2017-2018 SUNY - Downstate

Started by gyngyn
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Shot in the dark but does anyone have any idea/inkling of the post interview acceptance rate for IS?

Trying to extrapolate from the numbers on the MSAR feels like a futile, depressing game..


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
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breezypremed said:
When one of the med students reaches out to you for the phone interview, do you have to have the phone call on the same day? Thanks in advance
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The student reached out to me three days before I had my phone call. It takes at least some back & forth to find a time that works for both of you, it was basically impossible to have the phone call on the same day.

Also to everyone else who's painstakingly waiting for their phone call, the student also told me there aren't enough students for the amount of interviewees so that's why it could take long for a student to reach out to you. For reference, I waited almost 7 weeks.
 
For the peer to peer conversation, does the student reach out to you via phone or email? Also anyone interviewed in Nov had their peer convo already?
 
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nywst said:
I just got an acceptance haha

Also they word that email very much like a rejection/waitlist....

Edit: for those wondering, I had my student interview about a week before the email
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+1
my student interview was less than 24 hours before the email!
 
isitfridayyet said:
Hey! Do you live on campus? What do you recommend for living accommodations? Also, are all of the rotations in third and fourth years close by or are they all over the NYC?
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I don't live on campus but a lot of my classmates do (probably half to 2/3 of them). It's convenient to be across the street from your classes and living with a bunch of classmates is nice, but it can be significantly more expensive. You can save up to $300-400 a month on rent if you live in an apartment; that's what I did, and it only takes me ~5 minutes to walk to class every day.

The rotations are in various sites in the city, but most of them are in Brooklyn. I'm only in my first year right now, so I'm not exactly sure how the rotations work, but it's my understanding that you submit your preferences and you get assigned at random. I know that MS3's have to go to Staten Island for some rotations, but it sounds like they stay in Brooklyn for the most part.
 
nythrowaway said:
I don't live on campus but a lot of my classmates do (probably half to 2/3 of them). It's convenient to be across the street from your classes and living with a bunch of classmates is nice, but it can be significantly more expensive. You can save up to $300-400 a month on rent if you live in an apartment; that's what I did, and it only takes me ~5 minutes to walk to class every day.

The rotations are in various sites in the city, but most of them are in Brooklyn. I'm only in my first year right now, so I'm not exactly sure how the rotations work, but it's my understanding that you submit your preferences and you get assigned at random. I know that MS3's have to go to Staten Island for some rotations, but it sounds like they stay in Brooklyn for the most part.
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Ohhh okay, thanks for the response! How has your first semester gone? Any complaints about Downstate?
 
Got rejected yesterday, super bummed, and thought that the interviews went really well. Anyone have an idea of what it is they're looking for? Would greatly appreciate any advice for a potential next cycle :/
 
isitfridayyet said:
Ohhh okay, thanks for the response! How has your first semester gone? Any complaints about Downstate?
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Things are going well, I like it a lot so far. We have exams coming up next week so it's getting stressful, but it's nice that the vast majority of our grade is dependent on NBME exams (so it feels like what we're tested on is relevant for Step 1).

My only complaint is that I feel like PBL takes up too much time (about 4-5 hours a week), but this isn't unique to Downstate and I think a lot of other schools have it worse, so I'll take what I can get.
 
Rei02sDinnerParty said:
Shot in the dark but does anyone have any idea/inkling of the post interview acceptance rate for IS?

Trying to extrapolate from the numbers on the MSAR feels like a futile, depressing game..


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
Click to expand...
It's about 50 + 5%.

PolloMD said:
Hi there!!!! Thank you for being here answering questions for us. I am from Florida, and I was accepted. Downstate is my first option. I have a question to ask you. How the financial troubles of Downstate in the past, and the upcoming cuttings in federal money will affect the experience of current and future students? Is it something we should be worried about?
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I don't think this is something you need to worry about. We're finishing up another building that should have a sim lab and other fun toys. If anything, it feels like Downstate is expanding rather than downsizing in any way.
 
nythrowaway said:
It's about 50 + 5%.



I don't think this is something you need to worry about. We're finishing up another building that should have a sim lab and other fun toys. If anything, it feels like Downstate is expanding rather than downsizing in any way.
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Some people have told me that Downstate’s limited funding can limit the research opportunities that students are able to find over there. How true is this?
 
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nythrowaway said:
It's about 50 + 5%.



I don't think this is something you need to worry about. We're finishing up another building that should have a sim lab and other fun toys. If anything, it feels like Downstate is expanding rather than downsizing in any way.
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Thank you. That is good news!!
 
jellibag said:
Some people have told me that Downstate’s limited funding can limit the research opportunities that students are able to find over there. How true is this?
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I guess this depends on the type of research you want to do. If you're really into cutting-edge basic science research (like the stuff PhD's do), then Downstate isn't the best school for you. There is plenty of basic science research going on, but I don't hear much about it. However, if you want clinical research, then Downstate's great. There are so many opportunities for you to do research, even in competitive specialties like orthopedics, urology, dermatology, ENT, ophthalmology, etc. If you reach out to the faculty, they will find a project to put you on. There's also a research fellowship funded by the alumni association for Downstate students to do clinical, translational, or basic science research over the summer after M1 (I believe students get a little over $3000).

I find that the "limited research funding" isn't really an issue for medical students because most students go for clinical research projects that often don't require much funding anyway. The alumni association is also really helpful because they'll give students money to travel to present at conferences and that sort of thing. As with many things in any medical school, the opportunities are there--you just have to be proactive.
 
nywst said:
For people accepted, do you really have to mail in the form? Like snail mail?
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Def save yourself some time and money and email it back to them lol. The pdf is editable so it's super easy, just have to scan your signature page. Plus you get the confirmation of receipt email from them soon after, as opposed to worrying about the million ways your mail could've gotten lost if you're the neurotic type 😛
 
nythrowaway said:
I guess this depends on the type of research you want to do. If you're really into cutting-edge basic science research (like the stuff PhD's do), then Downstate isn't the best school for you. There is plenty of basic science research going on, but I don't hear much about it. However, if you want clinical research, then Downstate's great. There are so many opportunities for you to do research, even in competitive specialties like orthopedics, urology, dermatology, ENT, ophthalmology, etc. If you reach out to the faculty, they will find a project to put you on. There's also a research fellowship funded by the alumni association for Downstate students to do clinical, translational, or basic science research over the summer after M1 (I believe students get a little over $3000).

I find that the "limited research funding" isn't really an issue for medical students because most students go for clinical research projects that often don't require much funding anyway. The alumni association is also really helpful because they'll give students money to travel to present at conferences and that sort of thing. As with many things in any medical school, the opportunities are there--you just have to be proactive.
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Do most students start research during the summer after MS1 or during the year in MS1?
 
I interviewed 11/14 and still haven't heard from a student about the peer interview...has anyone else who interviewed around then been contacted yet?
 
Re: peer to peer interviewers..MS3s have Shelf exams coming up and MS2s have been busy as well..the wait is normal 🙂
 
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aeb911 said:
I interviewed 11/14 and still haven't heard from a student about the peer interview...has anyone else who interviewed around then been contacted yet?
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I interviewed end of Sept didnt get contacted til mid Nov, so get ready to sit tight unfortunately
 
Wingardium Leviosa said:
II today! LizzyM 70-75, complete late September. I don't like how they assign you a date and basically say you can only change for "extraordinary reasons." I am coming from out of state and the date is quite inconvenient for work related reasons--maybe this has been asked but has anyone switched their date for more low key reasons?
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Did you end up attempting to switch your interview date? And if so did you have any success?
 
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garis said:
I interviewed 11/2 was not contacted by a student and was just put on Hold.
More waiting in store for me! Good luck everyone, this program and the population they serve is amazing!
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That's bizarre... I wonder why? I also was put on hold, and it took the student a while to reach out to me, interviewed end of Sept
 
snickers356 said:
That's bizarre... I wonder why? I also was put on hold, and it took the student a while to reach out to me, interviewed end of Sept
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I'm not sure. I also just received an email saying a student would reach out to me for the peer interview. So take it all with a grain of salt?
 
I would ask them about this. I think it's really odd that they came to a decision without even giving you a student interviewer.
 
garis said:
I'm not sure. I also just received an email saying a student would reach out to me for the peer interview. So take it all with a grain of salt?
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Yeah I got this email about two weeks before the student actually reached out to me. Total wait time = 7 weeks


aeb911 said:
I interviewed 11/14 and still haven't heard from a student about the peer interview...has anyone else who interviewed around then been contacted yet?
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My friend interviewed that week I think? Not sure, but definitely very close to that date. And she was contacted today. But it definitely depends on your student. Apparently one student gets assigned a lot of applicants because there aren't enough student volunteers. So it's just more of the waiting game really.
 
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