I already pmed the OP a reply, but then found this thread. This might help others in this decision-making time, so here it is (from the viewpoint of a Columbia student):
I'm really not familiar with UMDNJ, so I can't really comment at that school. But if you are already very intent on specializing, I would definitely choose Columbia. You do not need all honors (or any where all honors, lol) to specialize. I would say that around 1/3 of our class does specialize (ortho, OMFs, perio, pedo, or endo) and the rest do AEGD/GPR. The % of students who do match into a speciality program is incredibly high at Columbia. One of the residents told me that she's still blown away at how many students apply for specialty programs--at her dental school (Tufts, I think) the class size was twice Columbia's, but she could count on her one hand how many ppl even applied to specialty programs (while at Columbia, there's already 8-9 people applying to OMFS every year, I think). So if you want to specialize, do come to Columbia. If you already know (for SURE) that you just want to be a GP, save your $$ and go to a cheaper school. The average board scores at Columbia is generally around 90 (so basically, 1/2 of the class has gotten the right score to get into specialty programs!).
Another thing to keep in mind is that you are only as good as your competition. Don't ever underestimate the power of being around students who are incredibly driven--it will push you to work even harder! Our class is very tight and we help each other out (share notes, share audiorecording responsibilities, have a transcript) BUT people still study and work like mad. Case in point: I really really wanted to do nothing but sit on my *** for spring break, but ended up doing an externship at a NYC hospital instead. The only reason why I did the externship was because 2/3 of my class is doing one over spring break. I hated my class for peer pressuring me to work harder, but in the end I was very glad b/c I learned A LOT in that week at the hospital. When you're surrounded by people of high caliber, the bar is raised, and you'd be surprised at how high you can jump. I also think another reason why so many ppl specialize is due to peer pressure--the pressure to excel.
Our class is pretty tight. Our pictures used to be available to the public on our class website, but now it's password protected b/c so many of the pics were of us being drunk and inappropriate Overall, I'm very happy with my decision, and I have made incredible friends here within the class. I just wish it wasn't so expensive!
The only downside to the school is that our clinical training is not our forte. The state schools definitely drill their students in the clinics more (they just focus more on clinics than didactics) but that is because they are training their students to be GPs, not specialists. Columbia is training for its students to be specialists, so it is a different mindset in terms of where the focus is. As for the part of the class that doesn't specialize, they all do a 1 year AEGD/GPR, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But it's just frustrating sometimes, when I hear about so-and-so school, whose students are already doing 1231497 procedures, and I still feel SO SLOW working at even the basics. Oh wells, you lose some, you win some.
This is a very important decision in your life, b/c not only is it where you'll spend 4 years of your life, but it can also determine your future outlook. Let me know if you have any more questions!
