SUNY- Downstate Medical Center Admission
SUNY- Downstate Medical Center Undergraduate Program
SUNY- Downstate Medical Center Application

The Facts

SUNY is a rather large, public institution with various locations throughout the state of New York. The university's Downstate Medical Center is located in Brooklyn, New York, and is home to about 757 graduate medical students. The average age of enrollment is around 23, and it is fairly rare for any of the students to enter the school directly from their undergraduate education. The school is perhaps best known for its emphasis on the development of clinical reasoning, as well as its integration of the basic and clinical sciences. Aside from the basic MD degree, the school offers a joint MD/PhD degree in the areas of the biomedical sciences, neuroscience, as well as molecular and biological science.

Admission to SUNY's Downstate Medical Center is extremely competitive among the many students who apply; last year, over 3,505 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 200 of those students were accepted. Eventually however, only about 110 of the admitted students actually enrolled for the coming semester. The admitted students had average MCAT scores of about 10.8 in Biology, 10.5 in Physics, and 9.9 in Verbal, as well as an average undergraduate GPA of about a 3.7. Students are notified of their admissions status on a rolling basis, and are able to take advantage of the school's early application program if they so choose.

The Downstate Medical Center has about 700 faculty members, all of whom come from very diverse academic and medical backgrounds. The school also boasts a very manageable student to faculty ratio of about 1:1, and the small classes allow for plenty of discussion and interaction between students and their professors.

Graduates of SUNY's Downstate Medical Center are often admitted to some of the most prestigious residency programs in the nation. Students most frequently specialize in the areas of primary care, as well as academic medicine.

Clinical Programs

Students are required to complete extensive clinical training including 10 weeks of medicine, 8 weeks of surgery, 2 weeks of anesthesia, 6 weeks of pediatrics, 6 weeks of ob/gyn, 6 weeks of psychiatry, 4 weeks of neurology, 4 weeks of subinternships, as well as at least 20 weeks of various subinternships.

What's Good

"There are so many opportunities to get practical experience here."

"You basically have your pick of residencies, which makes life a lot easier."

"The courses really show you the whole range of medical sciences; you get a chance to really discover what you're passionate about."

What's Bad

"There can be some stupid competition between students; it can get annoying."

"Sometimes, certain professors play favorites, and you can feel a bit abandoned."

"New York is a very expensive place to live, and it's particularly difficult to find decent housing."

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