2014-2015 Stony Brook University Application Thread

BU Medical Sciences
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
EndoAdduct said:
Very wise words. I like the small group learning and early clinical exposure type curriculums. While a lot of schools 'offer' this, I feel like some schools look at this as an added benefit while other schools make it their core focus. I could be wrong since what I know is just based on the school's website description.

On another note, any advice on how to choose 'fit' for a school? I think it's tough to do when you only have 1 or 2 visits before having to make that choice. What would you pay the most attention to during those short visits to determine fit? What factors on interview day do you think most aligned with or best predicted actual experience at the school?

Thanks so much for reading/replying.
Click to expand...

It's definitely tough to adequately judge a school on such little exposure. My advice would be to talk to and observe the students when you're there. Anybody can say whatever they want during an interview/tour etc. But in my experience it's really hard to fake genuine happiness. If people seem happy and, more importantly, if you feel like you would get along socially with them, then that's a good fit. It's more complex than that, obviously, but that was definitely what drew me to Stony Brook, and I'm very happy with my decision. I hope that helps.
 
basketcase0a0 said:
It's definitely tough to adequately judge a school on such little exposure. My advice would be to talk to and observe the students when you're there. Anybody can say whatever they want during an interview/tour etc. But in my experience it's really hard to fake genuine happiness. If people seem happy and, more importantly, if you feel like you would get along socially with them, then that's a good fit. It's more complex than that, obviously, but that was definitely what drew me to Stony Brook, and I'm very happy with my decision. I hope that helps.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much! I'm really excited for Stony and hope to learn more when I visit. Good luck with your studies!
 
sbanon said:
Hey guys, I'm an MS1 and former lurker on SDN. I hope you guys are surviving the application cycle and definitely wish you the best because it's not easy. We just finished our first block at SBU and I feel obligated to share my thoughts. Now I'm sure this might seem shady since this is my first post, but I'll be the first to tell you to please followup on what I say below with other folks. Don't put all your faith into a single opinion.

So, for those who don't know, the current MS1 class is the first to go thru the LEARN curriculum. I'm all for getting into the clinic faster and I knew I'd be a guinea pig to make that happen, but the new curriculum has been highly questionable thus far. The biggest issue - the first block was purely condensed and NOT restructured. We were expected to know the same level of detail in anatomy and biochem, but had instead of finishing before Christmas break, we finished before Thanksgiving.
Click to expand...

After reading this post, I felt obligated to share my thoughts. I am also a first year at SBU Med, and I want to make sure people do not take this person's post too seriously. Yes, the new curriculum has issues, and people are entitled to their opinions, but this post is a perfect demonstration of how people in the current first year are blaming the normal difficulty of medical school on a new curriculum. The new curriculum has encountered some difficulties, mainly condensation without restructuring. This shortening of first block courses though is totally manageable. People are able to have fun and go out even with the new curriculum. People complained all throughout the anatomy course because of how much material we had to learn in such a short amount of time, but it was a damn good course taught by some prominent anatomists. Don't let anyone tell you the curriculum is bad. It has issues, but the administration is working and taking our concerns into consideration in order to improve the courses for next year. The previous post also mentioned that it was too late for the administration to change anything for our class. Our class voiced our concerns and things did change. We got an exam date changed and a whole section of anatomy waived. The professors listen and so does the administration. They did what they could for us and are working to improve for subsequent years. SBU Med experienced some growing pains this year, but things will only improve. If you get the opportunity to interview and visit Stony Brook, talk to current students, and you'll see how happy people truly are. Best of luck to everyone with the application process
 
sbmedanon said:
After reading this post, I felt obligated to share my thoughts. I am also a first year at SBU Med, and I want to make sure people do not take this person's post too seriously. Yes, the new curriculum has issues, and people are entitled to their opinions, but this post is a perfect demonstration of how people in the current first year are blaming the normal difficulty of medical school on a new curriculum. The new curriculum has encountered some difficulties, mainly condensation without restructuring. This shortening of first block courses though is totally manageable. People are able to have fun and go out even with the new curriculum. People complained all throughout the anatomy course because of how much material we had to learn in such a short amount of time, but it was a damn good course taught by some prominent anatomists. Don't let anyone tell you the curriculum is bad. It has issues, but the administration is working and taking our concerns into consideration in order to improve the courses for next year. The previous post also mentioned that it was too late for the administration to change anything for our class. Our class voiced our concerns and things did change. We got an exam date changed and a whole section of anatomy waived. The professors listen and so does the administration. They did what they could for us and are working to improve for subsequent years. SBU Med experienced some growing pains this year, but things will only improve. If you get the opportunity to interview and visit Stony Brook, talk to current students, and you'll see how happy people truly are. Best of luck to everyone with the application process
Click to expand...
I tend to agree with you. I have a few MS2 friends here and trust me, they complained plenty about the biochem + anatomy combo last year before the curriculum change too. After that they were in school like 3 days a week, and now in 2nd year it's more like 5-10 hrs a week. So I don't at all feel bad for Stony Brook students.
 
Yep, rejected here too. Complete early August. Oh well...
 
"Come to SBU, Have fun. All you need to know about SBU Med you can learn from walking through the lounge, and seeing all of the smiling faces."
-My friend, who's sitting next to me in a panic room and reading SDN instead of studying immuno like we were planning on.
 
I apologize if this has been asked previously - is Stony Brook receptive to pre-interview updates and/or additional letters of recommendation?
 
Interviewed 11/18, wait listed. Kind of saw it coming from the way my interview turned out. Good luck to everyone else.
 
Last edited:
I don't know how I missed this before, but I just realized that they have a statistics course requirement. I have not taken a stats class, and I have already graduated. How much do you think that will hurt my chances? (I took Calculus 1, 2 and 3, so it's not like I didn't take any math)
 
nikkimarie12192 said:
I don't know how I missed this before, but I just realized that they have a statistics course requirement. I have not taken a stats class, and I have already graduated. How much do you think that will hurt my chances? (I took Calculus 1, 2 and 3, so it's not like I didn't take any math)
Click to expand...

That shouldnt' hurt your chances, most schools allow you to take what ever courses you are missing before you enroll.
 
Toastayy said:
Interviewed 11/22, wait listed. Kind of saw it coming from the way my interview turned out.
Click to expand...
Wow, quick post-interview turn around time. It seems like there's usually a good amount of movement on the waitlist. Good luck!
 
CRAR5102 said:
Wow, quick post-interview turn around time. It seems like there's usually a good amount of movement on the waitlist. Good luck!
Click to expand...
It was 11/18 not 22, but you're right one of the quickest I've seen. Thanks and good luck to you as well.
 
ShaolinMaster said:
That shouldnt' hurt your chances, most schools allow you to take what ever courses you are missing before you enroll.
Click to expand...
Doing that will be difficult, because I've already graduated from undergrad. I think the real question I am asking is whether they will accept having taken higher level math in place of statistics.
 
nikkimarie12192 said:
Doing that will be difficult, because I've already graduated from undergrad. I think the real question I am asking is whether they will accept having taken higher level math in place of statistics.
Click to expand...

You would probably have to call and ask, but as far as being out of school, if they don't accept the higher math, they would expect you to complete it before enrolling meaning summer courses.
 
Pre-interview rejection. Complete around 8/25. Was one of my top choices. Ah well. 🙁
 
DoctorLacrosse said:
+1... yup, this one stung more than the rest of my many rejections.
Click to expand...

When were you complete? (if you don't mind me asking) It seems like I still have a long time to wait since I wasn't marked complete until 9/23...
 
I was rejected today as well, complete in August. Pre-interview, instate, 28/4.0.
 
Any august completes not rejected yet? Maintaining hope for myself...
 
To the students above who were complaining about the new curriculum (rightfully so), it is bound to happen any time major changes are made. I will say that it's hard as an M1 or M2 to see light at the end of the tunnel, but the reality is you learn a lot of the preclinical nuts and bolts more effectively on your own. It was a great move to condense the curriculum and give you more exploratory time during the clinical years. Your clinical grades are weighted more and considered more than your preclinical grades ever will be during residency applications. So these early preclinical hiccups will pay off when you actually do your clinical rotations and understand the advantage you now have over previous graduating classes.

As far as the LLCs, I completely agree that it was a change forced upon us. Stony Brook has a tendency to borrow ideas and innovation from other schools without considering if those changes are compatible with the culture here. I know a lot of upperclassmen opposed the LLCs or at least the way it was implemented. It'll get better, or it'll just become something you prioritize lowly. If you didn't want to deal with BS and were hoping to be part of a well-functioning machine, you should never have applied to medicine.

And for the students worried about "fit," I think fit really comes down to the student body, the administration, and the location. The student body will vary each year, it is extremely difficult to predict who will come in and what personalities/experiences they will bring. Suffice it to say, my student body runs the gamut. You will find your friends quickly. The fact is that Stony Brook is a commuter school and that new friendships are always ready to be made during clinical years. If you were looking to become best friends and have a sleepover with all 120+ students, that won't happen. For the most part, the administration is your standard medical school's with some subpar faculty, but also some who will become lifelong mentors and friends. You will gravitate towards them. Location is the most important. Are you from Long Island? Do you like to drive and the suburban life? Do you want to be relatively close to NYC? Where's your support system?

Stony Brook is a great school that has helped me do great things. You will not be limited coming here.
 
Just had a recent interview! Great place. We were told they are interviewing 650 applicants and accepting around 300. That is close to a 50/50 chance if you get an interview. Good luck to everyone!
 
Hi everyone! will be interviewing here on Jan. 6th and wanted to see if anyone wants to share a hotel. I'm looking at the Holiday Inn Express since they provide a shuttle to the medical center. Let me know!
 
Probably. I interviewed 3 weeks ago and heard back today.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

wysdoc
2024-2025 Stony Brook
9 10 11 12 13
Replies
614
Views
150K
p4th2g0a1s
P
wysdoc
2023-2024 Stony Brook
11 12 13 14 15
Replies
710
Views
174K
drtobe_
D
wysdoc
2022-2023 Stony Brook
9 10 11 12 13
Replies
629
Views
156K
safeandsound37
safeandsound37
wysdoc
2021-2022 Stony Brook
9 10 11 12 13
Replies
604
Views
164K
FutureDOCTORR123456789
FutureDOCTORR123456789
chilly_md
2024-2025 Boston University
21 22 23 24 25
Replies
1K
Views
265K
an2five
A
Top