2014-2015 Stony Brook University Application Thread

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ugh complete mid-august and still nothing...
anyone know if SB is receptive to updates? I'm dyinggggggg for an interview

Is it just me or have most interview invites suddenly stopped? It's like the calm after the storm...all of the threads I follow are quiet...just more expectant people nervously biting their nails...
 
Is it just me or have most interview invites suddenly stopped? It's like the calm after the storm...all of the threads I follow are quiet...just more expectant people nervously biting their nails...

I have observed this trend breaking in the past couple of days. UCLA, UCI, Columbia, Stony Brook, Downstate, MCW, Tufts, Emory, and a few others all gave out some IIs yesterday and today.
 
Been waiting on feedback after my interview for a while... Hoping good news comes soon. For those that got an answer, how long did you wait between interview and your admission decision?
 
I just received an email today saying I was placed on the waitlist for the Stony Brook MSTP program. Does anyone know whether the waitlist is ranked? What is their process for choosing candidates from the waitlist?
 
Anyone get an acceptance today?
I received an email from stony brook today and I'm too nervous to open it. I was really ill on the day of my interview...so I am almost positive it is a rejection or wait list 🙁... Interviewed first week of October
 
Waitlisted, interviewed 10/17

Do they tell you specifically if you're put on a high priority wait list?
 
Waitlisted, interviewed 10/17

Do they tell you specifically if you're put on a high priority wait list?
Interviewed for regular MD a few days before you...nothing in my inbox. Wonder what that means? Did you interview for regular MD or MSTP?
 
For decisions sent out in October, waitlist went out on the 21st and acceptances on the 23rd... Hopefully it's a pattern and no news means good news
 
I spoke with ms Avecedo and it sounds like not that many people get off the wait list..
Does anyone know the stats from previous years of how many people got off?
 
I spoke with ms Avecedo and it sounds like not that many people get off the wait list..
Does anyone know the stats from previous years of how many people got off?

i think someone posted about it earlier in the thread, i thought it was ~25 people but this was just from reading the thread. I don't have any first-hand info
 
It's soooooo quiet on this thread. Anyone who interviewed in October and not waitlisted hear back yet? Any acceptances?
Should be any day now.
 
For some reason I just received a secondary invite today, I know very late. Should I still apply? I have a 3.4 GPA 31 MCAT, OS applicant.
 
For some reason I just received a secondary invite today, I know very late. Should I still apply? I have a 3.4 GPA 31 MCAT, OS applicant.

Same...I don't understand what took so long. I have a similar question. Is it worth applying even at this point? I'm a Canadian applicant with 3.7 GPA, 36 MCAT
 
Congratulations to all those accepted! 🙂 Interviewed back in Mid- September but nothing other than silence since. From previous threads, this seems to indicate either rejection or waitlist. Hoping it's the latter! Good luck to those interviewing soon, it's an amazing school.
 
Has anyone that interviewed on October 31st hear back yet?
 
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Has anyone that interviewed on October 31st hear back yet?
I interviewed the day before and haven't heard back, but it seems many people both before and after then have heard word already.
 
Hey guys, I'm an MS1 and former lurker on SDN. I hope you guys are surviving the application cycle and definitely wish you the best because it's not easy. We just finished our first block at SBU and I feel obligated to share my thoughts. Now I'm sure this might seem shady since this is my first post, but I'll be the first to tell you to please followup on what I say below with other folks. Don't put all your faith into a single opinion.

So, for those who don't know, the current MS1 class is the first to go thru the LEARN curriculum. I'm all for getting into the clinic faster and I knew I'd be a guinea pig to make that happen, but the new curriculum has been highly questionable thus far. The biggest issue - the first block was purely condensed and NOT restructured. We were expected to know the same level of detail in anatomy and biochem, but had instead of finishing before Christmas break, we finished before Thanksgiving break.

The pace was absolutely absurd and that was obvious to everyone but the deans. Just think about it - who would ever think cutting a notoriously difficult block by one month but not altering the content would be fine? Even the professors and TAs were exhausted by the pace and often took pity on the students for what we were going thru. It was grossly irresponsible of the architects of the first block to think this would work.

To be fair, future blocks are likely to improve, but it is hard to have faith when the first block was openly mocked by professors and older students, and rightfully so. Our first set of professors were clearly not fully on board with it and has me wondering if the curriculum was something the deans cooked up and shoved down the throats of everyone because no seems particularly excited about it.

What upsets me most was that I was told the LEARN curriculum was a restructuring of material made in conjunction with professors and older students, but neither seems to have been the case so far. The clinical experiences and freedom down the road will likely make up for the pain right now, but I honestly would have considered my other acceptances much more seriously if I had known what I know now. Just ask anyone about the first block, time spent in class, clicker questions making classes mandatory, lack of correlation between class and exam material, LLC groups, integration of pharmacology.

Again, I implore you to not trust my opinion alone. I do not want to deter you from SBU, but rather give you material to ask questions about to make sure your future school is working to improve because there is definitely a lot of work to be done. I would want to know these concerns about a school I'm considering, so that is why I shared my thoughts.
 
Hey guys, I'm an MS1 and former lurker on SDN. I hope you guys are surviving the application cycle and definitely wish you the best because it's not easy. We just finished our first block at SBU and I feel obligated to share my thoughts. Now I'm sure this might seem shady since this is my first post, but I'll be the first to tell you to please followup on what I say below with other folks. Don't put all your faith into a single opinion.

So, for those who don't know, the current MS1 class is the first to go thru the LEARN curriculum. I'm all for getting into the clinic faster and I knew I'd be a guinea pig to make that happen, but the new curriculum has been highly questionable thus far. The biggest issue - the first block was purely condensed and NOT restructured. We were expected to know the same level of detail in anatomy and biochem, but had instead of finishing before Christmas break, we finished before Thanksgiving break.

The pace was absolutely absurd and that was obvious to everyone but the deans. Just think about it - who would ever think cutting a notoriously difficult block by one month but not altering the content would be fine? Even the professors and TAs were exhausted by the pace and often took pity on the students for what we were going thru. It was grossly irresponsible of the architects of the first block to think this would work.

To be fair, future blocks are likely to improve, but it is hard to have faith when the first block was openly mocked by professors and older students, and rightfully so. Our first set of professors were clearly not fully on board with it and has me wondering if the curriculum was something the deans cooked up and shoved down the throats of everyone because no seems particularly excited about it.

What upsets me most was that I was told the LEARN curriculum was a restructuring of material made in conjunction with professors and older students, but neither seems to have been the case so far. The clinical experiences and freedom down the road will likely make up for the pain right now, but I honestly would have considered my other acceptances much more seriously if I had known what I know now. Just ask anyone about the first block, time spent in class, clicker questions making classes mandatory, lack of correlation between class and exam material, LLC groups, integration of pharmacology.

Again, I implore you to not trust my opinion alone. I do not want to deter you from SBU, but rather give you material to ask questions about to make sure your future school is working to improve because there is definitely a lot of work to be done. I would want to know these concerns about a school I'm considering, so that is why I shared my thoughts.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Would you mind going into more detail about issues with the LLC groups? I didn't ask about them during my interview day but according to their website they don't seem to be a major part of the curriculum at all, and appear to be a monthly opportunity for professional advancement, and a chance to meet with faculty in small groups to talk about issues that may arise. Am I wrong in thinking this is the purpose of them? Can you also talk about further the mandatory classes. I was told at least that classes are not mandatory with classes being recorded. This is personally a big issue for me. Are you penalized if you were not to go to class and not answer the reasponseware questions? Thank you.
 
Sure thing, mik30102.

The LLC groups really aren't that big of a deal because they only meet once a month for two hours and experiences vary drastically depending on which group you're in (i.e. ask other for their opinions!). For me, it is very forced and kind of emblematic of the LEARN curriculum. I say this because LLC groups were seen to be successful elsewhere and sort of just thrown in at SBU. They can accomplish what you brought up if they're well-organized, but at SBU, there is no set agenda and it's on the students to come up with something to do. When you're already in class from 9/10am - 4pm and then are forced to stay an additional two hours that you have to plan, it's hard to be enthusiastic. What's frustrating is that the 2nd years say they were completely disorganized and a waste of time last year, yet the groups have persisted with the only substantial change being an added food budget. Free food is good, but I'd rather have my two hours.

As for mandatory classes, we had clicker questions every biochem class that counted towards our grade. They weren't too tough and we had a ton of our lowest scores dropped, so they tend to help your grade, but again - an emblematic problem, maybe? I found the biochem lectures useful and would have gone anyway, but they shouldn't have to push for high attendance at lectures via clicker questions. I doubt any class will take attendance to make them mandatory, but I would ask about how often active learning activities take place because those can make a particular lecture mandatory. Our first block wasn't true LEARN curriculum style because we only had clicker questions. Classes are recorded.
 
One thing I forgot to emphasize - remember that any curriculum will experience difficulties during its first year. My class is very vocal about what we've experienced and the deans have been receptive. It was too late to change much for us, but expect changes to be made moving forward. Again, I don't want to discourage you from Stony Brook because it has a great reputation, even if it has taken a misstep this year.
 
One thing I forgot to emphasize - remember that any curriculum will experience difficulties during its first year. My class is very vocal about what we've experienced and the deans have been receptive. It was too late to change much for us, but expect changes to be made moving forward. Again, I don't want to discourage you from Stony Brook because it has a great reputation, even if it has taken a misstep this year.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. It was very helpful and definitely something to consider.

It seems like the LEARN curriculum is focused a lot on integration. I was wondering if you are familiar with Hofstra's PEARL curriculum and how that (and the schools themselves) would compare.

Any insight you may have is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
 
For some reason I just received a secondary invite today, I know very late. Should I still apply? I have a 3.4 GPA 31 MCAT, OS applicant.

Some of their primary apps get lost in the wires. I sent in my primary in July, got all my secs in August and completed them in October when my MCAt score hit. I got nothing but still silence from stonybrook. Not even an acknowledgement that they got my primary. So I emailed them, they replied that they had sent me a secondary on blank date and they "re-sent" it to me in October.
I completed mid-October.

Complete Silence since.
 
pre-II rejection today; IS, complete late August, LM ~66. lots of research experience, but not particularly productive in terms of pubs/etc., and you can tell from my app I'm not a research oriented applicant - very patient care oriented, so not a great fit in the first place I suppose.
 
pre-II rejection today; IS, complete late August, LM ~66. lots of research experience, but not particularly productive in terms of pubs/etc., and you can tell from my app I'm not a research oriented applicant - very patient care oriented, so not a great fit in the first place I suppose.
+1
 
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us. It was very helpful and definitely something to consider.

It seems like the LEARN curriculum is focused a lot on integration. I was wondering if you are familiar with Hofstra's PEARL curriculum and how that (and the schools themselves) would compare.

Any insight you may have is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I remember interviewing at Hofstra and they went into great detail about their PEARL curriculum (as did Rochester about their Double Helix) and all seem to be an attempt to achieve roughly the same goal. Small-group learning and accelerated pre-clinical curricula are the flavor of the month in medical education right now, and are likely to be a part of the landscape for most everyone who reads this forum in the near future.

As far as my opinion on their differences, I don't really know. It's entirely different to judge an interview day vs an actual experience at a school. My bit of advice on this is to not worry so much about the curriculum when making your final school decisions. It's so unbelievably difficult to make an informed decision on a curriculum you haven't experienced, and you may end up being totally wrong with what you thought you'd like (I know I was). Choose a school based on fit and let the rest sort itself out.
 
I remember interviewing at Hofstra and they went into great detail about their PEARL curriculum (as did Rochester about their Double Helix) and all seem to be an attempt to achieve roughly the same goal. Small-group learning and accelerated pre-clinical curricula are the flavor of the month in medical education right now, and are likely to be a part of the landscape for most everyone who reads this forum in the near future.

As far as my opinion on their differences, I don't really know. It's entirely different to judge an interview day vs an actual experience at a school. My bit of advice on this is to not worry so much about the curriculum when making your final school decisions. It's so unbelievably difficult to make an informed decision on a curriculum you haven't experienced, and you may end up being totally wrong with what you thought you'd like (I know I was). Choose a school based on fit and let the rest sort itself out.

Very wise words. I like the small group learning and early clinical exposure type curriculums. While a lot of schools 'offer' this, I feel like some schools look at this as an added benefit while other schools make it their core focus. I could be wrong since what I know is just based on the school's website description.

On another note, any advice on how to choose 'fit' for a school? I think it's tough to do when you only have 1 or 2 visits before having to make that choice. What would you pay the most attention to during those short visits to determine fit? What factors on interview day do you think most aligned with or best predicted actual experience at the school?

Thanks so much for reading/replying.
 
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