2018-2019 SUNY - Downstate

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Just a few questions: Is the interview with a student or faculty? Is it closed file, open, or partially open interview? Are there multiple interviews? Thanks!
 
For those who have interviewed any questions that stood out to you? Or any tips/suggestions that we would not normally think of?
 
daktari_ said:
Interviewed this week. It's a single 45min- hour long faculty interview that is open file. Very conversational and there are no attempts to trip you up. They do ask you 3 or 4 questions from a set list but they are very simple and standard questions.
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I've been hearing that their interview is really relaxed so that's great. Looking forward to it.
 
I saw that suny downstate checked my profile i created at handshake. Does this mean anything?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
anesthesio13 said:
I saw that suny downstate checked my profile i created at handshake. Does this mean anything?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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What is handshake? I knew I was getting old but I didn’t think I was out of touch yet lol
 
medschoolzombie said:
What is handshake? I knew I was getting old but I didn’t think I was out of touch yet lol
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Its a job search website that my undergrad college offered for alumnis lol and i got a notification that they viewed my profile dont know if it means anything though cause i havent heard anything from them yet
 
I just had the peer-to-peer interview. Super chill and mostly focused around your questions about the school
 
For anyone that already interviewed, did you get a hint to if Downstate is giving out news near Oct 15th?
 
mellow_jello said:
For anyone that already interviewed, did you get a hint to if Downstate is giving out news near Oct 15th?
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Tbh no. You first need to do the peer interview in order to get your application to the final review. And the peer interview depends on your medical student’s schedule! Maybe those that interviewed early might get a response
 
premed0431 said:
Tbh no. You first need to do the peer interview in order to get your application to the final review. And the peer interview depends on your medical student’s schedule! Maybe those that interviewed early might get a response
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That makes sense! I should have clarified. For anyone who done both interviews, do you know if you're hearing back the week of the 15th?
 
mellow_jello said:
That makes sense! I should have clarified. For anyone who done both interviews, do you know if you're hearing back the week of the 15th?
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You’re good! Hopefully I do hear by the first two weeks after completing my peer interview
 
For those who have attended the interviews. How long is the tour after the morning interview?
 
nhpboy said:
Anybody know when we should hear back by post-interview? When I asked the lady at the admissions office she was very vague as to when the plan to notify applicants
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What did she tell you?
 
premed0431 said:
Usually an hour and then lunch
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Just wanted to make sure, it's morning interview, then 1 hour tour, then lunch? Is the lunch optional? I will be flying out at 5PM so I just want to make sure I can make the flight.
Also, is there a room where we can leave our luggage?
 
kk1012 said:
Just wanted to make sure, it's morning interview, then 1 hour tour, then lunch? Is the lunch optional? I will be flying out at 5PM so I just want to make sure I can make the flight.
Also, is there a room where we can leave our luggage?
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Literally I think you'll be done by 1:30 latest. You can give it to them when you check in for the interview
 
kk1012 said:
Just wanted to make sure, it's morning interview, then 1 hour tour, then lunch? Is the lunch optional? I will be flying out at 5PM so I just want to make sure I can make the flight.
Also, is there a room where we can leave our luggage?
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MS2/tour guide here. Lunch is optional, more for you to ask additional questions. Just give the admissions office/students a heads up so they're aware. Most tour guides should be leaving their e-mail with the applicants for any additional follow-up questions.

Per the luggage you can leave it in the admissions office.

Good luck!

premed0431 said:
Did you dress up for the interview?
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Helps to look professional but wouldn't say you need to go full button shirt and coat. It's more about selling your personality/cementing your interest from interview day than how spiffy you look.
 
nhpboy said:
No clue, the lady at the admissions office told me they might delay it compared to previous years, but that the admissions committee wasn't sure yet. She didn't gave me any specific info beyond that.
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+1, they were very vague
 
Interviewed in early September, and just got an email saying they wont release any decisions til late Jan/early Feb. Anyone else get that?
 
Who.TF.is.LizzyM. said:
Interviewed in early September, and just got an email saying they wont release any decisions til late Jan/early Feb. Anyone else get that?
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i interviewed mid september and didn't get anything...can you screenshot the email? i'm so ****ing po'ed
 
The email saying they won't release decisions til late Jan didn't surprise me a bit. Had a terrible interview experience here. 0/10 would not recommend.

Withdrew application this morning. This school needs to get it together.

Best of luck to all those folks interviewing here!
 
ucevla said:
The email saying they won't release decisions til late Jan didn't surprise me a bit. Had a terrible interview experience here. 0/10 would not recommend.

Withdrew application this morning. This school needs to get it together.

Best of luck to all those folks interviewing here!
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Damn. That bad?
 
ucevla said:
The email saying they won't release decisions til late Jan didn't surprise me a bit. Had a terrible interview experience here. 0/10 would not recommend.

Withdrew application this morning. This school needs to get it together.

Best of luck to all those folks interviewing here!
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What was your experience like?
 
SurgeryGoddess said:
What was your experience like?
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I have a feeling that me and that person were in the same interview group lol. I’m not going to bash the school because they’re trying their best and I still liked them so I’ll give some positives: students seemed to genuinely like it there, the curriculum seems rather chill, it’s in NYC (duh lol), apparently they produce students who have high STEP scores (or so they say), exams are at the end of blocks and don’t seem too difficult, specialized tracks are available but the tracks are optional if you don’t want them. Students claim to still have free time to enjoy their lives too (even when doing special tracks. Note, these tracks are different from dual degree programs. They’re somewhat unique.) The school definitely disappointed me but I havent written it off yet. Overall I think it’s still a good school, but things were rather disorganized and the facilities were very old. Don’t let this deter you though, because despite the negatives, I, and many others, still see this as a good choice for medical school!
 
For context:

I interviewed in mid-September. I'm in a great mood because I just finished another interview at a school in Boston that went well. I'm a California kid so traveling to the East Coast is exciting. I'm really stoked to interview at Downstate because I have a friend from undergrad who goes there and really enjoys it. Brooklyn seems to be urban, hip and exciting. And the population is extremely diverse so I feel like I'll be able to connect with a ton of patients if I'm a medical student.

I arrive and I'm a little disappointed. The medical school is kinda run down and people around don't seem happy at all. When I walk into the admissions office, a receptionist is surprised to see me. She welcomes me to the school in a way that reminds me of the way that people at fast food chains say "Welcome to McDonalds." She asks for my first and last name tells me a little bit about the school and then asks me to go to a small room where a few applicants are waiting for a computer to fill out a small narrative on a picture they give us. All of us make small talk and talk about the unconventional nature of the interview. At other schools, they take your bags, welcome you with coffee, are super excited to see you. At SUNY downstate, I'm getting really sad vibes.

After I finish the small exercise on the computer, I wait for my interviewer. He tells me to relax because all he does is write a small excerpt for the admissions committee that may or may not have an effect on my decision. I don’t even have a chance to introduce myself before the interrogation starts. He asks why my CARS section is lower than the other sections of my MCAT.. which is weird because my MCAT score is pretty strong but whatever… I’m going with the flow of the interview. I explain that reading has never been my strong suit and English is my second language. I also explain that I think my strong performance on the other sections of the MCAT as well as my strong GPA and publications are evidence that I am prepared for the rigor of medical school. He seems happy with my response but then he asks me how many practice tests I took? How much time I spent studying each day? Why I didn't study in a library instead of the lab I worked in? And several other questions related to my performance in the section in a really condescending tone.

After that, he asks me a series of other questions that don't really tell you much about me as a candidate. Like, "What makes you think you have what it takes to be a medical student in New York City," and "Why should we even consider you as an applicant for Downstate" as if a SUNY medical school is on the same footing as Harvard Medical School.

I leave the interview feeling defeated.

Before we go on the tour, the same guy who interviews me comes out again and introduces himself as THE DEAN OF ADMISSIONS. I think to myself… “really, your thoughts on me have no effect on my candidacy”…. Whatever

I go on the tour. The library is depressing. The student lounge is depressing. The anatomy lab is depressing. The students are depressed. I'm depressed. I tell my tour guide that I have to leave, even though our group isn't done with the tour and we haven’t even had lunch.

I head off to my next interview and put the experience behind me. The next week, I get on the phone for my peer-one-on-one interview. The phone call is okay, isn’t super remarkable.

Best of luck to all those in the cycle! This was my experience and I’m sure other candidates have had better experiences.
 
ucevla said:
For context:

I interviewed in mid-September. I'm in a great mood because I just finished another interview at a school in Boston that went well. I'm a California kid so traveling to the East Coast is exciting. I'm really stoked to interview at Downstate because I have a friend from undergrad who goes there and really enjoys it. Brooklyn seems to be urban, hip and exciting. And the population is extremely diverse so I feel like I'll be able to connect with a ton of patients if I'm a medical student.

I arrive and I'm a little disappointed. The medical school is kinda run down and people around don't seem happy at all. When I walk into the admissions office, a receptionist is surprised to see me. She welcomes me to the school in a way that reminds me of the way that people at fast food chains say "Welcome to McDonalds." She asks for my first and last name tells me a little bit about the school and then asks me to go to a small room where a few applicants are waiting for a computer to fill out a small narrative on a picture they give us. All of us make small talk and talk about the unconventional nature of the interview. At other schools, they take your bags, welcome you with coffee, are super excited to see you. At SUNY downstate, I'm getting really sad vibes.

After I finish the small exercise on the computer, I wait for my interviewer. He tells me to relax because all he does is write a small excerpt for the admissions committee that may or may not have an effect on my decision. I don’t even have a chance to introduce myself before the interrogation starts. He asks why my CARS section is lower than the other sections of my MCAT.. which is weird because my MCAT score is pretty strong but whatever… I’m going with the flow of the interview. I explain that reading has never been my strong suit and English is my second language. I also explain that I think my strong performance on the other sections of the MCAT as well as my strong GPA and publications are evidence that I am prepared for the rigor of medical school. He seems happy with my response but then he asks me how many practice tests I took? How much time I spent studying each day? Why I didn't study in a library instead of the lab I worked in? And several other questions related to my performance in the section in a really condescending tone.

After that, he asks me a series of other questions that don't really tell you much about me as a candidate. Like, "What makes you think you have what it takes to be a medical student in New York City," and "Why should we even consider you as an applicant for Downstate" as if a SUNY medical school is on the same footing as Harvard Medical School.

I leave the interview feeling defeated.

Before we go on the tour, the same guy who interviews me comes out again and introduces himself as THE DEAN OF ADMISSIONS. I think to myself… “really, your thoughts on me have no effect on my candidacy”…. Whatever

I go on the tour. The library is depressing. The student lounge is depressing. The anatomy lab is depressing. The students are depressed. I'm depressed. I tell my tour guide that I have to leave, even though our group isn't done with the tour and we haven’t even had lunch.

I head off to my next interview and put the experience behind me. The next week, I get on the phone for my peer-one-on-one interview. The phone call is okay, isn’t super remarkable.

Best of luck to all those in the cycle! This was my experience and I’m sure other candidates have had better experiences.
Click to expand...
My interviewer took on an identical approach - as stated in the quoted post, it was an interrogation. I left confused. There was nothing that was asked that was not already written in my application; most all the questions pertained to my transcript and MCAT score. Otherwise, the staff do not try to welcome you or make you feel comfortable. Their attitude says "this is Downstate, take it or leave it."
 
I also interviewed here and while I agree the interview was sort of weird it ultimately doesn’t matter that downstate didn’t give coffee or that their buildings are somewhat older looking. You’d go to downstate to live in Brooklyn and have amazing hands on clinical experience from day 1. You’re not gonna care about the shininess of the buildings or that admissions took your bags once you’re actually in med school!
 
I had a pretty good interview experience, the questions are very standard questions and they picked from a booklet. It’s bad that they are releasing results so late tho
 
ucevla said:
For context:

I interviewed in mid-September. I'm in a great mood because I just finished another interview at a school in Boston that went well. I'm a California kid so traveling to the East Coast is exciting. I'm really stoked to interview at Downstate because I have a friend from undergrad who goes there and really enjoys it. Brooklyn seems to be urban, hip and exciting. And the population is extremely diverse so I feel like I'll be able to connect with a ton of patients if I'm a medical student.

I arrive and I'm a little disappointed. The medical school is kinda run down and people around don't seem happy at all. When I walk into the admissions office, a receptionist is surprised to see me. She welcomes me to the school in a way that reminds me of the way that people at fast food chains say "Welcome to McDonalds." She asks for my first and last name tells me a little bit about the school and then asks me to go to a small room where a few applicants are waiting for a computer to fill out a small narrative on a picture they give us. All of us make small talk and talk about the unconventional nature of the interview. At other schools, they take your bags, welcome you with coffee, are super excited to see you. At SUNY downstate, I'm getting really sad vibes.

After I finish the small exercise on the computer, I wait for my interviewer. He tells me to relax because all he does is write a small excerpt for the admissions committee that may or may not have an effect on my decision. I don’t even have a chance to introduce myself before the interrogation starts. He asks why my CARS section is lower than the other sections of my MCAT.. which is weird because my MCAT score is pretty strong but whatever… I’m going with the flow of the interview. I explain that reading has never been my strong suit and English is my second language. I also explain that I think my strong performance on the other sections of the MCAT as well as my strong GPA and publications are evidence that I am prepared for the rigor of medical school. He seems happy with my response but then he asks me how many practice tests I took? How much time I spent studying each day? Why I didn't study in a library instead of the lab I worked in? And several other questions related to my performance in the section in a really condescending tone.

After that, he asks me a series of other questions that don't really tell you much about me as a candidate. Like, "What makes you think you have what it takes to be a medical student in New York City," and "Why should we even consider you as an applicant for Downstate" as if a SUNY medical school is on the same footing as Harvard Medical School.

I leave the interview feeling defeated.

Before we go on the tour, the same guy who interviews me comes out again and introduces himself as THE DEAN OF ADMISSIONS. I think to myself… “really, your thoughts on me have no effect on my candidacy”…. Whatever

I go on the tour. The library is depressing. The student lounge is depressing. The anatomy lab is depressing. The students are depressed. I'm depressed. I tell my tour guide that I have to leave, even though our group isn't done with the tour and we haven’t even had lunch.

I head off to my next interview and put the experience behind me. The next week, I get on the phone for my peer-one-on-one interview. The phone call is okay, isn’t super remarkable.

Best of luck to all those in the cycle! This was my experience and I’m sure other candidates have had better experiences.
Click to expand...


I can see why you withdrew. My interview day went smoothly but I’m used to “run down” buildings because I went to a state school for undergrad as well as I’m a resident of the not so glamorous parts of nyc so that’s nbd for me. Good luck on the rest of your cycle!
 
I agree with what everyone else said. My interview day was similar and I was asked the same question. I thought it was weird. I feel better now knowing everyone was asked questions regarding their MCAT score and stuff. Best luck to everyone!
 
+1 to bad interview experience, I'll also be withdrawing. Good luck to everyone else!

Edit: I also never received that email.
 
Damnn! So many people talking out their negative interview experience! Now I feel like I was the only one who wasnt asked anything about grades, MCAT or any question about any flaws in my app! For me, my interviewer was pretty good at keeping it like a relaxed conversation, we talked about life in general and why Downstate and that’s about it.
 
Twinkle786 said:
Damnn! So many people talking out their negative interview experience! Now I feel like I was the only one who wasnt asked anything about grades, MCAT or any question about any flaws in my app! For me, my interviewer was pretty good at keeping it like a relaxed conversation, we talked about life in general and why Downstate and that’s about it.
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+1

One of the chillest interviews I had! My interviewer was young and laid back
 
Twinkle786 said:
Damnn! So many people talking out their negative interview experience! Now I feel like I was the only one who wasnt asked anything about grades, MCAT or any question about any flaws in my app! For me, my interviewer was pretty good at keeping it like a relaxed conversation, we talked about life in general and why Downstate and that’s about it.
Click to expand...
+2
 
Twinkle786 said:
Damnn! So many people talking out their negative interview experience! Now I feel like I was the only one who wasnt asked anything about grades, MCAT or any question about any flaws in my app! For me, my interviewer was pretty good at keeping it like a relaxed conversation, we talked about life in general and why Downstate and that’s about it.
Click to expand...

I don’t really get mad at my interviewer for attacking my app. It’s a tool to see how you do under stress, which is fine. I minded that he basically proceeded to tell me how the area was rough, tuition was high, and there weren’t great options for research. So i just had to sit there and defend HIS school. Either an extremely strange “why this school” tactic, or a disgruntled faculty member.
 
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