~~~::::::::::SUNY- Stony Brook Class of 2011::::::::::~~~

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
G

greengunbangban

New Member
10+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
Joined
Oct 22, 2006
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
stony brook class of 2011 begins :)

i was accepted in December and stony is my #1 choice so there's no doubt i will be attending!

who are you ppl?
Members don't see this ad.
 
Congratulations and Welcome! If you have any questions, let me know. :)
 
wow, not too much going on here.. Well, just got my acceptance today! Not sure I'll be attending yet, but very much liked the school.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Doc and Green-

Congrats, and welcome to SB.

Please feel free to ask any questions; there are several of us current SB medical students on SDN.

Have a great summer before school starts, and again, congrats!

dc
 
Hey all!

I just got my Stony acceptance and it's definitely one of my top choices, not to mention it's my alma mater! BigDan, I'm guessing you're pretty enthusiastic about the school, I was curious what the schedule is like for the first two years, are the students in class most of the day or or is it a half day schedule? I interviewed at another SUNY and I have to say, their admin was much friendlier and more receptive to student needs, etc. Do you feel that students are pretty happy generally at Stony? Thanks for any info!
 
N-

Yup. Me likes SB pretty much. Some frustration with some things, but such is life.

Things are fairly class intensive here during first two years, with class til around 3 most of the first two years (although the second semester of first year is light).

I'm interested in your comment about the receptivity of the administration at SB; what wasn't good at SB? I actually find the faculty/admin are TOO easy to sway with student complaints. It seems like any paper due date or test date can be moved with enough student noise. They even moved our start date for third year orientation back a week because we wanted more study time! I guess I shouldn't complain, but I actually don't like the wavering. Whatever.

I do think many folks are happy here, although I can most certainly find folks that are not. I think people must know that it is NOT in NYC, and it is troublesome at times to get into the city (traffic, schoolwork, money, etc.). But you know that.

Let me know if I can/should elaborate more on things.

dc
 
BigDan -

I should have been clearer, I meant that on my interview day, we got minimal contact with admin except for a 15 minute talk about when we'll hear back, etc while at the other interview, they went over the curriculum with us, the dean was just very enthusiastic about the school, and stressed how they try their best in helping students deal with any issues that come up while in school. So in that sense I didn't get the same welcoming feeling, and not that they said or did anything in particular to seem unreceptive. It's good to hear tho that they are flexible and listen to the students!
 
Yeah. I do some of those tours/lunch chats, and it feels like there is so much crammed into the day that the applicants might fail to get a true sense of how folks are. I can see where you might get a rushed or "assembly-line" feel.

When I interviewed, there was only one person that you had to interview with, so things were much more spread out. You got to mingle a bit more, and there was a great atmosphere. The school saw, however, that if your one interviewer loved you or hated you, your fate was sealed. So adding the second interviewer was a good move, but something had to give.

If you are wavering in your choice, get in touch with the school and come spend a day with us. You can come in sweats or jeans, and just get a vibe. Plus you can see more of the school.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

dc
 
hey bigdan,

is there a second visit for SB? if so do you have any idea when it is?\

thanks
 
I actually don't know about any organized second look; there may be one.

You can always contact the admissions office, and they can get one of us to show you around or hang out with us for a day or two.

dc
 
The second look is on Friday, April 20th. They call it "Stony Brook Revisited" and is listed on the 2007 Entering Class sheet that is included with the acceptance letter.
 
I'm in.... serge here :) stony brook is my top choice.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Where do most students live? I'm looking for a town that's close to Stony Brook, but also a little further west so I can help make my husband's commute to Manhattan a little shorter. I'm from Western LI, so the Stony Brook area is foreign to me.
 
Doc Martins said:
Where do most students live? I'm looking for a town that's close to Stony Brook, but also a little further west so I can help make my husband's commute to Manhattan a little shorter. I'm from Western LI, so the Stony Brook area is foreign to me.
Click to expand...

Most of my classmates live in Stony Brook, Port Jefferson, Lake Grove, Coram, Setauket, East Setauket. There are quite a few people that lives in Huntington which is apparently a really great compromise for people with significant others that work in the city. There is a direct train to Manhattan from Huntington. I think there is also an express train (at something like 5:45AM, look into it) from Port Jeff. Maybe someone else knows better.
 
kfire!!!! woooooo ... we're trading places - i'm brooklyn going long island - you're long island going brooklyn.... funny... we're switching realities
 
I'm in here, it's my top choice as of now, but I'm still waiting for a whole lot of responses at the moment. I'm an undergrad at stony too:)
 
Does SB offer any scholarships or grants? Can you comment on the level of the coursework, clinical instructions? How are the clinical opportunities, rotations? When do students start seeing patients? Research opportunities? You mentioned that classes go till around 3, but is it always necessary to go to every class, or can you afford not to go to some lectures and study on your own? How is the testing schedule? Is it in blocks? Do you have much free time?
 
Jejton said:
Does SB offer any scholarships or grants? Can you comment on the level of the coursework, clinical instructions? How are the clinical opportunities, rotations? When do students start seeing patients? Research opportunities? You mentioned that classes go till around 3, but is it always necessary to go to every class, or can you afford not to go to some lectures and study on your own? How is the testing schedule? Is it in blocks? Do you have much free time?
Click to expand...

I'll speak about first year and let an upperclassmen comment on the rest. I don't know about scholarships and grants. I fund with 100% loans. The first year has introductory clinical exposure where you learn how to do a history and physical exam - it's hard to do much more than this since your knowledge as a first year is limited but this also varies depending on your preceptors. There are many opportunities for shadowing, if you have specific interests, just email someone in the department and they will be more than willing to let you shadow. The clinical exposure begins either the first or second week of medical school. Going to lecture is optional, you can either use the transcripts or listen to the audio...This really depends on your learning style. There is small group work that is mandatory. There are some people in my class that I never see because they skip. The first semester has a bit less free time because anatomy lab takes up a lot of time but this gets much better after first semester. The other labs - histo, neuro are digital but you can go to the lab session if you learn better this way.
 
Hi everyone, haven't been over here yet but I wanted to check it out.

LowlyPremed said:
I'll speak about first year and let an upperclassmen comment on the rest. I don't know about scholarships and grants. I fund with 100% loans. The first year has introductory clinical exposure where you learn how to do a history and physical exam - it's hard to do much more than this since your knowledge as a first year is limited but this also varies depending on your preceptors. There are many opportunities for shadowing, if you have specific interests, just email someone in the department and they will be more than willing to let you shadow. The clinical exposure begins either the first or second week of medical school. Going to lecture is optional, you can either use the transcripts or listen to the audio...This really depends on your learning style. There is small group work that is mandatory. There are some people in my class that I never see because they skip. The first semester has a bit less free time because anatomy lab takes up a lot of time but this gets much better after first semester. The other labs - histo, neuro are digital but you can go to the lab session if you learn better this way.
Click to expand...

Didn't they tell us at the interview day that lecture was recently made mandatory and that the Step 1 scores jumped a few points because of it? I think I remember something about little quizes at the beginning of each lecture to make sure you're present?

Perhaps I'll see you on April 20!
 
A Tree said:
Hi everyone, haven't been over here yet but I wanted to check it out.



Didn't they tell us at the interview day that lecture was recently made mandatory and that the Step 1 scores jumped a few points because of it? I think I remember something about little quizes at the beginning of each lecture to make sure you're present?

Perhaps I'll see you on April 20!
Click to expand...


Congratulations on your acceptances! I'm a first year here and I absolutely love it, I'll try to start checking back here every once and a while to answer your questions. I know I used SDN a lot to learn more about SB before I came. In response to the mandatory lectures, no, lectures are not usually mandatory. Small group sessions and most of our Foundations lectures (which is Clinical Medicine, Human Behavior, Ethics, Nutrition and Epidemiology/Biostats all rolled into one class) are mandatory, but the science lectures are not. I generally do go to lecture, but if I feel like sleeping in I can and it's easy to catch up using the transcripts and the audio. What you may be thinking of with the quizzes though is our Biochem class. 6% of our final grade this year was made up of our responses to little Jeopardy style question sets that we got at the end of lectures, we have remote control "clickers" to answer with. So I guess if you never went to lecture you would lose that 6% of your grade, but I think some people were still willing to take that hit. I'm not sure if they are going to keep that the same for next year though...
 
As Stony Brook is not quite IN the city and that its cost of living is a bit lower than NYC. How would you compare its cost of living to other small cities in NY state like Syracuse, Albany, Rochester? Thanks!
 
Although SB is way out here on LI, the cost of living is still fairly expensive. The closer you get to SB, the more expensive it is. A one bedroom apartment will probably run you about $800 - $900 if you want to live in a basement. Port Jefferson is close to the beach so it's pretty expensive. In Rochester, you can buy a crummy house for $1 (not sure this is still the case) and fix it up.
 
Hey guys, I just got my acceptance today!!!!!!! SB was one of my top choices so I'm so happy !!!!!!!!
 
Ms MD.. Congratulations~!!

I am just curious..

DId you get your acceptance by phone or mail and when did you have your interview at SB?

Thanks~!!:)
 
swimmy said:
As Stony Brook is not quite IN the city and that its cost of living is a bit lower than NYC. How would you compare its cost of living to other small cities in NY state like Syracuse, Albany, Rochester? Thanks!
Click to expand...

I have never lived in any of those cities, but I have lived in NYC and I find it to be cheaper out here overall. That said, it's still not exactly cheap out here and rents are pretty expensive. As long as you don't plan on living on your own (which would cost you at least $1000 a month, and our budget gives us about $600 for rent) you should be fine. The major thing I find is that everyday things, like groceries, are much more reasonable (one would be hard pressed to find a box of cereal in NYC that costs less that $6). Our budget gives us enough to live and be comfortable out here.
 
I interviewed on February 15th, and got acceptance as a large DHL envelope delivered this Saturday.

xendlessinyx said:
Ms MD.. Congratulations~!!

I am just curious..

DId you get your acceptance by phone or mail and when did you have your interview at SB?

Thanks~!!:)
Click to expand...
 
Any advice from current students on when and where to look for housing in the SB area?
 
MrMet31 said:
Any advice from current students on when and where to look for housing in the SB area?
Click to expand...

You'll find out more about housing at pre-orientation in June. Grace Agnetti puts together a list of some available housing and also organizes a contact list for incoming first-years looking for roommates so you can all get in touch with each other, you should hear more about that in the spring/early summer. Most people live in the towns that LowlyPremed mentioned above, there are a lot of apartment complexes and houses for rent around here.
 
samkatyac said:
Congratulations on your acceptances! I'm a first year here and I absolutely love it, I'll try to start checking back here every once and a while to answer your questions. I know I used SDN a lot to learn more about SB before I came. In response to the mandatory lectures, no, lectures are not usually mandatory. Small group sessions and most of our Foundations lectures (which is Clinical Medicine, Human Behavior, Ethics, Nutrition and Epidemiology/Biostats all rolled into one class) are mandatory, but the science lectures are not. I generally do go to lecture, but if I feel like sleeping in I can and it's easy to catch up using the transcripts and the audio. What you may be thinking of with the quizzes though is our Biochem class. 6% of our final grade this year was made up of our responses to little Jeopardy style question sets that we got at the end of lectures, we have remote control "clickers" to answer with. So I guess if you never went to lecture you would lose that 6% of your grade, but I think some people were still willing to take that hit. I'm not sure if they are going to keep that the same for next year though...
Click to expand...


Hey thanks for checking in. What do feel is the general feeling of the city kids that wind up out there? I think I would be very happy there except for this aspect. I've heard annecdotally of folks thinking they would have trouble in this regard and just loving it there.

Another question I have is the level of student involvement in national organizations. I know from my student interviewer that there is an AMSA chapter on campus. What about (for example) AMA, or GLMA (Gay and Lesbian Medical Assoc)? Do people typically get any help from the school to attend conferences?

Thanks!
 
A Tree said:
Hey thanks for checking in. What do feel is the general feeling of the city kids that wind up out there? I think I would be very happy there except for this aspect. I've heard annecdotally of folks thinking they would have trouble in this regard and just loving it there.

Another question I have is the level of student involvement in national organizations. I know from my student interviewer that there is an AMSA chapter on campus. What about (for example) AMA, or GLMA (Gay and Lesbian Medical Assoc)? Do people typically get any help from the school to attend conferences?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Stony Brook definitely is much different from the city, but I think that it's a great environment for med school. One of the reasons I chose SB was because it wasn't in the city, I wanted a more laidback, less distracting environment. That said, it can get a little boring out here, but there is always the LIRR to take you into the city on the weekend if you want. I loved living in the city and am definitely leaning towards moving back for my residency, but I think SB is a great compromise as a place to live while in school. Even though the nightlife is a little lacking and the Museum of Long Island is our only museum (I have no idea what's in there), our class gets along really well and we're always doing stuff together. I can't speak for all the city kids in the class, but I think most of them like it well enough out here. If you think you'd rather die than rough it in the suburbs for a few years, then I'm not so sure. But we do have beaches!

As for the organizations, there is an AMA chapter, and also AMWA and SNMA in addition to AMSA. I don't believe there is a GLMA chapter currently. I know that there are always e-mails going out about opportunities to go to the national conferences for these groups, and they usually do fund-raising to cover the costs. I think that some people went to Las Vegas earlier this year for the AMA conference.
 
What sort of clinical experience do we get in the first year (if there are proceptorships, are they all in internal medicine?), when do they start, how often are they, and are they throughout the 1st year?? Thank you!
 
Hellloooooo!

Stony Brook Med!!! WOOO! (way too excited haha)

I'm from the west coast so this is going to be a HUGE move for me. Unfortunately I don't think I will be able to get back to the east coast until some time close to end of june. Does anyone know when the residents start at Stony Brook because I heard thats the best time to get an apartment. I'm looking for an apartment or a studio just for myself, but am having a hard time figuring out how to go about this. Can anyone give any suggestions? Is there any area of stonybrook thats not recommended as an area to live in (as in not too safe)? Any information would help! Thanks!

congratulations to everyone who got in! we're going to be a rockin class! :D
 
iluv2sleep said:
Hellloooooo!

Stony Brook Med!!! WOOO! (way too excited haha)

I'm from the west coast so this is going to be a HUGE move for me. Unfortunately I don't think I will be able to get back to the east coast until some time close to end of june. Does anyone know when the residents start at Stony Brook because I heard thats the best time to get an apartment. I'm looking for an apartment or a studio just for myself, but am having a hard time figuring out how to go about this. Can anyone give any suggestions? Is there any area of stonybrook thats not recommended as an area to live in (as in not too safe)? Any information would help! Thanks!

congratulations to everyone who got in! we're going to be a rockin class! :D
Click to expand...

There was a list of apartments sent out last year by the admissions office, you guys should have yours soon. June is probably the best time since lots of students are graduating. The neighborhoods listed in my previous post are all very nice and safe.

You may want to check out this site also:

http://och.vpsa.sunysb.edu/
 
Ms MD said:
What sort of clinical experience do we get in the first year (if there are proceptorships, are they all in internal medicine?), when do they start, how often are they, and are they throughout the 1st year?? Thank you!
Click to expand...

There's something called Intro to Clinical Medicine (part of the Foundations of Medical Practice class) in which you will be paired with another med student and have a preceptor in one of about 5 different "area" hospitals. I say "area" because some of them are further away than others (there is a lottery to determine who gets what location). I think this starts in about the 5th week of school. You will start seeing patients immediately; depending on your preceptor you will have more or less patient interaction. The course calls for you to start taking histories from patients, and as the year progresses move on to doing the physical exam. For example, at this point in 1st year we have done the Chief Complaint, History of the Present Illness, Past Medical/Surgical History, Family History, Social History, Review of Systems, Head/Neck Exam, Eye Exam (done separately from head & neck), Cardio Exam, Pulmonary Exam, GI Exam (minus rectal), Musculoskeletal Exam, and Neurological Exam... Depending on the preceptor you will learn to present and/or write up each of these things. It's fun.
 
hey. im new to this forum and im currently a high school senior. ive applied to several combined ba/md programs and have been accepted into stony brook ba/md. im definitely excited, however, i have concerns. i was really hoping to attend a college in a city, but obviously stony brook is a great school. i was wondering if all of you are happy with your decisions to attend stony brook med? also, how easy is it to get to the city and how often do u get to go there? im just concerned that spending 8 years in stony brook (4 for undergrad and 4 for med school) will get old after a while. another school im seriously considering is a ba/md program with the university of miami? any of you have experience with this school? any help would be appreciated. thanks.
 
iceberg slim said:
hey. im new to this forum and im currently a high school senior. ive applied to several combined ba/md programs and have been accepted into stony brook ba/md. im definitely excited, however, i have concerns. i was really hoping to attend a college in a city, but obviously stony brook is a great school. i was wondering if all of you are happy with your decisions to attend stony brook med? also, how easy is it to get to the city and how often do u get to go there? im just concerned that spending 8 years in stony brook (4 for undergrad and 4 for med school) will get old after a while. another school im seriously considering is a ba/md program with the university of miami? any of you have experience with this school? any help would be appreciated. thanks.
Click to expand...

I'll do my best to answer your question since no one else responded. I entered as medical student so I don't know much about the undergrad. SB is close enough to the city to get there once in a while. It takes about two hours by train or 1 1/2 hr by car - could be less if there is no traffic. Since free time is very limited in medical school, I usually don't go to the city very often. I prefer to stay and hang out with my classmates here. I have classmates that go to the city almost every weekend so it can be done. If you left for the city every weekend you probably won't be able to hang out with your classmates. It depends on what's more important to you. I hope this helps.
 
Congrats to all of you. I'm a 1st year at Stony Brook so if you have any questions at all, feel free to PM me and I'll try to answer all your questions. I look forward to meeting you!
 
Has anyone received their financial aid package ? Has anyone found an apt yet?
 
yay ill be attending this fall!! thank god for the waitlist movement
 
On the Off-Campus housing website, two of the options listed are inns, which turn out to be cheaper than renting an apartment ($600 vs $1000 a month). Do you know of any classmates who live in one of the inns? It seems like you'd want something more to yourself, although I'm curious how people like the experience.
 
hopefloats8 said:
On the Off-Campus housing website, two of the options listed are inns, which turn out to be cheaper than renting an apartment ($600 vs $1000 a month). Do you know of any classmates who live in one of the inns? It seems like you'd want something more to yourself, although I'm curious how people like the experience.
Click to expand...

I do not know of anyone in the current 1st year class who lives in an inn.

I agree that it sounds interesting. But a little weird.

Keep looking, there are people who pay less than $1000 (assuming you are okay with living with other people).
 
Thanks Canal. Can anyone tell us about the weekly clinical visits? Do students get a choice in the location and type of practice they observe?
 
hopefloats8 said:
Thanks Canal. Can anyone tell us about the weekly clinical visits? Do students get a choice in the location and type of practice they observe?
Click to expand...

You don't get a choice as to the type of practice. You sort of get a choice of location--there is a lottery, and if you get a low number you can pick the hospital that you will go to. During the weekly clinical visits you will practice taking histories and doing physical exams on patients. You start out with basic history stuff and add something each week, until you have learned (almost) all of the physical exam. I say almost because we didn't do pelvic/rectal/breast exams this year.
 
Hi guys,

I recently gave up my state school acceptances in favor of SB, but since I waited till May 15th, the housing office says I can't put down deposits for on campus housing, which will be a real problem since I won't have a car...

Any ideas on what to do? Which apartments are within biking/running distance of the med school?
 
eternalrage said:
Hi guys,

I recently gave up my state school acceptances in favor of SB, but since I waited till May 15th, the housing office says I can't put down deposits for on campus housing, which will be a real problem since I won't have a car...

Any ideas on what to do? Which apartments are within biking/running distance of the med school?
Click to expand...

That's kinda tough. There are no apartment buildings that I know of within such a short distance but you may be able to find an apartment in a house close by. Start looking soon because places close to school goes fast. Another option is to learn to drive (if you don't know how), you have all summer to do this and get a car in the fall. SB can actually add money to your financial aid package for a car if you can't afford one. I think they can add up to like $8,000 for a car (I might be off on the figure). Keep in mind that since this is Long Island, the clinical sites are in many different locations and you will need access to a car to get to your clinic. There are a few people in my class without a car (so it can be done) but I cannot imagine living out here without a car. You should also consider the fact that it get's cold and snowy in the winter. You can also try to live with people with a car but that's not such a great option because everyone will be really busy once you get here and it's probably very tough to rely on someone for a ride.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

MedScat
Temple University (LKSOM) MD Class of 2022!
Replies
25
Views
9K
formerfinancefuturedoctor
F
M
Stony Brook University School of Medicine - Class of 2016
Replies
1
Views
4K
Gnomes
G
L
La Universidad Central del Caribe class of 2021
Replies
2
Views
2K
Janedoe7
J
D
Quinnipiac (Netter) Class of 2020
Replies
49
Views
7K
loconoko
L
P
Rosalind/CMS grad class of 2011?
Replies
0
Views
1K
platinumgarb
P
Top