HMS vs NYU

[aleezard21]

Edit: to all wondering, I ended up choosing NYU, hardest decision of my life and waited until the last second possible to make it. Thanks for all the input!

Hello all, just got off the WL at NYU yesterday and I'm freaking out because I have to make the decision in less than 5 business days, any input is appreciated. A little about me: both are far from home so that's not a factor and no SO to worry about, also I am pretty confident I want to do academic medicine and although I'm pretty open to whatever specialty-wise I'd like to be ready to apply competitively to something like surgery, ENT, IR, or Anesthesia.

Edit: Just wanted to say thanks for all the feedback so far guys, I am really going back and forth--I am somewhat financially privileged as I would not need loans to cover the entire Harvard tuition (and I did get 15,000 in need-based scholarship from them) but I would have to take out minimum 30,000 in loans a year, in addition to payment out of my/my parents pocket to cover the rest, just wanted to clarify.
HMS
Pros:

• Best school in the country, based on revisit literally opens any doors you could be interested in, which I really appreciate since I am so undecided on specialty (girl at revisit switched from OB/GYN to ORTHO in middle of third year and still matched really well into ORTHO)
• Mass Gen Hospital will see some amazing cases, but no guarantees that I will be rotating there
• Loved revisit, met cool people, had lots of fun, know I would be happy there
• 14 months preclerkship, lots of time for research/Step 1 studying/ figuring out specialty after rotations
• Rotation in Radiology specifically
• P/F even in clerkship years except for specialty you apply into (I am still confused about this, but the students said it was great)
• Shelf exams don't really factor into clerkship grades (again not really sure about this but was told this by current medical students, but don't understand it)
• Integrated anatomy into preclinical curriculum
• 250 average on steps since curriculum change

Cons:

• $$$$, COA about $350-375k for 4 years (just sent a petition to financial aid but doubt anything will happen there)
• Mandatory classes at 8am every day (think I would go to class even if lectures recorded though)
• Liked NYC more than boston, but didn't explore boston too much
• All core rotations at same hospital (same patient population)
• Weird vibes on interview day

NYU
Pros

• Free tuition, COA for 4 years about $100-125k
• 18 months preclinical (not as great as 14 months)
• Summer break (would probably use for research or something anyways, seems like they have cool summer opportunities)
• NYC, liked better than boston
• Rotations at variety of hospitals
• Students seemed happy on interview day and like they had lots of free time
• Optional lectures (although I feel like I would still go anyway?)
• Step average ~241

Cons

• Reputation not the same as Harvard, not as many doors open, concerned about reputation within academic medicine community
• Exams every two weeks
• Didn't get the same chance to interact with my future classmates (no revisit) making me really feel like I don't know how I'm gonna fit in (anyone who went to revisit, feedback appreciated) people are worried about gunners?

In summary, I feel like after revisit my heart is with Harvard but logically feel like I should go to NYU, I'm sure I would be happy both places, but its hard to know just how equal they are having not gone to revisit at NYU. Also, I'm just worried I will always regret not going to Harvard and wonder where I would be if I had gone. I really appreciate any feedback/comments about the schools, especially NYU since my interview day was a long time ago!

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[DNC127]

Harvard.

Nobody outside of Upper east coast / medicine knows that NYU is legit.

The rest of your life you could say "harvard trained physician" and everyone knows what that means.

Worth the price IMO

 

[DrRiker]

Nobody outside of Upper east coast / medicine knows that NYU is legit.

You can't be serious.

Stanford doc: "What's a NYU?"

 

[meronebib]

The mystical “door opening” of the top of the top schools is not as abundant as it may seem. An NYU and Harvard med graduate will likely graduate and accomplish the same in life. Only difference for the NYU graduate is they will be 250k richer by the time med school is done. Go to NYU my friend, the Harvard name is great for lay-prestige, but their USNews ranking is very artificially elevated (@efle posted a link about this somewhere).

Also, Harvard’s Step 1 average wasn’t 250. I don’t think a school has ever had an average that high.

 

[deleted915325]

NYU easy

 

[CarpeDiem1993]

Harvard. NYU is fine and all, but does not hold a candle to Harvard.

 

[sunflower1921]

I really don't think one of these schools will be able to land you somewhere that the other wouldn't. Both great options. I caution against choosing Harvard if it's out of ego and wanting the prestige, when you have free tuition at NYU--another great school

Ultimately tho, *follow your heart* Which school is harder to let go of?

 

[efle]

I'd take the quarter million dollars and go to NYU for sure. HMS is unparalleled at matching its people to Harvard residencies, but anywhere else, NYU is going to keep all doors open. Just look at their match list.

And I think this old blog post from chronicidal is what you meant: What would it take for Harvard Med to drop off #1 in USNWR?

 

[efle]

Also, Harvard’s Step 1 average wasn’t 250. I don’t think a school has ever had an average that high.

There's been some crazy averages this year. Hopkins hit 247 and Baylor, WashU and Penn have been similar lately. Everyone is realizing they need to teach themselves to the boards

 

[rball]

Harvard.

Nobody outside of Upper east coast / medicine knows that NYU is legit.

The rest of your life you could say "harvard trained physician" and everyone knows what that means.

Worth the price IMO

Pretty sure this guy/gal is being sarcastic.

OP depends what your priorities are. Both are excellent schools of course. My priority if I were in your shoes would be to make med school and my future career as easy as possible - make it as easy as possible to match into a specialty I want at a program I want, even if my life afterwards isn’t as comfortable in terms of material wealth. Harvard would serve that purpose well, as the med school level its reputation is unparalleled.

That being said I can understand why somebody would want to take the $$. NYu wont hold you back, harvard just makes things easier compared to every other med school in country.

Its really up to you and your priorities in life. Dont let anybody tell you turning down either option would be insane, unless you want to go into primary care (in which case go to nyu to save the $$).

 

[Woe_is_me23]

I’m going to echo what others have said about NYU’s prestige: it seems to me that anyone who will matter in your academic/clinical career will know that you attended a phenomenal school. And truthfully, once you’re onto residency, your residency will matter FAR more in determining your future than your medical school. (And residency directors will know that NYU is very, very, very legit.)

Then again, if you’ve got someone (parents/guardians) willing to pay 350k on your behalf, maybe it really makes no difference financially— then why not go to the H and impress random people for life?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[Espressoshot436]

NYU no question. To put this in perspective, your loans at Harvard would be gaining nearly $1800 PER MONTH in interest. If you have to defer those loans during residency (as most do) it could easily grow to over $500k before you start making serious payments.

NYU will not close any doors, make the smart financial choice.

 

[Woe_is_me23]

NYU no question. To put this in perspective, your loans at Harvard would be gaining nearly $1800 PER MONTH in interest. If you have to defer those loans during residency (as most do) it could easily grow to over $500k before you start making serious payments.

NYU will not close any doors, make the smart financial choice.

We don’t know OP is taking out full loans, they just said what COA is. They may be in a privileged financial position, in which case $$ may not be as huge a concern.

 

[TempuraOreos]

As someone who recently let go of a few Top 5s for NYU, I say go for NYU, as well. I would not pay full price for a Harvard education. Full Stop. That's way too much debt. So that's just what I felt was most financially sound decision.

Also, at least for me, I didnt want to set this precedent for myself of prestige-chasing and constantly trying to do things to get ahead. Med school is already tough and I would rather be somewhere that I felt happy at then the school that was higher ranked or more prestigious. But as Rball said, Harvard education would mostly make a lot of your future easier to establish.

I went to NYU second look and really enjoyed it (even though I was on a few hours of sleep each night). I don't know if this how they always do second look, but this year they had it the weekend the students were finishing a systems block. The preclincial curriculum is designed to give students those free weekends, which is awesome imo. Didn't talk with everyone, but didn't get any Gunner vibes from anyone I did talk to.

Again, the decision is yours. If Harvard comes through with the last minute aid then def take it since you seem to be more drawn to it.

 

[Woe_is_me23]

Also, at least for me, I didnt want to set this precedent for myself of prestige-chasing and constantly trying to do things to get ahead. Med school is already tough and I would rather be somewhere that I felt happy at then the school that was higher ranked or more prestigious.

+1 i really relate to this

 

[DNC127]

You can't be serious.

Stanford doc: "What's a NYU?"

Was sort of sarcastic, however prior to SDN and applying to med school I didn't even know NYU was a school, let alone a good school. From western USA.

 

[Quantal Reasoning]

NYU and it's not close

 

[Goro]

Hello all, just got off the WL at NYU yesterday and I'm freaking out because I have to make the decision in less than 5 business days, any input is appreciated. A little about me: both are far from home so that's not a factor and no SO to worry about, also I am pretty confident I want to do academic medicine and although I'm pretty open to whatever specialty-wise I'd like to be ready to apply competitively to something like surgery, ENT, IR, or Anesthesia.

HMS
Pros:

• Best school in the country, based on revisit literally opens any doors you could be interested in, which I really appreciate since I am so undecided on specialty (girl at revisit switched from OB/GYN to ORTHO in middle of third year and still matched really well into ORTHO)
• Mass Gen Hospital will see some amazing cases, but no guarantees that I will be rotating there
• Loved revisit, met cool people, had lots of fun, know I would be happy there
• 14 months preclerkship, lots of time for research/Step 1 studying/ figuring out specialty after rotations
• Rotation in Radiology specifically
• P/F even in clerkship years except for specialty you apply into (I am still confused about this, but the students said it was great)
• Shelf exams don't really factor into clerkship grades (again not really sure about this but was told this by current medical students, but don't understand it)
• Integrated anatomy into preclinical curriculum
• 250 average on steps since curriculum change

Cons:

• $$$$, COA about $350-375k for 4 years (just sent a petition to financial aid but doubt anything will happen there)
• Mandatory classes at 8am every day (think I would go to class even if lectures recorded though)
• Liked NYC more than boston, but didn't explore boston too much
• All core rotations at same hospital (same patient population)
• Weird vibes on interview day

NYU
Pros

• Free tuition, COA for 4 years about $100-125k
• 18 months preclinical (not as great as 14 months)
• Summer break (would probably use for research or something anyways, seems like they have cool summer opportunities)
• NYC, liked better than boston
• Rotations at variety of hospitals
• Students seemed happy on interview day and like they had lots of free time
• Optional lectures (although I feel like I would still go anyway?)
• Step average ~241

Cons

• Reputation not the same as Harvard, not as many doors open, concerned about reputation within academic medicine community
• Exams every two weeks
• Didn't get the same chance to interact with my future classmates (no revisit) making me really feel like I don't know how I'm gonna fit in (anyone who went to revisit, feedback appreciated) people are worried about gunners?

In summary, I feel like after revisit my heart is with Harvard but logically feel like I should go to NYU, I'm sure I would be happy both places, but its hard to know just how equal they are having not gone to revisit at NYU. Also, I'm just worried I will always regret not going to Harvard and wonder where I would be if I had gone. I really appreciate any feedback/comments about the schools, especially NYU since my interview day was a long time ago!

Free ride trumps everything else.

Which do you like more, baked beans and clam chowder or NY pizza and deli food????

 

[efle]

I want to echo the above posts about layperson prestige or name recognition. It's worthless. What you should care about is how well it does in the field. As an example, growing up in CA, I'd never once heard the name "Washington University in St. Louis" until I was applying for colleges. Yet WashU is a perennial "top 10" medical program that would never hinder you professionally.

NYU has only recently achieved it's current level but I think the match list speaks for itself. People are matching competitive specialties and major academic centers, same as the other top med schools. The idea of taking on those kind of debt payments ($375k + years of interest will be UGLY) just to match similarly would be one of your biggest regrets in life

 

[crimson-cat]

Without knowing more details about goals it's hard to weigh in. Both programs should give you excellent academic training and match very well, with the biggest difference is that HMS has so many top-tier home programs and anecdotally gets a sort of "Harvard boost" when even less than stellar applicants apply out.
I'd say the bigger differences come to what you want to do outside of medicine. Harvard has world leaders in every field, and Boston has an absurd density of healthcare talent and expertise in a very small area. In biotech, research, policy, health entrepreneurship, hospital admin, healthcare delivery, etc... There is really no environment that can equal it, and being an HMS student magically opens up doors to that ecosystem. Whether that is worth upwards of $400k (after interest) is really dependent on if you think you would leverage that during medical school, and how much you'd value having that "H" on your Patagonia. With what you've shared and that you even stayed on the NYU waitlist after HMS admission, NYU sounds like it's probably the better bet.

 

[jessicajonesharvard]

While NYU is a solid T20 program, I would politely ask Harvard to match. I would go to Harvard if the debt difference is less than 150k!

 

[bill2018]

NYU easily. I turned down several top 5’s for the free tuition and didn’t think twice. It’s still a top 10 school (top 3 a few weeks ago lol), and you can match literally anywhere from there.

Also, NYU’s class this year and in future years will be filled with people poached from other top 5 schools, like HMS. The reputation will follow.

NYU is the golden ticket of med school admissions this year: take it

 

[TempuraOreos]

Also, NYU’s class this year and in future years will be filled with people poached from other top 5 schools, like HMS. The reputation will follow.

This. NYU was not messing around this year with yield. So much money being thrown around. Definitely think a lot of Top schools had to respond accordingly with how generous their aid was in order to compete with NYU's offer.

 

[Rebecca1995]

Did you decide? Come to NYU

 

[Pdazzle11]

Harvard is about the only school in the world I would pick over NYU. Don’t underestimate the power of the Harvard name.

 

[meronebib]

Harvard is about the only school in the world I would pick over NYU. Don’t underestimate the power of the Harvard name.

Can you elaborate more on that? What specifically will the Harvard name provide over NYU?

 

[thegrind33]

The mystical “door opening” of the top of the top schools is not as abundant as it may seem. An NYU and Harvard med graduate will likely graduate and accomplish the same in life. Only difference for the NYU graduate is they will be 250k richer by the time med school is done. Go to NYU my friend, the Harvard name is great for lay-prestige, but their USNews ranking is very artificially elevated (@efle posted a link about this somewhere).

Also, Harvard’s Step 1 average wasn’t 250. I don’t think a school has ever had an average that high.

Dell is 249

 

[meronebib]

Dell is 249

For Step 1? I really doubt it. That’s the highest in history for a school, at least on USNews. Highest average I’ve ever seen is 246.

 

[thegrind33]

For Step 1? I really doubt it. That’s the highest in history for a school, at least on USNews. Highest average I’ve ever seen is 246.

I wanna say this was their median, I think their average was 244-46

 

[Moko]

NYU. No doors will be shut. Use the 200k difference to buy yourself a nice shack in NYC or something if you're compelled to spend money. Don't underestimate the impact of having financial freedom.

 

[Kracin]

NYU. No doors will be shut. Use the 200k difference to buy yourself a nice shack SHOEBOX in NYC or something if you're compelled to spend money. Don't underestimate the impact of having financial freedom.

FTFY. Jokes aside though, 200K is a substantial amount.

 

[The REAL Doc McStuffins]

NYU all the way! You can’t beat free tuition. It’s not always about the name of the school... and NYU is a very good school anyway. You’ll be a doctor whichever route you choose.

 

[PB&]

Did OP decide? HMS CTE was yesterday.