2014-2015 SUNY Downstate Application Thread

BU Medical Sciences
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dropper said:
varies from early april to late april, based on last posted interview dates from threads of past 3 yrs
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Cool, thanks for digging that up. Seems like they've only interviewed into November so far, which hopefully means a lot of interview spots are still left.
 
elprezidente said:
Here's the general layout of our day. Our curriculum is now integrated. Note that the bulk of our experience is from Unit 1, but it will vary unit by unit due to differences in the subject matter as I'll explain.

In Unit 1, we started with a "systems overview" (cardio, pulmonary, renal) for the first two weeks and then moved on to musculoskeletal for the remaining six weeks (our exam week was last week). On Mondays, we'd normally have a lecture followed by a PBL session and then an anatomy or clinical skills lab. The CS lab would generally correspond to the material we were covering in lecture/lab. For example, in the first week, we were learning cardio in lecture and learned how to do a basic cardiac exam in one CS session, and then learned how to do an echocardiogram on another afternoon. When we moved into musculoskeletal and were working on the shoulder, we learned how to perform a full exam of the shoulder in CS lab. Tuesdays & Wednesdays we had two lectures in the morning followed again by either anatomy or CS in the afternoons. Thursday, we'd normally have lecture in the morning and another PBL session in the afternoon. Sometimes we had radiology labs where we'd go through reading x-rays/MRI/CT based on the region we were studying (ie. shoulder, wrist, knee, hip, etc.). Then Fridays we usually had two lectures in the morning and either we were done relatively early or we had a histology lab (virtual microscopy looking at different types of tissue). All lectures in Unit 1 were 1 hour.

Unit 2 just started, but the unit is subtitled "Molecules to Cells" so it's more genetics/biochem based so we have a bit more lecture time each day (either 2.5 or 3 hours). Also, there's no anatomy in this unit, that picks up again next unit, and there's a bit more histology. Again, it's a molecular biology focus, and we end with an introduction to oncology. We've also begun "preceptorships" this Unit where we spend 3 hours, every two weeks, with a mentor that we're assigned in various departments at Downstate, Kings County, or other hospitals for those who live closer to other places. Our preceptorship consists of a series of checklists of things that we need to complete with real patients. This includes everything from taking a patient history, to performing cardiac/pulmonary/abdominal exams; all within the realm of things we've already learned. I've been placed in the ER and started this past Tuesday where I was asked to take a patient's history (Symptoms, family history, social history, etc.) and then had to "present" to my preceptor just as I will have to do during my rotations in the wards during 3rd year, so it's amazing early experience!

TL;DR: Downstate is awesome. Here's a link to our schedules for...
Unit 1: http://sls.downstate.edu/registrar/documents/UNIT1IncomingClassCalendar2014.pdf
Unit 2: http://sls.downstate.edu/registrar/documents/UNIT2_Calendar_2014.pdf
Just a heads up, our class is split into two halves, so you'll notice that there's often two things going on at the same time. Our schedules are basically flipped, so if one half has PBL in the morning and a Clinical Skills lab in the afternoon, the other half will have the opposite.

Hope this helps! If you have any more specific questions, feel free to PM me.
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This entire comment was...amazing. Thanks so much for breaking it down like this, I've been wondering about the nitty gritty of a day at Downstate for so long now. Please keep us up to date with your semester as it progresses!
 
Guys I emailed the adcom to send my interviewer a thank you note, then followed up a week later to confirm that they sent it, but never got a reply back. In the event that my interviewer never got a thank you email, is that bad news for my application?
 
I don't think they'll go into the board room and start saying "oh yunsenb seemed like a perfect applicant and a really good fit for downstate but alas they did not send a thank you letter and therefore we must reject him".
 
Toastayy said:
I don't think they'll go into the board room and start saying "oh yunsenb seemed like a perfect applicant and a really good fit for downstate but alas they did not send a thank you letter and therefore we must reject him".
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but what if my interviewer is like, oh he didn't send me a thank you note i hate him
 
Anyone else here hasn't heard back from Downstate since the first week of July?
 
yunsenb said:
Guys I emailed the adcom to send my interviewer a thank you note, then followed up a week later to confirm that they sent it, but never got a reply back. In the event that my interviewer never got a thank you email, is that bad news for my application?
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If you're really concerned about sending a thank you letter, every person's email address here is basically [email protected], so if you know the name of your interviewer, or even his or her last name (and can look them up online to find their full name) you'll be able to send a thank you letter that way. That's what I did post-interview last year.
 
elprezidente said:
If you're really concerned about sending a thank you letter, every person's email address here is basically [email protected], so if you know the name of your interviewer, or even his or her last name (and can look them up online to find their full name) you'll be able to send a thank you letter that way. That's what I did post-interview last year.
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Yeah but my interview was a month ago lol. They've probably gone through my file already...I hope he got it
 
This is the amazing side of sdn! Thanks so much for that great info on the cirriculum you guys
 
yunsenb said:
Guys I emailed the adcom to send my interviewer a thank you note, then followed up a week later to confirm that they sent it, but never got a reply back. In the event that my interviewer never got a thank you email, is that bad news for my application?
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General consensus is thank you notes don't matter. I sent them, but only got a response from one interviewer (and it wasn't at Downstate). It definitely will not make or break your application.
 
Anyone know when the interview day ends? My interview is at 2 pm, so im wondering what time would be good to book a return train ticket. Thanks!
 
ithd said:
Anyone know when the interview day ends? My interview is at 2 pm, so im wondering what time would be good to book a return train ticket. Thanks!
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Not sure what your exact schedule is set to look like, but I'd expect to be here until about 5 - I doubt that you'd be here much later than that. Call admissions and ask, I'm sure they wouldn't hesitate to give you an answer so that you can make the appropriate travel arrangements.
 
I was done around 2pm..shouldn't be any later than 3
 
Anyone know if admissions decisions will be communicated via snail mail this year too? I'm developing a mild case of carpal tunnel checking my email every 5 seconds...
 
Hey guys! Hope interviews and applications are going well for everyone! Any sub-30 interview invites/WLs/acceptances? If so, when were you complete and what were your stats? Thanks for the information and good luck to all applicants!
 
Anyone get the "request for fall grades" e-mail? They sent those out last year
 
PlasticBag said:
Does it mean you're on hold until your fall grades are available..? Seems a bit harsh...
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Yea I have a friend last year who had to wait to submit fall grades until mid-December, received an interview invite in February and interviewed beginning of March. Ultimately wait listed with no accept though.
 
schiffbased said:
Yea I have a friend last year who had to wait to submit fall grades until mid-December, received an interview invite in February and interviewed beginning of March. Ultimately wait listed with no accept though.
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Heard a similar thing about some other school. I wish I had known that not having all pre-reqs finished is actually a huge disadvantage at some schools.
 
Just received a post-interview "hold for spring consideration" email 🙁. Interviewed early September. Sub 70 LizzyM. I'm guessing this is the same as a waitlist?
 
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PatrickM60 said:
Just received a post-interview "hold for spring consideration" email 🙁. Interviewed early September. Sub 70 LizzyM. I'm guessing this is the same as a waitlist?
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So sorry. It would appear so from the 2013-2014 thread. There's still hope! It's better than a rejection. Send them updates when you have something relevant to add to your application and tell them how much you love them and why you're a perfect fit for Downstate.
 
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luvtoski said:
So sorry. It would appear so from the 2013-2014 thread. There's still hope! It's better than a rejection. Send them updates when you have something relevant to add to your application and tell them how much you love them and why your'e a perfect fit for Downstate.
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Downstate also tends to accept a bunch off the waitlist (me included) 🙂
 
What is the interview day like? A friend of mine interviewed and he just had one round with a doctor. I thought there was also a round of discussion with a student? Have interview coming up and any feedback would be helpful.
 
Vaccinator said:
What is the interview day like? A friend of mine interviewed and he just had one round with a doctor. I thought there was also a round of discussion with a student? Have interview coming up and any feedback would be helpful.
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I had a one on one interview with a doctor, who was surprisingly well versed with my application. Super nice guy, casual conversation. Then a tour lead by two students and a lunch with them.
 
Vaccinator said:
What is the interview day like? A friend of mine interviewed and he just had one round with a doctor. I thought there was also a round of discussion with a student? Have interview coming up and any feedback would be helpful.
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Nope, Downstate does just 1 faculty interview (and the other stuff @cacambo said). They do tend to try to match you and your interviewer in some way, although that may or may not work out. It's pretty low-stress as far as interviews go.
 
I know they dont review in order of completion but I was complete mid-August and complete silence...getting worried
 
fatimany said:
I know they dont review in order of completion but I was complete mid-August and complete silence...getting worried
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I was complete at the end of August and heard nothing until February, and now I'm here. Don't get worried just yet. There's lots of time, and as people have posted, interview slots are not nearly filled yet.
 
Weird question, but does anyone know if they send physical mail to your permanent or local address? Chances are if anything goes to my parent's house, it will never be seen again.
 
Nica56744 said:
Weird question, but does anyone know if they send physical mail to your permanent or local address? Chances are if anything goes to my parent's house, it will never be seen again.
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I *think* it's the permanent address. You should definitely make sure you can get mail at any address they might have on file for you.
 
cacambo said:
Haha thanks, as impractical as it is, its pretty cool to get a real letter instead of a email sometimes I think.

I was there on 9/18 I believe.
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Congrats! Figures this would be the weekend my parents are out of town :bang: I'm hoping that if I interviewed on one of the first days and didn't get a hold e-mail, I might have some good news ...
 
cacambo, congrats! Did it go to your permanent address or your preferred address?
 
Congrats!! I'm waiting so impatiently and I don't even know what I'm waiting for, lol. I could be waiting a couple of days for a letter to get much further to my local address. Or I could be waiting for my parents to get home from work and check the mail. Or I could be waiting for nothing because there isn't even a letter. I'm particularly grumpy with this waiting game right now +pity+.
 
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