Vanderbilt vs. Mount Sinai 2013 version

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Ichiban88

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This has been on my mind so I decided to open up on SDN. Second look is on the same weekend. Too early to decide on anything yet but just wanted to hash this out for current and future applicants. (Also wanted to have the thrill of creating a thread). This comparison has been discussed almost every year but wanted to get fresh input from current students and applicants. Hoping to get input on things I should keep in consideration or at least help other applicants when deciding between these schools.

From the interview day, I liked Vandy much better in terms of overall student body atmosphere and facilities but I've been wanting to try out the city. Also I want to be in a dorm situation rather than housing or at least have choice.
 
No, that's such disappointing news! I really wanted to go to both of these second looks...

Among the acceptances that I currently hold, Vanderbilt and Mt. Sinai are definitely my top choices. However, Vanderbilt offered me a nice scholarship so unless I hear about a great financial aid package from Sinai, I'll prob be going to the Vanderbilt second look.
 
Congrats on the scholarship! I think Sinai also hands out scholarships too. I wonder when they start notifying.
 
I would go with Mt. Sinai because of the following reasons:

1. New York City
2. New York City
3. New York City
.....
534. Sinai has one of the most impressive match lists of all the schools i have interviewed at.


Seriously though, Mt. Sinai is my number one choice and i loved it when i interviewed there. I know absolutely nothing about Vandy although I'm sure its also a great school. If you don't have too much undergrad debt and Mt. Sinai ends up being somewhat financially comparable in price, i would say go for it. Living in NYC for a few years is something everyone should do imo :laugh:
 
I would go with Mt. Sinai because of the following reasons:

1. New York City
2. New York City
3. New York City
.....
534. Sinai has one of the most impressive match lists of all the schools i have interviewed at.


Seriously though, Mt. Sinai is my number one choice and i loved it when i interviewed there. I know absolutely nothing about Vandy although I'm sure its also a great school. If you don't have too much undergrad debt and Mt. Sinai ends up being somewhat financially comparable in price, i would say go for it. Living in NYC for a few years is something everyone should do imo :laugh:

You have obviously not looked at Vandy's match list....and imo Nashville > NY
 
I didn't particularly like the area that Mt Sinai is at. It a lil' too far uptown. Nights are kinda sketch.
 
Nights are not sketch at all. It happens to be very safe (although I wouldn't walk 5 blocks north at night).
 
I think the match lists are pretty equivalent to the point where where one matches is determined by the students' strength given amazing opportunities. I didn't find Sinai's location that sketch although there are such neighborhoods in relatively close proximity which is good for patient diversity. I thought Sinai's location was great although Cornell's location seemed more alluring.
 
I think the match lists are pretty equivalent to the point where where one matches is determined by the students' strength given amazing opportunities. I didn't find Sinai's location that sketch although there are such neighborhoods in relatively close proximity which is good for patient diversity. I thought Sinai's location was great although Cornell's location seemed more alluring.

I am probably strongly biased towards Vandy. You are going to spend the next four years with high stress wherever you go. Choose the place you would feel less miserable.🙂
 
I think the match lists are pretty equivalent to the point where where one matches is determined by the students' strength given amazing opportunities. I didn't find Sinai's location that sketch although there are such neighborhoods in relatively close proximity which is good for patient diversity. I thought Sinai's location was great although Cornell's location seemed more alluring.

I know the feeling dude. I am only waiting on Cornell in March, and if I get in it will be between Vandy and Cornell. I'm almost hoping I don't get in to Cornell or that Vanderbilt gives me a scholarship to have the decision made for me.

I too am a fan of the dorm situation and the general layout of Cornell's campus. Things are tightly knit and I think the students will be too. Some people say it's competitive there, but having walked on to a D1 team and made the varsity squad, I enjoy high pressure competition more than most 😀

Let me know what you end up doing, I'll add you as a SDN friend!
 
I know the feeling dude. I am only waiting on Cornell in March, and if I get in it will be between Vandy and Cornell. I'm almost hoping I don't get in to Cornell or that Vanderbilt gives me a scholarship to have the decision made for me.

I too am a fan of the dorm situation and the general layout of Cornell's campus. Things are tightly knit and I think the students will be too. Some people say it's competitive there, but having walked on to a D1 team and made the varsity squad, I enjoy high pressure competition more than most 😀

Let me know what you end up doing, I'll add you as a SDN friend!
Just added! haha it seems my friend that you can make any school a pressure-cooker if you push yourself hard enough. I liked Cornell a lot too! Your post suggests that you are leaning towards Vandy more than Sinai. What is hooking you?
 
I would like to add a poll to this thread. Anyone know how?
 
Just added! haha it seems my friend that you can make any school a pressure-cooker if you push yourself hard enough. I liked Cornell a lot too! Your post suggests that you are leaning towards Vandy more than Sinai. What is hooking you?

I think I came off as if I got in to Mount Sinai, which I did not in fact do! Between Vandy and Cornell though, which are my top choices, I'm currently leaning to Vandy because they seem to take a more hands on approach with their med students than Cornell. However, I feel like Cornell would be a more ideal learning environment for me, what with the living situation and the tightness of the campus. Though, Vanderbilt is also quite compact, but not as much as Cornell.

I think I would be happy either place, just can't decide which one would maximize my potential with the curriculums and student bodies.
 
Have you seen these threads yet?

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=361416
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=603706
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=10763636#post10763636

They have some info you might find helpful.

Also just wanted to plug Vanderbilt's second look. It's amazing. You won't be disappointed. I don't know anything about Sinai's second look though.
Yea I've seen these threads from past years but I wanted to get a fresh perspective because of a few changes. Mount Sinai's huge research donation (though I don't really know how much/if this affects entering med students so much) and new auditorium. Vanderbilt's new 1 year pre-clinical curriculum. Perhaps we will never know until we attend but input from those more informed than me would help.

Also, I may have to remake this thread with the poll it seems.
 
Yea I've seen these threads from past years but I wanted to get a fresh perspective because of a few changes. Mount Sinai's huge research donation (though I don't really know how much/if this affects entering med students so much) and new auditorium. Vanderbilt's new 1 year pre-clinical curriculum. Perhaps we will never know until we attend but input from those more informed than me would help.

Also, I may have to remake this thread with the poll it seems.

Polls are meaningless in your situation. You're going to have a bunch of random people, whose situation you don't know, vote in the thread on the school they think is the coolest. You're much better off reading the relevant replies here.

I really don't know about either school, but if I had to choose, I'd choose Mount Sinai, based on location alone.

Good luck with the your choice 👍
 
Polls are meaningless in your situation. You're going to have a bunch of random people, whose situation you don't know, vote in the thread on the school they think is the coolest. You're much better off reading the relevant replies here.

I really don't know about either school, but if I had to choose, I'd choose Mount Sinai, based on location alone.

Good luck with the your choice 👍
convinced. I won't do a poll unless others strongly want it.
 
With all these Vandy vs threads I decided to bump this.
 
...yes icahn, yes icahn, yes icahn...

Typical chime-in about academic regional diversification. If you're from the south, go north. If you're from the north, go south. If you're from the west, pick by location (are you a NYC-sorta dog on a surfboard? or do you like the ocean to be kept in its proper place: as far away as possible?)

Personally, I'd go Vandy, because Tots will spay me if I don't.
 
I'm a Sinai MS-2 so my opinions might be biased, but I wanted to put in my $0.02 about this.

When I applied to med school, I didn't even consider Vandy because it's a deal-breaker for me to not be in a large metropolitan area (same rationale why I didn't apply to WashU or Duke). If the city is important to you (or you're from a more rural hometown/college), I recommend you to come to the Sinai revisit since there'll be some partying in the city (if the bar night is held at the same venue as last year - an open roof terrace midtown - you'll love it). It'll give you a nice perspective of what it's like to live in the city (and trust me, given Sinai's chill atmosphere and approach to classes, you'll be doing a fair amount of "exploring" in the city the first two years 😛 especially the first).

Other that, I think the revisit is also just a better venue to get to meet more MS-1s and hear about their experience if you're seriously thinking about attending. I think from my interaction with applicants last year that a lot of people changed their minds at Second Look, which means we're definitely doing something right for our programming and getting applicants to meet the current students.

And for the people talking about the relative positioning of Sinai and Cornell and other NYC schools...I don't mean to be rude but puh-leese. This is New York City!! We can be Midtown in less than 10 minutes at night in a cab, or all the way at the tip of Manhattan in around 30 minutes on the subway at all hours of the night or day. In fact, many people working in Midtown end up living around 96th St. or even East Harlem proper (which is much more "sketch" than the area around Sinai) just to save on rent. There's a plethora of eateries, 24-hour supermarkets, and CVS (lol) anywhere you look. If you're comparing Einstein or Columbia against Cornell/Sinai/NYU, that's fine, but now actually having lived in NYC for 2 years I feel like as long as you're not too far north on Manhattan (south of Columbia undergrad on the West side, south of Sinai on the East side), it's all about the same. Also, I don't mean to harp on the location but one huge draw we have (and my friends at Cornell and NYU envy) is our proximity to Central Park. It's amazing to be able to take a nap on the East Meadow during your lunch break when the weather's nice out in the summer and the fall, and head back to class when it's around :55.

So think about it. I doubt the Sinai second look will tell you more about the curriculum/grading/research than what they have already told you, but come if you want to experience what it's like to be a first year here (I think they do a good job with that at Second Look) and also I hear Dr. Laitman is the featured speaker this year, so you might not want to miss that 😉 (wikipedia him - you'll have more than enough of him as a first year here for Anatomy, but he's an amazing anatomy instructor/speaker, and well deserved).
 
There are definitely interesting things to do in each of Manhattan's neighborhoods, and anyone living in Manhattan should try to explore each and every one of them. From my experience though, the areas in color are typically where people go for activities/nightlife. Columbia and Sinai are pretty much adjacent to subway lines that will take you south in ~15-30 mins depending on subway traffic and where your final destination is (one ride is $2.25 with free bus/subway transfers.) NYU and Cornell are 4 long blocks from the nearest subway station, which will take ~10 mins to walk to. However, NYU is close enough to the action that the difference between taking a cab and the subway for groups of 3-4 people is not much. They are also building a new subway line on 2nd Ave which would be closer to Cornell than the current 6 train, but I think that is still at least a couple years away. Maybe entering students will be able to enjoy it during their 3/4 years.

5ngdUx5.jpg


I suppose Sinai is actually just above the 96th street line located on the map, but I'm too lazy to fix such a small discrepancy.
 
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Thanks guys, this is super informative! The map is awesome. I thought NYU was in Soho but I guess I was wrong and I didn't know there was a place called Hell's kitchen. I thought it was just a tv show.

general question but if you can't make second look for a particular school, what alternative do you have? is there some sort of later event they hold for people who couldn't make it?
 
You were probably thinking of NYU's main campus which is in Greenwich Village.
 
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