VCU vs NYMC

[icedlattelover]

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Hi! I need some help choosing between VCU and NYMC. A little bit about me - I'm from California (and went to undergrad in Chicago) so I'm OOS for both schools, interested in a competitive specialty (derm), and hoping to match back in California. I haven't visited either school or the surrounding areas, so if someone can speak on their experience at either school or location, I would be very grateful. Prestige/ranking is pretty important to me, but I also care a LOT about the surrounding area and I prefer big city living". I think what it comes down to is that I've always dreamed of living in NYC and I have lots of friends in the city (I understand that NYMC is in Westchester but the school's proximity to NYC makes me super excited), but I know that VCU is a better ranked school. I guess how much does ranking matter? And is the "quality of education" reflected in this ranking? Both schools would be the approximately the same tuition for me, and I know that they are both P/F. Any insight on student life, classes, faculty, research, etc would be amazing. Thank you 🙂

VCU

Pros
-Higher ranking (tier 2)
-Lower cost of living
-More research opportunities at the school
-Better facilities
-No internal rankings

Cons
-Richmond seems very boring and I don't have any family or friends in the state

NYMC

Pros
-Amazing match list
-Proximity to NYC; Lots of friends in NYC
-Can do rotations in NYC
-Access to research at other NYC schools

Cons
-Lower ranking (tier 3)
-Higher cost of living
-In Westchester (very suburban/boring, hard to get around without a car)
-Larger class size
-Internal rankings into quintiles

 

[syrupedbacon]

I'd personally consider NYMC and VCU in the same tier of school with any prestige difference insignificant. (I.e. with admit.org rankings VCU is 76 and NYMC is 84). With NYMC's match list better aligned to your goals and NYC, I'd say go to NYMC unless there's a significant COA difference.

One downside is that when I visited NYMC, I noticed it was much smaller than I expected (no undergraduates so it's basically a bunch of small graduate schools). Definitely the opposite of big city living, at least on campus.

 

[Iron Man23]

What are the total cost differences? I feel like these schools are pretty similar: it may come down to cost and where you want to live.