SUNY - Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine (Brooklyn)

🙂

How did the interview impress you?

Positively 🙂

What was the stress level of the interview?

2 / 10

0 = Low Stress, 10 = High Stress

What are your general comments?

The whole experience was far better than I had ever expected. My interviewer tried to make things very conversational -- and very comforatable -- and seemed to really be on my side. Even though I'm not the strongest candidate, he focused on my high points as if he was building a strong case to present to the admissions committee. This was very comforting. The campus gets 7 out of 10 stars -- and if you've lived in a large urban city like Los Angeles or Brooklyn, then it's exactly what you'd expect. The tour sold me -- lots of talk about block curriculum and case-based learning, and the two medical school tour guides were very candid about grading system, group study, competition among students, etc. Overall, an incredible experience and a great school.

Interview questions they asked

Do you have any family members who are physicians? Friends of the family?

I was asked this too

What was the most interesting question?

Being an out-of-state applicant, you know that the odds are against you at Downstate. How do you plan to deal with this?

I was asked this too

What was the most difficult question?

What do you think about stem cell research and its application to treating Alzheimer's disease?

I was asked this too

How did you prepare for the interview?

This website, AMCAS (primary) application, SUNY (secondary) application, the Downstate website. Got 8 hours of sleep the night before and had a bagel for breakfast. (Bring water to the interview lest you be taken by severe cotton mouth!)

What impressed you positively?

(1) The tour: Facilities aren't gorgeous (hey, it's Brooklyn) but Downstate students love the school -- Kings County Hospital affiliation is a big plus (interviewer couldn't stop talking about it), residence halls are available (and look decent, though I had to leave tour early to interview), carrols (study rooms) provide individual workspace for each student and are open 24 hours. (2) My interviewer took "open file" to a whole new level: he knew *everything* there was to know about me based on my application and letters of recommendation.

What impressed you negatively?

The weather: It's gonna take a lot for this Southern California boy to get used to the cold east coast winters!

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

(1) That there's no reason to be nervous: Downstate interviews are more like conversations than anything else. (2) That many New Yorkers don't even know the area well, so don't feel bad if you're an out-of-state applicant. (3) That Downstate doesn't give "stress interviews," so relax. (4) That your interviewer is really on your side, trying to get lots of information out of you to convince the admissions committee that you should be accepted.