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I'll be starting med school this upcoming Fall, and I'm trying to decide between NYU, Columbia, and Mayo. I have full scholarships at all schools so finance won't be a decision factor thankfully.
I know it's quite early to say, but I'd like to match to NS and was wondering if anyone had thoughts on which med school would best prepare me for the path of an academic neurosurgeon.
Are they all similar in terms of prestige and training level/exposures during clerkships? Or will one particularly be better or open more doors than others due to its prestige or network?
Hope this is not too much of a naive question. Thank you.
They're all excellent. Congrats! I’d say the choice comes down to Columbia vs. Mayo. These are in very different cities which you’ll have to weigh. Either are excellent. Mayo has 3 residency programs so more opportunities to rotate within their system. Columbia medical students like Mayo match well.
It comes down to location and cost of living really.
whenever i see such successful people i become so depressed. i feel i can never compete.
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College of surgeons and surgeons, but in all seriousness go to the one you think you'll be happiest at.
Agree with Focus. Among the many factors, of which prestige is one, find the one that is the best fit for you.
They are all excellent institutions.
To answer your question strictly from a "keep doors open" perspective, Columbia medical students tend to do the best in the match and have a long legacy of sending students into the field/academic neurosurgery.
From the perspective of a program looking purely at medical school pedigree:
Columbia > NYU > Mayo
But doesn’t really matter, all three are great.
Agree with above, all are excellent options and have sufficiently comparable match results (especially recently, meaning the past 10 years or so) that you cannot make a wrong choice. Your lifestyle will be vastly difference between Mayo and the NYC programs though and I think it depends on your personal preference, obviously not as much to do in Rochester but things will be much more convenient and cost of living much lower. All have well-regarded residency programs (most people would say Mayo is the strongest of those, but they are very different in what they offer). For what it's worth the departments ad Columbia and Mayo are very benign in terms of being a med student and approaching people for research opportunities etc. Not to say NYU isn't I just don't know the folks in their department as much.
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Thanks all for the replies. Actually caught me by surprise to hear that I should think about where I’d be happy the most during med school. I’ve been mainly thinking about med school prestige & opportunities due to step1 going p/f and research being important for matching into top NS programs.
If all three are mostly similar (tho I guess most ppl seems to regard columbia and mayo higher than nyu) regarding their perceived prestige/research opportunities/match outcome, I guess I’ll really have to decide based on locations. I’ve never been to NYC or Rochester MN so not even sure where I’d like to live atm.
Btw, does the length of pre-clinical curriculum matter? NYU is starting 1 yr preclinical this year, Columbia is 1.5yr i think, and Mayo is 2 yr.
