UVA vs. Stony Brook

[hopefulyankee]

Hey everyone, I'm having a tough time deciding between medical programs (a good problem to have, I know, and one I'm very grateful to be making) and hoping some of you may have some advice!

I was really hoping on attending the second look days for both programs in order to aid in my decision making process, but unfortunately they're on the same day so I'm forced to decide between the two. I'm not 100% set on a specific program or specialty, but definitely want to be able to keep my options open should I decide to enter a more competitive specialty/sub-specialty. I overall had a more pleasant experience at UVA during my interview day; however being a New York resident the lower cost of tuition at SB makes it difficult to pass up.

UVA

Pros:

• Charlottesville appears to have a bit more diversity and opportunity being a bigger city than SB which is a bit more suburban.
• P/F curriculum which seems to be less stressful on students
• Students had a large sense of school pride and seemed really happy to be in Charlottesville
• Had a great connection with my two interviewers
• Freedom with Honors System allows you to plan your own exam times
• Has a bit of a better reputation than SB and better facilities (not sure how important ranking can be)

Cons:

• Much more expensive tuition
• Farther away from my family
• More integrated curriculum may be an adjustment for me (in undergrad I was largely a textbook learner)

Stony Brook

Pros:

• Suburban area would be an easy adjustment, I've never lived in a city
• Closer to my family, have many friends that live in the NYC/Long Island area
• In-state tuition makes SB way more affordable than UVA, will graduate with minimal debt
• Students seemed to be collaborative and happy at interview day (although wasn't entirely convincing)
• LEARN curriculum includes longitudinal learning communities providing deep connections with other students and faculty.
• Smaller class size

Cons:

• Interview experience wasn't that great, didn't feel very comfortable with my interviewers (makes me wonder if I should visit for second look in order to get a better feel for the school)
• I've spent my whole life in New York and think it may be time for something new
• Hear that weekends can be a little dull and that there isn't too much going on in the surrounding area
• H/P/F make pre-clinical years a bit more stressful

I'm sure I'm leaving some things out on my list, but I didn't want to make it too much longer. Thank you so much for your help, any advice is greatly appreciated!​

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[thenucleusaccumbens]

Did you get your financial aid info from UVA yet? Do you know if you can be considered in-state after a year? If you can get in-state tuition after the first year, then personally I'd go with UVA

 

[hopefulyankee]

Did you get your financial aid info from UVA yet? Do you know if you can be considered in-state after a year? If you can get in-state tuition after the first year, then personally I'd go with UVA

I didn't get my financial aid package yet, but I'm working off the assumption that I probably won't get too much in aid, just based off of financial aid for my undergrad. You're right though, getting the money for UVA would definitely be a huge swaying factor. From what students at the interview day told me it isn't common for students to declare in-state residency, but the student was from Virginia so I'm not really sure how informed they were. I know it's a really common thing in NY, but it definitely wasn't something that was highlighted at interview day.

 

[dinomite00]

Unfortunately you can't declare in state in VA for educational purposes (I also wish we could though)

 

[787593]

COA: ~$66,000 at stonybrook, $80,000 - $85,000 at UVA depending on the year...

 

[SirCardiac]

$20,000 tuition/year at stonybrook vs $60,000 tuition/year at UVA.

COA: $34,860 at stonybrook, $80,000 - $85,000 at UVA depending on the year...

That's a huge difference in loans.

I wished tuition was only $20,000 a year. I'm in-state and looks like tuition for us is going to be $40,160 for the following year.

 

[flyingeagle]

$20,000 tuition/year at stonybrook vs $60,000 tuition/year at UVA.

COA: $34,860 at stonybrook, $80,000 - $85,000 at UVA depending on the year...

That's a huge difference in loans.

Where are you getting that number for stony brook? Tuition at stony brook is ~$40,000 and COA is ~$65,000. So, it's only a 15k per year difference between the two schools.

 

[787593]

Where are you getting that number for stony brook? Tuition at stony brook is ~$40,000 and COA is ~$65,000. So, it's only a 15k per year difference between the two schools.

It appears that I misread the source! My apologies!

Financial Information | Stony Brook University School of Medicine

I was looking at the "per semester" column of this source

Financial Aid Information | Stony Brook University School of Medicine

 

[787593]

Where are you getting that number for stony brook? Tuition at stony brook is ~$40,000 and COA is ~$65,000. So, it's only a 15k per year difference between the two schools.

COA: ~$66,000 at stonybrook, $80,000 - $85,000 at UVA depending on the year

So that's still significant, but clearly not as big of a difference as I had thought haha

 

[pandasaregreat]

I am not sure how much cost will play in your decision, but it sounds like you like UVA better! So maybe go there if it will make you happier and you feel more comfortable there