Stony Brook (IS) vs. Buffalo (IS)

[sizzless]

Please help me decide! Thanks 🙂
Stony Brook (IS)
Pros:

• close to home (I'm from NYC area)
• small class size (can be viewed as a pro or con, does it get cliquey?)
• strong clinically and has a good reputation from what I've heard
• not ranked

Cons:

• med school curriculum
  
• went here for undergrad, bored of this area
• higher cost of living
• bad traffic in LI

Buffalo (IS)
Pros:

• cheaper living expenses
• no med school curriculum
• school had a nice community feeling when I visited
• larger class size (can be viewed as a pro or con, is it too big that you can't form close relationships with faculty?)

Cons:

• class is ranked
• far from home
• cold/snowy

Summary: I have heard from a few people that Stony Brook's class is getting more competitive, which isn't appealing to me. I personally don't know anyone who's gone to Buffalo, so I know very little about the school, how strong it is clinically, and its reputation. Both schools provide patients for students, so that isn't a deciding factor.
I want to go to a school that has many different options to get involved outside of classes (clubs, outreach, etc). Does Buffalo's larger size necessarily mean more opportunities/clubs? Ultimately I want to be in a school where the class works together, not against each other, and where the faculty treats students as future dentists.

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[Let me out!]

Go with the cheaper. If you say BU is cheaper and would leave you less bored of the area, why try to stay in the area to make you feel miserable? Both school's students work quite well with each other.

 

[sizzless]

Go with the cheaper. If you say BU is cheaper and would leave you less bored of the area, why try to stay in the area to make you feel miserable? Both school's students work quite well with each other.

The cost would be slightly cheaper but not by a significant amount to solely base my decision, but you make a good point.

 

[DoctorFerrari]

Stony Brook. Being close to home will be a nice addition since the overall cost difference isn’t a lot 🙂

 

[Likkriue]

It’s competitive because everyone thinks they are the smartest sonofabitch in dental school. When in reality most of us are just average, me included. The smart Einstein’s are the very few and there might be only one that I truely believe is that smart in my class. Everyone just has bravado from being top students in undergrad through a lot of weasling around. Stony brook will allow you to go home every time we have a long weekend or most weekends when nothing is due. There is a part in your first year where class is not mandatory and most people take it easy during that time. I woke up at 12-1 pm every day and went to sleep at 4 am playing video games/watching tv while studying maybe 2-3 hours.
Good luck doing that 7 hours upstate.

 

[Faefly]

Definitely should go to Stony Brook. What you gonna do up north, you are not John Snow!