2019-2020 SUNY - Downstate

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Hey is there anyone who interviewed here recently have suggestions on where to stay?? I think I’m too late to do the host program but would love something somewhat affordable. And if any of you stayed in Airbnb’s how was the area you stayed in?
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premed athlete said:
Hey is there anyone who interviewed here recently have suggestions on where to stay?? I think I’m too late to do the host program but would love something somewhat affordable. And if any of you stayed in Airbnb’s how was the area you stayed in?
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I'm not sure if there is a host program, but I emailed and will be staying in a single room in the Res Halls right next to the school. Doesn't hurt to email them :)
 
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moneytree58 said:
I'm not sure if there is a host program, but I emailed and will be staying in a single room in the Res Halls right next to the school. Doesn't hurt to email them :)
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Oh nice that would be great. I interview soon, but I'll give it a try anyways lol. All they can do is say no and then I'll just book a hotel.
 
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dgnsc said:
where are people hearing that they will announce acceptances in february? is it from the interview day?

also does anyone know whether downstate provides any merit aid to accepted students? ty!
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It says on their website that decisions will come out in February. However, on interview day, one of my fellow interviewees said someone from Downstate told them that decisions may come out in November. I'm just going to keep telling myself it's February so that my hopes don't get dashed lol

I'm not sure about merit aid, but from what I hear they don't really give out too much aid.
 
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UnknownObi said:
any advice for those interviewing soon?
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Be relaxed. My interview was very conversational and it might be a coincidence, but it seemed like they went out of their way to give me an interviewer that had a lot in common with me.
 
CRISPR_Queen said:
Anyone else get an email requesting more information about my US clinical activites... what this mean?
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I got an email request more information, regarding numerous things. Did you get any response from them after you submitted the response?
 
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platypusrex said:
It says on their website that decisions will come out in February. However, on interview day, one of my fellow interviewees said someone from Downstate told them that decisions may come out in November. I'm just going to keep telling myself it's February so that my hopes don't get dashed lol

I'm not sure about merit aid, but from what I hear they don't really give out too much aid.
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They release in Feb. Thats a new policy that most of the current student's aren't aware about because it wasn't in place then.
 
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Did anyone else feel a lowkey depressing vibe from this school on interview day?
 
SkirrSkirrta said:
Unlike most schools, there wasn’t really an interview day. Everyone just sits in a waiting room for hours and at one point during the day the dean comes in and has an informal talk with students. Then you interview, do a writing assignment and leave. The tour let us see the anatomy lab and a classroom and that's it. There were optional financial aid and residence hall info sessions in the afternoon but not a single person stayed to go. Not much extra information about the school, which is kind of annoying considering how bad the website is. The student tour guides weren’t really selling the school and kind of were just talking about how the school was adequate. At one point one of them actually said go elsewhere if you get into another school in the city. These were the only students that we interacted with the whole day. The facilities honestly weren’t as bad as I heard they were going to be and the education seems pretty good, but I didn’t get the vibe that the school wanted us to be there and the students overall didn’t seem that happy.
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How long were the mandatory things? Is the tour optional? What time were you done by if you had a morning interview?
 
II today!! IS, LM 68/WARS 75, complete 10/8, interviews in December.
 
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SkirrSkirrta said:
Unlike most schools, there wasn’t really an interview day. Everyone just sits in a waiting room for hours and at one point during the day the dean comes in and has an informal talk with students. Then you interview, do a writing assignment and leave. The tour let us see the anatomy lab and a classroom and that's it. There were optional financial aid and residence hall info sessions in the afternoon but not a single person stayed to go. Not much extra information about the school, which is kind of annoying considering how bad the website is. The student tour guides weren’t really selling the school and kind of were just talking about how the school was adequate. At one point one of them actually said go elsewhere if you get into another school in the city. These were the only students that we interacted with the whole day. The facilities honestly weren’t as bad as I heard they were going to be and the education seems pretty good, but I didn’t get the vibe that the school wanted us to be there and the students overall didn’t seem that happy.
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First year now. Sure compared to some of the other places where the students were "bight, and chipper and cheery" we're probably not that but Downstate seemed keep it real. Kind of like a true NY attitude. Med school sucks and its hard anywhere, but I did like that on my tour they gave what felt like real answers and not the school approved statements from other places. Plus the tour guides now are all second years, approaching step1 so they are truly in the suck.
And tbh nothing is keeping it more real than one of your tour guides saying if you get into another school in city go because lol the public tuition is now offset a lot by NYU being free and Cornell and Columbia being loan free, and most the other schools in NYC have shiner names. But in the end, its a solid med school with as you said pretty good facilities and education, do you need to be sold more? You'll go to best place you get in.
 
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MDorBust97 said:
First year now. Sure compared to some of the other places where the students were "bight, and chipper and cheery" we're probably not that but Downstate seemed keep it real. Kind of like a true NY attitude. Med school sucks and its hard anywhere, but I did like that on my tour they gave what felt like real answers and not the school approved statements from other places. Plus the tour guides now are all second years, approaching step1 so they are truly in the suck.
And tbh nothing is keeping it more real than one of your tour guides saying if you get into another school in city go because lol the public tuition is now offset a lot by NYU being free and Cornell and Columbia being loan free, and most the other schools in NYC have shiner names. But in the end, its a solid med school with as you said pretty good facilities and education, do you need to be sold more? You'll go to best place you get in.
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Felt the same way. Environment felt authentic and maybe even a little laid-back in that no one felt like they needed to fake being super enthusiastic about anything. I’d be a little suspicious of students being SO HAPPY. It’s NY, we just don’t do that.
And at the end of the day, a career in medicine is a ladder. At each step of the way you should be reaching for the highest rung to satisfy your goals. For a lot of people, that’s going to mean going to the “best” or most prestigious school they can afford, and right now the big name NYC schools are also the most affordable. So yeah, anyone faced with the choice between Downstate and Columbia would be awfully silly to choose Downstate, but that’s not really saying anything negative about the SUNY school.
 
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tinfoilforests said:
Felt the same way. Environment felt authentic and maybe even a little laid-back in that no one felt like they needed to fake being super enthusiastic about anything. I’d be a little suspicious of students being SO HAPPY. It’s NY, we just don’t do that.
And at the end of the day, a career in medicine is a ladder. At each step of the way you should be reaching for the highest rung to satisfy your goals. For a lot of people, that’s going to mean going to the “best” or most prestigious school they can afford, and right now the big name NYC schools are also the most affordable. So yeah, anyone faced with the choice between Downstate and Columbia would be awfully silly to choose Downstate, but that’s not really saying anything negative about the SUNY school.
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Exactly, maybe back when you were paying the full 85-100k sticker price to go to Sinai, Columbia, Cornell, NYU, the total 65k at Downstate merited some decision making. Now the private schools have gotten even richer and can offer all these loan reduction/free tuition while the public schools have gotten poorer. I don't regret attending Downstate in the slightest, but I'd be lying if I told you I'd choose it over one of the brand name NYC schools given the option, everyone would.

Also being an ORM from CA, who Downstate took in, I was already prepared not to have many options when I was applying, ending up in NYC compared to somewhere else I took as a huge win.
 
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After I finished my interview, I ran into someone who worked at the admissions office as I was trying to figure out where the subway was. They took the time to basically walk me there! I know that people in New York don't seem enthusiastic, but people just put up an unaffected front. Most people are actually very nice and willing to help.
 
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Current MS1 at Downstate. First time logging on in a while. Just wanna say that sdn was very valuable to me when applying last year so I would be happy to help out any current applicants. Feel free to PM me if you need (my apologies if it takes me a bit long to reply). Best of luck to everyone and some advice for this entire process: R-E-L-A-X. It's a long, stressful grind but you're not alone!
 
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Mr. Game & Watch said:
Current MS1 at Downstate. First time logging on in a while. Just wanna say that sdn was very valuable to me when applying last year so I would be happy to help out any current applicants. Feel free to PM me if you need (my apologies if it takes me a bit long to reply). Best of luck to everyone and some advice for this entire process: R-E-L-A-X. It's a long, stressful grind but you're not alone!
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Thanks for letting us ask questions! How long until I should contact the admissions office about my peer-to-peer interview? It's been a while and they didn't give many details on it. Also do you know if a lot of students live in northern brooklyn and commute to flatbush?
 
SkirrSkirrta said:
Thanks for letting us ask questions! How long until I should contact the admissions office about my peer-to-peer interview? It's been a while and they didn't give many details on it. Also do you know if a lot of students live in northern brooklyn and commute to flatbush?
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Will PM in a bit!
 
Does anyone know when they will be sending out acceptances/rejections? Is it true we won't hear back til february?
 
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Mathemedics said:
Does anyone know when they will be sending out acceptances/rejections? Is it true we won't hear back til february?
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To my understanding, SUNY Downstate has rolling admissions beginning February
 
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anyone who has interviewed here willing to share their experience? anything i should be prepared for? did you get a nice sense of the culture? what time did you get out of the interview?
 
dreamitmakeithappen said:
anyone who has interviewed here willing to share their experience? anything i should be prepared for? did you get a nice sense of the culture? what time did you get out of the interview?
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Interview day was pretty casual. All the interviewees sat in a room while waiting and we were able to just talk by ourselves. The interview itself was also low stress. They will ask about grades and stuff like that, so just prepare a good explanation for anything that sticks out even slightly. Overall very chill and they try to pair you up with someone who may have the same background as you. The student tour guides also said they have a collaborative culture and always share study guides. The only downside is that the facilities are kind of run down, but I am used to this due to where I attended undergrad. I think I finished at 3ish.
 
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Got an II last week, and they only gave me one date in later February. But I see people saying there are Dec/Jan dates. Is this Downstate’s way of saying I’m not a serious candidate...?
 
Logal456 said:
Got an II last week, and they only gave me one date in later February. But I see people saying there are Dec/Jan dates. Is this Downstate’s way of saying I’m not a serious candidate...?
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They wouldnt have even given you an II then. Could be people dropping IIs, you could call and ask to reschedule maybe
 
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Does anyone know the post-II acceptance rates (IS and OOS)? MSAR shows the number of interviewed and matriculated applicants, but not the number of accepted applicants.
 
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mad957 said:
Does anyone know the post-II acceptance rates (IS and OOS)? MSAR shows the number of interviewed and matriculated applicants, but not the number of accepted applicants.
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Unfortunately they are one of the few schools that does not share these stats with US News, so to my knowledge the post-II acceptance rate is not available for SUNY-Downstate.
 
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Punky Brewster said:
Unfortunately they are one of the few schools that does not share these stats with US News, so to my knowledge the post-II acceptance rate is not available for SUNY-Downstate.
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Yeah I haven't been able to find it anywhere! I was hoping that someone who has interviewed or a current student had the inside scoop. The most I can do is make an educated guess based off of the MSAR numbers.
 
mad957 said:
Yeah I haven't been able to find it anywhere! I was hoping that someone who has interviewed or a current student had the inside scoop. The most I can do is make an educated guess based off of the MSAR numbers.
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personally I'm just assuming it's approx. the same as stony brook
 
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Does anyone remember giving/taking a photo for the adcoms?
 
Was rejected pre-interview for MD/PhD but extended an MD-only interview. Just withdrew my application, and hope the opportunity goes to one of you good people. Best of luck!
 
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Just got an II. Will be deferring but wanted to contribute another data point anyways. I’m OOS, LM74, complete first week of July
 
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doa718 said:
Just got an II. Will be deferring but wanted to contribute another data point anyways. I’m OOS, LM74, complete first week of July
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Wow congrats though! Was complete around 7/24 so hope to hear from them soon.
 
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