SUNY Upstate vs Quinnipiac vs Downstate

[kinglygrace]

I have been accepted to SUNY Upstate and Quinnipiac (Netter). I am on "hold for spring consideration" at Downstate but am including it here so I can get some thoughts given possible acceptance. I am primarily interested in emergency medicine though I am also piqued by radiology.

Upstate

Pros

• P/F
• Students were the most laid back of all schools; collaborative atmosphere
• Admin and faculty seem supportive
• Solid on campus housing
• Accepted to Binghamton track for clinical years; can theoretically only spend 3rd yr there (and come back to Syracuse for 4th yr) and will supposedly have more hands-on, personalized time there than I would at Syracuse
• In-state tuition and cheap cost of living
• Some facilities have been updated
• Upstate NY is good for outdoors activities (I like hiking, skiing, rock climbing, etc.)
• Recorded lectures, non-mandatory attendance

Cons

• Weather is awful during winter
• Have lived in NYC for majority of my life, so upstate living will be a change. I spent a year in Buffalo though so I know what to expect
• Dont know much about the quality and diversity of training at Bing campus

Quinnipiac

Pros

• P/F
• Laid back students from diversity of backgrounds
• Very, very supportive admin and faculty; many faculty left Yale and UConn to come to a school with teaching as opposed to research focus
• Brand new facilities
• Small class size (~90)
• Closer to home (NYC)
• Recorded lectures, non-mandatory attendance

Cons

• More expensive tuition and cost of living
• Newer school with only one match so far
• Less research focus though they seem to be trying to improve on that
• School doesn't have its own hospital

Downstate

Pros

• P/F
• Laid back students
• In-state tuition
• Clinical training is highly touted
• NYC is home; would make it easier to follow some of my interests (e.g. cricket)
• Excellent for matching in NYC though that may be skewed due to geographic preferences of class; also, both upstate and quinnipiac are also good for matching in NYC and region

Cons

• Facilities are old; downstate's interior sort of looks like an old NYC high school
• Admissions did not really try to sell the school; fairly short interview day with only a short tour
• While clinical training is great, more scut work may be involved; some NYC hospitals have a reputation for being malignant
• While NYC is home and I intend to match back here, it may be time for a break from the hectic and stressful city life
• Cost of living

FWIW, I felt the best at Upstate though I don't know if I should ascribe too much importance to a few hours of experience with a school.

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[CandH23]

Do you mind not being close to family?

 

[kinglygrace]

Do you mind not being close to family?

I don't mind, as I've lived with or close to family for most of my life (and I have some family not too far from Syracuse in Buffalo). Anyways, I plan to match near home when the time comes so 4 years away isn't a big deal. So while proximity to home is a factor to consider, I don't want it playing a huge role in making school choice.

 

[carrots28]

Advice given to me by older med student: pick school where you want to do residency, some places have bias for people from their home turf.

While I do think that is true, I would consider how well you vibe with the culture where you will be. I did not follow said advice and instead I choose where I thought I would be happiest and haven’t looked back. On a side note, I thought the interviewees at Downstate where one of the most woke premeds i had met on the interview trail.

 

[nydoctorinthemaking]

Downstate student here. I am from upstate NY and was debating between upstate/downstate last year (so I have no opinion on Quinnipiac other than do not go there solely based on cost). I think Downstate is your best bet, especially if you want to do emergency medicine in the city. We match students with the best EM residencies every year. Downstate is known for its clinical training not only in the city, but across the US. During my gap year, I worked in an ED in upstate NY and almost every single attending (even ones who had gone to upstate for med school) said I should go to Downstate if I wanted to do EM just because of the crazy things I'd see as a med student.

Besides that, being close to home is amazing. Med school gets so so stressful, so if you're able to go home and have some nice TLC from your parents that's a huge plus. The only downside to going to Downstate personally is not being near my family--I still haven't regretted my decision once though. I absolutely love Brooklyn and my classmates!

To address your cons about Downstate: honestly the facilities are fine. literally nothing has ever held me or my classmates back from learning. shiny new buildings are nice and all, but all that glitters is not gold As for the faculty not selling themselves, I definitely felt that way during my interview day but trust me, they are very passionate about teaching! I wish they would sell the school more, I think Downstate is such a gem.

In terms of cost of living, yes it's not the best. However for four years of your life, you're gonna want to enjoy the city that you're living in. As someone who knows Syracuse very well, Brooklyn is just...infinitely better. If you're from NYC it will be a rough adjustment to the "city" of Syracuse. I know you have lived in Buffalo, but Syracuse is even smaller than that, so yeah :/

Last thing, one of your pros of Upstate is also a pro of Downstate--you don't have to go to lectures, they're all recorded!