Transferring from CUNY to SUNY

[bbyenvious]

I'm currently a sophomore at Hunter College (HC) and decided to apply as a junior transfer to Stony Brook (SB). I was accepted but I'm having doubts about it because I would have to pay approximately $10,000 more whereas in HC, I go for free and get money back for textbooks and such. However, SB has a lot to offer with onsite teaching hospital, campus life, prestigious professors, research opportunities, more choices in classes and is recognized nationally. HC, on the other hand, is also sort of well known but lacks a campus life and since most hospitals around it are not teaching hospitals, its hard to get clinical or shadowing experience but volunteer opportunities are vast. SB is more rigorous and while I am doing pretty good at HC, I'm afraid that the rigor at SB will bring my gpa down. I still like the challenge though. SB prehealth advisors seem more professional and I feel that going to SB will help me grow and gain independence. Some people I've talked to say that I can grow at HC if I wanted to but the school itself seems pretty gloomy where most students go home or to work after classes. Not to mention it takes me a little over an hour each day to commute to school!

Did anyone have a similar situation? Any advice on what I should do? Would going to SB look better on med school apps?

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[infinityavenue]

Personally, I don't think going to SBU v. a CUNY would make much of a difference in terms of academics and med school admissions. SBU is also a suitcase school and I've heard from friends the campus is dead on the weekend. No offense, but being centrally located in Manhattan offers a plethora of opportunities. A lot of my friends are in the Honors College at CUNY and are doing research at Rockefeller, interning in great public health institutions, able to shadow docs, etc. You can't rely on others - make/find your own opportunities.

That being said, if you hate Hunter, I'd advise going somewhere you'd be happier. However, keep in mind the number of premeds at SBU is extreme and I've heard its quite cutthroat.

 

[Konye618]

If you don't have $10,000 then is there really a choice? Stay at Hunter and do exceedingly well since it is so easy. Join some student groups, go to the scholarships office and figure out that scholarships you could apply for to study abroad. Since it is so easy you could probably study abroad in several countries. Actually, you could use the $10,000 to study abroad. Oh and let us not forget that even though you go to Hunter you can take classes at any of the other CUNY institutions...if you complete the appropriate paperwork in time.

Seriously stay at Hunter, save your money.

 

[Thego2guy]

I dare you to find a non-teaching or academic hospital in a 4 mile radius from Hunter. In fact I think NYC, particularly Manhattan is probably the world's most dense academic/research hospital area on Earth. What is next to Hunter? Three blocks to the right, Cornell (one giant), Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (second giant) and Rockefellar. A little lower you have NYU and all of its affiliated hospitals, Langone, Bellvue, etc... Go up, and you have Mt. Sinai. Go up and left, and you have Columbia P&S. Go more north, you have Einstein. Go to Brooklyn, you have Downstate. Go to Queens, you have LIJ NorthShore. Find me one city in this country, in California or wherever, that has this kind of saturation. Stony Brook, is barely a city compared to NYC. Their undergrad is beyond saturated with hard working immigrants who study for 12 hours a day. Why did they go there? It is affordable and very high quality education. That's why. You think there will be any room for you at their hospital? Lol. What is your GPA and BCPM? What extra-curriculars have you done so far?

 

[bbyenvious]

$10,000 is not exactly that big of a problem to me. It's the thought of paying for medical school after that makes me think I should just save it.

My gpa is 3.73 with a BCPM of 3.63. I've joined a club for philanthropy, interned at Langone and had some experience working at a clinic. Most clubs are at hunter aren't very active so it's very hard to find clubs that I'm interested in. Both schools have the same amount of students but Hunter offers half as many seats as Stony offers for their science classes. I've been trying to get into Orgo for the past two semesters with no luck and no overtallies. I guess what I'm really looking for is a change of a college setting where I can learn to be on my own and to get away from the pressures at home since I am living at home and commuting to Hunter everyday. But I'm not sure if transferring is my best option. I understand that there are a lot of opportunities in NYC but its hard to find opportunities because most hospitals want med students and during the summer, most of the positions are taken by ivy league students. At sbu, I can get my volunteer hours and education done without having to travel much and wasting so much time on the train, which I can't stay awake on. lol

 

[Thego2guy]

At the end of the day, you still have a fantastic GPA, and all you should do is try to preserve it or increase. I'm not sure how you would be able to do that with the competition at Stony Brook. Did you make Bing too? I think Bing offers comparable education, with a lot less competition. PM me if you want to have a longer conversation about this. (I do understand your frustration with the 6 train though )

 

[drshoes]

The difficult part of transferring would be having to deal with a new pre-health office where you don't know how the advisers work or what their policy is on committee letters and recommendations. Unless you take a year off, you're going to be applying for the school's committee letter during your junior year, so you have to think about whether you have sufficient recommendations and what the process is like at Stony Brook. I go to Hunter, so I know it can be boring and dull, but there are lots of great opportunities outside Hunter because of its location. If you know people at Stony Brook, ask them how easy it is to get volunteer and shadowing positions and research positions and how the pre-health office works.