2014-2015 SUNY Upstate Application Thread

[Powerful Wizard IRL]

Hey guys, I was accepted to Upstate a few months ago and I'm 100% attending I have a couple questions for any current or incoming students:

In the acceptance packet there is a list of equipment we need for the POM1 class, but a friend told me that they have everything in the clinical skills rooms already. Should I still get everything on the list? (I'm not rural medicine).

Also, according to the orientation schedule move-in to Geneva and the white coat ceremony are the both on the 6th. Is there a way I could move some of my stuff in a few days earlier so that I don't have all that to do while my family is there for the ceremony?

Thanks!

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[Do Something]

Hey guys, I was accepted to Upstate a few months ago and I'm 100% attending I have a couple questions for any current or incoming students:

In the acceptance packet there is a list of equipment we need for the POM1 class, but a friend told me that they have everything in the clinical skills rooms already. Should I still get everything on the list? (I'm not rural medicine).

Also, according to the orientation schedule move-in to Geneva and the white coat ceremony are the both on the 6th. Is there a way I could move some of my stuff in a few days earlier so that I don't have all that to do while my family is there for the ceremony?

Thanks!

Welcome!

I just finished my first year at Upstate.

The only expensive item on the POM1 equipment list is the stethoscope, and it's worth investing in. They won't have those in the clinical skills rooms. Everything else you can get later on as you decide if you need them or not. You'll start working with your stethoscope almost from the get-go in POM.

Last year move-in and white coat ceremony were on the same day too and there weren't any real problems. There were a lot of second-year students who helped the first-years with their move-in. I think there will be even more student volunteers this year. Contact Anthony Adamitis at Geneva if you think you're really going to have a problem.

There's a Facebook group for the incoming Class of 2019 students. Anyone who hasn't joined already should join. It's a great place to ask questions and to meet the other incoming students.

 

[Powerful Wizard IRL]

Welcome!

I just finished my first year at Upstate.

The only expensive item on the POM1 equipment list is the stethoscope, and it's worth investing in. They won't have those in the clinical skills rooms. Everything else you can get later on as you decide if you need them or not. You'll start working with your stethoscope almost from the get-go in POM.

Last year move-in and white coat ceremony were on the same day too and there weren't any real problems. There were a lot of second-year students who helped the first-years with their move-in. I think there will be even more student volunteers this year. Contact Anthony Adamitis at Geneva if you think you're really going to have a problem.

There's a Facebook group for the incoming Class of 2019 students. Anyone who hasn't joined already should join. It's a great place to ask questions and to meet the other incoming students.

Thanks for the reply!

Everything besides the oto-opthalmoscope diagnostic set is available in the book store right? And August 6th should be fine with the student volunteers, I was just worried about my parents doing any heavy lifting.

I've been happily without a Facebook for over a year but I've been thinking about reactivating it solely to join the 2019 group. I might go do that now, haha.

 

[Do Something]

Thanks for the reply!

Everything besides the oto-opthalmoscope diagnostic set is available in the book store right? And August 6th should be fine with the student volunteers, I was just worried about my parents doing any heavy lifting.

I've been happily without a Facebook for over a year but I've been thinking about reactivating it solely to join the 2019 group. I might go do that now, haha.

All the small things (reflex hammer, pen light, tuning forks, and so on) are in the book store. I don't think I've seen stethoscopes there, but I already had mine before arriving. You definitely won't need your own oto-ophthalmoscope at this point because those are in every exam room.

The students volunteers are great with moving in. There were so many I didn't have to move a thing. And I remembered most of the ones who helped me the first day and asked them all kinds of questions going forwards and they were fantastic with helping. That's one of the things I love about Upstate: how amazingly helpful everyone is, from the other students to the faculty and the staff.

The Facebook class group is possibly the biggest way our class communicates with each other. A lot of incoming students who didn't have (or who no longer had) Facebook accounts felt they had to make accounts just to be able to access the group. There are also groups for different courses where students can post questions and other students or even some professors reply. There are also groups for different interest groups where announcements are made and so on. It's almost necessary to get back on.

 

[Halgene]

.

 

[Do Something]

How does one register for a class? With that medical spanish email, I was looking to register for the class before it filled up but my searches on blackboard and stuff came up fruitless. Anyone know?

You can register for electives once you get here. All us first-years last year did after we got here. They're fairly relaxed about adding and dropping electives. And medical Spanish won't fill up.

 

[Halgene]

.

 

[theroof]

How did you guys send the health forms? I scanned them and sent them to the health secretary Lori Brooks-Singleton's email address which i found in upstate's student health webpage but didn't get any response yet.

 

[theroof]

The other thing I'm curious is, I received financial aid package entirely of loans, about 2/3 are direct unsubsidized, and the rest are direct plus. based on my understanding, the direct plus has higher interest so it'd be better to take out direct unsubsidized first? And i'm curious to hear how much loans the current students (or incoming students) accepted? Would it be okay to accept about 80% of loan first, then borrow more if I need more in the future?
Thanks in advance. I'm not very well-versed in this loan situation so I'd really appreciate some input on how others handled it.

 

[thruthewire]

How did you guys send the health forms? I scanned them and sent them to the health secretary Lori Brooks-Singleton's email address which i found in upstate's student health webpage but didn't get any response yet.

I faxed them and haven't gotten a change on my portal

 

[Laureatebarrel]

I faxed them and haven't gotten a change on my portal

Try call in, she is really helpful! I faxed them also and I think my portal changed about two weeks after that.

 

[Do Something]

The other thing I'm curious is, I received financial aid package entirely of loans, about 2/3 are direct unsubsidized, and the rest are direct plus. based on my understanding, the direct plus has higher interest so it'd be better to take out direct unsubsidized first? And i'm curious to hear how much loans the current students (or incoming students) accepted? Would it be okay to accept about 80% of loan first, then borrow more if I need more in the future?
Thanks in advance. I'm not very well-versed in this loan situation so I'd really appreciate some input on how others handled it.

You should contact financial aid to confirm, but last year, students who didn't initially take all of their aid package and then later in the year decided they wanted to take out more had no problem doing so. It just took a little paperwork with financial aid. And definitely take out the cheapest loans first!

 

[dcwang]

Hey guys, I was accepted to Upstate a few months ago and I'm 100% attending I have a couple questions for any current or incoming students:

In the acceptance packet there is a list of equipment we need for the POM1 class, but a friend told me that they have everything in the clinical skills rooms already. Should I still get everything on the list? (I'm not rural medicine).

Also, according to the orientation schedule move-in to Geneva and the white coat ceremony are the both on the 6th. Is there a way I could move some of my stuff in a few days earlier so that I don't have all that to do while my family is there for the ceremony?

Thanks!

New MS3 year here with some (possibly) useful information on what to buy (perhaps to some MS2s who still frequent this):

Only thing you'll need 1st year is a stethoscope.
Stethoscope: available in the bookstore. also usually the class coordinates a group discount at the beginning of the year, so if you want you can wait for that. they want you to have a specific kind: Littman cardiology 3 i believe. don't quote me on it though. honestly nobody has checked either, so I guess if you don't have that specific one I doubt it'll matter that much.
Oto-ophthalmoscope: don't bother. they're like hundreds of dollars, and nobody has one. when you need one (MS3), it'll be available (in the hospital).
Reflex hammer: do yourself a favor and get this one (Amazon product). sure you can buy the crappy one at the bookstore or the equivalent online on amazon, but you'll be using it a lot 3rd year, and it's much easier to elicit reflexes with this one. Trust me, I'm on my neuro rotation right now.
Tuning fork: only buy the larger one (128hz). god knows what the other one is for. I have it and would love to sell it to anyone who wants it.
Near card (that's the visual acuity one that usually starts with a huge E): don't bother. you could, i guess, but as an MS3 you get maxwell's that has a bunch of useful stuff, including a smaller version of the near card.
BP cuff: don't. even. bother. i've used mine once for a POM thing at an assisted living center, and even then you were split into pairs so you could definitely just bum it off a friend (or just not do the BP part). it's definitely not necessary.

In terms of equipment, that's all I can think of off the top of my head.

In terms of moving, last year I hear that the head orientation leaders were super freaking awesome in pretty much every way, and orientation was so well run by them that it was amazing!!! I'm sure next year's head OAs will at least try to continue the tradition of providing a warm welcome.
On a less silly tone, as someone mentioned above, last year we had so many movers and bins for Geneva that the MS1s had no trouble getting in whatsoever. I do recommend, however, getting in early. Pretty sure last year we were there and set up to start moving people in by like 7:30am or something, and there were definitely people there around that time, already waiting to move in.

 

[theroof]

You should contact financial aid to confirm, but last year, students who didn't initially take all of their aid package and then later in the year decided they wanted to take out more had no problem doing so. It just took a little paperwork with financial aid. And definitely take out the cheapest loans first!

thank you!

 

[KVBane]

Does anyone know if there has been any movement off of the HPA list?

 

[KVBane]

I dont know about the rest of you, but this is the only school I am waitlisted for anymore, and it is my first choice. The lateness of an acceptance is starting to worry me, cause the other school that I got into wants my first year payment on July 1st, and I am very worried.

 

[NYCdude]

Hey guys, where did you send the transcript?

Did you have it mailed to the admissions office?

Thanks

 

[khrisskhoras]

any movement to report? anyone?

 

[Laureatebarrel]

Hey guys, where did you send the transcript?

Did you have it mailed to the admissions office?

Thanks

I had mine mailed directly from my school to Upstate admissions office. Not sure of the address, but you can find it in the acceptance package (I don't have it atm).

 

[KVBane]

I called in today, and they told me that based on my ranking I am unlikely to get a call. So I'm just gonna stop the hope. Good luck to you all.

 

[member06111990]

I called in today, and they told me that based on my ranking I am unlikely to get a call. So I'm just gonna stop the hope. Good luck to you all.

I'm sorry have you been accepted anywhere else? What did they initially tell you about your position on the list (grey area, etc.)?

 

[KlondikeDelight]

I called in today, and they told me that based on my ranking I am unlikely to get a call. So I'm just gonna stop the hope. Good luck to you all.

Sorry to hear that.

If you don't mind me asking what list were you on?

Any details would be awesome for us waiting...

 

[KVBane]

I'm sorry have you been accepted anywhere else? What did they initially tell you about your position on the list (grey area, etc.)?

When I originally called them in May they told me that based on the last 5 years of HPA movement it was likely that I would get a call.

Sorry to hear that.

If you don't mind me asking what list were you on?

Any details would be awesome for us waiting...

I was on the HPA list. Placed in November, Interviewed in September. I had a 34 MCAT and a 3.6 GPA

 

[KlondikeDelight]

When I originally called them in May they told me that based on the last 5 years of HPA movement it was likely that I would get a call.



I was on the HPA list. Placed in November, Interviewed in September. I had a 34 MCAT and a 3.6 GPA

Strange they told me the same thing when I called them in May...what was their explanation for why they changed your chances?

 

[KVBane]

Strange they told me the same thing when I called them in May...what was their explanation for why they changed your chances?

I was only told that the list was moving much slower than in previous years, so It was unlikely my name would be reached.

 

[PME]

recommendations for a new laptop? do both pc's and macs work well with all the med school things we'll be using them for? and for the computer requirements they sent out (160 gigs hard drive, 8 gigs ram), is it okay if you get a computer with a slightly smaller hard drive/ram capacity (ie 128 gigs, 4 gigs) or do you need the full amount?

 

[Laureatebarrel]

recommendations for a new laptop? do both pc's and macs work well with all the med school things we'll be using them for? and for the computer requirements they sent out (160 gigs hard drive, 8 gigs ram), is it okay if you get a computer with a slightly smaller hard drive/ram capacity (ie 128 gigs, 4 gigs) or do you need the full amount?

I had the same exact question (except the mac thing). From the reply I got it is okay to use the laptop with the configuration you posted. However it is strongly recommended to upgrade the RAM.
I did however get another laptop just for school purpose. Most laptops on sale usually come with 4gb of RAM, so you might need to google how to upgrade it on yours. (Mine took 15 minutes to do). So now I have one for school, and another one for personal use.

 

[vh12655]

recommendations for a new laptop? do both pc's and macs work well with all the med school things we'll be using them for? and for the computer requirements they sent out (160 gigs hard drive, 8 gigs ram), is it okay if you get a computer with a slightly smaller hard drive/ram capacity (ie 128 gigs, 4 gigs) or do you need the full amount?

Where are you finding this information? In the acceptance packet that I received ram and storage capacity were not mentioned (only operating system, processor, and screen size requirements were given).

EDIT: nevermind, I see that they listed separate requirements on the myupstate hub. I can't see there being an issue with 4gb RAM and 128gb storage though.

 

[NYCdude]

Anyone gonna be living at Geneva?

Why is their four bedroom more expensive than their 2 bedroom? (I'm assuming one bedroom is single occupant only and 2 and 4 bedroom are 2 and 4 respectively).

 

[Do Something]

Anyone gonna be living at Geneva?

Why is their four bedroom more expensive than their 2 bedroom? (I'm assuming one bedroom is single occupant only and 2 and 4 bedroom are 2 and 4 respectively).

The 4 bedroom suite is much bigger than the 2 bedroom apartment. Each bedroom is bigger, there is more storage space available per person, and the common area is both bigger and nicer.

 

[NYCdude]

The 4 bedroom suite is much bigger than the 2 bedroom apartment. Each bedroom is bigger, there is more storage space available per person, and the common area is both bigger and nicer.

Ah, that makes sense. Are you staying at Geneva?

 

[smooki]

called to ask about my HPA status and was told to leave my number and someone would call me...

 

[Do Something]

Ah, that makes sense. Are you staying at Geneva?

No. I'm glad I lived there as an MS1. It was so convenient for someone new to Syracuse and for making friends with my classmates. I'm moving to Jefferson for MS2 year. It's only slightly farther from campus, significantly cheaper, and the square footage is a lot bigger. I have a 2BR in both places.

 

[avatarcycle]

Did anyone else receive a background check e-mail today?

 

[member06111990]

Did anyone else receive a background check e-mail today?

Yup

 

[smooki]

Did anyone else receive a background check e-mail today?

I'm on HPA since October and called last week and they basically told me to consider reapplying. Why would they do background checks on waitlisters (esp ones that they are likely not to accept like myself)? Some have said that it was expensive. Is it protocol? Any ideas?

 

[member06111990]

I'm on HPA since October and called last week and they basically told me to consider reapplying. Why would they do background checks on waitlisters (esp ones that they are likely not to accept like myself)? Some have said that it was expensive. Is it protocol? Any ideas?

What were you initially told about your position on the waitlist?

Isn't the background check already paid for when we submitted amcas? I already filled it all out and you just use the code given in the email. I didn't have to make any payment.

 

[smooki]

What were you initially told about your position on the waitlist?

Isn't the background check already paid for when we submitted amcas? I already filled it all out and you just use the code given in the email. I didn't have to make any payment.

Nothing at all. Last week, they told me in previous years they reached where I am on the list but that the list is moving slowly this year. She mentioned that she cannot be more specific.

I think people meant that the background checks were expensive for the school to invest in for applicants they are unlikely to accept.

 

[KlondikeDelight]

Nothing at all. Last week, they told me in previous years they reached where I am on the list but that the list is moving slowly this year. She mentioned that she cannot be more specific.

I think people meant that the background checks were expensive for the school to invest in for applicants they are unlikely to accept.

I think it's important to stop speculating and just wait. I'm on a few waitlists and I also received a background check email on Monday. Obviously it's not an acceptance but I'm hoping for the best.

I don't think that these background checks are expensive for the schools. These schools are highly regarding institutions that are interested in creating excellent physicians and I don't think they would be concerned with relatively minor expenses.

Also, this is speculation and therefore hypocritical but I will say this: I've been on waitlists for a while. I didn't get the background check email till Monday. My thought is that I have been conditionally accepted somewhere and that I have good news coming my way. I also think and pray that you have good news coming your way.

Let's relax, breathe, and wait. Try and stay busy with other things and don't stress.

Oh and if we're classmates we must be friends

 

[DoctorLacrosse]

for what it's worth, I'm on the HPA and did not get a background check email (also haven't yet called to see where I am on the list). not to get your hopes up, but it might be a good thing. who knows. best of luck

 

[smooki]

I think it's important to stop speculating and just wait. I'm on a few waitlists and I also received a background check email on Monday. Obviously it's not an acceptance but I'm hoping for the best.

I don't think that these background checks are expensive for the schools. These schools are highly regarding institutions that are interested in creating excellent physicians and I don't think they would be concerned with relatively minor expenses.

Also, this is speculation and therefore hypocritical but I will say this: I've been on waitlists for a while. I didn't get the background check email till Monday. My thought is that I have been conditionally accepted somewhere and that I have good news coming my way. I also think and pray that you have good news coming your way.

Let's relax, breathe, and wait. Try and stay busy with other things and don't stress.

Oh and if we're classmates we must be friends

I TOTALLY agree with you, speculating really does cause stress (but I can't stop it at this point, I even looked at the URL when I signed in the background check .../aamc/accepted 2015/....there are def better things to do with my time lol but its so hot outside here in NYC).
Yea your speculation are mine exactly, I hope good news is on the way for me as well and I'm praying for myself and anyone that had to be on a waitlist this year for this long.

 

[Halgene]

.

 

[khrisskhoras]

so did anyone who got the certiphi email get accepted?

 

[member06111990]

so did anyone who got the certiphi email get accepted?

To a different school. But I'm still hoping it was really for Upstate /:

 

[KlondikeDelight]

To a different school. But I'm still hoping it was really for Upstate /:

What school? And when'd you get accepted?

 

[BurbyPrep89]

Probably a dumb question, but for the MCAT/GPA verification, do we need to do anything or does the school just confirm that with AMCAS?

Also, if we took classes after submitting, we just needed to send them the transcript(s)? Right?

Mucho gracias!

 

[Laureatebarrel]

Probably a dumb question, but for the MCAT/GPA verification, do we need to do anything or does the school just confirm that with AMCAS?

Also, if we took classes after submitting, we just needed to send them the transcript(s)? Right?

Mucho gracias!

No you don't need to do anything. Send in your transcript for classes you take after submitting the application. Just make sure it is sent directly from your school.

 

[BurbyPrep89]

No you don't need to do anything. Send in your transcript for classes you take after submitting the application. Just make sure it is sent directly from your school.

Thanks!!

 

[NYCdude]

Can any of the older students comment on how furnished Geneva is?

Do I need to buy things like toasters, plates, glasses, etc? Thanks.

 

[Do Something]

Can any of the older students comment on how furnished Geneva is?

Do I need to buy things like toasters, plates, glasses, etc? Thanks.

Geneva kitchens have a fridge, oven, range, microwave, and dishwasher. You need to bring your own toaster, plates, and glasses. Welcome and good luck!