UMich vs. NYU

[staff&snake]

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Hi everyone, I’m in the very fortunate but difficult position of choosing between NYU and UMich. I’ve received full tuition scholarship at both schools, so any difference in cost is not a factor. Very torn because I would like to match into internal med and ultimately live on the East Coast, but I think UMich edges out NYU in terms of program and prestige. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

UMich

Pros:

• One year preclinical
• Everyone is super friendly and enthusiastic about the school
• Early and abundant clinical exposure
• Prestige of top-ten med school

Cons:

• Far from family
• Students live in separate housing (which I would think makes it harder to meet up with people, than if everyone lived in one building)
• Large class size (170)
• AA is not the most exciting place to live
• From what I understand, 3rd year is free for students to pursue a project of their choice – with so little structure, I feel like this year could be a bit of a waste of time?
• Not many graduates match into East Coast schools for residency

NYU


Pros:

• Bellevue is awesome
• Housing is in a great area and is pretty affordable
• Smaller class size (120)
• Just invested a ton of money into building new research facilities
• Students seem happy, with NYU sponsoring social events all the time
• Close to family

Cons:

• Not as prestigious as UMich (and rumor has it NYU’s rank will drop over the next few years)
• I didn’t get the impression that it is as academically rigorous as UMich

 

[libertyyne]

NYU if you are absolutely sure you will be interested in IM on the east coast.

 

[Lawpy]

NYU because is close to family and matches well with long-term regional preferences. NYU is in the same level as Michigan.

 

[2017matched]

Can't go wrong with either. If you're sure about IM you might consider doing the 3 year MD at NYU and opting in at end of your first year. It takes a lot of the pressure off of medical school and obviously saves you a year.

Not sure where the ranking rumor comes from--seems like a lot of rampant speculation from the pre-med crowd, who quite frankly cares way too much about bull****. It's true NYU got a bump 3 years ago from a one-time Sandy funding boost, but it's ranking has continued to rise/remained stable in the two years without this funding reflected.

Bellevue is amazing and you will have a lot of autonomy as a medical student, particularly on your medicine rotation.

At the end of the day, I think the only thing that will alter your future is how you perform in medical school, regardless of the school you attend. Neither school will hold you back in any way.

 

[staff&snake]

Thank you very much for your responses. I think I've gotten too caught up in the relative reputations of the schools, and that's having an influence on my decision, which I realize is petty. I'll see what Michigan is like at second look and reevaluate. I appreciate you guys taking the time to answer!

 

[Topper3434]

Would select Michigan. Bigger name. IM at Michigan is top 10, NYU is top 25. Michigan will set you up to match anywhere in the country. No offense to NYU, but Michigan is the better choice in my mind.