<p>Hi! I am a second year medical student in Sweden, currently attending Karolinska Institute, Stockholm. I have the possibility to study my third year abroad and I thought of studying in the U.S.</p>
<p>I have several school to choose from. I cant really decide which one of the following schools to choose:</p>
<p>Baylor College of Medicine, Houston
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
University of Iowa
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
UCLA School of Medicine
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine</p>
<p>All of these medical schools are very good, you don’t have to worry about that. You do need to think about the part of the country that you would like to be in, because this is a really big country compared to Sweden. Transportation can be an issue. Most of your time will be spent in classes, but you will have some free time on weekends and during school breaks.</p>
<p>Do you want lots of snow, some snow, no snow? How much money will you have available for your living expenses? Some of these are in areas with higher costs of living. For example: UCLA, no snow (but you can easily get to mountains where there is snow if you want to) but very high cost of living. University of Iowa, plenty of snow but lower cost of living.</p>
<p>If you contact the students who are currently abroad, or some who have been abroad in the past, they will all have recommendations and advice for you. </p>
<p>This is an excellent group of schools and happymomof1 has given you very good advice. Costs of living will differ as will travel options and weather. </p>
<p>Assuming that costs are not a huge concern, as a medical student, you are unlikely to have much free time, so if you want to see New York or be able to travel quickly to cities in the Northeast, such as Boston and Philadelphia, you might want to consider Mount Sinai, which is located in New York City (and it probably has the most flights to Sweden). I would definitely pick Mount Sinai over Albert Einstein, also located in NYC, since Einstein is not quite as highly ranked and is located in the Bronx in a less attractive and accessible area of the city.
UCLA is a great medical school and located in Los Angeles, which generally has good weather and lots of fun things to do. University of Iowa offers a cheaper cost of living, but the transportation options will be more limited and it is not located near most of the cities that tourists want to see in the US. </p>
<p>These schools will all offer excellent and negligibly differing academic experiences for a third year student.</p>
<p>The issue is more one of where you’d like to be geographically. </p>
<p>If you’re interested in being on the East Coast, I’d favor Mount Sinai over Einstein only because of its location on the upper east side of Manhattan over the Bronx - better quality of living/better transportation access to places you’d be interested in in NYC. Easy to travel out of NY by train or plane to lots of other US cities over long weekends, school breaks. </p>
<p>If you’re interested in the West Coast, UCLA is an option, but without a car your mobility might be limited. Public transportation in LA leaves much to be desired. Weather will be great, though. Beaches nearby. Easy plane trips to explore NorCal and the Pacific NW. </p>
<p>Northwestern has a great location and hospital campus in the heart of upscale Chicago and could serve as a good mid US location focal point to explore both coasts or the Rockies. Chicago has a ton of music, art, theater venues to keep you very busy all year without ever traveling. U Minn and Iowa are great schools as well, both probably under-appreciated, but if Northwestern is an option, I’d take these two out of the running with Chicago in the mix. </p>
<p>As far as the south is concerned, Vanderbilt has a great campus and Nashville is a fun, albeit smaller, city. If being in one place a bit more “homey” and less overwhelming appeals to you, this may be a best option. Travel options will be more limited. Would favor Nashville over Houston.</p>