Einstein vs. Downstate

[kleon]

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I would like some opinions on choosing between Einstein and Downstate. With Downstate, my debt will be between 85-100K. With Einstein I will be facing 160-190K in loans. I like both programs and with the loans in mind, I am leaning towards Downstate. I wish I did not have to make a decision based only on finances. I like Einstein alot but Downstate makes more sense. I am going to be 27 later this year and I do not want to put myself in that great a hole financially. Is Einstein worth this amount of debt? I still would like to consider residencies out-of-state and it looks like there are quite a few Downstate grads who place outside of NY.

 

[Fastidious]

Hi,
I applied to SUNY Downstate through an early decision program, thus I did not have a problem choosing between two offers, but I did have to make a decision what is the only school I am going to apply to will be. I chose Downstate because of:
1) it's location (I did not want to move from Brooklyn)
2) the cost
3) the clinical years are good (or at least that's what I've heard)
etc...
I will turn 25 early in the MS1, so finances also mean a lot to me. I guess the best way to decide whether or not Einstein is worth more loan money is to compare residensy match lists for the last couple of years. If you know what specialty you want to go into, it will make your choice a piece of cake, if not, just look at the overall patterns. If there is a significant difference then perhaps it is worth greater indebtness. Residency matches in Downstate are not bad, but I don't know how they compare to the Einstein's. Anyway, good luck in Med School, and maybe I'll see you in August 🙂

Fastidious.

P.S. By the way, it is rumored that tuition in Downstate will be raised by ~ 3K this year, so take it into consideration when you make your choice.

 

[Castro Viejo]

Originally posted by Fastidious
P.S. By the way, it is rumored that tuition in Downstate will be raised by ~ 3K this year, so take it into consideration when you make your choice.

Fastidious is right.

If you're going to decide between Einstein and Downstate based partially on financial concerns, be sure you have the whole story.

As far as I know, Downstate's tuition will increase every year until it hits $19,000, according to a letter sent to the Downstate Class of 2003 from the office of the SUNY Chancellor Robert L. King. Supposedly once it hits $19,000 a year in tuition costs, tuition will not go up. There's no committment in this regard, however, and if you've been following New York State and New York City's budget woes ("Mike's Hike," Pataki's threatened veto, rise in personal income tax and the state sales tax, etc.), you may likely see another increase in tuition at SUNY Downstate College of Medicine within the next four years.

That's my take on it.

When I started at Downstate in 1999 I paid about $11,000 a year. I am graduating in a little over three weeks paying $15,000. Next year it'll be about $17,000 and the following it'll go up again.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[ny skindoc]

Private schools are under financial pressures as well.Its unlikely that tuition at Einstein will stay the same over the next 5 years.The tuition differential may not change all that much between the two schools, even with the hikes at Downstate.The ambience,hospitals and facilities are better overall at Einstein.Professionally it wont make much difference which school one goes to, as graduates of both places do fine on residency matching.

 

[kleon]

Thank you for your input. Most of the students I've spoke with at both schools are happy. Einstein will always be much more expensive and therefore I am finding it difficult to justify its price.

I'm not sure what field I want to pursue but Downstate and Einstein do well with where their students match.

My fiance may relocate to Boston in a few years because of her job--if i want to do my residency in Boston, is Downstate still a good choice? I noticed that quite a few Downtate grads go on to train outside of New York.

 

[DW]

Originally posted by kleon
My fiance may relocate to Boston in a few years because of her job--if i want to do my residency in Boston, is Downstate still a good choice? I noticed that quite a few Downtate grads go on to train outside of New York.

i only applied to einstein and dont know a ton about downstate, but my thought would be this could be confounded by the fact that SUNY Downstate=state school=lots of NY residents who probably want to stay in the area

 

[ny skindoc]

There are many hospitals in Boston.Which ones do you have in mind? in what specialty? The Harvard hospitals are going to be super competitive no matter what med school you go to.Internal med at BU and Tufts or at community hospitals in the Boston area will not be too difficult.If you really want a Boston hospital then consider doing a summer research elective up there and schedule away rotations in your chosen field early in your senior year and do well at them.there are plenty of students from both schools who go there.

 

[kleon]

I'm not sure what specialty but it most likely will not be derm or ophthalmology. I also do not see myself in academic medicine. At this point, it internal med is most likely. I had the Tufts and BU affiliated hospitals in mind if I wanted to go to Boston. (I was dissappointed when I was rejected from their med schools)

I just want the reassurance that if I do well at either Einstein or Downstate, I will have opportunites available and that the name of the school I attend will not be the most important factor. As for Downstate, it was hard for me to judge how well they match outside of New York since many students prefer to stay in the area anyway.

I will be happy at either of the schools but I preferred the facilities, housing, and area at Einstein. However, I am extremely doubtful that it is worth nearly twice as much as Downstate.

I've been told not to worry about finances by quite a few people but it does matter.

 

[ny skindoc]

Its easy for other people to tell you finances dont matter since they will not be the ones writing out a check every month for many years! You need to do the math and see what you feel comfortable with.Doctors are under many financial pressures now a days,good for you that you do not take this issue lightly. It wont make too much difference which US med school you go to in order to accomplish your current career plans.It sounds like you want to go to Downstate.If you do well there you will have many residency options.Looking at their matchlists for the past few years makes it clear that going to a Boston area hospital will not be a problem.This is a tough choice but you should do fine either way.

 

[Dr. Kermit]

I don't know much about Downstate, but I was deciding between a PA state school and Einstein last year. (At that time, tuition at Temple was 26K and Einstein is around 33K, so it wasn't too much of a difference. However, it would have been more expensive to live in Philadelphia than NY.)

I ultimately chose to come to Einstein because I knew that I would eventually want to do a residency in NYC. I probably would have come here even if I didn't think I'd want to stay in NY because I was really impressed with the teaching facilities and the doctors with whom I'd work. My interviewer turned out to be my clinical preceptor and I'm also working with the doctor this summer. It just seemed like the right place for me and I'm happy with my decision.

I know a couple of my friends here chose Einstein over Downstate or came to Einstein off the waitlist over Downstate and I can ask them why they ultimately decided to do so and let you know.

 

[kleon]

Originally posted by Dr. Kermit
I know a couple of my friends here chose Einstein over Downstate or came to Einstein off the waitlist over Downstate and I can ask them why they ultimately decided to do so and let you know.

Hi Dr. Kermit,

That would be great if you can get that information before Thursday the 15th. I'm running numbers and trying to see how much debt I'm comfortable with, how much I can pay, pluses and minuses for each school, etc. I've spoken with more Downstate students than Einstein so I would love any feedback from your friends you can relay to me. Looks like a last minute decision.



Ken

 

[Dr. Kermit]

I don't know if the following opinions will help you in deciding, but I talked to four of my classmates. Two had been accepted to Downstate, Einstein, and NYU (one was waitlisted and the other was accepted.) They both came to Einstein over Downstate because they felt the location was better than being in Brooklyn. (They said Einstein had better and more affordable housing and since there is parking available, the incentive to have a car was nice.) One of my friends is from NYC and didn't want to go to school where Downstate is located and was also offered merit money from Einstein so came here over Downstate and NYU.

Of my two classmates that were waitlisted and decided to come to Einstein, one is Orthodox, so obviously wanted to be at Einstein for religious reasons. The other felt that the quality of education was better Einstein. The person felt that the location was better since he wouldn't need public transportation to get home when he wanted to go home and could also have a car to visit his signifcant other.

Personally, I really like the area I'm living. No, it's not Manhattan and yes, it's can take anywhere from 35-45 minutes to get into the city either by bus or subway. But, realistically, you're going to be a med student. It gets expensive to go to the city all the time and unelss you're skipping class, you really won't have all that much time to go play around in Manhattan until the weekends. I have a car in the Bronx and it's been really nice since I can see my significant other or go to the suburbs when I need to go. Grocery shopping and errand running have never been a problem for me. And there are times that I would love to be right in the city, but with as much studying and little time for myself as I have, I'd probably end up wasting a lot more time shopping, hanging out with friends, and procrastinating than I already do!

I've had an awesome time with the education I'm getting for it's ridiculous price tag, but I feel it's worth every penny. Besides having a weird schedule because our lectures are based on availability of doctors to lecture to us during the system based courses and conference sections, I can't complain about too much. Our anatomy course was probably my favorite thing about med school yet because I got to choose my lab partner and I had two other people in my group.

Good luck with your decision, it's a hard one to make, but I'm sure you'll be happy whereever you decide to go!