Which NY School has the best Location?

[Haybrant]

Could someone familiar with the NY area rank the schools (cornell,columb,sinai,nyu) by best location. I know it's subjective but it's cool; we all watch the same media so are likely to have similar biases; thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[USCTex]

NYU without a doubt...dorm rooms for their med students next to six figure condos in greenwhich?

 

[scootad.]

got news for you buddy, nyu aint in greenwich village. its midtown/kips bay/murray hill

 

[jmv1083]

Could someone familiar with the NY area rank the schools (cornell,columb,sinai,nyu) by best location. I know it's subjective but it's cool; we all watch the same media so are likely to have similar biases; thanks!

My totally subjective rankings:

1. Cornell (Upper East Side, super posh, the "old money" area of NYC, but a little far from Lexington Ave. subway)
2. Mt Sinai (nice location on Central Park between Upper East Side and East Harlem, easy subway access)
3. NYU (midtown on the East River, mostly commercial areas to the west)
4. Columbia (Washington Heights, easy access to A-train)
5. Einstein (Bronx, but one of the nicest parts not including Riverdale, inconvenient access to Manhattan via express bus or bus/subway combo)
6. Downstate (East Flatbush Brooklyn)

Being from New York, I would say that all of these schools have decent locations - on the same level or better than campuses I've seen in New Haven, Baltimore, Philly etc.

Happy Holidays!

 

[USCTex]

got news for you buddy, nyu aint in greenwich village. its midtown/kips bay/murray hill

Isn't NYU, Washingto Sq all the way down like by 4th street...that's way down there isn't it?

I've never actually been to NYU so...I have been up to Columbia...now that place sucks...at least the university's campus.

 

[TheFlash]

Isn't NYU, Washingto Sq all the way down like by 4th street...that's way down there isn't it?

I've never actually been to NYU so...I have been up to Columbia...now that place sucks...at least the university's campus.

neither nyu nor columbia medical schools are near their respective undergrad campuses. nyu is in midtown, columbia is in washington heights.

jmv does a good job of ranking the schools based on location. being right next to central park rocks! i'd have nyu and sinai tied for best location... cornell's is nice, but it's in a sorta residential and dead area of the ues off of york.

 

[uclabruin2003]

got news for you buddy, nyu aint in greenwich village. its midtown/kips bay/murray hill

even tho the NYU med school is in Murray Hill...its a lot better than Harlem/SpaHa/Brooklyn/Valhalla

 

[jmv1083]

neither nyu nor columbia medical schools are near their respective undergrad campuses. nyu is in midtown, columbia is in washington heights.

jmv does a good job of ranking the schools based on location. being right next to central park rocks! i'd have nyu and sinai tied for best location... cornell's is nice, but it's in a sorta residential and dead area of the ues off of york.

Good point about Cornell's location...it's definitely the place that I'd prefer to live if I were older and raising a family, but NYU, Sinai, and even Columbia probably have better access to stuff I'd be interested in as a medical student.

 

[ByrnBabyByrn]

Strictly by location:
1. nyu
2. cornell
3. mssm
4. columbia

 

[gbsnyc]

Could someone familiar with the NY area rank the schools (cornell,columb,sinai,nyu) by best location. I know it's subjective but it's cool; we all watch the same media so are likely to have similar biases; thanks!

As a lifelong NYer, my thoughts on what I know (in no particular order):

SINAI
-Quiet, leafy residential area. Generally very safe.
-Moderate variety of grocery stores, drugstore, restaurants.
-Near East Harlem, which is less safe but going up, and a good place for inexpensive groceries, take-out food, and other stuff.
-To do: Many museums, Central Park. Not much otherwise, but easy access to more exciting areas.
-<5 minute walk to Lexington Avenue subway; <10 minutes by bus to Upper West Side. ~20-30 minutes to most points downtown.

CORNELL
-Quiet, leafy residential area. Very safe.
-Better variety of stores.
-In the middle of a wealthy area: safer, but also fewer inexpensive stores and restaurants.
-To do: East River promenade, small parks. Very boring.
-Not close to subway: travel times variable, ~10-30 minutes walking or by bus (the bus can be VERY slow at times). From there, ~15-20 minutes to most points downtown.

NYU
-Quiet residential area, some offices. Very safe; though compared to Sinai and Cornell, the surrounding neighborhood has a higher population density and isn't as postcard-pretty.
-Better variety of stores and restaurants than Sinai or Cornell. Many inexpensive options available.
-To do: not sure, but probably more than around the other NYC med schools.
-Not close to subway: ~10-20 minutes walking or by city bus (the bus is even slower here) -- but it's very easy to get to midtown or downtown, and NYU offers free bus services.

Don't know much about Downstate, Einstein, or Columbia.

Living in Manhattan is generally preferable. A bad neighborhood in Manhattan will still offer reasonable safety, a variety of basic stores and restaurants within walking distance, reliable public transportation, and the ability to get downtown in <40 minutes (often even less).

 

[Haybrant]

As a lifelong NYer, my thoughts on what I know (in no particular order):

SINAI
-Quiet, leafy residential area. Generally very safe.
-Moderate variety of grocery stores, drugstore, restaurants.
-Near East Harlem, which is less safe but going up, and a good place for inexpensive groceries, take-out food, and other stuff.
-To do: Many museums, Central Park. Not much otherwise, but easy access to more exciting areas.
-<5 minute walk to Lexington Avenue subway; <10 minutes by bus to Upper West Side. ~20-30 minutes to most points downtown.

CORNELL
-Quiet, leafy residential area. Very safe.
-Better variety of stores.
-In the middle of a wealthy area: safer, but also fewer inexpensive stores and restaurants.
-To do: East River promenade, small parks. Very boring.
-Not close to subway: travel times variable, ~10-30 minutes walking or by bus (the bus can be VERY slow at times). From there, ~15-20 minutes to most points downtown.

NYU
-Quiet residential area, some offices. Very safe; though compared to Sinai and Cornell, the surrounding neighborhood has a higher population density and isn't as postcard-pretty.
-Better variety of stores and restaurants than Sinai or Cornell. Many inexpensive options available.
-To do: not sure, but probably more than around the other NYC med schools.
-Not close to subway: ~10-20 minutes walking or by city bus (the bus is even slower here) -- but it's very easy to get to midtown or downtown, and NYU offers free bus services.

Don't know much about Downstate, Einstein, or Columbia.

Living in Manhattan is generally preferable. A bad neighborhood in Manhattan will still offer reasonable safety, a variety of basic stores and restaurants within walking distance, reliable public transportation, and the ability to get downtown in <40 minutes (often even less).

excellent info; thanks! so which school would you say is better if a major motivating factor in going to nyc is to party?

 

[Gollum]

Wow, people think that Mt Sinai is in a nice location? The dorms hear the elevated trains go every time they swing by. MSSM, einstein, columbia and DS are tied for sketchy locations. Weill and NYU have the best location in terms of access to stuff. Probably more towards NYU.

 

[Rendar5]

Einstein isn't a very sketchy neighborhood at all, but if you're only there for a visit, then I can see why anyone would say that. I really wish that the school would spend some money making the immediate neighborhood (at least get that pavement by Jacobi fixed) look as good as all the side streets. although all that money has made the immediate campus look fantastic (can't wait for spring).

That said, in terms of pure location, the 4 Manhattan schools are better than Einstein.

 

[PhotoMD]

I think a factor should definitely be which school's hospital system has more interesting cases. They also have a New York-type caseload, but I bet Columbia has a high proportion of interesting cases and understaffing in the hospitals, which is good for medical students who want more responsibility (like me! 😀 ). Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[Rendar5]

I think a factor should definitely be which school's hospital system has more interesting cases. They also have a New York-type caseload, but I bet Columbia has a high proportion of interesting cases and understaffing in the hospitals, which is good for medical students who want more responsibility (like me! 😀 ). Correct me if I'm wrong.

You're gonna be seeing great cases at all the schools. You want more rare stuff, you'll probably have to look at Manhattan hospitals. You want crazier people, NYU has Bellevue. You want busy ER's with gunshot wounds and the like, go with Einstein or Downstate. But all the schools probably have multiple hospitals in multiple settings that you can go to for all the different experiences.

Just as one example, (I'm sure this is similar to the NYC places I don't attend)I know that Einstein has affiliations with Montefiore, Jacobi, Weiler, Beth Israel (Manhattan), Bronx Psychiatric (where the movie "Sleepers" took place w/ Robert DeNiro and Robin Williams), and LIJ (i think? I forget. there's some new Long Island Hospital we have this year. maybe North shore?)

EDIT: If you're definitely interested in various departments or specialties ahead of time, then definitely check out the hospitals, because for some people, as you said, this will help. Neurology people should definitely heavily consider Columbia. Although, it might be more important for residency to look at the hospital systems.

 

[gbsnyc]

excellent info; thanks! so which school would you say is better if a major motivating factor in going to nyc is to party?

No prob. If you want to party, go NYU. You get to use NYU's free bus service, which goes through Greenwich Village and (I believe) up to the Medical Center -- you'll have to ask. Either way, you can probably get from the campus to most points in party neighborhoods (Greenwich Village, West Village, East Village, SoHo, TriBeCa, Chelsea, etc.) in 20 minutes or less. Some NYU dorms are even in or near Greenwich Village itself and very close to public transportation, tho I don't know if med students generally stay there.

But as I said, any Manhattan school will be no more than ~30 minutes from party neighborhoods.

 

[gbsnyc]

Wow, people think that Mt Sinai is in a nice location? The dorms hear the elevated trains go every time they swing by. MSSM, einstein, columbia and DS are tied for sketchy locations. Weill and NYU have the best location in terms of access to stuff. Probably more towards NYU.

I know the areas around Weill and Sinai very well...these are my experiences.

Sinai's residence halls are close to the elevated trains, but the streets that they are on tend to have little traffic or other activity. And the trains are commuter trains, not subway lines (so they run less frequently).

Moreover, though Sinai is near East Harlem, it's actually mostly in the wealthy Yorkville-Carnegie Hill neighborhood, close to many private schools and WASPy shops.

Now that I think about it, the neighborhood around Weill isn't so bad in terms of accessibility to transportation: you can walk to the subway in 10-15 minutes, and it is a little bit closer downtown than Sinai (5 minutes or so). But the shorter trip to the Lexington Avenue subway (at Sinai) will make a difference in the winter; there's a bus, but it can be slow and not a picnic to wait for. Sinai is also MUCH closer to the West Side subway lines (~5 minutes by bus). And bus service in general is faster the more uptown you go: less traffic and fewer passengers, advantage Sinai.

 

[TheFlash]

Wow, people think that Mt Sinai is in a nice location? The dorms hear the elevated trains go every time they swing by. MSSM, einstein, columbia and DS are tied for sketchy locations. Weill and NYU have the best location in terms of access to stuff. Probably more towards NYU.

i'm very familiar with the sinai neighborhood and i can never hear the trains go by. the neighborhood is quiet as far as traffic goes and carnegie hill (hugging central park) is one of the most wealthy sections of manhattan, even if east harlem is on the other side. it also has the nearest subway access of any manhattan school. if anything, nyu's dorms are prone to more traffic/cab noise than any other school since they're in the bustle of midtown. add to that all the students were complaining about loud drilling and construction last year right next to the dorms beginning at 8 in the morning. weill's neighborhood is really residential, but the view of the river sure is nice.

 

[Arsenic]

i'm very familiar with the sinai neighborhood and i can never hear the trains go by. the neighborhood is quiet as far as traffic goes and carnegie hill (hugging central park) is one of the most wealthy sections of manhattan, even if east harlem is on the other side. it also has the nearest subway access of any manhattan school. if anything, nyu's dorms are prone to more traffic/cab noise than any other school since they're in the bustle of midtown. add to that all the students were complaining about loud drilling and construction last year right next to the dorms beginning at 8 in the morning. weill's neighborhood is really residential, but the view of the river sure is nice.

Sinai is next to Madison Ave and Central Park, awesome location!!!