Question 1

Tell me about yourself.

Accepted Answer

A 2023 applicant reports this as an opener. With an open file, the interviewer wants to hear which parts of your application you see as most important. Keep it to about 90 seconds: where you come from, what you do now, and the two or three experiences that pulled you to medicine. If you have real ties to New York City or Brooklyn, say so here, since applicants report (2026) local connections are valued.

Question 2

What is unique about you?

Accepted Answer

Applicants report this in 2023. Downstate gives weight to the 'road travelled', including life challenges, military service and socioeconomic status, and this question lets you show yours. Pick one specific thing (a background, a job, a responsibility you carried, a language) and show how it shaped what you do. Tie it briefly to how it would help you care for patients in a diverse place like Flatbush.

Question 3

Why do you want to become a physician?

Accepted Answer

Applicants report (2022, 2023) motivation for medicine is a core part of the faculty interview. The interviewer wants a reason grounded in what you have actually seen and done. Use one or two concrete moments from shadowing or clinical work and what they showed you about a physician's role. One applicant's advice: lean on concrete personal examples and show you understand the sacrifices involved.

Question 4

Why SUNY Downstate?

Accepted Answer

Applicants report the faculty and peer conversations both touch school fit, and that mission fit matters more than numbers. The interviewer wants to see you know what Downstate is. Name two or three real features and link each to your past: Downstate is the only academic medical center in Brooklyn, first-year students spend an afternoon every other week in a physician's office, and the preclinical phase is 1.5 years. Past matriculants cited the diverse patient population and training at hospitals like Kings County.

Question 5

How would you contribute to the Flatbush and Brooklyn community?

Accepted Answer

A 2023 applicant advises preparing for this, and Downstate's admissions policy puts special emphasis on service orientation and cultural competence. Start from service you have already done, then name where you would continue it at Downstate: the student-run Brooklyn Free Clinic, the Downstate Asylum Clinic, school mentoring, health screenings or the HEAL Pathway. Show you know Brooklyn's population: more than 50% come from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds and about 50% are immigrants.

Question 6

How did you study for the MCAT?

Accepted Answer

A 2026 applicant was asked this. It is a way to see how you learn and plan, and how you would handle a heavy curriculum. Describe your actual plan: timeline, resources, how you tracked weak areas and changed course. If your score is lower than you hoped, a 2023 applicant advises reflecting on what went wrong and how you will apply that lesson to medical school.

Question 7

Tell me about your research.

Accepted Answer

Applicants report (2022) research comes up as the interviewer goes over the resume. Downstate builds research training into all four years and requires a fourth-year Research Experience Project. State your question in one sentence, your own role in plain words, and what you learned when something didn't work. If you have little research, say what you would want to explore through the required project or an Academic Pathway.

Question 8

Tell me about your shadowing experiences.

Accepted Answer

Applicants report (2022) shadowing is one of the resume items the faculty interviewer discusses. They want to know what you observed, not how many hours. Choose one physician and one encounter, describe what the doctor did and why it stayed with you. Connect it to the kind of physician you want to become.

Question 9

What are your interests outside of medicine?

Accepted Answer

Applicants report (2022) faculty ask about interests outside medicine, and (2024) the peer interview focuses on personal interests. They want to see a whole person who can handle stress. Talk about one or two real interests with some enthusiasm and a detail or two. Be ready for genuine follow-up questions about them.

Question 10

Tell me about the community service you've done.

Accepted Answer

Not a reported question, but Downstate says interviews assess altruistic activities and that it values both clinical and non-clinical community service. Expect it in some form. Pick the service you did longest and describe the people you served, what you did, and what changed for you. Non-clinical service counts at Downstate, so don't hide it.

Question 11

Tell me about a time you took a leadership role.

Accepted Answer

Downstate names leadership as a core attribute its interviews focus on. They want what you did, not a title. One situation, what you decided, how you brought others along, and the result. Include a moment where you had to adjust.

Question 12

Describe a time you worked on a team that disagreed. What did you do?

Accepted Answer

Teamwork is a named interview focus. Downstate's curriculum leans on team-based learning and small groups, so they want people who work well with others. Describe the disagreement fairly, what you did to listen and find common ground, and how it ended. Mention what you'd do the same or differently.

Question 13

Tell me about an ethical dilemma you faced, or how you would handle one.

Accepted Answer

Ethical behavior is a named interview focus and logical thinking is assessed. The interviewer wants to see how you reason, not a perfect answer. Lay out the people affected, the competing values, the options and the one you'd pick and why. Say what more information you'd want and who you'd ask.

Question 14

Tell me about a time you had to explain something to someone who didn't understand you at first.

Accepted Answer

Communication is a named interview focus, and Interpersonal & Communication Skills is one of the six competencies Downstate's curriculum builds. Choose a real case (a patient, a student you tutored, a family member) and show how you changed your approach. Point out what you learned about listening.

Question 15

Tell me about a time you cared for someone who was going through something hard.

Accepted Answer

Downstate says compassion is assessed in the interview, and it describes its curriculum as preparing ethical and compassionate physicians. Describe the person respectfully, what you actually did and said, and what it taught you. Keep the focus on them, then on what you learned.

Question 16

Tell me about a time you saw someone act unprofessionally. How did you respond?

Accepted Answer

Professionalism is one of the personal attributes Downstate says the interview assesses. They want to see sound judgment under social pressure. Describe what happened briefly and without gossip, what you did or would do, and who you went to. Show you weighed the person's dignity and the risk to others.

Question 17

Tell me about a mistake you made and what you learned.

Accepted Answer

Maturity is an attribute Downstate assesses. A 2023 applicant also advises being ready to talk about a setback and how you learned from it. Pick a real mistake with real stakes, own it in one sentence, then spend most of the answer on what you changed afterward.

Question 18

Tell me about working with people from backgrounds different from your own.

Accepted Answer

Downstate's admissions policy gives special emphasis to cultural competence, and the school sits in one of New York City's most culturally diverse neighborhoods. Use a specific experience, what you misunderstood at first, and how you adapted. Link it to the patients you would meet in Brooklyn.

Question 19

(Peer interview) Tell me about yourself outside of school: your interests, your culture, what you do for fun.

Accepted Answer

Applicants report the peer interview focuses on personal interests, culture and fit, and a 2026 applicant says the student is gauging whether you are 'chill' and conversational. A 2023 applicant reports students work from a set of 5 questions from the admissions committee. Be warm and conversational, and share real details about your life. Treat it as a conversation with a future classmate who is still assessing you.

Question 20

(Peer interview) What draws you to Downstate, and what would you want to do here as a student?

Accepted Answer

Applicants report (2024) school fit is a focus of the peer interview. The student wants to see that you'd join and add to student life. Name one or two student activities you'd join, such as the Brooklyn Free Clinic or an Academic Pathway like Global Health or Social Determinants of Health, and say why. Ask the student how they got involved.

Question 21

What questions do you have for me?

Accepted Answer

Applicants report (2022, 2023) both interviews end with time for your questions, and one says asking questions keeps the tone positive. Bring two or three questions the website doesn't answer, such as what the interviewer values about teaching at Downstate or what a student wishes they had known about the first year. Let your interest in the school show.

Questions Downstate applicants report

Opening

Why medicine and why Downstate

Your studies and activities

Character and judgment

Peer interview and closing