Duke vs Cornell (WL)

[futurist99]

Hi friends,

I am very grateful to be accepted at Duke and on the WL at Cornell. I am basically trying to decide whether or not to send a letter of intent to Cornell. I was originally leaning heavily towards sending the LOI to Cornell (mainly because of the location in NYC). However, I am having second thoughts after second look at Duke. I feel like prestige/opportunities/match list wise they are more or less the same, with a slight edge to Duke. COA is basically the same. I think what got me is how easy life is in Durham, and the students appear very happy with the full P/F + tight knit community. Also, I am very outdoorsy and Durham has lots of green space for hiking, running, biking, etc. On the flip side, I love living in NYC and feel like I may regret not doing my twenties in the city even if I am a med student. Given the waitlist is not ranked at Cornell I feel like if I don't send the LOI my chances are not great. I have it all written, but keep going back and forth on what to do.

Duke Pros:

• Slightly more prestigious?
• Pass/Fail Clerkships
• Full year of research (potentially interested in more competitive specialties)
• Low COL
• Beautiful campus, easy living
• Students seem incredibly happy and tight-knit

Duke Cons:

• Non-urban patient population
• Further from home and SO (New England) and no family or friends nearby
• not NYC

Cornell Pros:

• Diverse, urban patient population (if you make an effort to rotate outside of just the UES)
• Closer to family and friends (many friends in NYC, but still long distance with SO)
• Love living in NYC

Cornell Cons:

• Only 6 months research, seems like everyone who goes into competitive specialty does a research year.
• NYC is expensive and as a med student won't have much money
• Internal ranking
• Graded clerkships
• Get the sense it is slightly competitive

I am very torn and would appreciate your thoughts. Am I putting too much weight on P/F at Duke? Are there other things I should be considering here? Thank you!!

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[Mr.Smile12]

IMO, you can succeed at Duke and find your way back to the Northeast. The NC beaches are really lovely during the summers for potential matrimonial celebration sites. (Or family vacations.) Can't beat the golf options.

Duke has plenty of alumni (all schools) in NYC/Tri-State. You'll be fine.

 

[futurist99]

IMO, you can succeed at Duke and find your way back to the Northeast. The NC beaches are really lovely during the summers for potential matrimonial celebration sites. (Or family vacations.) Can't beat the golf options.

Duke has plenty of alumni (all schools) in NYC/Tri-State. You'll be fine.

Thank you for your reply. I agree, I will be fine and honestly very happy at Duke. But am I losing something by going for Cornell if I can get off the WL (understand that is a big if)?

 

[futurist99]

Congrats! I was in a similar boat of comparing Duke to schools in cities (NYC, Chicago, SF, Boston) because I mostly grew up in big cities. Fwiw I was also at Duke 2nd look and I talked to a lot of Duke students from cities. They all absolutely loved the area, with the biggest caveat being that it doesn't have the club scene of a major city. However, I'm also a very outdoorsy person like you and that seems to be the biggest vide of that area (Cornell students also struck me as quite a bit more stressed from my interview day). Duke has the marginal edge in medicine (and likely more available interdisciplinary opportunities) but you're not losing on major opportunities by going to one vs the other. Is money a factor in your decision?

Thank you and congrats to you as well! I take it you decided on one of the city schools? The COA is the same at both schools. Given the COL in NYC I think I would end up in slightly more debt at Cornell, but I don't think it would make a huge difference in the long term.

 

[futurist99]

Thank you and congrats to you as well! I take it you decided on one of the city schools? The COA is the same at both schools. Given the COL in NYC I think I would end up in slightly more debt at Cornell, but I don't think it would make a huge difference in the long term.

And I spent two years doing research in a college town sort of similar to Durham before moving to NYC, so for me it wouldn't necessarily be something new, but still a place I know I would be comfortable in. I also agree that matching back to a big city from Duke is very doable, but I won't be in my mid-twenties at that point anymore haha. How much of an impact do you think Duke's P/F and just general better vibe has on the medical school experience?

 

[MercifulCamper]

If the COA is the same at both places, I don’t see why other than being in a big city that you would wanna be at Cornell. It still is gonna be long distance from your SO at Cornell, although it may be easier to visit from NYC on the weekend but you’ll have weekly exams - so you’re gonna be studying that weekend if you go to Cornell. It seems like a more stressful experience compared to Duke.

 

[futurist99]

If the COA is the same at both places, I don’t see why other than being in a big city that you would wanna be at Cornell. It still is gonna be long distance from your SO at Cornell, although it may be easier to visit from NYC on the weekend but you’ll have weekly exams - so you’re gonna be studying that weekend if you go to Cornell. It seems like a more stressful experience compared to Duke.

Yeah long distance would be a bit easier at Cornell with taking the train vs. flying, but not a huge difference. At Duke it sounds like almost every other weekend you can leave if you really want to so that is a plus, and the long distance will only be for the first two years. For Cornell they still match really well, students seem like they are very close/supportive (although maybe a bit more stressed), but the big draw is living in NYC and training in an urban environment. However, maybe that isn't worth the added stress of Cornell. Do you have any insights as an M1 on importance of location vs. curriculum?

 

[muramasa]

I was also admitted to Duke and WL at Cornell. My dream school was originally Cornell (sent multiple letters of interest, eagerly waited for months), but decided after second look to commit to Duke. I was mentored by a Cornell M4 who told me that the vibe among her classmates was competitive, although this probably varies from year to year. Also told me that Cornell's subsidized housing was not an enjoyable experience, especially first-year Olin Hall. For Duke, everybody seemed so relaxed and I also liked the flexibility of 3rd year. Students can pursue leadership positions as upperclassmen without the stress of rotations, some students go abroad or to different states. Basically Duke won everything for me besides having a super urban location, and I was no longer willing to compromise everything else to be in NYC.

 

[florb2222]

I went to Duke for undergrad... not sure where your SO lives in New England, but something to consider is that if s/he is going to be flying in to visit, the airports in the NYC area are only half the battle when it comes to actually arriving at your location. On the other hand, RDU is an amazing airport with fast security only like an easy 15 min drive from campus! I know your decision is not going to come down to this but wanted to offer my two cents