2014-2015 SUNY Downstate Application Thread

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partypantss said:
Thank you, you're right, I should just stay positive. Based on what I've heard, it seams like there is a lot of movement off the wait list, which to me implies that there are a large number of people who get accepted but then matriculate elsewhere which could mean that you are also correct about the numbers being slightly skewed upwards for Downstate.
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100% this.
 
For those of you guys who got accepted to MPH but got hold or haven't had interview yet, did you return the acceptance reply form? I'm not sure if I should accept MPH or not bc I got a hold for MD. Would it be possible to accept MPH for now, then withdraw from the program later if I don't get into MD by spring? I feel so conflicted by this.
 
Interviewed here yesterday. great place and very friendly. I love the integrated curriculum and the fact that 70% of examinations are board based ( according to the tour guide) which is a great way to prepare for the USMLE. Good luck to everyone!!
 
RHL ONE said:
Interviewed here yesterday. great place and very friendly. I love the integrated curriculum and the fact that 70% of examinations are board based ( according to the tour guide) which is a great way to prepare for the USMLE. Good luck to everyone!!
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Yea I interviewed here earlier this month and I heard a similar thing about a large amount of the exams being taken straight from "retired questions" from previous boards exams.. That sounds like a great system to set you up for awesome step 1 scores
 
This was always my dream school, but now that I got in I can't help but consider Einstein's complete pass fail curriculum as a huge bonus. Can some of the first and second years please weigh in? You guys should totally petition the administration so that they'll switch it, then it is a no-brainer decision for prospectives.
 
Bbqchickenman said:
This was always my dream school, but now that I got in I can't help but consider Einstein's complete pass fail curriculum as a huge bonus. Can some of the first and second years please weigh in? You guys should totally petition the administration so that they'll switch it, then it is a no-brainer decision for prospectives.
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not a student, but I was under the impression downstate is P/F for the first 2 years, then graded during clinicals, just like Einstein:
http://sls.downstate.edu/registrar/com/grading_system.html
http://www.einstein.yu.edu/education/md-program/md-program.aspx?id=11144

edit: also included einstein link
 
fermata125 said:
Accepted today as well! Just got a call from my parents (the letter was delivered to their house). Interviewed on 10/30, IS, LizzyM ~75. Good luck to everyone else!!
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Congratulations!!

Out of curiosity was it delivered to your preferred address or permanent?
 
Bbqchickenman said:
This was always my dream school, but now that I got in I can't help but consider Einstein's complete pass fail curriculum as a huge bonus. Can some of the first and second years please weigh in? You guys should totally petition the administration so that they'll switch it, then it is a no-brainer decision for prospectives.
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I was told during my tour that Downstate IS P/F for the first 2 years...
 
Bbqchickenman said:
This was always my dream school, but now that I got in I can't help but consider Einstein's complete pass fail curriculum as a huge bonus. Can some of the first and second years please weigh in? You guys should totally petition the administration so that they'll switch it, then it is a no-brainer decision for prospectives.
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The new curriculum is P/F for the first two years as many have said.
 
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Bbqchickenman said:
Hi all - I might be remembering incorrectly but one student during the tour mentioned that it is pass fail but with Honors, High Honors, Satisfactory type grading - but the website seems to say otherwise?

http://sls.downstate.edu/registrar/com/grading_system.html
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It's P/F for the first two years at both Downstate and Einstein. Both schools grade clerkships. Personally I prefer Downstate because of tuition and I just had an amazing interview day here 🙂
 
Bbqchickenman said:
Hi all - I might be remembering incorrectly but one student during the tour mentioned that it is pass fail but with Honors, High Honors, Satisfactory type grading - but the website seems to say otherwise?

http://sls.downstate.edu/registrar/com/grading_system.html
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Nope - it used to be like that, so that's what the current MS3/MS4 had, but the MS1/MS2 and all future classes have true P/F during preclinical years. I think it does switch to honors/high pass/pass/whatever for clinical years, which is true like everywhere as far as I know.
 
Keladry said:
Nope - it used to be like that, so that's what the current MS3/MS4 had, but the MS1/MS2 and all future classes have true P/F during preclinical years. I think it does switch to honors/high pass/pass/whatever for clinical years, which is true like everywhere as far as I know.
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How about class rank or percentile for the first two years?
 
Speaking of grading, does anyone recall or know how they determine things like AOA? Is there an internal ranking system, or is it determined by clinical years?
 
I'm a current fourth year, and would like to say that whether a school is pass/fail or not should be low on your list of priorities. If you want to go into a competitive field you need a high step 1 score and "just passing" and then working hard for a few weeks generally is not the most effective path.

I believe Downstate is pass/fail for preclinicals but may have some sort of distinction for the top scorers in a given course.
 
Is there any way we can return our acceptance form to the admin office besides snail mail? I sent mine in but USPS Said its "undeliverable" to the address. Only have until Friday to give it in, kinda scared now. Will the admissions office allow fax?
 
VeggieDoc32 said:
Is there any way we can return our acceptance form to the admin office besides snail mail? I sent mine in but USPS Said its "undeliverable" to the address. Only have until Friday to give it in, kinda scared now. Will the admissions office allow fax?
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That's weird..why is it undeliverable? You should call and find out but as far as I know it's only via snail.
 
Toastayy said:
That's weird..why is it undeliverable? You should call and find out but as far as I know it's only via snail.
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Really have no idea. Sent it using priority mail on Thursday and tracking just told me they tried delivering it today but didn't. Assuming it's because the offices are closed on Saturdays, in which case I'm not sure if there's a way I can inform usps to just hang in there instead of returning it to me.

I think my safest bet would be to call admissions and ask if I can do anything else in case the letter's late? Since this is entirely USPS' incompetency.
 
I think calling the office and tell them about the situation is your best bet. Did you have it so that USPS needs a signature to deliver? In that case, if there wasn't anyone, they can't drop off the form and they would probs try again on Monday (when it should work).
 
Bbqchickenman said:
How about class rank or percentile for the first two years?
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As far as I know, we haven't been told anything about this, but I'm 99% certain we're ranked in some way, though we may never find out our rank. :/

Toastayy said:
Speaking of grading, does anyone recall or know how they determine things like AOA? Is there an internal ranking system, or is it determined by clinical years?
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I *think* this is determined by clinical years, with top 4% getting AOA at the end of MS3 and the next 16% getting AOA at the start of MS4, but again, I'm not too certain on this. I remember reading it somewhere, although I don't know if it's changing at all for the new curriculum.
 
Just accepted last week! Congrats to everyone who has been accepted so far, and good luck to those still in the process!
 
Toastayy said:
Speaking of grading, does anyone recall or know how they determine things like AOA? Is there an internal ranking system, or is it determined by clinical years?
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Bbqchickenman said:
How about class rank or percentile for the first two years?
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Downstate MS2 Here. School is P/F during pre-clinical, unless you get above a 90 average on all of your exams, at which point you will get "pass with distinction" which will go on your dean's letter. However, none of your grades from this time will impact your class ranking, even if you get Pass with distinction.

Class rank is determined by your clinical year scores. I've tried emailing our AOA board to find out what their criteria are, but they haven't gotten back to me. Currently, I'm kinda thinking it won't be based on pre-clinical grades, but can't say for certain. This information is coming from several email conversations I've had with our deans.
 
I'm likely going to attend SUNY downstate. I just have a few questions concerning the school. How is administration at the school? Are they nice, helpful, and receptive? Or do they have a habit of being slow when processing something or do they lose things you give them? Also, what do current students like and dislike about the school? Lastly, do you guys have a good amount of free time to go out and have some fun?
 
Does Downstate send acceptance packages to the preferred address or permanent address?
 
MirageS said:
Does Downstate send acceptance packages to the preferred address or permanent address?
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Someone asked this exact question a couple pages ago. They received their package at their preferred address.
 
joe.e.j said:
I'm likely going to attend SUNY downstate. I just have a few questions concerning the school. How is administration at the school? Are they nice, helpful, and receptive? Or do they have a habit of being slow when processing something or do they lose things you give them? Also, what do current students like and dislike about the school? Lastly, do you guys have a good amount of free time to go out and have some fun?
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Administration: Depends on the issue. We have a Student Liaison Committee who works in conjunction with our med council to help solve problems which may arise. These groups have helped to solve some scheduling issues which have come up with the new curriculum. However, some students have had issues with the downstate attendance policy (i.e. not attending/signing into required sessions) which resulted in them failing a unit inspite of passing test scores. The administration has been somewhat cold, and somewhat unclear in these situations which has led to some annoyance amongst the students. Ultimately, they don't seem slow, although I haven't had many direct interactions with them.

Like: The structure of the curriculum, the 1.5 year pre-clinical, P/F grading, diverse class

Dislike: PBL, third and fourth year clinical sites can be over an hour away from the school if you don't own a car, 30 mins away from school if you do, so its kind of dumb if you choose to live near school and its associated hospitals, and then end up getting clinical sites that are that far away.

Free Time: Depends on you. Some people will study all the time with no breaks, other people will do 0 studying for ten weeks of a 12 week unit, and will cram everything during the two weeks before exams (no idea how they do that). Personally I somewhere towards the "more study" end of things, but you can definitely have time for lots of fun/drinking if you want. Also largely depends on what your goals are.
 
Acceptance letter in the mail today! I live not too far from the school, so I'd imagine some more will come to those living further away next week!

IS, ~70 LizzyM, interviewed 11/12
 
Bbqchickenman said:
Where are the most common clinical sites and which are the "good" clinical sites?
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This is just an MS2 again who just finished entering the lottery for clinical sites.

Depends on the rotation as not every site offers every rotation. Generally, the most common are King's County and SUNY Downstate hospital which are really close to the dorms and school and offer almost every rotation, and also Staten Island which is an hour and a half away from the school by public transportation, maybe more like 40-55 with your own car. Lenox Hill on the upper east side (about an hour by subway from campus), and North Shore LIJ (40 min by car from campus, bad public transport access) have a couple of rotations they offer. There are also a number of other locations which might just offer one rotation or two (i.e. just Neurology, or just Psych). When the time comes as an MS2, you rank all of the clinical sites for a rotation, and these then get entered into a lottery system where you will get some, but not all of your preferences. There is some reimbursement for travel expenses to some sites, but you are responsible for finding your own way to each site.

"Good" sites are entirely variable as I understand it, and tends to be based more on the attending you have, and less on the actual hospital. However, the overwhelming consensus seems to be that rotations at King's County tend to be the busiest and where you will see the most overall.
 
What usually happens after the interview?
I interviewed last month, and unfortunately, I had a bad interview experience. I am so afraid I'll be rejected, especially since Downstate is my top choice.
 
lightasday said:
What usually happens after the interview?
I interviewed last month, and unfortunately, I had a bad interview experience. I am so afraid I'll be rejected, especially since Downstate is my top choice.
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n=1 data, but I thought I had a pretty meh interview (finished in about 25 minutes, didn't seem interested in my stuff, actually yawned once haha - probs just really tired though), and was accepted. I interviewed 11/12, got my acceptance in the mail yesterday so roughly 6 weeks time. I think that's about average - most people hear back around 6-8 weeks says admissions office
 
umbrellaapp said:
n=1 data, but I thought I had a pretty meh interview (finished in about 25 minutes, didn't seem interested in my stuff, actually yawned once haha - probs just really tired though), and was accepted. I interviewed 11/12, got my acceptance in the mail yesterday so roughly 6 weeks time. I think that's about average - most people hear back around 6-8 weeks says admissions office
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Thanks! That makes me feel a bit better. My interview was like 20 min and the guy was also expressionless. I left feeling like crap. I guess we'll see in a few weeks what happens.
 
umbrellaapp said:
n=1 data, but I thought I had a pretty meh interview (finished in about 25 minutes, didn't seem interested in my stuff, actually yawned once haha - probs just really tired though), and was accepted. I interviewed 11/12, got my acceptance in the mail yesterday so roughly 6 weeks time. I think that's about average - most people hear back around 6-8 weeks says admissions office
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Similar story here, my interviewer had to cancel at the last minute so someone else filled in. The conversation was a bit slow and dull since they didn't have time to read a lot of my application, but I was accepted!
 
jsquared91 said:
Similar story here, my interviewer had to cancel at the last minute so someone else filled in. The conversation was a bit slow and dull since they didn't have time to read a lot of my application, but I was accepted!
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That's exactly what happened to me. My interviewer was pulled in last minute and wasn't acquainted with my application. Congrats on the acceptance though! When did you interview?
 
lightasday said:
That's exactly what happened to me. My interviewer was pulled in last minute and wasn't acquainted with my application. Congrats on the acceptance though! When did you interview?
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Thanks, interviewed middle of September, accepted end of October
 
Got an interview this tuesday for late January!
 
Did anyone who interviewed the last week of November hear anything back yet?
 
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Hi guys, does anyone know if Downstate accepts update letters/letters of interests? Haven't heard anything for a while and was hoping to boost my application. Thanks!
 
That's a hell of a wait. More power to you.
I saw that you interviewed at NYMC. How was the MMI? Anything out of left field?

rratsa said:
Accepted!!!!! I finally got my letter over the weekend after coming back from the holidays. Couldn't be happier!
Interviewed 10/30
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lightasday said:
That's a hell of a wait. More power to you.
I saw that you interviewed at NYMC. How was the MMI? Anything out of left field?
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Thanks, it wasn't pretty...

To answer your question about NYMC, the MMI was honestly nothing to worry about. Pretty easy and I actually thought it was kind of fun. I only prepared for an hour or so and that was even too much as it's really not something you can prepare for. Just go in confident and you should be fine!
 
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