Downstate/Jefferson/GWU

[shuythuyshuy]

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I'm having trouble deciding between SUNY Downstate, Jefferson Medical College, and George Washington University. I am a California resident, so I will be paying OOS tuition anyhow, so that's not a factor for me, but I do hope to return to California for residency.

Looking at the match lists, it seems to me that GWU has a lot of people matching into California positions, but is this just because of the sheer number of CA residents attending GWU? I dislike their 9-5 lecture heavy curriculum and I don't remember if they are Pass/Fail or not. I do like the track system that they have instituted and the opportunities that come with it.

SUNY Downstate is very good with clinicals, but it seems like most people match into New York area residencies.

Jefferson had such a great atmosphere when I interviewed. I like their JEFFHOPE clinic and pass/fail curriculum. This is such a hard choice.

Do recent match lists actually indicate where students will likely match into? Or is it mostly a personal preference thing?

 

[alibai3ah]

Won't downstate allow you to become a NY resident after a year (thus substantially lowering your cost?)

 

[tennistycoon]

yes - if you live off campus for 1 year, you then become a NYS resident and can pay NYS tuition.

GW is my dream school so I would pick that. lol - don't really have a lot of reasoning behind this.

Downstate is good for clinical, but it is EXTREMELY URBAN. Definitely not for everyone, esp someone like me who is from a very small, rural town.

Jeff - I don't know much about it but I've heard good things.

Regardless - you are going to be a doctor and do great things, so congrats!!!! =D

 

[shuythuyshuy]

Won't downstate allow you to become a NY resident after a year (thus substantially lowering your cost?)

Oh I didn't know that. Can you elaborate on how that works?

 

[shuythuyshuy]

yes - if you live off campus for 1 year, you then become a NYS resident and can pay NYS tuition.

GW is my dream school so I would pick that. lol - don't really have a lot of reasoning behind this.

Downstate is good for clinical, but it is EXTREMELY URBAN. Definitely not for everyone, esp someone like me who is from a very small, rural town.

Jeff - I don't know much about it but I've heard good things.

Regardless - you are going to be a doctor and do great things, so congrats!!!! =D

Thanks for the info! I'm definitely leaning toward GWU because I really enjoyed my interview day there and the facilities such as the CLASS center are amazing, but I'm still weighing the options of course.

 

[alibai3ah]

Oh I didn't know that. Can you elaborate on how that works?

I'm sure someone else on SDN who has experience can elaborate on this. But what I do know is that New York and Ohio state schools allow you to become a resident after the first year. After this, you can start paying in-state tuition from your 2nd year onwards. This will save you a great deal of money as compared to GWU and Jefferson. Again I would contact the school about specific questions.

 

[dannyboy1]

Oh I didn't know that. Can you elaborate on how that works?

All you have to do is live off campus for the first year and then you are a NYS resident an will get in-state tuition.

 

[shuythuyshuy]

All you have to do is live off campus for the first year and then you are a NYS resident an will get in-state tuition.

Thanks for the info about the tuition. I'll add that to my list of pros/cons. Can some of you elaborate on why you think Downstate would be a better choice than GWU (besides NYC vs. DC life)? I noticed that it has the most votes in the poll.

 

[dannyboy1]

Thanks for the info about the tuition. I'll add that to my list of pros/cons. Can some of you elaborate on why you think Downstate would be a better choice than GWU (besides NYC vs. DC life)? I noticed that it has the most votes in the poll.

All three schools that you listed are pretty similar in terms of prestige and quality of education. You will have good experiences at all of them so this decision really should come down to location and price.

 

[shuythuyshuy]

All three schools that you listed are pretty similar in terms of prestige and quality of education. You will have good experiences at all of them so this decision really should come down to location and price.

During my interview day at Downstate, they said that most students actually lived in the dorms and it was a great atmosphere. Would it be very detrimental for me if I lived off-campus to take advantage of the in-state tuition?

 

[dannyboy1]

During my interview day at Downstate, they said that most students actually lived in the dorms and it was a great atmosphere. Would it be very detrimental for me if I lived off-campus to take advantage of the in-state tuition?

Definitely not. Many students live off campus and I think more leave the dorms after first year. Besides you could always move into the dorms in your second year, you just need to live off campus first year to qualify for IS tuition.

 

[Kb041]

All you have to do is live off campus for the first year and then you are a NYS resident an will get in-state tuition.

If thats the truth I would go to Downstate. Plus NYC has some of the best hospitals in the world. You could possibly rotate/do electives in 3rd/4th year or spend the summer after 1st year working in one of them, which could be a major plus for getting a residency in CA.

Another thing: I wouldn't worry about the downstate match list. Remember many ppl, like yourself, want to go back home for residency. Since SUNY is a state school, and has mostly new yorkers in attendance, the match lists are obviously gonna be skewed toward NY. If you wanna go back to Cali, I don't think any of the three schools your deciding between will give you a magical edge. As long as you do well and do well on the USMLE you will be in good shape no matter where you go.

On a personal note. I would chose NYC over DC or Philly in a heartbeat. I'm an east coaster and NYC is really just an awesome place to live all around. Great night life, museums, culture, people, food, public transit, schools. The traffic in DC always sucks because very few ppl actually live in the district and the Metro is just so so compared to NYC subway system IMO. Living in the GWU area is also super expensive. Like $1400 for a studio. A lot of students end up sharing studios...bunk bed anyone. Lots of kids live in Alexandria or other suburbs and take the metro in.

 

[shuythuyshuy]

If thats the truth I would go to Downstate. Plus NYC has some of the best hospitals in the world. You could possibly rotate/do electives in 3rd/4th year or spend the summer after 1st year working in one of them, which could be a major plus for getting a residency in CA.

Another thing: I wouldn't worry about the downstate match list. Remember many ppl, like yourself, want to go back home for residency. Since SUNY is a state school, and has mostly new yorkers in attendance, the match lists are obviously gonna be skewed toward NY. If you wanna go back to Cali, I don't think any of the three schools your deciding between will give you a magical edge. As long as you do well and do well on the USMLE you will be in good shape no matter where you go.

On a personal note. I would chose NYC over DC or Philly in a heartbeat. I'm an east coaster and NYC is really just an awesome place to live all around. Great night life, museums, culture, people, food, public transit, schools. The traffic in DC always sucks because very few ppl actually live in the district and the Metro is just so so compared to NYC subway system IMO. Living in the GWU area is also super expensive. Like $1400 for a studio. A lot of students end up sharing studios...bunk bed anyone. Lots of kids live in Alexandria or other suburbs and take the metro in.

Thank you for the insight. I too prefer NYC over the other two locations, that's why it makes the choice so hard for me. I have also been looking at apartment buildings in the NYC area and have also been finding quite expensive prices.. sometimes over 2000 a month.

Does anyone think the diversity in the student population should be important to a medical career? I know downstate will have more NY students, while Jefferson has 35% PA residents and GWU has people from all over.

 

[GoLytely]

. I'm an east coaster and NYC is really just an awesome place to live all around. Great night life, museums, culture, people, food, public transit, schools.....

....traffic, noise, trash, filth, pollution, disease, frotteurism, hippies, socialists, snobby people, crusties, car horns, noise, noise, trash, filth, EXPENSE, closet-sized apartments OR 45 minute commute over 2 miles on subway-slash-homeless shelter, annoyance....

 

[shuythuyshuy]

....traffic, noise, trash, filth, pollution, disease, frotteurism, hippies, socialists, snobby people, crusties, car horns, noise, noise, trash, filth, EXPENSE, closet-sized apartments OR 45 minute commute over 2 miles on subway-slash-homeless shelter, annoyance....

I think that's depending where you are in NYC.

 

[Kb041]

....traffic, noise, trash, filth, pollution, disease, frotteurism, hippies, socialists, snobby people, crusties, car horns, noise, noise, trash, filth, EXPENSE, closet-sized apartments OR 45 minute commute over 2 miles on subway-slash-homeless shelter, annoyance....

HAHAHAHA!! Unfortunately, these are not isolated to NYC. There is plenty of...... traffic, noise, trash, filth, pollution, disease, frotteurism, hippies, socialists, snobby people, crusties, car horns, noise, noise, trash, filth, EXPENSE, closet-sized apartments OR 45 minute commute over 2 miles on subway-slash-homeless shelter, annoyance........ in DC and Philly.

Also OP if your gonna live in NYC off campus try and find a roommate. Living alone in a city can be mega expensive no matter where you are. I'm sure there are other SUNY kids that won't be living on campus.

As for what you said about diversity. I think adcoms go out of their way to ensure the class is diverse. Adcoms admit people of different age/cultural background/work experience/religion etc. I woudn't worry about that.