SUNY Downstate College of Medicine is located in Brooklyn, New York. The SUNY Downstate Admissions Committee looks for future medical students who are committed to improving the lives and health of Brooklyn residents. Therefore, it is important to discuss your ties with New York City and desire to improve healthcare disparities in your SUNY Downstate secondary essays. Get our tips on how to answer SUNY Downstate secondary essays below! Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or if you want to work Dr. Mediratta and Dr. Rizal through our secondary essay editing packages.
We would definitely recommend working on your SUNY Downstate secondaries early, including pre-writing them before the official secondary is released. The SUNY Downstate application does not change its questions often.
- Personally Tailored Essays
- Edits by Stanford & Harvard-trained Doctors
- We study your application strengths to see what unique attributes we’ll bring to the medical school
SUNY Downstate Secondary Application Questions:
2025 – 2026
- 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? (No Word Limit)
- Will you be attending college full time as of September 15? If no, please describe your activities for the period of September 15 to July 1. (No Word Limit)
- What will be your support system while in medical school?(150 words)
- Describe what personal, urban experiences prepare you to live and study in New York City. (150 words)
- 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”. (150 words)
- Why do believe you are a good fit for SUNY Downstate? (300 words)
- What is your experience with diversity, health equity and social justice? (300 words)
Tips to Answer SUNY Downstate Secondaries
SUNY Downstate Secondaries Pre-Writing Guidance: The SUNY Downstate secondary essays don’t change much year to year. Therefore, we would strongly encourage you to pre-write these using the previous years’ prompts. Because this is a state school, we think you should try to submit this by late July of the application cycle
- Download our Cracking Med Secondary Essay Workbook and Examples to get all our tips about secondary application essays.
SUNY Downstate Secondary Essays Tip #1: SUNY Downstate stands out for its dedication to serving medically underserved communities. Situated in Brooklyn, New York, the institution is deeply embedded in a diverse and dynamic urban landscape. Through various outreach programs, partnerships with local healthcare providers, and clinical experiences in community settings, students are equipped with the clinical experience to address the unique healthcare challenges faced by underserved populations. Therefore, it is important to outline the following in your SUNY Downstate secondary essays:
- Commitment to the Brooklyn community around SUNY Downstate
- Commitment to improving healthcare disparities
- Prior experience with working with diverse patient populations and prior experience with improving healthcare disparities
- Urban health experience
You can literally highlight all these elements in almost every SUNY Downstate secondary essay!
SUNY Downstate Secondary Essays Tip #2: For the SUNY Downstate secondaries question, “Will you be attending college full-time as of September 15” discuss both clinical and non-clinical activities. If you can incorporate urban health activities and activities dedicated to improving healthcare disparities, this will be a plus (and what the SUNY Downstate Admissions Committee is ideally looking for!)
SUNY Downstate Secondary Essays Tip #3: For the SUNY Downstate secondaries question, “What will be your support system while in medical school,” think about why this question is being asked. Medical School is tough and the Admissions Committee wants to make sure that you will have the coping skills and resilience to deal with tremendous stress / hardship. Previous students have talked about how they leaned on social support, paint a clear picture about how they organize their tasks, and discuss wellness techniques like meditation that are involved with.
SUNY Downstate Secondary Essays Tip #4: For the SUNY Downstate secondaries question, “Describe what personal, urban experiences prepare you to live and study in New York City,” here are things that will help you stand out:
- Discussing times you’ve visited New York City, especially if you’ve visited or know anyone at SUNY Downstate College of Medicine.
- Discussing conversations you’ve had with students, alumni, and professors at SUNY Downstate
- Insights about New York City health issues, such as how diversity affects health inequities.
SUNY Downstate Secondary Essays Tip #3: If you are a re-applicant, it’s very important to discuss the following in the re-applicant essay:
- Reflections about why your application was not as strong last cycle.
- How you addressed the weaknesses.
- Clinical opportunities you’ve improved. Reflect on what you learned about patient care.
- For SUNY Downstate, any activities you’ve had towards social justice, health inequities, and urban health will help you stand out in this essay!
SUNY Downstate Secondary Essays Tip #4: To answer the SUNY Downstate secondary application question, “What is your experience with diversity, health equity and social justice“
- Discuss how you have already tried to decrease social injustices and how you plan to tackle these issues in medical school & beyond.
- Tell stories. This is one of our two biggest pieces of advice we tell medical school applicants throughout the entire application cycle.
- We have several curated informational and opinion articles about healthcare disparities & other healthcare current events: Top 10 Current Events You Need To Know For Your Medical Interview – Link these current events to New York City.
SUNY Downstate Secondary Essays Tip #5: To answer the SUNY Downstate secondary essays question, “Why do believe you are a good fit for SUNY Downstate“
- Read our important blog post on how to write “Why SUNY Downstate:” SUNY Downstate Secondary Essays: Tips & Prompts
SUNY Downstate Secondary Essays Tip #6: Start early and get our help on your SUNY Downstate secondary essays and other secondary application.
Have questions about how you can stand out? Contact us below. Need editing help on your secondary? Dr. Mediratta and Dr. Rizal can personally help you through our secondary essay packages.
[Read more: Medical Schools in New York: How to Get Accepted & School Profiles ]
We Personally Advise Every Student We Work With.
Undergraduate
Princeton University, cum laude
Medical School
Stanford School of Medicine
Residency
Harvard, Emergency Medicine
Awards & Scholarships
Fulbright Scholar
USA Today Academic First Team
Tylenol Scholarship
Undergraduate
Johns Hopkins University, Phi Beta Kappa
Medical School
Stanford School of Medicine
Residency
Stanford, Pediatrics
Awards & Scholarships
Marshall Scholar
Tylenol Scholarship
Global Health Scholar
download your secondary Essay Guide
Use this essay guide and workbook to write standout secondaries.
SUNY Downstate Secondary Application Questions:
2024 – 2025
- 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? (No Word Limit)
- Will you be attending college full time as of September 15? If no, please describe your activities for the period of September 15 to July 1. (No Word Limit)
- What will be your support system while in medical school?(150 words)
- Describe what personal, urban experiences prepare you to live and study in New York City. (150 words)
- 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”. (150 words)
- Why do believe you are a good fit for SUNY Downstate? (300 words)
- What is your experience with diversity, health equity and social justice? (300 words)
SUNY Downstate Secondary Application Questions:
2023 – 2024
- Will you be attending college full-time as of September 15? If no, please describe your activities for the period of September 15 to July 1.
- What will be your support system while in medical school? (150 words max)
- Describe what personal, urban experiences prepare you to live and study in New York City. (150 words)
- 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 words)
- Why do believe you are a good fit for SUNY Downstate? (300 words)
- What is your experience with diversity, health equity and social justice? (300 words)
SUNY Downstate Secondary Application Questions:
2022 – 2023
Note: Some of the SUNY Downstate secondary prompts changed from last year.
- Will you be attending college full-time as of September 15? If no, please describe your activities for the period of September 15 to July 1.
- What will be your support system while in medical school? (150 words max)
- Describe what personal, urban experiences prepare you to live and study in New York City. (150 words)
- 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 words)
- Why do believe you are a good fit for SUNY Downstate? (300 words)
- What is your experience with diversity, health equity and social justice? (300 words)
SUNY Downstate Secondary Application Questions:
2021 – 2022
- Will you be attending college full-time as of September 15? If no, please describe your activities for the period of September 15 to July 1.
- What will be your support system while in medical school? (150 words max)
- If you are not from the 5 boroughs of New York City, describe what personal, urban experiences prepare you to live and study in New York City. If this question does not apply to you, enter “not applicable” in the text box below. (150 words)
- 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 words)
- If you have a specific reason why you wish to attend SUNY Downstate or a medical school in New York City, please explain. If this question does not apply to you, enter “not applicable” in the text box below. (No word count listed)
- What in your current/future activity/activities have/will contribute to diversity, health equity and social justice? (No word count listed)
SUNY Downstate Secondary Application Questions:
2020 - 2021
- Will you be attending college full-time as of September 15? If no, please describe your activities for the period of September 15 to July 1.
- What will be your support system while in medical school? (150 words max)
- If you are not from the 5 boroughs of New York City, describe what personal, urban experiences prepare you to live and study in New York City. If this question does not apply to you, enter “not applicable” in the text box below. (150 words)
- 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 words)
- If you have a specific reason why you wish to attend SUNY Downstate or a medical school in New York City, please explain. If this question does not apply to you, enter “not applicable” in the text box below. (No word count listed)
- What in your current/future activity/activities have/will contribute to diversity, health equity and social justice? (No word count listed)
SUNY Downstate Secondary Application Questions:
2019 – 2020
- Will you be attending college full-time as of September 15? If no, please describe your activities for the period of September 15 to July 1.
- What will be your support system while in medical school? (150 words max)
- If you are not from the 5 boroughs of New York City, describe what personal, urban experiences prepare you to live and study in New York City. If this question does not apply to you, enter “not applicable” in the text box below. (150 words)
- 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 words)
- If you have a specific reason why you wish to attend SUNY Downstate or a medical school in New York City, please explain. If this question does not apply to you, enter “not applicable” in the text box below. (No word count listed)
- What in your current/future activity/activities have/will contribute to diversity, health equity and social justice? (No word count listed)