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I want to preface this post by clarifying that I know that random people on the internet cant make up my mind for me, nor can they get in my head and know for sure. That said, I specifically think that gaining insight form people who went to one of these schools or rotated there or just have friends there will allow me further insight into what the school is like.
Also, I have been on SDN for 2 years, but the anonymity of my other account has dissipated with time, so I am using my more anonymous account (i.e. no post history) to ask this question.
Some background. The tuition at both of these schools will be in-state for all four years. I currently am interested in either Urology (highly competitive and largely dependent on board scores) or Emergency Medicine (moderately competitive). My mind is likely to change in medical school as it often does, but I have worked in an ED and my mom worked for a Urologist for years. I have exposure to shadowing a lot of specialties and so far these have stuck out for different reasons (If I like surgery I think Id like Uro, If I dont like surgery, I think Ill prefer EM)
Also, Im a non-tradish but still near the average matriculant age. Im married and my wife will be moving with me.
I received >6 acceptances and have narrowed it down to these two, so I have a pretty good idea of what I want, but when it comes to these two I Just keep coming to a tie.
Here are the factors I considered in order of importance to me.
1) Affordability: I work in healthcare, every doc everywhere told me not to pony up for a big $$$ private school education, its not worth the debt. This was recommended often enough that I only applied to schools at which I could receive in state tuition after the first year or my state schools. Both of these schools offer me 4 years of IS tuition.
2) Board Prep: Standardized tests have always been relatively the weakest of my academic skills. I have improved over time, and dramatically so on the MCAT. I require a tremendous amount of realistic practice to become familiar with the format ( I did every FL MCAT I could get my hands on. I believe this contributed to my high test score).
Ohio state-offers integrated board prep and board review in the curriculum. I believe they offer either pre-clinical NMBEs or self created board style exams written by faculty who write the boards. Their new curriculum is geared heavily toward board prep. I have been told it is slightly more intense than the old curriculum for this very reason.
Stony Brook-offers pre-clinical NMBEs in all systems based blocks. Changing from 5 weeks of prep to 6. No integrated prep or review, but given the 6 week window to study Im not sure school run review is that important (I always self studied for standardized tests anyway). The curriculum allows slightly more free time due to its approach, but probably requires more self discipline (which has never been a problem for me).
It seemed to me that OSU might have had a very slight advantage here, but its a new curriculum so no one knows yet.
3) Cooperative and interactive student body: I am a very socially oriented individual. I do not generally prefer reclusive, competitive environments, but rather collaborative, interactive. I love to learn by teaching others, as I feel it really solidifies the foundations. In O.Chem 1 and 2 I started a Friday afternoon study group. After the first exam I was at the top of the curve with the next student several points behind me. Despite this, I still attended the study group because I love teaching. It helped me learn, and brought up other peoples scores as well. They also had strengths that I didnt have, and working together was better for all of this. In my experience this often does not occur in curved classes (or there is feigned cooperation where everyone collaborates but they keep their Ace in the hole just in case they need a curve setter).
Ohio State-H,P,F but H, HP, P, F internal. Internally ranked in 5ths from what I understand. From what Ive read on the website it seems to indicate that internal rank will be included on the Deans letter as well as internal grades in preclinical and clinical years. I recently heard from a student preclinical grades are only included on the deans letter if they are exemplary or poor (e.g. F). This doesnt seem ideal for fostering a cooperative environment but maybe Im wrong and a current student could shed some light.
Stony Brook-H,P,F but internally H, HP, LP, P, F. Ranked internally in quartiles. In the past had a reputation for being hypercompetitive due to second year curve. Ive heard the university changed this in response to student concern. Also, their website seems to indicate they dont include internal grades but only use them to calculate rank. They do include clinical grades in deans letter(which I get, and prefer). Students seemed pretty cooperative and social on interview day.
It seemed to me SB might have had a slight advantage in this department.
4) Strong academic and alumni network: As mentioned I love to teach, and probably see myself working as clinical faculty in the future. I want a school that has a strong alumni network and will potentially open some academic doors. Im not sure if alumni network matters as much in medicine as it does in other professional fields. When I was at OSU they seemed to infer that their department heads and deans are very well known due to high rankings in their specialty areas, and they have the ability to make calls on behalf of qualified applicants to open doors This goes especially for EM as this part of the country essentially invented the specialty, plus they have a really strong Honors US longitudinal run by a top US fellowship director. As far as Urology, Im not really sure. SBU is the strongest State academic center in NY and most of their residency programs are considered pretty strong. They also frequently move on to faculty positions at top programs in NY which also happen to be top programs in the nation; however, I dont intend to practice in the northeast. The market is oversaturated, and I think Im better suited for the Midwest or south (not deep south, but Va, Md, NC, etc). I know SBU is known well in the Northeast, but I dont know about nationally. Also, I dont put much stock into US News, but I know some say in academics it matters. OSU was as high as the 20s but recently dropped into the 30s, they say they know the problem and are positions to jump back into the low 20s again. SBU is in the 50s, but frankly Im not sure if this really matters. Someone on the Uro forum said that people from the top 40 schools have a statistically measurable advantage in the match.
I would say that OSU wins this category but Im unsure if my perception is skewed just because I know of OSU from other things (football, engineering, hospital system)
5)Location- SBU puts me close to family and my wife close to a support system when I am going off the deep end into my studies, but I also think Columbus is a great city and could be a great move for her career. I am extremely close to my family, she is also. Having them close seems like a big advantage, but maybe Im over emphasizing it in my mind.
I would say SBU slightly wins in location due to proximity to family, but I liked Columbus better as a city.
I know people say to go with your gut, but its hard. OSU has a much bigger marketing budget. They release videos, they are going all out for second look day with visits to the state house, woodys tavern, presentations for distinguished faculty. They have interactive guides to the curriculum on the websites, a huge undergrad, Buckeye football (Im a huge, huge Buckey fan). I know all of the glitter doesnt much matter when your face is buried in books. SB had a very humble interview day with very friendly staff. No admissions presentation, no curriculum presentation. We didnt meet a dean, a chairperson, or anything. We had our interview, met with Financial Aid, got a student tour and moved on. The SBU second look includes and afternoon Q&A, thats it. Like I said, this doesnt make it worse, but also doesnt provoke the same type of emotion. I am trying to look past the marketing budget and get to the core of what the schools are really like for students on the inside.
I know the internet cant answer this question for me, but maybe someone will have insight that I dont. Thank you in advance for any help! This is a good problem to have, I know, but its also stressful not knowing yet. 🙂
