NYMC vs SUNY Downstate

[helpmedecide!]

I've been fortunate enough to have been accepted to both NYMC and Downstate, and would love people's input on these two schools.

NYMC
Pros:
- Slightly more prestigious according to US News?
- Much closer to SO's workplace (20 min vs 1 hour+)
- P/F grading
- Still close to the city

Cons:
- Higher price for about $10k (but not really an issue for me)
- Will have to drive everywhere

Downstate
Pros:
- More prestigious locally?
- Better match list? (According to some, but when I looked they seemed similar)
- P/F grading
- in NYC

Cons:
- Area is not very safe
- During my interview, I got the sense that they didn't really care for their students and that the school is not well-run

Just from my experiences during my interview, I am definitely leaning more towards NYMC. However, in every other NYMC vs Downstate thread, Downstate always gets voted as the better school. I'm hoping to hear your thoughts on 1) which school, if any, has more prestige? 2) does Downstate have a better match list? Here is the match list data for reference: Residency Placement Lists (Downstate), https://www.nymc.edu/media/schools-...-day/2020-ResidencybySpecialtyandLocation.pdf + About NYMC SOM (NYMC) and 3) which school are students generally happier at?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[deleted1093251]

NYMC administration seems much better organized than Downstate's from what I've been able to gather thus far. Current students would probably have a better idea; I've heard a lot from current and previous DS students but less from NYMC.

NYMC is in a better location in Valhalla, which has pretty great access to NYC.

I think a 10K price difference will be small in the long run. I vibe with you on the driving thing, though haha

 

[Banco]

Go wherever you got the better fit feeling. Both seem to have solid match lists. 10k is a negligible price difference.

 

[Putkernerinthehall]

More diverse patient population at DS, I imagine. Are pre-clinical curriculums the same duration ? Does that matter to you ?

 

[Fresc_0]

Trying to decide between these schools as well. Really don’t know how to go about making the choice. (Cost would work out to be the same considering commuting / living expenses)

I just had a physician familiar with both programs tell me I should without a doubt go with NYMC. Here were his main arguments:

NYMC
- Having westChester county (lvl 1 trauma center) right on campus, and affiliated clinical sites, will ultimately lead to more exposure to diverse pathology. By this he meant, you get the kind of exposure of a county hospital like you would at downstate, but you also get more exposure to outpatient clinics, elective surgery centers. He did say you get more volume of a more restricted patient population and pathology at downstate, mostly because the system leverages med students more. But ultimately, he gave me the sense there’s more opportunity to explore a wide variety of pathology and specialities
- the med school is supported way more at NYMC with more money being reinvested into the education each year.
- administration at downstate is borderline dysfunctional, and there’s a strong “on your own” culture. This has also been echoed by current students
- the area is much nicer, and though not in NYC, there is plenty of opportunity to rotate into city affiliated sites 3rd and 4th year.
- for certain specialities, going downstate could leave you in a much worse position due to institutional issues (certain surgery programs at downstate are collapsing, which will trickle more problems into other programs).

There’s more to it than that, but these were some of the main points. Looking for some honest opinions about this because my initial instinct was to go with downstate but it’s really hard to gauge all of this without spending time at both locations.

 

[PugsAndHugs]

Trying to decide between these schools as well. Really don’t know how to go about making the choice. (Cost would work out to be the same considering commuting / living expenses)

I just had a physician familiar with both programs tell me I should without a doubt go with NYMC. Here were his main arguments:

NYMC
- Having westChester county (lvl 1 trauma center) right on campus, and affiliated clinical sites, will ultimately lead to more exposure to diverse pathology. By this he meant, you get the kind of exposure of a county hospital like you would at downstate, but you also get more exposure to outpatient clinics, elective surgery centers. He did say you get more volume of a more restricted patient population and pathology at downstate, mostly because the system leverages med students more. But ultimately, he gave me the sense there’s more opportunity to explore a wide variety of pathology and specialities
- the med school is supported way more at NYMC with more money being reinvested into the education each year.
- administration at downstate is borderline dysfunctional, and there’s a strong “on your own” culture. This has also been echoed by current students
- the area is much nicer, and though not in NYC, there is plenty of opportunity to rotate into city affiliated sites 3rd and 4th year.
- for certain specialities, going downstate could leave you in a much worse position due to institutional issues (certain surgery programs at downstate are collapsing, which will trickle more problems into other programs).

There’s more to it than that, but these were some of the main points. Looking for some honest opinions about this because my initial instinct was to go with downstate but it’s really hard to gauge all of this without spending time at both locations.

I chose Downstate for these reasons, not sure what NYMC’s is like:
1. P/F preclinical
2. Short preclinical (1.5 yrs > 2yrs)
3. NBME exams, prepares
4. Systems based curriculum (means you learn the normal physiology WITH the abnormal pathology vs a traditional where you learn the normal 1 year and the abnormal the 2nd year

Also I really liked how Downstate’s preclinical exams are every 2-3 months, it trains you to store large abouts of info and preps you for beast exams like Step 1 and 2.

I also personally think downtown brooklyn is much more exciting to live than Weschester (but this is obviously personal preference.

To your cons:
-As far as admin, while the admissions admin are a little meh, this is completely different than the med school admin, they were very receptive and I had no problems.
-graduated last year so idk what’s going on with the surgery stuff

 

[helpmedecide!]

NYMC administration seems much better organized than Downstate's from what I've been able to gather thus far. Current students would probably have a better idea; I've heard a lot from current and previous DS students but less from NYMC.

NYMC is in a better location in Valhalla, which has pretty great access to NYC.

I think a 10K price difference will be small in the long run. I vibe with you on the driving thing, though haha

Yes, I've definitely gotten the same vibes from the schools' administrations as well. Thanks for your input!

And if I end up going to NYMC, I'll actually need to learn how to drive for the first time RIP (side effect of living in NYC my whole life haha)

 

[helpmedecide!]

More diverse patient population at DS, I imagine. Are pre-clinical curriculums the same duration ? Does that matter to you ?

SUNY Downstate's preclinical is 1.5 years, while NYMC's is 2 years. Honestly, I can see pros for both sides (early clinical exposure, more rotation flexibility, exposure to clinicals before Step 1 vs more time to learn the material, not having to study for Step 1 during rotations).

Do any current med students have opinions on which length of pre-clinical is better?

 

[PugsAndHugs]

SUNY Downstate's preclinical is 1.5 years, while NYMC's is 2 years. Honestly, I can see pros for both sides (early clinical exposure, more rotation flexibility, exposure to clinicals before Step 1 vs more time to learn the material, not having to study for Step 1 during rotations).

However, I'm just a lowly pre-matriculant lol. Do any current med students have opinions on which length of pre-clinical is better?

1.5 years >>>>>> 2 years.

1. Step 1 is now P/F, you do not need 2 years to pass this exam, some programs now even have a 1 year pre-clinical curriculum. Clinical experience is much more important, ESPECIALLY if you are undecided in what your interests are; it will give you more time to actually do rotations in what you might be interested in to see how it ACTUALLY is. The extra time will also give you more time for research opportunities, making connections and getting letters of recommendations.

2. In addition to the extra time saved, the FORMAT of these 2 different cirriculums is different. With the 2 year traditional cirriculum, you usually learn whats normal in the first year, and then whats abnormal the second year. With the 1.5 year curriculum, you learn whats normal And what can go wrong TOGETHER, which seems much more intuitive to me.

 

[dgray]

Current M3 at NYMC, happy to answer any questions. I think locally Downstate has a better reputation than NYMC, but I've had a great experience at NYMC. If you have any idea what you want to do down the line, it's worth looking at specific specialties in the match list (NYMC doesn't have a great history for derm or optho, but our ortho and radiology matches are pretty great.) I would not say that downstate has a more diverse patient population... in addition to Westchester Medical Center we rotate at Metropolitan Hospital in E Harlem, and Lincoln Hospital and the Bronx VA in the Bronx, along with Wyckoff in Brooklyn. You can definitely do all your rotations either in Westchester or in the city depending on your interests.