2011-2012 SUNY Downstate Application Thread

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Okay, after reading so many responses about people being miserable during their preclinical years at DS, I feel i should chime in.

As an MS1, this year has been amazing and I don't regret choosing this school over others that I had been accepted to. I grew up and also went to school in a very suburban area on the other side of the country and thought I may never get used to living in Brooklyn and going to school in the "shady" neighborhood. But it's been great. The students (my classmates) are some of the most brilliant, outgoing, and sociable individuals I've met in my life. I feel well prepared by the curriculum. The facilities do suck. The internet is slow. The gym is deplorable. But despite all these tiny setbacks, I look forward to learning every day and seeing my friends at school. There are things that could be better taught (i.e. embryology/development) and there are unnecessary aspects of the curriculum (case-based learning), but overall I really feel the education offered is on par with every other medical school from what I've gathered by talking to my friends who go to schools such as Duke, Umich, Temple, and UCSD.

Please don't use facilities or lack of enthusiasm by the students as a reason not to come to downstate. I thought the same a year ago and even posted in a thread about students seeming miserable and asking if the area is safe. It's been a 6 months since then and trust me, the area isn't as bad as you think (and you won't even care after a month of school). Turns out my first impression of the lack of enthusiasm was entirely off. And I'm willing to bet yours is as well. I thought I'd never get used to living here, but I don't regret choosing this school at all.

Invite this evening! Was complete sometime in late-July.

EDIT: 31/3.8/OOS

yay invite this morning!

Originally Posted by kpcrew2oo2

yay invite this morning!

when were you complete ?

IS or OOS ?

stats ?

First acceptance today (by mail), IS, interviewed mid-November. Loved this school!

interview invite, scheduled 1/18 if anyone is going to be there and wants to grab food or something pm me

Interview Invite for Jan 17th!

Anyone else interviewing can PM me. I would love to meet other prospectives.

Originally Posted by footballjm1

Interview Invite for Jan 17th!

Anyone else interviewing can PM me. I would love to meet other prospectives.

Congrats! When were you complete?

Originally Posted by ajz23

interview invite, scheduled 1/18 if anyone is going to be there and wants to grab food or something pm me

when were you complete?

Originally Posted by harlemdoc

when were you complete?

Complete sometime Late July Early August

Originally Posted by MrBird

Okay, after reading so many responses about people being miserable during their preclinical years at DS, I feel i should chime in.

As an MS1, this year has been amazing and I don't regret choosing this school over others that I had been accepted to. I grew up and also went to school in a very suburban area on the other side of the country and thought I may never get used to living in Brooklyn and going to school in the "shady" neighborhood. But it's been great. The students (my classmates) are some of the most brilliant, outgoing, and sociable individuals I've met in my life. I feel well prepared by the curriculum. The facilities do suck. The internet is slow. The gym is deplorable. But despite all these tiny setbacks, I look forward to learning every day and seeing my friends at school. There are things that could be better taught (i.e. embryology/development) and there are unnecessary aspects of the curriculum (case-based learning), but overall I really feel the education offered is on par with every other medical school from what I've gathered by talking to my friends who go to schools such as Duke, Umich, Temple, and UCSD.

Please don't use facilities or lack of enthusiasm by the students as a reason not to come to downstate. I thought the same a year ago and even posted in a thread about students seeming miserable and asking if the area is safe. It's been a 6 months since then and trust me, the area isn't as bad as you think (and you won't even care after a month of school). Turns out my first impression of the lack of enthusiasm was entirely off. And I'm willing to bet yours is as well. I thought I'd never get used to living here, but I don't regret choosing this school at all.

When I visited the school, I stayed with a student and saw lots of love between the students. Looked like everyone was happy, the tourguides otoh seemed rushed. Overall I got the impression that students werepretty happy with downstate

ACCEPTED! xP

congrats

For current students, would you say you know everyone in your class and that people are on good terms with each other? Do you spend a lot of time together? Does having such a large class size (compared to most other med schools) make sharing resources difficult?

Also, is there some sort of meal plan? If there isn't, is grocery shopping convenient and affordable? Do the kitchens have working fridges and stoves and ovens? Food is important!

Looks like most of the current first years are doing a great job of representing our school! Just a PSA for you applicants:

Be aware that it's very easy for an MS1 or MS2 to toss off how the preclinical years are "terrible" and "full of unnecessary things." Looking back now that I am actually applying what I've learned in the first two years, I think the preclinical years are very solid (and I promise you I was just as much of a complainer in the previous 2 years!) Just be aware that many of the people who tell you the classes are not taught well will change their tune when they join the many downstate students who destroy the major standardized exams.

To the ms1/ms2's who are saying such things...well sorry guys but its true that youll likely be saying differently in a few years!

I am not really manning this board like I did last year due to the hectic MS3 schedule, but PM's are always read at some point and replied to...if you would prefer the seasoned view on the preclinical years

Originally Posted by weilanna

For current students, would you say you know everyone in your class and that people are on good terms with each other? Do you spend a lot of time together? Does having such a large class size (compared to most other med schools) make sharing resources difficult?

Also, is there some sort of meal plan? If there isn't, is grocery shopping convenient and affordable? Do the kitchens have working fridges and stoves and ovens? Food is important!

I would say that our class has a good dynamic. In a class of 180, it won't be possible to know EVERYONE, but I think everyone definitely has a sense of who others are if they don't know of them personally already. As an off-campus person, I can't speak to "spending a lot of time together away from school matters", because the time I do spend with my classmates is usually in class, study areas, and the library. We go out to eat and hang out at bars once in a while when we have a free weekend, so there is definitely a sense of class cohesiveness and socialization.

Sharing of medical school resources is quite easy, because you can either email stuff out to the class list-serve, or you can simply make an effort to communicate with others in person. Even though our class size is large, I don't think it's hard if you wanted to make the effort to get to know others by moving around your seat in the lecture hall, etc.

Originally Posted by Vulcan

Looks like most of the current first years are doing a great job of representing our school! Just a PSA for you applicants:

Be aware that it's very easy for an MS1 or MS2 to toss off how the preclinical years are "terrible" and "full of unnecessary things." Looking back now that I am actually applying what I've learned in the first two years, I think the preclinical years are very solid (and I promise you I was just as much of a complainer in the previous 2 years!) Just be aware that many of the people who tell you the classes are not taught well will change their tune when they join the many downstate students who destroy the major standardized exams.

To the ms1/ms2's who are saying such things...well sorry guys but its true that youll likely be saying differently in a few years!

I am not really manning this board like I did last year due to the hectic MS3 schedule, but PM's are always read at some point and replied to...if you would prefer the seasoned view on the preclinical years

Vulcan is right--he probably is the best person to get a "post pre-clinical" perspective on things...as MS1s and MS2s, it won't be 100% objective how we view what we're learning now. Most of the time, the content will be seen as "too much information" and "not worth learning". At the end of the day, as much as something may not seem worth learning, there's a reason why it was put there to begin with. Just gotta trudge along and learn it...and hopefully retain it. *fails at the latter*

We (the MS1s) can definitely give you our perspective on the curriculum and experience so far at Downstate, so don't hesitate to ask either publicly or privately. I feel a public discussion would be more conducive to a variety of opinions and a true discussion.

Originally Posted by weilanna

For current students, would you say you know everyone in your class and that people are on good terms with each other? Do you spend a lot of time together? Does having such a large class size (compared to most other med schools) make sharing resources difficult?

Also, is there some sort of meal plan? If there isn't, is grocery shopping convenient and affordable? Do the kitchens have working fridges and stoves and ovens? Food is important!

no meal plan. theres a lot of stores near by where you can get food. cafeteria is popular for lunch. stoves, fridges, ovens do work if you have a kitchen.

and no, the class is ~185 students. people are different, so it's pretty impossible to be on good terms with each other. people have opinions no matter where you go and thats just life.

Downstate is EXTREMELY good at sharing resources. I think there are wayy too many resources and most of the time I dont even look at them since i dont have time to. The class size HELPS with sharing resources b/c let's say 10% of the class shares their stuff, in a school with 40 students... thats only 4 people so not a lot is shared, but at downstate it would be 18, resulting in more resources.

People are together when there is time. there is good bonding at downstate but it's not like college since everyones busy a lot.

i definitely dont know everyone in my class. i dont really mind. it's a big class and it's not like knowing 185 ppl will help me in any way... there are ppl out there who knows close to everyone in the class though. it depends on how much you try to know them. don't forget medical school have a wide range of ages compared to college. there are people with families and kids so they go straight home to them after lab or w/e and don't normally go out to hang out.

Does Downstate send rejections pre-interview? I haven't heard anything since late summer.

Originally Posted by intothewest

does downstate send rejections pre-interview? I haven't heard anything since late summer.

+1

Originally Posted by IntoTheWest

Does Downstate send rejections pre-interview? I haven't heard anything since late summer.

don't know, but I'd been complete since late July and I got an interview invite last week. make of that what you will.

I'm ecstatic to see my classmates representing in this thread. I guess I'm fashionably late to this party. Happy to answer questions. MS4 here. Wow, time flies, doesn't it? Happy holidays folks!

Originally Posted by Dr Roboto

I'm ecstatic to see my classmates representing in this thread. I guess I'm fashionably late to this party. Happy to answer questions. MS4 here. Wow, time flies, doesn't it? Happy holidays folks!

Could you talk about the third and fourth year rotations? How do you feel the quality of instruction is during clinical years? I always hear how downstate has great clinical education, just want to know what makes it great from a med student perspective.

Originally Posted by hiyaman

Could you talk about the third and fourth year rotations? How do you feel the quality of instruction is during clinical years? I always hear how downstate has great clinical education, just want to know what makes it great from a med student perspective.

I'm half way through MS3 and I am just loving it. The hospitals are great and I've done far more procedures than my friends at other schools. I'm not just talking blood draws...I have sutured someone with minimal supervision and have attempted a lumbar puncture already. There really is a ton of autonomy for students here. I am soooo glad I am at Downstate for this.

Here's my long-winded answer so bear with me. Downstate is located in the Flatbush area of Brooklyn with a predominantly Afro-Caribbean immigrant population with low health literacy rates. Kings County Hospital (this is the public hospital affiliated with Downstate) Emergency Dept has over 130,000 visits a year and the University Hospital ED has over 70,000 visits a year. I'm using these numbers as a surrogate marker for how busy the hospitals are because a majority of admissions come through the ED. All these factors (the volume, the patient population, social issues) can make Downstate a tough place to learn and train. It's up to you to decide if you want this sort of inner city experience. With that said, as hard as the residents work, they don't have time to do everything. There is a lot of room for you as a student to step up your game as long as you're willing to get your hands dirty. For example, a patient needed a nasty cut sutured. None of the residents wanted to do it because they had done so many by then. So I got to do it even though I had never done one before. The patient was fine with it, but I can imagine that at some other place the patient might actually page the plastic surgeon directly. I really can't say enough about the clinical exposure here. I've had two patients come to the hospital by taxi after arriving at the airport and tell us they were diagnosed with cancer at their home country and wanted a second opinion. Unfortunately they were both terminal. One died in the hospital and the other was able to fly back to say good bye.

It's hard to comment on clinical instruction on the whole because it can vary by rotation, by clinical team, and by hospital site. But I've had great experiences throughout my third year. It wasn't always pleasant but that's Medicine in general. Hours suck and you come into contact with people from all walks of life and with all sorts of personalities, this goes for patients, residents, and attendings. Other than that, another thing I want to mention is that there's a reasonable variety of sites in which to do your rotations, which is a great thing by the way. I went to the Upper East Side for part of my internal medicine rotation and psych rotation. It's always nice to check out other hospitals, work in a different environment, and see a completely different patient population. I also want to mention that as you guys go on interviews, it's also important, if not more so, to ask about clinical experience and the hospitals at which you can rotate. Applicants usually ask about first and second year and that's OK. But I can't imagine it being all that different from other schools.

Originally Posted by Vulcan

I'm half way through MS3 and I am just loving it. The hospitals are great and I've done far more procedures than my friends at other schools. I'm not just talking blood draws...I have sutured someone with minimal supervision and have attempted a lumbar puncture already. There really is a ton of autonomy for students here. I am soooo glad I am at Downstate for this.

He's leaving out some of the juicy stuff.

Thanks for the information, very helpful .

Originally Posted by Asyouwereatrio

Last year I interviewed mid Sept and didn't hear til early Dec..so it def happens!

Got the acceptance today!!! Gigantic relief and really excited.

For anyone wondering it took me about 9 weeks to here from them. Probably would have been sooner if I had gotten the letter before the holidays. Accepted by snail mail. No email or phone call.

Stats and state status in mdapps profile.

FINALLY! Got my first II of the season! Its been a long wait.
Complete 9/23

Stats?

32L 3.81s 3.89c
Quick writing is not my specialty Lol!

Nice! Does anyone know how late SUNY Downstate interviews until? How many spots were open (and till when) when you guys were signing up?

They send you an email with a date and time. If you have an issue with the given time you can contact them to reschedule.
At this point the interviews are for early February.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Oh man, awesome! Just got an II, was complete way back in August.

Does SUNY Downstate have student hosts?

Originally Posted by ppfizenm

Got the acceptance today!!! Gigantic relief and really excited.

For anyone wondering it took me about 9 weeks to here from them. Probably would have been sooner if I had gotten the letter before the holidays. Accepted by snail mail. No email or phone call.

Stats and state status in mdapps profile.

Congratulations to you and everyone who has been receiving acceptances and interview invites! We hope that you will join us here next year! Let me know if you have any questions, or feel free to ask any of the other MS1-MS4 students on here.

Originally Posted by Colloquialism

Oh man, awesome! Just got an II, was complete way back in August.

Does SUNY Downstate have student hosts?

The Admissions Office does offer student hosts, so please email them to request one. They generally are able to set you up with one.

Originally Posted by Dr Roboto

Here's my long-winded answer so bear with me. Downstate is located in the Flatbush area of Brooklyn with a predominantly Afro-Caribbean immigrant population with low health literacy rates. Kings County Hospital (this is the public hospital affiliated with Downstate) Emergency Dept has over 130,000 visits a year and the University Hospital ED has over 70,000 visits a year. I'm using these numbers as a surrogate marker for how busy the hospitals are because a majority of admissions come through the ED. All these factors (the volume, the patient population, social issues) can make Downstate a tough place to learn and train. It's up to you to decide if you want this sort of inner city experience. With that said, as hard as the residents work, they don't have time to do everything. There is a lot of room for you as a student to step up your game as long as you're willing to get your hands dirty. For example, a patient needed a nasty cut sutured. None of the residents wanted to do it because they had done so many by then. So I got to do it even though I had never done one before. The patient was fine with it, but I can imagine that at some other place the patient might actually page the plastic surgeon directly. I really can't say enough about the clinical exposure here. I've had two patients come to the hospital by taxi after arriving at the airport and tell us they were diagnosed with cancer at their home country and wanted a second opinion. Unfortunately they were both terminal. One died in the hospital and the other was able to fly back to say good bye.

It's hard to comment on clinical instruction on the whole because it can vary by rotation, by clinical team, and by hospital site. But I've had great experiences throughout my third year. It wasn't always pleasant but that's Medicine in general. Hours suck and you come into contact with people from all walks of life and with all sorts of personalities, this goes for patients, residents, and attendings. Other than that, another thing I want to mention is that there's a reasonable variety of sites in which to do your rotations, which is a great thing by the way. I went to the Upper East Side for part of my internal medicine rotation and psych rotation. It's always nice to check out other hospitals, work in a different environment, and see a completely different patient population. I also want to mention that as you guys go on interviews, it's also important, if not more so, to ask about clinical experience and the hospitals at which you can rotate. Applicants usually ask about first and second year and that's OK. But I can't imagine it being all that different from other schools.

I want to agree with your post on the whole; I'm not a third year (yet) but I've spent time in the Kings county ER and it's astounding the number of uninsured patients that get their primary care done in the ER as well as their meds refilled there. It's definitely an eye opener to work there and really gives one a perspective on healthcare disparities and it's also a wonderful place to learn. With regards to your last two sentences; yes and no. I would concede that first and second year on the whole are not as "important", but there are definitely ways in which different schools can make your life easier and/or aid in your Step 1 prep (e.g., less required sessions, anatomy prosections rather than dissections, and implementation of NBME's rather than tests made by instructors). Of course, these issues are not as important as things like quality of clerkship rotations and the like, but, in my opinion, they shouldn't be marginalized, as they can have profound implications of quality life during the first two years.

With the big picture in mind, I would have to agree that if one were to pick between schools, he/she should focus more on the quality of clinical years.

Oh, and to the person who asked, Downstate generally interviews through April, so there's still time.

Accepted! Interviewed 12/1 woohoo!!!!!

Originally Posted by MedicJosh

Accepted! Interviewed 12/1 woohoo!!!!!

Congrats. So jelly!!!!! Do you mind answering these questions:
Email or S-mail? IS or OS?

INTERVIEW INVITE!!!
Was complete back in late august, lost hope a long time ago, and this is my top choice school so I'm super stoked!

Did anyone else interview yesterday (Thursday jan 5th)?

Was a cool group of people, wanted to get some people's names to keep
up with!

Originally Posted by wow my heart

Congrats. So jelly!!!!! Do you mind answering these questions:
Email or S-mail? IS or OS?

S-mail & IS.

Best of luck to everybody!

"Spring Consideration" Letter. OOS. Interviewed on Dec 1.
Alas! : (

Originally Posted by danceonskis

"Spring Consideration" Letter. OOS. Interviewed on Dec 1.
Alas! : (

I got the same letter a while ago...what exactly does it mean? When will we be reviewed again for "spring consideration"?

I'm sure I'm starting to sound like a broken record to some, but I was accepted off the hold list last June. No one can give you odds but both the alternative list and hold list can lead to acceptance or non-acceptance.

And to anyone who thinks the first two years don't matter keep in mind it's two years of your life.

Originally Posted by wanderer

I'm sure I'm starting to sound like a broken record to some, but I was accepted off the hold list last June. No one can give you odds but both the alternative list and hold list can lead to acceptance or non-acceptance.

And to anyone who thinks the first two years don't matter keep in mind it's two years of your life.

Same here I got off the hold list in May. And these things are hard to predict because above poster is one of the smartest person in our class this year.

Today I cancelled my interview and withdrew my application. Good luck to whomever get my interview! It has been quite a ride.

Quick question,
Does anyone know when the latest dates for interviews are, and let's say if I get an interview in end of Feb or beginning of March, what are my actual chances of getting in?

Originally Posted by MDapp2016

Quick question,
Does anyone know when the latest dates for interviews are, and let's say if I get an interview in end of Feb or beginning of March, what are my actual chances of getting in?

There are people in my class who interviewed that late but no one can tell you rough odds. I do remember from orientation that a fairly high number came from the alternate/hold lists so I'd say interviewing that late isn't too bad.

Oh and since other people are posting this, I figured that if anyone has any questions about Downstate, feel free to send me a PM, and I will try my best to answer your questions.

has anyone gotten the criminal background check request yet? i havent, but some other people i know accepted at different med schools have received it already

Originally Posted by uclabruins2011

has anyone gotten the criminal background check request yet? i havent, but some other people i know accepted at different med schools have received it already

nope and i got my acceptance mid oct.

Still waiting and trying to not lose hope.