I chose Mountainside for many reasons. One of them being the closeness between everyone in the program. This was immediately perceived on interview day. It really did feel like they were a family and I can say now that this is very much true. It is a small program, where every individual has an opportunity to stand out and where everybody goes by their first names. I wanted a program that saw me both as a resident and person and that invested time on my individual path towards my professional growth. MMC is a place that is evolving every day. It is a program that listens to their residents and changes if necessary to meet these demands. It is a program where wellness is encouraged as well as professional and educational competency. Mountainside is a close-knit community in the beautiful, quaint town Montclair. I also liked this town and the fact that it is only a 30 minute drive from the city.