Which SUNY would you pick??

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i got a ton of family in buffalo and its a nice town and the snow there is to fall in love with.. yah.. actually 3 ft of snow easy its gotta be a painful commute

so if considering a suny.. im probably going to go to buffalo..
why? because apartments there are 600 a month.. in the best locations.. u at b is supposed to be the biggest suny campus in new york so they'll obviously offer any and all majors
however like most major college campus's you'll be a number..

so talking in terms of money...
sunny buffalo is the cheapest you can go..
btw.. wegmans ftw.. <3<3<3<3
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I was thinking of applying to Upstate when the time came. I just like it best out of the NY schools going by the website, really. But I'd also imagine the area around Syracuse is quite nice. :)

I also know that Downstate isn't for me. NYC is too big and crazy for me. Buffalo is too far west for my taste. I also like Stony Brook, I guess. Haven't done much research on it though.
 
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This thread is old I guess but for me

1. Downstate for MD

1. Stonybrook for MD/PhD
 
I'd pick Buffalo above all the others. Here's my reasoning:

The medical school is undergoing a huge change over the next ten years. It's going to be moved (or at least large portions of it) to the Downtown campus around Roswell Park and Buffalo General. The school is spending $500 million on new buildings and most of it is for the Biomedical sciences.

By the time it's all finished I'm confident that UB medical school will be the best SUNY medical school.
 
Buffalo! I'm excited for it. Too bad that makeover change will take a long long time.
 
Stony Brook 100%

Why?

-Research (Cold Spring Harbor and Brookhaven National Laboratory......woot!)
-Wonderful faculty
-Match list
-University hospital with MASSIVE expansion....including a beautiful new Women and Children's center, tons of new operating rooms, brand new huge ER, new cancer center, new hospital entrance with tons of nice study spaces
-brand new stimulation center....totally awesome
-4 people per cadaver
-LI has so much....beaches, whale watching, surfing, shopping, clubbing, seafood, ferry to Connecticut, Fire Island, fast drive (everybody drives fast) into the city....hello....NYC is the center of the world


I have personal experience with the medical school at SUNY Buffalo. I would NOT recommend this medical school. I have also lived in Buffalo for most of my life.

-Horrible city. Miserable people. Bad weather with overcast every single day.....although the winter sports can be fun for a short while. Otherwise nothing to do....unless becoming a glutinous alcoholic is your thing.....rock on. (THEY ARE TRYING TO MAKE IT BETTER......but trust me they have been "trying" for about three decades.....with little improvement)
-The medical schools IS part of the undergrad......they use the same classrooms AND computing centers......total lack of identity. As an undergrad I did my work and printing IN the medical students laboratory. Strange.
-the dental school totally overshadows the medical school.....much better institution. They are rank high and have their OWN building.
-The faculty at the med school are pretty cruddy
-8 people per cadaver
-Cheap housing......yes. That is the one AWESOME plus.....but honestly you can split a house in LI and live for about 600-700 with roomies.



The battle of the SUNY medical schools is Downstate vs. Stony.....but it should not be a battle. Each fits a distinct personality......each has amazing opportunities. Upstate and UB are good medical schools.......but from my personal experience most of the people at UB are not their by choice.
 
I'm a Brooklyn native, and I've done work in DS' ER. I have seen a lot, but it's not like I wouldn't see gunshots, car accidents and OD in other places, it's just more likely that in other places, the majority of pts would be white.

I also have an acceptance at Buffalo. I didn't get to see much of the city, which is a bummer b/c I feel comfortable in a city atmosphere. I feel safe at DS, I just don't know enough about Buffalo city life. It did seem somewhat humdrum.

I'm still pulling for an acceptance from several other NYC schools, but I'd be fine with Buffalo. It's just that NYC is home and I'd like to stay.
 
This year I think Buffalo broke even with its population for the first time in 50 years. There was no/little loss. It's also had some of its most expensive housing/condo sales in its history.

And again I'd like to repeat that the medical school will be moving downtown. Probably not by the time that any of us will be going there but it will be. UB already has several buildings on the Downtown campus. The expansion is massive: it's supposedly the biggest expansion in the history of the school (topping even UB North Campus).

I'm not going to say that Buffalo isn't dying. The way things are going it certainly is, but things like UB 2020 might be able to revitalize the city. The expansion will make UB the largest SUNY university center (at ~40,000 students).

And while the weather is probably better at Stony Brook and Downstate, the weather is far worse at Upstate. It doesn't snow in Buffalo nearly as much as it's hyped to be. If you're from Upstate New York you're probably from an area that gets more snow than Buffalo.
 
I say Stony Brook!

I interviewed at both Downstate and SB, and I really just enjoyed everything about Stony Brook, which I can't necessarily say about DS.

To those of you who view Stony Brook's location as a negative, I'm from Stony Brook originally, and I can tell you it's one of the best places to live, work, and study. You're only an hour and a half away from NYC, but there is a ton to do on Long Island. If you're interviewing at Stony Brook, see if you can visit Old Stony Brook village, or Port Jefferson. Both beautiful places. Very historic, with small local shops, good restaurants, and picturesque parks and public spaces.

Students seemed happy at Stony Brook. Seemed like they had enough free time outside of classes to maintain a normal, satisfying life aside from medicine. Faculty that I met were enthusiastic and excited about teaching, and the students agreed with this.

All in all, it'd be great to spend four years there. You'll get all the clinical opportunities you would get at Downstate, except for some of the really rare cases that come to Kings County Hospital, but NYC is only a train ride away, so you are still connected to everything.

Hope this helps!
Will
 
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this might help:

http://life.bio.sunysb.edu/rank.html

Also, I'd probably pick Stonybrook, I got in only there and got waitlisted at the other two. Just feels more professional, and gives you a lot of accessibility to NYC.
 
I would go with either Stony Brook or Downstate. The SUNY schools have relatively unsexy sounding names but they are great schools.

I did not know about UB's 2020 plan, it sounds really promising!
 
FIREitUP said:
thats undergrad
Click to expand...

It is not undergrad. I think it's research grants which means very little if you're only looking at the MD degree (endowment means much more). But as someone said, that ranking is 15 years old. I highly doubt it's even bordering on accurate anymore.
 
softmed said:
It is not undergrad. I think it's research grants which means very little if you're only looking at the MD degree (endowment means much more). But as someone said, that ranking is 15 years old. I highly doubt it's even bordering on accurate anymore.
Click to expand...

if it's not undergrad then why are the CUNY's and Binghamton included? I am not debating that SB is a great school, I was just pointing out that the literature cited was not correct.
 
In reference to the UB 2020 plan.....

UB and Buffalo are always planning and rarely ever accomplishing......

UB North campus was planned for construction in downtown Buffalo.....never happened. In fact it was put in the burbs, which made zero sense.

Buffalo has been planning to rebuild the Peace Bridge since my father was born......we always have "new" and "definite" plans......but same bridge.

Buffalo has planned on revitalizing the waterfront for thirty years....and nada. Oh wait......this year we did make it "beach accessible" aka we pushed some large rocks and opened about twenty feet of the waterfront beach in downtown.

My point: take whatever Buffalo and UB claim with a grain of salt.
 
skinMD said:
I've been trying to keep my own opinion to myself so I don't influence the opinions in this thread but basically I've decided against Buffalo. The city is horrible, the school has the worst stats out of the four, apparently the cost of living is relatively high (according to the MSAR) and the facilities are dingy.
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I was born and raised 15 minutes from a "horrible'' place...eeek!:laugh: just kidding.

It isn't that expensive to live here at all... it seems somewhat cheap actually.

rsmithjr42089 said:
Hey all, as a Buffalo native I can say a few things about UB...first off the city is horrible...BUT it is improving. You can easily live off campus in beautiful neighborhoods like Amherst, actually the Medical Campus is in Amherst.
UB has 6+ hospitals that your rotate around including Roswell Cancer Institute, Buffalo General (very good hospital), Womans and Childrens, Jacobs Neurological Institute, ect. They are very research oriented, which is a huge plus for me. My family is in Buffalo so it is my number one choice even though I have the stats to be accepted to Cornell in NYS and even Columbia. But I have children and a wife, who are also from Buffalo so in my case Buffalo has everything for me. Buffalo has TWO lakes, the river, niagara falls, CANADA's niagara falls, and some of the best bars in the country (if you like that sort of thing) In terms of safety, Id much rather live in Downtown Buffalo than Downtown NYC...Buffalo weather is crappy- you never can predict what will happen, being situated between two lakes....there are TONS of things to do around Buffalo.
Maybe Im a little biased, but UB is not a horrible school. For undergraduates it is much to big for me so I went to a smaller SUNY school (Oswego) but I somewhat regret that, as Buffalo had accepted me both times I applied as an undergrad (Freshman and as a transfer)

I wanted to give a little insight to Buffalo, since the majority of the opinions are negative on here about Buffalo.
It is a very friendly city, despite the look of the city.
Click to expand...

:thumbup: :oops:

serenade said:
i got a ton of family in buffalo and its a nice town and the snow there is to fall in love with.. yah.. actually 3 ft of snow easy its gotta be a painful commute

so if considering a suny.. im probably going to go to buffalo..
why? because apartments there are 600 a month.. in the best locations.. u at b is supposed to be the biggest suny campus in new york so they'll obviously offer any and all majors
however like most major college campus's you'll be a number..

so talking in terms of money...
sunny buffalo is the cheapest you can go..
btw.. wegmans ftw.. <3<3<3<3
Click to expand...

Agreed, cost of living is relatively cheap here. And wegmans.... oh boy:love: If I move I am going to miss that place (unless I go to Philly..they have them there:thumbup:)

LIDO said:
-Horrible city. Miserable people. Bad weather with overcast every single day.....although the winter sports can be fun for a short while. Otherwise nothing to do....unless becoming a glutinous alcoholic is your thing.....rock on. (THEY ARE TRYING TO MAKE IT BETTER......but trust me they have been "trying" for about three decades.....with little improvement)
-The medical schools IS part of the undergrad......they use the same classrooms AND computing centers......total lack of identity. As an undergrad I did my work and printing IN the medical students laboratory. Strange.
-the dental school totally overshadows the medical school.....much better institution. They are rank high and have their OWN building.
-The faculty at the med school are pretty cruddy
-8 people per cadaver
-Cheap housing......yes. That is the one AWESOME plus.....but honestly you can split a house in LI and live for about 600-700 with roomies.

.......but from my personal experience most of the people at UB are not their by choice.
Click to expand...

We're not all miserable! Most of us are incredibly nice:oops: It's not overcast evey single day here by any means. Alcoholic comment=:thumbup: I know in undergrad it was always a joke to say that people had nothing better to do with their free time, so they would drink.

Yah, I agree- most med students at UB complained about the 8 people to a cadaver thing.

And in all honesty, I'd rather pay $600 for my own apartment than pay that to share a place with other people (just my personal feelings, and also I'll be married before I start school so that wouldn't work for us). Do you go to NYCOM LIDO?

I live about 5 mins from both UB campuses, that would biggest reason I'd pick UB- selling my house is the last thing I want to do, it's a crazy market these days. Friends, family and the food (absolutely not the weather!) make me want to stay here, but thats it. Stonybrook/Downstate seem like it is a great schools, it would be an interesting experience to live near NYC as well.
 
FIREitUP said:
if it's not undergrad then why are the CUNY's and Binghamton included? I am not debating that SB is a great school, I was just pointing out that the literature cited was not correct.
Click to expand...

Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't Binghamton have grad programs? Looked it up, they do have some. :xf:
 
Ms MD said:
Stony Brook, Stony Brook, Stony Brook, without a doubt. Stony Brook has the best reputation out of all the SUNYs. It is the flagship of the SUNYs. Gets millions of $ in research grants a year. Has research grants for summer research, including abroad programs (Africa, India, Korea, and anywhere else you wanna go). Has excellent clinical experience starting in the first year. Has a brand new clinical skills center. <1.5 hours from manhattan, with LIRR access. By far, the kicker is that they have an INSANE MATCH LIST :thumbup:, and above avg board scores. Definitely check it out if you are lucky enough to interview there. Oh, and everyone there is super nice, and the professors are very approachable. They make you feel comfortable on your interview day.
Click to expand...

Stony Brook isn't the flagship of the SUNYs. That'd be Binghamton, which doesn't have a med school though but they and the community wanted to start one in the 80s hence the Upstate sending third years there since Upstate begged the State not to let Binghamton start one. Or some would argue it'd be Buffalo now that New York State budget plans and Governor Patterson have declared it their future flagship of the SUNY system, as they will be getting the most money and development. Its also the oldest of the SUNYs, has the infrastructure and real estate for science and tecnology development, and the city of Buffalo has been partnering with UB in redeveloping the area and its economy through biomed.

That said, Stony Brook is an amazing medical school. The only issues to keep in mind: its in the middle of nowhere, and housing is going to actually cost as much if not more than Brooklyn. SB is in a very upper class area, so I'm not sure where you'd find affordable housing unless you live in a town further away from the school.
 
FIREitUP said:
thats undergrad
Click to expand...

not only is it undergrad, its a 14 year old report. then take it mind that the statistics are probably even older and you're looking at something that reflects 15+ years ago.
 
Longshanks said:
Stony Brook isn't the flagship of the SUNYs. That'd be Binghamton, which doesn't have a med school though but they and the community wanted to start one in the 80s hence the Upstate sending third years there since Upstate begged the State not to let Binghamton start one. Or some would argue it'd be Buffalo now that New York State budget plans and Governor Patterson have declared it their future flagship of the SUNY system, as they will be getting the most money and development. Its also the oldest of the SUNYs, has the infrastructure and real estate for science and tecnology development, and the city of Buffalo has been partnering with UB in redeveloping the area and its economy through biomed.

That said, Stony Brook is an amazing medical school. The only issues to keep in mind: its in the middle of nowhere, and housing is going to actually cost as much if not more than Brooklyn. SB is in a very upper class area, so I'm not sure where you'd find affordable housing unless you live in a town further away from the school.
Click to expand...


As a Buffalo native and havig lived (fiancée is from SB) I can say with complete confidence that SB is not in the middle of nowhere. Buffalo is by far a much worse local. SB has soooo much more in close proximity....Buffalo gets boring...FAST.

To the abov poster: I am entering an allopathic medical school. Also, it is known that Buffalonians (I did grow up here) are big drinkers and eaters. We have some of the highest cardiovasc disease rate in all of America for a reason. Not all B-lo's fall into this category but many of them do IMHO.

Sorry...I love B-Lo bc it is my hometown but I refuse to sugarcoat it and amp it up like so many ppl from WNY.
 
I've been in Buffalo for about 6 months so far, and I can attest that it is definitely NOT as bad as most people make it out to be. Weather here is definitely not that bad. I've lived in both Boston and Chicago, and I can confidently say that weather in those two cities is a lot worse.

Also, while I do agree that the city is kinda crumby, it's definitely got enough to keep you entertained during your free time. I think people have strange expectations that they'll be able to keep absurdly active social lives in medical school. I'm sure there are some that can do that, but for the most part, I've come to enjoy just hanging out with classmates and having a beer.

In terms of the medical school, it's very difficult to say that a school is better or worse because I have no idea about what the other schools are like. Even attending an interview still provides a very fake impression because all the schools try to put on their best images. However, from my own perspective of UB, I can tell you that I came here because I was encouraged by several of my former PIs because of Roswell Park. Also, I've gotten to know several faculty members at the school and they really look out for you. Several of our classes are taught by our deans(who eventually write your letters of rec for residency) and the profs are really approachable. The whole 8 students per cadaver is actually a stupid point that gets way more emphasis than it should. I personally loved having that many students at my table because you dissect everything, but still have time to study and review things, so I never felt rushed or overwhelmed. And when you're not dissecting, you can just leave to go study for another class, which was really useful. Also, the students at your dissection table are pretty much the same students you'll be doing your clinical rotations with, so you get to know each other really well right from the start.

I think people expect med school to be something more than it is (I was like this too). You go to work hard and get trained in what you want to do. Going to any school in the US will guarantee you a successful career as long as you're willing to put the effort into it, and not just sit there passively. I think all 4 four of the SUNY schools are great, and really the only arguments that I agree with are the ones about being closer to family, etc. Other than that, it's just 4 years out of your life.

Lastly, to finish off my ridiculously long procrastination rant, the school has started building a new clinical translation research center and a new cardiovascular institute (which will be one of the largest in the state) on the downtown campus. Also, the university is really pushing hard to at least move the medical school down to the downtown campus very soon with the other health sciences following further down the line. So if you're going to be at UB for about 7 yrs or so like I am, there's a good chance you'll see it happen
 
LIDO said:
As a Buffalo native and havig lived (fiancée is from SB) I can say with complete confidence that SB is not in the middle of nowhere. Buffalo is by far a much worse local. SB has soooo much more in close proximity....Buffalo gets boring...FAST.

To the abov poster: I am entering an allopathic medical school. Also, it is known that Buffalonians (I did grow up here) are big drinkers and eaters. We have some of the highest cardiovasc disease rate in all of America for a reason. Not all B-lo's fall into this category but many of them do IMHO.

Sorry...I love B-Lo bc it is my hometown but I refuse to sugarcoat it and amp it up like so many ppl from WNY.
Click to expand...

I'm not from Buffalo. I've been here for over a year though. I'm originally from NYC, and just from my perspective as a New Yorker: Stony Brook has nothing around it unless you're a rich yuppie. Unless you have the time to travel and hour to and back from NYC, its not a great locale for a student on a limited budget. Its a wealthy suburb with little to do. And the people there are openly hostile towards SB students, usually undergrads. While, Buffalo, though a dying city, is trying to turn it around and provides in terms of lifestyle, a lot more to do, just as most other cities would. For a student, Buffalo has more venues, museums, restaurants to visit, and is considerably cheaper. Buffalo also has a vibrant art scene and a great music scene, that is a bit more experimental if you enjoy that.

I know a few PhD students at SB, who went there because its a great school and has a lot of opportunities, with the plus side of the economical choice since its a SUNY. But they all commute from Queens or Brooklyn daily because the town of Stony Brook is too expensive and lacks anything to do after 8PM. I've not heard similar complaints from my colleagues at Buffalo or friends who are med students at Upstate and Downstate.

Now, don't misunderstand me. I'd love to go to Stony Brook, since its close to home and a great school. I'm just not sugarcoating its locale, just like how you claim some of us are sugarcoating Buffalo. I came into Buffalo thinking it'd be a dump, but its exceeded my expectations.
 
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I go to Stony Brook right now, but only for undergrad. The hospital is across the street and that's where the medical school is. As much as I hate SBU for undergrad, and as much as I want to transfer, I can honestly say that the Med school is amazing. My cousin went to SBU for all four years for undergrad and didn't get into the med school. It's competitive. But the Med school is SO beautiful.

The bad thing is that, Stony Brook is an expensive community. There are apartments from Stony Brook, but I think they're expensive too. It's hard to find good, cheap housing.

But I have to disagree with people saying it's in the middle of nowhere. It is definitely NOT in the middle of nowhere. There's a main street about 5 minutes away from the campus/hospital and that can pretty much take you anywhere. There's a huge mall about 10 minutes away, there's Port Jefferson that's 10 minutes away. You would need a car to get to these places, though. But you wouldn't need to drive for more than 10 minutes until you get somewhere. It might not be in the city where most things are walking distance, but I wouldn't say it's in the middle of nowhere. Middle of nowhere is implying that all that there is literally NOTHING you can possibly do or nowhere that you can go.
 
Just found out today that I got accepted at Stony Brook, I've also gotten in to Downstate and now I'm trying to decide between the too. It seems like a lot of people have ranked these two as the top two of the SUNYs, but what about between these two? Which would you prefer/which is "better" and why?
 
Reekneee said:
Just found out today that I got accepted at Stony Brook, I've also gotten in to Downstate and now I'm trying to decide between the too. It seems like a lot of people have ranked these two as the top two of the SUNYs, but what about between these two? Which would you prefer/which is "better" and why?
Click to expand...

i was extremely unimpressed by downstate when i interviewed there. The facilities looked ancient, the neighborhood is terrible forcing you to commute, the security was pretty lax. The new anatomy lab is just a shiny way to attract pre-meds who aren't really looking at the big picture ...you're only spending a semester in the anatomy lab, who cares what it looks like. (that said stony brook's lab is comparable to downstate's) I've heard the argument that you get good clinical experience at downstate but I've also heard that it basically means you are thrown in an understaffed hospital and asked to do things you aren't yet ready to do with little supervision because the doctors are swamped. Also when you're trying to learn during your rotations you don't want extremely difficult patients from the outset. This isn't first hand knowledge of course (nor am i in my clinical rotations yet) so I suggest you look into the clinical experience at king's county hospital before you decide on downstate.

that's all i've got for now. if you have any specific questions about stony brook let me know. congrats and good luck with your decision
 
They are all generally the same academically, maybe slightly more competitive at Stony Brook. More apparent differences are the location, cost of living, tuition and the types of students who attend. There are definite personality differences between people who are inclined to live in NYC versus a relatively much smaller city in a rural area (a nice way of saying the upstate people are probably more friendly. :smuggrin:)
 
gymtanlaundry said:
More apparent differences are the location, cost of living, tuition and the types of students who attend. There are definite personality differences between people who are inclined to live in NYC versus a relatively much smaller city in a rural area (a nice way of saying the upstate people are probably more friendly. :smuggrin:)
Click to expand...

just wanted to make sure everyone realizes that the tuition at all four schools is exactly the same.

side note: it might not be in the future though given the new law introduced into the NY state budget but we'll see how that plays out, it might only affect undergrad SUNYs
 
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