2018-2019 SUNY - Downstate

Started by gyngyn
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An nondescript amount of time, they (rightfully) told me that it's still very early in February.
Sorry to bother you (thank you so much for calling!!) but did it seem like the people who got the late Jan/early Feb emails should still be expecting to hear ~early Feb?
 
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Last year when they did rolling decisions they had a “hold for spring consideration” option and I’m wondering if that’s what we’re sitting in and they haven’t told us and that we won’t find out until spring with the next batch. Wish they’d told you more on the phone
 
Right of course! They’ll accept some people from hold and some from the dec-feb interviewees. I also totally have no idea and am speculating but i don’t think they haven’t looked at our apps with the rest of the sep-nov interviewees
Also, remember the matriculating class is about 200, but they give a little more than 400 acceptances.
 
Enjoy your weekend guys!
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Did anybody on here interview with LizzyM <70? If so, were you grilled about grades/MCAT? Or was it just one question and then move on to the next? I feel like there were some polarizing views on the interview experience here
 
Did anybody on here interview with lizzyM <70? If so, were you grilled about grades/MCAT? Or was it just one question and then move on to the next? I feel like there were some polarizing views on the interview experience here
They have a specific set of questions that ask everyone re: MCAT, study skills and grades. Also, I had a *terrible* interview. The guy was totally confused by me (suuuper non-trad here) and I was accepted and will be enrolling. So try not to worry!!
 
Did anybody on here interview with lizzyM <70? If so, were you grilled about grades/MCAT? Or was it just one question and then move on to the next? I feel like there were some polarizing views on the interview experience here
For me it was one question then the next. I tried to answer the original question and include points that could answer possible follow ups they might ask. I thought it was very relaxed as long as you have a morning interview because afternoon interviews have to constantly check the time because you’ll be on the tour. As far as grades i tried to talk about my upward trends and how I’ve improved since i began college. I have a score of 65 but that doesn’t include my graduate gpa.
 
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They have a specific set of questions that ask everyone re: MCAT, study skills and grades. Also, I had a *terrible* interview. The guy was totally confused by me (suuuper non-trad here) and I was accepted and will be enrolling. So try not to worry!!

Thanks for the reply! I'm also pretty non-traditional. Hoping for the best though. Congrats on the acceptance!

For me it was one question then the next. I tried to answer the original question and include points that could answer possible follow ups they might ask. I thought it was very relaxed as long as you have a morning interview because afternoon interviews have to constantly check the time because you’ll be on the tour. As far as grades i tried to talk about my upward trends and how I’ve improved since i began college. I have a score of 65 but that doesn’t include my graduate gpa.

Awesome. Thanks so much for the response! I do have a morning interview, so hopefully it all goes well.
 
For P2P interview, did the student reach out through email? I'm going to be out of the country 2 weeks after my interview in March, so I'm afraid I may miss a call.
 
Pretty sure they're required to grill you on some aspect of gpa/mcat. I got asked about a B+ in a random class my freshman year
The way it was explained at my interview, it seems like they wanted to see if you had extenuating circumstances (I remember they told us a story about an applicant who had one semester with a couple of C's, and when asked about it, revealed that his father had hit his head with a shovel and gotten arrested).
 
Yeah my interviewer was extremely nosy and asked me a lot of very odd questions. He also got my MCAT score wrong. He said I could have done better if I had taken a prep class but that “a 515 was still pretty good,” even though that wasn’t my score.... lol

In the end I got accepted so who the hell knows what their process is.
 
Yeah my interviewer was extremely nosy and asked me a lot of very odd questions. He also got my MCAT score wrong. He said I could have done better if I had taken a prep class but that “a 515 was still pretty good,” even though that wasn’t my score.... lol

In the end I got accepted so who the hell knows what their process is.

I got grilled about my MCAT too when it was probably the best part of my app lol. Stupid scripted question imo.
 
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I have lizzym score of 67 and I wasn’t “drilled” about my mcat score, particularly my cars score but I was asked to explain it and how I studied. I also had a really nice interviewer and haven’t beenaccepted there but just be honest and always talk about what you’re doing to improve your weaknesses
 
I have lizzym score of 67 and I wasn’t “drilled” about my mcat score, particularly my cars score but I was asked to explain it and how I studied. I also had a really nice interviewer and haven’t beenaccepted there but just be honest and always talk about what you’re doing to improve your weaknesses

Agreed. Was definitely asked about a few weak points on my app, but nothing that felt like aggressive grilling.
 
Thanks to everybody who was willing to comment a bit about their experience. Just wanted to get a gauge on what to expect. Best of luck to those who interviewed months ago and are waiting to hear back. This entire process is a serious test of patience lol.
 
To everyone who was accepted, did you guys receive an email regarding your financial aid package? I can't remember my login details and it isn't my AMCAS ID and I can't find the information anywhere in my email thread, does anyone remember if the username was random or related to one's name?
 
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damn man i've been trying to figure out how to access the financial aid package for like 20 min. I just figured out they set us up with a downstate email that is attached to the NetID. It's [email protected], but guess what? we never got the password to that email so idk how to access that either LOL
 
So I interviewed here recently and feel the need to put my experience out there. The interview day itself wasn’t spectacular by any means BUT it was honestly the most enjoyable interview I’ve had. My interviewer was extremely down to earth, kind, and enjoyable to talk to. I have a LM < 70 and was simply asked to explain why it was on the lower side. Did not feel grilled or judged whatsoever. The interviewer actually made me feel really welcome and comfortable. The students who led the tour were also genuine and nice. I even received my peer interview the very next day. I was worried I would have a negative experience based on what others have said but thankfully it turned out to be quite the opposite. Goodluck everyone!
 
I’ve been reviewing all my suny downstate emails for the past 40 minutes looking for my potential login credentials for financial aid. I ended up emailing the hotline. Now time to wait.

I swear Downstate is by far the messiest of all schools I’ve dealt with so far. I think it’s kind of charming though lol
 
I was just on the phone with admissions. I think it was an oversight because typically the financial aid package isn't released until later on. We should be receiving an email with our log in information soon.