2022-2023 SUNY - Downstate

[PreMed1786682]

Hey guys! Current MS1 at this school. I just want to give y'all a heads up and mention a bit of the timeline from last year. We did get 'a big wave' on February 24th last year (my interview was in September), which is when the first round of decisions came out. I heard back that day and prior to that day, they had told us too that there is no 'big wave'. Them saying that is not what they are doing this year is possibly not true since the people in the office are often just students who are not allowed to say much. From what I remember, the students who had interviewed that early-like September to December and did not hear back on February 24th , did get waitlisted around April-May. While there was a second wave of acceptances in May, most of those students were from the January- April interview pool. I would also say that do not count how many people mention their acceptances on this platform as a good estimation or as hope for a second wave since most people in my class do not even know what SDN is so the overwhelming majority is not posting about an 'A' here.

That being said, if you did interview early such as in Fall of 2022, and even if you are on the waitlist (which might be likely), some of my closest friends in our class are people who got off the waitlist after May. One of them in fact got accepted a week before classes. I realize that is stressful and not ideal to have to wait till late July for a possible acceptance, but if you are waitlisted at multiple schools, people do get accepted off of waitlist and it is definitely possible.

All this to say that this is just what happened last year and the year before from what I learned from the MS2 friends I have. I truly want to say maybe they are changing the timeline this year, but I HIGHLY doubt it since downstate isn't organized enough to do that. I love this school and I love being here, but you will not get a clear answer from admin. But that does not mean in any way that the school is terrible. If you did get accepted and would like to talk, you can reach out. The rest of y'all, there is hope till July and this process sucks but hang in there.

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[MDBreeze]

Hey guys! Current MS1 at this school. I just want to give y'all a heads up and mention a bit of the timeline from last year. We did get 'a big wave' on February 24th last year (my interview was in September), which is when the first round of decisions came out. I heard back that day and prior to that day, they had told us too that there is no 'big wave'. Them saying that is not what they are doing this year is possibly not true since the people in the office are often just students who are not allowed to say much. From what I remember, the students who had interviewed that early-like September to December and did not hear back on February 24th , did get waitlisted around April-May. While there was a second wave of acceptances in May, most of those students were from the January- April interview pool. I would also say that do not count how many people mention their acceptances on this platform as a good estimation or as hope for a second wave since most people in my class do not even know what SDN is so the overwhelming majority is not posting about an 'A' here.

That being said, if you did interview early such as in Fall of 2022, and even if you are on the waitlist (which might be likely), some of my closest friends in our class are people who got off the waitlist after May. One of them in fact got accepted a week before classes. I realize that is stressful and not ideal to have to wait till late July for a possible acceptance, but if you are waitlisted at multiple schools, people do get accepted off of waitlist and it is definitely possible.

All this to say that this is just what happened last year and the year before from what I learned from the MS2 friends I have. I truly want to say maybe they are changing the timeline this year, but I HIGHLY doubt it since downstate isn't organized enough to do that. I love this school and I love being here, but you will not get a clear answer from admin. But that does not mean in any way that the school is terrible. If you did get accepted and would like to talk, you can reach out. The rest of y'all, there is hope till July and this process sucks but hang in there.

Refuse to believe I’m WL’ed until I get an email 😤

 

[Gothpanic]

Hey guys! Current MS1 at this school. I just want to give y'all a heads up and mention a bit of the timeline from last year. We did get 'a big wave' on February 24th last year (my interview was in September), which is when the first round of decisions came out. I heard back that day and prior to that day, they had told us too that there is no 'big wave'. Them saying that is not what they are doing this year is possibly not true since the people in the office are often just students who are not allowed to say much. From what I remember, the students who had interviewed that early-like September to December and did not hear back on February 24th , did get waitlisted around April-May. While there was a second wave of acceptances in May, most of those students were from the January- April interview pool. I would also say that do not count how many people mention their acceptances on this platform as a good estimation or as hope for a second wave since most people in my class do not even know what SDN is so the overwhelming majority is not posting about an 'A' here.

That being said, if you did interview early such as in Fall of 2022, and even if you are on the waitlist (which might be likely), some of my closest friends in our class are people who got off the waitlist after May. One of them in fact got accepted a week before classes. I realize that is stressful and not ideal to have to wait till late July for a possible acceptance, but if you are waitlisted at multiple schools, people do get accepted off of waitlist and it is definitely possible.

All this to say that this is just what happened last year and the year before from what I learned from the MS2 friends I have. I truly want to say maybe they are changing the timeline this year, but I HIGHLY doubt it since downstate isn't organized enough to do that. I love this school and I love being here, but you will not get a clear answer from admin. But that does not mean in any way that the school is terrible. If you did get accepted and would like to talk, you can reach out. The rest of y'all, there is hope till July and this process sucks but hang in there.

Thank you so much for the insight. Just gonna assume I got a WL and move on with my life tbh. I don't know if I can do anything else.
But I will say this: At the moment, I am sitting on 2 WL and I am honestly not hopeful at all. This school made my interview experience very stressful, and after what they did, the least I would expect is some transparency. This is honestly bordering on unprofessional behavior on their part.

 

[fardnpoob]

Are we to assume that those that havent heard back aren’t going to get an sort of update whatsoever from the school until spring? Last year, a lot of students didn’t get any communication from the school regarding their status, even after the wave. Even the fall interviewees.

 

[Gothpanic]

i understand that many people might not know what SDN is but even last year (and the years before) much more As were posted on the thread than this year, or it could really just be me trying to cope. I just don't know anymore.

 

[Kardelen]

Hey guys! Current MS1 at this school. I just want to give y'all a heads up and mention a bit of the timeline from last year. We did get 'a big wave' on February 24th last year (my interview was in September), which is when the first round of decisions came out. I heard back that day and prior to that day, they had told us too that there is no 'big wave'. Them saying that is not what they are doing this year is possibly not true since the people in the office are often just students who are not allowed to say much. From what I remember, the students who had interviewed that early-like September to December and did not hear back on February 24th , did get waitlisted around April-May. While there was a second wave of acceptances in May, most of those students were from the January- April interview pool. I would also say that do not count how many people mention their acceptances on this platform as a good estimation or as hope for a second wave since most people in my class do not even know what SDN is so the overwhelming majority is not posting about an 'A' here.

That being said, if you did interview early such as in Fall of 2022, and even if you are on the waitlist (which might be likely), some of my closest friends in our class are people who got off the waitlist after May. One of them in fact got accepted a week before classes. I realize that is stressful and not ideal to have to wait till late July for a possible acceptance, but if you are waitlisted at multiple schools, people do get accepted off of waitlist and it is definitely possible.

All this to say that this is just what happened last year and the year before from what I learned from the MS2 friends I have. I truly want to say maybe they are changing the timeline this year, but I HIGHLY doubt it since downstate isn't organized enough to do that. I love this school and I love being here, but you will not get a clear answer from admin. But that does not mean in any way that the school is terrible. If you did get accepted and would like to talk, you can reach out. The rest of y'all, there is hope till July and this process sucks but hang in there.

@You or anyone who thinks they might know, is there a mix of interview dates among people accepted off the waitlist in May? OR are they mostly sent to those who interviewed from December/January onward?

Thanks!

 

[JonChase]

Hey guys! Current MS1 at this school. I just want to give y'all a heads up and mention a bit of the timeline from last year. We did get 'a big wave' on February 24th last year (my interview was in September), which is when the first round of decisions came out. I heard back that day and prior to that day, they had told us too that there is no 'big wave'. Them saying that is not what they are doing this year is possibly not true since the people in the office are often just students who are not allowed to say much. From what I remember, the students who had interviewed that early-like September to December and did not hear back on February 24th , did get waitlisted around April-May. While there was a second wave of acceptances in May, most of those students were from the January- April interview pool. I would also say that do not count how many people mention their acceptances on this platform as a good estimation or as hope for a second wave since most people in my class do not even know what SDN is so the overwhelming majority is not posting about an 'A' here.

That being said, if you did interview early such as in Fall of 2022, and even if you are on the waitlist (which might be likely), some of my closest friends in our class are people who got off the waitlist after May. One of them in fact got accepted a week before classes. I realize that is stressful and not ideal to have to wait till late July for a possible acceptance, but if you are waitlisted at multiple schools, people do get accepted off of waitlist and it is definitely possible.

All this to say that this is just what happened last year and the year before from what I learned from the MS2 friends I have. I truly want to say maybe they are changing the timeline this year, but I HIGHLY doubt it since downstate isn't organized enough to do that. I love this school and I love being here, but you will not get a clear answer from admin. But that does not mean in any way that the school is terrible. If you did get accepted and would like to talk, you can reach out. The rest of y'all, there is hope till July and this process sucks but hang in there.

I would love to know what you think about post #232 in this thread, which was made by one of your classmates. I’ve copied it here:

“Hi everyone! I have been wanting to do this for the past year and a half, and did not have the courage until now, because my experience at Downstate has been so bad and other students should know before they commit to 4 years here.

I started medical school with 6 acceptances, but ultimately I decided to attend Downstate because I wanted to be closer to family and my partner worked in NYC. This was a decision I regretted almost immediately.

Downstate promotes themselves as a school that supports their students, but in reality this is the furthest from the truth. If you are under-served, low income, have physical/mental health issues, need academic support or a combination of the above, they will not help or support you. Downstate caters to students that are privileged, although they market themselves to be otherwise.

If anyone is accepted to any other medical school in the US, please go there. Go anywhere but here.

If anyone wants more details or has questions, feel free to send me a private message.

This is my experience, so my experience may not be everyone's at Downstate, but for the majority of my class, it is”

 

[Gothpanic]

Well if thats the case I hope some of us hear back on Monday and Tuesday 🥲

 

[pink718]

i understand that many people might not know what SDN is but even last year (and the years before) much more As were posted on the thread than this year, or it could really just be me trying to cope. I just don't know anymore.

No I agree w you tbh I feel like we should’ve seen more people posting their decisions

 

[KingJaswal]

No I agree w you tbh I feel like we should’ve seen more people posting their decisions

That and downstate had like 3-4 days where they trickled out decisions. Usually its 1 big day or 1 trickled day followed by a big day. This year seems different but who knows? Maybe we are just ODing on that good ole *copium*

 

[Gothpanic]

That and downstate had like 3-4 days where they trickled out decisions. Usually its 1 big day or 1 trickled day followed by a big day. This year seems different but who knows? Maybe we are just ODing on that good ole *copium*

I know I am 😫😫

 

[PreMed1786682]

I would love to know what you think about post #232 in this thread, which was made by one of your classmates. I’ve copied it here:

“Hi everyone! I have been wanting to do this for the past year and a half, and did not have the courage until now, because my experience at Downstate has been so bad and other students should know before they commit to 4 years here.

I started medical school with 6 acceptances, but ultimately I decided to attend Downstate because I wanted to be closer to family and my partner worked in NYC. This was a decision I regretted almost immediately.

Downstate promotes themselves as a school that supports their students, but in reality this is the furthest from the truth. If you are under-served, low income, have physical/mental health issues, need academic support or a combination of the above, they will not help or support you. Downstate caters to students that are privileged, although they market themselves to be otherwise.

If anyone is accepted to any other medical school in the US, please go there. Go anywhere but here.

If anyone wants more details or has questions, feel free to send me a private message.

This is my experience, so my experience may not be everyone's at Downstate, but for the majority of my class, it is”

I cannot speak for this person's experience because I haven't had these issues personally since I have never reached out for a physical/mental health issue (I have my own insurance through my family that I use for that) and neither have my friends so I have no experience to compare it to. I do know for physical health, there is a student health center and they are pretty active usually if there is an issue.
I am entirely on student loans and that is more than enough to get me by (even with a social life). About not having academic support at this school- Downstate is pretty much a 'study at your own pace' school. Lectures are not mandatory so most students, including me, do not study from them or attend them and choose to use outside resources (which you will receive a lot of guidance on from other seniors). Using outside resources is easy and convenient because our main exam is old STEP questions, so they do not come straight from downstate lectures but I also know students who do attend the lectures because they like having a schedule and don't mind them. I am just not a 9-5 person so it very quickly became not my thing. The lectures are also recorded so whenever I want to watch a lecture, I can just go back and view it.
I don't agree with the catering to privileged students part since most of us are broke af. The student community at downstate is EXTREMELY helpful because they know exactly how to study to just pass which is all you need to do. Not to mention, the match rate is amazing including matching to some of the best specialties, which to me is what is most important when I chose which medical school I wanted to go to. Obviously that does not mean the other person did not have to deal with bs, because I am sure they did. But I personally am very glad I chose this school over my other acceptances. The school is pass/fail and once again, no you do not go to the admin for help and you do not need to, the upperclassmen will have all the info you need.

So if any of the issues the other student mentioned are worrying to you, that is understandable. But at the end of the day no school will be perfect for everyone, it can only be a perfect fit for you. Choose a school that gives you things you value. That can be residency matches, curriculum, whether or not the school is pass/fail (extremely important), academic support, clinical experience, rotation sites, and location of the school itself.

Hope this helps.

 

[PreMed1786682]

Are we to assume that those that havent heard back aren’t going to get an sort of update whatsoever from the school until spring? Last year, a lot of students didn’t get any communication from the school regarding their status, even after the wave. Even the fall interviewees.

Highly likely. They will not give updates or at least they didn't from what I know happened last year. You just found out you got waitlisted after the CYMS tool requires students with multiple acceptances to shortlist to 1 school which I believe does not happen till May. Then they start taking students off the waitlist, which included students from September all the way to April.

 

[Hopeful CANdidate]

Just wanna let you guys know that my college’s pre-health advisor is in communication with admissions at Downstate and agreed with me that this year it seems like acceptances are “trickling in” rather than all being released at once. She also told me that it’s admissions team went through a lot of transitions this cycle which (I assume) would cause the delay in communication we’re experiencing rn. All this to say keep your head up and you never know until you know

 

[deleted1140676]

Just wanna let you guys know that my college’s pre-health advisor is in communication with admissions at Downstate and agreed with me that this year it seems like acceptances are “trickling in” rather than all being released at once. She also told me that it’s admissions team went through a lot of transitions this cycle which (I assume) would cause the delay in communication we’re experiencing rn. All this to say keep your head up and you never know until you know

Thank you for this info!

 

[Gothpanic]

Just wanna let you guys know that my college’s pre-health advisor is in communication with admissions at Downstate and agreed with me that this year it seems like acceptances are “trickling in” rather than all being released at once. She also told me that it’s admissions team went through a lot of transitions this cycle which (I assume) would cause the delay in communication we’re experiencing rn. All this to say keep your head up and you never know until you know

That's good to know. Since they started trickling the decisions in since January it does seem things are a bit different this year. Hoping for the best.

 

[showkayaker]

i understand that many people might not know what SDN is but even last year (and the years before) much more As were posted on the thread than this year, or it could really just be me trying to cope. I just don't know anymore.

just wanted to chime in from another schools perspective - for NYULI literally no one was posting acceptances and it ended up being only 2 ppl who posted this year when previous years had many more acceptees posting on SDN. I think a much larger population of applicants are unfamilliar with SDN or do not use SDN then we all probably think.

 

[showkayaker]

Got an II to here recently…thought it maybe was a mistake at first

 

[pink718]

just wanted to chime in from another schools perspective - for NYULI literally no one was posting acceptances and it ended up being only 2 ppl who posted this year when previous years had many more acceptees posting on SDN. I think a much larger population of applicants are unfamilliar with SDN or do not use SDN then we all probably think.

Doesn’t nyu long island have a ridiculously small class size tho (like 20 ppl)? Maybe that’s why🤷🏻‍♀️

 

[Gothpanic]

I really hope we get decisions this upcoming week

 

[fardnpoob]

 

[Gothpanic]

Guessing today is not the day :/

I wish there was some way they could shed light on the timeline. Its March in two days, I wonder if one more phone call will get us anything..

 

[Gothpanic]

So I just called again to see if they would be consistent with their answers. The person on the phone told me that the committee is still reviewing applications and that they would send decisions once the committee gives them the decisions. I tried to ask about if they have specific dates or anything and they just said they are backed up due to the volume of applications (which is bs). So it does seem like there is no communication between the phone people and ADCOMs and that basically we have no idea about their process for releasing decisions

Thanks for calling them 🙁 I just hope we hear back this week... or the next..

 

[deleted1156661]

Also if they sent out all their initial acceptances I’m guessing that’s about 200 (assuming everyone says yes and they fill the class) so if only 10 people posted about acceptances so far over the 3-4 days then only 5% posted which just seems very low.

There’s prob more people who have SDN but just didn’t post but even using a high of 15% of students who heard of SDN and post that’s only 30/200 students which still seems very low. In prior years there’s been at least 30 people posting on the big A day so it’s just weird to not see that and to also see less people posting A’s when it’s been so consistent over at least 5 years.

Further say they only sent out 100 acceptances so far (or even 150 or just 50) that’s more on par with the amount of people posting A’s given the consistent trend from past years. So there could be another day (hopefully soon) where more people are accepted.

So if they haven’t changed anything in their release strategy maybe they are a bit behind this year with the big A day for a number of reasons. One reason that could maybe change from recent years is that this year they have to also schedule tours which could add to the plate of the admissions team that the same amount of people did not have to deal with for past 3 years. There’s also many unknown reasons for delays if there even is a delay (hoping for this tbh)

Additionally from the people who posted A’s so far it seems like most if not all of them are super high stat so that could potentially lead to earlier acceptance (maybe idk)

Lastly, for the people who posted acceptances so far I just want to congratulate you all. It’s awesome to see people doing well and having their hard work pay off. I promise this neurotic behavior doesn’t come from jealousy or anything I just want to join y’all at Downstate!

just wanted to add - they are not only accepting super high stats (n=1 of course)

 

[I can do it]

How bout an MD interview for MPH admits 😭

 

[fardnpoob]

last day of feb

 

[bacon_n_backsquats]

So I just called and talked to Marcel and he said if you don’t know by now then it’s a rolling process through till the start of school which I guess means WL. That’s my interpretation not his words.

 

[AstroSidekick]

So I just called and talked to Marcel and he said if you don’t know by now then it’s a rolling process through till the start of school which I guess means WL. That’s my interpretation not his words.

What were his words?

 

[fardnpoob]

So I just called and talked to Marcel and he said if you don’t know by now then it’s a rolling process through till the start of school which I guess means WL. That’s my interpretation not his words.

That is absolutely tragic. Interviewed September with the hope that I'd have a decision after a 5 month wait. Now its looking more like an 8 month wait

 

[pink718]

So I just called and talked to Marcel and he said if you don’t know by now then it’s a rolling process through till the start of school which I guess means WL. That’s my interpretation not his words.

Yeah when I called they basically told me the same thing and that as people decline acceptances each week they release more. Which is just absolutely ridiculous to me but…🤷🏻‍♀️

 

[bacon_n_backsquats]

What were his words?

Sorry the first part was his words.
“If you don’t know by now then you don’t know, there’s still a chance. It’s a rolling process from here till July”

I’m interpreting that as it means we’re waitlisted/ or even rejected and you won’t know which until you either get an email with an acceptance when someone else drops out, or you reach the start of school and you haven’t been accepted.

I’m debating withdrawing on principal. Normally I hate Pyrrhic Victories but I also don’t agree with them not being explicit about our status. If we’re on a waitlist then tell us. Takes two minutes to draft an email. I think it speaks largely of how they view us as candidates and how they will treat us as students.

 

[traveler15]

Sorry the first part was his words.
“If you don’t know by now then you don’t know, there’s still a chance. It’s a rolling process from here till July”

I’m interpreting that as it means we’re waitlisted/ or even rejected and you won’t know which until you either get an email with an acceptance when someone else drops out, or you reach the start of school and you haven’t been accepted.

I’m debating withdrawing on principal. Normally I hate Pyrrhic Victories but I also don’t agree with them not being explicit about our status. If we’re on a waitlist then tell us. Takes two minutes to draft an email. I think it speaks largely of how they view us as candidates and how they will treat us as students.

I am debating withdrawing as well. This is just disrespectful to applicants and shows how little they care about potential students. We spend so much money and time on applications. I expected at least a little bit of transparency.

 

[razortrunks]

Sorry the first part was his words.
“If you don’t know by now then you don’t know, there’s still a chance. It’s a rolling process from here till July”

I’m interpreting that as it means we’re waitlisted/ or even rejected and you won’t know which until you either get an email with an acceptance when someone else drops out, or you reach the start of school and you haven’t been accepted.

I’m debating withdrawing on principal. Normally I hate Pyrrhic Victories but I also don’t agree with them not being explicit about our status. If we’re on a waitlist then tell us. Takes two minutes to draft an email. I think it speaks largely of how they view us as candidates and how they will treat us as students.

What happened to Mid February Acceptances </3 ? Unless no one from SDN got A in February.

 

[MDBreeze]

What a shame. See you in May, folks

 

[fardnpoob]

What happened to Mid February Acceptances </3 ? Unless no one from SDN got A in February.

There were a couple that dropped on feb 16, but nothing resembling a big wave like we were expecting

 

[Gothpanic]

This is terrible. If I had other As I would withdraw but unfortunately I cant. The least I would expect is some transparency.

 

[fardnpoob]

This is terrible. If I had other As I would withdraw but unfortunately I cant. The least I would expect is some transparency.

I wish I could withdraw too but unfortunately Downstate is my dream school and I'd much rather go here than my other A. Saluting yall that are considering it tho

 

[ltina]

So does this mean they have already given out enough acceptances to fill their class? Surprising but I guess its possible

 

[Gothpanic]

A waitlist like this stings even more. Like yeah you're waitlisted but we're not even bothering to formally let you know. You're not THAT important.

 

[traveler15]

So does this mean they have already given out enough acceptances to fill their class? Surprising but I guess its possible

I honestly don’t think they have. I feel like we would have seen more SDN posts based on previous years.

 

[deleted1156661]

What happened to Mid February Acceptances </3 ? Unless no one from SDN got A in February.

mine came second week of feb and interviewed nov

 

[Gothpanic]

Yeah honestly its fair to assume the rest of us are waitlisted.

 

[fardnpoob]

Yeah honestly its fair to assume the rest of us are waitlisted.

Crazy to think they released 200 A's already with barely any posts about it.

 

[AstroSidekick]

I'm definitely considering withdrawing as well (my faculty interview gave me the ick big time which is part of it). But even from their standpoint, this does NOTHING to help them. The only advantage I can think of is that they can predict exactly how many people will attend and ensure they don't over-admit. However, very few schools ever run into that problem and it's usually a simple fix (offer scholarships for deferments, make the MPH kids do their master's first, etc...)

If they did only offer 200 As (my speculation based on their class size) and are doing a one-to-one exchange as people drop Downstate (side note: was this strategy inspired by a bouncer at a nightclub???), many students might not find out until the end of April. By then, students with multiple As might already be in love with other schools, no longer be interested, have scholarships at other places, etc... The longer they wait, the more and more the "stronger" applicants they interviewed find reasons to no longer attend Downstate. Arguably, they are only going to get students who are further down their waitlist, which hurts them in the long run. This strategy makes little to no sense to me, and it makes me feel extremely unvalued. Downstate isn't in the top 50 (or even in the top 5 schools in just NYC imo; I also recognize rankings don't mean everything and that Downstate chooses not to partake), so I feel like they would need to be a bit more bullish and recruit people earlier if they really want people in our community to stay and learn in our community. This is all really bizarre for everyone involved!

 

[sunburst676652]

I'm definitely considering withdrawing as well (my faculty interview gave me the ick big time which is part of it). But even from their standpoint, this does NOTHING to help them. The only advantage I can think of is that they can predict exactly how many people will attend and ensure they don't over-admit. However, very few schools ever run into that problem and it's usually a simple fix (offer scholarships for deferments, make the MPH kids do their master's first, etc...)

If they did only offer 200 As (my speculation based on their class size) and are doing a one-to-one exchange as people drop Downstate (side note: was this strategy inspired by a bouncer at a nightclub???), many students might not find out until the end of April. By then, students with multiple As might already be in love with other schools, no longer be interested, have scholarships at other places, etc... The longer they wait, the more and more the "stronger" applicants they interviewed find reasons to no longer attend Downstate. Arguably, they are only going to get students who are further down their waitlist, which hurts them in the long run. This strategy makes little to no sense to me, and it makes me feel extremely unvalued. Downstate isn't in the top 50 (or even in the top 5 schools in just NYC imo; I also recognize rankings don't mean everything and that Downstate chooses not to partake), so I feel like they would need to be a bit more bullish and recruit people earlier if they really want people in our community to stay and learn in our community. This is all really bizarre for everyone involved!

Heavy agree; I probably will withdraw bc I'm blessed to have other better As because this whole thing is utter bs

 

[Gothpanic]

I'm definitely considering withdrawing as well (my faculty interview gave me the ick big time which is part of it). But even from their standpoint, this does NOTHING to help them. The only advantage I can think of is that they can predict exactly how many people will attend and ensure they don't over-admit. However, very few schools ever run into that problem and it's usually a simple fix (offer scholarships for deferments, make the MPH kids do their master's first, etc...)

If they did only offer 200 As (my speculation based on their class size) and are doing a one-to-one exchange as people drop Downstate (side note: was this strategy inspired by a bouncer at a nightclub???), many students might not find out until the end of April. By then, students with multiple As might already be in love with other schools, no longer be interested, have scholarships at other places, etc... The longer they wait, the more and more the "stronger" applicants they interviewed find reasons to no longer attend Downstate. Arguably, they are only going to get students who are further down their waitlist, which hurts them in the long run. This strategy makes little to no sense to me, and it makes me feel extremely unvalued. Downstate isn't in the top 50 (or even in the top 5 schools in just NYC imo; I also recognize rankings don't mean everything and that Downstate chooses not to partake), so I feel like they would need to be a bit more bullish and recruit people earlier if they really want people in our community to stay and learn in our community. This is all really bizarre for everyone involved!

The unvalued part is so spot on. Like I know I'm not the best applicant out there and having heard nothing other than WL really made me adjust my expectations, but to not even be told what category my app is in (WL, R) is just disrespectful. Not to mention they botched my interview.

 

[AstroSidekick]

The uncalled part is so spot on. Like I know I'm not the best applicant out there and having heard nothing other than WL really made me adjust my expectations, but to not even be told what category my app is in (WL, R) is just disrespectful. Not to mention they botched my interview.

Without going into specifics, they completely botched mine too and tried to blame me for it. I had to show evidence it was most likely from their end, but I never got an apology and I’m not sure how it will affect my application. The faculty interview also got annoyed at me for having a “too difficult to pronounce” name after I tried correcting them politely like 4 separate times.

Whatever. I’m beyond blessed this cycle and if they don’t appreciate me, I can keep it stepping and go somewhere that has the decency to have my back

 

[bacon_n_backsquats]

Lol my interviewer was being low key racist, I’m glad to hear other people had an awkward time

 

[Gothpanic]

Without going into specifics, they completely botched mine too and tried to blame me for it. I had to show evidence it was most likely from their end, but I never got an apology and I’m not sure how it will affect my application. The faculty interview also got annoyed at me for having a “too difficult name to pronounce” after I tried correcting them politely like 4 separate times.

Whatever. I’m beyond blessed this cycle and if they don’t appreciate me, I can keep it stepping and go somewhere that has the decency to have my back

Wow that sounds terrible im so sorry 🙁

 

[AstroSidekick]

I know most DEI training is lame as hell and led by some privileged white lady, but Downstate could use it imo