Stony Brook, NY
Allopathic Medical Schools | Public Non-Profit
Application Cycle: 2009-10
⭐ Overall Impressions
How do you rank the facilities?
9 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
How do you rank this school among ALL other schools?
7 out of 10
0 = Below, 10 = Above
How do you rank this school among other schools to which you've applied?
9 out of 10
0 = Below, 10 = Above
What is your ranking of this school's location?
3 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
What is your ranking of this area's cultural life?
3 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
💬 Interview Questions
What is one of the specific questions they asked you?
How did you pick your undergraduate school?
What was the most interesting question?
None in particular; both of my interviews were more or less conversations, with a leading question thrown in now and then (Why pick your undergraduate school? How difficult was it to get a summer job at X?)
What was the most difficult question?
None. No ethical questions, no grades questions, just a friendly discussion of what I was currently up to and my plans for the future.
✅ Interview Preparation and Impressions
How long was the interview?
30 minutes
How did the interview impress you?
Positively 🙂
How many people interviewed you?
2
What was the stress level of the interview?
2 out of 10
0 = Low Stress, 10 = High Stress
How you think you did?
9 out of 10
0 = Bad, 10 = Great
What was the style of the interview?
One-on-one
What type of interview was it?
Open file
Where did the interview take place?
At the school
How did you prepare for the interview?
Read up on ethical questions, re-read all six thousand essays I wrote for the school, glanced at the website and at the interview feedback here at SDN, read the Health Times the week before. None of it necessary, apparently.
What impressed you positively?
The shiny hospital, the amazing amount of research possibilities, the collaboration with the other University schools, the strong match list and the enthusiasm of the students for their school. Oh, and the tuition, but that's because 18.8k is a steal for a medical school. Why go out of state?
What impressed you negatively?
That everyone both interviewing and attending seemed to have a connection to Long Island, and the isolation of the school. And: there wasn't any need to trash-talk Downstate like the students did. I think we all know that it's a choice between higher-ranked/research (SB) and proximity to NYC (Downstate).
What did you wish you had known ahead of time?
I didn't really know much about the MD with distinction in research, and think it's a strong draw for those of us who want research opportunities without the commitment of an MD/PhD. Also, the acceptance stats on MDpotential are off: last year, they offered 300 spots to 550 interviewees (including from waitlist), which is more than 50% acceptance from the interview pool. Much better odds than I thought. Finally, I've never had such a laid-back set of interviews in my life, without even a Why Medicine question. Maybe I got lucky with the interviewers, but I was more than happy to have a non-formulaic interview.
What are your general comments?
Good. I didn't need to prepare, although fellow interviewees reported lots of ethical questions, so you might want to think about that. Overall, positive impression.
📍 On-Site Experience
Who was the tour given by?
Student
How did the tour guide seem?
Enthusiastic
What is your in-state status?
In state
What were your total hours spent traveling?
2-3 hours
What was your primary mode of travel?
Train or subway
About how much did you spend on room, food, and travel?
< $100
Success!
School has been added to your favorites.