SUNY Upstate vs SUNY Buffalo

[notgettingin]

Which is the better med school?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[notgettingin]

Need some advice please! I just got off the wait-list of both within the last week, and could use some help!! Thanks!

 

[Oschemi]

Need some advice please! I just got off the wait-list of both within the last week, and could use some help!! Thanks!

They are equivalent in my opinion. It is just a question of which school you feel you will be happiest at. good luck with your decision.

 

[HreComesTheSun]

They are equivalent in my opinion. It is just a question of which school you feel you will be happiest at. good luck with your decision.

seconded...the answer to your OP will probably be split 50/50

 

[deleted103644]

I think Buffalo's generally considered the better school - but it can get pretty bleak out there. Visit both schools again if you can.

 

[notgettingin]

Thanks for all of your feedback! I think I will stick with Buffalo

 

[toxicgate]

while both schools are almost equal, if one does some resaerch on past threads on the ny schools, it comes up with...

Quality and Rep:
1) Stony Brook
2) Downstate (clinical experience is unparalleled..)
3) Upstate
4) Buffalo/NYMC
5) Albany

Location, neighborhood, cultural life:
1) NYMC (close to NYC along with a decent neighborhood nearby)
2) Downstate (ghetto as hell, but nice BK areas nearby e.g. Park Slope, Williamsburgh)
3) Stonybrook (it's exit 62 off the LIE for god's sake)
3) Albany
4) Buffalo/Upstate (snore Upstate, NY)

looking at academics, i think Upstate has it better, but don't take my word for it, this is a great website: http://www.amsa.org/premed/medsurvey/
its got first hand accounts of students from all the schools and gives you a side by side comparison of the numbers. I hope this helps you with your decision.

 

[Noeljan]

I think Buffalo is the better school of course
Honestly I have heard Buffalo is better, but everyone will have a different opinion. There are a lot of good research opportunities here.

 

[CardiacIntensivist]

I always ranked Upstate above Buffalo.

1. Syracuse is a much better city
2. Option of Binghamton Campus
3. Closer to NYC
4. Much more responsive staff
5. Student body seems happier
6. Weather is a bit more bearable I'd say (The week before my interview, the city was locked down due to a massive blizzard)
7. Dorms for Upstate is much much better than Buffalo

Haha, I know I have pretty superficial reasons, but it has been a long time since I've thought about these two schools.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[notgettingin]

I always ranked Upstate above Buffalo.

1. Syracuse is a much better city
2. Option of Binghamton Campus
3. Closer to NYC
4. Much more responsive staff
5. Student body seems happier
6. Weather is a bit more bearable I'd say (The week before my interview, the city was locked down due to a massive blizzard)
7. Dorms for Upstate is much much better than Buffalo

Haha, I know I have pretty superficial reasons, but it has been a long time since I've thought about these two schools.

Good luck with your decision.

Hmmm...Thanks for your input. But about the above, I think that Buffalo is the better city, I am not interested in the Binghamton Campus, I have heard that Syracuse actually receives more snow then Buffalo, and I am not planning on living in a dorm. Being closer to the city and my family would be a huge plus, as well as the responsive staff.

I think though, that I am happy with Buffalo and will stick with that. Thanks again everyone!!

 

[Cirrus83]

I think Buffalo is the better city compared to Syracuse as well...and for some reason I've always ranked Buffalo higher in my mind.

Keep in mind that if you go by NIH research money, Buffalo is actually 2nd to Stony Brook (and only by $3 million or so, which isn't a lot since it's like $68 vs $71 or something), while Syracuse only has $18.9 million of research grants from the NIH.

That said, just go where you think you'll be happiest.

They're both going to be snowy and cold cities BTW. I don't think the weather is really very helpful for deciding in this case, it's not like Syracuse is in the bahamas,

Binghamton, btw, while SLIGHTLY warmer, is more in the middle of nowhere. Which could be good if you like that kind of thing.

If you go by student GPA's and MCAT's...well, they're neck and neck, with Buffalo edging out Syracuse ever so slightly on the GPA, and Syracuse edguing out Buffalo ever so slightly on the MCAT (3.57 vs 3.54 and 9.8 vs 9.7 respectively).

So...if you can't decide still, just go on facebook and figure out which school has the most attractive members of the sex you're attracted to (I was going to say opposite sex, but that doesn't always apply), and just pick that school

Now, I say pick Buffalo, but then again I'm kinda biased since I got into Buffalo and Syracuse didn't even give me an interview (the only SUNY school to not give me an interview for some bizarre reason). However, I've always mentally ranked Syracuse below Buffalo, so their rejecting me only made my existing bias greater

So to Buffalo and to Syracuse.

 

[Cirrus83]

I always ranked Upstate above Buffalo.

1. Syracuse is a much better city
2. Option of Binghamton Campus
3. Closer to NYC
4. Much more responsive staff
5. Student body seems happier
6. Weather is a bit more bearable I'd say (The week before my interview, the city was locked down due to a massive blizzard)
7. Dorms for Upstate is much much better than Buffalo

Haha, I know I have pretty superficial reasons, but it has been a long time since I've thought about these two schools.

Good luck with your decision.

1. In your dreams (I've been to both cities since I went to school in Rochester and would sometimes visit Syracuse).
2. Binghamton is in the middle of nowhere, although the option is nice.
3. Hahahahahahaha...yes, 5 hours is closer than 7 but I don't think you'll be making weekend jaunts to NYC. And by plane the difference is about 5 minutes
4. Well, I don't know about this but wouldn't you have to go to both medical schools to compare? The staff at Buffalo has been awesome throughout the application process with me, but obviously I don't know how actually going to both compares.
5. Students seemed pretty happy at Buffalo when I visited (and it was a cold and rainy day).
6. Weather sucks in both cities. Buffalo does seem to get more huge storms on occasion, but overall I don't think Syracuse really has much of an edge.
7. Housing is so cheap in both cities that this is totally silly. Why live in a dorm anyway? I'm living off campus, as are most of the students I know (including the students there when I was interviewing and also including the people I know who got in).

But seriously, regarding #3? Gas is so expensive nowadays it's probably cheaper just to fly if you really wanna go visit NYC or something. And a 1 hour flight is usually much preferred to a long drive.

 

[Noeljan]

I always ranked Upstate above Buffalo.

1. Syracuse is a much better city
2. Option of Binghamton Campus
3. Closer to NYC
4. Much more responsive staff
5. Student body seems happier
6. Weather is a bit more bearable I'd say (The week before my interview, the city was locked down due to a massive blizzard)
7. Dorms for Upstate is much much better than Buffalo

Haha, I know I have pretty superficial reasons, but it has been a long time since I've thought about these two schools.

Good luck with your decision.

No offense, but most of what you are saying doesn't make any sense to me, lol
Ok, my brother's girlfriend and my post doc in the lab are from Syracuse, and they constantly CONSTANTLY talk about it, saying if you think Buffalo is boring you have seen nothing unless you go to Syracuse.
To get to your concerns
1) See above
2) Buffalo has MANY hospitals you can rotate at, Buff general, sisters, Childrens, roswell park, VA etc. So tons of different opportunities. As far as campuses/classes go, I would rather be at the same campus with my class
3) Haha Syracuse is not all that far from Buffalo (only like 2 hours) so if you are driving to NYC don't think Syracuse is a hop, skip and jump away. We are both in upstate NY
4) Our staff is awesome. Have you ever heard of Mr Rosso
5) The students seem very happy and down to earth at UB. They are very friendly and claim to be happy.
6) The weather is about the same (remember us both being in upstate NY).this is also according to both my bros gf and my post doc. Trust me I asked them this several times
7) We don't have set dorms for med students, athough there are really nice appartments for grad students (if you want to live on campus). However, most people live off campus.

Like I said before we have amazing research opportunities which may come in handy down the line. I am not putting down upstate I'm just telling like it is. I have a friend who really really wanted to go to UB but didn't get in (and got into upstate). I also have a friend who didn't get in Upstate but got into UB. Different schools are for different people.

 

[HreComesTheSun]

it's not like Syracuse is in the bahamas

thanks for clearing that up cirrus

i considered responding to that post, but i think even the poster knew his points were silly

 

[Oschemi]

Ok, this thread is becoming useless. It all boils down to where you think you will be happiest for the next four years. They are both great schools and neither is better than the other. Congrats and good luck wherever you end up

 

[toxicgate]

echoing what Oschemi said, which one did you have a better feel for when you had your interview? Either way, you cant go wrong, they are both great schools and a great deal for NY residents

 

[HreComesTheSun]

Ok, this thread is becoming useless.

relax oschemi, useless banter is allowed on sdn (clearly)

 

[PharmAlarm]

I currently go to buffalo and I love it all my friends who have graduated have gotten superior jobs than a few of my friends from upstate. Niagra falls region is the most beautiful region in the world, upstate is in the middle of new york and no doubt about it Buffalo is better. I have also heard somewhere that The teachers at buffalo are the top of their fields.

 

[Oschemi]

I currently go to buffalo and I love it all my friends who have graduated have gotten superior jobs than a few of my friends from upstate. Niagra falls region is the most beautiful region in the world, upstate is in the middle of new york and no doubt about it Buffalo is better. I have also heard somewhere that The teachers at buffalo are the top of their fields.

lol

 

[HreComesTheSun]

I currently go to buffalo and I love it all my friends who have graduated have gotten superior jobs than a few of my friends from upstate.

interesting to know

I have also heard somewhere that The teachers at buffalo are the top of their fields.

i'll bet this comes, in part, from the fact that some of the education is at Roswell Park...whoever you talked to seems to know more about the school than just superficial facts. yes, those profs are in fact at the top of their fields

 

[Oschemi]

i'll bet this comes, in part, from the fact that some of the education is at Roswell Park...whoever you talked to seems to know more about the school than just superficial facts. yes, those profs are in fact at the top of their fields [/QUOTE]

This poster is a pharmacy student and knows nothing about the med school. So relax, mmkay..

 

[HreComesTheSun]

This poster is a pharmacy student and knows nothing about the med school.

does it really bother you when people say good things about Buffalo or something?

 

[Oschemi]

does it really bother you when people say good things about Buffalo or something?

No as a matter of fact I just graduated from UB. It is just that you are over-exaggerating, it is not like we are comparing upstate to a top twenty school. Give me a break.

 

[HreComesTheSun]

sooo...i'm still confused about the animosity, since i agreed about the schools being relatively equal above. if you aren't familiar with the level of research at Roswell Park, you can go to the NCCN website...and since you interviewed at upstate, perhaps you have some useful things to say about them so we don't continue to hijack this thread

but really, if it bothers you that much that people are proud they chose UB Med, maybe you should avoid this thread