Jeff Vs. UMDNJ-NJMS

[anfleisch]

Pretty sure about which school I think I want to go to, but still wouldn't mind hearing input from others. SDN is an invaluable resource and I would be stupid not to use it.

Accepted to UMDNJ NJMS and Jefferson. Price difference is in the ballpark of $12k since NJMS is instate. But price of NJMS has increased substantially the last few years.


My biggest worries about each school:

NJMS- not so hot on the location, questionable reputation and possible lingering political issues, match list.

Jeff- Not really P/F, not much of a diverse patient population, clinical rotations may not be as hands on (not sure about this?).

Thanks for any incites.

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[Oldtimedoc]

As an attending in NJ I have seen students and residents from many of the Tri-State schools. My experience with NJMS students has been the same as all the other schools-the quality of the education depends largely on the student. However the political and reputation issues are behind NJMS. In general NJMS students are fine in their knowledge of basic science and more advanced in their clinical skills. Your can match anywhere as long as you do well on your Step 1 exam and perform well in school(as is true anywhere). The location of the school allows unmatched training opportunities. The difference in cost is significant. I would suggest NJMS.

 

[stormchao]

I suggest Jeff because I'm on the waitlist for NJMS

 

[drimpossible]

I chose a more expensive private school over NJMS.

For me the cost difference was negligible over a lifetime of medical practice. I decided to go where I would be happiest.

One factor that swayed me is that I analyzed the previous 3 years of match lists, seeing what percentage of NJMS students match to 14 "Top" Hospitals (Harvard, Hopkins, UCSF, Columbia Presb, etc.), vs. the other schools I was considering.

The results were staggering. In my analysis, students were approx. three times less likely to match to a top hospital from NJMS, judging from the past few years of match lists. I can't attribute this to anything specifically, but the numbers were too significant to ignore (I think NJMS had a 7%, 8% match rate the past two years, and a 13% match rate this year). The other schools I was looking at had a steady match rate of ~20% each past cycle.

That being said, I really liked NJMS and was sad to give up my acceptance.

Good luck on your decision. You can't make a wrong one at this point!

 

[Oldtimedoc]

I think it is important to understand that physician income is declinining yearly and will continue to decline. The $50k difference would be important to most people. Your match depends most on your Step 1 score and your performance as a student. I would choose a private school over a state scool if you were considering a top 10 school with some inclination to academic medicine. Otherwise I would a solid state school over a private medical school.