State University of New York Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine Secondary Essay Prompts
Avg GPA
3.75
Avg MCAT
514
Class size
197
SJT required
None
State University of New York Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine is a public school, so NY residents have a meaningful admissions advantage here.
The 2026-2027 prompts
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Collected from public applicant reports. Prompts occasionally change mid cycle, so confirm against your own secondary portal before you submit.
- 01
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.
No stated limitOptional - 02
What will be your support system while in medical school?
150 words - 03
Describe what personal, urban experiences prepare you to live and study in New York City.
150 words - 04
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.
150 wordsOptional - 05
Why do you believe you are a good fit for SUNY Downstate?
300 words - 06
What is your experience with diversity, health equity and social justice?
300 words
How to write these well
- Turn secondaries around within 7 to 14 days of receiving them. Schools read speed as interest, and slow essays land in a bigger pile.
- Pre-write the universal question types (diversity, challenge, why us) once, then adapt per school. Adapting is rewriting the school specific half, not swapping the name.
- Name real programs. A why us answer that cites a specific clinic, track, or community partnership reads ten times stronger than praise for reputation or location.
- Stay under the limit without padding to reach it. Readers are working through thousands of these; a tight answer is a kindness they remember.
Draft your State University of New York Downstate Medical Center secondaries in your own voice
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