Which One?

[CaipirinhaQuinho]

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It's still early and no one has heard back from Penn yet, but I'm bored and polls are fun.

Which would you pick: Hopkins, Penn, or Cornell?

 

[Thundrstorm]

Cornell. I didn't even apply to the other 2 since they didn't interest me all that much compared to equally great schools in better locations.

 

[lundysd]

All depends on what PhD program you wanna do and where you wanna be -- Hopkins is probably the best for BME, but Baltimore is of teh suck. Probably Penn, but who knows -- I'm a south/west coast kinda guy anyhow 🙂

 

[Bluntman]

Yea despite how much Baltimore sucks (compared to say NYC), I couldn't pass up Hopkins' bioengineering program if given the choice between the 3. Esp given the complete lack of engineering at Cornell (don't know about Penn...I think they at least have some sort of bme program).

 

[CaipirinhaQuinho]

not sure if bme is the way for me anymore. we'll see.

Addition:

haha, i didn't mean for that to rhyme.

 

[Thundrstorm]

2014. Your sig is depressing me Bluntman.

 

[Bluntman]

2014. Your sig is depressing me Bluntman.

Haha I know...last night I'm like wtf I'm going to be 30 before I start residency. Oh well at least it's comforting that we get to ease into it with preclinical years first, and that we know the NIH won't send us to the gulags to pay them back if we (god forbid 🙄 ) get cold feet before the phd starts.

 

[Thundrstorm]

Haha I know...last night I'm like wtf I'm going to be 30 before I start residency. Oh well at least it's comforting that we get to ease into it with preclinical years first, and that we know the NIH won't send us to the gulags to pay them back if we (god forbid 🙄 ) get cold feet before the phd starts.

In 2014, I'll be 31. My soon-to-be-8-year-old niece will be 16. 😱 Apes will rule Planet Earth! And we'll all fly cars like the Jetsons!

 

[Bluntman]

In 2014, I'll be 31. My soon-to-be-8-year-old niece will be 16. 😱 Apes will rule Planet Earth! And we'll all fly cars like the Jetsons!

lol...aren't we supposed to have a moon base and be on mars by that point too?!

 

[huknows00]

You know what's weird, yesterday I got accepted to HST only and started seriously considering just doing that... but it felt SO weird. I guess I've been thinking about MD/PhD for so long, and when I'm not in that mindset anymore I feel ike something is missing.

Viewing from the "other side", 3-4 years more doesn't really mean that much anymore. I mean, if you're into academic medicine, I don't think there is a better way to go... especially with the credential inflation nowadays... with all the md/phd's walking around if you don't have a PhD you'll always feel inadequate among your peers for the rest of your life.

 

[Shatterstar17]

Hey what do you all think about Yale?? If my dreams come true I'll get to choose between Penn, Columbia, and Yale. I thought Penn's med school was the best, had the best feeling there, and just loved the integrated MSTP program. Columbia is in NY but I'm not sure anymore if I want that. But it sounded like the clinical experience was great. And the science is good, maybe better than Penn? And I totally dug Yale's not grading and their utterly fantastic cell bio..and the students were so great..but it's in New Haven. 🙁 If you asked me right now I'd probably say Penn..I dunno..what do you all think?

 

[huknows00]

Dude I'm thinking about exactly the same dream scenario! I think they all have their appeal and annoyances, but if I were to choose I'd probably go with Yale. How can you pass up on using that anatomy lab???

 

[neoserenity333]

it's that time of year again...
looks like we're having second thoughts about the long road ahead for MD/PhDers?

someone give us a pep talk!

 

[CaipirinhaQuinho]

When I left Yale, I was super psyched about it but now that's kind of worn off. I don't know how well I will perform with that freedom. And then there's New Haven...to be honest there were some parts of New Haven that were worse than bmore 😱 I loved the atmosphere at Columbia, but is the research there really for me? I'll have to check it out on the revisit. Cornell is so inviting because 1.) UES of NYC for $700/mo.!!! 2.) Sloan/Rock. For those reasons it will be a consideration until the end for me. Then there's Hopkins: #2 med school (for whatever that's worth), great research, rich tradition, etc. Can you turn this down? Does anyone turn down Hopkins for anything other than Harvard? The only problem is that I've been here for 5 years already and I think I want to be closer to home. Finally there's Penn. Good location, strong medicine, lots of reserach ops (are they for me?), Philadelphia, etc.

I'm going to be bald from the stress.

But not tonight...tonight I'm going to lose some brain cells. Happy day! Happy Friday! and Happy first day of spring break! (there are some perks of still being in school.)

 

[Vader]

it's that time of year again...
looks like we're having second thoughts about the long road ahead for MD/PhDers?

someone give us a pep talk!

To all applicants: It's normal. Get ready to have 3rd, 4th,... nth thoughts about the MD/PhD road throughout medical, graduate school, residency, postdoc, etc. Despite the ups and downs, as a more senior MD/PhD student I can't think of a whole lot of things I would rather being doing. To actually get paid to discover things, to pursue interesting questions, to realize the clinical potential of your work and to hopefully make a significant contribution to society can be quite a rewarding career pathway.

Good luck!

 

[Mr. Tee]

But not tonight...tonight I'm going to lose some brain cells. Happy day! Happy Friday! and Happy first day of spring break! (there are some perks of still being in school.)

Have fun mi amigo 😎

 

[gutonc]

it's that time of year again...
looks like we're having second thoughts about the long road ahead for MD/PhDers?

someone give us a pep talk!

If it's really what you want to do, you won't even notice how long the road is. You will have doubts, particularly at those classic breakpoints, after Step 1 (assuming that's when your program splits you off) and again, when your classmates match/graduate. I've seen several people (at 3 different institutions) over the years snap at each of those places. Most of them recover and go on to do great stuff but it can be really hard. I personally dealt with it by taking a long vacation and when I came back, I just dove into my research and kind of forgot I'd even been a med student. I think it also helps if you can kind of wean yourself off your med school classmates toward the end of 2nd year and huddle up w/ the other MD/PhDs in the group. It also helped in my case to be in a program that has 19 clinical affiliates for clerkships so that people aren't all floating around all the time.

In the end, at least in my case, I was very happy with my choice and I have no regrets. Sure, I'm 33 now and won't get my first job until I'm nearly 40 but, that's the way it goes. It sure beats the alternative which is being dead...or a lawyer.

BE

 

[dillanger]

CaipirinhaQuinho,

I will hopefully have a very similar choice to yours after we find out about Penn on Tuesday...Cornell, Penn, and Wash U for me. I am also interested in doing BME for the PhD and am a little bummed that Cornell doesn't really have a program like that.

I would say WashU and Hopkins are fairly similar in that they are probably better than the other two reputation wise but are in fairly crappy locations. They also have strong BME programs associated w/ the med school but I think you'll find that the people at both of these med schools are more stressed and not as social (that was my take)

I absolutely loved Cornell when I visited it but NYC is hella expensive to live in...

I liked Penn a lot. In terms of a city I would say philly is not as cool as NYC but much nicer than St.L or Baltimore. Also its close enough to NYC (1.5 hours by train) that you can easily go into the city without having to live there. It is very affordable and has great restaurants...not too shabby for me. The MSTP at Penn is really well integrated and the BME program is def on the way up (new building being built, etc.) Good luck with your choice!

 

[CaipirinhaQuinho]

So I say choose Penn. Good luck!

Thanks man. great post.

I think i've been leaning that way the whole time. The revisits will tell me for sure. Hope to see you there!

-good luck all

 

[LlRed]

Hey,

I just joined and wanted to say I was also most impressed with Hopkins, Penn and Yale. I have already been accepted at Hopkins and will be at the revisit--anyone else?? I did not visit Cornell so I have no insights there...

Speaking of Yale, does anyone know when the decisions there are made other than "the end of march?"

 

[huknows00]

Hey,

I just joined and wanted to say I was also most impressed with Hopkins, Penn and Yale. I have already been accepted at Hopkins and will be at the revisit--anyone else?? I did not visit Cornell so I have no insights there...

Speaking of Yale, does anyone know when the decisions there are made other than "the end of march?"

Congrats on Hopkins, I think Yale's supposed to be March 31st.

 

[CaipirinhaQuinho]

I'm a little surprised at how this poll is turning out. I figured that Cornell and Penn would most likely tie, but I thought Hopkins would be winning by 3 or 4. I had the impression that Hopkins was the pinnacle of biomedical research...or maybe that's what they've been telling me here as a ugrad. What do you all think?

also, LIRed I will be at the revisit.

 

[gaganheim]

If this poll was which place has the best research, Hopkins might be killing. I think a lot of this is tied to stigma (fair or not) towards Baltimore.

 

[Shatterstar17]

I dunno. I just had a really good feeling at Penn 😍 . The program seemed very intelligently designed. The students were very happy. The med school was top-notch. And they just had a buttload of researchers to work with. I liked the feel of Philly. I was surprised going into this season how I just might not want to live in NY, but in a smaller more manageable city (I think being in DC this year has infected me that way 🙁 ). Though I'm definitely going to revisit if I get in and consider it seriously, Yale is a bit scary for me , it being in such a small city. I mean, I'm going to turn 31 (probably) by the time I graduate and I want to be in a place with a good amount of life. Might find a husband, have kids during that time. I don't know how possible that is in New Haven. I'll also revisit Columbia and give it a chance, but I was a bit scared off by how neuro-heavy it was, and I got a strange vibe from the med students (I was probably also biased by the fact that a friend from high school is a MS1 there now and doesn't seem to like it much). Penn's just kind of where I've been imagining myself since I've left. (I've even been on Craigslist looking at apt. ranges!) 😱

 

[ZenAlchemy]

Anyone else having trouble staying cool over imminent decisions at Penn?

Seems like just about everyone, myself included, liked the school a lot. Can't all get in. I'm scared. Good luck, all.

 

[Shatterstar17]

Anyone else having trouble staying cool over imminent decisions at Penn?

Seems like just about everyone, myself included, liked the school a lot. Can't all get in. I'm scared. Good luck, all.

It's probably the only reason I still have my AMCAS ID memorized.

 

[lynnier79]

i cant help much with these decisions, seeing as i didnt apply to any of those 3 last year when i was looking

but i can give a little word about new haven -- since i grew up there. its actually a cool city for its size. certainly cant offer the loads of things that philly and nyc can, but for a smaller city, its got lots of culture, water, outdoor stuff nearby. i loved being so close to the shore as a kid. just a short ride up the highway lands you in madison, old saybrook, etc -- sailing, boating, fishing, you names it.

the city itself? some parts are full of mansions (think westville) and some parts are less than savory, but that is true in every city: nyc, philly, baltimore, etc. you just know where to go and where not to go at different times.

i wouldnt worry about "meeting a husband and having kids" there. its a city full of intelligent young people. and they are not hard to meet. you meet them in new haven just like you would in any other school.

good luck with your decisions, guys -- and dont worry too much -- like colleges, there is probably more than one place where you will be happy.

 

[Booyakasha]

Yeah, I am definitely worried about Penn... It is my top choice as well (I even sent a fairly long letter of intent about a month ago). Although I was told I was in good shape, I don't want to celebrate until it is official. Good luck to everyone (err, I hope everyone had good luck as the letters are probably already floating in the hands of the US postal service!).

 

[LlRed]

I hope everyone got the news they were waiting to hear today. I was just wondering if anyone else noticed that the Penn revisit is the same weekend as the Hopkins revisit

 

[ChyLn]

LIReD: Yeah, I noticed that too. I was intending on going to both, but not quite sure how to work it out. I'm thinking about going to the first day or two of hopkins, and then coming up to Penn for revisit.

 

[CaipirinhaQuinho]

also, LIRed I will be at the revisit.

I will be going to the Penn revisit instead.

 

[dillanger]

I will be going to the Penn revisit instead.

See you guys there! Congrats to those who got in