Stony Brook Class of 2012

[orunmila]

am going

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[orunmila]

I am going to be at the SNMA reception.

 

[Jess8000]

Quick question...

Can anyone please tell me how the grading is done at Stony Brook?

Does only a set portion of the class receive Honours (ex: top 15% only), or does it work such that if anyone gets 90% or above, its Honours (just hypothetical).

I checked the website, but the only mention is about the different grades used-- Pass, High Pass, Fail, etc.

Thx!

 

[dabiophyz]

Hi everyone. I am interviewing at Stony Brook next week and was wondering if anyone has advice, and also if I am interviewing for a seat or a spot on the waitlist at this point? Thanks

 

[aaj117]

Hi everyone. I am interviewing at Stony Brook next week and was wondering if anyone has advice, and also if I am interviewing for a seat or a spot on the waitlist at this point? Thanks

Both of my interviews there were really relaxed. My student interviewer asked some about why stony brook, if i knew the area or had any ties there, and then mostly about my activities and my facutly interviewer asked about how i decided to go into medicine and my clinical experiences. There were a few questions about my family, not sure if that was just because i wrote about them in one of my essays and my parents live close to the school.
I'd say just go in relaxed but prepared, like any school, and know why you want to be there. The tour and stuff is after the interviews, so you might want to just look up a little info about the school on the webstie before hand. I am pretty sure that you are still interviewing for a spot; i don't think SB is one of those schools that would invite you to waste your time and there's; they've been waitlisting a good amount of people throughout the season, so they definitely have a large enough waitlist already. Good luck, let us know how it goes!

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

Quick question...

Can anyone please tell me how the grading is done at Stony Brook?

Does only a set portion of the class receive Honours (ex: top 15% only), or does it work such that if anyone gets 90% or above, its Honours (just hypothetical).

I checked the website, but the only mention is about the different grades used-- Pass, High Pass, Fail, etc.

Thx!

The way grading is done is Fail, Low Pass, Pass, High Pass, and Honors.

So far for first year, all of our classes have been done by cutoffs. For example, in Anatomy, if your final class grade was over an 85, you got honors. Between 80 and 85 was high pass, 70-80 was pass, etc.

I believe this also carries on into second year.

Now what actually gets recorded on your transcript is a bit vague - they're making various changes, including whether NBME shelfs also get recorded on transcripts. From what I understand, high pass/low pass for first two years actually doesn't get recorded, those are only for internal rankings and basically only serve the purpose of giving your recommenation writers a better picture of how well you did in a class.

In the clerkship years, high pass/low pass actually gets recorded - this I know for sure.

In any case, it's really hard to fail a class here, you really have to put 0 effort into studying to do badly.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

Both of my interviews there were really relaxed. My student interviewer asked some about why stony brook, if i knew the area or had any ties there, and then mostly about my activities and my facutly interviewer asked about how i decided to go into medicine and my clinical experiences. There were a few questions about my family, not sure if that was just because i wrote about them in one of my essays and my parents live close to the school.

Lucky. Out of all the schools I interviewed at, my hardest interview was at Stony. I had a biochem professor basically grill me on bioethics and health care topics for over an hour. He even recited case studies off the top of his head, starting with relatively easy ones and then pulling out some crazy ones, and asked my opinion on all of them.

It was a tough, tough interview. Thankfully my approach to prepping for interviews was to prepare for the worst, and I had read several health care books and did the UWash modules so I was ok.

 

[dabiophyz]

Lucky. Out of all the schools I interviewed at, my hardest interview was at Stony. I had a biochem professor basically grill me on bioethics and health care topics for over an hour. He even recited case studies off the top of his head, starting with relatively easy ones and then pulling out some crazy ones, and asked my opinion on all of them.

It was a tough, tough interview. Thankfully my approach to prepping for interviews was to prepare for the worst, and I had read several health care books and did the UWash modules so I was ok.

Now I'm nervous. How would you suggest I prepare if my interview is a week or so out?

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

Now I'm nervous. How would you suggest I prepare if my interview is a week or so out?

Read over your PS, look over your application, make sure you can explain any of the activities you did. Read over what you wrote in your supplemental essays too.

I read about health care issues in books and also read the UWash bioethics module because I hadn't had that much exposure to it in college - you probably don't have time for all that, and to be honest it is most likely overkill. Just know the basics and be able to convey an informed opinion.

 

[meed nore sleep]

hey i'll be going to stony brook next year, as well.

Age: 21
Undergrad: stony brook
From: long island
Interests in medicine: reconstructive surgery. i bet i'll change my mind.
Interests outside of medicine: the boy, road trips, working out, being outside, beaches, good parties with good friends, california, reading, making jewelry, staying up entirely too late doing stupid things, being fun.
Favorite books: i love nonfiction. i just read 'animal, vegetable, miracle' by barbara kingsolver. looove it.
Favorite movies: i can hardly sit through them. they have to be real good.
Favorite tv show: i don't really watch tv, but usually whatever's on HGTV or TLC or something.

 

[dfleisch]

I interviewed around 1/29 and am still waiting to hear back from Stony Brook. I am tending to think it may be a rejection since it seems to be taking so long. Stony Brook seems to respond quickly when they send out acceptances or even waitlists. Do you agree?

 

[dabiophyz]

So I just finished my interview. I think they went pretty well, but not to the extent where my interviewers said anything like "I really want you to come here, etc." Is there still a chance? Both also asked what I would do if I didn't get in. Standard or a bad sign?

 

[Jess8000]

@eternalrage-- Thanks for your perspective on SB's grading.

After talking to a current 2nd year student a while back, here's a quick run down of what they had to say:

The grading scheme for second year is different. We take 3 medical classes as second years - Pharmacology, Microbiology, and Systems-based Pathology, and the grading is different in each.

In Microbiology, there is just a specific set of cut-offs used. Honors is 90-100, High Pass is 85-89, and Pass and Low-Pass span the range of 70-84. The class is not curved at all, so if you get a 69, you will receive an F as your grade and be forced to remediate. For our class this year, I imagine something like 75% of the 106 students received an Honors in Micro. Historically, more than 50% of the class receives Honors in Micro every year.

Pharmacology is based off a series of 6 exams, each of which varies in weight. The first exam is worth the most (I think 25%), and the last one we took was worth only 3%. This is directly proportional to the number of lectures worth of material covered on the exam. Pharmacology is not curved if I recall. The exact grade breakdown from our course page is:
F < 64.5
LP >= 64.5 and < 73.5
P >= 73.5 and < 85.5
HP >= 85.5 and < 91.5
H >= 91.5

Very, very few people honor this course.

Finally, Systems-based Pathology consists of 10 systems (e.g., Cardio, Pulm, Renal, Endocrine...), each of which has its own course grade. Each system course grade is curved to bring the average to an 85. You receive only 1 grade for all 10 systems, which is just the average grade for all 10 systems. Here is the info from the course page:

1. The course grade is the arithmetic mean of the numeric grades achieved in its 10 segments.
2. Grades are adjusted, if necessary, to bring the class mean to 85%.
3. Numeric scores for a System segment just completed will be posted electronically on CBase within a week. These scores are not final (see 4 below). The final grade at the end of Systems is converted from percent scores according to the following rubric: 70-76.4% = low pass; 76.5-86.4% = Pass; 86.5-92.4% = High Pass; 92.5% and above = Honors. All grades are scaled up from 0.5 - 0.9 and scaled down from 0.1 to<0.5.


Some people may say that you will only fail if you put in no effort on your own part. That's not true at all. Unfortunately, people here do fail classes, and many people fail individual systems in Pathology. Failing an entire year has even happened to several of the current medical students.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

I interviewed around 1/29 and am still waiting to hear back from Stony Brook. I am tending to think it may be a rejection since it seems to be taking so long. Stony Brook seems to respond quickly when they send out acceptances or even waitlists. Do you agree?

So I just finished my interview. I think they went pretty well, but not to the extent where my interviewers said anything like "I really want you to come here, etc." Is there still a chance?

I have a third yr friend who was accepted off the waitlist a week or two before classes started. Unless they reject you, you still have a chance. Some people believe writing update letters and stuff helps, I honestly don't know about that though.

Both also asked what I would do if I didn't get in. Standard or a bad sign?

I got asked taht in a Texas interview, and I got into that school, it's a normal question. I told them that since I had an engineering degree, a public health/biolgoical sciences masters degree, and worked as a research tech for a yr, that I could do any of those instead. They're just trying to make sure you're not the type where your whole world comes crashing down if you don't get into med school - something about predicting how you tolerate the possibility of failure blah blah blah.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

@eternalrage-- Thanks for your perspective on SB's grading.

After talking to a current 2nd year student a while back, here's a quick run down of what they had to say:

The grading scheme for second year is different. We take 3 medical classes as second years - Pharmacology, Microbiology, and Systems-based Pathology, and the grading is different in each.

In Microbiology, there is just a specific set of cut-offs used. Honors is 90-100, High Pass is 85-89, and Pass and Low-Pass span the range of 70-84. The class is not curved at all, so if you get a 69, you will receive an F as your grade and be forced to remediate. For our class this year, I imagine something like 75% of the 106 students received an Honors in Micro. Historically, more than 50% of the class receives Honors in Micro every year.

Pharmacology is based off a series of 6 exams, each of which varies in weight. The first exam is worth the most (I think 25%), and the last one we took was worth only 3%. This is directly proportional to the number of lectures worth of material covered on the exam. Pharmacology is not curved if I recall. The exact grade breakdown from our course page is:
F < 64.5
LP >= 64.5 and < 73.5
P >= 73.5 and < 85.5
HP >= 85.5 and < 91.5
H >= 91.5

Very, very few people honor this course.

Finally, Systems-based Pathology consists of 10 systems (e.g., Cardio, Pulm, Renal, Endocrine...), each of which has its own course grade. Each system course grade is curved to bring the average to an 85. You receive only 1 grade for all 10 systems, which is just the average grade for all 10 systems. Here is the info from the course page:

1. The course grade is the arithmetic mean of the numeric grades achieved in its 10 segments.
2. Grades are adjusted, if necessary, to bring the class mean to 85%.
3. Numeric scores for a System segment just completed will be posted electronically on CBase within a week. These scores are not final (see 4 below). The final grade at the end of Systems is converted from percent scores according to the following rubric: 70-76.4% = low pass; 76.5-86.4% = Pass; 86.5-92.4% = High Pass; 92.5% and above = Honors. All grades are scaled up from 0.5 - 0.9 and scaled down from 0.1 to<0.5.


Some people may say that you will only fail if you put in no effort on your own part. That's not true at all. Unfortunately, people here do fail classes, and many people fail individual systems in Pathology. Failing an entire year has even happened to several of the current medical students.

Well that's good now I know what to expect for grading next year. Failing systems segments - I think you can fail up to three and still not have to repeat or something. Don't remember.

I'd believe the second years about grading, because their class is mad gunnerish. But anything subjective they have to say take with a grain of salt because that class sometimes doesn't play with a full deck. They're a few noodles short of a ramen bowl (I hear they went crazy after Physio).

They are in stark contrast to the third years, who generally are pretty relaxed, sometimes too much - so I take what they say with a grain of salt too...

And then there's my class, which blows both out of the water since we are the awesomest people in the school. But then again we are doing Physio now and might go crazy too afterwards...

In all seriousness though, I'd agree with your friend's opinions on failing up to a point. People do fail, but IMO people who fail generally tend to be those who don't find out how to do well in a course. They throw alot of material and lecture at you at Stony (just like at any other med school), and the key to doing well is to figure out what worked for previous year's classes.

ie. In anatomy, there are lectures, guest lectures, 2 textbooks, the lab dissection manual, previous years exams, a quiz question databank, the labs themselves, and so on.

If all you did was go to lab and study old exams, you could easily pass. Lecture is expendable. Textbooks are expendable. If you really wanted to honor the course, then doing all the quiz databank questions and reading a condensed text called "Clinical sidelights" would probably be the only extra work you needed.

Now the people who didn't do well - they generally just didn't know how to approach the course. I won't go as far as to say that all that other stuff like lecture is useless, because it is legit information - but it definitely takes away from time better spent studying things that will help you survive.

Med school is not about being a good student. The more you try and be a good student, the worse you will do, unless you have perfect time management/ attention span, a photographic memory, and the mutant ability to extend a day into 36 hours. Med school, esp Stony IMO, is about SURVIVAL. The better you survive, the higher grades you get.

The amount of people who fail simply because they can't cut it is extremely small.

You know what type of student you are. If you can figure out what you need to do (takes some networking), and just stay on top of the work (which usually isn't that bad), you'll be fine.

 

[Jess8000]

^^^ Thanks for taking the time to be so thorough

 

[keepitcomin27]

I interviewed around 1/29 and am still waiting to hear back from Stony Brook. I am tending to think it may be a rejection since it seems to be taking so long. Stony Brook seems to respond quickly when they send out acceptances or even waitlists. Do you agree?

I interviewed in december last year and i was waitlisted about a month later...that wait wasnt so long, but it did take me until June 12 to get in off the waitlist. So basically, hang in there and keep your head up. Theres decent movement on the waitlist, so don't psych yourself out =)

 

[keepitcomin27]

Well that's good now I know what to expect for grading next year. Failing systems segments - I think you can fail up to three and still not have to repeat or something. Don't remember.

I'd believe the second years about grading, because their class is mad gunnerish. But anything subjective they have to say take with a grain of salt because that class sometimes doesn't play with a full deck. They're a few noodles short of a ramen bowl (I hear they went crazy after Physio).

They are in stark contrast to the third years, who generally are pretty relaxed, sometimes too much - so I take what they say with a grain of salt too...

And then there's my class, which blows both out of the water since we are the awesomest people in the school. But then again we are doing Physio now and might go crazy too afterwards...

In all seriousness though, I'd agree with your friend's opinions on failing up to a point. People do fail, but IMO people who fail generally tend to be those who don't find out how to do well in a course. They throw alot of material and lecture at you at Stony (just like at any other med school), and the key to doing well is to figure out what worked for previous year's classes.

ie. In anatomy, there are lectures, guest lectures, 2 textbooks, the lab dissection manual, previous years exams, a quiz question databank, the labs themselves, and so on.

If all you did was go to lab and study old exams, you could easily pass. Lecture is expendable. Textbooks are expendable. If you really wanted to honor the course, then doing all the quiz databank questions and reading a condensed text called "Clinical sidelights" would probably be the only extra work you needed.

Now the people who didn't do well - they generally just didn't know how to approach the course. I won't go as far as to say that all that other stuff like lecture is useless, because it is legit information - but it definitely takes away from time better spent studying things that will help you survive.

Med school is not about being a good student. The more you try and be a good student, the worse you will do, unless you have perfect time management/ attention span, a photographic memory, and the mutant ability to extend a day into 36 hours. Med school, esp Stony IMO, is about SURVIVAL. The better you survive, the higher grades you get.

The amount of people who fail simply because they can't cut it is extremely small.

You know what type of student you are. If you can figure out what you need to do (takes some networking), and just stay on top of the work (which usually isn't that bad), you'll be fine.

I agree a lot with eternalrage...the key to succeeding here is figuring out what you need to study for the exams. As I suspect is the case at most schools, in order to actually do all the assigned readings, practice problems, and lectures, you will either have zero social life and adequate sleep, or crappy social life and crappy sleep. theres just not enough time to do everything, and so talking with other classmates/2nd years will be your best bet when you wonder how to best allocate your time. Eternalrage says med school is all about survival, but thats just because hes into brazilian jiu-jitsu and is cheesy like that.


As for med school not being about good students, I'd agree, with reservations. Both of us rarely go to lecture, and we do just fine, but its because we know what we can miss and what we can't. We spend our time working on other things like reading primers/doing old tests and I've definitely felt at times that I knew the material better than classmates who were "good students" and went to class all the time. This isnt to encourage you to never go to lecture, especially if you're used to doing so, but just a reminder that there will be times when going to lecture will be a waste of time (hint: ask the 2nd years which lecturers are worth going to). just know that if you plan on missing lecture, you better be doing something worthwhile with that time...sometimes that means sleeping lol.

also about failing, he's right again...hardly anyone is gonna be failing because they just can't understand the material. Classmates/tutors/faculty go out of their way to help you pass your courses, so if you fail you actually have to try hard at it...its more about not being able to keep up.

One last note: despite what I said about ppl not wanting you to fail, this is still med school, and you're still expected to act like an adult. So no matter how smart you think you are, how many accomplishments you've racked up thus far, and how independent you've been, please come to terms with the fact that at some point (probably many points), you WILL struggle. No one (not even the tutors) is going to hold your hand, and it's gonna be up to you to figure out how to succeed. In my opinion, barring the people who had some crazy circumstances going on in their lives like terminal illness in the family and marital problems, its the people who expect to be hand-fed and/or make a big deal about how unfairly hard med school and their lives are who fail. Accept that you will be forced to push yourself to new limits and that crazy things will be asked of you...and you will be fine. A weighty charge for sure, but then again you wanted to be here, right?

 

[nycNerd]

is anyone going to the revisit day on April 11?

 

[rds726]

is anyone going to the revisit day on April 11?

I will be going. Just RSVP-ed a few days ago.
See you guys there!

 

[rds726]

PS: According to US News new ranking, Stony is 55 for research.

I think that is a jump up? From what I remember, they were unranked for research last year.

I may be entirely wrong.

 

[keepitcomin27]

i couldve sworn we actually were in the top 50 2 years ago...regardless, ull definitely find a big research program here if thats what youre interested in.

 

[aaj117]

Revisit this weekend, who's going? I'll be there from ten till like two, have to leave early, but i'm looking forward to it!

PS i'll be the slightly-chubby, hispanic looking girl (i'm not actually hispanic i'm half black half white, but that's how i look), with short curly hair and probably big bags under my eyes from working an overnight right beforehand on the ambulance.

 

[nycNerd]

I'm going too!

I'm medium-height w/ blond hair, freckles and glasses. Oh, and I'm a girl, lol.

Looking forward to meeting you all!

P.S. Do you think we're supposed to be dressed up, or are jeans and sneakers ok?

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

i couldve sworn we actually were in the top 50 2 years ago...regardless, ull definitely find a big research program here if thats what youre interested in.

Yep. We were in top 50 a couple years back.

Then keepitcomin27 and I matriculated and the ranking dropped accordingly.

Don't worry once we graduate it will go back up again.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

And yes, revisit revisit revisit.

One last chance to take a look around and see if this is where you want to spend your next four years.

 

[samiam37]

im going to join this forum if it's ok with my fellow classmates

MS1
ask me anything. i love love love this school

 

[aaj117]

Up until now, i've been very indecisive...but this weekend, i pretty much chose. Unless I'm absolutely blown away at BU's open house, or i get off the waitlist at Sinai, i will be attending Stony Brook next year. I'm pretty excited about the decision. I was really impressed at the open house and all of the people i met were great.

Quick question to current students, since I wrote it down and promptly lost it...are lectures recorded and put online? either video or audio? I think i remember hearing that they're on MP3 and being excited that i could listen again when i work out, but i'm not 100% sure so just checking again. Thanks!

 

[samiam37]

Up until now, i've been very indecisive...but this weekend, i pretty much chose. Unless I'm absolutely blown away at BU's open house, or i get off the waitlist at Sinai, i will be attending Stony Brook next year. I'm pretty excited about the decision. I was really impressed at the open house and all of the people i met were great.

Quick question to current students, since I wrote it down and promptly lost it...are lectures recorded and put online? either video or audio? I think i remember hearing that they're on MP3 and being excited that i could listen again when i work out, but i'm not 100% sure so just checking again. Thanks!

yay for having a fabulous time at your revist. the atmosphere and people were the two things that made me like this school as well.

each student is assigned a lecture to transcribe (one hour). the Av-techs also record every lecture and post it up to our noteservice that day. so if you miss class...you can hear it on windows media player that night (generally), wait for the student transcript to be uploaded (48 hours after lecture) or go to the student lounge and watch the lecture on video(this is in its infancy and not EVERY lecture is recorded bc some professors do not agree to it). Listening to the audio and following along with the powerpoints on your computer is actually really good. Ive done it a handful of times if I want to listen to some portion of the lecture again.

Generally in medical school... you wont be listening to the lectures over and over again...instead youll be studying it on your own...over and over again..but each person has their own style..and we have resources to fit each persons need.

I cant find a way to download it as an mp3. actually...i havent bothered to try. (working out is my personal time...i don't bring medical school to the gym) im sure you probably could...just never actually tried. but i couldnt see why not??

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

Up until now, i've been very indecisive...but this weekend, i pretty much chose. Unless I'm absolutely blown away at BU's open house, or i get off the waitlist at Sinai, i will be attending Stony Brook next year. I'm pretty excited about the decision. I was really impressed at the open house and all of the people i met were great.

Go to all your second looks.

Hope you get off waitlist at Sinai. I hear writing letters and stuff gets you off the list there, I have a friend who is going to be a third yr who basically wrote them a paper every month he was waitlisted about why he wanted to be a doc and why he wanted to go to med school.

Quick question to current students, since I wrote it down and promptly lost it...are lectures recorded and put online? either video or audio? I think i remember hearing that they're on MP3 and being excited that i could listen again when i work out, but i'm not 100% sure so just checking again. Thanks!

Audio is online. I think I've downloaded one lecture this entire year. For the most part going to lecture and/or listening to lecture is not necessary, depending on how you study. I have been skipping to the point where I have 4 day weekends, since middle of first semester. It is one thing that I love about this school.

They have been experimenting with the video, trying to record lectures and then put them up for download on the computers in the lounge. We also have a transcript service, which depending on which course, is extremely helpful. Biochem: helpful. Anatomy: useless. Neuro: helpful. Physio: useless. Foundations: sometimes helpful. This of course also depends on the notetaking ability of your classmates, but seeing as how most lectures so far haven't been all that different from previous years, most people just re-decorate the previous years' transcript and upload it.

Here's an idea of how transcripts and lectures played a part so far in my first year:
Anatomy - never went to lecture, never read transcripts, read Core Concepts (slightly useful), skimmed Clinical Sidelights (pretty useful), did mass previous exams and quizzes (pretty much the whole course - exams/quizzes are blatantly recycled).

Embryo - never listened to or read powerpoint lectures (this is completely self taught, they give you a cd of lectures). Only did old questions, even more blatantly recycled than anatomy (these two courses are combined).

Biochem - only went to lecture for the "clickers", or mini quizzes at end of each lecture, which amounted to a small percentage of the final grade. Never really listened in class. Read transcripts. No books.

Neuro - never went to lecture after the first couple days, read transcripts. No books.

Physio - only went for graded small groups and OSCEs. Never went to lecture. Read BRS Physio and Costanza (abridged books), and certain primers. Did old problems.

Don't get me wrong though, the more time you spend out of class, the more time you teach it to yourself. Fall behind, and you're screwed. Classes move quick, and exam days come even quicker.

 

[keepitcomin27]

i agree with many of eternalrage's points, although i wouldnt be too dramatic...we did just take out physio final today and were feeling burnt out.

a good number of people go to class and do get a lot out of it...not everyone is a relative slacker like eternalrage and i. And yes if u do miss class its on you to learn the material on your own. its really important however to find out what exactly you need to know, instead of trying to cover every little thing mentioned in class, so that you can allocate your time more effectively. You're going to have a ton of stuff thrown at you and its just not possible to be able to totally master everything.

Hope you all enjoyed 2nd look!!

 

[doikclou]

This thread seems to have lost its momentum so I'll try to fire it back up. Anybody interested in starting a Facebook group?

Age: 21
Undergrad: Cornell
From: Long Island
Interests in medicine: IM, maybe even hematology or cardiology down the line
Interests outside of medicine: Like I have any? J/k, travel, old friends, new friends, and trying to get back in the habit of reading. College kind of killed that last hobby.
Favorite books: Middlesex (I highly recommend it), The Master and Margarita, King Leopold's Ghosts, Welcome to the Desert of the Real, Angels & Demons
Favorite movies: Amadeus, Amelie, Beetlejuice, Crash, Donnie Darko, Eternal Sunshine, Life as a House, Lost in Translation, Zoolander, lots of crime thrillers
Favorite tv show: Heroes! SVU too
AIM: SRahman86

 

[aaj117]

This thread seems to have lost its momentum so I'll try to fire it back up. Anybody interested in starting a Facebook group?

there is a facebook group! there are about 20 of us on it i think, you should totally join. i was sad that this thread died...i finally decided for sure on stony brook (unless of course i get off the sinai waitlist)

 

[rds726]

Does anyone know where I can get the match lists from previous years, not jus last year?

thanks!

 

[Sandhyainschool]

I just received a phone call today about my acceptance!!
I'm super excited, but I just need to know if Stony Brook is for me. In med school, I'm sure like everyone else, I want to do well, but mostly I really want to enjoy the process. So far it seems like a pretty cool class

Age: 21
Undergrad: Saint Louis University in St. louis, MO
From: Nashville, TN - so far I think I'm the only one from the south haha
Interests in medicine: Endocrinology, Dermatology, public health
Interests outside of medicine: LOVE LOVE LOVE music which I guess I share with some of you! and yeah I was that girl in the acapella group in college...haha, I also LOVE to dance - any kind!, spirituality discussions - yeah those late night convos about God (I was a theology minor), writing, and meditation (I'm hoping this will be my stress reliever in med school)
Favorite books: the namesake, hatchet, harry potters!, gone with the wind, anything by Thich Nhat Hanh, Princess
Favorite movies: zoolander, kite runner, godfathers - only 1 and 2, dead poets society, any movie really that makes me laugh
Favorite Show: scrubs (I hope I find my female version of Turk at stony brook haha), the office, the hills (my guilty pleasure!)

The only thing I felt weird about Stony brook was how everyone was from new york. I am not sure if I would fit in having been raised in Nashville, TN. I didn't get a chance to meet many people during my interview because my flight got delayed and I literally walked in 5 minutes before my interview with my carry-on in hand and had to leave right after the interview. Any advice from fellow southerners or anyone? Otherwise, I have been a distant fan of new york and am open-minded enough for a new place!

 

[samiam37]

I just received a phone call today about my acceptance!!
I'm super excited, but I just need to know if Stony Brook is for me. In med school, I'm sure like everyone else, I want to do well, but mostly I really want to enjoy the process. So far it seems like a pretty cool class

Age: 21
Undergrad: Saint Louis University in St. louis, MO
From: Nashville, TN - so far I think I'm the only one from the south haha
Interests in medicine: Endocrinology, Dermatology, public health
Interests outside of medicine: LOVE LOVE LOVE music which I guess I share with some of you! and yeah I was that girl in the acapella group in college...haha, I also LOVE to dance - any kind!, spirituality discussions - yeah those late night convos about God (I was a theology minor), writing, and meditation (I'm hoping this will be my stress reliever in med school)
Favorite books: the namesake, hatchet, harry potters!, gone with the wind, anything by Thich Nhat Hanh, Princess
Favorite movies: zoolander, kite runner, godfathers - only 1 and 2, dead poets society, any movie really that makes me laugh
Favorite Show: scrubs (I hope I find my female version of Turk at stony brook haha), the office, the hills (my guilty pleasure!)

The only thing I felt weird about Stony brook was how everyone was from new york. I am not sure if I would fit in having been raised in Nashville, TN. I didn't get a chance to meet many people during my interview because my flight got delayed and I literally walked in 5 minutes before my interview with my carry-on in hand and had to leave right after the interview. Any advice from fellow southerners or anyone? Otherwise, I have been a distant fan of new york and am open-minded enough for a new place!

you won't feel out of place, i can assure you. Getting used to living in suburb long island is one thing, but meshing in with your classmates is another. I know people in our class that are from Texas, and to be honest it doesnt really matter. Everyone becomes friends (very, very close friends) so fast. Plus, after exams you can go to NYC, which is the best, so a big plus on moving up to NY. The adcom does a pretty good job putting a class together that they think will click.

 

[pandulce321]

I just received a phone call today about my acceptance!!
I'm super excited, but I just need to know if Stony Brook is for me. In med school, I'm sure like everyone else, I want to do well, but mostly I really want to enjoy the process. So far it seems like a pretty cool class

Age: 21
Undergrad: Saint Louis University in St. louis, MO
From: Nashville, TN - so far I think I'm the only one from the south haha
Interests in medicine: Endocrinology, Dermatology, public health
Interests outside of medicine: LOVE LOVE LOVE music which I guess I share with some of you! and yeah I was that girl in the acapella group in college...haha, I also LOVE to dance - any kind!, spirituality discussions - yeah those late night convos about God (I was a theology minor), writing, and meditation (I'm hoping this will be my stress reliever in med school)
Favorite books: the namesake, hatchet, harry potters!, gone with the wind, anything by Thich Nhat Hanh, Princess
Favorite movies: zoolander, kite runner, godfathers - only 1 and 2, dead poets society, any movie really that makes me laugh
Favorite Show: scrubs (I hope I find my female version of Turk at stony brook haha), the office, the hills (my guilty pleasure!)

The only thing I felt weird about Stony brook was how everyone was from new york. I am not sure if I would fit in having been raised in Nashville, TN. I didn't get a chance to meet many people during my interview because my flight got delayed and I literally walked in 5 minutes before my interview with my carry-on in hand and had to leave right after the interview. Any advice from fellow southerners or anyone? Otherwise, I have been a distant fan of new york and am open-minded enough for a new place!

I am also on the wait-list... CONGRATS! May I inquire about your stats? Feel free to message me if you don't feel comfortable sharing on here. I am from South Florida. It is not exactly "southern," but I understand where you are coming from. Stony Brook seems very culturally diverse. I am used to this coming from Fort Lauderdale, but if you are not, it may be slightly hard to adjust. Keep us updated on your decision. What other school are you looking at?

 

[rds726]

has anyone looked into housing yet?
i was just browsing through the OCH website that they have on the Stony Brook page and just had a question.
When you look under "Rental Listings" are these listings for rooms within an apartment that you share with others? I thought it was for the apartment itself but some of them, for "Kitchen Privileges" says "no".
Does that mean there is no kitchen or what?
Also, some places include internet and cable. Is someone living there already and paying for it?

I dont see why they would advertise just one room in an apartment, since that would be more like searching for a housemate, but i was wondering if someone could just clear it up for me since i will not be able to attend pre-orientation.

 

[ParvatiP]

has anyone looked into housing yet?
i was just browsing through the OCH website that they have on the Stony Brook page and just had a question.
When you look under "Rental Listings" are these listings for rooms within an apartment that you share with others? I thought it was for the apartment itself but some of them, for "Kitchen Privileges" says "no".
Does that mean there is no kitchen or what?
Also, some places include internet and cable. Is someone living there already and paying for it?

I dont see why they would advertise just one room in an apartment, since that would be more like searching for a housemate, but i was wondering if someone could just clear it up for me since i will not be able to attend pre-orientation.

I think most of the places listed on the OCH website are for rooms within a house. I don't know what the no kitchen privilieges thing means, probably you should just call the renter to find out. There aren't really many apartment complexes in Stony Brook (maybe a couple, which are pricey).

I'm planning on living with my boyfriend and we've had to use a realtor to try to find the kind of place we'd like to live in (basically one floor of a house with a separate kitchen and bathroom, etc). The OCH website hasn't been very helpful for us, which is unfortunate.

 

[juzaileen]

just found out yesterday that I got accepted. I fell in love with this school during the interview, then sort of forgot about it after being accepted at RWJ.
So I have missed those second viewing opportunities and I know that the pre-orientation will be held on June 13, unfortunately I will be out of the country....so anyone here care to share with me why you guys chose SB over all the other schools? Thanks, I'm kind of confused now about which school to attend and feel really bad about holding spots knowing that other people out there are waiting as well.

 

[kunfu]

Hey, since I will most likely be at Stony Brook I figured I would join the thread. Congrats to all who were accepted! I need to start looking at housing. I have a gf soon to be more, but would still like to live with other stony brook students.



I thought I was the only person in the world who read hatchet.

 

[Sandhyainschool]

Hatchet was one of the coolest books ever! I mean who would've thought someone would get stranded in the Canadian forest with only a hatchet????

In terms of housing, I am thinking about maybe investing in the real estate and buying a house/condo/apartment - nothing luxurious something in the price range of 100k - 200k. Does anyone know if that is a good idea around the stony brook area?

 

[samiam37]

at pre orientation you will get a folder and in it will be a list of your future classmates (albeit, slightly incomplete at this point) but what their phone numbers are and what types of housing they are interested in. Grace also complies a list of stony brook off campus housing (current students who move out and are offering their house up with a full description) as well as cuts out from local papers and about 200+ listings in the local area of houses that a basically owned with the intention to rent to stony brook med students. You may want to wait until june 13th to begin you quest for housing.

I know that off campus housing link online is barely used, especially not by medical students. We tend to offer medical student occupied houses to other medical students.


Plus there are always second third and fourth years looking for 1 or 2 people to come live with them if an opening occurs.

Have fun at pre-orientation!

 

[Ms MD]

SandH and all other incoming SBers:
Congrats on getting in!!!!
(And good luck to those on the waiting list)

SandH: The class of 2011 has some of the most open-minded, welcoming, accepting, open-minded, chill, awesome and good-hearted people I've ever met in my life! If your class is anything like our class, then you'll have no problem fitting in.
In our class, pretty much everyone is friends with and/or friendly with everyone else. We have an awesome dynamic.
Although more than 1/2 of the students here are from NY, we have a diverse body of students from places like Maine, Cali, ... etc.

If you love to dance - on thursdays some students get together to do Salsa dancing... and we have a highly anticipated Evening of the Arts and another event called Asian Extravaganza, where students perform (dance, other musical talent, skits, etc). You could even choreograph something if you wanted to.
You might be able to find some videos on YouTube if you do a search. I'll see if I can find one...

Anyways, congratulations again!! Even though I'm from NYState, personally, I felt a little wierd about coming out to a suburb of NYC, but I promise, it begins to feel like home. Stony Brook is an amazing community, and they take care of the medical students here

You guys probably already have a copy of it, but the match list for 2008 was supposed to be out-of sight.. people are placing in top residency programs.

B4 I forget...
--> Do you guys also know that SB will fund you to do a research or a humanities project over the summer? As long as you have a solid proposal, you can get funding.. and you can do biomedical research, or your own miscellaneous humanities project (yes- they'll fund you to do non-science work!!)

I just received a phone call today about my acceptance!!
I'm super excited, but I just need to know if Stony Brook is for me. In med school, I'm sure like everyone else, I want to do well, but mostly I really want to enjoy the process. So far it seems like a pretty cool class

Age: 21
Undergrad: Saint Louis University in St. louis, MO
From: Nashville, TN - so far I think I'm the only one from the south haha
Interests in medicine: Endocrinology, Dermatology, public health
Interests outside of medicine: LOVE LOVE LOVE music which I guess I share with some of you! and yeah I was that girl in the acapella group in college...haha, I also LOVE to dance - any kind!, spirituality discussions - yeah those late night convos about God (I was a theology minor), writing, and meditation (I'm hoping this will be my stress reliever in med school)
Favorite books: the namesake, hatchet, harry potters!, gone with the wind, anything by Thich Nhat Hanh, Princess
Favorite movies: zoolander, kite runner, godfathers - only 1 and 2, dead poets society, any movie really that makes me laugh
Favorite Show: scrubs (I hope I find my female version of Turk at stony brook haha), the office, the hills (my guilty pleasure!)

The only thing I felt weird about Stony brook was how everyone was from new york. I am not sure if I would fit in having been raised in Nashville, TN. I didn't get a chance to meet many people during my interview because my flight got delayed and I literally walked in 5 minutes before my interview with my carry-on in hand and had to leave right after the interview. Any advice from fellow southerners or anyone? Otherwise, I have been a distant fan of new york and am open-minded enough for a new place!

 

[adokotala]

Hey guys! I am also going to SBU next year and am a little worried about housing as well. I grew up less than a mile from campus (and my parents still live there) but I definitely don't want to live at home. I know that there is the Pre-O program on June 13, but I also will be out of the country (I come back the 17th...been away for a year and am excited to get back!). I sent my info to Ms. Agnetti, so it will at least be included in the roommate hunt info. I am looking for a 2-3 bedroom place, close to campus in the $600-800 range(?). I have been doing as much housing hunting as I can do online (it helps that I know the area and many of the houses/apts that are for sale/rent), but it's hard from here.

I'd love to live with other SBU students - first years or upperclassmen.

Join the Facebook group if you haven't already!

 

[Richter915]

I'm gonna be living on campus in Chapin next semester...is a car still necessary for the first year? I emphasize necessary...i know the buses run on the weekend to the food places, also I'm an hour train ride to home so I can always come back to grub.

 

[aaj117]

I'm gonna be living on campus in Chapin next semester...is a car still necessary for the first year? I emphasize necessary...i know the buses run on the weekend to the food places, also I'm an hour train ride to home so I can always come back to grub.

If you're living on campus a car's not necessary, just make sure you make good friends with cars so that when you're stressed and need to head out for a night you have people go out with and a way to get there.

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

The only thing I felt weird about Stony brook was how everyone was from new york. I am not sure if I would fit in having been raised in Nashville, TN. I didn't get a chance to meet many people during my interview because my flight got delayed and I literally walked in 5 minutes before my interview with my carry-on in hand and had to leave right after the interview. Any advice from fellow southerners or anyone? Otherwise, I have been a distant fan of new york and am open-minded enough for a new place!

Suburbia is suburbia. I'm from Texas, and aside from the abundance of trees and the NY accents, there's not much difference - tho cost of living is a little more expensive (alot more if you are looking to buy a house or something). I actually like the people here a little better, they are a little more down to earth. Alot of people in my hometown of Plano are cocky pricks.

I dont see why they would advertise just one room in an apartment, since that would be more like searching for a housemate, but i was wondering if someone could just clear it up for me since i will not be able to attend pre-orientation.

Yep alot are rooms in a house. I used OCH to look at a couple places offered by non Stony affliated people (general community), but then just ended up housing with a 3rd yr and some grad students. There were a bunch of available housing going out over the last couple months via email, I'd have posted at least the descriptions had I not emptied my trashbox.

So I have missed those second viewing opportunities and I know that the pre-orientation will be held on June 13, unfortunately I will be out of the country....so anyone here care to share with me why you guys chose SB over all the other schools? Thanks, I'm kind of confused now about which school to attend and feel really bad about holding spots knowing that other people out there are waiting as well.

Stony has block scheduling, classes aren't usually mandatory, lectures are transcribed, audio recorded. Tests (at least for first year) are generally easy to handle if you figure out from 2nd/3rd yrs what's going to be on them and if you keep up with the work. Faculty is very nice and actually care about you more than their research. Adcoms generally don't let too many douchebags in. That being said, I have a couple old friends at RWJ and they absolutely love it.

[Richter915]I'm gonna be living on campus in Chapin next semester...is a car still necessary for the first year? I emphasize necessary...i know the buses run on the weekend to the food places, also I'm an hour train ride to home so I can always come back to grub.[/quote]
Car is not necessary, you can walk to class. In fact, if you're planning on attending lectures, you can use the fact that you live to get a spot on NoteService so you don't have to pay or transcribe (you'll hear about this later). But I do agree that you should buddy up with people who have cars or else your world will be confined to school and your room. At least get a bike so you can ride to the gym on the undergrad campus.

 

[juelz721]

Does anyone know if Stony gave out any merit scholarships?

 

[kunfu]

I wish they would but I dont think they do. The only ones I know of are for "disadvantaged" students.