SUNY Buffalo vs SUNY Stony Brook

[Doc AdamK in 2006]

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Hey guys:

I just wondered waht people toght of these schools. I was put on the high priority wait list at Stony Brook and I haven't heard back from Buffalo. I'm orginally from Buffalo. Which has the better research, residencies, rotations, cirriculum, students

Thanks for your comments

AK

 

[Barin]

Buffalo has more superior clinical training and research opportunities. Stony Brook is a relatively new school, doesn't enjoy particularly good reputation and is primary care oriented.

 

[EW1779]

i disagree wholeheartedly with thie previous poster's remarks regarding stony brook. first off, if you check the rankings, SB ranks # 26 whereas buffalo does not rank at all. from what i hear SB has a great reputation, and i haven;t heard anything about UB. in addition, i am from buffalo and i know some people who go to school at UB the school having trouble keeping its accreditation specifically becuase of problems with their clinical training sites. i can speak more to this if you like. the problems are so significant that i wouldn't go there for fear of a suspension of accreditation. i withdrew. also, UB's class is large, and SB,'s class is only 100 students. in my opinion, this is also an advantage. if i had to choose one of these schools, i would choose SB hands down.

 

[EW1779]

BUT you're right about the research. UB does have great research opportunities.

😀

 

[JJ4]

No way. Definitely not. SUNY, SB is by far a superior school in research and medicine than Buffalo. Stony Brook's research is excellent. It's affiliation with Cold Spring Harbor makes it even more excellent. PhD grads from SB have gone on to some EXCELLENT academic careers and publish very well. Definitely SB over Buffalo.

 

[Doc AdamK in 2006]

Thanks for the info and your comments.

I personally think SUNY SB is a superior school however Buffalo is right up there and it is my home town.

Tough decision

AK

 

[u2sara]

Hello-
While I'm not an applicant to medical school (my boyfriend is) I live 10 minutes from SUNY Stony Brook. I also went to a summer program in Western New York for one summer. I have to tell you, having lived for practically my whole life on Eastern Long Island, if you are looking for a school with any kind of campus life or social scene beyond the classroom, Stony Brook is not the place for you. About the only entertainment we have is a mall that is about 10 minutes from the campus. (You eventually get sick of going there :wink: ) You NEED TO HAVE A CAR!!! If you don't you will want to kill yourself. The Suffolk County bus system is nonexistent. The area housing scene is also not very good and you will pay out the a$$ for substandard houses and apartments. Plus, just so you know, no matter what they tell you in any of the materials they pass out, New York City is 2 hours away. Yes, 2 hours away. I commute to Manhattan every day from Port Jefferson, the next stop, and my EXPRESS train takes an hour and 55 minutes. Local trains... well it's an even sadder story. I'm not trying to discourage you from becoming a doctor at Stony Brook, but I am trying to help you to understand what you are getting into. I'd pick UB over Stony Brook any day!

 

[Doc AdamK in 2006]

For the person that wanted to know my "stats"

I had 10 interviews at both MD and DO schools.

I have been put on the high priority waiting list and they said those people on the waiting list will hear something after May 1st or maybe earlier.

University of the Sciences in Philadelphia
Pharmacology/ Toxicology major

Ak

 

[E'01]

u2sara I live on the Central Islip/Islip border so I hear you on that one. AND like you, I commute to Manhattan. It takes me 2 hours each way. Yep you will certainly need a car to get around Long Island, but I like the island! Its peaceful and quiet. You wake up to the birds chirping and you fall asleep to the cats fighting at night. Ahh nature 🙂

u2sara at least you have Smithhaven mall. South Shore is crap! Anyway, why go to far cold Buffalo when you can go to Stony Brook? I have not been to Buffalo but being in Ithaca for undergrad was enough. Also, the facilities at Stony Brook are excellent!

 

[u2sara]

E-
I hear you on the birds chirping and cats fighting-- the charms that are LI! I don't hate where I live (well... ok I do) but I really thought that someone unfamiliar with Stony Brook and Eastern LI really should know what's up, and and have more idea about what it's like than, say, what the brochure presents when you get in there.

My younger sister actually began her undergrad at Stony Brook, and while there is a world of difference between undergrad and med school, the overall "blah" feeling about the place still applies. (she transferred after a year there) I probably would have a different idea about the school had I not seen how miserable she was when she was there. Actually, if you think about it, without ANY distractions, it should be a great place to go to school-- you will certainly get your work done!

By the way-- Commuting sucks. No matter how you look at it or how many times you say it - it is something that is always true! <img border="0" alt="[Pity]" title="" src="graemlins/pity.gif" />

 

[CoffeeCat]

Hey, as far as location, Stony Brook's got it all. It's very pretty and close to some rocky beaches (this from a CA girl) and although there's not much going on in town, it's an hour and a half away from NYC. When I was there, we'd hop a train to NYC every weekend and enjoyed the best of both world - quiet nature and busy NYC.

 

[u2sara]

Coffeecat- I don't know what train you were taking but it couldn't have been the one that I take every day! Nor can you just "hop right on and get to Manhattan" at the drop of a hat from Stony Brook. Trains in this area are very scarce, and are still pulled by diesel engines (not electric). Unless you hit peak hours (when there are, say 2 trains an hour) and the price practically doubles there is still no way that it's that easy to get to the city! (FYI- it's 10.75 one way peak and 7.25 off peak - not exactly cheap for a starving med student!)

I have to say it-- there's no way it's less than 2 hours from NYC! E'01 can back me up on this one!

 

[TAP]

To the original poster. You must realise that everyone has thier own biases toward every school and opinions are worth very little. When you look at the facts you see: Buffalo has a much stronger match list than Stonybrook. Buffalo is an older more recognized school than SB. If you are a person who wants an urban healthcare experience, go to Buffalo. If you are more initerested in rural medicine, go to SB. I have been accepted to both schools and have decided to attend Buffalo. The facilities are second to none. Buffalo was a private school before SUNY bought it, so it doesn't have that state institution feel. The fact that Stonybook is ini the middle of nowhere and all of the classrooms are underground was a real turnoff to me. Also, the quality of resident that you are working under at Buffalo is better than at Stonybrook. When I interviewed at Stonybrook I didn;t get a sense of community and the students were all complaining about the quality of clinical training that they were recieving from the residents. Overall, I think that Buffalo is a stonger school with a better match list, better academics and better clinical training. EW1776 keeps posting rumors that Buffalo is in danger of losing it accredidation, which is downright untrue. Erie County Medical Center, Roswell Park, and Buffalo City Hospital are among the top in the state. Hope this helps.

 

[Daredevil]

Doc Adam K, I just sent you a private message/PM. Click on your profile.

 

[lala1979]

Hi there
I go to SUNY Buffalo Undergrad, I'm in the school of Nursing. I have been here for 4 years and I'm from Buffalo🙁 I can say I wish I had gone away to school, and TONS of people at UB are from Long Island. The medical school is on south campus where I am, and the rest of the health science majors. It's a nice school, I'm not sure how it ranks to Stoney B, people usually hang out on Main st or downtown. But if you are from Buffalo, I would say to get out because I am trying. Good luck.

 

[Doc AdamK in 2006]

Hey Daredevil:

You haven't heard anything. Do you have interviews. When I went to my interviews, they said application were way down, that is a good thing. However they said the strength of their application pool is much tougher. That's bad. Well I had interviews at SB in early Dec and Buf in early Feb

I haven't heard from Buf yet but they said it would take 45 days

TTYL
AK

 

[vixen]

one good thing about buffalo is that it has almost every kind of school imaginable 🙂

 

[Doc AdamK in 2006]

I like the idea of getting an MBA also. Id anyone in the MD MBA program at UB. I would like to here your opinion.

I really ope to get in.
Do you have to apply after your 2nd year
Does it cost the full tuition of the medical school or just per credit.

Have a great day

AK