Temple vs SUNY Upstate

[bob diddleberry]

Hey trying to make decision! All advice appreciated. This is tough. I feel like I could be a good fit at either school. I want to end up in NY for residency either in NYC or nearby. Interested in more competitive specialties.

Pros temple:
- I want to continue doing cancer research (have been during gap year) so fox chase is great for it
-stronger overall match (I think?) seemed specifically better in IR and all competitive specialties (I am interested in IR and procedural specialties)
- established curriculum with more NBME style questions integrated for board prep compared to upstate’s new curriculum that rolled out only this year
-great clinical experience in trauma and urban care (which could help a lot if I wanted to do residency in NYC??)
-more volunteer opportunities and student organizations
-have a narrative medicine track/focus that is very interesting to me
-more to do in Philly
-very close to fam and gf

Cons temple:
-cost $45-55k more in tuition
-north Philly/Philly more dangerous than syracuse so may not be as comfortable/relaxed when studying (but could just live a bit father out of city since have a car??)
-admin/faculty seem to be less hands on supportive compared to Upstate (I value mentorship)
-less early clinical exposure compared to upstate's longitudinal clinical exposure track


Pros Upstate:
- cheaper tuition (IS of approx $46k per year vs like $59k per year temple)
- admin faculty very supportive and kind
- safer area outside of Syracuse I’d probably be a bit more comfortable in
- longitudinal curriculum gets early clinical exposure (however do not get to choose specialty)
- NY med school help with NY residency? (I want to end up in NY, Hudson valley or in/near NYC for residency)
- students seemed more laid back and nice with good events and student activities

Cons:
- residencies matched seemed less impressive overall compared to temple
- new curriculum still needs to have kinks worked out it seems (a little nervous to only be the second class to go through it)
- no home integrated IR program (temple has)
- matches less frequently into competitive specialties I am interested in (ortho, maybe plastics)
- less going on in Syracuse/upstate compared to Philly (yet also may be nice for quiet and peace??)
- research seems to be there but not as strong as temple
- seemed to have less student orgs for volunteering
- 3x as far from family and gf

I have until April 30th to choose an acceptance so replies are appreciated!

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[bob diddleberry]

Can everyone voting plz share their logic

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Where does the gf want you to be? Which one gets you close to your purpose as a physician?

 

[bob diddleberry]

Where does the gf want you to be? Which one gets you close to your purpose as a physician?

Thanks for the response. Gf and I open to a lot but currently love NYC and could see settling down in area around NYC like Hudson valley. Temple seems to match comparatively to Upstate into NYC with the added bonus they match better nationwide in case we decide elsewhere. I want to do a competitive specialty (ortho IR gen surg) and Temple seems to match more into those specialties and into better programs. Temple also has stronger research in oncology which I really want to continue engaging with. But Temple has the higher cost and I am not sure if I would be as comfortable there as Upstate.