VCU vs Stony Brook

[MiddleEMed]

Hi everyone,

So, I was lucky enough – especially as an international student – to get accepted to VCU! I honestly love their program, and Richmond seems like an exciting city and a low-ish CoL compared to NYC, where I currently am. I have an interview coming up with SBU in March, but the big thing is, as an international, both institutions have made it clear that I am not eligible for financial aid of any kind. So as I'll need to look for private loans, I'm kind of wondering if it is even worth considering SBU because of financial purposes, considering both will be basically the same tuition costs.

VCU

Pros:

• The biggest seems to be the cost of living in Richmond. It'll help minimize the amount I'll need to borrow (relatively).
• Dedicated Step 1&2 prep time with tutors
• They have a 3-year MD program that you can apply to during your first year – although you have to commit to VCU for residency
• P/F pre-clinical with online and recorded lectures
• Seems to have very modern facilities
• Lots more diversity in the people & patient population

Cons:

• I guess it is slightly lower ranked than SBU.
• Less research opportunities perhaps?
• If I want to go back to NYC for residency (unsure), this seems to be the weaker option.
• Super expensive overall cause of no FA (same for SBU though)

Stony Brook (note this is pre-interview, things could change)

Pros:

• Close to NYC so I'd have access to friends I've made here – although it doesn't seem feasible that I'd go to the city that often.
• Better reputation it seems
• Better research opportunities
• I'd ideally like to match into a big city (perhaps Chicago, or even back to NYC) for residency – this might be better for that?

Cons:

• Definitely higher CoL than Richmond, with a lot less to do
• Student housing options seem pretty meh – I've lived in tiny rooms with many roommates for years, I'm ready to stop doing that
• Less diverse patient population
• Has a 3 year MD program, but you need to apply before school starts.

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[Bowel-Plumber]

Don’t have much input on your decision but I do want to mention that Stony Brook allows students to apply into the 3 year MD during their first year in February.

 

[MiddleEMed]

Just bumping this if anyone has any more insights before the deadline tomorrow 🙂 – I'm struggling a lot to decide. The prestige factor of SB and the possibility of being more competitive for a residency in the NE/Midwest is very tempting, despite the higher costs and my relative preference for VCU.

Thanks so much!

 

[surelycalm]

If you want to match in NYC you are better off going to Stony Brook. To be honest, what you list as pros applies equally to both schools. Have you attended accepted students day at either school? At the very least you should look at the match data and the match data up on the SDN 2025 match thread for Stony Brook also lists some step1 and step2 data.

Realistically your decision comes down to where you want to spend the next 4 years and where you want to end up. Other than that, you can't go wrong at either school.

 

[wholefoodsfein]

I think it depends… have you gotten into both schools? If not, if I were you I’d rather go for the school where you have gotten in as you can start planning and everything sooner.

I have friends both at VCU and SBU and I’ve heard amazing things about Richmond specifically. They love the community and all that the city and the school have to offer. My friend at SBU said that a lot of people go there thinking they’ll get to go to NYC often and in reality they rarely go there because it’s realistically far from the city.

Good luck!!

 

[flyqueen]

Can give insights on SB because I went to the undergrad and work in the hospital.

It is a great program, great resources, great support. It’s literally in the hospital and all the students seem genuinely happy. Housing is expensive and limited, it’s a fight between the undergrad, grad students, faculty and staff so they get away with ridiculous prices. There are Facebook groups that could help with housing. If you are from a small town then you’ll think there’s a lot to do and love the area if you are from the city then you’ll get over it pretty quickly.

I would def recommend because of its prestige and the fact that everyone is supportive.