Mayo!!! vs. Columbia P&S

[thegetupkid]

Frankly, I love both schools. Mayo has their mission and small, intimate class size whereas Columbia has a great location and ridiculously talented and fun student body.


Anybody have any thoughts that separate the two?

I'm worried that, if I go to Mayo, I'll have a harder time getting a competitive residency back in California. (I don't even know if this worry is legitimate...)

Any help is GREATLY appreciated.

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[DoctorDeMan]

Go to Mayo because that's where I'm going...

But seriously, I bet both would be fine for California residencies. Truth be told, that's my goal as well.

Pros to Mayo: Scholarships, Mayo Clinic, P/F, No ranking of students, Rochester is cheap-ish, Travel stipend, Small class size, Selectives and block scheduling

Cons to Mayo: Rochester is small, Doesn't have the "prestige" of Columbia (which is somewhat debatable)

Don't know much about Columbia but NYC is awesome and NYP is a great hospital. That said, it is very expensive to live in NYC and Columbia is less likely to give you the crazy scholarships Mayo gives... plus, Mayo Clinic is almost mythical.

PS-- I am biased

 

[zpiff]

I'd go to Mayo and judging from your use of exclamation points in the title it seems like you should do the same!

Congrats on the great choice!

 

[lrkoehle]

Cons to Mayo: Rochester is small

For me that would be a positive, but then again I want to get away from huge cities.

 

[cast128]

While I am also sort of biases, I would just recommend you go to where you think you will be happiest. You will get a great education at either school so it really comes down to 1. money and 2. how happy you are while in medical school. I personally weight #2 more but I know other people feel very differently. Good luck with your decision! Either way, you are one lucky kid

 

[thegetupkid]

I agree with the happiness deal, but I don't know how I feel about the money one. Should I really choose the cheaper school just because it's cheaper? It's four years of my life ... But, you are right, one school is significantly cheaper... :-/

 

[thegetupkid]

I'd go to Mayo and judging from your use of exclamation points in the title it seems like you should do the same!

Congrats on the great choice!

haha, thanks. I was just copying the Mayo 2009!!! thread

 

[DoctorDeMan]

I agree with the happiness deal, but I don't know how I feel about the money one. Should I really choose the cheaper school just because it's cheaper? It's four years of my life ... But, you are right, one school is significantly cheaper... :-/

If you'd be happier at Columbia, go there! It is four years of your life. I'm just saying, if they are nearly equal in terms of the "happiness factor", go with the cheaper one.

It's not like Mayo is some sub-par school, though, and you'd be limiting yourself based on money. If you went to Mayo, you're still choosing the most selective medical school in the country (accepted/applied) with plenty of opportunities.

 

[PremedIowa]

Either school will be great, but both are drastically different in terms of location. If you would be super unhappy in Rochester vs. NYC, it might not be worth the money that you would save to go to Mayo. If the difference is like $200k, you might want to consider the overall consequences of having to pay down that puppy after med school.

I don't know if worrying about getting a residency in CA (or anywhere else) would be a concern for either school, given the prestige of both places. Pick on factors that you know will make a difference like cost, location, and curriculum.

 

[harate09]

I have mixed feelings about Columbia but I absolutely LOVED LOVED LOVED Mayo. I withdrew from Mayo after I got the ranked e-mail. It was a tough decision but I had to do it since I could not see myself in Rochester for 4 years.

 

[iheartsnow]

I know nothing about Mayo, but I worked at Columbia med for a year (and lived a few blocks from it). I would be very wary of going to Columbia for the "location." Washington Heights... well, frankly, it sucks. And you would be living there (in the towers or something?) as a med student. It is sketchy and dangerous and smelly. Honestly, sometimes I am shocked that I was not mugged or worse walking home late at night. There were a few times where I found myself, heart pounding, running to my apartment and slamming the door behind me. NYC is awesome, but to get to the goods parts, it is kind of a hike from 168th st. And as the economy tanks, the area around the school just gets scarier. It's kind of surprising that P&S doesn't have their med students live near the undergrad (location there is fantastic!). From what I saw interviewing, when the hospital/campus was in that bad an area, students generally ended up with a little bit of a commute. At Columbia, you're right in the middle of it. Just something you might want to consider.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Mayo = Free
Mayo is enormously respected

I personally didn't apply there, but I'm rooting for my best friend to be taken off of waitlist. If you go to Mayo, you do me a favor. If you go to Columbia, you do him one

 

[mweiss]

Frankly, I love both schools. Mayo has their mission and small, intimate class size whereas Columbia has a great location and ridiculously talented and fun student body.


Anybody have any thoughts that separate the two?

I'm worried that, if I go to Mayo, I'll have a harder time getting a competitive residency back in California. (I don't even know if this worry is legitimate...)

Any help is GREATLY appreciated.

It sounds like you have a good read on the two places, and a tough choice ahead of you. I'm not a california residency director, but I doubt there is much difference in P&S vs. Mayo reputation on the west coast.

On the P&S side of things, I'm a little jealous of the class of 2013, myself. In addition to all the things that make this place great for me (amazing class, dedicated faculty, open and supportive administration, clinical faculty that went here, loved it, and want you to love it too, NYP, CHONY, running into the ever adorable Eric Kandel in the gym, the P&S club, free CU courses, Jane--our resident wellness director/sexpert, rugby, BHP, the view from the Millstein bridge, transplants!, bard roof, the hudson, bacchus, the A train, the gin mill--well, I should probably take that one off the list, the Met, the other Met, central park, john stewart, etc. etc. etc...) you ALSO get, a new education center, 6 months protected time for a capstone project, the benefit of thousands of hours of faculty development and student guinea pig work on the new curriculum, AND a better meal plan.

Oh, and about the location. Washington Heights is a safe, middle-class Dominican neighborhood. I'm not sure why a previous poster was uncomfortable living and working around here. Perhaps he/she lived a bit downtown, or east of broadway, where it is theoretically less safe. Some people who are used to being in the majority are a little uncomfortable living in communities where they are the minority. I don't know what his/her reasons were. Granted, you are probably more likely to get mugged if you go to school in NYC than if you go to Rochester, MN, but it's still pretty unlikely here.

 

[thegetupkid]

Thanks for everything people! More posts are still appreciated