Albany vs Syracuse - Please Help!!

[LeLu]

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I've been accepted to Syracuse, got a recent invite to Albany, please help me decide if I should go...

 

[Orthodoc40]

Both in the middle of nowhere. More info about your priorities would help.

 

[LeLu]

I would like to know any pros and cons. I want the best school of course but location is also impt.
Syracuse vs Albany (location)?
Upstate vs Albany (education)?
Any thoughts would be helpful. I am SUPER broke so taking another interview will be hard.

 

[1956Goldtop]

I've heard many horror stories about Albany, but of course that doesn't mean anything. If you have nothing to lose you might as well go. Upstate, however, is super sickkkkkkkkk. I'd say its a much more desirable location than AMC, but meh..

 

[LeLu]

These are some pros & cons I have so far...

Tuition:
Albany- 40K/yr
Upstate- 33K-1st year, 18K -2nd-4th yr

Snowfall (I'm from a place with 0 inches/yr):
Albany- 63 inches/yr
Syracuse- 115 inches/yr

I'm having trouble finding anything else that STANDS OUT

 

[PokerDoc]

I said this to someone in another X vs Y thread.. go with your gut feeling. you will get a great medical education anywhere, but go where you felt most comfortable. Opinions of others are not really subjective to you.

 

[LucidSplash]

I do not go to either school but I am originally from Rochester and I went to UG near Utica. Based purely on location I would got to Syracuse - its a better city by far, IMHO. Don't pay much attention to the snowfall, once you get passed a certain point, you can't tell the difference between 63 and 115 inches. I'm completely serious. Also, once you get used to it, the snowfall won't affect you that much - Upstate and Central NY have some of the best snow removal systems around - they have it down to a science.

AMC is somewhat rundown looking and the tuition is high, but living in the surrounding area is pretty cheap. However, living in Syracuse isn't much different costwise, from what I remember. Note that there is NO major university attached to AMC, it is a standalone, so there would probably be more opportunities for research and other pursuits at Syracuse. However, AMC does have a level 1 trauma center, so it isn't all bad.

Having lived in the area, I would take Syracuse and not go to the AMC interview, but its totally personal. Best of luck.

 

[SketchLazy]

I didn't apply to Albany, but was extremely impressed by SUNY Upstate and Buffalo. For Syracuse, you are right in the middle of four hospitals so your opportunities for growth are excellent. You also have Syracuse University (not affiliated) close by so it's more of a college atmosphere. Can't beat the cheap tuition either, at least for residents. Like Goldtop said, it's illlllllllll.

 

[dyinforMD]

Syracuse >>>> Albany

Albany is supposed to be a very crime trodden area.

 

[kunfu]

Well I live in Albany and I can tell you the weather is crummy but so is most of NY. As for crime please, there really isn't much crime. As for the schools though when considering cost I would easily pick upstate. Also from what I saw upstates facilities are much nicer.

 

[NoUse4aName1286]

Well I live in Albany and I can tell you the weather is crummy but so is most of NY. As for crime please, there really isn't much crime. As for the schools though when considering cost I would easily pick upstate. Also from what I saw upstates facilities are much nicer.

Verbatim agreement [if that makes any sense, if not, whatever].

 

[mq123]

I didn't apply to Albany, but was extremely impressed by SUNY Upstate and Buffalo. For Syracuse, you are right in the middle of four hospitals so your opportunities for growth are excellent. You also have Syracuse University (not affiliated) close by so it's more of a college atmosphere. Can't beat the cheap tuition either, at least for residents. Like Goldtop said, it's illlllllllll.

As for the schools though when considering cost I would easily pick upstate. Also from what I saw upstates facilities are much nicer.

Syracuse >>>> Albany

I definitely agree with all the posters above. I got accepted at both places also, and liked Upstate much, much more than Albany Med. People who heard me found it hard to believe that. However, after interviewing, I felt that Upstate was friendlier, cheaper, had a nicer campus, and above all, the students were very happy. At Albany, maybe it was just my experience, but my tour guides looked bored and didn't really show much interest in selling the good points of their school. Considering AM is private, I was somewhat disappointed. Overall, I liked Upstate waaaay better, and would love to go there 👍

Oh, one last thing. My student interviewer at AM looked at my GPA and said, "Oh, that's a pretty good GPA. But then again, you go to a state school..." I was shocked 🙁 especially considering his undergraduate school was a state school from the same system!! That kind of threw me off a bit and added to AM's not-so-impressive image

 

[chalo]

I'm also very interested on finding more info on Upstate. Anybody have more info to share on the school?

 

[cardboardearrin]

Also, once you get used to it, the snowfall won't affect you that much - Upstate and Central NY have some of the best snow removal systems around - they have it down to a science.

👍

So true. My interview was the day after a snowstorm. Near my hometown, the place would have been a shambles, but plows were out in Albany even AS the snow fell. Not slippery in the least, and very driveable. Never seen anything like it in my whole life.

 

[BigRedder]

👍

So true. My interview was the day after a snowstorm. Near my hometown, the place would have been a shambles, but plows were out in Albany even AS the snow fell. Not slippery in the least, and very driveable. Never seen anything like it in my whole life.

Haha, as a native upstate NYer, I have to laugh at how people worry about snow. If you don't have to drive in it, it's nothing! I would much rather live in a place with snow than one with, say, hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, etc.

However, to address the OP, if you are so worried about finances I'm not sure why this would be a question. I may be a little biased, but I don't think it is worth it to pass up state school tuition to go to a mid-tier private school. Maybe for a top-20, but even then it wouldn't be automatic.

 

[zeus22]

I interviewed at both Albany and Syracuse and I have to say I like Syracuse (Upstate) much better than Albany. Albany just seemed to be lacking in funding to update their facilities, someone mentioned something about the previous Dean mismanaging money and that could be the cause of the funding issues. However, Upstate has put in a new Student Center, they are in the process of building a new children's hospital, and the anatomy lab was also built a few years back.

Also when I was interviewing the overall feel of the professors and students at Upstate (both students at the school and the other candidates there when I interviewed) was much better than Albany. As far as weather goes they both are pretty crappy, but living in northern NY most of my life I can deal with it for another four years.

Lastly if you are a NYS resident you can't even compare the tuition costs. Syracuse is more than half the cost of Albany. (18,8K versus over 40K). That alone is a big difference if all other things were equal.

Albany does have some positives as well, they are just not coming to me as quickly as the ones at Upstate. Albany in my mind is a nicer area to live especially if you go out to some of the suburban areas. Saratoga is nearby if you like horse racing and the betting that goes along with it. As far as the school goes, my mind is still going blank, but it has been awhile since I was there for my interview.