Upstate vs. Stony Brook (PLEASE Help)

[zeppelinpage4]

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Hi guys, I'm really sorry for posting so many threads and I thank those who helped me in those threads. I've got my school choices down to two, and I am just torn and I wanted input before I made the final decision. I know i have to pick soon, and I wanted to run it by others before I made a final choice.

Basically,

(Stony Brook):
+ Better reputation (not by much, but better)
+Seemingly higher quality of education
+Very strong Step I scores and match list
+Research opportunities (Not sure if I want research, but option is there)
+Incredibly friendly students and I felt welcome there
+Students seem to have good relationships with faculty and administration

-Almost 10 hours from home, family, girlfriend (minor factor)
-High cost of living
-Rotation sites, school, and housing are far apart (driving every day, everywhere)

(Upstate):
+Within 2 hours of home, family, girlfriend (again minor factor, but the support system may be a big help)
+Lower cost of living
+Rotation sites, school, and housing are all walking distance from each other
+Nicer facilities

-Average reputation/on probation
-Very little research opportunities (unsure about research)
-Curriculum and quality of education doesn't seem as good

I'm certain I'd be happy at both places, but I do not know what to pick. The living situation and support system at Upstate is a huge plus, however, if I were to pick based on quality of the med school alone, then Stony Brook seems to win. However, Stony Brook isn't that much better than Upstate I think.

 

[chillaxbro]

Imo quality of education is the most important factor so Stony Brook wins out

-High cost of living

really? i dont think so but i could be wrong

girlfriend (minor factor)

lol


If I had the choice, I would pick stony brook

 

[zeppelinpage4]

Imo quality of education is the most important factor so Stony Brook wins out


really? i dont think so but i could be wrong


lol


If I had the choice, I would pick stony brook

Haha, I thought I'd list the girlfriend just cause it is a factor...granted a very very minor one (not a good reason I know, but both schools appealed to me a lot, so I figure small factors might make a difference). Proximity to my family is definitely a bit more important though.
So, you would say that Stony Brook does win in terms of education quality?

And cost of living is I think about 2.5K more a year, not much, but it's a little more than Syracuse.
Thanks for the input though, I really appreciate it.

 

[LIMed2007]

I'm an MS4 at Stony Brook, so I'll give my biased opinion, but I think Stony Brook is one of the best medical educations available especially for the public education tuition costs. Your pro/con list regarding the education differences is absolutely in favor of Stony Brook. Also, some clarification. You don't necessarily have to drive long distances as a student here. In fact, I have friends who lived 5 mins away from campus during their four years here. Also, if you don't want to rotate at different hospitals during your clinical years, you can apply for the Winthrop clinical campus (which I was part of), which means you do all your rotations (minus psych) at one hospital. You can also live in Winthrop housing while there, which is either right across the street or down the block. Very convenient and extremely subsidized by the hospital and extremely affordable. Also, I went to college near Syracuse and recently drove to Upstate for a residency interview. There is no way if you live 2 hours away from Syracuse that you would be 10 hours away from Stony Brook. Maybe 8 hours (I'd say 6 hours from SB to Syracuse), but definitely not 10.

 

[OldGrandDad]

An observation, in these threads you've made, you have resounding had people pick stony brook. Maybe the reason that you keep making these threads is that you already know your answer is something else?

 

[peonies3030]

I am on the same boat. I don't know which one to pick. My pros and cons list is pretty similar to yours. I am seriously stuck. I feel like I pick upstate for everything else and not letting go of stony brook for the education.

 

[peonies3030]

Hi guys, I'm really sorry for posting so many threads and I thank those who helped me in those threads. I've got my school choices down to two, and I am just torn and I wanted input before I made the final decision. I know i have to pick soon, and I wanted to run it by others before I made a final choice.

Basically,

(Stony Brook):
+ Better reputation (not by much, but better)
+Seemingly higher quality of education
+Very strong Step I scores and match list
+Research opportunities (Not sure if I want research, but option is there)
+Incredibly friendly students and I felt welcome there
+Students seem to have good relationships with faculty and administration

-Almost 10 hours from home, family, girlfriend (minor factor)
-High cost of living
-Rotation sites, school, and housing are far apart (driving every day, everywhere)

(Upstate):
+Within 2 hours of home, family, girlfriend (again minor factor, but the support system may be a big help)
+Lower cost of living
+Rotation sites, school, and housing are all walking distance from each other
+Nicer facilities

-Average reputation/on probation
-Very little research opportunities (unsure about research)
-Curriculum and quality of education doesn't seem as good

I'm certain I'd be happy at both places, but I do not know what to pick. The living situation and support system at Upstate is a huge plus, however, if I were to pick based on quality of the med school alone, then Stony Brook seems to win. However, Stony Brook isn't that much better than Upstate I think.

have you made your decision yet?

 

[zeppelinpage4]

have you made your decision yet?

Hey! Sorry for the late reply, we just finished up finals. So, writing out the pros and cons seemed to help and I saw more pros for Stony Brook, so I picked that.

Did you pick a school?

 

[zeppelinpage4]

I'm an MS4 at Stony Brook, so I'll give my biased opinion, but I think Stony Brook is one of the best medical educations available especially for the public education tuition costs. Your pro/con list regarding the education differences is absolutely in favor of Stony Brook. Also, some clarification. You don't necessarily have to drive long distances as a student here. In fact, I have friends who lived 5 mins away from campus during their four years here. Also, if you don't want to rotate at different hospitals during your clinical years, you can apply for the Winthrop clinical campus (which I was part of), which means you do all your rotations (minus psych) at one hospital. You can also live in Winthrop housing while there, which is either right across the street or down the block. Very convenient and extremely subsidized by the hospital and extremely affordable. Also, I went to college near Syracuse and recently drove to Upstate for a residency interview. There is no way if you live 2 hours away from Syracuse that you would be 10 hours away from Stony Brook. Maybe 8 hours (I'd say 6 hours from SB to Syracuse), but definitely not 10.

Wow, thank you so much. That is the kind of insight I had hoped for, and this post definitely helped clear some of the cons for Stony.

An observation, in these threads you've made, you have resounding had people pick stony brook. Maybe the reason that you keep making these threads is that you already know your answer is something else?

OldGrandDad, that was a very wise post. I actually thought about this when i was making my decision. It was complicated, but I think you made a good point. My gut was saying Stony Brook, but my logic pointed to Upstate which would be a better fit. Even when people said go with the better fit, I kept making threads and I think it might have been to justify going to Stony Brook despite the fact that it wasn't as good of a fit for me.
I'm hoping, I find a sense of fit at Stony Brook nonetheless. I do believe I can be happy there if things go well.