Western U vs. NYCOM

[rocbme]

I was lucky enough to get accepted into these two schools. Right now I have been deciding which one is best fit for my physician career for life. Please give constructive options or ideas.

Comparison
1. I lived in Queens NY for the past 13 years (immigrant). While all my friends, sister, and wife are in NY, my parents are in Los Angeles.

2. Populationwise. I feel NY has more people (amount and density), more hospitals and more job opportunities in the future. (I only stayed in LA two months before. I may be wrong).

3. Schoolwise. I didn't have the chance to have the campus tour for Western due to the weather condition on my interview day. So don't know much about the facility and classrooms. But I like the students, faculty and curriculum. NYCOM didn't give me much infor about their curriculum. I know they are constantly changing (BAD). The classrooms and the building are looking good outside but bad inside. NYCOM students didn't give me good impressions during my interview day. The incoming freshmen are like ~125 for Western and ~300 for NYCOM while the schools are the same size. 300 students!!! that's alot, and bad for me. (I know big student population= you get less close friends, more competitive for resources,....etc)

4. Rotation opportunity. NYCOM wins on this aspect. NYCOM has ~15-20 affiliated hospitals for 3rd yr and 4th yr students while Western only has <5 in the California. However, I have to admit that I don't know how good these hospitals are. (Quality vs quantity?). Students build up connections during rotations which will be REALLY significant when applying for the residency.

These are my thoughts. I like NY alot and thinking about practicing in NY after my med school. I feel the first two year education is better if I go to Western but last two year education is better if I go to NYCOM. The compomise I can think of right now is
1. Go to Western for first two years.
2. Spend 1/4 to 1/2 of my rotation in NY hospitals.
3. Residency in NY.

Please let me know if there is anything I should consider that I didn't include in this post when choosing which school to go to. I appreciate if you guys can give me some suggestions, options or thoughts.

Thank you

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[theserbatron]

I was lucky enough to get accepted into these two schools. Right now I have been deciding which one is best fit for my physician career for life. Please give constructive options or ideas.

Comparison
1. I lived in Queens NY for the past 13 years (immigrant). While all my friends, sister, and wife are in NY, my parents are in Los Angeles.

2. Populationwise. I feel NY has more people (amount and density), more hospitals and more job opportunities in the future. (I only stayed in LA two months before. I may be wrong).

3. Schoolwise. I didn't have the chance to have the campus tour for Western due to the weather condition on my interview day. So don't know much about the facility and classrooms. But I like the students, faculty and curriculum. NYCOM didn't give me much infor about their curriculum. I know they are constantly changing (BAD). The classrooms and the building are looking good outside but bad inside. NYCOM students didn't give me good impressions during my interview day. The incoming freshmen are like ~125 for Western and ~300 for NYCOM while the schools are the same size. 300 students!!! that's alot, and bad for me. (I know big student population= you get less close friends, more competitive for resources,....etc)

4. Rotation opportunity. NYCOM wins on this aspect. NYCOM has ~15-20 affiliated hospitals for 3rd yr and 4th yr students while Western only has <5 in the California. However, I have to admit that I don't know how good these hospitals are. (Quality vs quantity?). Students build up connections during rotations which will be REALLY significant when applying for the residency.

These are my thoughts. I like NY alot and thinking about practicing in NY after my med school. I feel the first two year education is better if I go to Western but last two year education is better if I go to NYCOM. The compomise I can think of right now is
1. Go to Western for first two years.
2. Spend 1/4 to 1/2 of my rotation in NY hospitals.
3. Residency in NY.

Please let me know if there is anything I should consider that I didn't include in this post when choosing which school to go to. I appreciate if you guys can give me some suggestions, options or thoughts.

Thank you

the kicker for me was "where do you see yourself spending the next 4-8 years of your life?" NYCOM's match list for 2007 is heavy on the northeast, while Western's 2007 match list is heavier on the west coast. I say 4 years because of school, but potentially 8 if you end up staying in that region for residency.

i grew up in so cal and wanted a change, and i felt NYCOM would be more diverse than Western in terms of student populations, so i'm heading to NYCOM. but good luck with your decision!

 

[DocInProgress]

Isn't the bigger class size an advantage as you can build more network? Plus, there's a higher chance of being a top 10% students at NYCOM. You're bound to run into a bunch of idiots (j/k or am I?) in a school that accepts 300 students. Also, I heard 250 students was the cap for this year, am I wrong?

Personally, I would go to NYCOM. Clinical rotations and board scores are the main factors that will determine your chances at a competitive residency, not your first 2 year grades. Sure, they will matter but not as significantly. Western is a fine school too. If you prefer to live in Cali, then go for it.

Overall, it's really up to you. Good luck wherever you go.

 

[rocbme]

Isn't the bigger class size an advantage as you can build more network? Plus, there's a higher chance of being a top 10% students at NYCOM. You're bound to run into a bunch of idiots (j/k or am I?) in a school that accepts 300 students. Also, I heard 250 students was the cap for this year, am I wrong?

Personally, I would go to NYCOM. Clinical rotations and board scores are the main factors that will determine your chances at a competitive residency, not your first 2 year grades. Sure, they will matter but not as significantly. Western is a fine school too. If you prefer to live in Cali, then go for it.

Overall, it's really up to you. Good luck wherever you go.

Bigger class size means less network for sure. I went to stony Brook for undergrad, which is one hour away from the city. SB study is one of the highest in the NY state school but during the weekend there is almost NO one in the campus. people were from long island or city and they went home usually. Besides that, you only spend two years on the med school campus. it's no long enough for you to know many people. And image this, you are in the group of 5 people vs group of 15 people for 20 min. In which group do you think you well know people more and better? These are just my thoughts.
And during the campus tour, the tour guy told me that there will be around 10 per cadaver. You really have to fight for your chance to get handon experience!!

But do you guys know how good are the affiliated hospitals for both school? And chance for me when I apply rotation in other states?

 

[spazzz]

Bigger class size means less network for sure. I went to stony Brook for undergrad, which is one hour away from the city. SB study is one of the highest in the NY state school but during the weekend there is almost NO one in the campus. people were from long island or city and they went home usually. Besides that, you only spend two years on the med school campus. it's no long enough for you to know many people. And image this, you are in the group of 5 people vs group of 15 people for 20 min. In which group do you think you well know people more and better? These are just my thoughts.
And during the campus tour, the tour guy told me that there will be around 10 per cadaver. You really have to fight for your chance to get handon experience!!

But do you guys know how good are the affiliated hospitals for both school? And chance for me when I apply rotation in other states?

10 per cadaver is ridiculous. Thats the most i've ever heard actually

 

[rocbme]

the kicker for me was "where do you see yourself spending the next 4-8 years of your life?" NYCOM's match list for 2007 is heavy on the northeast, while Western's 2007 match list is heavier on the west coast. I say 4 years because of school, but potentially 8 if you end up staying in that region for residency.

i grew up in so cal and wanted a change, and i felt NYCOM would be more diverse than Western in terms of student populations, so i'm heading to NYCOM. but good luck with your decision!

How is it in so cal? i only went back twice for very short duration. and it was raining during the week of my interview.. ..

Western U located in Pomona. Sorry to say this but it's the worst place in so cal. School is good for sure but not the areas.

And if you can, can you comment on how is the job opportunity compare so cal to NY?

 

[DocInProgress]

Bigger class size means less network for sure. I went to stony Brook for undergrad, which is one hour away from the city. SB study is one of the highest in the NY state school but during the weekend there is almost NO one in the campus. people were from long island or city and they went home usually. Besides that, you only spend two years on the med school campus. it's no long enough for you to know many people. And image this, you are in the group of 5 people vs group of 15 people for 20 min. In which group do you think you well know people more and better?

Depends on how sociable you are. For me, that wouldn't be a problem whether it be 5 or 15 people. The more, the better for me. But I guess some people just prefer a smaller setting.

These are just my thoughts.
And during the campus tour, the tour guy told me that there will be around 10 per cadaver. You really have to fight for your chance to get handon experience!!

No school is perfect. This is one of NYCOM's faults.

But do you guys know how good are the affiliated hospitals for both school? And chance for me when I apply rotation in other states?

NYCOM is known for its affiliated hospitals. Look at their match list for 2007, it's roughly 50/50 allopathic/osteopathic residencies (one of the higher rates for DO schools). I think that says enough in terms of placing into a good residency, don't you think?

Anyways, you seem more satisfied with what Western has to offer. Go where your heart tells you to go - you'll be a good physician either ways as long as you do well.

 

[J1515]

Just wanted to clear up a few things here. I can only comment on NYCOM, don't know much about the other school.

The curriculum is NOT constantly changing. We've had a systems based curriculum for the past 3 years and that is how they plan on keeping things for the foreseeable future. The only thing that does change occasionally is the order in which you learn the systems throughout the year (ie - learning hematology before dermatology or vice versa), but even that for the most part is constant.

There are around 300 students in a class. Somewhere around 40-50 end up taking the problem based curriculum so that leaves you with around 250 students sitting in lecture.

The anatomy labs switch off days during the week with half the class one day, the other half the other day with around 6 students per cadaver cutting at one time if my memory serves me correctly. Also, the lab is open 24 hours a day for you to come in on your own time. Trust me when I tell you that most of your learning will occur when you come in on your own time as cutting through layers of fat is a waste of time in my opinion.

Basically it comes down to where you want to live for 4 years or practice after school. Wherever that location may be, go to that school. Oh, and the whole money issue too lol.

 

[jyland]

Personally, I always thought Western was a little step up from NYCOM. The weather, clinical education, and rotations makes Western a hard school to turn down. Good luck with your decision!

 

[Rogerswife]

As a western first year, I know a little bit about some of the things you are wondering about, though I have absolutely no knowledge about NYCOM, so take it for what it's worth.

Class size: Our class was the biggest yet and has about 220 people. I believe next year's class will be about the same size.

Anatomy lab: We rotated dissecting every other day, with no more than five people per body on any given day, but four is most common.

Location: I would say that basing your decision on the amount of things to do is not a good idea, because quite frankly you will not have enough time to do anything that takes much time except the occasional weekend day (and I do mean occasional). However, having family nearby should be a consideration for you, and will be more important for some people than others. I personally wish that my family was closer (I came from Washington), but I didn't have a choice for DO schools. I haven't seen any member of my family since last August, and I only saw my mom because she flew down here because she happened to have a ticket she needed to use.

Rotations: It is my understanding that unless you are northwest track, you have to do your required rotations in Southern California, which would be all of 3rd year. I could be wrong on this though, and I'll defer to older students on this point. As far as rotation sites around the school, from what I understand they are pretty good rotations and well developed. Fourth year I think you can pretty much go wherever you want, but it depends on the willingness of sites to take you, which will vary from place to place.

As far as residency and job opportunities, Southern California is a very popular place, and it is pretty competitive to get residencies and jobs down here (again, from what I've heard not from personal experience). If you want to work in Southern California, I would HIGHLY recommend going to school down here, for the simple reason of exposure to sites. Feel free to PM me or post more questions about Western as you have them!!

Rogerswife

 

[theserbatron]

How is it in so cal? i only went back twice for very short duration. and it was raining during the week of my interview.. ..

Western U located in Pomona. Sorry to say this but it's the worst place in so cal. School is good for sure but not the areas.

And if you can, can you comment on how is the job opportunity compare so cal to NY?

so cal is generally nice. what can you say? the weather is moderate and it hardly rains, so if you want sunshine, its probably one of the best places to be. there are plenty of things to do when you want/need distractions, LA wouldn't be too far, and there is something for everyone.

that being said, i don't like pomona, but living outside of pomona (closer to LA) can sometimes be a burden with traffic/commute. you'd have to defer to other students, as i dont know the traffic patterns in that particularly area, but it's a safe bet to say that LA and San Diego traffic are horrible. remember, living in pomona for two years is very different than living in santa monica for two years. just remember that when you "dream of southern california"

and as far as job opportunities go, it's very competitive for residencies i'm sure. you'd have to talk to Western students. if you want more info about LA/SD, let me know.

 

[rocbme]

Thank you all for giving these wonderful suggestions and thoughts. I have been thinking about the schools and I am the edge of burning my brain cells.

I have been thinking about why I like NY. The reasons I can think off are, friend (over 10years), my sister, and the feeling of belonging (over 10 years also living in NY). However, there are something else that make me want to go to Western.

I guess I am going to Western this year !!..