I'm sure this question has been asked a lot but I got accepted to both and I am not unsure which school to go too. I'm from Southern California and have been to the Bay Area countless of times to visit my friends from undergrad. On the other hand, New York would be a completely new and fresh/exciting experience. Are there pros and cons to both school's academic and clinical programs? Any advice appreciated!
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Congratulations on your acceptances! Both are great schools but if I were in your position, I would probably go to SUNY. I always wanted the opportunity to live in a different city, and attending school in a different state would be the perfect chance. Both have excellent clinical programs, so you would not be missing out academically on anything no matter which school you choose. The doctors that I shadowed from SUNY told me that their school has a more medical approach and that they were prepared to practice right after graduation. They have a strong alumni network and I see them practicing in several parts of the country. On the other hand, I have not found a lot of Berkeley Optometry alumni to tell me about their experiences after graduation (and I live in California!), so I don't have much info to share about them...
If you want to get into research or medical corporate after graduation then Berkeley might give you a leg up in that direction. They're heavily known for that. Otherwise I agree with curaga! Both are amazing schools.
Personally if I were in your shoes and they ended up costing roughly the same amount then I would choose the out of state route for the new experience.
Personally if I were in your shoes and they ended up costing roughly the same amount then I would choose the out of state route for the new experience.
I agree with the other two - you can't go wrong with either choice. From my perspective, I think the two most important considerations now are: 1) cost and 2) how well you fit in.
If cost is about the same, pick the one that you would feel happiest attending. Your coursework is going to be demanding wherever you go - you want to choose a school that will allow you to enjoy other aspects of your life.
You probably already know the pros to Berkeley, so I'll mention the major con: mostly the lack of consideration for your life outside of classes/clinic, and the fact that few faculty members are involved in private practice, choosing instead to be involved in research/academia. (As an example, we get 3 days off for Part I boards vs 2 weeks or 1 month at other locations.) I would imagine other schools have similar experiences though. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
If cost is about the same, pick the one that you would feel happiest attending. Your coursework is going to be demanding wherever you go - you want to choose a school that will allow you to enjoy other aspects of your life.
You probably already know the pros to Berkeley, so I'll mention the major con: mostly the lack of consideration for your life outside of classes/clinic, and the fact that few faculty members are involved in private practice, choosing instead to be involved in research/academia. (As an example, we get 3 days off for Part I boards vs 2 weeks or 1 month at other locations.) I would imagine other schools have similar experiences though. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
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First of All you should be thrilled to get into 2 awesome schools 😀, I applied to Burkley but sadly I dont think I made the cut :/ You might want to consider the living costs of the two, both places are pretty expensive but maybe if you went to burkley maybe you could live with friends from undergrad or family if you have some there. It would also be easier to see family on breaks which would be important to me. Either way congratz on your Placements 🙂
