UMaryland & Einstein

[Carbon inc]

I've been accepted to Maryland, love it, would be completely happy to attend but since I'm a CA resident, tuition will be costly. OOS tuition isn't enough to deter me from going to a great school like this but now I have a new dilemma.

I'm having a hard time deciding if I want to spend more money on air fare to attend my Einstein interview. I've already flown cross country multiple times and it's taking a heavy toll on my finances, especially after having already spent thousands on my applications. I know Einstein is a great school but I'm not sure if I would pick it over Maryland if given the opportunity.

Both of these schools are comparable in reputation and I believe the cost of attendance for both would be roughly equal.

As an OOS'er, would one school be better to attend than another? Is there anything Einstein can offer that Maryland can't? I'm extremely happy with my Maryland acceptance but would it be a mistake to not at least check out Einstein? Also, considering how many applicants Einstein interviews, are the chances of acceptance post-interview slimmer than average? I could really save some money at this point in the year.

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[Hah]

You sound pretty happy about Maryland. Einstein really can't offer you anything that Maryland can't except for location. It's all about that gut feeling and you seem to be content with Maryland. Why waste the money? Take that 200$ the trip would probably cost and go have a few beers with it.

 

[WingedOx]

West Baltimore > Bronx.

 

[Hah]

West Baltimore > Bronx.

Woops ^_^

Didn't mean to imply that bronx was better was just saying thats the only thing Einstein can realistically offer that was different than Maryland

 

[calbears08]

I interviewed at AE and wasn't impressed. The interviewer was 30 min late and rude. Not to mention that the dorms are depressing as can be. I would stick with the University of Maryland.

 

[zebalong]

I'm from CA too, and last year I, like you, was debating whether or not to go to my Einstein interview. I was lucky and got into Case (which i loved and thought was so awesome) on the very first day so I was almost going to cancel.

But I decided to go anyways because i couldn't cancel my plane tickets without a 100 dollar charge and I came and felt right at home- a year later and im here.

Couple points:
1. im sorry whoever thought our housing was depressing but for what you pay (445/month) its golden. that includes utilities, internet, your own huge room and every morning you only need to roll out of bed to go to class and a gym that is right outside your front door.

2. You don't need a car here. in your tuition covers taxi service or shuttle service to every clinical site you have which includes some in lower manhattan (Beth Israel).

3. Tuition is pretty cheap for private, if you go and buy your own health insurance (which i did) its only 40k a year, add to that cheap housing and no car and you'll save a ton of money/year vs other schools. I calculated it out and I saved about 20k/yr coming here. (7k in tuition another 8k in housing/utilities/internet and 5k in not needing to buy a car/pay for gas/pay for a mechanic)

4. For the school itself, its calm, relaxed, no stress, open door policy that I would hope most schools would have. I feel the faculty go out of their way to make sure you understand the material and pass their course. Yes our passing is 65%, test aren't super easy but they aren't tricky- just fair and you are given what you need to be successful. Low class time only about 2 hours of lecture per day with another "activity" either a lab, a clinical site rotation, or a small group activity. So far I've been able to pursue my own interest with our university hospital Montefiore and have been able to attend conferences and events with the school footing the bill.

5. Lastly, the big kicker for me was if you are relatively competitive, you may get a scholarship, I got a pretty decent one but I know there are people who got more.

Good luck with your decision, if you are absolutely dead set like UM is your dream school, then I'd probably say cancel. But if you are open for other things I'd same come and give Einstein a try, you might be suprised like I was. Honestly I'm so happy here and glad I chose einstein, please feel free to pm if you have any other questions or want more info.

One more thing, the class they create here is amazing. I'm a non-trad so I was a bit worried I wouldn't fit in. But honestly everyone here mature, dedicated, and very friendly. The second years are very involved with the first years, when we first arrived they got us all together and took us to their apartments serving drinks/socializing in an event called "around the world", they gave us all the "cheat" sheets for all the first year classes and advice on what books/resources to use, and they serve as peer advisors to the most challenging classes and give you practice practicals in histology and anatomy for everyone. When you're accepted you are given the option of having an "Uncle" albert which is a second year who will mentor you through transitioning to Einstein and to med school. I have one and she rocks - some times we grab dinner, sometimes when classes get rough we have a drink, and when I'm transitioning to new courses we have a "pep" talk about ways to succeed. Every thing she taught me she also learned from her "uncle" albert.. its creates a nice little trickle down effect and it creates such a great atmosphere to learn in.

 

[wanderer]

West Baltimore > Bronx.

AECOM isn't even in the part of the Bronx most people think of as the Bronx.

Anyways I can't say much for the school itself, except that at this point they probably do not take too many students. They accept ~35-40% of the interviewees overall and from January on it's probably lower. There's no way to estimate the actually percentage but it is likely below 30%. I'm not saying you shouldn't go, but definitely something to keep in mind.

 

[zebalong]

AECOM isn't even in the part of the Bronx most people think of as the Bronx.

Anyways I can't say much for the school itself, except that at this point they probably do not take too many students. They accept ~35-40% of the interviewees overall and from January on it's probably lower. There's no way to estimate the actually percentage but it is likely below 30%. I'm not saying you shouldn't go, but definitely something to keep in mind.

Wanderer100 seems correct as of last year, if you look at the previous thread 2009-2010 there is not one person who posted any waitlist movement on SDN.

2 years ago it was a different story though with almost 40% of all interviewees being accepted overall which included lots of waitlist movement.

I know some people here who got late interviews (like march) and still got in. If your application is strong a late interview doesn't hinder you much and won't affect scholarship $ since those applications weren't due for me until May. But if your borderline then perhaps a late interview might hurt. good luck again

 

[Carbon inc]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I'll have a lot to consider.