Dartmouth vs Stony Brook vs Hofstra

[maybedoctormaybehomeless]

Dartmouth

Pros

• Prestige (residency director ranking #28, comparable to Case, Brown, BU, Sinai)
• True P/F preclinical (I think)
• Optional, recorded lectures
• Small class size
• Excellent sense of community
• Students seemed happy and least stressed
• Faculty seemed caring/supportive
• Enjoyed my interview day

Cons

• Far from home
• Highest tuition
• Rural area

Stony Brook

Pros

• 40 mins from home
• Optional, recorded lectures
• In-state tuition
• Research opportunities (rank #2 among public universities in research productivity)
• Large hospital connected to med school
• Good reputation in NY

Cons

• H/P/F preclinical
• Mandatory PBL

Neutral

• 1 hr 45 mins from Manhattan
• 1.5 years preclinical
• Residency director ranking #67

Hofstra

Pros

• True P/F preclinical (no ranking)
• Very supportive faculty and administration
• Beautiful facilities
• 30 minutes from home, 40 minutes from Manhattan (best in terms of location)
• Northwell Health — largest health system in NYS
• Good clinical sites (can do rotations at Lenox Hill)
• Lots of free food around campus
• Exams every ~12 weeks
• Small class size
• Really good vibes from interview day/second look

Cons

• Mandatory PBL and lectures (12 hrs/week)
• Essay-based exams — may be difficult transitioning to step 1 multiple choice questions
• Exam “weeks” — take exams for a week (2 essay-based, step practice Q’s, lab practicals, simulation tests)
• Relatively new school — lowest prestige
• Residency director ranking #113

I have more info on Hofstra than others because I already attended the second look there. Still waiting on financial aid from all schools. May be interested in competitive specialties (ortho, optho) but not certain. Interested in doing residency in NYC, but also possibly Boston. I would like to be close to home (Long Island) and SO (NYC), but Dartmouth has the advantage in prestige which would help for matching. Would appreciate any insight!

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[SuaveCardigans]

Whats the COA difference between all three?

Edit: Reading is hard...
I would wait to see if there is a significant difference for now once you get fin aid info

 

[SCN1a]

I interviewed at Dartmouth and I know they don’t have much financial aid. But it could be the best choice for you. But if you want to remain close to your support system and I think that’s a good idea too then I would recommend stony Brook just because from what you said, you seem to like it better to me at least.

 

[Chewy0211]

I think you should cross off Hofstra due to all the cons you've stated, the essay exams imo would be pretty rough and it hasn't improved much with the new rankings.

Like you said, Dartmouth is better received and has a better, definitely more diverse match list, but Stony Brook matches really well in NY so it may even out for you. I don't think going to SB would close any doors for a competitive specialty in New York.

The difference in rank is not significant both in the (40s-50s), so I think that it really comes down to the lower COA + support system at SB vs. extra opportunities at Dartmouth like the major support for diverse, away clinical rotations, global health, etc.

 

[892002]

I interviewed at Dartmouth and absolutely loved the school! All 3 schools are really good, and looking at the match lists/rankings, are fairly comparable. I would choose the school you think you would be happiest at, especially since med school is stressful/you'll be there for 4 years. One thing they told me at the Dartmouth interview was that if you don't want to be in a rural community, you might potentially struggle there. But also, the med student who gave me the tour was from CA, and he was able to adapt.

 

[thenucleusaccumbens]

I'd go with Dartmouth. I know someone there who really loves it and is also far from home/not from a rural area.
Also since you're from NY, isn't Dartmouth only like a 4 hour drive? personally I wouldn't consider that too far..