2022-2023 SUNY - Downstate

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Those that interviewed, did you upload a thank you letter to the portal or send it directly to your interviewer's email that was included in the Zoom link email?
 
laneluc23 said:
Those that interviewed, did you upload a thank you letter to the portal or send it directly to your interviewer's email that was included in the Zoom link email?
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I sent one to my interviewer's email address, which I got from her during the interview, it was also provided in the Zoom link email. I then got confirmation from admissions that they added the letter to my file.
 
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Anyone attending the virtual chat today and willing to try and find out the scoop 👀👀
 
ephemeralbloom said:
Hi everyone, current MS1 here. I am very sorry for the position that you guys are in. I was in the same boat last year: Despite my OP stats (MCAT 520+ and I will just leave it at that) and 5 interviews at very competitive schools, by March all I had was 3 Rs and 2 WLs. I didn't get my Downstate acceptance until mid June (interviewed in Jan), AFTER I already submitted my reapplication. I was also scared ****less due to all the negative comments on here last year, but I didn't really have another choice but to go here.

But guess what, I am thriving here. The school's community is incredibly supportive. The neighborhood is one of the most diverse in America, which is great for people who doesn't just want to treat white privileged patients (one of my friends literally said this as their reason for choosing Downstate). Admin is admin, that's not changing wherever you go, but we have been able to create constructive discourse with them and achieved great solutions. They are also people, and once our differences are resolved, they are also very understanding. It is annoying that we need to fight for things that are common sense, but I have learned how to advocate for myself and my classmates in ways I never have before.

The admission team is always a little messy. But - and I say this with 100% certainty - the behaviors that you guys described in your interviews ARE NOT TOLERATED here, so PLEASE REPORT THEM. We are an incredibly diverse class and community, so you will never hear those opinions here because they know we will go. to. town on them. If there is any whiff of intolerance whatsoever, I have seen my classmates and our community shut. it. down. Maybe they are doing it to test you guys (which is stupid), or they feel like they can say it in your interviews because you guys can't fight back like we can. Either way, please report them. Bigotry has no place here (or anywhere for that matter).

The experience in medical school is what you make of it. Seek out opportunities and advocate for yourself. After 4 years, my MD is just as good as that from any other school. If you have an A in your backpocket, congratulations! If you don't, I know how stressful it is and I understand, and I'm sorry. There is usually a lot of WL movement at Downstate, so even if you get WL you still have a great chance of getting in. I just thought you guys should know that there are students who are happy and thriving at Downstate, who will be your upperclass mentors and care greatly about your success.

I'm happy to chat about my experience here if you guys want, but please know that I have zero involvement with admissions. Good luck!

xo

P/s: And stop checking here so much, it's really bad for your mental health (trust me, I was in your shoes last year - it's true).
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Fully agree.

I also have no affiliation with Downstate admissions and in fact have a relative very eager and desperately waiting to hear back from Downstate so I understand the frustration. Please report your poor experiences to Victor or anyone else from admissions because it is NOT TOLERABLE. But I can promise, if you had a negative interview experience, it does not represent what the school stands for. EVERY medical school will have that one old, white male who has no sense of it being 2023 or to educate himself. But as a person of color, I have felt extremely comfortable standing up to bull**** I see happen here and the admin WILL listen. Every class has a council that very actively deals with any such issues and usually gets them to do the right thing (except some things that you can't get them to change but nothing that makes life here intolerable) .

I am in fact thriving here and if your student interviewer said things like 'happiness is relative' its because we are in our supposedly 'hardest' unit of pre-clinical years and about to take exams (the unit being head and neck) so excuse the pessimism but people are tired lol. YOU will be tired in medical school. But I can assure you the overwhelming student population at Downstate is not like that throughout the unit lol, its just when we get close to our summatives. And not everyone is able to find a work-life balance as a medical student because not everyone manages time the way they should have from the start of the unit so try not to make opinions based on 1 subjective opinion. Medical school isn't a joke and just because you decide to go to a different school, it won't mean you will have the best day-every.single.day. If you think ANY medical school will assure that, you are in for a rough ride. Manage your expectations and realize you are coming to learn and if learning brings you joy, you WILL be happy here. I wasn't happy Unit 1 because I was stressed and confused but you grow over time and you start to take advantage of the opportunities you get from being in NYC and just suck it up and deal with the problems that come with it because you will have people advocating for you. You will find a great, diverse community to treat, get some of the best clinical experience, meet some of the most hardworking yet humble students, and actually get to see rare diseases that not everyone who isn't in NYC has the privilege to see and learn from.

I am rooting for y'all. But try and stay positive and once this process comes to an end, you will never even think about this time. And yes like mentioned before, get off this page and go enjoy your last few months before medical school starts lol. You will miss this time. Good luck kids🙂)))
 
JonChase said:
Just to recap:
  • A current student at downstate is having such a terrible experience they felt compelled to blast the school on this thread and warned us to stay away.
  • The admissions director stated multiple times that all initial application decisions will be released in February (including waitlists), and did nothing to correct himself or communicate once that turned out to be false.
  • Multiple people experienced unprofessional, inappropriate, and even overtly racist interviews (myself included, +1)
  • The MPH program evidently failed to communicate with the MD program at all. This led to applicants receiving multiple absurd emails from the school of public health, including one demanding deposits from people who don’t even know if they’re accepted to the MD program.
Am I missing anything?

God bless the people in this thread who don’t have the luxury of holding an acceptance somewhere else. Downstate is clearly a complete mess and they don’t deserve you. If you do get in, use them for the education like they used you this cycle. Remember not to rely on administration for anything.

Abhorrent behavior from both administration and faculty, plus a truly incredible lack of quality control. Do better.
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reading through this thread did not pass the vibe check 😦 so horrifying i cancelled my interview and withdrew my app. good luck to everyone 💖
 
I interviewed with downstate in early October and found out about SDN today and made an account just to say this. I patiently checked my email every day of February expecting some sort of update according to their claim that we would be notified of our status in “early February”. Once it reached mid February I emailed admissions and they said to be patient as decisions were still rendering and could take more weeks. Then March came and I called admissions and they said the same, to be patient as decisions are still rendering and could take a few more weeks. My cousin who’s an MS1 at downstate then told me about sdn and how it’s likely that all the acceptances already went out in early February and that I’m likely on the waitlist. I’m just so confused and disappointed. Why are there no communication updates whatsoever for those placed on the waitlist? Are they still reviewing fall interview candidates or are no more acceptances going to come out for the time being? And if that’s the case, why would the office of admissions repeat the same thing even though it’s not true? It’s almost inevitable for this process to be filled with false hope and uncertainty, but from my perspective I’m just really disappointed in downstate’s help, or lack thereof, in that regard.
 
I'm honestly not expecting to hear back until spring (April/May). The lack of transparency makes this process even more exhausting but there's nothing we can do apparently.
 
Thank you all for this lol. Makes me a little more hopeful
 
AstroSidekick said:
I'm at their virtual chat and AdCom said ALL students will have a decision by April 15
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April 14, 11:59 PM: 100% of people waiting get a WL.

highspeed983 said:
Also want to add that they confirmed that the class is not full and that there will be a “large wave of acceptances somewhere between end of March and beginning of May”
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Beginning of May -> May 5 (Friday). 5 days past the PTE deadline, now Downstate knows how many open spots they have for their class. Sends As to some of the WL people. Continues WL movement as people accept/reject.


/s
 
Still sucks that those who interviewed in fall will have to wait until these supposed dates to hear back. In addition, they’re still sending out IIs meaning the possible candidates for the acceptance pool is even bigger as the weeks go on.
 
PuzzlesMD said:
April 14, 11:59 PM: 100% of people waiting get a WL.


Beginning of May -> May 5 (Friday). 5 days past the PTE deadline, now Downstate knows how many open spots they have for their class. Sends As to some of the WL people. Continues WL movement as people accept/reject.


/s
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Feel like this is exactly what they’re going to do.
 
Wait so you guys don't think some people may actually get acceptances by or on April 15th?
 
Honestly ill take that. From what I understand that pull a good amount off WL so I guess there's hope. We just need to hang in there.
 
I’m not sure if this has been asked here already or not, but are there any current students who can talk about how often they find themselves on campus for anything mandatory (classes, labs, discussions, etc.)? Are all lectures also recorded / not mandatory in-person?

I currently live on Long Island and am debating, if accepted, if it’s possible to commute from home for the first year or two; it would be about an hour drive or 1.5 hour LIRR + bus ride. If students are expected on campus nearly every day, then this probably won’t be feasible but if students are only on campus 2-3x a week, then maybe it could be an option?

Any insight would be helpful 🙂
 
HomieGProtein said:
I’m not sure if this has been asked here already or not, but are there any current students who can talk about how often they find themselves on campus for anything mandatory (classes, labs, discussions, etc.)? Are all lectures also recorded / not mandatory in-person?

I currently live on Long Island and am debating, if accepted, if it’s possible to commute from home for the first year or two; it would be about an hour drive or 1.5 hour LIRR + bus ride. If students are expected on campus nearly every day, then this probably won’t be feasible but if students are only on campus 2-3x a week, then maybe it could be an option?

Any insight would be helpful 🙂
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It really depends on the final schedule of each unit. Our first unit lasted 8 weeks, and we were on campus a lot. Lectures are recorded and not mandatory, but you will be on campus at least 2-3 days a week for mandatory activities. They do try to schedule Fridays such that we only have lectures, and if there are mandatory activities, they finish before noon. Unit 2 was 10-week long and consists of a lot more independent studying so we weren’t on campus as much, but we have been on campus more often in Unit 3 again and I heard it will be the same in Unit 4.

That said, we have classmates who live on LI or Manhattan and they do their commute from there. I personally like being closer to campus in case I need to pop in, so I moved to Brooklyn. It’s also a very different scenery and vibe from LI, so you may want to check out the area before making that decision.

I hope that helps!
 
According to AMCAS traffic rules:
" By March 15 of the matriculation year, issue a number of acceptance offers at least equal to the expected number of students in its first-year entering class and report those acceptance actions to AMCAS."
So if we don't hear by March 15th aren't we technically waitlisted?
 
scubapug said:
According to AMCAS traffic rules:
" By March 15 of the matriculation year, issue a number of acceptance offers at least equal to the expected number of students in its first-year entering class and report those acceptance actions to AMCAS."
So if we don't hear by March 15th aren't we technically waitlisted?
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This is the only time I'll ever pray schools don't follow traffic rules
 
scubapug said:
According to AMCAS traffic rules:
" By March 15 of the matriculation year, issue a number of acceptance offers at least equal to the expected number of students in its first-year entering class and report those acceptance actions to AMCAS."
So if we don't hear by March 15th aren't we technically waitlisted?
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As per the first paragraph from this link

"These guidelines are not intended to supersede the policies, timelines, or discretion of individual schools or programs."

So to keep it short, no, it doesn't mean we're waitlisted.
 
Current MS4 @ Downstate

Got some free time so feel free to PM with questions, already have one foot out the door so happy to be transparent

For those stressing about hearing back, seems to be a trend every year including mine. Feel your pain. For comparison, I interviewed in the Fall of my cycle, got a generic "your application is still under review" months later in early March, and finally my decision in very late March. Definitely delayed compared to other schools (heard back from one by Thanksgiving, so obviously far from perfect).

Good luck!
 
Mr. Game & Watch said:
Current MS4 @ Downstate

Got some free time so feel free to PM with questions, already have one foot out the door so happy to be transparent

For those stressing about hearing back, seems to be a trend every year including mine. Feel your pain. For comparison, I interviewed in the Fall of my cycle, got a generic "your application is still under review" months later in early March, and finally my decision in very late March. Definitely delayed compared to other schools (heard back from one by Thanksgiving, so obviously far from perfect).

Good luck!
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ALSO, for those wondering about updates/interest letters, I did send one in early/mid Feb and think it had a positive impact. I gave them an update regarding some coursework and volunteering I did since the interview and then "conveniently" since I was already updating re-emphasized my interest with a few specific reasons why I think we made a good fit.
 
Thus begins the waiting to see if it becomes a wave. May whatever deity you revere hear your supplications.
 
Ok I'm glad to see they're releasing decisions. There's hope I guess.
 
Hey guys, is the student interview formally evaluated as well or is it kind of just like a chat session?
 
coolgirl2000 said:
Hey guys, is the student interview formally evaluated as well or is it kind of just like a chat session?
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The student interview is weighed in the evaluation of your application from what I was told. They have to ask you a few questions from a list and then you can ask/talk to them for the remainder. It was about 30 min for me.
 
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