2019-2020 SUNY - Downstate

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lalano1230 said:
This is what frustrates me. I am sure they have already somehow "scored" us after the interview. We are probably all just in the system with some kind of metrics. Now I'm sure doctors are busy and exhausted, but I'm sure regular Admin staff could have organized an Alternate list or w.e.. AT HOME

I mean the covid19 excuse is getting old already (not to say it wasn't valid). The fact of the matter is that my interviewer was a psychologist who they call just to conduct interviews, so I am sure she already scored Meyer I am here in the dark
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audere-est-facere said:
Realistically what may be the reasons we haven't heard yet?
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Delays in committee meetings, employees being sick/unable to work for a host of reasons decreasing manpower, etc

If you compare this cycle to last cycle (even among other east coast schools) you can tell there are delays across the board. Downstate would be especially delayed compared to others.
 
lalano1230 said:
This is what frustrates me. I am sure they have already somehow "scored" us after the interview. We are probably all just in the system with some kind of metrics. Now I'm sure doctors are busy and exhausted, but I'm sure regular Admin staff could have organized an Alternate list or w.e.. AT HOME



From what I remember from last year's thread..it was like some BLS certification, technical standard, passport/documents, and etc
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COVID I think is still a very valid "excuse." Comparing this years cycle to last years there are delays across the board, especially in east coast schools. Downstate is in the heart of the pandemic so delays would even be more expected.

My interviewer (3/11) was also of the notion that things may be off track this cycle.
 
Firstmate said:
In addition, here in NYC, we've been hit the hardest with COVID-19. So, that's for one. What I don't understand is what's taking so long if not everyone on the admissions committee is a physician. They can still hold their meetings online...but then again, who knows? Maybe part of the team got sick.
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I agree. I live in NYC and had to work home for the past month. Some of my coworkers seem to work pretty much on schedule and some people just go missing and check in every once in a while and only show up at the last minute to say "I'm alive and hi~"

So I think it really comes down to how attentive staffs are in trying to get this application going. I just feel like overall leadership to guide the staff members have been lost pretty much due to COVID. I do think COVID excuse is still very much valid but at the same time I feel like there are so many people working remotely that have gone rather off the grid..
 
audere-est-facere said:
Yeah this is prob true, the director said that they outright reject ones with below certain scores on their scoring metrics
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Their scoring metrics is hopefully super holistic. People have gotten As with below avg MCAT/GPA. So I wouldn’t worry much about the numerical aspects of anyone’s app. But then again idk.

At this rate, I just need an answer so I can start planning for apt. hunting/loan calculations/etc... That’s my major setback rn..
 
Firstmate said:
Agreed. This is all I want to do now too. I just need an answer as well. My SO is also waiting on an answer.

Where are you planning on living in?
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Yeah finding out is crucial for me to know if I'm renewing my lease or moving to another city for med school.

Personally I plan to stay in Queens. Cant beat the rent.
 
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Firstmate said:
Queens would be over an hour in commute with public transportation. I don't want a car if I'm going to be in NYC.
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Some don’t mind the commute

Firstmate said:
I'd want to live in close proximity but the area is a turnoff and I don't want to risk our safety...I think I'd do any commute with the MTA that is 45 minutes or less. E.g. I like Park Slope.
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the only time i visited the area was for my interview. I did not feel like my safety was at risk. Also, many have said that the area is getting gentrified.. I haven’t thought about Park Slope, I shall check it out
 
Firstmate said:
Commuting time = lost study time (at least for me, as I prefer studying in a quiet place, like a room, rather than on the subway).

And I stayed overnight in the area and literally saw three different crackheads. One tried following me and was mumbling. And if you do an online search, there is a good amount of crime in the area.
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Commuting time = more study time for me. I work best in a chaotic environment.

Ive got the A train to thank for my MCAT score haha


I'm also used to "high crime" areas anyways so if I have to move to that area down the line won't be too big of a deal imo. I def cant afford Park Slope.
 
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AnonymousDoctorGuyPerson said:
Commuting time = more study time for me. I work best in a chaotic environment.

Ive got the A train to thank for my MCAT score haha
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I made plan A through like F depending on where I get off the waitlist (2W and Downstate so far).
Ofc there is Plan 0 where I go back and start filling out 2021 application 😵
 
For those who sent out LOI, did you address the letter to admission committee or the director of admission who spoke to us on interview day?
 
I get the whole COVID situation and I have nothing but praise for the role of the school in the Brooklyn community, but this is getting a little ridiculous. I'm getting exhausted day by day for the last 6 months hoping to get an email telling me what will happen to my life in 3 months.
 
LarsWorld said:
It’s passed 12 am. It’s time for real clown hours. LOL
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38C2E774-26F2-4ED0-87CD-3EFD64E6C0BC.jpeg

gooooood morning, welcome to a new day of violent mailbox refreshing
 
Firstmate said:
I'd want to live in close proximity but the area is a turnoff and I don't want to risk our safety...I think I'd do any commute with the MTA that is 45 minutes or less. E.g. I like Park Slope.
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Just for all the onlookers, this comment right here is why NYC (especially Brooklyn) residents are given priority in admissions to Downstate. Afraid for your safety just because it's a predominantly black neighborhood? Living next to Carribean immigrants is a "turnoff" when the vast majority of your patients are going to be coming from this "turnoff" of a neighborhood? Christ...
 
Kingbika said:
Just for all the onlookers, this comment right here is why NYC (especially Brooklyn) residents are given priority in admissions to Downstate. Afraid for your safety just because it's a predominantly black neighborhood? Living next to Carribean immigrants is a "turnoff" when the vast majority of your patients are going to be coming from this "turnoff" of a neighborhood? Christ...
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I think the safety concern can be legitimate, the school supplies a bus system after all for night commutes, and they definitely did not blame it on race like you're making it seem. The "turnoff" may be due to a number of reasons and their preference for living situation has nothing to do with a their ability to help patients as a future medical student. I don't think it's enough to warrant making them out to be some terrible person.
 
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Is there a FB group for accepted students? I want to start getting an idea of what off-campus housing options there are around Downstate
 
2020medschoolapplicant said:
I think the safety concern can be legitimate, the school supplies a bus system after all for night commutes, and they definitely did not blame it on race like you're making it seem. The "turnoff" may be due to a number of reasons and their preference for living situation has nothing to do with a their ability to help patients as a future medical student. I don't think it's enough to warrant making them out to be some terrible person.
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Not calling anyone a terrible person just highlighting a perspective that comes from immense privilege. To find the very neighborhood of your medical school (and by extention the neighborhood of the "diverse patient population" I know many people gassed up in their essays) to be unpalatable to live in is a marker of a very privelegded upbringing. Combine this with the user's comments about "crackheads", which I guarantee is code for "Black man with untreated mental illness" (and I doubt he saw multiple people lighting up a crack pipe on the street, so big yikes on this stereotype), and combine it with their mention of the "homeboys" lighting up a "doobie" on the subway (which is so regular in a big city that it's even telling that they remembered it at all), and it's clear that this user has a huge level of inherent biases regarding Black people and the neighborhoods they live in. This is why NYC and Brooklyn residents get priority admissions, because they have to attend school with peers that have nonsense biases like this while already being exponentially more appropriate communicators with the patients that Downstate serves.
 
2020medschoolapplicant said:
I think the safety concern can be legitimate, the school supplies a bus system after all for night commutes. And the "turnoff" may be due to a number of reasons. I don't think it's enough to warrant making them out to be some terrible person.
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Yeah but people from NYC (specifically Brooklyn) see that area as totally “normal”. I’ve been living in Brooklyn for 3 years and when I visited downstate for my interview I felt “at home” lol. I mean you should absolutely take precautions wherever you live (nowhere is safe), but if you’re scared of the East Flatbush area it’s probably because you aren’t used to it. And Downstate knows that, which is probably why they had us do that photo assignment!!
 
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Kingbika said:
To find the very neighborhood of your medical school (and by extention the neighborhood of the "diverse patient population" I know many people gassed up in their essays) to be unpalatable to live in is a marker of a very privelegded upbringing.
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THAT part.....love me some piping hot morning tea
 
Kingbika said:
Just for all the onlookers, this comment right here is why NYC (especially Brooklyn) residents are given priority in admissions to Downstate. Afraid for your safety just because it's a predominantly black neighborhood? Living next to Carribean immigrants is a "turnoff" when the vast majority of your patients are going to be coming from this "turnoff" of a neighborhood? Christ...
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You read my mind exactly.
 
71650 said:
Has anyone accepted been able to pay the deposit? When I try to on the portal it just takes me back to the login page...
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I'm real behind here but can anyone tell me how to pay my deposit? I never got instructions emailed to me and I need to pay it by noon or my spot might be taken away...
 
I think the user made some poor word choices that probably do speak to some inherent personal biases, but let's not outright pretend a safety concern isn't valid. Like if the user felt unsafe he felt unsafe, that's his call. I think what you're all saying is that he felt unsafe for the wrong reasons, but that's a different issue. And frankly, from personal experience in NYC, you need to be naive to think you'll be safe everywhere.

And I don't think Downstate wants to be so insular that it only accept students from NYC/Brooklyn, so yeah, there might be a bit of a cultural learning curve for some others (myself included). So I think these critiques are all valid, but I just hope they come from a place of support. Not to get too kumbaya, but (hopefully) we're all about to be classmates, which means we're working towards a common goal.
 
covfefe19 said:
I'm real behind here but can anyone tell me how to pay my deposit? I never got instructions emailed to me and I need to pay it by noon or my spot might be taken away...
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Go to your portal, go to Pre-matric, go to Admissions Deposit, and you should see instructions there
 
StevenBruleMD said:
I think the user made some poor word choices that probably do speak to some inherent personal biases, but let's not outright pretend a safety concern isn't valid. Like if the user felt unsafe he felt unsafe, that's his call. I think what you're all saying is that he felt unsafe for the wrong reasons, but that's a different issue. And frankly, from personal experience in NYC, you need to be naive to think you'll be safe everywhere.
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I get that. My take with what the user was getting at was that Downstate can tell if you are not at least acquainted with Brooklyn culture. Deeper arguments can be made that a homogenized Brooklyn culture does not exist, as there are many populations with different cultures mixed in depending on where you go. Either way, Downstate's location may prompt some people to think the area is unsafe (though when I visited, I didn't get this vibe) and Downstate needs to sort out who can handle studying in that area of Brooklyn and prioritize selecting who can relate best to the patient population (which are often the people that are from Brooklyn).
 
kb1997 said:
I get that. My take with what the user was getting at was that Downstate can tell if you are not at least acquainted with Brooklyn culture. Deeper arguments can be made that a homogenized Brooklyn culture does not exist, as there are many populations with different cultures mixed in depending on where you go. Either way, Downstate's location may prompt some people to think the area is unsafe (though when I visited, I didn't get this vibe) and Downstate needs to sort out who can handle studying in that area of Brooklyn and prioritize selecting who can relate best to the patient population (which are often the people that are from Brooklyn).
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Very fair! I didn't get that feeling either, but I've been able to be exposed to much of NYC before, which was kind of my point in saying that others may not have that experience.

I suppose it's up to the ADCOM to decide where they want to fall on the "Geographically diverse -> Initially culturally competent" spectrum, which is what it boils down to. But point taken!
 
In my very limited experience since I didn't get to visit Downstate for interview but went there once for an open house, is that I didn't have an uneasy feeling around the neighborhood. From what I read yesterday, I started questioning everything I thought I knew about it. Also, I might not even have noticed anything because my neighborhood is not so different if that counts for something. I just hope that everybody remembers what makes Downstate a great school is the level of exposure to different realities that it offers and feels empowered to serve the patients with unbiased and quality healthcare regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, political opinions, or SES. I hope we all become great physicians and that we all try and make healthcare better for all.
 
StevenBruleMD said:
Very fair! I didn't get that feeling either, but I've been able to be exposed to much of NYC before, which was kind of my point in saying that others may not have that experience.
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And FWIW, I’m not from NYC either, just personally know people across the city. Really hope to get the chance to study there!
 
Medschoolbelle said:
In my very limited experience since I didn't get to visit Downstate for interview but went there once for an open house, is that I didn't have an uneasy feeling around the neighborhood. From what I read yesterday, I started questioning everything I thought I knew about it. Also, I might not even have noticed anything because my neighborhood is not so different if that counts for something. I just hope that everybody remembers what makes Downstate a great school is the level of exposure to different realities that it offers and feels empowered to serve the patients with unbiased and quality healthcare regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, political opinions, or SES. I hope we all become great physicians and that we all try and make healthcare better for all.
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I 100% agree with this, living in NYC, going to school and working in Harlem makes me used to every neighborhood in the City. And what makes DS so attractive is exactly what you mentioned : the immense exposure of diff. realities.

Past few days and weeks have been hard for everyone, some people misspoke, some got angry with some of the thread comments, but regardless we all are attracted to Downstate because of the aforementioned reasons. This week is hopefully it!!!
 
techytechy said:
I 100% agree with this, living in NYC, going to school and working in Harlem makes me used to every neighborhood in the City. And what makes DS so attractive is exactly what you mentioned : the immense exposure of diff. realities.

Past few days and weeks have been hard for everyone, some people misspoke, some got angry with some of the thread comments, but regardless we all are attracted to Downstate because of the aforementioned reasons. This week is hopefully it!!!
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Let's hope for some A tonight!
 
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