Stanford School of Medicine Class of 2009-10 [Archive]

brs23

02-16-2005, 03:32 PM

Manana--

I'm in the same boat as you (living in cambridge, grew up here, went to school in CT at your rival), contemplating UCSF next fall, and 99% sure I'll go there. I'm down for the change...I spent a year in wyoming after grad in 03, and coming back here makes me realize what a small small place cambridge is, as special as it is, even though it thinks it is the center of the universe. California, and west coast medicine is a totally different deal. But I'm nervous too--really nervous...about being so far from my family, friends, support, etc. please send me a personal message if you want, and we can chat about it over email.

To all you other people heading to stanford next year, I hear SU and UCSF med students throw some wicked parties together, so I'll see you next fall!

B

Hey, so I interviewed at Stanford on Jan 18 and was accepted by phone on Jan 27. I'm curious to hear from other Stanford acceptees about your thoughts on whether to go there or not.

I grew up in MA, went to Harvard (graduated '02), and all my friends and family are on the east coast. I always dreamed of living in Cali, but now that I have the opportunity, I'm not sure if I want to live so far away from everyone I know. But then again, Stanford seems like an amazing school...

Thoughts?

CreativeWriter

02-17-2005, 09:21 PM

today is Thursday...anyone got a call? :luck: :luck:

UCLAreject

02-17-2005, 11:01 PM

nope...what time do they usually call anyways???

sra26

02-18-2005, 12:12 AM

So basically since I interviewed on 1/12 and haven't heard by now, I am waitlisted or rejected? Well, that's not so fun...

CreativeWriter

02-18-2005, 05:32 AM

So basically since I interviewed on 1/12 and haven't heard by now, I am waitlisted or rejected? Well, that's not so fun...

well if you haven't received a letter yet, there's still hope. maybe they are waiting to review other applications to make a decision. once they make a decision, they will inform you ASAP. so there's still HOPE!

they called me around 7-8PM West Coast time

best of luck

sra26

02-18-2005, 09:17 AM

well if you haven't received a letter yet, there's still hope. maybe they are waiting to review other applications to make a decision. once they make a decision, they will inform you ASAP. so there's still HOPE!

they called me around 7-8PM West Coast time

best of luck

Thanks for the encouragement!

krelian

02-18-2005, 09:26 AM

did you guys who were acccepted get a call from your interviewer? i got the call from the dean and then another one from my interviewer a week later. the interviewer was very nice and said all kinds of nice stuff over the phone :) . i was just wondering if this was stanford's policy, b/c none of my other interviewers ever bothered to call me.

btw, stanford's turnaround time post-interview varies greatly by candidate. some people get in 2 weeks post-interview, but others don't hear back till 1.5 months later.

CreativeWriter

02-18-2005, 10:00 AM

Hey!

That's so true. it totally varies. My turn around was 1 mo, but once again, I interviewed on their second official day of interviews. I did get a call by Dr. Gabriel Garcia, and two weeks later, my interviewer also called me. What I found out is that they get an email with the name of the students who have been interviewed by a given faculty and that they have been accepted. He's really nice. It's kind of weird, as I thought he's an *******...but go figure!

krelian, are you for sure going to stanford? pvt me!

did you guys who were acccepted get a call from your interviewer? i got the call from the dean and then another one from my interviewer a week later. the interviewer was very nice and said all kinds of nice stuff over the phone :) . i was just wondering if this was stanford's policy, b/c none of my other interviewers ever bothered to call me.

btw, stanford's turnaround time post-interview varies greatly by candidate. some people get in 2 weeks post-interview, but others don't hear back till 1.5 months later.
:luck: :luck:

jankanator

02-18-2005, 10:08 AM

So I'm leaving soon for San Fran . . . interview is on Tuesday. Any last-minute pointers? This is my last interview and it's Stanford so I am excited for many different reasons. Thanks for any help!

roadrunnerrita

02-18-2005, 10:28 AM

Congrats to MananaMan, Creative Writer, and all others who got into Stanford!!!

Stanford is a great place... I went there for undergrad and work with Dr. Braddock (he teaches the medical ethics class for years one and two). The area is beautiful as is the campus. I’m from the Midwest (Chicago and Milwaukee) and I totally recommend going to California. I’ve been here for 6 years and I won’t leave. ;-) I know a lot of medical students at Stanford and they are great – smart kids who love what they do and aren’t afraid to have fun. And school is HUGE on diversity, so you will meet a wide variety of people! Really, I have nothing but positive things to say about Stanford—even if I can’t comment on most of the medical school faculty (besides Dr Braddock and the woman who taught Biochem). I hope you two decide to go!

MananaMan

02-18-2005, 01:47 PM

So I interviewed on Tues, Jan 18 and I found out via the phone at about 6pm East Coast Time on Thurs, Jan 27. I got a packet in the mail about a week after that.

Graat

02-18-2005, 02:27 PM

So can class of 09-10 wannabe's post too! Besides my own personal list of reasons why I want to go to Stanford, my wife has an awesome job just a few exits down the 280. Come on Dr. Garcia - give me an interview!

SmartyPants

02-18-2005, 03:47 PM

CreativeWriter

02-19-2005, 11:29 AM

Does anyone know? it's my first choice but i haven't received an interview yet. do you think it's pushing it at this point or is there still time? :scared:

This entire process is soooo random... i've been interviewed at schools like harvard and vanderbilt but at the same time rejected from almost all my back-up schools before even being invited to an interview. i just don't get it... it feels like the adcom just loves to play eenie-meenie-moo...

I hear ya...I did also interview at Harvard, but did not receive interviews from UChicago, UPenn, or Yale, but have been accepted at Stanford and UMich, so it's completely random.

Definitely don't give up. Be patient. they will be interviewing until April, right before their admit weekend, which starts on April 22...so you still have almost two months....

to all the other accepted students, did you guys join the email list for the incoming class? :love: :luck:

Haybrant

02-19-2005, 08:23 PM

i interviewed earlier this wk; did you guys write a thank you letter to dr. garcia as well; is it standard to write thank you's to the dean of admissions? thanks!

krelian

02-19-2005, 10:46 PM

i didn't see dr. garcia at all during my interview day, so i didn't write a thank you to him. actually, i was admitted before i wrote the thank yous, so i guess it doesn't really matter.

sockandmittens

02-20-2005, 11:14 PM

Congrats to all those admitted! I'm in the waiting boat- and not too happy about it... 2-4 weeks is horribly vague....

CreativeWriter

02-21-2005, 03:07 AM

Congrats to all those admitted! I'm in the waiting boat- and not too happy about it... 2-4 weeks is horribly vague....

hey congrats on the interview. i hope it went well. chill out on the waiting part, they will get to you, sooner than later. At least you don't have to wait until a set date, like some of the Ivy's...which is rather annoying.

for those of you wondering about thank you notes....I think the general rule is only write letters to those people that you interviewed with, and with whom you interacted with SIGNIFICANTLY... :luck: otherwise, it would be obvious that you are trying to impress them....

I actually met with Dr. Garcia myself at the end of the day...and we chatted for a while. :laugh: :laugh:

Graat

02-21-2005, 07:32 AM

for those of you wondering about thank you notes....I think the general rule is only write letters to those people that you interviewed with, and with whom you interacted with SIGNIFICANTLY... :luck: otherwise, it would be obvious that you are trying to impress them....

I have sent thank you's to the dean in addition to those you mention. In my letter to the dean I thanked him/her for having been granted an interview.

And then I threw in a few lines to try to impress them . . . :)

SmartyPants

02-22-2005, 12:15 AM

I just got an interview invitation per email today!! There is still hope! :D :D :D

CreativeWriter

02-22-2005, 05:05 AM

:luck: :luck: :luck: :luck: I just got an interview invitation per email today!! There is still hope! :D :D :D

See, I told you!

Congrats! Let me know if you have any questions

SmartyPants

02-22-2005, 07:14 PM

Thanks CreativeWriter! I'm soooo excited!! :D
Can you recommend a not too expensive hotel around the area?

sockandmittens

02-22-2005, 09:15 PM

I'm not accepted like creative ;) but I was able to get a rate of 60 at the SLAC guest house- and they have a shuttle to take you there in the morning.

Graat

02-22-2005, 09:28 PM

Thanks CreativeWriter! I'm soooo excited!! :D
Can you recommend a not too expensive hotel around the area?

Wow, congrats! I hope I'm next!

Yeah, definitely consider the SLAC guest house instead of a hotel: http://www.stanford.edu/dept/hds/SLAC/

SmartyPants

02-23-2005, 12:00 AM

Thanks guys, you're awesome!! :thumbup: I'll definitely check it out. And I'll let you know how everything went. Wish me luck!!

Supernova

02-23-2005, 12:04 AM

Thanks guys, you're awesome!! :thumbup: I'll definitely check it out. And I'll let you know how everything went. Wish me luck!!

Just a tip, if you are driving to the interview. You should go to the admissions office 15min earlier to get a free parking pass. The parking lot where you are permitted to park is a 10 min walk. Sou give yourself extra time to walk back.

Good luck :luck:

Haybrant

02-23-2005, 12:27 AM

i didn't see dr. garcia at all during my interview day, so i didn't write a thank you to him. actually, i was admitted before i wrote the thank yous, so i guess it doesn't really matter.

how long did you take before you wrote thank you's?

Suey

02-23-2005, 12:41 AM

To everyone who got accepted to Stanford,

Congrats! I'm applying at the end of this school year for med school, but Stanford is definitely my number one choice, probably for all the same reasons as you guys! I REALLY REALLY want to go there, and it would be so great if those accepted can offer insight on what you think Stanford looks for in applicants, and what you think helped you in getting accepted there. Did you think your SU interview helped? If yes, what was it in your interview that helped win them over? Any insight would be appreciated! Thanks!

twicetenturns

02-23-2005, 01:11 AM

Thanks guys, you're awesome!! :thumbup: I'll definitely check it out. And I'll let you know how everything went. Wish me luck!!

Good luck Smarty!! :thumbup:

the_one_smiley

02-23-2005, 02:07 AM

Have you or anyone you know heard back after interviewing for Stanford MSTP?

UCLAreject

02-24-2005, 01:33 AM

sockandmittens

02-24-2005, 06:52 AM

*Gulp* I'm nervous I shouldn't even hear yet! Good luck everyone who is waiting!

arraysyn

02-24-2005, 11:55 PM

Any body got any call from Stanford today?

Haybrant

02-25-2005, 12:35 AM

Well it's Thursday...again...and the adcom is currently dreaming about their meeting later today in which they will finally decide to give me a call.

By the way does it mean anything at all if the faculty interviewer tells you that they "will rate you very highly"...or is it just bs?

Thanks

good luck ucla rej! they only meet once a week? as for the whole rating thing, that certainly sounds promising. I doubt something like that can hurt; my faculty was a semi-stress interview and it went ok but my student interview went well and he said that same kinda thing but he prefaced that saying in the past that he has highly recommended people and they havent gotten in, and vice versa.

UCLAreject

02-25-2005, 02:01 AM

Hey guys,

Instead of getting a phone call today I got a thin envelope in the mail. Its been a pleasure being a part of this thread, but alas it seems my time has come. Best of luck to the rest of you.

Sincerely,
UCLA/StanfordReject

kikkoman

02-25-2005, 08:21 AM

sra26

02-25-2005, 09:34 AM

Treg

02-25-2005, 10:33 AM

I will be at SMS for my interview on Monday. Wish me luck!

:luck: Treg

PS How long will it take me to drive from SFO on Sunday evening to SLAC?

Supernova

02-25-2005, 10:51 AM

I will be at SMS for my interview on Monday. Wish me luck!

:luck: Treg

PS How long will it take me to drive from SFO on Sunday evening to SLAC?

good luck :luck: ,

I guess you will take I-280 south to SLAC. It will probably take you less than half an hour to get to SLAC.

lavertus

02-25-2005, 04:21 PM

I will be at SMS for my interview on Monday. Wish me luck!

:luck: Treg

PS How long will it take me to drive from SFO on Sunday evening to SLAC?

take 380 to 280 south and exit sand hill (turn left). SLAC will be on the right a few blocks later. I'd say 25-30 min minimum if you're not familiar with the area

PM1981

02-25-2005, 05:58 PM

Hey everyone... I just got accepted last night!!!! I interviewed last wednesday. Is anyone on this thread going to cali from Fl?

Tra La La

02-25-2005, 06:08 PM

Tra La La

02-25-2005, 06:49 PM

Anyone?

Haybrant

02-25-2005, 07:39 PM

Hey everyone... I just got accepted last night!!!! I interviewed last wednesday. Is anyone on this thread going to cali from Fl?

wow! thats amazing turn around time; they must really want you. I just interviewed last wk and im worried now thanks to you :) I thought they said 4 wks? whats the deal. Are you're stats impressively high? did the interview go particularly well? did you write to the dean or anything? did garcia call you, or email? oh, and are you going for sure? thanks and congrats!

CreativeWriter

02-25-2005, 10:22 PM

Hi all! Congrats to everyone who's been accepted to Stanford. Very much well-deserved. :)

Well, I have been complete over 6 months at Stanford, and I have heard nada. Nothing. Zilch.

Does this mean that a rejection is soon coming? I have been very fortunate (thank God) to have been accepted to UCLA and UCSF. But going into this process, Stanford was my top choice. My attitude has changed a little, but I would still love the opportunity to interview.

Any luck left for me?

hey Tra La La....there's still hope if you have not heard from them. They will be interviewing until April. So don't give up yet! I hear ya on the randomness of this process...I have been at several top 15 med schools, but been rejected by some lowered "ranked" schools. so basically you just never know! :confused: :eek: :rolleyes:

keep the hope until you find out, one way or another ...at least you have the best two Cali schools under your belt! UCSF and UCLA! by the way, I am consindering UCLA, too :P)

take care

CreativeWriter

02-25-2005, 10:25 PM

:luck:

I will be at SMS for my interview on Monday. Wish me luck!

:luck: Treg

PS How long will it take me to drive from SFO on Sunday evening to SLAC?

Best of luck on Monday. :cool: Kick some ass!!! :thumbup: :thumbup: don't forget to tell them that you have been accepted at WashU...BUT if you REALLY REALLY REALLY want to go there...make that WELL KNOWN...otherwise, they will not be as actively interested in getting you to come....for some reason, they only want to accept people who are serious about attending to Stanford...they don't like to deal with wait list drama...that's my feeling...so no true facts...just feeling :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Tra La La

02-25-2005, 10:37 PM

hey Tra La La....there's still hope if you have not heard from them. They will be interviewing until April. So don't give up yet! I hear ya on the randomness of this process...I have been at several top 15 med schools, but been rejected by some lowered "ranked" schools. so basically you just never know! :confused: :eek: :rolleyes:

keep the hope until you find out, one way or another ...at least you have the best two Cali schools under your belt! UCSF and UCLA! by the way, I am consindering UCLA, too :P)

take care

Thanks for the kind words--and double congratulations on UCLA and Stanford! That's so awesome.

I definitely agree with you on the issue of randomness; I have also interviewed at other "top-tier" schools (i.e., Duke, Harvard), but for some reason, I really want the Stanford interview.

While UCLA's and UCSF's clinical programs might have an edge on Stanford's, I really love the Stanford environment, weather, and financial aid. But I am not ungrateful for what I have...

Congratulations again! You have an enviable decision to make :)

Haybrant

02-25-2005, 11:36 PM

I will be at SMS for my interview on Monday. Wish me luck!

:luck: Treg

PS How long will it take me to drive from SFO on Sunday evening to SLAC?

yay, good luck treg; im going out on a limb and guessing they will love you.

sockandmittens

02-26-2005, 09:56 AM

Luck Treg!

They very much are still sending out invites and I'm sure they haven't scheduled even to the end of March yet so there is still a lot of time.

Congrats to those who got in this week!!! I'm quite envious.

PM1981

02-26-2005, 10:17 AM

Hey... I wouldnt worry too much because your interviewers just may not have had the time to submit their letters into your file yet. My stats are really not high, I'm surprised I got in to stanford (34 MCAT 3.8 gpa). I've just done a lot of research and I supose that is what counts most at stanford. My interviews did go very well especially with the med student whom I spoke with for about an hour and a half. I did write thank you notes to interviewers and to Dr. Garcia by email. Garcia called me at 9 pm eastern on thur night. I'm probably going there! Good luck to you. I'm sure you'll get in. Dont worry. :)

wow! thats amazing turn around time; they must really want you. I just interviewed last wk and im worried now thanks to you :) I thought they said 4 wks? whats the deal. Are you're stats impressively high? did the interview go particularly well? did you write to the dean or anything? did garcia call you, or email? oh, and are you going for sure? thanks and congrats!

Treg

02-26-2005, 03:29 PM

yay, good luck treg; im going out on a limb and guessing they will love you.

Thanks for the vote of confidence :) I was really excited that it was going to be my last interview, except I just found out that I am going back to a different school for a scholarship interview. Will it ever end? I am giving my suit a real workout this year :D

I will be sure to post my SMS experience here next week. Good luck to everyone waiting post-interview!

Treg

sockandmittens

02-26-2005, 03:51 PM

Treg: Congrats on the scholarship interview!!!! That's amazing and you are so deserving =)

Haybrant

02-28-2005, 01:11 PM

just found out i got in! barring any unforseen circumstance Ill see those of you who decide to go next year!

sockandmittens

02-28-2005, 01:20 PM

Yay! Congrats- that's great. How'd you find out on a monday?

Haybrant

02-28-2005, 01:26 PM

Yay! Congrats- that's great. How'd you find out on a monday?

thanks! apparently they were suppossed to notify me last wk but for some reason i didnt get that notification; went in to turn in an update and one of the admin people recognized me and broke the news!

Supernova

02-28-2005, 01:59 PM

Congratulation!!!

guess maybe I won't see u at irvine tomorrow after all.

DrDarwin

02-28-2005, 02:36 PM

just found out i got in! barring any unforseen circumstance Ill see those of you who decide to go next year!

Sweet, Haybrant! Congratulations. I wish I could say that I will see you at Stanford next fall, but, alas, I am not Stanford material.

VeggieGal

02-28-2005, 03:06 PM

hey guys, is stanford still giving out interview invites? i haven't heard anything from them and am starting to think that maybe they lost my application.

CreativeWriter

02-28-2005, 04:02 PM

thanks! apparently they were suppossed to notify me last wk but for some reason i didnt get that notification; went in to turn in an update and one of the admin people recognized me and broke the news!

I am happy to hear the good news! are you joining me there next fall?

Treg, I hope you had a positive experience! :love: :luck:

sockandmittens

03-01-2005, 03:05 PM

Venting a little: At first i thought the disclosure of the thursday night acceptance calls was great. It was predictable, I could know what to expect. Now, I see that really all it does is cause me to be nervous and petrified the entire week as thursday approaches, oh so slowly. Stanford is my long shot, so I'm not expecting to get in, but the next three thursdays are going to be painful... And yes, I am trying to be calm about this process; however, this is the only school so far which has driven me nuts.

Best of luck to everyone else waiting and congrats to those who got in last week!

Treg

03-01-2005, 04:11 PM

Graat

03-01-2005, 05:11 PM

. . . and three were no shows!

Wow, can't believe they didn't show. If they've decided not to attend, you'd think they would have called to cancel.

More spots for us waiting for an interview!

Haybrant

03-02-2005, 02:32 AM

Well, Stanford is a great school, with beautiful facilities, happy students, etc., but I am not sure if it is the best place for me. My faculty interviewer wanted to talk science like >95% of the time, and even my student interviewer wanted to talk about my research first thing. I am perfectly happy to discuss my work, but there is more to me than that....

By the way, there were supposed to be 7 people there, but only three of us showed up because two had called in sick and three were no shows!

:) Treg

i wouldnt base your decision on what the interviewers wanted to talk about; if you are a Ph.D and I was interviewing you I would want to talk about your research too; in all honesty alot of interviews are so surface level that compared to my talks at stanford I felt they were a waste of time; I didnt learn about the person across the table and they didnt learn about me. talking about research is one avenue and if that happens to be what makes you stand out you can imagine why they focused on it. That said, i got the impression that the student body is very diverse; see the advantage of having a scholarly conc. is that you go and focus on your own thing (pub health, basic sci,community etc...) but when everyone comes together it adds tremendously to the diversity of the class. There are more profundities that I feel make the curriculum really strong but i dont want to bore so PM me if you are interested. Congrats on finishing the interview! [i think there may have been no shows b.c of the weather out east?]

CreativeWriter

03-02-2005, 12:34 PM

Treg

03-02-2005, 03:12 PM

I agree with Hybrant...my faculty interview was an *******, but I still got in, and I feel he's just one crazy locofusker in the crowd....

this is a good site!

http://medicologic.com/stanford/convince.htm Why Choose Stanford? (http://medicologic.com/stanford/convince.htm )

:thumbup: Treg, you will be fine...not sure if WashU is any better, environment wise... :confused:

I guess there were several other things that factored in to my not-so-great impression. The day seemed a bit disorganized, and we hardly met any current students. At the lunch, the three of us interviewees were sitting in that cafe chatting by ourselves for at least a half hour before anyone came. You would think that the students would see three people in black suits sitting there and know that we were interviewees, and as such stop and say hello. No such luck. Then my student interviewee was all business. She wouldn't even crack a smile! I have been on enough interviews at this point that it is hard to get excited about somewhere when other places have really tried harder.

Yeah, Wash U is a big time research school, with the rep of being hardcore. But at my interview, I met tons of students, they all seemed really happy, and the admin seems to bend over backward to help you out and sell the school. For example, my interviewer at Wash U has my husband's CV and is trying to help him find a job there. At SMS, my interviewer couldn't really give me any advice about where I would live there with my husband and daughter. He was like, "hmmm, I will pass that back to the committee, and maybe they can help out." Of course, he asked NOTHING about my husband, my background, my daughter, nada. This is the first school where that has happened. Even during the "curriculum" discussion (which was a little strange, just meeting one on one with this guy in his office), he pulled up my secondary on his computer and was asking about my interest in academic medicine, etc.

Anyway, I know that some of you out there love SMS, and that is great :) I believe that there is somewhere perfect for each of us, where we will be most happy.

:D Treg

Haybrant

03-03-2005, 01:24 AM

davidus

03-03-2005, 01:36 AM

Haybrant

03-03-2005, 02:08 AM

HB, big congrats on Stanford! It put a smile on my face when I found out you got in. =)

thanks davidus! im rooting for you on ucsf! go bears!

sockandmittens

03-03-2005, 12:52 PM

and it's thursday again...

arraysyn

03-03-2005, 11:26 PM

anybody got the good news tonight?

Sturgeon

03-04-2005, 07:19 AM

Got a pleasant call from Dr. Garcia last Thursday. Look forward to meeting you all in April or Sept.!!!

CreativeWriter

03-04-2005, 07:36 AM

hey that's awesome. I am definitely going to the admit weekend....sockadmittens...any news? hope they are good!

jankanator

03-04-2005, 07:41 AM

Sturgeon, how long ago was your interview?

I just interviewed last week (02/22) and they were saying we'd get a call in 3-4 weeks . . . does that seem accurate?

Sturgeon

03-04-2005, 07:46 AM

Interviewed on a Thursday, got accepted two weeks later. Good luck!

AJM

03-04-2005, 10:18 AM

excellent link!
Do you have any idea about doing an MD/MBA? I know the mba program is top notch at stanford; i wonder if they make space for med students or if you have to apply with the regular pool. Not sure that im interested in doing this, just curious tho

When I was at Stanford Med, several of my classmates did the MBA program. They were some of the first ones to go through as a group (prior to them, only one med student in a blue moon would do an MBA). My classmates had to apply through the regular pool, however I got the impression that their application was more of a formality. Before they all applied, our dean got together with the GSB dean to work out some kind of "deal" to make it easier for the med students to get in. As an example, the GSB requires their applicants to have had work experience, but they count medical school as work experience for the SMS applicants.

Now, this was several years ago, so things might have changed significantly since then (I know the curriculum certainly has!). I can only imagine that it has become easier to set up an MD/MBA program since I was there, since Stanford Med is very committed to giving their students as many options for their education as possible.

Anyway, congrats on all of your acceptances to Stanford Med! It's definitely a special place. Feel free to ask me any questions you might have. (although given all of the changes at the school, many of my answers might be outdated) :)

Haybrant

03-04-2005, 11:17 AM

When I was at Stanford Med, several of my classmates did the MBA program. They were some of the first ones to go through as a group (prior to them, only one med student in a blue moon would do an MBA). My classmates had to apply through the regular pool, however I got the impression that their application was more of a formality. Before they all applied, our dean got together with the GSB dean to work out some kind of "deal" to make it easier for the med students to get in. As an example, the GSB requires their applicants to have had work experience, but they count medical school as work experience for the SMS applicants.

Now, this was several years ago, so things might have changed significantly since then (I know the curriculum certainly has!). I can only imagine that it has become easier to set up an MD/MBA program since I was there, since Stanford Med is very committed to giving their students as many options for their education as possible.

Anyway, congrats on all of your acceptances to Stanford Med! It's definitely a special place. Feel free to ask me any questions you might have. (although given all of the changes at the school, many of my answers might be outdated) :)

hey thanks for the info ajm! I do have one question that I was talking with another admit about. What can you say about the diversity of patient base with specific emphasis on the actually types of cases that come through stanford hospitals compared to schools in other more metropolitan cities?

Haybrant

03-04-2005, 11:18 AM

Sturgeon, how long ago was your interview?

I just interviewed last week (02/22) and they were saying we'd get a call in 3-4 weeks . . . does that seem accurate?

yah, the turnaround seems to be 2 wk depending on your interview date and when your interviewers get their evals back to the committee. i interviewed tuesday and decision made 9 days later. Good luck!

CreativeWriter

03-04-2005, 11:28 AM

microTAS

03-04-2005, 12:16 PM

hey that's awesome. I am definitely going to the admit weekend....sockadmittens...any news? hope they are good!

count me in :D
we should hear more about the revisit soon (probably via mail)

see y'all there!

Haybrant

03-04-2005, 12:56 PM

has anyone been able to find a 2004 match list online or elsewhere? Thanks!

microTAS

03-04-2005, 01:48 PM

http://deansnewsletter.stanford.edu/archive/2004_residency_match.html
http://deansnewsletter.stanford.edu/archive/2003_residency_match.html

:)

CreativeWriter

03-04-2005, 02:16 PM

http://deansnewsletter.stanford.edu/archive/2004_residency_match.html
http://deansnewsletter.stanford.edu/archive/2003_residency_match.html

:)

those two Match lists are HELLA GOOD

twicetenturns

03-04-2005, 02:23 PM

Haybrant

03-04-2005, 02:27 PM

those two Match lists are HELLA GOOD

wow, these are impressive and I imagine will only get better thanks to the scholarly conc which should give students an opportunity to work heavily in their niche and also to publish multiple papers; the future is bright!

AJM

03-05-2005, 08:41 AM

hey thanks for the info ajm! I do have one question that I was talking with another admit about. What can you say about the diversity of patient base with specific emphasis on the actually types of cases that come through stanford hospitals compared to schools in other more metropolitan cities?

It's actually a huge misconception that Stanford Hospital does not get a similar patient base compared with academic hospitals located in cities. Keep in mind that although Stanford is located in a suburb, it is in the middle of the VERY densely populated South Bay (I think the population of just the South Bay alone is something like >1.5 million people). In addition, there have been a number of recent hospital closures in the community, including San Jose Medical Center, so all of those patients are now coming to SUH and Santa Clara Valley (both of which are major teaching hospitals for Stanford students.) SUH is busting at it's seams with patients, which is good for students, but has been causing problems with the residency programs (they're trying to figure out how to deal with the increased workload on the residents). So if you're concerned about patient volume, that certainly is not an issue.

Now as far as the diversity of cases go, I think it's similar to what you would see at most major academic medical centers. I'm currently doing my residency at an academic hospital in a metropolitan city, and I actually haven't noticed much of a difference in the types of patients/cases that I see compared with SUH. About 50% of patients seen at SUH are referrals from other institutions. SUH is a major referral center serving the South Bay, central California coast, the central valley (including Fresno and Modesto), and Nevada. The referral base not only adds to the diversity of cases seen, but also to the diversity of your patients. For example, the patients referred from the central valley are largely Hispanic, and are typically farmers (I have even taken care of real-life cowboys while I was there!). SUH also gets referrals from other areas, including Hawaii, Arizona, Oregon, and even the LA area. The referral base is really a gold mine for students to be able to see a ton of incredibly rare diseases and highly-advanced procedures/surgeries.

As far as the non-referral patient base, it's really about the same as most centers. You don't see nearly as many homeless patients as, say, Moffett Hospital at UCSF, but if you want to see homeless patients, you can do all of your rotations at Santa Clara Valley med center, which is the county hospital serving the city of San Jose. You will, however, see patients with HIV, as there is an HIV clinic affiliated with SUH (the hospital I'm currently at treats almost NO HIV+ patients in comparison!) There are some private patients as well as a number of local patients on Medical (CA's Medicaid), which give you a number of bread-and-butter cases to see.

If seeing the rare zebras isn't your thing, you can choose to do more of your rotations at the other affiliated medical centers. In fact, by the time you graduate from Stanford Med, you will have had to rotate through all 5 hospitals so that you get more of a variety of patients as well as seeing what different medical systems are like.

To briefly summarize the different hospitals you'll be at: SUH and Packard Children's are the two academic hospitals you'll rotate through. Packard has a similar patient base and referral pattern as SUH. Santa Clara Valley Medical Center is the county hospital for San Jose with it's own IM residency program, but the Stanford residents from all the specialties rotate down there as well. You will see the typical bread-and-butter cases, lots of uninsured patients, lots of both legal and illegal immigrants, tons of undiagnosed disease waiting for your diagnoses. Kaiser Santa Clara is the HMO hospital you'll rotate through - mostly middle-working-class patients with bread and butter problems - interesting to see how an HMO system works. Finally there's the Palo Alto VA hospital - VERY closely affiliated with SUH - the attendings at the PAVA are Stanford faculty, and all the Stanford residents and fellows spend a hefty amount of time there. The PAVA is the flagship VA hospital for the West Coast. You see a ton of typical vet problems, including out-of-control diabetes, heart disease, vascular disease, liver disease, and PTSD. But the PAVA is also a referral hospital for other VA's, so you will often some of the most severe presentations of these diseases.

So those are the hospitals. The nice thing about the mix is that they complement each other very well. Whatever one hospital may be lacking, you can get at another affiliated hospital.

And as a last note - to tell you the truth, I was a little concerned before I started at this other academic hospital for my residency. I started to buy in to the rumors that Stanford Med does not offer as good clinical training as other med schools, so was worried that I might have to do some catch-up. I was pleasantly surprised when I started. I found that I had just as good clinical training as my residency classmates, and compared to many I felt like I was more prepared.

Sorry about such a long post! I hope that helps!

Oh - and do try to go to the revisit weekend - it's a great weekend organized by the students, and will help to answer many of your concerns.

Let me know of any other questions.

Haybrant

03-05-2005, 12:58 PM

It's actually a huge misconception that Stanford Hospital does not get a similar patient base compared with academic hospitals located in cities. Keep in mind that although Stanford is located in a suburb, it is in the middle of the VERY densely populated South Bay (I think the population of just the South Bay alone is something like >1.5 million people). In addition, there have been a number of recent hospital closures in the community, including San Jose Medical Center, so all of those patients are now coming to SUH and Santa Clara Valley (both of which are major teaching hospitals for Stanford students.) SUH is busting at it's seams with patients, which is good for students, but has been causing problems with the residency programs (they're trying to figure out how to deal with the increased workload on the residents). So if you're concerned about patient volume, that certainly is not an issue.

Now as far as the diversity of cases go, I think it's similar to what you would see at most major academic medical centers. I'm currently doing my residency at an academic hospital in a metropolitan city, and I actually haven't noticed much of a difference in the types of patients/cases that I see compared with SUH. About 50% of patients seen at SUH are referrals from other institutions. SUH is a major referral center serving the South Bay, central California coast, the central valley (including Fresno and Modesto), and Nevada. The referral base not only adds to the diversity of cases seen, but also to the diversity of your patients. For example, the patients referred from the central valley are largely Hispanic, and are typically farmers (I have even taken care of real-life cowboys while I was there!). SUH also gets referrals from other areas, including Hawaii, Arizona, Oregon, and even the LA area. The referral base is really a gold mine for students to be able to see a ton of incredibly rare diseases and highly-advanced procedures/surgeries.

As far as the non-referral patient base, it's really about the same as most centers. You don't see nearly as many homeless patients as, say, Moffett Hospital at UCSF, but if you want to see homeless patients, you can do all of your rotations at Santa Clara Valley med center, which is the county hospital serving the city of San Jose. You will, however, see patients with HIV, as there is an HIV clinic affiliated with SUH (the hospital I'm currently at treats almost NO HIV+ patients in comparison!) There are some private patients as well as a number of local patients on Medical (CA's Medicaid), which give you a number of bread-and-butter cases to see.

If seeing the rare zebras isn't your thing, you can choose to do more of your rotations at the other affiliated medical centers. In fact, by the time you graduate from Stanford Med, you will have had to rotate through all 5 hospitals so that you get more of a variety of patients as well as seeing what different medical systems are like.

To briefly summarize the different hospitals you'll be at: SUH and Packard Children's are the two academic hospitals you'll rotate through. Packard has a similar patient base and referral pattern as SUH. Santa Clara Valley Medical Center is the county hospital for San Jose with it's own IM residency program, but the Stanford residents from all the specialties rotate down there as well. You will see the typical bread-and-butter cases, lots of uninsured patients, lots of both legal and illegal immigrants, tons of undiagnosed disease waiting for your diagnoses. Kaiser Santa Clara is the HMO hospital you'll rotate through - mostly middle-working-class patients with bread and butter problems - interesting to see how an HMO system works. Finally there's the Palo Alto VA hospital - VERY closely affiliated with SUH - the attendings at the PAVA are Stanford faculty, and all the Stanford residents and fellows spend a hefty amount of time there. The PAVA is the flagship VA hospital for the West Coast. You see a ton of typical vet problems, including out-of-control diabetes, heart disease, vascular disease, liver disease, and PTSD. But the PAVA is also a referral hospital for other VA's, so you will often some of the most severe presentations of these diseases.

So those are the hospitals. The nice thing about the mix is that they complement each other very well. Whatever one hospital may be lacking, you can get at another affiliated hospital.

And as a last note - to tell you the truth, I was a little concerned before I started at this other academic hospital for my residency. I started to buy in to the rumors that Stanford Med does not offer as good clinical training as other med schools, so was worried that I might have to do some catch-up. I was pleasantly surprised when I started. I found that I had just as good clinical training as my residency classmates, and compared to many I felt like I was more prepared.

Sorry about such a long post! I hope that helps!

Oh - and do try to go to the revisit weekend - it's a great weekend organized by the students, and will help to answer many of your concerns.

Let me know of any other questions.

wow, excellent post ajm, thanks for the info!

Tra La La

03-05-2005, 01:21 PM

Still waiting impatiently for a Stanford rejection or interview. More likely to be the former than the latter.

Sigh.

Haybrant

03-08-2005, 04:54 PM

anyone have any idea when second look wknd is? havent heard anything about it so if you have info do share; thanks guys!

CreativeWriter

03-08-2005, 06:06 PM

anyone have any idea when second look wknd is? havent heard anything about it so if you have info do share; thanks guys!

April 23-24

they should be mailing stuff about it by the end of this week!

see you all soon,

SmartyPants

03-08-2005, 07:43 PM

Hey guys! I had an interview at Stanford last week and I loved it loved it loved it!!! It's such an awesome school and the people over there are sooo nice and realxed....Wish me luck b/c they told me they are getting back to their interviewees within 2-4 weeks!! :luck: :scared: :luck:

Eyesayah55

03-09-2005, 06:00 PM

i wouldnt base your decision on what the interviewers wanted to talk about; if you are a Ph.D and I was interviewing you I would want to talk about your research too; in all honesty alot of interviews are so surface level that compared to my talks at stanford I felt they were a waste of time; I didnt learn about the person across the table and they didnt learn about me. talking about research is one avenue and if that happens to be what makes you stand out you can imagine why they focused on it. That said, i got the impression that the student body is very diverse; see the advantage of having a scholarly conc. is that you go and focus on your own thing (pub health, basic sci,community etc...) but when everyone comes together it adds tremendously to the diversity of the class. There are more profundities that I feel make the curriculum really strong but i dont want to bore so PM me if you are interested. Congrats on finishing the interview! [i think there may have been no shows b.c of the weather out east?]
Can you tell me more about the curriculum and the like? I interview at the end of March (pretty late huh?), so I'm doing some information searching.

Treg

03-10-2005, 11:45 AM

It's Thursday, so good luck everybody! Have you heard back yet, sockandmittens? Also, did they usually call in the evening, PST? Just curious :)

Treg

microTAS

03-10-2005, 07:18 PM

It's Thursday, so good luck everybody! Have you heard back yet, sockandmittens? Also, did they usually call in the evening, PST? Just curious :)

Treg

~6:00 Pacific Time for me

microTAS

03-14-2005, 04:47 PM

April 23-24

they should be mailing stuff about it by the end of this week!

see you all soon,

Got the letter!! :)
The days are officially Apr 22-23 with Apr 21st and 24th for traveling. I don't think they reimburse for travel unless you're doing the MSTP.

lagringa87xc

03-14-2005, 04:54 PM

anyone have any idea of how many acceptances Stanford has sent out...or if there is any way to find out that info?
Thanks...
(wondering if they are now only interviewing for waitlist positions...)

Haybrant

03-14-2005, 05:46 PM

anyone have any idea of how many acceptances Stanford has sent out...or if there is any way to find out that info?
Thanks...
(wondering if they are now only interviewing for waitlist positions...)

its hard to find out definitively; id say call and ask but ive heard that they arent too receptive to these types of questions. There doesnt seem to be that many of us sdners that have been accepted, if that means anything. The way i always approached this process is that if you are a good applicant they are going to want you; they know that good applicants interview late in the season too and will prob not fill up too quick for that reason. This is also likely the reason people are accepted in a window between 2-4 wks.

Haybrant

03-15-2005, 10:44 PM

Got the letter!! :)
The days are officially Apr 22-23 with Apr 21st and 24th for traveling. I don't think they reimburse for travel unless you're doing the MSTP.

Did you guys try signing up by following the link they provided in the letter? It gives me some random page but nowhere to sign up like they request us to do.

CreativeWriter

03-16-2005, 05:50 AM

Did you guys try signing up by following the link they provided in the letter? It gives me some random page but nowhere to sign up like they request us to do.

it worked for me!

Stanford's Admit Weekend (https://med.stanford.edu/survey/AdmitWeekend)

Haybrant

03-17-2005, 06:35 PM

Anyone know how we can get our hands on the results from today's match day?

AJM

03-18-2005, 09:13 AM

Anyone know how we can get our hands on the results from today's match day?

You can find out the match results by two ways:
1. If you're in the Stanford area, the listed is posted up outside the student lounge.

2. Usually they put the results up online with the next edition of the Dean's newsletter: http://deansnewsletter.stanford.edu/
The next edition probably won't be out for another couple of weeks.

SmartyPants

03-18-2005, 12:52 PM

lagringa87xc

03-18-2005, 12:54 PM

Haybrant

03-18-2005, 02:19 PM

I got in!!!!!! Got the phone call last night! I still can't believe it....and I'll definitely be joining the class of 2009-10!! Well, I guess I'll se you at the second look weekend... yay!!!!! :clap: :hardy: :clap:

congrats smarty pants! we could use more accepted SDNers; thus far this thread has just been my dialogue with creative writer!

Haybrant

03-18-2005, 02:20 PM

I got in!!!!!! Got the phone call last night! I still can't believe it....and I'll definitely be joining the class of 2009-10!! Well, I guess I'll se you at the second look weekend... yay!!!!! :clap: :hardy: :clap:

congrats smarty pants! we could use more accepted SDNers; recently this thread has just been my dialogue with creative writer!

WatchingWaiting

03-18-2005, 02:37 PM

Anyone know how we can get our hands on the results from today's match day?

XXX ; Psychiatry ; Stanford
XXX ; OB/Gyn ; Yale
XXX ; Gen Surg ; Rush U
XXX ; Prelim ; Mt. Sinai, NY
; Derm ; NYU
XXX ; IM ; Brigham
XXX ; Psychiatry ; UCLA
XXX ; Gen Surg ; U Penn
XXX ; Gen Surg ; Stanford
; Anesthesia ; Stanford
XXX ; Peds ; UCSD
XXX ; Peds ; Stanford
XXX ; Trans ; SC Valley Med
; Derm ; UCSF
XXX ; Nsurg ; Utah
XXX ; IM ; Stanford
XXX ; Psychiatry ; U Colorado
XXX ; Emed ; OHSU
XXX ; Trans ; SC Valley Med
; Rads ; Stanford
XXX ; IM ; UCSF
XXX ; Ortho ; MGH
XXX ; FP ; O'Connor
XXX ; Gen Surg ; Brown
XXX ; Med/Derm ; U Wisconsin
XXX ; Prelim ; Stanford
; Derm ; Stanford
XXX ; Trans ; SC Valley Med
; Rads ; UCSF
XXX ; Prelim ; Stanford
; Neurology ; UCLA
XXX ; IM ; Case Western
XXX ; IM ; OHSU
XXX ; Gen Surg ; Stanford
XXX ; IM ; Stanford
XXX ; Ortho ; UCSD
XXX ; Trans ; SC Valley Med
; Rads ; UCSF
XXX ; IM ; Stanford
XXX ; Prelim ; UCSD
; Anesthesia ; Stanford
XXX ; Ortho ; MGH
XXX ; Ortho ; Stanford
XXX ; Anesthesia ; Vanderbilt
XXX ; Prelim ; Huntington Memorial
; Optho ; U Miami/Bascom Palmer
XXX ; Trans ; Alameda County
; Derm ; U Minnesota
XXX ; Trans ; Alameda County
; Optho ; OHSU
XXX ; Gen Surg ; Stanford
XXX ; Peds ; Stanford
XXX ; FP ; UCSF
XXX ; Trans ; St. Barnabus Med
; Derm ; MGH
XXX ; Prelim ; Stanford
; Rad Onc ; Stanford
XXX ; FP ; UCSF
XXX ; Emed ; Stanford
XXX ; Trans ; SC Valley Med
; Anesthesia ; Stanford
XXX ; Trans ; Scripps Mercy CA
; PMR ; Harvard
XXX ; Emed ; Highland Oakland
XXX ; Peds ; LSU
XXX ; Trans ; Memorial Sloan Kettering
; Rads ; NYU
XXX ; IM ; MGH
XXX ; Peds ; OHSU
XXX ; FP ; U New Mexico
XXX ; ENT ; Stanford
XXX ; Psychiatry ; NYU
XXX ; OB/Gyn ; NYU
XXX ; Psychiatry ; Stanford
XXX ; Emed ; Highland Oakland
XXX ; Prelim ; St. Mary's SF
; Rad Onc ; U Washington
XXX ; Child Psych ; U Colorado
XXX ; Transitional ; Scripps Mercy
; Rads ; Stanford
XXX ; Peds ; CHOP
XXX ; IM ; Northwestern
XXX ; Peds ; Childrens Hosp Oakland

Haybrant

03-18-2005, 02:43 PM

XXX Psychiatry Stanford
XXX OB/Gyn Yale
XXX Gen Surg Rush U
XXX Prelim Mt. Sinai, NY
Derm NYU

thanks for posting! ive seen past years match lists but not sure how to tell how this years stacks up; anyone have any ideas? ajm?

GuyLaroche

03-18-2005, 03:41 PM

jankanator

03-18-2005, 03:48 PM

Woo Hoo!!! I'm in!

Missed the call because I was in Savannah for St. Patrick's Day and "discovered" a message in the morning.

Then I had to wait until Stanford was open to call back . . .

I'm stoked--see you guys at second look!

Haybrant

03-18-2005, 05:34 PM

I will be interviewing at Stanford in April. I am wondering if it is worth even getting excited about. Aren't they pretty close to filling their class? How long does it take to hear back from the adcom after an interview? How many people interview each interview day? I'd like to take a close look at the school but I hope I am not wasting my time. I have had such hard knocks with Harvard, Cornell and Columbia - interviews I only attended out of curiosity and which I ended up withdrawing from or being rejected or waitlisted by. Any thoughts?

if you are a good applicant they will want you regardless; i doubt their class is going to be filled by when you interview- this is why the notification times vary b.t candidates. They interview very few (~400) so the odds are good. But ask yourself if you even want to go to stanford. I mean, if you are withdrawing from cornell,columb, harvard that says something. Who knows tho, something might click at stanford that didnt elsewhere

microTAS

03-18-2005, 05:38 PM

I got in!!!!!! Got the phone call last night! I still can't believe it....and I'll definitely be joining the class of 2009-10!! Well, I guess I'll se you at the second look weekend... yay!!!!! :clap: :hardy: :clap:

Woo Hoo!!! I'm in!

Missed the call because I was in Savannah for St. Patrick's Day and "discovered" a message in the morning.

Then I had to wait until Stanford was open to call back . . .

I'm stoked--see you guys at second look!

SmartyPants & jankanator:
Congrats congrats! :D

Looking forward to seeing all of you @ 2nd look!

microTAS

03-18-2005, 05:49 PM

I will be interviewing at Stanford in April. I am wondering if it is worth even getting excited about. Aren't they pretty close to filling their class? How long does it take to hear back from the adcom after an interview? How many people interview each interview day? I'd like to take a close look at the school but I hope I am not wasting my time. I have had such hard knocks with Harvard, Cornell and Columbia - interviews I only attended out of curiosity and which I ended up withdrawing from or being rejected or waitlisted by. Any thoughts?

If you're seriously considering Stanford (which you probably are since you're paying to go interview!) then this isn't the time to give up! Admissions can be a little luck of the draw, so stay positive, do your best, and good luck with the interview!! :luck: :luck: :luck: :luck:

neuroethicist

03-19-2005, 04:33 PM

I have an interview there at the end of the month and it was disappointing to find that there were only 3 posts for this entire cycle. If you interviewed, be generous and post your feedback from the day. It will bring you good karma for years to come. :luck:

Tra La La

03-19-2005, 05:30 PM

I know that this thread is for accepted students, but I am wondering why I haven't heard a word from Stanford post-secondary yet. Complete mid-August.

Does anyone know when the last round of mass rejections will be coming out?

microTAS

03-19-2005, 05:57 PM

even though our HMS boat sank and you haven't heard back from SMS, UCSF isn't too shabby :thumbup:

Tra La La

03-19-2005, 06:05 PM

even though our HMS boat sank and you haven't heard back from SMS, UCSF isn't too shabby :thumbup:

Thanks for the encouragement, microTAS!

At this point, I'm just curious :rolleyes: to see what happened to my application. Why isn't 7 months enough time to reject me! :laugh:

Congrats to you and everyone else, though!

GuyLaroche

03-19-2005, 07:38 PM

Thanks for the encouragement, microTAS!

At this point, I'm just curious :rolleyes: to see what happened to my application. Why isn't 7 months enough time to reject me! :laugh:

Congrats to you and everyone else, though!

They randomly invited me a few days ago. I noticed that there were open dates through April. I am sure you're still in the running.

whoa nusse!

03-19-2005, 07:38 PM

First off, congratulations to all you guys who have been accepted to Stanford. That's awesome. I wish everyone else the best of luck too. I have been accepted as well. After the initial excitement wore off, I starting thinking seriously about my options. I have some pretty strong options right now in addition to Stanford (including Hopkins, WashU, and others). Nonetheless, Stanford really excites me because of its location, students, research opportunities, etc. :) The clinical training really concerns me, though. :( It's good and all, but I don't know if it can stack up to some of the other insititutions I am considering. I really appreciated AJM's insight about this. Are there any other current/former Stanford students that could comment on the strength of clinical training at Stanford? What do you other prospectives/admitted students think about this? Thanks for your input.

-WN!

It's actually a huge misconception that Stanford Hospital does not get a similar patient base compared with academic hospitals located in cities. Keep in mind that although Stanford is located in a suburb, it is in the middle of the VERY densely populated South Bay (I think the population of just the South Bay alone is something like >1.5 million people). In addition, there have been a number of recent hospital closures in the community, including San Jose Medical Center, so all of those patients are now coming to SUH and Santa Clara Valley (both of which are major teaching hospitals for Stanford students.) SUH is busting at it's seams with patients, which is good for students, but has been causing problems with the residency programs (they're trying to figure out how to deal with the increased workload on the residents). So if you're concerned about patient volume, that certainly is not an issue.

Now as far as the diversity of cases go, I think it's similar to what you would see at most major academic medical centers. I'm currently doing my residency at an academic hospital in a metropolitan city, and I actually haven't noticed much of a difference in the types of patients/cases that I see compared with SUH. About 50% of patients seen at SUH are referrals from other institutions. SUH is a major referral center serving the South Bay, central California coast, the central valley (including Fresno and Modesto), and Nevada. The referral base not only adds to the diversity of cases seen, but also to the diversity of your patients. For example, the patients referred from the central valley are largely Hispanic, and are typically farmers (I have even taken care of real-life cowboys while I was there!). SUH also gets referrals from other areas, including Hawaii, Arizona, Oregon, and even the LA area. The referral base is really a gold mine for students to be able to see a ton of incredibly rare diseases and highly-advanced procedures/surgeries.

As far as the non-referral patient base, it's really about the same as most centers. You don't see nearly as many homeless patients as, say, Moffett Hospital at UCSF, but if you want to see homeless patients, you can do all of your rotations at Santa Clara Valley med center, which is the county hospital serving the city of San Jose. You will, however, see patients with HIV, as there is an HIV clinic affiliated with SUH (the hospital I'm currently at treats almost NO HIV+ patients in comparison!) There are some private patients as well as a number of local patients on Medical (CA's Medicaid), which give you a number of bread-and-butter cases to see.

If seeing the rare zebras isn't your thing, you can choose to do more of your rotations at the other affiliated medical centers. In fact, by the time you graduate from Stanford Med, you will have had to rotate through all 5 hospitals so that you get more of a variety of patients as well as seeing what different medical systems are like.

To briefly summarize the different hospitals you'll be at: SUH and Packard Children's are the two academic hospitals you'll rotate through. Packard has a similar patient base and referral pattern as SUH. Santa Clara Valley Medical Center is the county hospital for San Jose with it's own IM residency program, but the Stanford residents from all the specialties rotate down there as well. You will see the typical bread-and-butter cases, lots of uninsured patients, lots of both legal and illegal immigrants, tons of undiagnosed disease waiting for your diagnoses. Kaiser Santa Clara is the HMO hospital you'll rotate through - mostly middle-working-class patients with bread and butter problems - interesting to see how an HMO system works. Finally there's the Palo Alto VA hospital - VERY closely affiliated with SUH - the attendings at the PAVA are Stanford faculty, and all the Stanford residents and fellows spend a hefty amount of time there. The PAVA is the flagship VA hospital for the West Coast. You see a ton of typical vet problems, including out-of-control diabetes, heart disease, vascular disease, liver disease, and PTSD. But the PAVA is also a referral hospital for other VA's, so you will often some of the most severe presentations of these diseases.

So those are the hospitals. The nice thing about the mix is that they complement each other very well. Whatever one hospital may be lacking, you can get at another affiliated hospital.

And as a last note - to tell you the truth, I was a little concerned before I started at this other academic hospital for my residency. I started to buy in to the rumors that Stanford Med does not offer as good clinical training as other med schools, so was worried that I might have to do some catch-up. I was pleasantly surprised when I started. I found that I had just as good clinical training as my residency classmates, and compared to many I felt like I was more prepared.

Sorry about such a long post! I hope that helps!

Oh - and do try to go to the revisit weekend - it's a great weekend organized by the students, and will help to answer many of your concerns.

Let me know of any other questions.

Tra La La

03-19-2005, 07:56 PM

They randomly invited me a few days ago. I noticed that there were open dates through April. I am sure you're still in the running.

That's awesome, GL!

Best of luck at Stanford. :luck:

microTAS

03-19-2005, 08:10 PM

microTAS

03-19-2005, 08:14 PM

That's awesome, GL!

Best of luck at Stanford. :luck:

there's hope yet! there's no Bic pens, but you can't beat the SMS wooden pencils (i'm using it right now!) :thumbup:

Tra La La

03-19-2005, 08:42 PM

there's hope yet! there's no Bic pens, but you can't beat the SMS wooden pencils (i'm using it right now!) :thumbup:

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

AJM

03-20-2005, 05:09 PM

thanks for posting! ive seen past years match lists but not sure how to tell how this years stacks up; anyone have any ideas? ajm?

I don't think this is a complete list -- about 20 students (give or take) are missing from what was posted.

On briefly looking at the programs, it looks like this year's match is pretty similar to previous matches. The typical numbers breakdown as to locations people tend to go to are as follows: usually about 30-40% stay at Stanford, and about 20% go to the Harvard hospitals. After that, about 10-15% more stay in other programs in the bay area (UCSF, Highland ER, Oakland Children's), and then the rest is a scattering of locations, both east and west coast. On looking through the list, people matched at very well-respected programs in the specialties they applied in.

The specialties people matched in are also very typical of previous years matches -- barely anyone goes into FP, and lots of people do surgical specialties as well as rads, anesthesia, ophtho. Just for my bias - it doesn't look like IM was quite as popular this year, but then again there are a number of students missing from the list. (nothing against WW - that was very helpful for everyone here).

On the whole, not too different. The most important thing to find out, however, is not necessarily the exact specialties or programs people match to, but try to find out what percentage of students get their 1st choice, and what percentage gets one of their top 3 choices. Stanford tries to keep track of this, so they will probably tell you at Revisit weekend. I'm sure you'll find that people tend to match where they want. My graduating year, I think the numbers were 78% got their 1st choice, and 91% got one of their top 3 choices. This is not an easy feat when you look at the match list and see that the vast majority of programs on there are highly competetive.

kgm4

03-21-2005, 11:41 AM

canttouchthis

03-21-2005, 12:42 PM

hi all. i have an interview at sms this thursday (wheee!) and was hoping those of you living in the bay area could give me some advice. if i drive down from sf early in the morning before my interview, how long might it take? what is the best/fastest way to get there?
thanks in advance for your help! hopefully the next time i post on this thread it will be as a member of the class of '09/'10!!

Depending on where you are in SF, take 280 or 101. I'm not actually sure where they'd want you to park...maybe someone who has already interviewed can tell you. But from SF at the buttcrack of dawn will prolly take you about 40 minutes.

neuroethicist

03-22-2005, 06:09 AM

hi all. i have an interview at sms this thursday (wheee!) and was hoping those of you living in the bay area could give me some advice. if i drive down from sf early in the morning before my interview, how long might it take? what is the best/fastest way to get there?
thanks in advance for your help! hopefully the next time i post on this thread it will be as a member of the class of '09/'10!!

Take the 280 to Sand Hill Road (you will see a sign for the Stanford Linear Accelerator on the exit). It should take you around 40 minutes depending on how long it takes you to get on the 280 out of SF. Parking is straight forward...lots of options...the best being right across from the admissions building.

Don't forget to post your interview feedback for us Phreaks who have it the following week. Best of luck on Thursday.

bl2seq

03-22-2005, 11:57 AM

I don't think this is a complete list -- about 20 students (give or take) are missing from what was posted.

actually only 65 people participated in the match this year, according to the most recent Dean's newsletter. They are expecting a much larger graduation class next year.

http://deansnewsletter.stanford.edu/#1

Sturgeon

03-22-2005, 01:45 PM

Hello fellow SMS admits,
Have any of you folks inquired about getting a deal on a computer through Stanford? If either, is the med school more Mac or PC friendly?
thanks

bl2seq

03-22-2005, 04:14 PM

Hello fellow SMS admits,
Have any of you folks inquired about getting a deal on a computer through Stanford? If either, is the med school more Mac or PC friendly?
thanks

check out the computer store at the Stanford Bookstore. They have some special offers. Not sure if it is really cheaper than what you can get elsewhere.
http://www.stanfordbookstore.com/htmlroot/computer/ComputerStoreSpecialOffers.jsp

stanMD

03-22-2005, 04:25 PM

I'd just like to wish all of you well, regardless of your acceptance into our school. For those of you already accepted, congrats!... You will love your time here.

GuyLaroche

03-22-2005, 09:16 PM

Tra La La

03-22-2005, 09:25 PM

Haybrant, Creativewriter and similarly studly smarties:

Are you guys going to definitely go to Stanford? I see you both have excellent acceptances. I am wondering if I am wasting my time by going. I want to go because I think I might like it, but the late date is cause for concern.

Hey GL--

I called to check on the status of my application (i.e., I wanted to see if it was lost, or if I had already been rejected and if my rejection letter was lost).
I am still in review.

I then asked the admissions coordinator if the class is full, and he gave me a resounding "no." They'll be doing interviews into April, and I guess they're hella behind, too.

So, g'luck! :luck:

Haybrant

03-23-2005, 12:53 AM

Haybrant, Creativewriter and similarly studly smarties:

Are you guys going to definitely go to Stanford? I see you both have excellent acceptances. I am wondering if I am wasting my time by going. I want to go because I think I might like it, but the late date is cause for concern.

Hey guy; congrats on your own acceptances! they sent out an email yesterday to those accepted and there were ~80 or so people on it; Im not certain how many accept their spot but their class size is 86 so you figure they will accept at least 130-140; thats my guess but im sure there are still a good amount of spaces even if you interview in the next few wks. If you are not attracted to the location/curriculum/clinical training then maybe you ought to save your $; there were very few schools at which my interview day made me positively change my mind about a place. good luck

CreativeWriter

03-23-2005, 06:52 AM

Hey guy; congrats on your own acceptances! they sent out an email yesterday to those accepted and there were ~80 or so people on it; Im not certain how many accept their spot but their class size is 86 so you figure they will accept at least 130-140; thats my guess but im sure there are still a good amount of spaces even if you interview in the next few wks. If you are not attracted to the location/curriculum/clinical training then maybe you ought to save your $; there were very few schools at which my interview day made me positively change my mind about a place. good luck

I am definitely going! But you should still interview. I think if you REALLY convince them that Stanford is where you wanna go, they will accept you...otherwise they would have not invited you for an interview...I know 3 people who are accepted who are not going bc they have Harvard, Penn, UMich (w/ full ride), Duke, etc...under their belt....so there is still hope

old macdonald

03-23-2005, 08:35 AM

I am definitely going! But you should still interview. I think if you REALLY convince them that Stanford is where you wanna go, they will accept you...otherwise they would have not invited you for an interview...I know 3 people who are accepted who are not going bc they have Harvard, Penn, UMich (w/ full ride), Duke, etc...under their belt....so there is still hope

I interviewed Monday and absolutely loved it. Here's hoping to an acceptance!

Best of luck to all in the process :D

neuroethicist

03-23-2005, 07:49 PM

I interviewed Monday and absolutely loved it. Here's hoping to an acceptance!

Best of luck to all in the process :D

Thanks for the best wishes...please take the time to post. Good luck this spring.

CreativeWriter

03-24-2005, 02:28 PM

I hope some of you find out today about your acceptance Status...the Admit Weekend is in one month!!! i m so excited.

if you have questions about the interview, feel free to email me. I did post in interview feedback, but in case you want a more detailed review...

lata

Thanks for the best wishes...please take the time to post. Good luck this spring.

Tra La La

03-24-2005, 02:39 PM

Still waiting for that small envelope... :)

GuyLaroche

03-24-2005, 02:46 PM

I hope some of you find out today about your acceptance Status...the Admit Weekend is in one month!!! i m so excited.

if you have questions about the interview, feel free to email me. I did post in interview feedback, but in case you want a more detailed review...

lata

Exactly one month from today? How long did it take them to get back to you once you interviewed?

Treg

03-24-2005, 02:53 PM

My file is with the committee this week, so if I hear anything tonight I will be sure to post :)

Treg

Haybrant

03-24-2005, 04:27 PM

My file is with the committee this week, so if I hear anything tonight I will be sure to post :)

Treg

good luck treg, but didnt you get the washu merit scholarship? Me thinks stanford would be out of your running, esp. since you didnt like the interview day, no?

Guy, it took under two wks to hear back; i interviewed on tuesday and heard the following thursday. But i think it varies; others have heard up to a month or so.

Treg

03-24-2005, 05:23 PM

good luck treg, but didnt you get the washu merit scholarship? Me thinks stanford would be out of your running, esp. since you didnt like the interview day, no?

Guy, it took under two wks to hear back; i interviewed on tuesday and heard the following thursday. But i think it varies; others have heard up to a month or so.

Yeah, I am just waiting to find out the final decision on my app, since this is the last US school I have left to hear from. I am looking forward to closure at this point :)

Treg

Treg

03-24-2005, 07:52 PM

CreativeWriter

03-24-2005, 08:08 PM

Hey all, I got the call from Dean Garcia tonight. It's awesome to be accepted to Stanford, but I am pretty sure that I will be elsewhere this fall. Good luck to those of you on the waitlist :luck:

Treg

congrats on your recent acceptance, and multiple full tuition scholarships. I wish you the best on your decision, regardless of where you go!

Best wishes to all of you,

GuyLaroche

03-24-2005, 08:13 PM

Hey all, I got the call from Dean Garcia tonight. It's awesome to be accepted to Stanford, but I am pretty sure that I will be elsewhere this fall. Good luck to those of you on the waitlist :luck:

Treg

Congratulations Treg, darling. Really, good work.

Now back to my true, selfish intentions: when did you interview? How long did it take to hear back? If you're so sure of that you won't attend, do you mind withdrawing as I understand the class is close to full, and I am quite interested in the school. (Always funny how people make this request as though they are the ones up for immediate consideration upon the withdrawal of another person).

Again, congratulations. And really, I truly mean it lucky, lucky girl that you are. *whispers: b!tch!* Which med school are you likely to attend?

Treg

03-24-2005, 08:32 PM

Congratulations Treg, darling. Really, good work.

Now back to my true, selfish intentions: when did you interview? How long did it take to hear back? If you're so sure of that you won't attend, do you mind withdrawing as I understand the class is close to full, and I am quite interested in the school. (Always funny how people make this request as though they are the ones up for immediate consideration upon the withdrawal of another person).

Again, congratulations. And really, I truly mean it lucky, lucky girl that you are. *whispers: b!tch!* Which med school are you likely to attend?

I interviewed 2/28, so I guess it took 3.5 weeks to hear back. I will withdraw from nearly all schools next week, once I have time to draft the letters. I am either going to U. of Alberta or Wash U at this point :)

Thanks guys, SDNers are a rare breed of crazy yet mostly wonderful people. :D

Treg

doozenberg

03-25-2005, 03:42 PM

SamDC

03-25-2005, 04:26 PM

Posted this in the recent interview invitations thread, but thought you guys might know better:

Is Stanford still interviewing?

I just walked past Gabriel Garcia (assoc dean of admissions) in the hospital a few minutes ago and said, "hi dr. garcia" (he was an advisor for this group I was in 3 years ago) but I don't think he remembered me. I wanted to ask him about interviews, but I chickened out at the last second. Damn. What would you guys have done?

Stanford is my last standing CA and top-tier hope... PLEASE!!!

Do you know where he lives? Just kidding.

I don't know if this is much help but I've heard that Stanford's interviewing into April. That's only part of it. The real question is if they're still offering interviews or they've already given out all the interview slots and are in the process of interviewing which will finish in April. Oy!

Anyway, good luck. Post something if you hear from them. I know I'm sitting on pins and needles waiting for them. Stanford is my only CA and top-tier hope!

Sam

old macdonald

03-25-2005, 04:43 PM

Do you know where he lives? Just kidding.

I don't know if this is much help but I've heard that Stanford's interviewing into April. That's only part of it. The real question is if they're still offering interviews or they've already given out all the interview slots and are in the process of interviewing which will finish in April. Oy!

Anyway, good luck. Post something if you hear from them. I know I'm sitting on pins and needles waiting for them. Stanford is my only CA and top-tier hope!

Sam

Play it again Sam...same here with Stanford being my only CA and top-tier hope at this point.

I interviewed on the 21st...and loved the school. While I was promised beautiful California weather during my stay, I was greeted by weather not unlike that of Baltimore, MD where I am currently.

Basically, it's a great place with a plethora of fantastic research and clinical care opportunities. I'll definitely feel sad if I don't get this one :cool:

Best of luck to all and congrats to those accepted!

GasEmDee

03-25-2005, 05:01 PM

The clinical training really concerns me, though. :( It's good and all, but I don't know if it can stack up to some of the other insititutions I am considering.
-WN!

What specifically concerns you about the clinical training? This is a vague criticism that is often freely thrown about. It would be easier to validate or allay your concerns if you provided more details.

In medical school, the motivated student can get as good clinical training as he or she desires. As AJM mentioned, we have 5 main teaching hospitals that students rotate through. Depending on the specialty, some offer more in-depth experiences than others. Let's take OB/GYN for example. Some students want to deliver as many babies as possible. Other's could care less. If you are of the former group, you can rotate through Santa Clara Valley, which is a veritable baby factory for the south bay. They have a very high volume of deliveries, and the patients generally accept *very* high levels of student involvement. If, on the other hand, you would be happy never to deliver a baby, you can rotate at Kaiser Santa Clara, where students are less involved.

The clinical training is as involved as you want it to be. That's the beauty of Stanford. Everything is so incredibly invidualized. So many of my classmates did non-traditional things, like getting Stanford MBAs or starting companies. Others focused on hard-core clinical experiences. It is really up to you, and the school supports you in whatever you do. There is tons of elective time, tons of flexibility, and tons of money to support you in your endeavors. I think the philosophy of the school, in general, is to take qualified and motivated individuals, and then to allow them to create the experience that is best for them. This is in stark contrast to other schools, where students go through the curriculum basically in lock step.

Does this flexibility mean that clinical training is compromised? No one comes out of this system deficient, although it is possible some students have a clinical experience that is less broad because they spent more time doing research, community service, getting extra degrees, etc. In the end though, we all have to pass the same basic exams, learn the same basic skills, and all your real skills training happens in residency anyway.

I often wonder what it is about Stanford that gives it this reputation. is it the fact that it is located in a very beautiful, picturesque environment that makes it seem country-clubish? I don't know. At any rate, our graduates typically go on to do residencies at 3 major places: Harvard programs, Stanford, and UCSF. And then there is a large assortment of other great institutions that we match into. I dont know if the word on the street at these other institutions is that Stanford grads are deficient. To be fair, i'd really have no real basis for judging this, but i think one can rest assured that they will getting good clinical training at Stanford, as well as at any other medical school. Make your choice based on what you want out of medical school and how each school's offering compares to your needs.

Good luck everyone!!