SUNY downstate v.s NYU

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Ok so I got accepted to NYU and waitlisted to Downstate. I want everyone's advice on which one is a better school. Which one prepares you better? I know what the rankings are but if you had to choose what would you choose? and why? Assume that tuition is not a problem.

I actually just made this very decision! I ended up choosing Downstate, but I believe that both schools are wonderful schools and that you can't really make a wrong choice if those are your options.

Downstate has a smaller class size. NYU's class size isn't what I would consider big (it's around 50 students) but Downstate's class is really small at 30 students. I like small class sizes and feel that in a 30 person class I will always be getting personal attention.

I feel that Downstate balances its schedule a bit better than NYU. Look at their schedules and curriculums online to see which balance you prefer for yourself. In addition to an overall balance of when you are taking classes, it bothers me a little that anatomy is split up into two sections at NYU (you do lecture in the fall and lab in the spring).

I attended classes at both schools last week (something that I would recommend you do to get the feel of the program) and enjoyed the classes at both. I found the class I went to at NYU to be slightly more interesting, but I didn't see a huge difference in the quality of the teaching (and think the difference in interest might have just been because of the topics being taught the day I went)

The pass rates for the NBCOT for the two schools are both high. I think they are within 6% of each other, which means that it isn't really a big difference.

In the New York City area, the two schools are equally respected. I can't speak for other areas, but I know that in the New York area, at least, there is little to no difference in ability to get a job graduating from Downstate or NYU.

I've spoken to students from both of these schools and they seem equally happy about their education and career prospects. However, one or two students at NYU told me that they would have gone to Downstate if they got in.

Neighborhood-wise, there is no denying that NYU is in a much better neighborhood. It is a cool and fun environment to be in. Downstate's neighborhood is nowhere near as cool or nice. However, it is not as ridiculously dangerous and bad as some would have you believe. I wouldn't hang out there (there is really nothing going on, it's located in a pretty residential area) and I probably wouldn't feel safe walking alone at night, but those are things that you really don't need to do.

Good luck on your decision! And maybe we will be classmates next year.

DiggaDigga thanks for your opinion. I know both Downstate and NYU have a good reputation and also the way the Anatomy classes are split up was odd to me in the beginning but when I asked my NYU guide person she told me that its actually a good thing because it reinforces your knowledge in anatomy your essentially getting a year of anatomy and that for her by the end of the first year she knew it by heart. I did sit in on a class in NYU and enjoyed it but I don't have the opportunity to do that with Downstate because I am not accepted yet. I think the option is only open for accepted students but I could be wrong. I like small class sizes also and to be honest when I went to NYU it seemed larger than 50 students and sometimes they actually are bigger.
So which class did you sit in on NYU?

I sat in on a Pediatrics class at NYU. It was mostly about therapeutic positioning and the reasons behind different postures that children with disabilities have (along with reasons why they were maladaptive postures and ways to help). The class was cool because it involved a lot of us trying different postures and feeling which muscles were used for certain things. It was also interesting because I love pediatrics.

As far as going to classes at Downstate go, it is possible that it is only for accepted students. I got an email awhile back with a list of classes I could go to. However, I am sure that if you emailed them saying that you were waitlisted and are interested in going to a class that they would let you attend one (which might make you look better than others on the waitlist because you'll look more like you care). The process for this is much less structured than NYU. They just gave us a list of classes and told us to email the professors (and we were allowed to go to as many classes as we wanted).

Good luck on getting off the waitlist. Since the deadline for deposits at many of the other schools seem to be this week, there will probably be spots opening up at Downstate (I had sent in my Downstate deposit in February because thats when my deadline was, but was waiting to hear back from other schools before I made my final decision. If I had decided on NYU, it would have been earlier this week and Downstate would just be finding out that they had an extra spot in their class).

Thanks again. So what was your main reason for choosing Downstate? The class size? And the students from NYU that you spoke to they told you they would have went to Downstate for what reason?

Class size is probably the biggest reason.

I didn't talk about money in the post above because you said that it didn't matter to you, and I understand that it can be frustrating when people harp on things that aren't relevant to your case. But money was a factor in my decision. I would have been able to go to NYU (my parents are amazing and would be willing to pay for it), but as a New York resident, it would mean paying about 40k extra a year. While I found NYU to be a great school, I didn't find it to be better than Downstate. When deciding between two schools that I really felt similarly about in quality of education (and are equal in future job prospects), I couldn't justify spending an extra $80,000. Also, if I went to NYU, I would try for the NYC Dept of Ed scholarship (for which I am a really good candidate for) and then be giving 4 years of my life after I graduated to doing OT at a school that they placed me at. I don't know if I want to do school OT and don't want to feel tied down to it.

I am trying for the Board Of Ed Scholarship also. I don't mind working in a school plus the hours are great so you can work something on the side also. I am hoping I get it though because as of now, I am probably going to attend NYU since they did accept me and SUNY downstate is not for sure yet. But what makes you think that you are a good candidate for the Board of Ed scholarship? I am wondering if I am a good candidate as well.

I was a good enough candidate as an OT to be accepted to Tufts, Columbia, Downstate, and NYU. The only school that didn't accept me never got back to me, so I don't know if I should count it as a rejection (what likely happened is that something somewhere got lost in the mail, and since I already had a lot of good choices I didn't follow up on it like I should have). I think this points to me being a strong candidate from the OT side of what they are looking for.

I also think that I have good experience and background for working at schools. I have observed at a clinic that caters to school OT (about 100 hours), so I have experience specifically in the type of OT that they would want me to do. I also have non-OT experience working at a camp for children with special needs (>100 hours). My undergraduate major is Human Development, and I feel like my transcript shows a focus on typical and atypical development of childhood and adolescence. Specifically, I have taken classes where I have volunteered in local schools and created curriculum for children. I also TA a class on the role of play for young children. The letter of recommendation that I would use would be the professor I TA for. She has seen me in education settings and has worked for school systems in the past (not NYC dept of ed) and still runs training programs for early educators. I think she understands what school districts are looking for, and that that would lead to a great letter of rec.

I am not sure if I would get the scholarship, but I think that I have a good chance at it. If I went to NYU, and I got the scholarship, I would not be free to move around or choose my own employment until I turn 29. I do not know if I want to be tied down to a location until then.

" I would not be free to move around or choose my own employment until I turn 29. I do not know if I want to be tied down to a location until then."

What do you mean by this? Is that part of the contract? you can't work another job with that? or are you saying it would be difficult to work another job in addition to working at the school?

I think that it would be difficult to work another job with it. I mean, I would probably pick up something during the summers, but I wouldn't want to work at another job (except maybe 1 or 2 homecare cases) with it.

Oh ok. I see what your saying. Well best of luck to you and thanks again

Kg19