2016-2017 SUNY - Buffalo Application Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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charlottematie said:
WOW they really are on the ball with these LOL. What is you MCAT if you dont mind me asking? Don't fret, it's not really a writing prompt or stressful at all. More of a fun thing...you will see 😉
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Okay, great! I think the other post said it was ~ 10 minutes so maybe just something for us to show more of our personality? Did you enjoy your interview overall?
 
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Can confirm what other interviewees stated: don't stress, just be yourself. I really got the impression they just wanted to know more about us and feel out if we would be a good fit for the school.

Overall great interview day, the description you get prior is exactly how it goes. Mr. Rosso was the energizer bunny, Dr. Severin gave us a talk but it seems like he does so much else (he had to run out to give 2 lectures) so he couldn't stay long, and the med students were all really cool and were happy to answer our questions. They didn't seem to be 'forced' at all to be there.

Anyone who gets to interview there is blessed, simply put. We had mostly NY residents with a few from CA and one from AZ.
 
Epicurusall said:
Can confirm what other interviewees stated: don't stress, just be yourself. I really got the impression they just wanted to know more about us and feel out if we would be a good fit for the school.

Overall great interview day, the description you get prior is exactly how it goes. Mr. Rosso was the energizer bunny, Dr. Severin gave us a talk but it seems like he does so much else (he had to run out to give 2 lectures) so he couldn't stay long, and the med students were all really cool and were happy to answer our questions. They didn't seem to be 'forced' at all to be there.

Anyone who gets to interview there is blessed, simply put. We had mostly NY residents with a few from CA and one from AZ.
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Did you stay in a hotel or with a student host?
 
theonlytycrane said:
Did you stay in a hotel or with a student host?
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I stayed in a hotel, and I spent time after the interview exploring Buffalo with a kid who stayed with a host. He had no issues whatsoever and liked it.

For me, the benefit of staying with a host would have been minimal as I know people at UB already and can visit to check out the living situations and ask questions at any time. The risk was also large for me as I wanted to be sure I would sleep well, have time on my own to think and relax, and have a good shower in the morning.

If you haven't been to Buffalo before and/or don't know people there, or just want to save money, then the student host program is very appealing. If that were the case for me I would have stayed with somebody.
 
Wait list 🙂 so so happy. Obviously would have been happier with direct accept but really hoping to get in!! As Dr. Severin said, it's a shorter wait list than most other schools with high turnover rate!
 
Epicurusall said:
Wait list 🙂 so so happy. Obviously would have been happier with direct accept but really hoping to get in!! As Dr. Severin said, it's a shorter wait list than most other schools with high turnover rate!
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Is this true? It's been so long since I attended the interview I don't quite remember...BUT THIS IS GOOD TO HEAR 😀
 
Iconic Bond said:
II!!! Looking forward to it (IS, LizzyM = 71)
Complete email on 10/7, really soon idk why.
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They said something like they are encouraged to fill majority of there spots by december even though they have rolling admissions to make it fair they do try to fill most seats before december. Dr.Severin said there is some truth to it. Maybe that is why? They really want to get you in!

Yes he said one year he actually had to go back and accept someone he rejected @Home_Run_Ball :laugh:
 
a few years ago (like 4 years), they did go really deep into the waitlist. However, not as deep ever since and the trend is going in a bad direction, but that is similar to other medical schools as well. So, if you compare it to other schools, yes UB still have more movement than most. the waitlist at least 250, if not more. So I don't know if you can consider that a short list. one positive is that they're increasing their class size by 36 seats. what I really wonder is if they will increase the amount of people they are interviewing
 
charlottematie said:
They said something like they are encouraged to fill majority of there spots by december even though they have rolling admissions to make it fair they do try to fill most seats before december. Dr.Severin said there is some truth to it. Maybe that is why? They really want to get you in!

Yes he said one year he actually had to go back and accept someone he rejected @Home_Run_Ball :laugh:
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I thought they didn't have rolling admissions?
 
charlottematie said:
They said something like they are encouraged to fill majority of there spots by december even though they have rolling admissions to make it fair they do try to fill most seats before december. Dr.Severin said there is some truth to it. Maybe that is why? They really want to get you in!

Yes he said one year he actually had to go back and accept someone he rejected @Home_Run_Ball :laugh:
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They're shaking up the admissions and acceptance process to accommodate for the increase in applicants to medical schools. I guess we can't go by the previous trends anymore. If anything, the amount of waitlist movement has been decreasing for the last 3 cycles, but still more than most schools. I interviewed in April last cycle and Dr. Severin made it clear that we were not interviewing for a waitlist spot. He assured us that there were many seats *i think 20+* available and that the process is completely random to assure that the time factor does not come into play.

So I guess what he is saying at your interview is contrasting a little with what he said at mine. He told us that many people who interview early get waitlisted and that he does not believe in filling up most of his class until ~March. Either way, we'll never know. But congrats to all the people who were accepted today! And don't worry if you are waitlisted. After April 30th, many people were accepted of the waitlist and interviewed early on in the cycle. Hang in there!
 
edawgmd said:
They're shaking up the admissions and acceptance process to accommodate for the increase in applicants to medical schools. I guess we can't go by the previous trends anymore. If anything, the amount of waitlist movement has been decreasing for the last 3 cycles, but still more than most schools. I interviewed in April last cycle and Dr. Severin made it clear that we were not interviewing for a waitlist spot. He assured us that there were many seats *i think 20+* available and that the process is completely random to assure that the time factor does not come into play.

So I guess what he is saying at your interview is contrasting a little with what he said at mine. He told us that many people who interview early get waitlisted and that he does not believe in filling up most of his class until ~March. Either way, we'll never know. But congrats to all the people who were accepted today! And don't worry if you are waitlisted. After April 30th, many people were accepted of the waitlist and interviewed early on in the cycle. Hang in there!
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Really? That is weird because he said that there is truth to applying early but maybe he just tries to tell it like it is and make everyone relax and feel okay? Either way he seemed like a really fair guy so I wouldn't worry even if you interview late in the cycle. Plus even though they accept or "fill" most of their class by december, probably at least half of the acceptances sent out may not be taken and those students may choose other schools, reopening seats. Especially with the big size of the class this year, should be good odds for anyone interviewing and anyone waitlisted.
 
charlottematie said:
Really? That is weird because he said that there is truth to applying early but maybe he just tries to tell it like it is and make everyone relax and feel okay? Either way he seemed like a really fair guy so I wouldn't worry even if you interview late in the cycle. Plus even though they accept or "fill" most of their class by december, probably at least half of the acceptances sent out may not be taken and those students may choose other schools, reopening seats. Especially with the big size of the class this year, should be good odds for anyone interviewing and anyone waitlisted.
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LOL he said that?! well the thing that they pride themselves on is the random review process to "eliminate" the time factor. that is also a big reason for why this thread is so dead without people asking for stats and complete dates every other post. Meh we'll never find out whats going on behind the scenes. I am happy for u tho since u dont need to stress too much for the rest of the cycle!
 
there is some truth in applying early and still be random. If you apply early, you have more chances to have your application reviewed ...if you apply later, you got less chances. You can't be in a raffle drawing until you buy a raffle ticket. Same concept, can't have your application reviewed until you submit it. But once you submit your application, you will be in the same playing field as everyone else to get their app reviewed. Applying early won't guarantee you an interview early on. So luck have a bigger factor than time. For example, if you're really lucky, you can apply now and possibly get an interview next week or you could have applied first day of the cycle and not get an invite until march
 
mysturi0us said:
there is some truth in applying early and still be random. If you apply early, you have more chances to have your application reviewed ...if you apply later, you got less chances. You can't be in a raffle drawing until you buy a raffle ticket. Same concept, can't have your application reviewed until you submit it. But once you submit your application, you will be in the same playing field as everyone else to get their app reviewed. Applying early won't guarantee you an interview early on. So luck have a bigger factor than time. For example, if you're really lucky, you can apply now and possibly get an interview next week or you could have applied first day of the cycle and not get an invite until march
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I agree and that's conventional wisdom for most schools, but i feel like there were plenty of people last cycle that were complete as early as july and didn't hear back until very late in the cycle, hence the bigger emphasis on "random." There was barely any, if there was at all, correlation between complete date and II. However filling most of the class in December is definitely not what he said on my interview day. I guess u have to excuse my skepticism, but i always questioned if the timing factor can truly be reduced in a significant manner. Truth is, by March and April, seats are limited and criteria of admission inevitably become more strict. Tbh i would rather have them do somewhat of a linear process based on completion date. This random review process seems to make things less transparent even tho the intention was to provide more clarity.
 
Just took a look through threads for the past 2 years... I thought Dr. Severin said that he pulls people off the WL throughout the year, but nobody posted about an acceptance from the WL until April once they finished interviewing. (Please note that it is possible that people were accepted earlier than April and just did not post about it)

I know that they do not fill the class until the last day of interviews, but I thought they pulled people off the WL before filling the class.

Other info I found is that most times they move through the top 1/3 of the WL, sometimes the 2/3 but most often the whole top 1/3.

If anyone can confirm or deny this info that would be appreciated. I am not claiming to have all the correct information.
I believe we receive an e-mail tomorrow about being on the WL (if that's your status) and hopefully that will clear up these questions.
 
Epicurusall said:
Just took a look through threads for the past 2 years... I thought Dr. Severin said that he pulls people off the WL throughout the year, but nobody posted about an acceptance from the WL until April once they finished interviewing. (Please note that it is possible that people were accepted earlier than April and just did not post about it)

I know that they do not fill the class until the last day of interviews, but I thought they pulled people off the WL before filling the class.

Other info I found is that most times they move through the top 1/3 of the WL, sometimes the 2/3 but most often the whole top 1/3.

If anyone can confirm or deny this info that would be appreciated. I am not claiming to have all the correct information.
I believe we receive an e-mail tomorrow about being on the WL (if that's your status) and hopefully that will clear up these questions.
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I read through last year's thread and yeah thats the info that Im getting, I think from what I remember they said they don't tell you your rank on the waitlist (bummer) but maybe they'll tell you your prospects?
 
Home_Run_Ball said:
I read through last year's thread and yeah thats the info that Im getting, I think from what I remember they said they don't tell you your rank on the waitlist (bummer) but maybe they'll tell you your prospects?
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As far as I could tell they did not release any % chance info. I believe that they take into consideration your app + interview score for the entire points/decision but not sure about this... reason being a simple interview score would lead to many many many redundancies in scoring (x-way ties).
Unfortunately admissions processes must be somewhat secretive as not to provide a system by which applicants would try to simply earn points to get in. I do not believe that collectively we will elucidate the entire process/decision-making system of the committee but hopefully we can all gather some information to understand where we are and our likelihood for acceptance.

It would be a shame to get accepted earlier to another school lower on the priority list, set up housing arrangements and get their books/supplies, and then hear back from UB about an acceptance too late to be able to go there.
 
mysturi0us said:
a few years ago (like 4 years), they did go really deep into the waitlist. However, not as deep ever since and the trend is going in a bad direction, but that is similar to other medical schools as well. So, if you compare it to other schools, yes UB still have more movement than most. the waitlist at least 250, if not more. So I don't know if you can consider that a short list. one positive is that they're increasing their class size by 36 seats. what I really wonder is if they will increase the amount of people they are interviewing
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IIRC Mr. Rosso said on our tour that we were lucky to be applying/interviewing this cycle because they are not increasing the number of interviewees despite increasing the class size
 
Home_Run_Ball said:
Anyone receive an email about decisions?
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Pretty sure they said just email for the wait list and snail mail for terminal decisions (accept or not accept)

EDIT: forget what I said in this post
 
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Do they give out any pre-II rejections or is it just either II or silence? IS, received complete email mid July. The other two SUNYs I applied to got back to me over a month ago.
 
Got accepted here earlier this week 🙂

Interview experience was great, they mostly asked about my ec's. I think the most important thing is to be passionate and sincere about your activities and motivation for medicine. Be comfortable talking about everything on your application and what you learned from it. I thought I didn't do great because the interviews were pretty short and casual, but I think that's just their style. Be a genuine and respectful person and you will do great here!
 
Pusheen said:
Got accepted here earlier this week 🙂

Interview experience was great, they mostly asked about my ec's. I think the most important thing is to be passionate and sincere about your activities and motivation for medicine. Be comfortable talking about everything on your application and what you learned from it. I thought I didn't do great because the interviews were pretty short and casual, but I think that's just their style. Be a genuine and respectful person and you will do great here!
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Congrats 🙂 Were you worried that the interviews felt too conversational? Good job!
 
theonlytycrane said:
Congrats 🙂 Were you worried that the interviews felt too conversational? Good job!
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Thanks! I enjoyed them, but was a little worried that I wasn't able to "impress" my interviewers enough since the questions were so straightforward. Maybe I just had it all built up too much in my mind, haha
 
Pusheen said:
Thanks! I enjoyed them, but was a little worried that I wasn't able to "impress" my interviewers enough since the questions were so straightforward. Maybe I just had it all built up too much in my mind, haha
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I felt the same way!! I was worried I wasn't being too impressive, but they really just wanted to have a good conversation with you about your interests and extracurriculars! Congrats 🙂
 
Advice for future OOS applicants that interview here:

Stay at Candlewood Suites (details in the interview invitation e-mail) and then call Double Tree which is across the street and ask to use their shuttle from the airport. These hotels allow guests to use complementary stuff from both sites. Also, Doubletree offers free food and beverages (beer / wine) from 4-6 every evening so walk across the street to get some freebies 🙂
 
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Hi everyone,

I'm currently a 3rd year student here and now that I have some time after completing several rotations, I am open to answering any question you might have.

Congrats to those who got already accepted!
 
Is being waitlisted here a death sentence...I'm OOS btw and my interviewer didn't seem to like me...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Aubrey Graham said:
Is being waitlisted here a death sentence...I'm OOS btw and my interviewer didn't seem to like me...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Not at all! Dr.Severin said many years they have went through the entire waitlist. I know so many people who got in but were waitlisted. (Basically 90% of people I knew who went there.)
 
charlottematie said:
Not at all! Dr.Severin said many years they have went through the entire waitlist. I know so many people who got in but were waitlisted. (Basically 90% of people I knew who went there.)
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they didnt go through most of the waitlist when i was on it :arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh::arghh:
 
I have to say one thing I don't like about jacobs is the first two years aren't pass fail like many schools are, they are graded (basically in equivalent to ABCD but with different terms). I wish this school was P/F.
 
charlottematie said:
I have to say one thing I don't like about jacobs is the first two years aren't pass fail like many schools are, they are graded (basically in equivalent to ABCD but with different terms). I wish this school was P/F.
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I agree with you there. I thought the same when I was applying a few years ago. This topic has been brought up during several curriculum committee meetings, so I know that faculties are aware of this, but I am not sure when or if it will be fully implemented.

But ultimately, I wasn't too bothered by it since (1) preclinical grades are not as important for residency applications and (2) students here are very collaborative despite the grading is not P/F.
 
Hey I'm OOS applicant and have been complete since early August. I was thinking about sending the Admissions Department an update letter. Does anyone know if Buffalo will accept application updates?
 
Windians16 said:
Hey I'm OOS applicant and have been complete since early August. I was thinking about sending the Admissions Department an update letter. Does anyone know if Buffalo will accept application updates?
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Only post-interview and even then it doesn't really play a big role since they decide on your decision fairly quickly... sometimes right after you interview.
 
edawgmd said:
Only post-interview and even then it doesn't really play a big role since they decide on your decision fairly quickly... sometimes right after you interview.
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Thank you for letting me know!
 
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