Stony Brook vs NJMS

[pennylane12]

Really appreciate any advice! I’m on the high priority waitlist at Stony Brook, which according to them means i have a “very high” chance at being offered a seat. i’m really interested in going into ophthalmology and ideally matching into NYC or somewhere in the northeast.

Cost
in state tuition at NJMS, but stony brook apparently lets you get in state tuition after M1, so NJMS would be about 20k cheaper but only for 1 year. might end up evening out considering higher rent around NJMS (?)

Stony brook
Pros

• matches well into NYC
• Smaller class size (130)
• 18 month P/F preclinical
• cheaper rent (?)
• great research
• students seemed more relaxed/had more free time outside classes to do research or ECs

Cons

• less diverse patient population
• farther from home (2 hr drive)
• S/O in NYC, 2 hr train ride
• heard the area is boring, but i do like the outdoors

NJMS
Pros

• diverse patient population in urban area
• matches well into NYC (?)
• good number of ophtho matches each year
• very close to home, pretty easy access to NYC

Cons

• graded 2 year preclinical
• didn’t really like newark, and rent is pretty expensive
• facilities were very old
• students say faculty discourage research because they want you to focus on grades
• students seemed cynical about the school, generally more stressed

Overall, leaning towards stony brook if i get off the HPWL, but would like some insight about the vibe there and if either will give better chances at matching ophtho. also if any current or past students happen to be reading, i would really appreciate it if you could answer some questions about the school, thank you!!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Bowel-Plumber]

Stony Brook won this debate over the graded pre-clinical alone in my opinion. Not trying to be stressed like that. I think with the P/F preclinical at Stony Brook you’ll be able to have a better time mentally and fit in things like research and personal time. I would like to note that the rent in the Stony Brook area is pretty expensive. You could probably pay around $1000 a month if you have a few roommates, or you could pay $1500+ to live alone. Not sure how that compares to Rutgers but it definitely isn’t as cheap of an area to live in as everyone thinks it is

 

[pennylane12]

bump 🙏

 

[SailboatJ]

+1 for Stony Brook given the graded preclinical at NJMS. I would imagine that students' cynicism and stress at NJMS is at least partially attributed to that. Research being discouraged is also a red flag for me, especially if you're going for something as competitive as optho. I'm from the area and while not ideal, the train ride to NYC is bearable. I know people that were in a similar situation with SO in the city during medical school and made it work just fine. The area is definitely not urban or "exciting" but there's certainly lots do outdoors, especially further out east!