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McCram said:I'd like to crash Big Dan, et. al. first year forum . . .
Another 2009 here and first, congrats on your admissions to medical school and specifically, SUNY SB . . . the medical school you may soon love (to hate). JK, sort of . . .
Medical school, overall, will be an awesome experience and like others have said will be as great as one chooses to make it. There are a variety of people from many diverse locales such as Utica, NY all the way to Ronkonkoma, NY.
But I would like to point out that it's not all pretty flowers and happy faces here at SB. =) The students, profs, doctors and admin are really good well intentioned people but there are some quality of life issues even here at the best medical school on Long Island!
(1) If you're old school about lecture slides and prefer printing your study material (rather than using your laptop 24/7), get your own cheapo laser printer. The school does not provide unlimited printing and the student lounge printer is unreliable at the worst times, though there may be a new printer when we return.
(2) If and when you buy a computer, get one with good batery life because there is a serious lack of outlets in some lecture halls and the library.
(3) There is only a small gym with the basics that is free on the undergraduate side of campus, so a gym membership to one of the private local gyms may be necessary.
(4) Bring a light sweatshirt to orientation and keep it handy because the school hasn't quite mastered the complex new technology that is air conditioining.
(5) Other random things that are worthy of mention about our wonderful little school that you may want to know are:
- We have our own aviarium in the library
- If you are someone who finds comfort in little things like good coffee and inspired interior design and architecture . . . perhaps SB might not be for you
- Parking is NOT free
- Drive carefully, many poor drivers on Long Island, including you
- Ask for help, regardless how small the concern, and try to solicit advice from more than one person, be it a teacher or fellow classmate
That's all I can think of for now . . . enjoy the remainder of your summer and come prepared to eat lots of crappy pizza, salads with tons of mayo, and hero sandwiches galore. See you all in the fall and congrats on becoming a student doctor. Feel free to send along any PMs if you have any questions.
Mark Kim
Damn, this is a downer. I know you meant this as a joke but it sounds really bitting. Granted, I haven't started there yet but I've spent a significant amount of time at Stony Brook and I have friends who are at the med school and dental school.
Stony is a state school, so the majority of the people there will be from New York, anyone going to school there should know this before they get there. But we are lucky that New York is one of the most diverse states in the union.
I visited the gym recently and was very impressed. It might be small considering that it serves the whole campus but it's a first class gym as far as I'm concerned and I've been a member of some swanky gyms in the past. There are jacks on all the cardio machines where we can plug in our head sets so we can actually watch TV! Have you SEEN gyms at other med schools? A lot of them are dumps.
As far as the food, even living in the city I always made my own meals and packed a lunch for work. Nothing fancy but nothing greasy and it really doesn't take that much time and will save you a lot of money and I plan on keeping it up at school (hopefully).
I do agree that the drivers out in that part of town are really scary. Parking isn't free but it isn't too expensive either.
The arcitecture there may not be anything special but I will remind you that we are minutes away from several beaches and the campus is surrounded by nature. It's a quite beautiful and relaxing place to live.
Everyone is going to b!tch about their school and a lot of people don't realize what they have until they've seen other places. Med school is a beast anywhere you go, it's all up to you to make the best of it.
I just don't want any of the new comers to Stony Brook to be scared off!