SUNY schools

I've applied and been accepted to Buffalo, Syracuse & Stony Brook. Definitely liked Stony Brook the best, and I also think that it's generally rated the highest (18th in nation for primary care). Hated Syracuse. I can't stand the city, plus the students seemed SO unhappy. On our tour there were some walking behind us saying, "You don't want to go here." Big turn-off! Buffalo is OK. Sorry I don't have more stats, these are basically just my impressions.

 

Hi,
Well, I go to SUNY Stony Brook as an undergrad right now, and I can tell you that Stony Brook Med School is pretty good, I'm not saying that cause I go to the school (cause I think the undergrad college is pretty crappy). The class size is 100 so it's pretty small, plus you get a lot of extra attention. The Med School itself is pretty nice too I think, except for all the circular classrooms. And it does have a good reputation. Brooklyn is okay too, it's class size is 180. The surrounding area is pretty bad though. I hope this helps...
bye.

------------------
The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men often go astray
-- John Steinbeck

 

What are the differences b/w Downstate and Buffalo. Is one perceived to have a better reputation than the other? Did you notice that students were more stressed at one school than the other, etc. I'm looking to live in NYC during residency so would that make a difference. Thanks

 

In terms of national reputation between Downstate and Buffalo,there is very little difference.If you are concerned about residency appointments then all the SUNYs are quite comparable.The residency match from Buffalo,Downstate and Stony Brook are posted on their websites and they are all good. To be happy at Downstate you must be into working at large city hospitals located in borderline or ghetto neighborhoods.. although Downstate is also affiliated with Lenox Hill Hospital in manhattan and several hospitals in safer middle class areas.The exposure to trauma,and unusual clinical pathology is tremendous but if you want to live and work primarily in a rural or suburban environment its not the place for you.

 

I am a current upstate student and would like to disagree with the fact that the students seem unhappy most likely the students behind you were just joking around i find that we have a great class and though many people complain about the work that is true at any school

 

First of all congrats!

I am a senior at Stony Brook undergrad. The school is pretty nice as you have probably seen by now. I have had the opporunity to talk to med students there a number of times. And as I have stated before on this site, everyone there seemed very happy. The library there is very nice, great place to study. Other than that Stony Brook itself is a safe place. There is a lot to do also. Even though you may not have time to do other than study. Only thing negative may be is that the rent may be expensive. However, you can probably can find something cheap with some searching.

Good luck in your decision. With Stony you won't be making a mistake. Its the best out of the other schools.

 

I've been doing a lot of research on the SUNY schools as well. I think that StonyBrook is a great school for those that are committed to go into research. However, Buffalo is definately the strongest SUNY for clinical medicine. It is a very old, well established, highly reputable program. Not all match lists are considered equal. The match at Buffalo is a lot better than at Downstate or Stonybrook. Also, there is a lack of community at Stonybrook because most students commute. Downstate is definately a program for those committed to urban medicine. Although, when I interviewed there, my tour guides (students) didn't speak English very well, nor did a lot of the docs I met. That was a big turn off. Dollar for dollar, Buffalo is the best choice.

 

I would strongly disagree that the Buffalo match list is better than that of Stony Brook or Downstate-though it is very good.If you are evaluating them in terms of numbers of students matching into prestigious programs or into Derm,Rads,ER ,Ortho then this is not the case. Also one must take into consideration differences in the class size and the focus on primary care at Stony Brook.I am very familiar with the hospitals on these lists and to say that to say there is a real qualitative difference between them is untrue.The last 6 years of Downstates matchlists are posted on their website and they are very strong in spite of what you may think of their students english language skills..

 

just to let you know.....SUNY buffalo can't be regarded as one of the best clinical sites when it is in jeopardy of losing it's accreditation solely for that reason....it is havig a lot of trouble these days. i am confident they will clear it up, buti have withdrawn my application to buffalo for that reason. it's just to shifty right now.

 

"too" is definitely spelled with two o's

 

I would be interested in knowing where you got the information that Buffalo is about to lose their accredidation. The school does not run it's own hospital but uses the consortium of hospitals in the Buffalo area. Please post where you are getting this info. I believe you are mistaken and it's a shame that you withdrew your application.

 

Dear All,

Was a student at SUNY Upstate a few years ago -- I'm "mdhopeful"'s cousin and am visiting him for a few days.

The weather in Syracuse is really miserable and students are generally unhappy. The facilities stink -- avoid living in the dorms if you can.

Unfortunately, Upstate has a lot of curriculum hours so you are in class from morning til late afternoon everyday and does not leave a lot of time for studying on your own. They have the 2nd most curriculums hours in the country (second to Duke which has a compressed curriculum accounting for the increased curriculum hours in its first year)

There are exams almost every week and life revolves around studying and taking tests. Lots of rote memorization involved at this school and not enough hands on practice/patient contact during the first year.

The administration is not very responsive to students. Lots of bureaucrats who are real dinosaurs in their thinking.

The good note is that the professors are really incredible and really care about the well-being of students though! The Anatomy Dept is fabulous.

Apologize for the long post.

 

As a 4th-year student at SUNY Upstate, I feel the need to clarify some of mdhopeful's comments:

"Upstate has a lot of curriculum hours so you are in class from morning til late afternoon everyday and does not leave a lot of time for studying on your own."

This was true several years ago (i.e. when I was a 1st and 2nd year), but the curriculum has been extensively reformed to an "organ-based" schedule and lecture hours shortened. I think Upstate is probably now on par with most other schools in terms of classroom hours. Under the new curriculum, there are far fewer exams, for example one exam every 6th week during 2nd year.

"The administration is not very responsive to students. Lots of bureaucrats who are real dinosaurs in their thinking."

Yes, SUNY is a state institution and, like many medical schools, has some bureaucrats very resistant to student input and change. However, I've found the administration to be quite open and approacable. There are two new Deans, Dean Roizen and Dean Keating, who definately seem student friendly. I think the recent reforms to the curriculum and other changes being made to the clinical years all reflect the attitude of the administration.

"The good note is that the professors are really incredible and really care about the well-being of students though! The Anatomy Dept is fabulous."

Well said--anatomy is tops, with some equally skillful teaching professors scattered through other classes.

I think the clinical experience at Upstate is top-notch and a major attribute, as it is the major referral center for a wide area in Upstate NY, and teaching is really emphasized. You will get plenty of hands-on patient contact during your clinical years.

Any other questions anyone has about Upstate, feel free to post or send me a private message.

-Michael
MSIV, SUNY Upstate

 

doppl: I haven't seen Buffalo's match list but Downstate's is pretty good, alot matching at NY Hospital (Columbia and Cornell), NYU, Mount Sinai, LIJ.

mdhopeful's cousin ( <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" /> ):
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>avoid living in the dorms if you can..</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">what's wrong with the dorms?

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>Unfortunately, Upstate has a lot of curriculum hours so you are in class from morning til late afternoon everyday and does not leave a lot of time for studying on your own. They have the 2nd most curriculums hours in the country (second to Duke which has a compressed curriculum accounting for the increased curriculum hours in its first year)..</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I don't know how it was earlier, but I don't think that is the case now. I'm a first year and so far I don't think the hours are so unreasonable. We have between 2-3 lectures per day (for all the courses we've had thus far, physio and histo starts Monday).

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>There are exams almost every week )..</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">This year we have exams every 2-3 weeks. I heard that the curriculum change was largely put into effect because past students would complain about tests every other week. The curriculum change really doesn't change that, but at least we don't have competing exams, except when we have our Practice of Medicine (non basic science course) exams. In the first year we only take one basic science course at a time till mid March (no competing tests). Then we take Physio and Histo concurrently.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>and not enough hands on practice/patient contact during the first year. )..</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">That has DEFINITELY changed. With the new Practice of Medicine course we're definitely having earlier clinical exposure (some schools have no clinical exposure the first two years). It's a course that lumps together clinical skills (physical diagnosis and communications), epidemiology, and ethics (i.e Medicine and Society). It's not a perfect course (in fact every first year has bitched about it extensively) but I'm glad that I'm having early clinical exposure. We're learning alot of stuff that you would typically learn in third year. And this past Thursday I did a history and physical on an inmate . (I'm convinced this effort was made to put Upstate on the map in primary care).

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>The good note is that the professors are really incredible and really care about the well-being of students though! The Anatomy Dept is fabulous.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">So far, I'd say about 60% of the professors are good. Actually I really didn't like anatomy. None of the professors had decent notes and basically it was just five professors running the entire course. But the 4th year students were awesome TA's.

I'm sure Downstate's clinical experience is excellent. But I kept on hearing that their basic science program was weak. Really though the SUNYs aren't that much different from one another in terms of national recognition. But if I had the choice I'd choose Stonybrook.

 

Hey,

I just got back from syracuse. I went to the St Patty's parade on saturday. WOW, was that fun. I am starting at SUNY Upstate in august and i really had a good time this weekend in syracuse. I can see where people hate the weather, but its a nice city. If you look there really is a lot to do.
Hey, some people are miserable, some are optimistic. find the right people and you will enjoy most anywhere. and they dont all have to be med students or doctors.

syracuse was fun. i dont remember most of the day, but it was a damn good time. im still paying the price on monday.

i gotta retire

later

 

Hey Hope88:

Which one of the SUNY schools are you going to accept at? Or are you going to a private University. I just wanted to know because I was put on the waitlist at all 3 of them.

Stony Brook followed by Buffalo then Downstate was my ranking. I didn't interview at Upstate.

Good LUck

Have a great day

AK

 

For those of you that have gotten in to more than 1 SUNY School would you respond with your stats.

 

Does anyone have any information regarding how friendly the SUNY med schools are to out-of-state students?

 

Interesting? The only Suny that lacks its own teaching hospital?

 

try here

 

I just graduated from Stony Brook and can tell you I don't know anyone form out of state, other than MD-Ph.Ds.