Stony Brook vs UMass

[pipluprulez]

Hello everyone! I was lucky enough to be able to get acceptances for 2 of the schools I was WLed at recently. However, I gotta choose between them fast! Priorities for me are matching back to California after med school, having a supportive academic system, and location.

Stony Brook

Pros

• Matches decently well back to CA (from what I’ve heard)
• Close proximity to NYC (I’ve never been, but it sounds really fun)
• Better weather than UMass
• Smaller class size (110 @Stony vs 200ish @umass)

Cons

• Although the tuitions are relatively similar, the cost of living in Long Island is more expensive than living in Worcester…
• The interview day was relatively stale, and I didn’t vibe with the med students as much
• H/HP/P/LP/F for clinical years

UMass

Pros

• Academic program seems very supportive, with interesting incorporation of “WIN weeks”
• Students seemed really happy and I had no problems vibing with them
• Cheaper COL than Stony Brook
• Just received a large chunk of funding and seems to be on the rise

Cons

• Match list seems weaker than Stony Brook if you don’t want to end up in NE (I want to match back to CA)
• Not a big fan of the Worcester/Boston area; I visited Boston once and it was quite meh

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[Putkernerinthehall]

A couple years back, I found Stony Brook somewhat unresponsive and disorganized during the interview / admissions process. Student interaction similar to yours....unimpressed. Also, keep in mind that you're pretty far out on Long Island and NYC is not all that close / easy to get into. There is a train but it's not like you just pop over there for lunch or dinner. I'm thinking almost 1.5 hours each way when it's all said and done. And, yes, COL higher on Long Island.

How does total COA compare ?

Personally, I'd probably choose U Mass but that's just me. Go with your gut!

 

[tzuyu&yuqi]

Given that both schools are on the east coast, they will probably give you the same probability of matching back to CA, UMass students are typically from around Mass or east coast (they don’t have high OOS acceptance) so it’s no wonder they don’t have many matches to CA (people wanting to match back home) - compared to stony brook which I believe accepts more OOS (and with that Californians)

 

[theoceanman]

In this case, I would choose Mass with its lower COL which probably means lower COA.

Both schools have a relatively equal likelihood of matching back to CA so just choose the cheaper, less-stressful curriculum one.

 

[turtleme34]

I visited my friend (M3) at Stony Brook last month and getting to NYC was at least 2 hours one way (with traffic though). I wouldn’t say it’s a selling point, but there wasn’t much to do in Long Island otherwise. You would probably want a car to do stuff.

Her rent was also kinda ridiculous ($2000+ a month for a 1bed/bath) for a place that wasn’t near the hospital. I kinda felt like most residences near Stony Brook are condos/senior facilities for aged 55+ residents, which makes sense considering the patient population skews very heavily to the elderly. It also explains why the dating scene felt lacking to her.

Just some food for thought. Not sure how UMass compares. Good luck with your decision!

 

[pipluprulez]

Another factor I'm considering now is how UMass seems to be super focused on primary care, but I think I'm leaning more toward specializing. Some students mention that UMass tends to push their students in the primary care direction and doesn't have as many resources for other paths, but I'm not sure how accurate that is. Do you all think this should play a factor in my decision?

How does total COA compare ?

I think Stony Brook is slightly more expensive based on rent and whatnot (the tuition before everything else is the same), but I don't think it's significant enough to play a major factor in my decision.

I visited my friend (M3) at Stony Brook last month and getting to NYC was at least 2 hours one way (with traffic though). I wouldn’t say it’s a selling point, but there wasn’t much to do in Long Island otherwise. You would probably want a car to do stuff.

Her rent was also kinda ridiculous ($2000+ a month for a 1bed/bath) for a place that wasn’t near the hospital. I kinda felt like most residences near Stony Brook are condos/senior facilities for aged 55+ residents, which makes sense considering the patient population skews very heavily to the elderly. It also explains why the dating scene felt lacking to her.

Just some food for thought. Not sure how UMass compares. Good luck with your decision!

When you visited, did you feel like the students were satisfied with the way the school was being run/the LI lifestyle in general? I lowkey get the vibe that the students are a little unhappy, but I also had a really small sample size to work with and don't want to make any broad assumptions.

 

[turtleme34]

When you visited, did you feel like the students were satisfied with the way the school was being run/the LI lifestyle in general? I lowkey get the vibe that the students are a little unhappy, but I also had a really small sample size to work with and don't want to make any broad assumptions.

Tbh, I didn’t really vibe with the school during my interview and when I visited, so I don’t think I would have enjoyed living there personally. I can only speak for my friend, but she had trouble adjusting in her early years as a student. My friend is also hoping to match back west and told me she doesn’t plan to return if that’s any indication as well.