How to Get Into SUNY Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine: The Definitive Guide

SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine is a public MD school in Brooklyn, New York. Many applicants still call it SUNY Downstate Medical Center or Downstate medical school. It is the only academic medical center for health education, research and patient care serving the roughly 2.6 million residents of Brooklyn, and it is one of four academic medical center campuses within the 64-unit State University of New York (SUNY) system. The campus sits in the East Flatbush section of central Brooklyn.

SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University is made up of the following schools and hospital:

• College of Medicine
• School of Health Professions
• College of Nursing
• School of Graduate Studies
• School of Public Health
• University Hospital at Downstate

Be an informed applicant. Like all medical schools across the country, New York medical colleges have school-specific requirements and guidelines. Understanding Downstate’s identity, selection criteria and programs will help you focus your application and put your best foot forward.

This guide covers the 2026-2027 application cycle, for students who plan to start medical school in fall 2027. It explains the MD program and its combined degrees, the Integrated Pathways Curriculum, admissions requirements and deadlines, costs, clinical training across Brooklyn, the people who lead the school, the interview, and every current secondary prompt with a full illustrative example and analysis. Facts were checked on October 18, 2026.

Key Takeaways

• You can apply from any state, but New York residents are preferred. Downstate gives admissions preference to U.S. citizens and permanent residents who are New York residents, and it accepts well-qualified out-of-state applicants. International applicants are reviewed only after U.S. citizens and permanent residents, and the class has been filled before that review for more than two decades.
• The academic floor is clear. You need at least 90 semester credits to apply, a bachelor’s degree before you enroll, and a C or better in 38 credits of English, biology, physics, general chemistry and organic chemistry, all with labs where listed.
• The mission is about equity in Brooklyn. The College of Medicine describes a four-part mission built around “socially conscious physicians,” research that reduces health care disparities, patient-family centered care and community partnerships.
• Timing matters. The school runs a modified rolling process and encourages a complete file before October 1. AMCAS is due December 1, 2026, and your complete application, including the secondary, is due by 12 noon on January 4, 2027. Early Decision applicants file AMCAS by August 1, 2026.
• Public tuition, city living costs. Posted tuition is $46,470 a year for New York residents and $73,330 for nonresidents. The posted first-year cost of attendance is $86,031 in-state and $112,891 out-of-state, including health insurance.
• The numbers are competitive but not extreme. For the 2025 entering class, accepted applicants had a median MCAT of 514 and a median GPA of 3.86. Downstate received 7,490 verified applications, interviewed 899 applicants and enrolled 197 students, 166 of them New York residents.
• Clinical training is Brooklyn-wide. Students rotate through University Hospital at Downstate, NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County, Maimonides, the Brooklyn VA and other New York City affiliates.
• The secondary is short but specific. Six prompts for 2026-2027, with 150-word and 300-word limits, ask about your support system, urban experience, fit with Downstate and your experience with diversity, health equity and social justice.
• Next step: check your prerequisites against the credit table below, then start drafting your “fit” and health equity answers before your AMCAS is verified.

Key Statistics About SUNY Downstate College of Medicine

The snapshot below brings together the figures applicants ask about most. The median MCAT and GPA are for accepted applicants in the 2025 entering class, and the application and interview counts are for the same class. Class size is the school’s own current figure. Tuition is the rate the school currently posts. The table that follows gives the year, definition and source for each figure, along with cost of attendance, debt and Match Day 2026 results.

No acceptance rate is published for Downstate, because the number of offers is not reported. For the 2025 entering class, 7,490 verified applications came in and 899 applicants were interviewed, so about 12 percent of applicants reached the interview stage; 197 students enrolled. The school’s own Fast Facts page gives an earlier figure: in 2022, 6,148 people applied for 199 positions. Dividing class size by applicants gives the share of applicants who enrolled, which is always lower than the share who were admitted, so treat any single “Downstate acceptance rate” without a cycle and a definition with care. For side-by-side class numbers at other schools, see our list of the average GPA and MCAT score for every medical school.

Mission and Educational Priorities

Why choose SUNY Downstate? Students who attend Downstate have the unique pleasure of taking in the sights and sounds of New York City, from the Coney Island boardwalk to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. More important for your application, Brooklyn’s rich culture brings with it a unique patient population with needs related to culture, language, education and income. The school says plainly that students who choose Downstate care about making a difference and want to work in health care focused on the community it serves.

The College of Medicine’s mission statement begins: “SUNY Downstate College of Medicine is committed to excellence and equity in medical education, biomedical research, clinical care, and community engagement.” It then sets out a four-part mission:

1. “Provide an innovative and integrated medical education that prepares the next generation of socially conscious physicians and scientists to deliver high-quality, compassionate and culturally responsive health care to diverse populations.”
2. “Conduct innovative research with emphasis on reducing local and global health care disparities.”
3. “Practice evidence-based, patient-family centered care to improve the health of populations, enhance the patient experience, reduce the cost of care, and pursue health equity.”
4. “Strengthen our community partnerships to foster engagement and provide opportunities to learn while serving the community.”

The school’s values are Professionalism, Respect, Innovation, Diversity and Inclusivity, and Excellence. Dean F. Charles Brunicardi describes them with the shorthand P.R.I.D.E.

The university also has a four-pronged mission geared toward interprofessional skills, built through collaborative learning across its five schools. Students learn team-based communication skills so they can advocate for the best possible patient outcomes, and the goal is a graduate who can work well in a health care team.

What the mission means for your application

“Socially conscious” is a real filter. The admissions committee looks for a demonstrated commitment to non-medical community and social service outreach. The secondary asks directly about your experience with diversity, health equity and social justice. Service that is sustained, local and reflective will do more for you here than a long list of short activities.

Brooklyn is part of the curriculum. Downstate trains students in and around a borough where more than half of residents come from minority backgrounds. The school’s goal is “to train more physicians who come from the communities they serve.” Expect questions about how you would live and learn in New York City, and be ready to explain what urban experience prepares you for it.

Research is framed around disparities. The second mission point ties research to “reducing local and global health care disparities.” Student research and the Health Equity Advocacy and Leadership (HEAL) Pathway both build on this.

Teamwork is expected. Downstate’s curriculum leans on small groups and team-based learning, and it shares a campus with nursing, health professions and public health students. Clinical teamwork, not solo achievement, is the story that fits.

Outcomes match the mission. The school cites AAMC Mission Management Tool data from 2023 showing that, over six years, Downstate ranked in the 93rd percentile for total African American graduates, the 92nd percentile for graduates underrepresented in medicine, the 91st percentile for graduates who become faculty and the 84th percentile for graduates who plan to care for the underserved. On Match Day 2026, 76 percent of graduates stayed in New York State.

Accreditation and Institutional Identity

The College of Medicine is accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), the body that accredits MD programs in the United States and Canada. As of the LCME directory update of October 14, 2026, Downstate holds full accreditation, with its next full survey scheduled for 2028-29. Its initial accreditation dates to 1942 or earlier. The university as a whole is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Accreditation confirms that the program meets national standards; it is not a ranking.

A few points about identity help when you fill out AMCAS and read school materials:

• The name has changed over time. The current name is SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University. You will still see “SUNY Downstate Medical Center,” “SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn” and “Downstate Medical Center” in older materials and on residency lists. They refer to the same institution.
• The history is long. Downstate traces its roots to a German dispensary founded in 1856 and to the Long Island College Hospital, chartered in 1858 and opened for instruction in 1860. The school describes itself as the first medical college in the country founded within a hospital, which brought teaching to the bedside. It became the Long Island College of Medicine in 1930 and merged with the State University of New York in 1950. The current East Flatbush campus opened in the 1950s, and University Hospital opened in 1966.
• It is a public SUNY school. Tuition and fees are set within the SUNY system and are subject to change by the SUNY Board of Trustees. The State University of New York (SUNY) system also includes Norton College of Medicine at Upstate in Syracuse, the Jacobs School of Medicine at the University at Buffalo and the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook on Long Island. Downstate is the only SUNY academic medical center in New York City.
• It does not take part in external ratings. Downstate states that it does not participate in rating surveys conducted by outside groups such as U.S. News and World Report. It does report its data to the AAMC.

Medical Programs and Affiliations

Before applying, research the different programs Downstate offers. This will help you decide whether the school is a good fit and focus your application. The College of Medicine offers one MD degree with several entry routes and combined-degree options.

MD program (regular admission)

The MD program is the core of the College of Medicine, and Downstate is Brooklyn’s only academic medical center. Students work closely with physicians, nurses, researchers, public health scientists and advanced practice providers at University Hospital at Downstate and at affiliated hospitals across the borough. During all four years, the Integrated Pathways Curriculum weaves clinical and basic science education together.

Here is how the college describes the program: “Our primary goal is to develop excellent physicians. By the time you graduate, you’ll have the scientific, cultural and social background needed to thrive in the field. Equity in healthcare is a guiding principle for the College of Medicine. You’ll work closely with patients and providers in and around Brooklyn.” The school adds that students will “master the six core competencies of a physician: systems-based practice; professionalism; interpersonal and communication skills; practice-based learning and improvement; patient care; and medical knowledge,” and that Downstate is home to more than a dozen centers specializing in areas such as Alzheimer’s disease, asthma and HIV.

Early Decision

If Downstate is your clear first choice, you may apply through Early Decision. You apply only to Downstate, file AMCAS by August 1, 2026, and have a complete application on file by August 14, 2026. The school gives its decision by October 1. If you are not accepted by then, you may apply to other schools. All other requirements match regular admission. Both New York residents and nonresidents may apply Early Decision. It is a small route: no students entered the 2025 class through Early Decision, while 29 entered through Early Assurance programs and 9 through the BA/MD program.

Brooklyn College BA/MD

In association with CUNY Brooklyn College, academically qualified high school seniors may be selected for the Brooklyn College BA/MD Honors Program. Students who complete the program’s requirements are guaranteed admission to the first-year class at Downstate. You apply through the Brooklyn College admissions office, not through AMCAS. High school students exploring this route often start building patient-facing experience early, and medical internships for high school students are one structured way to do that.

Post-baccalaureate linkage programs

Students in the post-baccalaureate programs at Columbia University, New York University, Temple and Bryn Mawr College may apply to Downstate under a linkage agreement. Accepted linkage students enter medical school one year earlier than through the usual process. Contact the premedical advisor for your post-baccalaureate program for details.

MD/PhD program

Downstate’s MD/PhD program graduated its first student in 1967 and has been helping physician-scientists launch their careers ever since. Students follow the Foundations of Medicine curriculum for the first 18 months and work in research labs during their first two summers. Over the next three to four years, they focus on research through the School of Graduate Studies and write a doctoral thesis. After completing the PhD, they return to the College of Medicine to finish the MD.

The School of Graduate Studies awards PhD and MD/PhD degrees in Molecular and Cellular Biology and in Neural and Behavioral Science. The program lists strengths in learning and memory, atherosclerosis and cardiomyopathy, HIV/AIDS, immunology, pain and addiction, neurology, ophthalmology and optical tomography. Students receive a stipend and a tuition scholarship, and the program graduates about three dual-degree students a year.

You must apply separately to the College of Medicine and to the School of Graduate Studies. Considerable emphasis is placed on prior research experience. Applicants who do not qualify for the MD/PhD program are considered for the MD alone, and students already in the MD program can apply to the joint PhD program during their first three years of medical school. MD/PhD-specific secondary prompts and the 2026-2027 MD/PhD deadline are not posted on the public site, so watch your School of Graduate Studies portal and contact [email protected] with questions.

MD/MPH and MD/MHA programs

The MD/MPH program gives students the power to become better physicians. By earning a Master of Public Health alongside the MD, students gain a deeper understanding of health and disease at both the individual and community level. Downstate also offers an MD/Master of Health Administration (MHA).

These are concurrent degrees, not a separate joint program. You do not file a second application: Downstate uses your AMCAS, and you should select the AMCAS program type “Combined Medical Degree/Graduate.” Accepted students start their MPH or MHA courses in June, before the first year of medical school, and the application deadline is May 1 for the June class. Students can finish the coursework over summers or take a 12-month break between the third and fourth years.

The School of Public Health focuses on the health of immigrant and urban populations. MPH students choose one of five concentrations: Biostatistics, Community Health Sciences, Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, Epidemiology, or Health Policy and Management. Every MPH student completes a Culminating Experience with a hospital, community organization or government agency. MD/MPH students also have priority access to the Global Health in Developing Countries elective.

Academic Pathways

Beyond the core curriculum, Downstate offers optional longitudinal Academic Pathways. Each requires at least 8 hours of didactics, three years of participation and a scholarly product, and participation may be noted in the Dean’s Letter. Current pathways are Clinical Neurosciences (the first, founded in 2003, with more than 300 graduates), Medical Educator, Global Health, Bioethics, Health Equity Advocacy and Leadership (HEAL), LGBTQIA+ Health, and Data Science for Health. Some pathways cap enrollment.

Transfer admission

Downstate accepts transfer applications only into the third-year class, and only from U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are second-year students in good standing at an LCME-accredited school. Transfer applicants do not use AMCAS, must pass USMLE Step 1 by March 1, and apply by January 15 on a space-available basis.

Clinical affiliations

Downstate’s listed clinical affiliates are Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, The Brooklyn Hospital Center, the Brooklyn Campus of the VA NY Harbor Healthcare System, NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island, NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County, Kingsboro Psychiatric Center, Northwell Health (including Lenox Hill Hospital and Staten Island University Hospital), Maimonides Medical Center, Richmond University Medical Center on Staten Island, University Hospital at Downstate and SUNY Downstate at Bay Ridge.

Curriculum Overview

Downstate’s MD curriculum is called the Integrated Pathways Curriculum. It is competency-based and organized around six Domains of Competence that mirror the competencies residency programs use: Patient Care, Medical Knowledge, Practice-Based Learning and Improvement, Interpersonal and Communication Skills, Professionalism, and Systems-Based Practice. Students cannot move to the next phase without meeting the requirements for every competency.

The curriculum rests on three principles the school spells out: integration (clinical and basic science run through all four years), collaboration (faculty, affiliates, students and the Alumni Association shape it together) and relevance (new science and new practice skills, such as teamwork and lifelong learning, are added as medicine changes). It has three phases:

Foundations of Medicine (years one and two)

Foundations uses a multidisciplinary, systems-based approach. Disciplines such as gross anatomy and biochemistry are folded into six units:

1. Systems Overview: Human Structure and Function. An overview of organ systems and principles of physiology and pharmacology. Students start clinical skills right away: listening to heart and lung sounds, palpating major organs, measuring pulse and respiration and examining the musculoskeletal system. Dissection begins, supported by radiographs and ultrasound.
2. Molecules to Cells. The biochemical, molecular, cellular and genetic basis of disease, nutrition, early development and the cellular basis of cancer. Students begin working with physician preceptors in ambulatory offices.
3. Infection and Host Immunity. Infectious diseases, the immune system, allergy, inflammation, HIV infection and autoimmunity, with head and neck anatomy.
4. Gastrointestinal, Endocrine and Reproductive Systems. The first organ-system unit, including diabetes, reproductive health and pregnancy.
5. Cardiovascular, Respiratory and Renal Systems. After the summer break, students study the heart, lungs and kidneys, interpret EKGs and begin interviewing and examining patients in the hospital.
6. Brain, Mind and Behavior. Neuroanatomy, neurological examination, epilepsy, stroke and demyelinating disease, and psychiatric conditions such as dementia, psychosis, anxiety and depression.

After the Unit 6 assessment week, students have a dedicated interval to study for and pass USMLE Step 1.

Weekly formative assessments help students track their progress before the end-of-unit summative exams. Assessments also include essays, laboratory practicals and objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs).

Learning methods

Downstate favors active, student-centered learning over rote memorization:

• Interactive lectures that build structure and involve students in problem solving.
• Laboratory exercises, including cadaver dissection, in teams.
• Virtual microscopy for normal and diseased tissue.
• Problem-Based Learning (PBL) in groups of 9 or 10 with a facilitator, often starting with a standardized patient.
• Patient Oriented Problem Solving (POPS) in teams of four working through four related cases.
• Small-group clinical skills training with faculty, on classmates, in clinics and in the Simulation Center.
• Team-Based Learning (TBL), a flipped-classroom format with individual and team tests.
• Patient-centered learning across all four years, most intense in the clinical years. Lectures also include presentations from patients about how illness affects their lives.

Core Clinical Medicine (year three)

The core year begins with a one-week Transition to Clerkship course, then pairs clerkships to keep basic science connected to patient care.

The primary care clerkship also extends one half-day a week through the medicine and surgery clerkships, which gives students a longitudinal ambulatory experience. The third year includes elective time, and students complete two-week career exposure selectives in fields they might not otherwise see. In the spring, students complete a required standardized patient experience.

Advanced Clinical Medicine (year four)

The final phase requires Emergency Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Care (four weeks), Critical Care, Diagnostic Imaging, a sub-internship in medicine, surgery or pediatrics, and the Research Experience Project (REP). The REP, required of every fourth-year student, is a four- to eight-week project in which students write a hypothesis-driven research paper with a faculty mentor. Students have about four months of electives and a four-month block for vacation, Step 2 study and residency interviews.

Grading

Foundations is pass/fail. Core and Advanced Clinical Medicine use five tiers: Honors, High Pass, Pass, Conditional and Fail.

Admissions Requirements and Application Process

Downstate has specific academic criteria, and its admissions pages are detailed. This section covers what is required, what is recommended and how the application moves from AMCAS to a decision.

Selection factors: what Downstate looks for in an applicant

What exactly is Downstate looking for in its candidates: MCAT scores, grades or internships? Like most medical schools, Downstate uses a holistic review, which means the committee evaluates your entire application to get a picture of who you are as a candidate and as a person. The school’s admissions policy says decisions rest on “prior academic performance; completion of the courses required for admission; the potential for academic success including performance on standardized tests such as the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT); communication skills, character, personal skills, health related experiences, and motivation for a career in medicine.” The committee considers each applicant without regard to sex, race, color, creed, national origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, marital status or disability, and it welcomes applications from women and from members of groups underrepresented in medicine.

The AAMC Core Competencies for entering medical students are a useful guide to the qualities most committees look for, and Downstate’s transfer page names many of them directly: service orientation, social skills, cultural competence, teamwork, communication, ethical responsibility, reliability, resilience and capacity for improvement. Highlight these in your application, and don’t be afraid to reach out for personalized help.

Residency, citizenship and international applicants

You do not have to be a New York State resident to apply or to be accepted. Admissions preference goes to U.S. citizens and permanent residents who are New York residents, and well-qualified out-of-state applicants are accepted every year. The residency effect shows in the numbers: in the 2025 entering class, out-of-state applicants sent 4,925 of the 7,490 verified applications but made up 204 of the 899 interviewees and 31 of the 197 matriculants. Applicants with DACA status may apply, with preference still going to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. The August 2026 entering class included students from 17 states and territories, including Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Texas and Washington.

International applicants, including Canadian citizens, are reviewed only after U.S. citizens and permanent residents. The school states that the entering class has been filled before any international application was reviewed for more than the last twenty years, and financial aid is not available for international students. If you are not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, see our guide to medical schools that accept international students.

For tuition, a U.S. citizen or permanent resident whose domicile has been in New York for one year before registration pays in-state rates. Accepted students may need to file a New York State Residency application with documents; the request appears on your pre-matriculation checklist.

GPA and MCAT requirements

Downstate does not list a minimum GPA or MCAT score. It does set firm rules on the MCAT itself:

• Scores must be no more than three years old at your planned enrollment. For fall 2027 entry, an MCAT taken before August 1, 2024 must be retaken.
• The latest MCAT date that counts for fall 2027 is September 12, 2026.
• Applications are not reviewed without MCAT scores, and all scores from all attempts are reviewed.
• The committee recommends taking the MCAT in the spring before you apply.
• Applicants who test under non-standard conditions are considered on the same basis as everyone else.

On class metrics, the school says the mean MCAT and GPA of its entering class are slightly above the mean for students admitted nationally. For the 2025 entering class, accepted applicants had a median MCAT of 514 and a median total GPA of 3.86 (science GPA median 3.81). There is no minimum GPA or MCAT for screening, and the committee sees every MCAT score you have taken. If your undergraduate GPA is lower, postbaccalaureate or graduate coursework is considered when your undergraduate GPA is at least 3.0 and you have completed at least 24 credits of that later coursework.

Coursework and degree requirements

You must have completed at least 90 semester credits at a college or university accredited by a recognized U.S. institutional accreditor before you apply, and you need a baccalaureate degree in any discipline before you enroll. Admissions preference goes to applicants who completed prerequisites at four-year U.S. colleges (not study abroad) and who took science prerequisites in a classroom setting rather than through distance learning.

Downstate lists the following required courses. A grade of C or better is required in each.

Details that trip people up:

• Quarter system. Three quarter courses usually equal two semester courses. If lecture and lab are separate courses, you may need more credit hours to complete the sequence.
• English. Courses with an English department prefix count. English courses taken abroad generally do not. If your college counts an interdisciplinary writing course, upload a letter from the college confirming it.
• One-semester general chemistry. An intensive one-semester general chemistry course with lab can satisfy the requirement if your college treats it as equal to two semesters. You should also take a higher-level chemistry course, preferably biochemistry, flag the course on the Supplemental Application and upload the catalog description.
• AP credit. Accepted if your college lists it by subject title on your final transcript, but AP credit cannot satisfy a lab, and you should take an equal number of advanced science credits to be competitive.
• Old coursework. There is no time limit on prerequisites, but applicants with older science courses are advised to take recent, advanced science work.
• Educated abroad. You need at least two full-time semesters at an accredited U.S. college before applying, proof of English proficiency if your earlier schooling was in another language, and a course-by-course evaluation from a NACES member agency if much of your education was abroad.

The committee looks favorably on at least one year of college mathematics and advanced science. Biochemistry, biostatistics and statistics are strongly recommended. Other useful courses include anatomy, physiology, histology, cell biology, genetics, neuroscience, social sciences, humanities, sociology and psychology.

Volunteer and clinical experience

Downstate’s admissions pages say the committee “seeks individuals who have a demonstrated commitment to non-medical community/social service outreach activities.” Its AMCAS tips add that the committee is interested in both “community service that is non-medical/clinical” and “community service – medical clinical,” so list both clearly with dates and average hours per week. If an experience lasted less than a week, give the number of days in the description.

Physician shadowing is recommended rather than required. Applicants should be able to show an understanding of the clinical side of medicine through meaningful experiences in the United States where they interact with patients and physicians in a clinical setting over a period of time. The 2025 entering class shows what that looks like in practice: 96 percent reported research, 86 percent medical or clinical volunteering, 84 percent physician shadowing or clinical observation, 83 percent non-medical community service and 72 percent paid clinical work.

What counts as volunteer service and clinical experience:

• Clinical experience. Patient exposure through volunteering or working at hospitals, emergency rooms, extended-care facilities and clinics for people experiencing homelessness. Structured clinical internships for pre-med students can add supervised, hands-on patient contact.
• Volunteer and community service. Sustained involvement in your community, ideally outside medicine as well as inside it.
• Research. Many medical schools see research as an important part of preparation. Research can be in any discipline. Be able to describe your project, the question asked and your role.
• Leadership. Leadership can come from the community, a faith organization, work or campus groups.
• Extracurricular activities. Balancing activities shows how you handle responsibility and the demands of medical school.

If you are building experience before you apply, pre-med internships and summer work are easier to plan early. Many applicants use the summer before the application year for pre-med summer internships, research or a clinical job.

Letters of recommendation

Being a competitive applicant includes strong letters. Your letters should be written by people who can describe your integrity, interest in medicine, academic ability, interpersonal skills and resilience. Downstate’s rules are specific:

• All letters must arrive electronically through the AMCAS Letters Service, including letters sent through Virtual Evals or Interfolio. Mail, email and fax are not accepted.
• Every letter must be on letterhead and signed.
• If you send an AMCAS committee letter or letter packet, Downstate accepts all letters in the packet. At least one letter should be from a science professor who taught you biology, chemistry or physics.
• If you send individual letters, submit no more than two, and one must be from a science professor.
• If you are in a graduate program, your faculty advisor or major professor must also send a letter.
• Graduates who are working or non-traditional applicants without a committee letter may send two letters: one from a science faculty member who taught you a required course, and one from your work supervisor or a recent faculty member.
• If you have had no college coursework in the last six years but are working, send one letter from your supervisor and one from a physician, health professional or faculty member who knows you well.

Do not send extra letters. The school says more than the specified number will delay processing.

Does SUNY Downstate require CASPer or PREview?

Neither is required. Casper is an online situational judgment test that some medical schools require to assess interpersonal and professional skills. Downstate’s published requirements for the 2026-2027 cycle do not include Casper, Duet or the AAMC PREview exam, and no assessment beyond the MCAT is required for admission. A complete application consists of AMCAS, MCAT scores, the Supplemental Application, the fee and letters. Downstate does recommend that applicants submit AAMC PREview scores, so if you have taken PREview or plan to take it for other schools, release your score.

AMCAS primary application

Downstate participates in AMCAS, the primary application used by almost every MD school. Your primary application goes to every MD school you select. The school strongly recommends applying early and completing AMCAS before September 1. Send official transcripts to AMCAS, not to Downstate, unless the committee asks.

The school’s AMCAS tips are worth following:

• List your course title as well as the department and course number.
• If you are enrolled in the fall, list fall courses as “Current/Future.”
• If you are on a quarter system, add spring quarter grades or upload your grade report.
• If you cancel a planned MCAT, update the Standardized Test section and resubmit AMCAS.

Supplemental (secondary) application

Once Downstate receives your verified AMCAS application, it emails you an invitation to its Supplemental Application, which the school also calls the secondary. Every applicant must complete it before the application can be reviewed. With it you pay a nonrefundable $100 processing fee by credit card or submit an approved AMCAS fee waiver. The school recommends completing the Supplemental and paying the fee as soon as possible, and you will get an email confirming both were received. The secondary also has a prerequisite section where you list your required courses, including separate lab courses. The prompts are covered in full in the secondary section below.

Application review and decisions

Downstate encourages applicants to have a complete application on file before October 1 “for maximum benefit.” It uses a modified rolling process: applications are not reviewed in the order they are completed, and some are not reviewed until January. The committee may place your file on hold for fall grades, or “hold for spring consideration,” which means a re-review after January 2. Requests for more information appear on the Application Checklist in your admissions portal; upload PDFs through Document Upload.

During the fall, send updates only if the committee asks. In the spring, interviewed applicants are encouraged to upload their fall grade report and any updates.

2026-2027 timeline and deadlines

Acceptance conditions, deferrals and reapplicants

All acceptances are conditional, including on a satisfactory background report through Certiphi. The school may rescind an offer for misrepresentation or unmet conditions. Accepted students can request a deferral of up to one year for educational or service activities by May 1, 2027, and approved deferred students must file an AMCAS Delayed Matriculation application for the following year. Requests are decided case by case; one applicant deferred entry from the 2025 entering class. The $100 acceptance deposit is applied to tuition when you enroll.

Reapplicants submit a new AMCAS, a new Supplemental Application, the fee and new letters. If you applied last year, you can ask by email to reuse the same letters; if it has been longer, new letters are required. Downstate does not offer individual advising appointments for applicants who were not accepted and refers them to their premedical advisor or to the National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions. Reapplicants and others building more experience often consider pre-med gap year programs before reapplying.

Tuition, Cost of Attendance and Financial Aid

In addition to tuition and fees, Downstate students budget for books, supplies, housing, transportation, health insurance and personal costs. Downstate is a SUNY school, so tuition is set within the SUNY system and is subject to change by the SUNY Board of Trustees.

Tuition and fees

The Bursar’s office currently posts College of Medicine tuition of $23,235 per semester for New York residents and $36,665 per semester for nonresidents, or $46,470 and $73,330 a year. Per-credit rates are $1,936 and $3,055. The page does not state the academic year, so check it again when you receive an offer.

Each semester also carries flat fees: a $25 college fee, $105 activity fee, $159.50 technology fee, $81.50 student health fee and a $5 transcript fee. First-year students pay a one-time $250 orientation fee in their first fall.

Cost of attendance by year

The cost of attendance is the budget that sets your maximum financial aid. Downstate posts the following budgets for the College of Medicine.

Nonresidents pay $73,330 in tuition, which brings the posted first-year total to $112,891 and the posted total for each later year to $112,641. For the full program, the school lists tuition and fees alone at $189,138 for New York residents and $296,578 for nonresidents.

Student health insurance is mandatory, but you can waive the charge if you show comparable coverage through a parent, spouse or employer. All figures are estimates and can change; loan fees update each July 1.

Financial aid and debt

Most of Downstate’s aid comes from federal and state sources: grants, scholarships, loans and Federal Work-Study. Loans are the most common form of help. File the FAFSA as soon as possible. As a graduate health professions student, you must include parental information on the FAFSA to be considered for the school’s economically disadvantaged grants. Some scholarships based on academic achievement are also available. Accepted students receive aid instructions by email. Aid is common: in 2024-2025, 82 percent of all enrolled and graduated Downstate medical students received financial aid.

Debt is real even at a public school. For the class of 2024, Downstate estimates the average medical school debt of its graduates at $227,446, compared with AAMC averages of $197,843 for public schools and $222,381 for private schools that year. Living expenses depend on your housing and lifestyle, but aid is based on the school’s budget, not your choices, so economize where you can.

What this means for your planning

• New York residency is the biggest cost lever. The tuition gap between residents and nonresidents is $26,860 a year, or more than $107,000 over four years. You cannot gain residency simply by living in New York to attend school.
• Budget for New York City housing. Room and board is the second-largest line in every year’s budget, and the school’s housing is limited (see below).
• Plan for the clinical years. The third-year budget rises because it covers 12 months, exam fees and travel between Brooklyn sites.
• Ask early. The Office of Financial Aid is at [email protected] and (718) 270-2488.

Campus Facilities and Student Life

Downstate’s campus is on Clarkson Avenue in East Flatbush, a short ride on the 2 or 5 subway train to the Winthrop Street station. Students who choose Downstate live and learn in one of the most culturally vibrant neighborhoods in New York City.

Study and learning spaces

• Health Science Education Building (HSEB). Classrooms, labs and the library, plus two floors of small-group rooms called “carrels,” each with a desk, secure storage and data ports. The carrels are home base for first- and second-year students.
• Medical Research Library of Brooklyn. Renovated in 2020, with a 24/7 Information Commons, an eating area, group spaces, private carrels and a quiet second floor.
• Basic Science Building (BSB). Eight stories with four large lecture halls and faculty research labs. Dr. Robert F. Furchgott, a physiology and pharmacology faculty member here, won the 1998 Nobel Prize.
• Public Health Academic Building (PHAB). Newer teaching space with a clinical simulation suite and study rooms.
• 24/7 access. Students have round-the-clock access to study carrels, the gross anatomy lab and part of the library.

Housing

Downstate has two residence halls on campus for students in all five schools, each holding about 200 residents, for a total of about 400. The rooms include traditional residence hall rooms and apartments. Many medical students live off campus. The Office of Residential Life and Services shares an off-campus housing list at 811 New York Avenue, but the university does not inspect or approve private housing or take part in landlord disputes. Start your housing search as soon as you commit.

Student support and wellness

The College of Medicine’s wellness program covers physical health (Student Health Service, fitness facilities, a food pantry and plant-based nutrition resources), emotional health (Student Counseling Service, a peer wellness program and support for students facing mistreatment), community wellness and financial wellness, including debt management sessions. The Office of Academic Support Services and Advisement offers one-on-one academic coaching and peer-led review sessions.

Service and student organizations

Community engagement is a core part of the school’s mission. Downstate lists more than 100 volunteer service projects linking students, faculty and staff with the community. Programs that medical students can join include:

• Brooklyn Free Clinic. A student-run clinic that provides free care and screenings to uninsured Brooklyn residents under volunteer physicians, with a network of volunteer specialists.
• Downstate Asylum Clinic. Founded by students in Downstate’s Physicians for Human Rights chapter and the Brooklyn Free Clinic, it provides medical forensic evaluations for people seeking asylum.
• Community mentorship, screenings, vaccination and food drives with local schools, health centers and family shelters.
• Gold Humanism Honor Society, plus the full list of student organizations kept by Downstate Student Services.

Downstate’s community partners on campus include the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health (founded in 1994), the Brooklyn Health Promotion Center, the HEAT program for LGBTQ adolescents and young adults, the Life of Hope Maternal Health Program for Black immigrant mothers, and the Kings Against Violence Initiative (KAVI), a youth violence prevention program.

Life in Brooklyn

When students take a break, they have the Coney Island boardwalk, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, concerts and games at Barclays Center, and Manhattan a subway ride away. The school’s alumni events, such as the annual reunion at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the White Coat Ceremony, keep the medical school community close.

Clinical Rotations and Research Opportunities

Where clinical training happens

Third-year students spend much of their time in clinical training across New York City. During clerkships they work as members of clinical teams with attending physicians, residents, nurses and allied health professionals and take on supervised responsibility for evaluating and treating patients.

Sites vary by clerkship. Some examples from the school’s clerkship descriptions:

• Internal Medicine: two four-week inpatient rotations at two of University Hospital at Downstate, the Brooklyn VA, Brookdale, Lenox Hill/Northwell, North Shore University Hospital, Maimonides and NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County.
• Psychiatry: inpatient and consultation-liaison work at Kings County, University Hospital, Kingsboro Psychiatric Center, Maimonides, Lenox Hill, Coney Island and Brookdale, plus a weekly half day in an outpatient clinic.
• Obstetrics and Gynecology: outpatient clinics, labor and delivery and gynecology, with some students assigned to Kings County, The Brooklyn Hospital Center or Maimonides; Monday didactics are held at Downstate.
• Primary Care: a four-week clerkship in community settings, where students act as the primary student-physician and see preventive, acute and chronic care, sometimes including home care and addiction treatment.

Because sites are spread across Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island, expect commuting between hospitals by subway, and plan your housing with that in mind. The Kings County connection is long-standing: in 1935, 500 beds at Kings County Hospital were set aside for the college’s clinical teaching.

University Hospital at Downstate offers care across 53 specialties and subspecialties and is home to Brooklyn’s only kidney transplant program, which Dr. Stanley Kountz founded in 1972. Downstate also supports 950 residents in 54 accredited programs across 29 affiliated hospitals, so medical students learn alongside a large graduate medical education community.

Global and community clinical work

The Global Health Pathway offers case-based learning on the logistics and ethics of global health, fourth-year capstone and global-local clinical experiences, and guidance for rotations abroad. MD/MPH students have priority access to the Global Health in Developing Countries elective, which takes students overseas to study public health and deliver care in a resource-poor country. On the 2025 AAMC Graduation Questionnaire, 16 percent of Downstate’s graduating seniors reported a global health experience during medical school. Applicants drawn to global health often first try supervised pre-med internships abroad to see care in a different health system.

Student research

The school “encourages its medical students to participate in research as part of their medical training,” and research runs through all four years:

• Foundations. Students learn the scientific method, hypothesis testing and scientific writing in Foundations 1 and data analysis in Foundations 2, with biostatistics woven through.
• Finding a mentor. Lunchtime sessions in the fall of first year introduce faculty mentors from all five Downstate schools, and some students do summer research at outside institutions.
• Summer research. The Alumni Association sponsors a Summer Research Fellowship for the eight weeks between first and second year. Applications open in January and are due at the end of March. Work-study funding is often available for students not selected.
• Year-long fellowships. One-year funded research programs through national sponsors, NIH and the Alumni Association are open to students between the second and third or third and fourth years. The Alumni Fund’s full-year research scholarship provides up to $40,000.
• Required research. Every fourth-year student completes the Research Experience Project.
• Recognition. About 15 students a year graduate with “Distinction in Research” or “Commendation in Investigative Scholarship.” Students present at the annual Research Day every spring.

The dean’s message notes that Downstate students publish in peer-reviewed journals at a rate above the national average, with projects ranging from health disparities and social determinants of health to precision medicine, infectious diseases, immunology, gastroenterology and hepatology. Downstate reports about $50 million in grant funding, and its research history includes the 1998 Nobel Prize and the work that led to the first full-body MRI scanner.

Research centers include the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health and the Brooklyn Health Promotion Center. In September 2026, Governor Hochul announced $1.5 million for Downstate to establish a Lifespan Neural Dynamics Center.

Residency outcomes

On Match Day 2026, 187 Downstate students matched into residency in 28 specialties. Seventy-six percent stayed in New York State, more than half matched in New York City, and 35 continued their training at Downstate. The top fields were internal medicine (27 percent), anesthesiology (12 percent), psychiatry (7 percent) and emergency medicine (7 percent). Graduates matched at institutions including Northwell Health, Montefiore, Mount Sinai, NYU Grossman, Stony Brook, NewYork-Presbyterian (Columbia and Cornell) and Maimonides.

Notable Alumni, Faculty, Leadership and Admissions Staff

Knowing who leads Downstate and who teaches there helps you understand the school’s priorities and speak specifically in your essays and interview. The profiles below come from Downstate’s own leadership, dean’s office, alumni and news pages. Titles were checked on October 18, 2026. None of these people is an admissions contact for individual applicants; all applicant questions go to [email protected].

University and College of Medicine leadership

Wayne J. Riley, MD, MPH, MBA, MACP, President, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University. Dr. Riley leads the whole university, including the College of Medicine and University Hospital at Downstate. His message to the community frames health care as “a fundamental right, not a privilege” and commits Downstate to “keeping care close to home,” the #KeepCareClose theme you will see across the school’s materials. He spoke for the university at Match Day 2026 and at the May 2026 commencement, the first in Downstate’s history to bring graduates of all five schools together in one ceremony. For applicants, his priorities explain why the school talks so much about Central Brooklyn and health disparities.

F. Charles Brunicardi, MD, FACS, Senior Vice President and Dean, College of Medicine. Dr. Brunicardi was named dean and professor of surgery in 2019. He earned his medical degree at Rutgers, chaired surgery departments at Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Toledo, and was vice chair of surgery at UCLA. He has been editor-in-chief of Schwartz’s Principles of Surgery since 2000 and lists 320 publications and 10 patents. His dean’s message highlights the Integrated Pathways Curriculum, the six competencies and student research on health disparities and precision medicine, and it describes the P.R.I.D.E. values that also appear in the mission.

Jason M. Lazar, MD, PhD, MPH, Executive Vice Dean and Chair of the Department of Medical Education. Dr. Lazar oversees medical education across the College of Medicine. He is a Distinguished Teaching Professor, holds appointments in molecular and cell biology, neurology and the School of Public Health, and directs non-invasive cardiology. His combination of research, public health and teaching roles reflects the cross-school model Downstate promotes.

Admissions leadership

Anthony Joseph, MD, Dean of Admissions, College of Medicine. Dr. Joseph is listed in the Office of the Dean as the College of Medicine’s Dean of Admissions. The admissions office is clear that applicants should not contact individual staff: questions go to [email protected], with “College of Medicine applicant” in the subject line and your name and AAMC ID in the message, and a staff member replies. The office also says it cannot give individual advising appointments or tell applicants by email whether their credentials are competitive.

Faculty and educators

Riccardo Bianchi, PhD, Associate Dean for Foundations of Medicine. Dr. Bianchi is an associate professor of physiology and pharmacology and leads the Foundations phase, the first 18 months of the curriculum. He also served on the Alumni Fund committee that chose the 2023-2024 full-year research scholarship recipients. If you want to know how the six Foundations units and the pass/fail grading work in practice, his office is where that design lives.

Antonia Quinn, DO, Associate Dean of Clinical Skills and Professor of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Quinn leads clinical skills training, which starts in Unit 1, when students practice heart and lung exams, and runs through standardized patient work in the Simulation Center. She is also a co-director of the Medical Educator Pathway, which prepares students for careers in academic medical education. Her role shows how early hands-on skills begin at Downstate.

Ernest J. Barthélemy, MD, MPH, MA, Chief of the Division of Neurosurgery. Dr. Barthélemy is a Brooklyn native and first-generation Haitian American who earned his MD and trained in neurosurgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, with fellowships in neurotrauma and global surgery at UCSF. At Downstate he is founding co-director of the Global Neuroscience Initiative, and in 2025 the American Society of Black Neurosurgeons named him president-elect. He has more than 80 peer-reviewed publications in English and French. Applicants interested in global health or neuroscience will find his work connects to the Global Health and Clinical Neurosciences pathways.

Brian Keith McNeil, MD, MBA, FACS, Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs and Vice Chair of Urology. Dr. McNeil is a board-certified urologist who was named a 2025-2026 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow, working on federal health legislation and regulation in Washington, D.C. He was a Presidential Leadership Scholar in 2023 and serves on the board of the Urology Care Foundation. His path shows how Downstate faculty connect clinical care with health policy, a theme that fits the school’s equity mission.

Robert F. Furchgott, PhD (historical faculty). Dr. Furchgott, a longtime faculty member in physiology and pharmacology, received the 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for identifying nitric oxide as a signaling molecule that relaxes and widens blood vessels. He is no longer living, but his work is a point of pride the school returns to often, along with Dr. Raymond Damadian’s MRI work on the Downstate campus and Dr. Stanley Kountz’s founding of Brooklyn’s kidney transplant program.

Alumni

Downstate’s Alumni Association, founded in 1880, says the College of Medicine has more than 10,000 graduates. The association funds summer and full-year student research and mentoring, and several of its officers are current faculty and leaders.

Carla Boutin-Foster, MD, MSc, class of 1994. Dr. Boutin-Foster is a College of Medicine alumna who serves on the Alumni Association Board of Managers. She is now a professor of medicine, associate dean of the Office of Diversity Education and Research and associate vice president for institutional equity. She also co-directs the Health Equity Advocacy and Leadership (HEAL) Pathway, which trains students in health disparities research, community partnerships and advocacy. Her career is a direct example of the school’s goal of training physicians who return to serve its community.

Sarah Washington, MD, class of 2007. Dr. Washington is president of the Alumni Association of the College of Medicine. The association’s work includes the Alumni Summer Research Fellowship, White Coat sponsorships and the annual reunion. For applicants, the alumni network is one of the main funders of the research opportunities described above.

Linda M. Nicoll, MD, class of 2004. Dr. Nicoll chairs the Alumni Association Board of Trustees for 2025-2026, the board that oversees the Alumni Fund and its investment and scholarship committees.

Jenny Libien, MD, class of 2001. Dr. Libien is secretary-treasurer of the Board of Trustees and president-elect of the Board of Managers. She served with Dr. Bianchi on the review committee for the Alumni Fund’s full-year research scholarships, which support students with up to $40,000 for a year of research.

Admissions Statistics and Class Profile

Here is what Downstate publishes about its applicants and students, with the cohort for each figure.

Class size and makeup

The entering first-year class is about 200 students. Downstate’s own table of entering classes shows:

Out-of-state applicants are welcome and are accepted. The August 2026 entering class came from 17 states and territories, from Arizona to Puerto Rico. Downstate also welcomes second-career, post-baccalaureate and non-traditional applicants.

The 2025 entering class of 197 students included 88 men, 108 women and 1 student of another gender identity. Ninety-five students were 19 to 23 when they entered, 94 were 24 to 29, seven were 30 to 39 and one was 40 or older. Seven percent already held a graduate degree, 65 percent were science or math majors and five came from postbaccalaureate programs. Forty percent reported a disadvantaged background, and 24 percent said they grew up in a medically underserved area. By self-reported race and ethnicity, where students could choose more than one category, the class included 77 Asian, 70 White, 22 Hispanic or Latino, 20 Black or African American and 19 Middle Eastern or North African students. In October 2025, total MD enrollment was 883.

Applicants and positions

The 2025 entering class gives the most complete current picture:

Read across the rows and the residency preference is plain. About 28 percent of in-state applicants were interviewed (695 of 2,489), compared with about 4 percent of out-of-state applicants (204 of 4,925). Overall, about 12 percent of verified applicants were interviewed. Of the 197 matriculants, 29 entered through Early Assurance programs and 9 through the BA/MD program.

The applicant figures the school posts on its own Fast Facts page are:

• 2022: 6,148 applicants for 199 positions
• 2021: 6,682 applicants for 199 positions
• 2020: 6,142 applicants for 207 positions

Offer counts are not reported, so there is no published acceptance rate. The share of 2022 applicants who enrolled was about 3 percent, and the share of 2025 verified applicants who enrolled was about 2.6 percent, but those are matriculation figures, not acceptance rates, because each admitted student may hold several offers.

MCAT and GPA

The school says the mean MCAT and GPA of its entering class are slightly above the mean for students admitted nationally. For the 2025 entering class, the figures for all accepted applicants were:

Treat these figures as a description of a past class, not a cutoff: Downstate has no minimum GPA or MCAT. A median of 514 means about half of accepted applicants scored at or below it. CARS has the lowest section median, at 127, while the psychology and sociology section has the highest, at 130.

How Downstate measures outcomes

Downstate does not take part in U.S. News rankings. It points instead to outcomes data. Using AAMC Mission Management Tool figures for 2023, the school reports that over six years it ranked in the 91st percentile for graduates who become faculty, the 92nd percentile for graduates underrepresented in medicine who become faculty, the 87th percentile for graduates prepared to care for patients from different backgrounds and the 84th percentile for graduates who plan to care for the underserved. On Match Day 2026, 76 percent of graduates stayed in New York State.

Tips and Strategies for Admission

Many students find themselves overwhelmed by medical school applications. Each school has its own process. The strategies below translate Downstate’s published priorities into practical steps.

1. Apply early and finish fast. Downstate encourages a complete file before October 1, and it reviews applications out of order. Submit AMCAS in June, have your letters ready, and turn the Supplemental around within about two weeks. A complete file early in the season gives the committee more time with it.

2. Show sustained community service, not only clinical hours. The committee says it seeks a “demonstrated commitment to non-medical community/social service outreach.” A tutoring program, food pantry or tenant association you served for two years can say as much as a hospital role. Pair it with real patient contact; internships for pre-med students that include supervised vitals and intake are one option alongside local clinical jobs.

3. Make Brooklyn concrete. Two secondary prompts ask about urban life and fit. Name what you would actually do here: the Brooklyn Free Clinic, the HEAL or Global Health pathways, the MD/MPH focus on immigrant and urban health, or clerkships at Kings County. Avoid general praise of New York City.

4. Plan your letters around Downstate’s rules. Use a committee letter or packet with at least one science professor, or send no more than two individual letters, one from a science professor. Extra letters slow your file.

5. Check your prerequisites line by line. The Supplemental has a prerequisite section. Make sure your English credits carry an English prefix, your labs are listed, and any one-semester chemistry or AP credit is documented with uploads.

6. Use the health equity prompt to show reflection. Downstate’s mission uses the words “socially conscious.” Describe what you saw, what you did and what you learned about your own limits. Specific, honest detail beats big claims.

7. If you are out of state, be realistic and specific. Out-of-state students are accepted every year, but residents are preferred. Explain why Downstate in particular, and show you understand the cost difference.

8. Keep updates for the spring. In the fall, send materials only when asked. After an interview, upload your fall grades and meaningful updates through the portal.

9. Reapply with a dated list of changes. The reapplicant prompt asks for “a list with dates.” Make each change measurable: a new MCAT, a new job, new coursework, new service.

10. Build experience with purpose. If you need more clinical exposure, medical internships for undergraduates during breaks, a clinical job or a scribe role can fill the gap. Choose experiences you can reflect on in the “fit” and diversity essays.

Personalized help

To give yourself the best chance at your top-choice school, consider working with an admissions consultant. A consultant can guide you through each stage of the application and give personalized feedback. International Medical Aid can help you build a competitive application that highlights your strengths and speaks to each school’s priorities. Many applicants benefit from our personalized medical school admissions consulting.

Secondary Application Questions, Example Responses and Analysis

Completing your secondary application is a critical part of applying to medical school. In the secondary you can show your character, goals and motivation, and explain what makes you a strong fit for the Downstate MD program.

Downstate emails its Supplemental Application to every applicant once your verified AMCAS arrives. The fee is $100 (or an approved AMCAS fee waiver), and your complete application, including the Supplemental, is due by 12 noon on January 4, 2027. The school recommends finishing it as soon as possible. Downstate does not post its prompts publicly. The six prompts below are the 2026-2027 wording; always follow the wording and limits shown in your portal.

The “good fit” prompt is reproduced exactly as it appears in the secondary, including the missing “you.” There are no separate essay prompts for Early Decision. Prompts for MD/PhD applicants are not published for the 2026-2027 cycle; if you apply MD/PhD, follow the program-specific steps and limits in your School of Graduate Studies application.

Here are our best tips for a strong Downstate secondary:

• Read each prompt closely and answer every part of it.
• Support your answers with concrete evidence from your academic, work, service and research experiences.
• Do not repeat your AMCAS. Use the secondary to add detail you could not include in the primary.
• Proofread carefully and keep dates and facts consistent with AMCAS.
• Write clearly and concisely. Cut filler and stay on topic. At 150 words, every sentence has to earn its place.
• Consider an admissions consultant or another trusted reader for feedback. Writing thousands of words of secondaries takes time, and outside feedback helps.

The examples below are original teaching examples, each labeled “Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay.” They were not submitted to any school, and you should never copy them. Use them to see how an answer can cover every part of a prompt within the limit, then write from your own experience.

Prompt 1: “Are there any periods longer than 3 months, from the time you graduated from high school to now, when you were not employed full time or in college full-time? If yes, please briefly describe your activities”

Limit: no limit is stated. Who answers: applicants who had a gap of more than three months since high school when they were neither working full time nor in college full time. If this does not apply, answer no.

What it asks. A factual account of any gap: when it happened, what you did and when you returned to full-time school or work. It is not asking you to justify yourself, and a gap is not a red flag on its own.

How to approach it. Give dates first, then your main activities, with hours where they help. Keep it short even though there is no limit; 75 to 150 words is plenty. End with the date you returned to full-time study or work. If you are planning time off before medical school, plan activities you can describe this way, whether a clinical job, research or a structured gap year program.

Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (81 words):

From June 2023 to January 2024, between my sophomore and junior years, I took a leave from college to care for my grandmother after her stroke. I managed her medications, drove her to therapy three times a week and learned to communicate with her home health aides in Haitian Creole. During that time I also worked 20 hours a week as a pharmacy technician trainee. I returned to college full time in January 2024 and have been enrolled full time since.

Analysis. The answer gives exact dates, names the reason and lists concrete activities with hours. It shows responsibility (medication management, transportation) and a skill relevant to Brooklyn (communicating in Haitian Creole) without turning a family situation into a dramatic story. It closes by confirming continuous full-time enrollment since the gap, which answers the committee’s real question. Mistakes to avoid: leaving dates vague, writing a second personal statement, or hiding a gap that appears on your transcript.

Prompt 2: “What will be your support system while in medical school?”

Limit: 150 words. Who answers: all applicants.

What it asks. Who and what will keep you healthy and on track during four demanding years in New York City. Committees want to see that you have thought realistically about stress, distance, money and academic difficulty.

How to approach it. Cover several layers in a few sentences each: people (family, friends, mentors), personal habits, school resources and finances. If your support is far away, say how you will stay connected and what you will build locally. Name a real Downstate resource only if it fits, such as academic coaching or the counseling service.

Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (133 words):

My support system starts with my older sister, a labor and delivery nurse in Queens, who has already promised Sunday dinners and honest advice when clinical days get hard. My parents live forty minutes away by subway, so I can go home when I need quiet. I also lean on two friends from my college research lab who are now in New York medical schools; we have kept a weekly study call since our MCAT prep. For my health, I run three mornings a week and keep a regular sleep schedule, habits that carried me through working while in school. If I struggle academically, I will use Downstate’s academic coaching early rather than late. Financially, I plan to rely on federal loans and the aid office, and my family has offered housing help.

Analysis. In 133 words the example covers people nearby, peers who understand medical school, personal habits with a track record, a school resource (Downstate’s Office of Academic Support Services offers one-on-one coaching) and money. Each layer is specific: a sister who is a nurse, a weekly study call, three runs a week. It also shows maturity by planning to seek help early. Mistakes to avoid: listing only family, naming another school’s resources, or describing support in vague terms like “my loved ones will always be there.”

Prompt 3: “Describe what personal, urban experiences prepare you to live and study in New York City”

Limit: 150 words. Who answers: all applicants. In past cycles this prompt applied only to applicants from outside the five boroughs; the 2026-2027 wording has no such condition, so New Yorkers answer it too.

What it asks. Evidence that you can handle the practical realities of city life, such as cost, crowding, commuting and diversity, and that you see the city’s patients as people, not a backdrop.

How to approach it. Pick one or two real urban experiences and give practical detail: where you lived, how you got around, what you learned from people there. If you grew up in New York, describe a part of the city you learned from, such as a job, a commute or a community role, rather than simply saying you are from here. If your urban experience is limited, be honest and show how you built it.

Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (128 words):

I grew up in a small town in central Pennsylvania, so my urban experience is something I built on purpose. For two college summers I lived in Philadelphia and worked as a patient transporter at a large public hospital. I learned the bus routes, shared a row house with three roommates and saw how patients juggled two jobs, long commutes and missed appointments. I also volunteered at a church food pantry in North Philadelphia, where I learned to listen before offering help. Those months taught me that city life is crowded and expensive but also full of neighbors who look out for each other. I am ready to ride the 2 train to Winthrop Street, budget carefully and learn Brooklyn’s neighborhoods from the people who live in them.

Analysis. The applicant addresses a possible weakness head-on (a small-town background) and answers it with two concrete urban experiences, practical skills (transit, shared housing, budgeting) and a lesson about patients’ lives. The final sentence ties it to Downstate itself, the 2 train to Winthrop Street, without overdoing the praise. Mistakes to avoid: writing about a vacation, describing the city as a place to sightsee, or listing Brooklyn attractions instead of experiences.

Prompt 4: “If you had a completed application to the College of Medicine in a prior application cycle, please highlight any changes since your previous application in a list with dates. If this question does not apply to you, enter “not applicable” in the text box below.”

Limit: 150 words. Who answers: reapplicants who had a completed application at Downstate in an earlier cycle. Everyone else enters “not applicable.”

What it asks. A dated list of what has changed. The prompt asks for a list, so give one.

How to approach it. Use one line per change, starting with the date. Lead with the changes that address the likely weaknesses of your earlier file, such as MCAT, coursework or clinical experience. Include hours and roles. Skip excuses about the previous cycle.

Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (123 words, including list markers):

Changes since my 2025-2026 application: – June 2025: Retook the MCAT; score increased 6 points. – August 2025 to present: Full-time medical assistant at a federally qualified health center in the Bronx, about 40 hours a week; I room patients, take vitals and do medication reconciliation. – September 2025 to present: Weekly volunteer at a free clinic, helping uninsured patients enroll in coverage. – January to May 2026: Completed biochemistry and biostatistics, both A grades. – March 2026 to present: Co-author on a quality improvement poster about missed diabetic eye exams, presented at a regional meeting in May 2026. – April 2026: Asked my premedical advisor to review my application and rewrote my personal statement to focus on primary care in underserved communities.

Analysis. The format matches the prompt exactly: a list, every item dated. It shows measurable improvement in each area a committee might have questioned: test score, sustained clinical work with direct patient care, new coursework Downstate recommends (biochemistry and biostatistics), scholarship and a stronger narrative. Mistakes to avoid: writing a paragraph, listing changes without dates, or including items that were already in your earlier application.

Prompt 5: “Why do believe you are a good fit for SUNY Downstate?”

Limit: 300 words. Who answers: all applicants.

What it asks. Specific reasons that connect your experiences and goals to what Downstate actually offers. “Fit” means a match in both directions: what you would gain and what you would add.

How to approach it. Build three or four short paragraphs, each linking one part of your story to one real Downstate feature: its Brooklyn patient population and mission, the Integrated Pathways Curriculum and its small-group methods, clinical sites, a pathway or combined degree, or service such as the Brooklyn Free Clinic. Stay accurate; do not name programs the school does not offer.

Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (265 words):

I believe I am a good fit for SUNY Downstate because I want to train where the patients I hope to serve already are. As a medical assistant at a community clinic in Flatbush, I took vitals for patients who had waited months for a specialist and who often asked me to explain a hospital letter in plain English. Downstate is the academic medical center for that same borough, and I want my education to happen in Brooklyn, not just near it.

The Integrated Pathways Curriculum fits how I learn. I worked best in college when I had to explain a case to a team, so Problem-Based Learning and team-based sessions appeal to me, and I want to start clinical skills in the first unit rather than wait two years. Rotations at Kings County and University Hospital would let me see the conditions my clinic patients described, such as uncontrolled diabetes and hypertension, at the hospital end of their care.

I also want to keep doing the community work that brought me to medicine. I would volunteer at the Brooklyn Free Clinic, where students help uninsured patients get screenings and specialist care, and I hope to join the HEAL Pathway to learn community-based participatory research. My senior thesis on bus access to prenatal care left me with questions about transportation and missed visits that I would like to study with a faculty mentor.

Finally, I value that Downstate shares a campus with nursing, health professions and public health students. My best clinic days were team efforts, and I want to learn medicine the same way.

Analysis. Each paragraph pairs the applicant’s experience with a verified Downstate feature: the Brooklyn patient population, PBL and team-based learning, clinical skills from the first unit, rotations at Kings County and University Hospital, the Brooklyn Free Clinic, the HEAL Pathway’s community-based participatory research and the shared campus with other health professions schools. It also shows what the applicant brings (clinic experience in Flatbush, a research question) rather than only what they want. Mistakes to avoid: praising New York City in general, listing every program on the website, or naming faculty you have never contacted as future mentors.

Prompt 6: “What is your experience with diversity, health equity and social justice?”

Limit: 300 words. Who answers: all applicants.

What it asks. Your own experience with all three ideas, not your opinions about them in the abstract. The prompt sits at the heart of Downstate’s mission to train “socially conscious physicians” and reduce disparities.

How to approach it. Start with a specific moment, then show growth over time: what you saw, what you did about it and what you learned, including the limits of your own view. Touch each part of the prompt: diversity (people and perspectives), health equity (fair access to care and health) and social justice (structural causes and action). End with how you will continue this work at Downstate.

Illustrative example, not an actual applicant essay (263 words):

My experience with health equity began at my family’s kitchen table, translating my father’s discharge papers from English into Polish after his heart attack. I was fifteen, and I realized that the instructions were clear only to people who already understood them.

In college I joined a student group that ran blood pressure screenings at barbershops and churches. At first I measured numbers and handed out pamphlets. Over two years I learned more from what people told me: one man skipped his medication because the pharmacy closed before his shift ended, and a woman stopped attending visits after a clinic employee mocked her accent. Those stories taught me that inequity often sits in hours, transportation and respect, not only in access to a doctor.

I tried to act on that. I helped our group partner with a pharmacy that offered evening pickup, and I wrote a one-page guide to low-cost clinics in Spanish, Polish and English. As a tutor for first-generation college students, I also saw how social class shapes who feels welcome in science.

I have also learned the limits of my perspective. Working with Black and Caribbean clients at the screenings, I listened more and assumed less, and I started reading about the history of racism in medicine that some of them raised with me.

At Downstate, I want to build on this through the HEAL Pathway and the Brooklyn Free Clinic, and to learn from classmates whose experiences differ from mine. I see social justice in medicine as daily work: explaining clearly, scheduling fairly and treating every patient with respect.

Analysis. The essay covers all three terms: diversity through language, class and race; health equity through access barriers such as pharmacy hours and disrespect; and social justice through action and attention to structural racism. It shows change over time, from handing out pamphlets to fixing a barrier with a partner pharmacy. It includes humility without self-criticism, and it closes with verified Downstate opportunities. Mistakes to avoid: writing only about your own identity without action, speaking for communities you do not belong to, or using broad statements without a single concrete example.

Interview Format and Preparation

What Downstate says about interviews

• When: interviews begin in the first week of August and continue into the first half of the spring semester.
• Days: Monday through Thursday.
• How: Downstate conducts interviews virtually. Invitations go to the email address on your AMCAS application, so set your spam filter to accept [email protected].
• Structure: a one-on-one, one-hour interview with a faculty member and a 20-minute peer-to-peer conversation with a medical student. The day can also include an information session and a virtual chat or lunch with current students. There are no regional interviews.
• Odds at this stage: 899 applicants were interviewed for the 2025 entering class, which enrolled 197 students.
• Student conversations: in place of campus tours, the interview season includes virtual sessions with current medical students.
• After the interview: the committee usually emails a status update 8 to 12 weeks after your interview, and it can take longer over the holidays. Applicants interviewed from mid-January to April should expect a decision in late spring.
• Visiting: accepted applicants can visit through the Shadow-a-Student Program from February to May, attending classes with a student and touring the residence halls and facilities.

What to expect on interview day

Applicants in the 2026-2027 cycle describe a faculty interview followed by a separately scheduled conversation with a current student. The interviewer’s name may arrive with your reminder email, and a short profile is sent on the day. Applicants describe the faculty interview as a conversational, question-and-answer format without unusual questions. Formats can change, so read your invitation carefully.

How to prepare

• Know your own file. Expect questions drawn from your AMCAS and secondary. Reread your support system, urban experience, fit and health equity answers, and be ready to go deeper on each.
• Prepare your “why Downstate” in person. Connect your story to Brooklyn’s patients, the Integrated Pathways Curriculum, a pathway that interests you and service such as the Brooklyn Free Clinic.
• Think through equity questions. Be ready to talk about a time you saw unequal care, how you responded and what you learned.
• Practice virtual basics. Test your camera, audio and internet, use a quiet room with a plain background, and look at the camera when you speak.
• Have questions ready. Ask the student about clerkship travel between sites, housing, wellness resources or how pathways work. Ask the faculty interviewer about their own teaching or clinical work.
• Follow up correctly. If you want to thank your interviewer, Downstate asks you to send the message to [email protected]. In the spring, upload your fall grades and updates through the portal.
• Understand the holds. “Hold after interview” is not the alternate list. Alternate list placement is decided in April, and applicants are generally on hold first.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does SUNY Downstate Medical School require the CASPer exam?

No. Downstate’s 2026-2027 requirements do not include Casper, Duet or the AAMC PREview exam. Your application is complete with AMCAS, MCAT scores, the Supplemental Application, the $100 fee or fee waiver, and letters. If you take Casper for other schools, you do not need to send scores to Downstate. PREview is different: it is not required, but Downstate recommends that applicants submit PREview scores.

What is the SUNY Downstate acceptance rate?

No acceptance rate is published, because offer counts are not reported. For the 2025 entering class, Downstate received 7,490 verified applications, interviewed 899 applicants (about 12 percent) and enrolled 197 students. In-state applicants were interviewed at about 28 percent, out-of-state applicants at about 4 percent. On its own site the school lists 6,148 applicants for 199 positions in 2022. Dividing class size by applicants gives the share who enrolled, not the share who were offered a place, so it understates the true acceptance rate. Focus on meeting the requirements and completing your file early.

Is there a minimum GPA or MCAT score for SUNY Downstate?

No minimum is posted for either. The school says its entering class mean MCAT and GPA are slightly above the national mean for admitted students. For the 2025 entering class, accepted applicants had a median MCAT of 514 and a median GPA of 3.86. Your MCAT must be from August 1, 2024 or later for fall 2027 entry, and every attempt is reviewed.

Can out-of-state applicants get into SUNY Downstate?

Yes. New York residents receive admissions preference, but well-qualified out-of-state applicants are accepted every year. The August 2026 entering class included students from 17 states and territories. Out-of-state students pay higher tuition: $73,330 a year versus $46,470 for residents at current posted rates.

Does SUNY Downstate accept international students?

International applications are reviewed only after those of U.S. citizens and permanent residents, and the class has been filled before that review for more than two decades. Canadian citizens count as international applicants. Financial aid is not available for international students. In practice, applicants without U.S. citizenship or permanent residency should plan a broad school list.

When will I receive the SUNY Downstate secondary?

Downstate emails the Supplemental Application once it receives your verified AMCAS application. In the 2026-2027 cycle applicants reported receiving it in late June. Complete it, with the $100 fee or fee waiver, as soon as you can.

Is SUNY Downstate rolling admissions?

Downstate uses a modified rolling process. It encourages a complete application before October 1, but it reviews files out of order, so some are not reviewed until January. Regular acceptances begin in early February 2027, and alternate list offers begin in mid-April.

How many letters of recommendation does SUNY Downstate require?

Send either a committee letter or letter packet, which should include at least one letter from a science professor, or no more than two individual letters, one of which must come from a science professor. Graduate students also need a letter from their faculty advisor. All letters must come through AMCAS Letters, Virtual Evals or Interfolio, on letterhead and signed.

Does SUNY Downstate accept AP credit or online courses for prerequisites?

AP credit counts if your college lists it by subject title on your final transcript, but it cannot satisfy a lab requirement, and you should take an equal number of advanced science credits. Downstate gives preference to applicants who took science prerequisites in a classroom rather than through distance learning, and at four-year U.S. colleges rather than abroad.

What is the SUNY Downstate interview like?

Interviews are virtual, held Monday through Thursday from August into spring. Expect a one-hour, one-on-one faculty interview and a 20-minute peer conversation with a current medical student. Applicants describe the faculty interview as conversational. Expect questions about your application, your interest in Brooklyn and your experience with service.

How much does SUNY Downstate cost?

At current posted rates, tuition is $46,470 a year for New York residents and $73,330 for nonresidents. The first-year cost of attendance, including living costs and $7,380 health insurance, is $86,031 in-state and $112,891 out-of-state. The class of 2024’s estimated average medical school debt was $227,446.

Does SUNY Downstate have Early Decision or a BA/MD program?

Yes to both. Early Decision applicants apply only to Downstate, file AMCAS by August 1 and receive a decision by October 1. High school seniors can apply through CUNY Brooklyn College to its BA/MD Honors Program, which guarantees admission to Downstate on completion of program requirements. Students in linkage post-baccalaureate programs at Columbia, NYU, Temple and Bryn Mawr can also apply early.

Can I do an MD/PhD or MD/MPH at SUNY Downstate?

Yes. MD/PhD applicants apply separately to the College of Medicine and the School of Graduate Studies, and current MD students can apply to the PhD during their first three years. The MD/MPH and MD/MHA are concurrent degrees that start in June, with a May 1 deadline; mark “Combined Medical Degree/Graduate” on AMCAS.

Where do SUNY Downstate students do clinical rotations?

Students rotate at University Hospital at Downstate and affiliates including NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County and Coney Island, Maimonides, the Brooklyn VA, Brookdale, The Brooklyn Hospital Center, Kingsboro Psychiatric Center, and Northwell sites such as Lenox Hill and Staten Island University Hospital. Expect commuting between sites.

How much clinical experience do I need for SUNY Downstate?

Downstate does not set a minimum number of hours. It looks for health-related experience and, notably, for a demonstrated commitment to non-medical community service. Aim for sustained clinical work with real patient contact plus long-term service outside medicine, listed in AMCAS with dates and weekly hours.

Can I defer my acceptance to SUNY Downstate?

Accepted applicants may request a deferral of up to one year for educational or service activities. The request must be in writing by May 1, 2027, and approved students file an AMCAS Delayed Matriculation application for the next year. Extensions beyond one year are not allowed.

Does SUNY Downstate accept transfer students?

Only into the third-year class, and only from U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are second-year students in good standing at an LCME-accredited U.S. school. Transfer applicants use Downstate’s own application, not AMCAS, apply by January 15 and must pass Step 1 by March 1. Openings depend on available space.

How many people apply to SUNY Downstate College of Medicine?

For the 2025 entering class, Downstate received 7,490 verified applications: 2,489 from New York residents, 4,925 from out-of-state applicants and 76 from international applicants. It interviewed 899 and enrolled 197. Most seats go to New York residents, who made up 166 of the 197 matriculants.

Does SUNY Downstate accept DACA applicants?

Yes. Applicants with DACA status may apply. Admissions preference goes to U.S. citizens and permanent residents, and New York residents among them receive the strongest preference, so build a broad school list alongside Downstate.

Is shadowing required for SUNY Downstate?

Shadowing is recommended, not required. What the committee wants to see is a real understanding of clinical medicine from meaningful, sustained experiences in the United States where you interact with patients and physicians. In the 2025 entering class, 84 percent reported physician shadowing or clinical observation and 86 percent reported clinical volunteering.

Related Medical School Guides

If you are applying to SUNY Downstate, these guides cover New York MD schools that applicants often consider alongside it. Each is a different school with its own mission and requirements, so read each guide in full rather than treating any as a backup.

• Hofstra Zucker School of Medicine: a private Long Island MD school built with Northwell Health, useful for comparing public and private costs and a very different early-clinical model.
• Albany Medical College: a private MD school in the state capital, a good contrast for applicants weighing New York City against upstate training.
• Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University: another SUNY MD school, on Long Island, with the same SUNY public tuition structure and New York resident preference.
• NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine: a primary care focused MD program in Mineola, worth comparing if Downstate’s community and primary care mission draws you.
• NYU Grossman School of Medicine (Manhattan): a research-intensive Manhattan MD school, a common pairing for applicants applying across New York City.
• University of Rochester Medical School: a private upstate MD school known for its biopsychosocial approach, useful for applicants comparing patient-centered curricula.
• CUNY School of Medicine: a New York City public BS/MD program with a mission to serve underserved communities, close to Downstate’s own goals.

For every MD and DO option in the state, see our guide to New York medical colleges. If you are deciding how many highly selective schools to include on your list, read should you apply to the hardest medical schools to get into.

More medical school guides

If you are considering other medical schools in New York or other states, we have definitive guides for most medical schools. Whether you are asking “how do medical schools near me stack up” or just want to explore other schools, check out our guides:

• NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine
• NYU Long Island School of Medicine
• Albany Medical College
• TOURO College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Norton College of Medicine at Upstate Medical University
• Jacobs School of Medicine at the University at Buffalo
• Hofstra Zucker School of Medicine
• Weill Medical College of Cornell University
• University of Rochester Medical School
• Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
• Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
• Albert Einstein College of Medicine
• Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED)
• University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
• University of Toledo College of Medicine
• Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine
• Ohio State University College of Medicine
• Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine
• Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine (HMSOM)
• Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS)
• Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
• Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (CMSRU)
• A.T. Still University Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine
• Saint Louis University School of Medicine
• University of Missouri Medical School
• Kansas City University (KCU)
• UMKC School of Medicine
• New York Medical College
• University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
• University of Wisconsin Medical School
• VCU School of Medicine
• University of Maryland School of Medicine
• Case Western Medical School
• University of North Carolina Medical School
• University of Florida Medical School
• Emory University School of Medicine
• Boston University College of Medicine
• California University of Science and Medicine
• UC San Diego Medical School
• California Northstate University College of Medicine
• Touro University of California
• CHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine
• UC Davis School of Medicine
• Harvard Medical School
• UC Riverside School of Medicine
• USC Keck School of Medicine
• UT Southwestern Medical School
• Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio
• University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine
• UT Austin’s Dell Medical School
• UTMB School of Medicine
• McGovern Medical School at UT Health
• Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
• The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine
• UNT Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine
• University of Houston College of Medicine
• Texas A&M College of Medicine
• Baylor College of Medicine
• George Washington University School of Medicine
• Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
• St. George’s University School of Medicine
• Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (in Pennsylvania)
• Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
• Wake Forest University School of Medicine
• Western University of Health Sciences (in California)
• Drexel University College of Medicine
• Stritch School of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago
• Georgetown University School of Medicine
• Yale School of Medicine
• Perelman School of Medicine
• UCLA Medical School
• NYU Medical School
• Washington University School of Medicine
• Brown Medical School

How International Medical Aid Can Help

At International Medical Aid (IMA), we make it a point to give aspiring physicians thorough, practical information, because getting into medical school is hard work and we want you to succeed.

Admissions consulting. One of the best ways to strengthen your application is with an experienced admissions consultant. Whether you need help writing your Downstate secondary essays, building a school list or preparing for interviews, we can help. You can schedule a free consultation with IMA here, or learn more about our medical school admissions consulting.

Voluntary healthcare internships abroad. IMA runs medical internships abroad for students preparing for health careers, including sites in Kenya. IMA’s voluntary healthcare internships are intensive and patient-facing. Under the supervision of local physicians and nurses, interns take vitals, do patient intake and triage, and help with direct patient care in hospital and clinic settings. Our pre-health internships and broader healthcare internships abroad also serve communities with limited access to care.

These programs go beyond building an application. By interning abroad, you can develop your patient communication skills, serve medically underserved communities and broaden your perspective on health equity, themes that Downstate’s secondary asks you to reflect on. IMA programs are not affiliated with SUNY Downstate and do not affect admissions decisions; their value is in what you learn and how you can describe it. Take time to explore the programs on our website.

Next step: if you want hands-on clinical experience before you apply, compare IMA’s program dates with your MCAT and AMCAS timeline so your experience is complete before you write your secondaries.

Final Thoughts and Sources

Good luck! SUNY Downstate offers a public MD education in one of the country’s most diverse boroughs, with a curriculum that starts clinical skills on day one, clinical training across Brooklyn and a mission centered on equity and community. To be a strong applicant, meet the 38-credit prerequisite list, follow the letter rules exactly, finish your file before October 1, and use the six secondary prompts to show specific, reflective service and a real reason to train in Brooklyn. Be strategic, take your time and do not hesitate to ask for help. If you need help with your application, essays or interview preparation, IMA’s consulting team is here for you.

Sources and notes

All figures were checked on October 18, 2026. Cohort and year labels follow each figure in the article.

• SUNY Downstate College of Medicine admissions pages: Admissions Requirements, Application Procedures (2026-2027), 2026-2027 Application Cycle Deadlines, Supplemental Application, Processing Fee, MCAT, Letters of Recommendation, Admissions Policies, Entry Pathways, Application Review, FAQ, First Year Class, Pre-admission Advisement, Transfer Students and Contact pages, at downstate.edu College of Medicine Admissions.
• College of Medicine Admissions Information Booklet 2026-2027 (PDF, updated February 2026): curriculum, research, interviews, housing, financial aid and class of 2024 debt.
• Bursar: College of Medicine tuition and fees and Financial Aid: Cost of Attendance, College of Medicine. Both pages show current rates without an academic year label.
• College of Medicine Vision, Mission and Values; Accreditation; About; Office of the Dean; Dean’s Message; Student Academic Facilities; Curriculum and Core Clinical Medicine; MD, MD/PhD and MD/MPH program pages; Medical Student Research, Academic Pathways and Summer Research; Community Engagement; Wellness; and the registrar’s Clinical Affiliates list, all on downstate.edu.
• Downstate Office of the President and Senior Leadership pages; Fast Facts (applicants 2020-2022 and AAMC Mission Management Tool percentiles for 2023); Alumni Association College of Medicine pages and 2025-2026 board list.
• Downstate news releases: Match Day 2026 (March 20, 2026), 2026 Commencement (May 13, 2026), Dr. Ernest J. Barthélemy (June 12, 2025) and Dr. Brian McNeil (June 3, 2025).
• LCME Accredited MD Programs directory, last updated October 14, 2026.
• AAMC Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR), SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine profile, 2026 edition, accessed October 18, 2026: median and mean MCAT and GPA of accepted applicants, verified applications, interviews, matriculants and class demographics for the 2025 entering class (AAMC Data Warehouse, October 29, 2025); PREview, shadowing, DACA, GPA screening, interview format, deposit and deferral policies for the 2026-2027 cycle; students receiving aid (LCME Part I-B, 2024-2025); and global health participation (AAMC Graduation Questionnaire, 2025).
• Secondary prompts: Downstate does not publish its prompts. The 2026-2027 wording was confirmed from applicant-posted prompts in the Student Doctor Network 2026-2027 SUNY Downstate thread (June 27 and June 29, 2026), cross-checked with the Med School Insiders 2026-2027 prompt list and MedCoach’s 2026-2027 page. Only prompt wording and limits were taken from these sources; all example essays are original to IMA.