Harvard vs. Stanford vs. NYU

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JA #17

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Hi everyone! I’m very grateful for this choice but am still having trouble deciding. Any insight anyone could offer me would be much appreciated, and I want to make sure I’m not being shortsighted!

Harvard

Pros
- Harvard
-Boston
-Great hospitals for rotations/maybe residency
-apparently they “pick up the phone” to get u where u need to go
-P/F clinical if I remember right and people seem like they have time to work on a lot of non-clinical projects like cool research, entrepreneurship, etc

Cons
-Don’t like Boston as much as NYC
-2nd look weekend felt a bit too ivory tower for me
- cost 300k

Stanford

Pros
-Stanford
- amazing location weather and stunning campus, Palo Alto, San Francisco (?)
- tons of amazing research in biotech and opportunity to link up with Silicon Valley if you come up with a good idea and work hard
-also “pick up the phone”
- Berg scholars awesome 6-year program is great for research, mentorship, building computational skills, and would take care of finances basically when you calculate it
- My PI at my undergrad trained several PIs there and collaborated with some of the different program directors for the research I’m interested in, they also respect him a lot from what they told me

Cons
-despite what I’ve heard about getting the 6-year program if you’re serious about the research and productive before you apply, still some uncertainty
-otherwise 300k
- far from home
- 6 years maybe? Not sure if a con tbh given competition for residencies being what it is

NYU

Pros
- excellent location (my favorite of the 3)
- fantastic hospitals for rotations like Tisch and Bellevue
- free tuition
- 3 year curriculum
- direct to residency options or another masters degree paid for

Cons
- great name but it sounds like lots of people hear Harvard or Stanford and automatically that just has a special effect for opening doors?
-more clinical focus than research I’ve heard

overall: I like all 3 so maybe can’t go wrong. Also just FYI in case I’m also considering Yale (40% scholarship), Vandy (75%), Cleveland Clinic (free, 5 years, research intensive), WashU (full tuition), and Hopkins (also like 300k but someone said I should reach out about them matching merit aid? Never heard that before tho…) Anyways thank u for any advice or other perspectives I may want to consider :)

Edit: I’m deferring matriculation for a few years so that factors into how much time I want my program to take

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sounds like NYU would make a lot of sense! free, you like NYC, and its 3 yr curriculum. Either way, congratulations!
 
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Agree on NYU- free and you seem to want to be in nyc!! you will no shortage of opportunity or doors opened there
 
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Is Cleveland Clinic free tuition or free cost of attendance? Why is WashU out of your list if you have full tuition there? It's just as good as all your other options as well.

I agree though that NYU is your best choice amongst the 3 you listed here. Free tuition and save a year of your life from more training.
 
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Is Cleveland Clinic free tuition or free cost of attendance? Why is WashU out of your list if you have full tuition there? It's just as good as all your other options as well.

I agree though that NYU is your best choice amongst the 3 you listed here. Free tuition and save a year of your life from more training.
CCLCM is free tuition! Also I love WashU too. But I was sort of picking a scholarship one to compare to Harvard/Stanford, and I think WashU CCLCM and NYU have similar reputations, but I just happen to prefer NYU out of those 3 based on location and the culture! You make great points however
 
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Feel free to DM me, in essentially the same spot rn and also trying to decide
 
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NYU without a doubt. I chose HMS over free tuition scholarships other top schools, and I have said a lot more about this in other posts, but basically, it was a mistake, and HMS won't open any doors for you that NYU won't. The debt sucks.

Feel free to DM me about this.
 
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I'd go NYU - free tuition, great location, negligible difference of prestige from Harvard at the end of the day for residency qualifications, and 3 year program is gonna be valuable especially when you enter med school after a deferred period imo.
 
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