<p>Hey guys I'll be a senior this year and I've narrowed my choices down to 4 SUNYs. New Paltz, Binghamton, Buffalo and Stony Brook. I plan on majoring in Biology w/ a pre-med track. I also live in NYC and I'd love to be able to visit my family from time to time. My grades/ecs/stats etc are high enough to get into a lot of top tier schools but after many hours of research these 4 SUNYs seem to be a much better fit for me than most elite privates. Now for someone coming from my situation, which school would be the best or what would be the benefits of each school compared to one another for biology? For example, buffalo has a medical school & early assurance which are big positives but its about 400 miles from where I live which sucks. Let me know what you guys think, the advice is greatly appreciated, thanks!!</p>
<p>My advice pick the school that is the best fit for you, regardless of the transportation options. Even Buffalo is only a bus ride away, although it is longer and more expensive than the others. If you have two or more schools that are equally good fits for your needs, that is when you can let the distance play a bigger factor in your decision.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>I think you’re right, I have the feeling that in the end I’ll just wind up visiting them and picking what feels right to me. Each school has benefits and negatives so it’s really hard to just pick one. Does anyone have a personal experience with these schools? How’d you like them? Thanks!</p>
<p>stony brook blows. too many reasons to list, but trust me. also if you can get into a top tier school like you claim you can, then go there. trust me on that one also (my aunt and uncle are on the adcoms of 2 top med schools who have confirmed with me that your undergrad school DOES matter for admissions).</p>
<p>also, the early assurance thing at buffalo takes applicants from all schools, so you will not be at an advantage going to buff</p>
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<p>Theres a caveat to this, however the students financial situation. Is the student going to borrow and incur debt to finance their undergraduate education? A graduate medical education may very well cost $200,000 to $300,000 and I would counsel any student to carefully consider how far in undergraduate debt he or she is willing to go into before they even get to that point.</p>
<p>The name of the undergraduate school is important but its not everything. If you can get into a top school without breaking the bank, great. A student who attends one of the top SUNY schools and works hard while theyre there, gets involved and graduates near the top of their class is also going to do well.</p>
<p>^ disagree. but in any case, if the OP has money problems, then financial aid at top schools would cover it. or the OP could apply to places like tulane (which is a great school) that has a boatload of merit scholarships.</p>
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<p>The schools with the best need-based aid are Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Aside from those three, other schools are significantly less generous, even if they are in the top tier. The University of Chicago, for instance, is infamous for its financial aid.</p>
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<p>Yes, merit aid is a good idea where need-based aid is not forthcoming.</p>
<p>Overall, I find the SUNY schools to be excellent options for those interested in certain fields. SUNY Stony Brook is excellent for the biological sciences, despite the fact that it has more than its fair share of problems - and my brother goes there, so I think I’ve heard my fair share of complaints.</p>
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<p>Early assurance is a big plus, as medical school admissions are exceptionally difficult. </p>
<p>Though this is from the Columbia website, I found it appropriate to your situation:</p>
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<p>If you know beyond a doubt that you would like to go into medical school, why don’t you consider some 7-year programs?</p>
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<p>Ironicallyunsure, this is actually not a topic for debate in most circles, as it has been proven time and time again that graduates at the top of their class, including top SUNY schools, are capable of doing quite well.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t consider the distance to be a huge negative for UB. There are tons of NYC/LI kids there and many travel options. It’s pretty easy to get to both the train station and the airport and last year UB had charter buses for students that went, non-stop, to NYC for various weekends/breaks at a reasonable price.</p>
<p>ksarmand - i already cited my sources (close relatives who are on the adcoms of 2 top med schools). maybe that’s true for med schools ranked way lower, but i assure you that i get my info straight from the people selecting the incoming students. </p>
<p>in any case, i was just advising the OP. what he/she chooses to do is actually their choice and if they don’t get into med school, it’s obviously none of my business and my life will go on.</p>
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<p>Im not saying that the opinions of your aunt and uncle are without merit, but two people surveyed out of thousands in their profession is hardly a valid sample size to justify such a sweeping generalization.</p>
<p>^ this has been confirmed time and again. but okay, live and let live. no point in arguing when we’re not changing each other’s mind.</p>
<p>actually, OP, i think you should look at the contract colleges at cornell. not SUNY prices, but also not quite as bad as the private ones. CALS and CHE both have bio majors to consider. you can PM me if you want to know more about them :)</p>
<p>My son is a student at New Paltz and he loves it there. It’s got the best location for a SUNY. I hear really good things about the Biology dept. and I’ve heard they are constructing a new science building. He transferred from UMiami so has a basis for comparison. Be happy to answer any questions.</p>
<p>I’ve definitely heard good things about New Paltz, hence why I’m applying to it. I might cut off Binghamton but we’ll see. I have a feeling that I won’t truly know which is the right school for me until I visit them all. See I grew up in NYC and although I don’t mind a rural college I have to see what life is like on campus and assess whether or not I’ll like spending 4 years there. Stony & Buffalo have a plus in that they’re both affiliated with medical schools.</p>
<p>@ironically unsure</p>
<p>Something hurt your feelings very badly at SB and you obviously have a very brittle personality and weak ego that lacks any resilience. Your remarks seem to be symptomatic of post traumatic stress syndrome. I’d hate to see how you would crumble if you experienced something truly stressful in your life. You are at the bottom rung of the Ivy League with Cornell, so I don’t know what you are so proud about, and pride goeth before the fall.</p>
<p>I don’t care if your aunt and uncle are Dr. Salk and Clara Barton, it is not true that any SUNY would be a disadvantage at medical school. Do well at SB and get good MCATs and you will be able to get into the same medical schools as if you went to Cornell or a true Ivy like Yale or Harvard. So stop spreading misinformation.</p>
<p>Do you enjoy going to a school whose greatest claims to fame are suicides (whether statistically warranted or not) and the School of Hotel Administration?</p>
<p>You also seem to display sado-masochistic tendencies. Why else would you continually, and obsessively, return to this forum to flame SB and apparently enjoy all the flames coming back at you?</p>
<p>I know there are some decent psychotherapists in Ithaca, and I’d be happy to make a referral.</p>
<p>Yes, visiting is the best way to tell if a school feels right for you. The SUNY’s all have different vibes, so hopefully you can visit when school is in session and visit the science departments. Talking to the head of the department, sitting in on classes, talking to students and meeting with professors would be very helpful in your decision.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Folks, this is not the place to declare war…there is a PM option available to you. I may disagree with him on certain points as well, but he is clearly expressing his opinion and has a right to do so. I think the reader(s) will take whatever they choose to from it and it’s not difficult to follow anyone’s posting history. You may want to review the TOS before the mods start warning people off as I’m sure you are all valuable contributors to the CC community:</p>
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<p>Trying to ignore the bad vibes here…back to the OP. My D is also starting her senior year and planning to be a Bio Major leaning towards Pre-Med. Her grades/SAT/ACT put her on track for New Paltz, Oneonta, Albany, and a bit of a reach for ESF, Geneseo & Binghamton. We did a few tours last spring and she’s totally sold on SUNY’s regarding price and quality though I feel somewhat torn not looking at privates. </p>
<p>I really recommend taking some tours. My D and I visited a few last spring and she was left with the feeling that she would be comfortable at all of the schools we saw. Not Stony Brook because it’s too close to home (almost 2 hours). There were differences in housing and the towns and cities that they were in and when she sees where she’s accepted that’s what she’ll be looking at.</p>
<p>But what I got out of being in the info sessions is that there are also differences between the university’s and the colleges. Chances to work with professors may be easier at the undergrad level at the colleges, I got the impression that the schools with graduate programs might not have those opportunities. There are also differences in the amount of students each school has. Both my D and myself went to small high schools, only 200 in the grade, and I can relate to her being tired of knowing everybody and everybody knowing your business! I adored attending Albany, and meeting people and doing things that I never would have done in my home town. You said you’re from NYC and New Paltz is pretty close, and not so rural like Geneseo - I’m concerned about that for my D, but I also know that schools are there own communities. Every school has their fans and haters, but walking through the campus, sitting in the student center, seeing if people are doing things together or just sitting alone…just feeling the vibe of the campus really helps. Good luck!</p>
<p>I can help if there are questions about New Paltz. My son is a student there. The location was an important factor in my son’s decision to attend.</p>
<p>I agree with Bella…it is true that each SUNY has different qualities which may appeal to you. We live in Buffalo and I graduated UB. It is a huge university setting, with 2 separate campuses and growing. The Bio dept. is very strong. But, you should be prepared for large 100 level classes and a big campus. If you like that idea, come visit. The flights on Jet Blue are cheap and fast to NYC, so I wouldn’t worry too much about the distance. Buffalo is a fun college town with lots to do and see.
The SUNY Colleges were perfect matches for my 2 D’s, one at New Paltz one at Brockport. They loved the size, bigger than a small LAC but not too big. I think if you find the schools that feel right to you, please notice the plural, apply, get accepted and see where it takes you. The college you go to is not a prize to be won, but a fit to be made. One is not “better” than the other, just right for YOU. If you are happy, you will do well, be successful and have a positive experience. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for the advice so far to everyone that’s posted, it’s definitely helping me. I’m probably taking off stony brook from my list, but New Paltz, U at Buffalo, Geneseo, ESF & maybe Bing are all fair game. I was a little torn between whether or not I should apply to privates, but I highly doubt that there are any privates nearby with the exception of Ivies that would come close to the cost of SUNYs. Heck something like NYU would put me 200k in debt after 4 years, for undergrad that’s just a tad bit too much. I most likely won’t major in the sciences, but I still plan on doing a pre-med track either with a humanities or a business major. I will definitely apply to all of these schools and in the end I’ll apply to whichever one feels the best for me. Quality of life is something really important to me as well, I want to make sure that I’m satisfied with my choice for the next 4 years rather than be miserable and depressed. Have to say though, having to pick a college definitely isn’t easy.</p>