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SUNY - Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine (Brooklyn)

Brooklyn, NY

Allopathic Medical Schools | Public Non-Profit

⭐ Overall Impressions

How did the interview impress you?

No change

What was the stress level of the interview?

3 out of 10

How you think you did?

7 out of 10

How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?

10 out of 10

How do you rank this school among other schools to which you've applied?

10 out of 10
💬 Interview Questions

What is one of the specific questions they asked you?

Tell me about a challenge you had to overcome?
Why Medicine?

What was the most interesting question?

What do you do for fun?

What was the most difficult question?

Most meaningful undergrad activity?
🤝 Interview Format and Logistics

How long was the interview?

40 minutes

How many people interviewed you?

1

What was the style of the interview?

One-on-one

What type of interview was it?

Open file

Was this interview in-person or virtual?

No responses

Where did the interview take place?

At the school
📍 On-Site Experience

Who was the tour given by?

Student

How did the tour guide seem?

Enthusiastic

How do you rank the facilities?

5 out of 10

What is your in-state status?

In state

What were your total hours spent traveling?

0-1 hour

What was your primary mode of travel?

Train or subway

About how much did you spend on room, food, and travel?

< $100

What airport did you fly into?

No responses

Where did you stay?

Friends or family

What is the name of the hotel you stayed in?

No responses

How would you rate the hotel?

5 out of 10

Would you recommend the hotel?

No responses

What is your ranking of this school's location?

4 out of 10

What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?

6 out of 10

What are your comments on where you stayed?

No responses
✅ Interview Preparation and Impressions

How is the friendliness of the admissions office?

6 out of 10

How is the responsiveness of the admissions office?

4 out of 10

How did you prepare for the interview?

SDN, Practiced answering common interview questions, went over primary and secondary application

What impressed you positively?

Close student community, nicer facilities than I originally thought (new sim center and study spaces)

What impressed you negatively?

Meh area around the school, meh food options immediately following the school.

What did you wish you had known ahead of time?

Would take a subway to the school the day before if possible (during the day) so you know what to look for. Took some time to find the entrance.

What are your general comments?

The only in-state school located within NYC. As expected, the facilities are not nearly as nice as the NYC private schools, but you cannot beat the price, so weigh your pros and cons. Interview was more relaxed than I thought, and the two tour guides seemed to genuinely enjoy their experience and classmates. The renovated School of Public Health just finished up this year (2019) which shares some facilities (library, study spaces, etc.) with the med school. New clinical simulation center as well. The area around the subway entrance seemed rough but closer to the school seemed safe. Many students of different years spoke honestly about the area and it seems that most of them commute to the school (10 mins of walking around) and have never run into trouble. However, the consensus was that the food options were subpar, though most students move to the nicer Brooklyn areas (10 mins) after year 1 or 2. Dorms are essentially connected to the school and are both (very) safe and fairly affordable (especially for NYC). If you have time afterwards, I would check out the dorms as we did not get to during our tour. Overall, they have an impressive match list and Step1 scores, are one of the oldest and most established institutions in the country, and offer a myraid of unique clinical experiences due to its broad hospital system which encompasses different patient populations. Plus, true P/F and non-mandatory lectures are a huge bonus. I turned down two other NY school acceptances, and look forward to my time here.

What are your suggestions for the admissions office?

Hire one more admissions coordinator, they were a little unorganized likely because of the tremendous volume of applicants.