2021-2022 SUNY, Downstate (Brooklyn)

[wysdoc]

Thank you to @Morningnight for sharing this year's prompts!

2021-2022 SUNY, Downstate (Brooklyn) Secondary Essay Prompts

1. Are there any periods longer than 3 months, from the time you graduated from high school to now, when you were not employed full time or in college full-time? If yes, please describe your activities. (No word count listed)
2. Will you be attending college full-time as of September 15? If no, please describe your activities for the period of September 15 to July 1. (No word count listed)
3. What will be your support system while in medical school? (Limit 150 words)
4. If you are not from the 5 boroughs of New York City, describe what personal, urban experiences prepare you to live and study in New York City. If this question does not apply to you, enter "not applicable" in the text box below. (Limit 150 words)
5. If you had a completed application to the College of Medicine in a prior application cycle, please highlight any changes since your previous application in a list with dates. If this question does not apply to you, enter "not applicable" in the text box below. (Limit 150 words)
6. If you have a specific reason why you wish to attend SUNY Downstate or a medical school in New York City, please explain. If this question does not apply to you, enter "not applicable" in the text box below. (No word count listed)
7. What in your current/future activity/activities have/will contribute to diversity, health equity and social justice? (No word count listed)

Good luck to everyone applying!

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[Morningnight]

OOS secondary received this morning. Minor changes to the secondary essays from what I can see. @wysdoc

1. Are there any periods longer than 3 months, from the time you graduated from high school to now, when you were not employed full time or in college full-time? If yes, please describe your activities. (No word count listed)
2. Will you be attending college full-time as of September 15? If no, please describe your activities for the period of September 15 to July 1. (No word count listed)
3. What will be your support system while in medical school? (Limit 150 words)
4. If you are not from the 5 boroughs of New York City, describe what personal, urban experiences prepare you to live and study in New York City. If this question does not apply to you, enter "not applicable" in the text box below. (Limit 150 words)
5. If you had a completed application to the College of Medicine in a prior application cycle, please highlight any changes since your previous application in a list with dates. If this question does not apply to you, enter "not applicable" in the text box below. (Limit 150 words)
6. If you have a specific reason why you wish to attend SUNY Downstate or a medical school in New York City, please explain. If this question does not apply to you, enter "not applicable" in the text box below. (No word count listed)
7. What in your current/future activity/activities have/will contribute to diversity, health equity and social justice? (No word count listed)

 

[NachmoCheese]

Is anyone else having an issue with their MCAT and letters showing on the Downstate portal?
I have my MCAT and letters on AMCAS and they're marked as received by all my other schools except for Downstate right now which kind of sucks since I'm not complete despite submitting.

I also emailed them about it today with no response yet.

 

[deleted1109648]

Is anyone else having an issue with their MCAT and letters showing on the Downstate portal?
I have my MCAT and letters on AMCAS and they're marked as received by all my other schools except for Downstate right now which kind of sucks since I'm not complete despite submitting.

I also emailed them about it today with no response yet.

I am also having the same issue. Please let me know if you do end up getting a response.

 

[cyclistdoc]

+1 IS received yesterday

 

[puromycin]

Anyone else's portal not updating with the MCAT and LOR. It still has a red x next to those even though all of those are submitted for me.

 

[dreamingabouta528]

How much should I write for the support system question? I only have one sentence so far and I can't think of how to expand on it.

 

[puromycin]

How much should I write for the support system question? I only have one sentence so far and I can't think of how to expand on it.

I wrote a pretty short paragraph with around 4-5 sentences. I don't think they're looking for anything crazy because there isn't much to write for this question in the first place.

 

[brockhamptonfanacct]

I wrote a pretty short paragraph with around 4-5 sentences. I don't think they're looking for anything crazy because there isn't much to write for this question in the first place.

+1, mine isn't anything too crazy

 

[pre-doo-med]

Are there any current MS that would be okay with me messaging them a couple questions about the school?

 

[dreamingabouta528]

Just to clarify, the question on why you want to go to downstate or to a school in NY is a convoluted 'why us' question, right?

 

[YouTrain7]

Also, how long are you guys making the "why us" question?

 

[pre-doo-med]

For the "What in your current/future activity/activities have/will contribute to diversity, health equity and social justice?" they only want current activities or future right, like if I have a lot in the past it doesnt matter they want to know now correct?

 

[NachmoCheese]

I am also having the same issue. Please let me know if you do end up getting a response.

They kind of gave a non-answer:

" Thank you for your email and interest in SUNY Downstate College of Medicine. Once we review applicants who have submitted their secondary application, you will receive an updated email on the status of your application.


Should you have any other questions, please feel free to email this account again. "

I think this means that they will manually mark people as complete but who knows?

 

[deleted1109648]

They kind of gave a non-answer:

" Thank you for your email and interest in SUNY Downstate College of Medicine. Once we review applicants who have submitted their secondary application, you will receive an updated email on the status of your application.


Should you have any other questions, please feel free to email this account again. "

I think this means that they will manually mark people as complete but who knows?

That's definitely interesting but at least they said we can email them again if we need any help.

 

[deleted1109648]

Anyone else's portal not updating with the MCAT and LOR. It still has a red x next to those even though all of those are submitted for me.

Is anyone else having an issue with their MCAT and letters showing on the Downstate portal?
I have my MCAT and letters on AMCAS and they're marked as received by all my other schools except for Downstate right now which kind of sucks since I'm not complete despite submitting.

I also emailed them about it today with no response yet.

Has anyone's LOR and MCAT updated yet? I submitted my secondary a few days ago and am repeatedly checking it but still nothing

 

[Morningnight]

Has anyone's LOR and MCAT updated yet? I submitted my secondary a few days ago and am repeatedly checking it but still nothing

No update since I submitted on 06/29. I think some schools might not have gotten around to updating those yet.

 

[whataweirdo]

Same as you guys.

 

[MedSchmetterling]

For the specific reasons of applying to SUNY Downstate, it's saying the limit is 200 words, but it lets me type more. Are you guys capping it at 200 or writing as much as you want?

 

[brockhamptonfanacct]

For the specific reasons of applying to SUNY Downstate, it's saying the limit is 200 words, but it lets me type more. Are you guys capping it at 200 or writing as much as you want?

Failing to follow instructions would probably go over poorly

 

[playdough422]

No update since I submitted on 06/29. I think some schools might not have gotten around to updating those yet.

+1, and I have had this occur with two other schools, one of which stated they still needed to update it on their end and to check again next week. Hopefully, the same thing is happening here and it won't make our secondaries seem late!

 

[kenykj49]

Still missing MCAT, LOR, etc. here too.

 

[CuCl2]

still missing MCAT, LOR here as well, even though the LOR info is populated in the status tab (which makes me think they're just delayed on manual processing). Submitted 7/5

 

[Mojotheburrito]

missing MCAT and LOR

 

[brockhamptonfanacct]

missing MCAT and LOR

+1

 

[puromycin]

Update: my LORs and MCAT are all marked as received now

 

[pre-doo-med]

Update: my LORs and MCAT are all marked as received now

when did you submit? mine still isn't

 

[allaboutpurple]

OOS secondary received this morning. Minor changes to the secondary essays from what I can see. @wysdoc

1. Are there any periods longer than 3 months, from the time you graduated from high school to now, when you were not employed full time or in college full-time? If yes, please describe your activities. (No word count listed)
2. Will you be attending college full-time as of September 15? If no, please describe your activities for the period of September 15 to July 1. (No word count listed)
3. What will be your support system while in medical school? (Limit 150 words)
4. If you are not from the 5 boroughs of New York City, describe what personal, urban experiences prepare you to live and study in New York City. If this question does not apply to you, enter "not applicable" in the text box below. (Limit 150 words)
5. If you had a completed application to the College of Medicine in a prior application cycle, please highlight any changes since your previous application in a list with dates. If this question does not apply to you, enter "not applicable" in the text box below. (Limit 150 words)
6. If you have a specific reason why you wish to attend SUNY Downstate or a medical school in New York City, please explain. If this question does not apply to you, enter "not applicable" in the text box below. (No word count listed)
7. What in your current/future activity/activities have/will contribute to diversity, health equity and social justice? (No word count listed)

Should I answer prompt #1 if my research job is officially part-time/minimum 25 hours a week but I would sometimes work full-time? Not sure if they're strict with their definition of "full time"

 

[Morningnight]

Update: Just received email that my application was complete. Up until this morning, LORs and MCAT score were marked as not received in the application portal. Submitted secondary app on 06/29.

 

[NachmoCheese]

when did you submit? mine still isn't

Same which is kind of infuriating, I submitted on 06/28 and still haven't been marked complete despite having all my stuff for a while and other schools having it too. kind of unacceptable...

 

[pre-doo-med]

Same which is kind of infuriating, I submitted on 06/28 and still haven't been marked complete despite having all my stuff for a while and other schools having it too. kind of unacceptable...

That's weird, you should contact them. I submitted 7/6, and I got an email yesterday saying I was complete. Are you IS?

 

[NachmoCheese]

That's weird, you should contact them. I submitted 7/6, and I got an email yesterday saying I was complete. Are you IS?

I am IS, I emailed them before about it and they just said:

"Thank you for your email and interest in SUNY Downstate College of Medicine. Once we review applicants who have submitted their secondary application, you will receive an updated email on the status of your application.
Should you have any other questions, please feel free to email this account again."

Guess I'll email again...

 

[pre-doo-med]

I am IS, I emailed them before about it and they just said:

"Thank you for your email and interest in SUNY Downstate College of Medicine. Once we review applicants who have submitted their secondary application, you will receive an updated email on the status of your application.
Should you have any other questions, please feel free to email this account again."

Guess I'll email again...

can you call?

 

[mistybay]

For the "What in your current/future activity/activities have/will contribute to diversity, health equity and social justice?" they only want current activities or future right, like if I have a lot in the past it doesnt matter they want to know now correct?

I'm wondering this as well, how did other people approach this question?

 

[powerhouseofcell1]

Anyone having problems logging into their secondary? I entered my AMCAS ID and created a password, but upon logging in it asks for a Username. I tried using the AMCAS ID, but that did not work. I’m very frustrated and am getting no response from SUN Downstate. Can anyone help?

 

[Brownboi]

Anyone having problems logging into their secondary? I entered my AMCAS ID and created a password, but upon logging in it asks for a Username. I tried using the AMCAS ID, but that did not work. I’m very frustrated and am getting no response from SUN Downstate. Can anyone help?

Username should be the amcas maybe you forgot your own password? have you tried forget password?

 

[NachmoCheese]

can you call?

Called this morning and asked.

They said that they are manually reviewing all applications alphabetically and then will mark your LoR and MCAT as received, regardless of submission date. So others in my position, sit tight as they will send a Complete notification email.

 

[TheIndianMamba]

OOS application marked complete just now. I just realized I typed around 500 words for the why us and diversity essays, even though the box says 200. I could have sworn that 200 word limit wasn't there when I submitted, and I was able to submit my application anyways. Is this gonna mess up my chance?

 

[pre-doo-med]

OOS application marked complete just now. I just realized I typed around 500 words for the why us and diversity essays, even though the box says 200. I could have sworn that 200 word limit wasn't there when I submitted, and I was able to submit my application anyways. Is this gonna mess up my chance?

You just made me check mine... I had a 200 word limit written on my google doc for everything but the diversity question. There definitely was not a word count for the diversity one before, I have 540 words. I am so worried. Should we call?

 

[TheIndianMamba]

You just made me check mine... I had a 200 word limit written on my google doc for everything but the diversity question. There definitely was not a word count for the diversity one before, I have 540 words. I am so worried. Should we call?

If you look at the top where the prompts were listed, there was no word count indicated. They must have added a word count later for those last two prompts. This is what it says in my complete email: "Please refrain from calling the Office of Student Admissions if your questions relate to the status of your application. Questions other than those dealing with the status of your application may be sent to the Office of Student Admissions via email at [email protected]. Please do not submit any additional materials unless you receive a request to do so." Maybe we should just let it be?

 

[pre-doo-med]

If you look at the top where the prompts were listed, there was no word count indicated. They must have added a word count later for those last two prompts. This is what it says in my complete email: "Please refrain from calling the Office of Student Admissions if your questions relate to the status of your application. Questions other than those dealing with the status of your application may be sent to the Office of Student Admissions via email at [email protected]. Please do not submit any additional materials unless you receive a request to do so." Maybe we should just let it be?

yeah i think so, ugh! so anxiety provoking, that means we can't be the only ones lol

 

[NachmoCheese]

yeah i think so, ugh! so anxiety provoking, that means we can't be the only ones lol

I think it will probably be fine, especially if they notice many applicants went over.

And yeah, I did not see a word limit when I typed up and submitted my secondary so they probably added it afterwards or something. It is on them for not adding a strict word limit like the earlier prompts/questions had.


Also for everyone else, IS and I was marked complete just now and submitted on 06/28, hopefully everyone else does soon too.

 

[puromycin]

Same issue with the word count. Could have sworn it wasn't there when I submitted

 

[GrainofSalt]

I followed the guidelines with the 200word limit but now I'm reading my responses over and I wasn't able to fully express my answers. Now I'm thinking this would set me back.

 

[allaboutpurple]

I followed the guidelines with the 200word limit but now I'm reading my responses over and I wasn't able to fully express my answers. Now I'm thinking this would set me back.

Me too... diversity, health equity and social justice in 200 words is bleh. Hopefully they can see our commitment in our PS and work/activities section.

 

[vkdlxz]

I am struggling to answer "What in your current/future activity/activities have/will contribute to diversity, health equity and social justice?" I did a lot of volunteering for underserved population in undergraduate and my personal experience can contribute to diversity and social justice. But I am not doing anything special right now. I just started new job at optometry office but I have no idea how that will contribute to diversity, health equity and social justice. Any advise?

 

[nervousapplicant]

Please help lol. I am trying to submit my secondary for SUNY Downstate and am struggling to answer this very simple question, "Will you be attending college full time as of September 15?". If the answer is no it requires an essay. I am struggling because I will be a full-time graduate student, and I do not know if when they say college they mean undergraduate or just student in general. Is anybody else in a master's program and applying to this school? I know this is ridiculous lol but I dont want to email them with this question and look neurotic.

 

[212kindofgal]

Please help lol. I am trying to submit my secondary for SUNY Downstate and am struggling to answer this very simple question, "Will you be attending college full time as of September 15?". If the answer is no it requires an essay. I am struggling because I will be a full-time graduate student, and I do not know if when they say college they mean undergraduate or just student in general. Is anybody else in a master's program and applying to this school? I know this is ridiculous lol but I dont want to email them with this question and look neurotic.

I responded that I will be in graduate school and provided them a list of courses I’m registered for. Today I received an “application on hold, documents requested” email from them asking me to upload an unofficial transcript for my Masters program.

 

[nervousapplicant]

means

I responded that I will be in graduate school and provided them a list of courses I’m registered for. Today I received an “application on hold, documents requested” email from them asking me to upload an unofficial transcript for my Masters program.

So if I am already in graduate school, and they have my transcript from my first year, I should just put yes I will attending college full-time? Thank you so much for your response.

 

[212kindofgal]

So if I am already in graduate school, and they have my transcript from my first year, I should just put yes I will attending college full-time? Thank you so much for your response.

You’re welcome! I answered yes. I mentioned about it in the additional information section under the prerequisite coursework section what semester/year I anticipate to graduate from my master’s program, and also there I listed the courses I will be taking during my ”gap year”.