Suny Downstate vs Upstate

[cbcgingko]

Hi current med students!

I've accepted downstate but have recently been accepted to upstate off of the hp waiting list. Although I was set on downstate b/c I would be closer to father and boyfriend and didn't think there would be much difference between the two SUNY's in terms of educations or residency placement.

However, I still want to make the best choice for my next step, which is getting into a competitive residency program. I do not know what field I want to go into but its always good to prepare for the future. I heard from a downstate grad that it's easier for upstate grads to get into competitive programs because downstate students have to compete with other NYC med school students.

Any insights about the competitive residency aspect or other aspects of either school that is "better" would help me out tremendously. Thank you so much!

Joyce

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[DrFlower]

Hi current med students!

I've accepted downstate but have recently been accepted to upstate off of the hp waiting list. Although I was set on downstate b/c I would be closer to father and boyfriend and didn't think there would be much difference between the two SUNY's in terms of educations or residency placement.

However, I still want to make the best choice for my next step, which is getting into a competitive residency program. I do not know what field I want to go into but its always good to prepare for the future. I heard from a downstate grad that it's easier for upstate grads to get into competitive programs because downstate students have to compete with other NYC med school students.

Any insights about the competitive residency aspect or other aspects of either school that is "better" would help me out tremendously. Thank you so much!

Joyce

It's really a matter of where you felt the happiest; when you interviewed, where did you feel the most comfortable--Upstate or Downstate? Also, things to consider are location. Do you want to be in Syracuse or NYC? I would think that the curriculum/education overall would be comparable, and getting a competitive residency is really up to you by making sure to do well in your coursework and clinical years (though Downstate is well known for getting some pretty top notch residency placements, especially in certain fields like ob/gyn and EM;I don't know too terribly much about Upstate). I'm going to Downstate myself, and chose it ultimately because the clinical experience you'll have just by virtue of location is unbeatable--the more you see and experience, the better you'll be. Definitely not a pretty location, though.

The best of luck to you. Truly, go with your gut. You'll thrive where you'll be the happiest, and therefore do better and obtain a better residency placement for it.

 

[futureMD09]

You should go close to family & bf support hands down. A stressful situation calls for the need of some backup. I am going to school close to home too. So if your fam & bf are supportive & won't add to the stress, pick downstate.

 

[rpkall]

I like futureMD09's advice, and I'll stick with that party line. Support is good.

Unless....

- You like rural medicine, as Upstate has a rural medicine program (which is actually pretty good, by most accounts).
- You don't really like NYC and want to get out,
- You don't have the money to afford living expenses in NYC (Syracuse is MUCH cheaper, unless you plan to live at home),
- Your relationship with your boyfriend is about to peter out, and you can't see it progressing to marriage, and you like Upstate's program.
- You want "unopposed" training (i.e., you go to the only med school in the city, and have your pick of opportunities for things like away-rotations without having to compete with other peeps)
- A more "manageable" sized city; smaller, less traffic, easier to get out to the country and do outdoors stuff, etc.

Choose Downstate if,

- You're going to marry this guy, or at least you think you are right now,
- You want a "city's patient population" (diversity) and the volume that Brooklyn would undoubtedly provide,
- You want maximum opportunities to get involved in some of the more specific, subspecialty-type fields and connect with research opportunities in NYC (but check into how much research students can do at places other than the Downstate sites).
- You're pissed that Upstate waitlisted you in the first place! Bastards!


Good luck with the decision!

 

[cbcgingko]

I like futureMD09's advice, and I'll stick with that party line. Support is good.

Unless....

- You like rural medicine, as Upstate has a rural medicine program (which is actually pretty good, by most accounts).
- You don't really like NYC and want to get out,
- You don't have the money to afford living expenses in NYC (Syracuse is MUCH cheaper, unless you plan to live at home),
- Your relationship with your boyfriend is about to peter out, and you can't see it progressing to marriage, and you like Upstate's program.
- You want "unopposed" training (i.e., you go to the only med school in the city, and have your pick of opportunities for things like away-rotations without having to compete with other peeps)
- A more "manageable" sized city; smaller, less traffic, easier to get out to the country and do outdoors stuff, etc.

Choose Downstate if,

- You're going to marry this guy, or at least you think you are right now,
- You want a "city's patient population" (diversity) and the volume that Brooklyn would undoubtedly provide,
- You want maximum opportunities to get involved in some of the more specific, subspecialty-type fields and connect with research opportunities in NYC (but check into how much research students can do at places other than the Downstate sites).
- You're pissed that Upstate waitlisted you in the first place! Bastards!


Good luck with the decision!

Gosh! Thanks for the detailed advice rpkall! You definately hit the issues on the nose. I have been leaning towards downstate for all the reasons you stated under "choose downstate", but can't shake off the romantic view I have of syracuse being a truly condusive learning environment; where students and faculity are shiny happy people, facilities are state of the art, and the great outdoors truly great --and safe.

More than these factors, a 2005 downstate grad told me to go to upstate b/c upstate has a better reputation which some of her downstate friends learned the hard way during match time. Supposedly one of her friends was in the 90th percentile of board scores with a 4.0 GPA and did not get interviews at her #1 and #2 choice. That is whats bugging me the most. But so far I haven't been able to corroborate this person's opinion. But the happy ending for this friend is she did get into her third choice, it was Columbia. Which made me feel better =)

Thanks to drflowers and futuremd09's advice, support should not be underestimated.

 

[amojan99]

More than these factors, a 2005 downstate grad told me to go to upstate b/c upstate has a better reputation which some of her downstate friends learned the hard way during match time. Supposedly one of her friends was in the 90th percentile of board scores with a 4.0 GPA and did not get interviews at her #1 and #2 choice. That is whats bugging me the most. But so far I haven't been able to corroborate this person's opinion. But the happy ending for this friend is she did get into her third choice, it was Columbia. Which made me feel better =)

Thanks to drflowers and futuremd09's advice, support should not be underestimated.

If your friend's third choice was Columbia, her first two choices must have been quite high reaches indeed - like Harvard or Hopkins or something. Schools like that are ridiculously selective, and even the best grads from top schools would be praying to get an interview. In fact, I think Downstate's reputation is just as good, if not better than Upstate's. Being in NYC is a definate plus, with the connections you can get through Downstate's many many NYC alums, and with the huge and diverse patient base. Yeah, the neighborhood kinda sucks, but you're gonna be a med student - you're not gonna have the time to be wandering about outside at night. In the end, I think the Downstate experience wins out over Syracuse's rural (middle-of-nowhere) appeal.