2016-2017 SUNY - Downstate Application Thread

[WedgeDawg]

If a question does not apply to you, enter "not applicable" in the text box.

1. If there were periods longer than 3 months, from the time you graduated from high school to now, when you were not employed full-time or in college full-time, please briefly describe your activities. (Limit 150 words)
2. If you are not attending college full time as of September 15, please describe your activities for the period September 2016 to July 2017. Please enter none if there are none. (Limit 200 words)
3. If you are not from the 5 boroughs of New York City, describe what personal experiences prepare you to live and study in New York City, and what will be your personal support system. (Limit 150 words)
4. If you have a specific reason why you wish to attend SUNY Downstate or a medical school in New York City, please explain. (Limit 100 words)

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[panda_lover1]

Hi! I am having trouble finding info about LORs. I know that the committee letter is required but I was wondering how many letters can we send max? and what are the other preferences for who the letters should be from? Thanks!

 

[DocJuan]

Hi! I am having trouble finding info about LORs. I know that the committee letter is required but I was wondering how many letters can we send max? and what are the other preferences for who the letters should be from? Thanks!

http://sls.downstate.edu/admissions/com/procedures/letters_of_rec.html

 

[Phoodie]

Received the secondary today! Questions are the same as last years @WedgeDawg

 

[WedgeDawg]

Received the secondary today! Questions are the same as last years @WedgeDawg

You still have to copy and paste them for me otherwise no bueno

Sorry!

 

[Phoodie]

You still have to copy and paste them for me otherwise no bueno

Sorry!

Gotchu fam

If a question does not apply to you, enter "not applicable" in the text box.

1. If there were periods longer than 3 months, from the time you graduated from high school to now, when you were not employed full-time or in college full-time, please briefly describe your activities. (Limit 150 words)
2. If you are not attending college full time as of September 15, please describe your activities for the period September 2016 to July 2017. Please enter none if there are none. (Limit 200 words)
3. If you are not from the 5 boroughs of New York City, describe what personal experiences prepare you to live and study in New York City, and what will be your personal support system. (Limit 150 words)
4. If you have a specific reason why you wish to attend SUNY Downstate or a medical school in New York City, please explain. (Limit 100 words)

 

[Cotterpin]

Is anybody else getting a weird server error screen when they try to use the portal?

 

[Apollo8]

for the prereq classes... what do we put as grade for classes we are taking in the future that are considered prereqs. I am taking physics 2 this fall.....

 

[SirCardiac]

Is anybody else getting a weird server error screen when they try to use the portal?

Tried submitting it last night and it gave me a service error. Tried again this morning and I was sent to the fee payment page once I logged in. What happened to me supplement is beyond me. I contacted them to see if they actually got it but until then I have to wait. They have a poor submission system imo.

 

[peridotthecat]

Does anyone know what qualifies as being "from the 4 boroughs of new york"? I currently live in NYC, but I grew up elsewhere

 

[daizygrl]

Does anyone know what qualifies as being "from the 4 boroughs of new york"? I currently live in NYC, but I grew up elsewhere

I think you could just explain that. I did not grow up in NYC, but all my family did, so I used that as a way to explain my connection to the city. I think it's an open forum for explanation.

 

[arbor_vitae]

In the sections where they want you to list the courses you're using to satisfy the prerequisites, do you think we can put in upper level courses instead of the basic ones? For example, I tanked intro bio, but aced upper level biochem and neurobio, and have enough of them to fill up the spots. Can I just list these instead of the intro classes? It's not like they can't view it all on the primary, anyway...

 

[Dream_big]

For the General Biology course requirements, does anyone think it would be OK to list Anatomy and Physiology 1 and 2 (a total of 8 credits) along with my Principles of Biology courses (a total of 6 credits)? My general bio classes included a lab, but lecture was only twice a week..hence, then 3 credits per course.

Another option: list a 200-level bio course, like Human Genetics, instead of Anatomy. Thoughts?

 

[SirCardiac]

For the General Biology course requirements, does anyone think it would be OK to list Anatomy and Physiology 1 and 2 (a total of 8 credits) along with my Principles of Biology courses (a total of 6 credits)? My general bio classes included a lab, but lecture was only twice a week..hence, then 3 credits per course.

Another option: list a 200-level bio course, like Human Genetics, instead of Anatomy. Thoughts?

I listed A&P and an additional upper division biology class + a separate lab. You are fine.

 

[Dream_big]

I listed A&P and an additional upper division biology class + a separate lab. You are fine.

Thanks much!

 

[NAPK1NS]

Anyone know what the "Additional Information about your English Courses (optional)" boxes are for?

 

[Dream_big]

Anyone know what the "Additional Information about your English Courses (optional)" boxes are for?

Do not quote me on this, but my guess would be that it is for any discrepancies with your courses...could be retakes, or anything else you want them to know about your courses. For instance, my Principles of Biology classes were only 3 credits, but they did include a lab. That is the only thing I stated.
Someone, correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Dream_big]

Hey everyone,

So I was born in one of the 5 boroughs of NY (born in Brooklyn) and lived in Staten Island for 14 years, but I have been a Pennsylvania resident since 2007. I am unsure whether or not to answer this question:

"If you are not from the 5 boroughs of New York City, describe what personal experiences prepare you to live and study in New York City, and what will be your personal support system."

Or type in 'n/a' and answer this question instead:

"If you have a specific reason why you wish to attend SUNY Downstate or a medical school in New York City, please explain."

If I were to answer the latter, with 100 words, should I mention my previous ties to NY and current family members/friends that live both in Brooklyn and SI? Any response would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[MDProspect]

Hey everyone,

So I was born in one of the 5 boroughs of NY (born in Brooklyn) and lived in Staten Island for 14 years, but I have been a Pennsylvania resident since 2007. I am unsure whether or not to answer this question:

"If you are not from the 5 boroughs of New York City, describe what personal experiences prepare you to live and study in New York City, and what will be your personal support system."

Or type in 'n/a' and answer this question instead:

"If you have a specific reason why you wish to attend SUNY Downstate or a medical school in New York City, please explain."

If I were to answer the latter, with 100 words, should I mention my previous ties to NY and current family members/friends that live both in Brooklyn and SI? Any response would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

You have been out of NY for 9 years, so this question is relevant to you. Do you still have any sort of support system here in NY?

I am also from NY and for the second question I wrote about my community and how Downstate will help me serve them after I become a physician.

 

[poloboy]

Secondary submitted! Fingers crossed for some hometown love.

 

[MDProspect]

Secondary submitted! Fingers crossed for some hometown love.

+1

 

[elizabethscherzer]

In the question: "If you are not from the 5 boroughs of New York City, describe what personal experiences prepare you to live and study in New York City, and what will be your personal support system."

When they say personal support system, what do they mean? Emotionally? Financially? (Philosophically?)

 

[MDProspect]

In the question: "If you are not from the 5 boroughs of New York City, describe what personal experiences prepare you to live and study in New York City, and what will be your personal support system."

When they say personal support system, what do they mean? Emotionally? Financially? (Philosophically?)

It means how are you going to handle the pressure of medical school and living in a very expensive city. If you get sick or having emotional distress (which is quite common in medical school or so I hear), is there going to be someone who supports you? Last thing a medical school wants is to accept a student who will drop out because they are home sick or struggling to get accustomed to the city.

 

[ibandz]

-

 

[DocJuan]

So I got a late night e-mail from SUNY saying before they can make any "informed decisions" I need to submit my spring grades for my masters program. This is my first post-secondary communication from a medical school. Hoping it's a good sign!

 

[Keladry]

Current MS3 here - I'm a bit far removed from the application process, so may not be able to tell you much about the process itself, but I'm more than happy to answer any questions about Downstate that I can

 

[DocJuan]

Current MS3 here - I'm a bit far removed from the application process, so may not be able to tell you much about the process itself, but I'm more than happy to answer any questions about Downstate that I can

Could you comment on the interview process and what they seemed to be looking for in a candidate?

 

[Keladry]

Could you comment on the interview process and what they seemed to be looking for in a candidate?

Assuming nothing's changed in the past few years: there's just 1 faculty interview, very conversational, I believe they try to match you with someone you have something in common with (my interviewer had previously taught at the place I studied abroad, for example), pretty traditional questions (why medicine, why here, tell me about X extracurricular, etc.) as far as I can remember. They generally try to be nice and not scare you. And then there's a tour and lunch with some current preclinical students.
As for what they're looking for - I don't know what the discussion is like from the perspective of the admissions committee, but based on what the students here are like, I'd say they're looking for smart, hardworking, community-minded people who aren't afraid to get their hands dirty and get things done. But I have literally no idea who's on the admissions committee or how they decide who to accept, so I don't know how helpful this is.

 

[In_Arsene_We_Trust]

Did you receive email stating that your application is now complete?


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[DocJuan]

Did you receive email stating that your application is now complete?

Yes

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[In_Arsene_We_Trust]

Thanks


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[Dream_big]

Anyone get an II?

 

[DocJuan]

Anyone get an II?

I don't think so. Have you heard of invites being sent out for regular decision? I've had some post-secondary communication but no invite yet :/

 

[PB&Jam]

Anyone applying who grew up and went to school in a rural area? I feel like I have nothing to put for "personal experiences that prepare me to live in NYC."

 

[plzhelpme12345]

Anyone applying who grew up and went to school in a rural area? I feel like I have nothing to put for "personal experiences that prepare me to live in NYC."

For that question, I talked more about the support system part.

 

[ieatshrimp24]

Applying OOS. Hoping for that invite.

 

[Dr_Jan_Itor]

So, for listing courses, should I include only the credits needed, or should I pick all the courses which I did the best in to highlight? for instance, they require 8 credits of general biology. I put down my 8 freshman credits in Gen Bio I & II, but I did much better in some of the upper level ones. Would it make sense to list those too? or would it just look like i'm not following directions?

 

[futuresomething22]

Is there any current students that can comment about unique programs at Downstate? Trying to write the last question but am unsure and the website is fairly vague. oos, originally from new york, but live on the west coast

 

[dsof09]

Hi all,

I submitted my secondary the other day and vaguely remember it saying something about not copying and pasting essays from Microsoft Word into the text box. Since I already submitted it, I can't confirm if it says that. Is there anyone who is still in the process of filling it out?

Thank you!

 

[Cotterpin]

So there's no portal for status checking, right?

 

[dinomite00]

Hi all,

I submitted my secondary the other day and vaguely remember it saying something about not copying and pasting essays from Microsoft Word into the text box. Since I already submitted it, I can't confirm if it says that. Is there anyone who is still in the process of filling it out?

Thank you!

It says "Please compose your answer using a text editor, such as Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit (MacOSX)" in the essay sections so I am sure you are fine! It is what I plan to do as well.

 

[Dream_big]

So there's no portal for status checking, right?

right

 

[Dream_big]

I don't think so. Have you heard of invites being sent out for regular decision? I've had some post-secondary communication but no invite yet :/

looking at last year's thread, it looks like IIs were sent out around mid-August

 

[DocJuan]

Past two years II came out this or next week!!

looking at last year's thread, it looks like IIs were sent out around mid-August

 

[DocJuan]

No clue if that's ED or not

 

[fjsidjffhddkfj]

Question regarding listing the prereqs on the secondary app. I am missing a prereq that I plan to take in the Spring of 2017. Since registration for Spring courses is not possible until November, I am not registered for the course yet. Anybody else in the same boat? Any thoughts about listing a course you plan to take but are not registered for yet?

 

[stgt9202]

For those who took the MCAT while applying (particularly the July MCAT dates since we haven't received our scores yet), did you get a secondary? I submitted my AMCAS July 3, got verified July 29, but so far only received an email saying that they're aware that I have a MCAT score pending. Thanks for your help! Downstate is definitely in my top 5, native New Yawker over here haha

 

[stgt9202]

Question regarding listing the prereqs on the secondary app. I am missing a prereq that I plan to take in the Spring of 2017. Since registration for Spring courses is not possible until November, I am not registered for the course yet. Anybody else in the same boat? Any thoughts about listing a course you plan to take but are not registered for yet?

I would say ask the admin office themselves. I'm sure they have some sort of system for working around future spring semester prereqs! Just don't do anything without knowing what they would prefer you to do

 

[Smellysmellycat]

For those who took the MCAT while applying (particularly the July MCAT dates since we haven't received our scores yet), did you get a secondary? I submitted my AMCAS July 3, got verified July 29, but so far only received an email saying that they're aware that I have a MCAT score pending. Thanks for your help! Downstate is definitely in my top 5, native New Yawker over here haha

I added this school on July 6 and got the secondary on July 8. I took the July 22 mcat. It's only been a few days since you got verified, so I'm sure they're just busy and you'll get yours soon!

 

[stgt9202]

I added this school on July 6 and got the secondary on July 8. I took the July 22 mcat. It's only been a few days since you got verified, so I'm sure they're just busy and you'll get yours soon!

ok thanks!