2011-2012 SUNY Downstate Application Thread

Applying to Med School? Get In Or Your Money Back
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flood010101 said:
Yes, snail mail about 10 days ago. Do a lot of the people on the alternate list get in, or only a few?
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Thanks, flood. The number of people who will eventually be accepted from the alternate list is dependent on how many seats the adcom fills right away and how many accepted students actually decide to matriculate at this particular institution in the end. Once seats opens up because an applicant withdraws his/her acceptance, then the adcom will be choosing from the alternate list. This will likely happen in late April on through the summer months, I believe. I myself am waitlisted at other schools and we can only sit tight and hope for the best. :xf:
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Alternate list is good chance from previous years data. Things change year to year but alternate list is def next best thing to acceptance. Many people form current class is from alternate list
 
i'm on hold for spring consideration
interviewed 3rd week of january, letter is from march 6
:(
 
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The past two years, everyone who said they were on the alternate list was accepted.
 
I interviewed back in early Feb but haven't heard back. Downstate's my top choice, but would it be weird if I sent them an LOI before I get a response?
 
epouvante said:
I interviewed back in early Feb but haven't heard back. Downstate's my top choice, but would it be weird if I sent them an LOI before I get a response?
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Reserve the LOI in case you get an unfavorable decision...good luck!
 
epouvante said:
I interviewed back in early Feb but haven't heard back. Downstate's my top choice, but would it be weird if I sent them an LOI before I get a response?
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Hey, I'm in the same boat. Do you happen to remember how long we were told it'd generally take to hear something?
 
I got my finaid award letter today and it's really confusing. Does DS have $0 in need-based grants?? Do most students, even from poor families, receive just loans to cover COA? :(
 
helloitsmee said:
Hey, I'm in the same boat. Do you happen to remember how long we were told it'd generally take to hear something?
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+1
I think they said 4-8 weeks so we are kind of right in the middle of the expected time frame.

Good Luck to all of us!
 
capn jazz said:
I got my finaid award letter today and it's really confusing. Does DS have $0 in need-based grants?? Do most students, even from poor families, receive just loans to cover COA? :(
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I was very confused (read: saddened haha) by my financial aid award as well!

So I called the office about a week ago. The financial aid officer was very helpful in answering ALL of my annoying questions, which resulted in the following info:
-As of July 2012, there will be no SUBSIDIZED Stafford loans offered for entering students (read about it here: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/top-graduate-schools/paying/articles/2012/03/13/grad-students-to-lose-federal-loan-subsidy)
-We still can get the Direct Med Unsubsidized: 6.8% interest rate accruing from the time it is paid out, but you can pay the interest while you are in school to avoid it being added to the principal (yay!): http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/studentloans.jsp
-They have not assigned need-based aid yet (university aid including grants, scholarships, etc.). I didn't really understand her explanation after that point because I thought she said that they would be awarding this need-based aid after the term starts, meaning you would have to accept whatever aid you've been awarded, then accept the better aid (grants, scholarships, etc.) when it is offered, and then you could pay back the less awesome aid (Direct PLUS)--but you'd have to double-check that they allow early re-payment...Like I said, I didn't fully understand the answer lol.

***Note: On the flip-side, the fact that need-based aid has not been awarded yet is in no way a guarantee that we will be getting any later on, so I am trying to plan out how I would pay for school given my current award.
 
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CartoonDiva said:
I was very confused (read: saddened haha) by my financial aid award as well!

So I called the office about a week ago. The financial aid officer was very helpful in answering ALL of my annoying questions, which resulted in the following info:
-As of July 2012, there will be no SUBSIDIZED Stafford loans offered for entering students (read about it here: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/top-graduate-schools/paying/articles/2012/03/13/grad-students-to-lose-federal-loan-subsidy)
-We still can get the Direct Med Unsubsidized: 6.8% interest rate accruing from the time it is paid out, but you can pay the interest while you are in school to avoid it being added to the principal (yay!): http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/studentloans.jsp
-They have not assigned need-based aid yet (university aid including grants, scholarships, etc.). I didn't really understand her explanation after that point because I thought she said that they would be awarding this need-based aid after the term starts, meaning you would have to accept whatever aid you've been awarded, then accept the better aid (grants, scholarships, etc.) when it is offered, and then you could pay back the less awesome aid (Direct PLUS)--but you'd have to double-check that they allow early re-payment...Like I said, I didn't fully understand the answer lol.

***Note: On the flip-side, the fact that need-based aid has not been awarded yet is in no way a guarantee that we will be getting any later on, so I am trying to plan out how I would pay for school given my current award.
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yea, i called and they told me the same thing. i would assume need-based aid is awarded within the next month or so, because how could people make decisions otherwise? it would have been helpful to state that in the finaid letter. mine literally says "your award is ..." and then its the entire COA in loans, lol. thanks for the award! ;)
 
Sorry, non-fin aid question.

How many people have waited past the indicated "6-8" week span to hear back? Interviewed 2.5 months ago and still nothing. Good sign? Bad sign?
 
I interviewed in early October and then got placed on hold for Spring...and still haven't gotten a reply! Did anyone hear back that was "on hold for spring consideration" yet??
 
alisat1 said:
I interviewed in early October and then got placed on hold for Spring...and still haven't gotten a reply! Did anyone hear back that was "on hold for spring consideration" yet??
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Some people are being placed on hold for spring consideration NOW after interviewing so I think it might be a while before those applicants are re-reviewed...
 
helloitsmee said:
Hey, I'm in the same boat. Do you happen to remember how long we were told it'd generally take to hear something?
Click to expand...

I think I was told 6-8 weeks? I called yesterday and they said that they haven't reviewed my file yet...
 
The financial aid is very bad this year and don't get your hopes up with the scholarships distributed later on. But this isn't because of Downstate but the overall economic state of NYS. Also because the government killed subsidized loans, almost all loans will be unsubsidized. Medical schools in general are known to give very little scholarships/grants. I heard Downstate does give some money to people with income low enough but it's very little, ~1k. Truth is, no matter how poor you are, as long as they give you enough loans to cover yourself, it shouldn't matter. You'll live.
 
I got hold for spring vote.. I that different from alternate list?? The way I see it, they essentially told me, they rather look for other talented folks instead of me.
 
Don't lose hope! According to some previous posts, people get in after being on spring hold. Bluntly, there are others they consider to be more suitable for their mission, but the fact that you are on spring hold means that you are still fit for the school. :thumbup:

Mind if I as you when you interviewed? Waiting on a decision as well.

powerincarnate said:
I got hold for spring vote.. I that different from alternate list?? The way I see it, they essentially told me, they rather look for other talented folks instead of me.
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also received "hold for Spring".

Makes no sense to me, its already Spring. Understandable to send this letter in October, not in March.
 
Based upon last year's thread, people placed on "hold for spring" didn't hear back until at least mid-may. So it's going to be a little bit
 
blaxican4 said:
also received "hold for Spring".

Makes no sense to me, its already Spring. Understandable to send this letter in October, not in March.
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Do you mind sharing when you interviewed? Forgive me if you've shared it earlier in this thread. I interviewed Feb. 1st and haven't heard a thing. Anyone with this date (or after) hear anything yet?
 
Seems like a lot of people are being put in the "hold for spring" pile lately :(
 
helloitsmee said:
Do you mind sharing when you interviewed? Forgive me if you've shared it earlier in this thread. I interviewed Feb. 1st and haven't heard a thing. Anyone with this date (or after) hear anything yet?
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I interviewed the first week of January.
 
helloitsmee said:
Do you mind sharing when you interviewed? Forgive me if you've shared it earlier in this thread. I interviewed Feb. 1st and haven't heard a thing. Anyone with this date (or after) hear anything yet?
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Interviewed the day after you.
I am not expecting to hear back for at least another week but, I do like surprises.

Good Luck to us all!
 
Last edited:
For those who received hold for spring, was this a hard letter in the mail, status update online, or e-mail?
 
I'm going to bring up a question that was asked earlier by another member but not answered, hopefully someone can provide some insight.

Is the "alternate list" different from "hold for spring consideration"? If so, in what way (being on which list is considered to be in a better situation)?
 
helloitsmee said:
I'm going to bring up a question that was asked earlier by another member but not answered, hopefully someone can provide some insight.

Is the "alternate list" different from "hold for spring consideration"? If so, in what way (being on which list is considered to be in a better situation)?
Click to expand...

Yes, they are different. According to previous posts, many people get accepted through the alternate list. Once everyone from the alternate list is notified, the committee will discuss and select from amongst applicants who were given the "hold for spring." So it is better to be on the alternate list.

FYI, a co-worker of mine interviewed on Feb 8th and was rejected via snail mail a couple days ago. So a "hold for spring" is still not bad - there is a chance that you will be selected further down the line.
 
Whoaz said:
Yes, they are different. According to previous posts, many people get accepted through the alternate list. Once everyone from the alternate list is notified, the committee will discuss and select from amongst applicants who were given the "hold for spring." So it is better to be on the alternate list.

FYI, a co-worker of mine interviewed on Feb 8th and was rejected via snail mail a couple days ago. So a "hold for spring" is still not bad - there is a chance that you will be selected further down the line.
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...I sure hope so. Thanks for the insight. So much waitlisting has come my way...it truly does suck.
 
So spring consideration is a list that gets reviewed AFTER the alternate list? In that case, it seems like "hold for Summer Consideration" would be a better name..
 
Withdrew my acceptance recently. Good luck to those waiting to hear back and those on the waitlist.
 
Bad news for those who haven't had an interview yet, guys. Called today, and the lady said that they interview until next week, and there were still several interview invites "trickling in" last-minute, but for the most part, the interview season is over.
 
Interviewed 2/13, haven't heard anything. From the look of the recent posts, we're all anxiously awaiting "hold for spring" notifications. :( Call me a pessimist.
 
Called them, they said Hold for Spring apps will be reviewed at the end of May and beginning of June, so we could be waiting for quite some time.
 
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