, people should read this whatever way they want. At the end of the day, you can take the bet. Either way, it’s a good option. I left the interview knowing for sure that I would get accepted because Dean Wofsy said to me “I hope you can come here” so I also believe his words that UCSF would go tuition free.
 
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mrwup said:
interesting. Hopkins gets 1.8billion and here we all are paying full tuition
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All those top schools have the money to do it. It’s about the stipulation of those funds. You can have 1.8 billion but the fund is clearly earmarked for facilities and etc. Then it can’t go into free tuition. Again it’s about how the school prioritizes their money. Therefore I think UCSF is going that way.
 
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Congratulations on having these awesome choices; I was in a similar situation last year in terms of choices. I think the fact that the most important people and things that matter to you are attached to Cali is telling of where you are already leaning. I would wait to see how the financial situation shakes out because that may sway your decision but right now it looks like UCSF is the move.
 
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I would not count on UCSF going tuition free for the time being. Dean Wofsy mentioned it would be his top priority, but it is not a guarantee, especially in the next 2-4 years. Not sure where this is coming from, would've made headlines already.
 
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If tuition really is going to be free at UCSF at some point, UCSF is the way to go. Your whole family is there, you seem to already like the area.
 
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TheDavidLettermanShow said:
Lol. I understand that you're going to UCSF and you're trying to justify your decision by counteracting any minutiae of evidence that contradicts your decision. (I interviewed there recently as well). However, the STEP 1 score at UCSF is below that of other top tier schools on a yearly basis. That has to say something about the quality of education. I agree that persistence and determination can allow you to overcome that though
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yes, I am going to UCSF, but I also believe that choosing a school based on STEP is completely a wrong approach. I believe I can probably score a 250+ from any medical school, because I think I can score a 250+ without even going to medical school. I self-studied the MCAT after having been out of school for over a decade and did just fine (100% tile), so no I am not justifying why I am going to a school that has a lower STEP, because it has nothing to do with the quality of the school. Just so you know, I turned down Hopkins for UCSF; therefore I really have no reason to justify why I picked a school with a lower STEP other than that I don't think it matters. I also withdrew from NYU pre-II because I found the school to be really sub-par, compared to all the other schools where I had the II's. I am only imparting my opinion here because I had to make the similar decisions.
 
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StanleyYelnats said:
I mean, this user has asserted that Yale called them back after they withdrew to “make sure they really wanted to”, Penn offered them not only an acceptance three months before their decision date, but a 21st century scholarship as well, and says they apparently withdrew from Hopkins 10 minutes after their acceptance due to some weird racially tinged remarks about the city of Baltimore being too dangerous to live in. As well as constantly making disparaging statements about schools like Vanderbilt not being prestigious enough to guarantee a good match. Either this user is Jonny Kim 2.0 and is the best med school applicant in the history of time, or they’re not being honest. It’s just getting old.
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Not that I am that eager to engage you after many exchanges already, but are you practicing evidence based analysis? Because most of your words are exaggeration. I didn’t withdraw from Hopkins 10 mins later lol. I didn’t say anything disparaging about Vanderbilt anywhere. So I don’t know how you came up with those conclusions.

If you care to dig a bit deeper, you will sure find out that I withdrew from Hopkins after I heard back from UCSF. Also I recommended OP take Vandy for free tuition over UCSF if finance is the most important thing. Also you said other schools? I sincerely don’t like NYU and I say it all the time. I will never go there because I withdrew already. And if anyone asks me whether they should go to Hopkins or NYU, I will always say Hopkins. Is that disparaging? I am not so sure.
 
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StanleyYelnats said:
Most schools only focus on retention and recruitment of individual students after they actually accept them, but I’m sure there’s a compelling reason why so many Ivy Leagues have broken all the rules for you. Unless this is all in your head too :thinking:
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You can never engage without attacking someone..
 
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StanleyYelnats said:
As if your original reply wasn’t attacking me before you edited it lol. Anyway, I went and engaged and look, nothing happened and nobody changed their minds. I’ll take my own advice.

for the actual thread, UCSF sems like the best fit as long as it makes financial sense
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I said “in your head” because i never did or said anything you said I did or said. Also you just said “many Ivy League schools broke rules”. Only Penn did that, so there’s your exaggeration... thanks trump.
 
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StanleyYelnats said:
As if your original reply wasn’t attacking me before you edited it lol. Anyway, I went and engaged and look, nothing happened and nobody changed their minds. I’ll take my own advice.

for the actual thread, UCSF seems like the best fit as long as it makes financial sense
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Would you pay 200k at UCSF over free tuition at NYU though? Even if it is a good fit
 
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Just be aware, in reality, there is big income difference (~2x) between mature careers in those surgery specialties vs EM.

Until you have done it, you don’t realize how hard it is to give up Cali weather for relatively speaking, crap NY weather.
 
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Two important changes that complicate my decision:

1. Step 1 will become pass/fail, arguably increasing the importance of medical school prestige
2. NYU recently offered me a full cost of attendance scholarship

I wonder what people's thoughts are with this new information? Also, I will probably notify Hopkins/UCSF about the scholarship. Should I do this before or after initial financial aid packages are determined?
 
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You have no wrong choice, but in your position, I wouldn't pass up going debt-free. The difference in prestige between NYU and the others is not that significant.
 
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Skarl said:
Two important changes that complicate my decision:

1. Step 1 will become pass/fail, arguably increasing the importance of medical school prestige
2. NYU recently offered me a full cost of attendance scholarship

I wonder what people's thoughts are with this new information? Also, I will probably notify Hopkins/UCSF about the scholarship. Should I do this before or after initial financial aid packages are determined?
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You literally can't go wrong with any option even with P/F Step 1. I'd go NYU because cost matters unless the other schools match. But the prestige stuff is the same since they're all top schools
 
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Skarl said:
Two important changes that complicate my decision:

1. Step 1 will become pass/fail, arguably increasing the importance of medical school prestige
2. NYU recently offered me a full cost of attendance scholarship

I wonder what people's thoughts are with this new information? Also, I will probably notify Hopkins/UCSF about the scholarship. Should I do this before or after initial financial aid packages are determined?
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I went through this last year with both schools. I was low income and OOS, but UCSF didn't match the Full CoA from NYU (they were the most expensive of my final choices actually). Hopkins did but that was after I talked to a financial advisor in person during second look. I think it's a good idea to send it to all the schools you're considering.
 
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TempuraOreos said:
I went through this last year with both schools. I was low income and OOS, but UCSF didn't match the Full CoA from NYU (they were the most expensive of my final choices actually). Hopkins did but that was after I talked to a financial advisor in person during second look. I think it's a good idea to send it to all the schools you're considering.
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Thanks for your advice! Did you notify schools of the Full CoA before or after they determined your initial financial aid package?
 
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For me, the draw of living in Manhattan for free in my twenties was a big factor in my decision

Being one of a limited number of students selected for full cost of attendance at NYU is at least as prestigious as attending UCSF or JHU so don’t worry about that

Not to mention NYU has stronger home programs than the others in some of the most competitive fields such as Derm, Plastics, and Ortho

I agree the right move is to try to leverage your offer at NYU for a better financial package at UCSF if that is the place you really want to go, then decide if the extra expense is worth it, but the cost of living expense alone in SF for four years is real money
 
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I would go debt free, but that's just me. I would choose NYU. There's a prestige difference between NYU and the other schools, but Step 1 being P/F is not enough of a reason to pass up on a free medical education at NYU, in my opinion.
 
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Skarl said:
Thanks for your advice! Did you notify schools of the Full CoA before or after they determined your initial financial aid package?
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Before they determined my initial financial aid package.

Once I got an acceptance offer from a school, I would call and/or forward my scholarship letter from NYU to their financial aid office.
 
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benefit_sf said:
now that step 1 is p/f I am going to weigh more heavily reputation And residency director ranking (NYU is quite low compared to the other US news top 10s, not sure why). Given how NYU’s rise is rather recent, I wouldn’t give up a school such as JHU or UCSF who have been consistent T5s for many years
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idk, I think especially after the free tuition announcement, NYU is attracting the same caliber of students as Harvard, JHU, etc. I think it’s just as hard to get into, and filled with people who turned down T5s to attend. PDs likely know that, and therefore I assume NYU students will get the same benefit of the doubt that’ll help T5 students under a P/F system, even if the reputation of the actual medical school itself is a little bit lower.
 
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