SUNY Downstate or private school?

[tmbrenner]

Hi. I am planning on attending md school this coming fall. I've been accepted to SUNY Downstate and am still awaiting response (any day now) on two other schools.

Can anyone give me feedback on SUNY? From what I saw, it was a program that offered excellent clinical training. Plus, for in-state residents, it's 1/3 the price than most schools, and not 1/3 the training.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated in regard to what you love and/or dislike about the program, where is the best place to live off-campus, and must one live near the school during the 3rd and 4th year?

Thanks!

Tracy Brenner

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[turtleboard]

Well would you look at this! Of all the places in the world, someone who might be a Downstate student falls onto the board.

Congratulations on your acceptance to Downstate. We welcome you with open arms.

We have a reputation for offering a clinical education that is nearly impossible to get in any other medical school, and our match list reflects the confidence residency directors have in our program.

We may not (currently) be the most celebrated medical campus of the SUNY system, but none of the other three SUNY medical schools have produced research that has culminated in a Nobel Prize just a little over a year ago (which lead to the development of Viagra), work that contributed to the development of MRI, heart bypass, and the first heart transplant in the US.

The Basic Science departments here are good, but the Clinical departments are much stronger. One of the great things about the school, aside from the much talked about tuition, is its affiliation with Kings County Hospital (one of the largest municipal hospitals in the country) and its own University Hospital. You're exposed to the reality of urban medicine where some patients won't have any insurance (Kings County) and others have a ton of insurance (University Hospital).

Our affiliations go beyond "Hospital Row" in East Flatbush, and span all of Brooklyn, much of Staten Island, and some parts of Manhattan (Lenox Hill Hospital, Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center).

What I dislike most about the program has more to do with the neighborhood than the program itself, but you've probably heard it all.

Most students here who live off-campus live in an area of Brooklyn called Park Slope, which is quickly becoming the center of Bohemian culture similar to that of Greenwich Village in Manhattan. It's a short 20-30 minute subway ride away.

In fact a large number of students in the MS3 and MS4 years choose to live in Park Slope and commute to campus, rather than live in the dorms.

Email me with any other questions you may have.


Tim of New York City.

 

[Sheon]

Well, well, well. It appears a fellow acceptee to Downstate has finally come aboard. Congratulations.

Honestly, the names of the other two schools would be useful for a more meaningful opinion on your situation. Also, it would be helpful to know if you ultimately want to end up in New York City (and the surrounding area) or somewhere else. Is there a particular specialty you have in mind? If so, that could influence where you would want to end up.

On the opinion of Downstate, turtleboard is the man to talk to. I take angry objection to his condemnation of my neighborhood,

but can be a scary place at night.