2011-2012 SUNY Upstate Application Thread

Getting into Med School is Hard? Not with BeMo.
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EK601 said:
Can any current students comment on the competitiveness of the class?

I have heard from a few people that the classes are graded on a curve rather than with cutoffs at a few other schools I have interviewed at which sounds like it would make the environment less co-operative.
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It depends on the specific class. Some are hard cut offs and some are curved. From my experiences though, people are extremely cooperative, and I haven't encountered any cut throatness or anything of that sort since I've been here. People who are really gunners just tend to be competing with themselves, if that makes any sense. But that was one of the reasons I came to Upstate (everyone is really really friendly and cooperative and accommodating), because I just really didn't want to be in some ridiculous catty environment, and I haven't been disappointed!
 
competing among classmate is a good thing! a relaxing environment often time would punch a hole in your board score...just saying.
 
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Almost nobody is actively competitive the first two years, but being in small clerkship groups where only a few people can get honors or high pass has a way of bringing out the gunners. Still a minority, but it's real. Fortunately it doesn't actually have much of an effect on grades because the shelf exams are the real discriminator.
 
For those accepted and/or rejected at Upstate, do you remember if your "Congrats on Invitation to Interview" disappeared POST-interview but BEFORE decision? I interviewed on the 26th, just saw that that message disappeared for me, and now, I'm getting more antsy than probably necessary.

If it disappeared, please say so, and say what your end result was... Not that it matters a whole lot, but it would be helpful to calm the nerves a bit. Thanks in advance :oops:
 
BigRedder said:
Almost nobody is actively competitive the first two years, but being in small clerkship groups where only a few people can get honors or high pass has a way of bringing out the gunners. Still a minority, but it's real. Fortunately it doesn't actually have much of an effect on grades because the shelf exams are the real discriminator.
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that makes more sense.
 
Hey effjay,

Mine disappeared approximately ~ 2 weeks after my interview, and I got accepted.... No worries!!! Grab a hot chocolate and enjoy the wait........
 
effjay said:
For those accepted and/or rejected at Upstate, do you remember if your "Congrats on Invitation to Interview" disappeared POST-interview but BEFORE decision? I interviewed on the 26th, just saw that that message disappeared for me, and now, I'm getting more antsy than probably necessary.

If it disappeared, please say so, and say what your end result was... Not that it matters a whole lot, but it would be helpful to calm the nerves a bit. Thanks in advance :oops:
Click to expand...

I'm accepted, and it disappeared, and that made me really nervous too! relax :)
 
EK601 said:
Can any current students comment on the competitiveness of the class?

I have heard from a few people that the classes are graded on a curve rather than with cutoffs at a few other schools I have interviewed at which sounds like it would make the environment less co-operative.
Click to expand...

I had the same concerns, but it honestly is a very cooperative environment. Students share resources, online flashcards, and even study guides that they put hours upon hours into. It's great. :thumbup:
 
titilaya said:
Hey Ya`ll,

I have been reading up about the two campuses. Can anyone give me the real low down about the differences. It seems that bingo is more community hospital and upstate is more university based. Is there any other major difference not stressed in the website. Thanks Ya`ll!!!!!
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Choosing between clinical campuses is basically just about balancing pros and cons. Syracuse is a bigger city, so there is a lot more diversity in what you see. In Binghamton, however, there aren't any residents so you are always working pretty much one on one with a doc. That being said, the Syr/Bing distinction isn't as exclusive as I first thought. People switch back and forth for different clerkships all the time- especially in 4th year.
 
effjay said:
For those accepted and/or rejected at Upstate, do you remember if your "Congrats on Invitation to Interview" disappeared POST-interview but BEFORE decision? I interviewed on the 26th, just saw that that message disappeared for me, and now, I'm getting more antsy than probably necessary.

If it disappeared, please say so, and say what your end result was... Not that it matters a whole lot, but it would be helpful to calm the nerves a bit. Thanks in advance :oops:
Click to expand...

I interviewed on the 31st, and was told that the committee would (already did) hold a review meeting on wednesday 11/2. So I'd imagine come Monday there would be some decisions sent out. Good luck guys!
 
Thanks for the replies guys -- I appreciate them all. I was trying to figure out if the "Congrats on the Interview" sign disappearing meant something positive. It could just mean that they're reviewing me now. Anyways, guess only time will tell! :rolleyes:
 
Hydrogen5040 said:
Choosing between clinical campuses is basically just about balancing pros and cons. Syracuse is a bigger city, so there is a lot more diversity in what you see. In Binghamton, however, there aren't any residents so you are always working pretty much one on one with a doc. That being said, the Syr/Bing distinction isn't as exclusive as I first thought. People switch back and forth for different clerkships all the time- especially in 4th year.
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Thanks, I was a little freaked out that they only give you two weeks to decide. Does choosing either campus affect admissions?
 
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titilaya said:
Thanks, I was a little freaked out that they only give you two weeks to decide. Does choosing either campus affect admissions?
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It only affect admission when there are only few spots left. For example, If you choose Syracuse ONLY (instead of preferred) and there's only Binghamton spots left then they'll skip your app and pick the next one on the pile. So it's best to choose Preferred option instead of Only option, unless you absolutely want to be ONLY in a particular campus.
 
Accepted!

IS
Interviewed 10/26
Accepted 11/3!

:)
 
For those of you whose "congratulations on your interview" status disappeared and received an acceptance - how long did you wait before you heard back from them?
 
Truthfully, I saw that my "Congrats on Interview" disappeared yesterday, and I found out the news today. I'm not sure if the Congrats disappeared a few days before, but I don't imagine it was more than 3-4 days.

Stats:
3.67 AMCAS All, 3.6 Sci, 31O
 
lnphan said:
It only affect admission when there are only few spots left. For example, If you choose Syracuse ONLY (instead of preferred) and there's only Binghamton spots left then they'll skip your app and pick the next one on the pile. So it's best to choose Preferred option instead of Only option, unless you absolutely want to be ONLY in a particular campus.
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Got it, I def will do. Thanks for the heads up....hears to joining the acceptance pool :D
 
Complete a month ago and still waiting~ :xf:


More so than the other allopathic school topics, there seem to be only a few posts here that mention the appeal of Upstate, and even less that didn't have to do with the student body demeanor.

I was wondering if anyone wanted to give their two cents on why they wanted to go to Upstate concerning curriculum, programs, facilities, etc...
 
hellocubed said:
Complete a month ago and still waiting~ :xf:


More so than the other allopathic school topics, there seem to be only a few posts here that mention the appeal of Upstate, and even less that didn't have to do with the student body demeanor.

I was wondering if anyone wanted to give their two cents on why they wanted to go to Upstate concerning curriculum, programs, facilities, etc...
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First reason is because it's close to my home (20min) and I can't relocate.
Curriculum is organ-based, which I like.
I went to 2 open houses, met with advisors, students, faculty. I volunteered there. People are really friendly and helpful. What's most appealing is the sense of close-knit community amongst med students. They help each other out to pass the steps and board exams through study groups, tutoring, etc... I heard that the faculty are excellent and always be there for you. The facility is great. New anatomy lab. New classrooms with high tech tools. THe school itself is a university hospital, so there's plenty of clinical resources. Upstate University hospital is level 1 trauma center. They just recently built a children hospital. They're planning/building cancer center. There're a few hospitals near by (Crouse and VA are next door, St. Joseph, community General, etc...). If you think family medicine is what you wanna do, then you can opt for Binghamton clinical campus for 3rd and 4th year, will give you more community-based experience...

With regard to the LCME thing, I don't pay much attention to it. I don't think it's possible that upstate will ever lose their accreditation. Whatever problems they have, they're gonna work it out.

hope it helps.

BTW, if you wanna know more about their programs, visit the website.
 
For those who were accepted and already received their acceptance package:

Have you figured out when you have to send in your deposit by? And how long will our deposit hold our offered seat at Upstate? I just haven't heard back from many other places yet, so I don't want to commit super-early.
 
effjay said:
For those who were accepted and already received their acceptance package:

Have you figured out when you have to send in your deposit by? And how long will our deposit hold our offered seat at Upstate? I just haven't heard back from many other places yet, so I don't want to commit super-early.
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There's no mention of any date on the package. They told me by email that 2 weeks was a soft deadline. Mine was received in 12 business days with no problem.

And the deposit is refundable until May 15th, so you're not committing yourself.
 
lunt said:
There's no mention of any date on the package. They told me by email that 2 weeks was a soft deadline. Mine was received in 12 business days with no problem.

And the deposit is refundable until May 15th, so you're not committing yourself.
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Thanks for the quick reply lunt!
 
interviewed 10/26....... my interview message on my status page disappeared on 11/2... and uh i didn't get an acceptance email on thursday. or any email.

its gonna be a long weekend waiting til monday morning. i thought my interviews went very well. we'll have to wait and see.

did anyone else who interviewed on 10/26 hear back yet?
 
NastySpice said:
interviewed 10/26....... my interview message on my status page disappeared on 11/2... and uh i didn't get an acceptance email on thursday. or any email.

its gonna be a long weekend waiting til monday morning. i thought my interviews went very well. we'll have to wait and see.

did anyone else who interviewed on 10/26 hear back yet?
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No worries. they say about 2 weeks for turn around time. I heard back about 2 weeks after the interview!

Edit:And the message disappeared like 6 days after my interview.
 
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pirung1 said:
No worries. they say about 2 weeks for turn around time. I heard back about 2 weeks after the interview!

Edit:And the message disappeared like 6 days after my interview.
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thats actually comforting to hear. i was kinda putting two and two together... my message dissapeared, but i wasn't accepted on thurs, so i figured i was reviewed but in a "different" group :/ o_O lol.

ok, i'm thinking too much into this. fact is, accept reject and waitlist are still all completely possible, and analyzing this isn't going to help... might as well continue with my life and prepare for other upcoming interviews ;) haha.
 
Hydrogen5040 said:
Choosing between clinical campuses is basically just about balancing pros and cons. Syracuse is a bigger city, so there is a lot more diversity in what you see. In Binghamton, however, there aren't any residents so you are always working pretty much one on one with a doc. That being said, the Syr/Bing distinction isn't as exclusive as I first thought. People switch back and forth for different clerkships all the time- especially in 4th year.
Click to expand...

lnphan said:
First reason is because it's close to my home (20min) and I can't relocate.
Curriculum is organ-based, which I like.
I went to 2 open houses, met with advisors, students, faculty. I volunteered there. People are really friendly and helpful. What's most appealing is the sense of close-knit community amongst med students. They help each other out to pass the steps and board exams through study groups, tutoring, etc... I heard that the faculty are excellent and always be there for you. The facility is great. New anatomy lab. New classrooms with high tech tools. THe school itself is a university hospital, so there's plenty of clinical resources. Upstate University hospital is level 1 trauma center. They just recently built a children hospital. They're planning/building cancer center. There're a few hospitals near by (Crouse and VA are next door, St. Joseph, community General, etc...). If you think family medicine is what you wanna do, then you can opt for Binghamton clinical campus for 3rd and 4th year, will give you more community-based experience...

With regard to the LCME thing, I don't pay much attention to it. I don't think it's possible that upstate will ever lose their accreditation. Whatever problems they have, they're gonna work it out.

hope it helps.

BTW, if you wanna know more about their programs, visit the website.
Click to expand...


I'm gonna combine these two replies give my thoughts because I believe there's a lot of misconceptions which I see hasn't changed since I was first on this board. In case you're wondering, I'm a Binghamton campus student and is now finishing up my studies.

The conception that Binghamton is for Family Medicine needs to be dropped. Yes, they have a different way of administering the Family Medicine clerkship but I would say it is inadequate to guarantee a spot in FM. You need to do several months of FM electives, just as if you were in the Syracuse cohort who wants to go into FM. In last years class alone, there were a bunch who matched into Radiology, Neurosurgery, General Surgery, etc from a small 30 something cohort. Again, I stress that it is your electives that matter!

People switching between clerkship: NO! It does not happen! You must do all your core clerkship in your designated campus. What the poster is referring to are your electives. In fact, you can do your electives anywhere, say, out of the country if that pleases you.

Regarding diversity of education: I disagree. I recall being on a surgical elective in Syracuse to find that the surgical clerkship student had to choose a few blocks out of the many surgical subspecialties: say hepatobiliary, transplant, peds, etc. So, wouldn't this be less diversity? You only get a sample of a few specialty? In Binghamton, the opportunity is there to see more, it's just that you have to be proactive in getting it. For example, in surgery, you are mainly with your preceptor who prefers to do certain surgery. It is up to you to say, "Hey, I want some diversity, can I take next week to go around with other surgeons?". This led me to see, aside from the general and vascular that my guy was doing, breast, plastics, cardiac, GI, and a lot of other general surgery procedures that my dude did not do.

Probation: In the history of LCME, no one has successfully appealed. You can go in denial, but this school is on probation.
 
Sure, school may go on probation. But I doubt it will lose accreditation. They have 2 years to fix it. This is a strong school with long history. They're not gonna go down like that.

Thanks for clearing up the diversity in elective. It's good to know.
 
Would it be detrimental to be attending a medical school that is under probation? Not to mention, receiving an education while the school system is "fixing" major parts of the institution?
 
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What is the interview day like? How is it scheduled?
 
hellocubed said:
Would it be detrimental to be attending a medical school that is under probation? Not to mention, receiving an education while the school system is "fixing" major parts of the institution?
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No, I don't think it'll be detrimental. If it's some caribbean school then yeah it's risky. But Upstate's been around for about 100 years, they know what they're doing. According to the school, the probation is about administrative issues, not the quality of education. I don't know the details, but I don't think that they're "fixing major parts".

If you're too concerned with the probation thing and don't want to go there then :thumbup:, more spots for me :p. Anyhow, good luck w/ the cycle.
 
rhcp90 said:
What is the interview day like? How is it scheduled?
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You show up there at 8:30am and all sit in a conference room. You will be given a packet with the schedule for your 2 interviews (one in the morning and one in the afternoon). Lunch is available around 11am (sandwiches or salads). Around 11:30 is when an adcom will come and talk to you about the school and their programs. At noon, some students will come and take you for a tour of campus (it takes about an hour).

So for the rest of the time that you're not interviewing, or going on tour, or listening to adcom, you're free to sit around the conference room or go to sit in lectures/labs (I recommend the anatomy lecture and lab) of MS1 and MS2 classes (you'll be given a class schedule).

Interviews are pretty conversational. If you interview with a faculty who has an office, then you'll go find his/her office and interview there. With med school student interview, the med student will collect you from the conference room and you two will walk around to find a quiet spot somewhere to talk. That's all. Good luck!
 
Darkskies said:
I got an email several days ago informing me that I was put on hold at SUNY Upstate. Could anyone give me some tips as to what I can do to help me get an interview? For those put on hold but later received interview invites, did you just keep calling them to express your interest? How do I go about doing this in a professional way and without sounding awkward? What about sending update essays? Is that allowed if we're put on a pre-interview hold? What's the best way to write an update essay? Any advice will be much appreciated! Thanks in advance!
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Anyone? I need some advice as I would love to go to this school!
 
Darkskies said:
Anyone? I need some advice as I would love to go to this school!
Click to expand...

I was placed on pre-interview hold too. I'm thinking about emailing them about recent updates and my interest in this school. Is that recommended?
 
Medsklhopeful said:
I was placed on pre-interview hold too. I'm thinking about emailing them about recent updates and my interest in this school. Is that recommended?
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I second this. Would it hurt to send an email restating our interest? I know they don't review those placed on hold a second time until all other applications have been reviewed.
 
Darkskies said:
I second this. Would it hurt to send an email restating our interest? I know they don't review those placed on hold a second time until all other applications have been reviewed.
Click to expand...

Well, I went ahead and emailed them a letter of interest today. :xf:
 
Medsklhopeful said:
I was placed on pre-interview hold too. I'm thinking about emailing them about recent updates and my interest in this school. Is that recommended?
Click to expand...

how did you find out you were on pre-interview hold? email?
 
I interviewed there yesterday and we were told the the committee will meet again tomorrow. Perhaps, some of us will receive acceptances later this week (Thursday)!!!:xf:
 
1CoolKat said:
I interviewed there yesterday and we were told the the committee will meet again tomorrow. Perhaps, some of us will receive acceptances later this week (Thursday)!!!:xf:
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yeap.

its gonna be a long two days for me bud.

but at the same time, i do have stuff to do. i cant do a 2 day seance in preparation lolll. life goes on :)
 
My application was put on hold. Does that mean I'm pretty much rejected or do I still have a shot?
 
dlouis said:
My application was put on hold. Does that mean I'm pretty much rejected or do I still have a shot?
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Good question. Has anyone gone back to check last years thread to find out if people on hold ever get looked at again. I know that after the interview there are separate files, one of which almost always means rejection, the other...a high priority list does get selected from when they need to fill their class. My advice is look at last years thread and let us know.
 
dlouis, is your application put on hold before interview or after?

*sigh* my "congratulations on being accepted for an interview" status still hasn't gone away yet. I interviewed on 10/31. Urgh... I know some other's status went away... What does it mean for me???
 
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