Stony Brook or UBuffalo pros/cons?

[Jack Worthing]

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Premise: I want to go to a New York State dental school.

Facts: Accepted at Buffalo.. put down my deposit (NY is my home state and all).

Potential Problem: I might get a Stony Brook acceptance any day now.. I'm afraid I may have to make a choice.

Please post pros and cons of Buffalo vs. Stony Brook! Two great State Schools hard to choose between...

THANKS! Congrats to eveyone who's been successful so far.

 

[UBTom]

Jack,

Both are your New York State-tax-dollar-funded institutions and the state does not favor one over the other. You will get an excellent dental education at either school.

The differences which you need to decide on will be on issues not directly related to the school itself-- Things like if you want to stay closer to home (I'm assuming that Stony is closer to home for you than Buffalo), costs of living (it's cheaper to live in Buffalo than on LI that's for sure), etc.

Reason why I went to Buffalo: I've lived in Queens all my life and LI is a daily stomping ground for me, and I wanted a change in scenary. 😀

 

[Jack Worthing]

Tom,

Wow that was a strong decision- has the change in scenery to Upstate been worth it? How's the quality of recreation and quality of life around UBuffalo? I did like what I saw when I did some light research on the New York State website linked in your signature. Plus UBuffalo's student lounge rocks (I'm referring to the basement of Squire)... On the other hand- the thing that tugs at me is Stony's proximity to NYC (2 1/2 hours LIRR ride).

But I've been thinking - and is this justified in your opinion? - that due to the amount of work that Dental School involves, the immediately surrounding area is probably more important day to day than what other city the school is close to. And so if I have to make a choice, I'd be really looking into how I would enjoy Stony Brook dental/medical campus, and the surrounding towns.

Any current Stony Brook students or future students reading this?- please post on how you're liking the location aspects of Stony Brook. Also post on how you're liking/disliking the small class size.

Research opportunties, faculty-student support, teaching program seem similar at both schools so far after my research into their websites and bulletins... again with just that big difference in the class size.

THANKS again

 

[Jack Worthing]

I'm taking this way too seriously for someone not having been accepted yet at Stony Brook 😀 but it's all still nice to know.. I should really keep up with my normal life, so I'm gonna be reading this lightly until I hear something real from Stony Brook (at which time I will be really serious about it)

But please keep posting helpful info.. There's may be others in this very predicament.

 

[gryffindor]

Originally posted by Jack Worthing
On the other hand- the thing that tugs at me is Stony's proximity to NYC (2 1/2 hours LIRR ride).

Wow, I didn't realize Stony was that far from NYC. In that case, Toronto (a very nice & active city) is a 2 hour car ride from Buffalo and I go there at most 4 or 5 times per year. No one has time to go to Toronto every weekend, Stony is probably the same way in regard to NYC.

If you come to Buffalo, the student lounge is going to be even better. There are some dedicated sophomores who are redoing the entire lounge and it is going to be sweet. I applaud their dedication to the project. Stony has a strong ASDA chapter and they are a lot of fun to party with. Buffalo's ASDA has also improved a lot since I've started school.

Tom will probably help you better with your other questions since he's more familiar with downstate.

 

[Jack Worthing]

Ok Griffin- you made me check the timetables again

Getting to Stony Brook from the closest station to NYC (the Brooklyn station) is really a 1 1/2 hour - 2 hour train trip. Never more than two hours usually.

Curious- how is it that you interact with the Stony ASDA chapter if it's so far away? Are there inter-school events?

Great to hear about the lounge; it was being painted when i visited and the sophomore guide hinted at a DVD player in the works..

 

[gryffindor]

I've interacted with the Stonybrook ASDA students at regional and national ASDA events. My point was that the chapters at both schools are cool and there are lots of fun people to party & interact with at either school. If you want to start some interschool events when you start dental school, that would be fun. But I guarantee students are just too busy at both schools to coordinate an entire weekend of traveling to the other end of the state to party.

Looks like the lounge will have a DVD player in addition to some other neat features - most importantly, new couches!

 

[UBTom]

to Jack:

Yep, it's been worth it for me. Quality of life: You simply can't beat Amherst, NY, which is where lots of UB dental students live. The reason? Amherst is the safest city in the United States according to last year's crime statistics: http://www.morganquitno.com

This place also has an awesome bike trail system-- I try to use it at least once a week, weather permitting. Goat Island State Park (the island that separates the Canadian and American Niagara Falls) is also a favorite weekend place for me to go biking. The only problem with these outdoor activities is that from November to March it's usually not doable.

Cost of living is CHEAP. Car insurance is ridiculously low-- My '96 Jeep costs $3400/yr to insure with full coverage in NYC and LI. Up here with the same full coverage policy it's $800/yr. Rent is also cheap-- $570/mo gets me a nice two-bedroom apartment 2 miles from school in Amherst (which will get you a broom closet in NYC or LI), and you can eat like a king on $100 a week.

Also, all this time I've been here in Buffalo, I have never seen one single traffic jam. In contrast, LI and NYC are notorious for the world's largest parking lots known as the LIE (I-495, Long Island Expressway) and the Grand Central/Northern State Parkway. 😀 These two main highways that connect NYC to LI are always jammed it seems.

My family is down in NYC and LI (mom, dad, two sisters, and other relatives), and it's actually not too far-- 1 hour away by airplane to LaGuardia Airport. Having grown up in New York City, I still love NYC and LI, wrinkles and all, which is why I will be moving back to the NYC area after I graduate. But the past four years in WNY sure have been a heck of an adventure.

In the end, I guess it just depends: Do you see yourself spending four years in Eastern LI or WNY?

 

[ecdoesit]

wow, that's really affordable.

 

[Jack Worthing]

Thats true about the flight time- it was short. And JetBlue is inexpensive and does JFK-Buffalo service (I dunno about LaGuardia-Buffalo).

I also have parents, two sisters and cousins in NYC. Plus friends from college and high school.

I like your viewpoint- boiling it down to the environment of East LI vs. the environment of WNY... Altho still near the top of my criteria are also the Student Body characteristics. Comments on this aspect of Buffalo or Stony Brook?

I'll be thinking about this.. No mail from Stony yet so fortunately it's not so urgent at the moment.

Thanks for the comments!

 

[UBTom]

As far as the student body is concerned... I can't comment on Stony of course, but here at Buffalo all my classmates are pretty supportive of each other. It's easy to form a circle of friends to study together, share old exams and hints and tips on what techniques work best in preclinic or in clinic. I know most of my 89 classmates. Also, if you come to Buffalo you will be very good friends with four or five of your classmates because you will be doing all your rotations in a set group of 4-6 people.

If there is one big difference between Buffalo and Stony's student body, we are more diverse geographically-- About 20% of the class are out-of-staters (including 2 or 3 Canadians), and we get more people from the rest of New York State than Stony does.

You've met students during your interviews at both places... Follow what your impression gives you.

Good luck!

 

[tbeaven]

Jack,

Let me give you my reasoning on why I chose Stony Brook. Maybe it will help you a little bit. I chose Stony over my other top choices (Buffalo, UCONN, and Maryland). It was basically the gut feeling I got when I was at Stony Brook. It was my first interview and I left with a positive impression and enjoyed the students and faculty. Being from LI Stony was not really in my consideration b/c it was so familiar and ordinary to me. After all my other interviews nothing topped my impression of Stony. Both SUNY schools are great schools. Buffalo being a veteran school is well known for producing great clinicians. I feel Stony Brook has come a long way in 30 years and developed a valuable reputation. My expectations are that they are planning to become one of the top schools consistently. Although, this has nothing to do with dental their graduate chemistry and physics programs are recognized as some of the best in the country. Stony Brook as a university is only 40 years old and rapidly creating a well known name for itself all across the country. Yes, 35 students is a little small. I think a class size of like 50 would be perfect. I think at Buffalo you would probably get more of a college town feel, but then again it's graduate school and not "kegs & eggs" anymore. Stony Brook would not have as much of a campus feel b/c like 35% of the campus is commuters. Stony Brook is a bit more competitive to get in than Buffalo basically b/c they only take NY'ers and the class size is considerably smaller. There are some great places on LI, but obviously people don't see them on their interviews. NYC is only 1hr drive and 1 1/2 by train from Ronkonkoma station (direct line 15 min. away). Hope this helps, but like most say go with your gut feeling that you had when you visited.

 

[Jack Worthing]

Thank you for your input. I've been wanting to hear a Stony Brook opinion. I still remember Dr. Riley and the brilliant student guides Ash (4th year) and Albert (3rd year i think..), from my interview day. I remember being awed as they listed the top-notch schools they turned down a to go to SB...

 

[Jack Worthing]

I got Dr. Riley's phone call on Monday from Stony Brook! Accepted.

I really do have a choice now (Stony Brook vs. Buffalo). And as some other posters have described their dilemmas, it seems either choice I make will feel wrong because I'll "miss out" on what I turned down.

Well.... good luck everyone in your last few months of the application cycle and/or before "Orientation" in August. "It'll be fun," as a dentist and NYUCD alum told me...