SUNY Downstate vs. Stony Brook for matching neurosurgery

[orcawhale]

Hello could people please advise on SUNY downstate vs Stonybrook for matching into neurosurgery?

Thank you so much in advance.

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[AstroSidekick]

Downstate because you get a huge networking advantage being in the city. In my mind, SB is slightly more prestigious but Downstate easily covers the difference through its connections throughout NYC

 

[pupa4077]

Idk about Stony Brook, but Downstate hasn't had anyone match neurosurgery in years:
2022 | Residency Placement Lists | Student Affairs | SUNY Downstate

2021 | Residency Placement Lists | Student Affairs | SUNY Downstate

SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University is one of the nation's leading urban medical centers, serving the people of Brooklyn since 1860.

www.downstate.edu

 

[pupa4077]

They did match 2 ppl back in 2020, but it was both to programs outside of NYC, so being close to the city had little to do with it.

2020 | Residency Placement Lists | Student Affairs | SUNY Downstate

SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University is one of the nation's leading urban medical centers, serving the people of Brooklyn since 1860.

www.downstate.edu

 

[ginsengreset]

Hello could people please advise on SUNY downstate vs Stonybrook for matching into neurosurgery?

Thank you so much in advance.

100% Stony Brook. Although it's pretty new (currently only has PGY-1 through 3, plus 1 matched MS4), you would still have a home neurosurgery residency program. Applying to surgical subspecialties, especially smaller fields like neurosurgery, is a very different ball game depending on if you have a home program or not. If you went to Downstate, you would most likely have to take an additional research year between MS3 and MS4 at some other institution with a neurosurgery residency program, in order to get the requisite research (the majority of medical student research is done with residents) and letters of recommendation.

On the other hand, at Stony, you already have a home program, alongside access to the Stony Brook hospitals and their EMR, so you could hit the ground running and start shadowing/scrubbing into cases and doing research during MS1 year. Letters of recommendation from neurosurgery faculty who have known you since MS1 speak volumes over letters that you get from doing a 4-week away rotation at some other program. I'm not sure how much research there is at Stony since they are a new program, so I'd ask to speak to a current MS3 or MS4 going into neurosurgery and ask what their experience has been like.

For these smaller fields with long residencies, my impression is that for residency applicants, programs look first at committed applicants whom they have known for a long time, done research with, and like personally (the last is especially important for neurosurgery since they're gonna be stuck with you for 7 years), as long as your step scores and clinical grades don't embarrass the program's reputation. I suspect this is one of the reasons why neurosurgery actually has had lower step 1 averages than some other specialties like derm, ENT, and plastics. Then, they look at other applicants who are strong on paper and have good recommendation letters from neurosurgery faculty they personally know.