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has anyone created a list of the "pros and cons" to attending Louisville? I'm just curious what everyone's opinions are on this school.
2011-2012 University of Louisville Application Thread
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I'd really like to see a good comparison like that too. I've read all of the UofL v. UK threads on here the two always seem to pretty much break even. I think they need a better sales pitch as to why you should go to their school, not that UofL's a bad school, but I want someone to convince me it's where I should go.
I feel the same way. But even a forum with nicknames is too public a place for me to feel comfortable talking about stuff like that.
Kentucky just ain't that big of a place!
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I feel the same way. But even a forum with nicknames is too public a place for me to feel comfortable talking about stuff like that.
Kentucky just ain't that big of a place!
Someone could easily make a throwaway account with no information whatsoever if they felt like you. Also, I don't think either school would care at all about listing pros/cons.
It's more about being public than it is about my own privacy. If I were objectively comparing board scores (important) or square footage of teaching space (not important) it might be different, but my opinions are more global/ personal so I would never want someone who cares about one of the schools to feel insulted.
I'll answer anyone's question in a private message if they'd like to know why I like one school over the other but on a public forum I would feel as though I were trashing a school if I said anything negative. I guess it's because when something's posted as black and white text, it reads as empirical even if it's an opinion and everybody starts arguing about whether it's "true" or not. Ya'll go ahead if you want to talk about it though.
well, I will chime in with some pros on each side. I was able to hear a little more about Louisville by talking to some current students outside of the interview day, and talking with them brought up some things that I hadn't thought about before.
Louisville pros:
- aside from the first semester, the preclinical exams are all block exams. every 6 weeks or so on a Friday, you will have several hours of exams with questions that cover material from every class that block (the exams might be cumulative but I'm not sure). the advantages to this are that the questions are supposedly USMLE-style so it prepares you will for Step I. also, since you have one big exam every 6 weeks, you do get some time to rest after exams, which I think would be better than having 1 exam every 2 weeks or whatever. I think students typically have no classes on the week leading up to a block exam, and the week after is sometimes/usually an ICM week (patient skills) so you get a break from studying. the curriculum is more traditional with biochem, physio, etc. 1st year and pharm, path, etc. 2nd year, but supposedly the more high-yield Step I material is taught more towards the end of 2nd year. also, you have several classes at a time and the classes themselves are spread out over many weeks. so you may cover Path and Pharm over the majority of 2nd year vs. covering each one separately and independently -- I will talk more about this in the UK part.
- the clinical resources available in Louisville are the best in the state. it just comes with having a larger medical center that serves a larger population. 4 great hospitals within a few city blocks, plus a decent VA not far away. I've heard many good things about the clinical years at Louisville and have no doubt that it would prepare you well for intern year and beyond. chances are you will rotate through all of the teaching hospitals at some point and thus get exposure to several different types of practice (& patient populations).
- you get a long summer after M1 -- I want to say 12+ weeks? good time to do research if you are so inclined.
- plenty of research resources available. summer research opportunities post-M1 and the distinction in research track offer more structured ways of finding research projects, but there are also plenty of opportunities to seek out things on your own.
Kentucky pros:
- "block-style" curriculum. this could be a pro or con depending on your own opinion. basically, with the UK system you will only have one class at a time. so, fall of M1, you will study anatomy and only anatomy for x number of weeks before moving on. it's good if you like to focus on one thing at a time. on the flip side, it may be more difficult if you think you'd get burned out only having one subject to study, or that you may have more difficulty integrating everything you're learning and remembering it for Step I.
- class schedule. 8-noon + occasional afternoon commitments. the tradeoff is you lose the long summer that Louisville has.
- the research opportunities are a little more well-publicized. the school funds a summer research fellowship + even a year-long experience if you are so inclined.
- the educational and clinical facilities are pristine. classroom facilities are probably <5 years old, or at least they look like it, and the new hospital looks fantastic. the caveat with UK's new hospital though is that it is open in a limited capacity right now and there are no guarantees as to how much of it will be open in time for our clinical years.
Neutral:
Louisville vs. Lexington -- mid-sized midwestern city vs. sleepy college town. preference for location comes down to your own opinion. Louisville has many of the amenities available in most midwestern cities while still having a successful independent business & cultural scene. Lexington has fewer amenities, but you're literally minutes away from the countryside if you like the rural environment more.
also it is important to note that both schools put all of their lectures online, so class attendance is not mandatory and you are free to find a way to study that works best for you.
Louisville pros:
- aside from the first semester, the preclinical exams are all block exams. every 6 weeks or so on a Friday, you will have several hours of exams with questions that cover material from every class that block (the exams might be cumulative but I'm not sure). the advantages to this are that the questions are supposedly USMLE-style so it prepares you will for Step I. also, since you have one big exam every 6 weeks, you do get some time to rest after exams, which I think would be better than having 1 exam every 2 weeks or whatever. I think students typically have no classes on the week leading up to a block exam, and the week after is sometimes/usually an ICM week (patient skills) so you get a break from studying. the curriculum is more traditional with biochem, physio, etc. 1st year and pharm, path, etc. 2nd year, but supposedly the more high-yield Step I material is taught more towards the end of 2nd year. also, you have several classes at a time and the classes themselves are spread out over many weeks. so you may cover Path and Pharm over the majority of 2nd year vs. covering each one separately and independently -- I will talk more about this in the UK part.
- the clinical resources available in Louisville are the best in the state. it just comes with having a larger medical center that serves a larger population. 4 great hospitals within a few city blocks, plus a decent VA not far away. I've heard many good things about the clinical years at Louisville and have no doubt that it would prepare you well for intern year and beyond. chances are you will rotate through all of the teaching hospitals at some point and thus get exposure to several different types of practice (& patient populations).
- you get a long summer after M1 -- I want to say 12+ weeks? good time to do research if you are so inclined.
- plenty of research resources available. summer research opportunities post-M1 and the distinction in research track offer more structured ways of finding research projects, but there are also plenty of opportunities to seek out things on your own.
Kentucky pros:
- "block-style" curriculum. this could be a pro or con depending on your own opinion. basically, with the UK system you will only have one class at a time. so, fall of M1, you will study anatomy and only anatomy for x number of weeks before moving on. it's good if you like to focus on one thing at a time. on the flip side, it may be more difficult if you think you'd get burned out only having one subject to study, or that you may have more difficulty integrating everything you're learning and remembering it for Step I.
- class schedule. 8-noon + occasional afternoon commitments. the tradeoff is you lose the long summer that Louisville has.
- the research opportunities are a little more well-publicized. the school funds a summer research fellowship + even a year-long experience if you are so inclined.
- the educational and clinical facilities are pristine. classroom facilities are probably <5 years old, or at least they look like it, and the new hospital looks fantastic. the caveat with UK's new hospital though is that it is open in a limited capacity right now and there are no guarantees as to how much of it will be open in time for our clinical years.
Neutral:
Louisville vs. Lexington -- mid-sized midwestern city vs. sleepy college town. preference for location comes down to your own opinion. Louisville has many of the amenities available in most midwestern cities while still having a successful independent business & cultural scene. Lexington has fewer amenities, but you're literally minutes away from the countryside if you like the rural environment more.
also it is important to note that both schools put all of their lectures online, so class attendance is not mandatory and you are free to find a way to study that works best for you.
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Did anyone who has already interviewed get an email that said they have not made a decision on your file? Are they simply behind in reviewing or is this a bad sign. It says I'm not on hold or wait list. It sounds like they just aren't to me yet in reviewing them but wanted to get your thoughts. I was told at the interview I would know by now ahhhhhh!
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A friend of mine and I both got that same message. I've asked around and my advisor who is very experienced in dealing with UofL's admissions office said that it just means they haven't got to us yet.
I interviewed at UK a week later than UofL and already got the acceptance with them, so I'm sure it won't be long before we receive another message from UofL.
I interviewed at UK a week later than UofL and already got the acceptance with them, so I'm sure it won't be long before we receive another message from UofL.
I am an IS student interviewing on November 2nd. I have a 31 MCAT/3.6 GPA to go with strong medical experience and extracurriculars (D1 NCAA athlete). I feel like I am a good candidate, but am worried that may interview may be a little too late.
Can anybody give me an idea on how my odds look here? Or maybe what percent of the class is filled by now?
Thanks
Can anybody give me an idea on how my odds look here? Or maybe what percent of the class is filled by now?
Thanks
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You're fine. Plenty of spots and you're not interviewing late. You have above average MCAT, and an interview, so just do well in the interview and you have a great chance as an instate applicant.
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Just called to see if they had already put them in and nothing yet. Guess we will know tomorrow!
Thank you for sharing that info, but just keep in mind that they probably offered half as many seats as they intend to fill (so, maybe ~80-90? IF the next class is the same size as this years) without being able to predict how many will take them up on it. Lots of people who got acceptances last week aren't planning to go there.
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File not reviewed again. Really.
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Hey guys, I'm a first year at U of L who was going through the decision between U of L and UK last year. I went to UK for undergrad, and I planned on going there up until the Pre-Orientation days for each school. However, that day pulled me into Louisville, and I absolutely am thrilled with my choice. Aside from maybe a week before a day with couple tests, I have not been too stressed out. I have enjoyed the first year at U of L and immense amount, and I wouldn't change anything about my decision. If you guys have any more direct questions, let me know. You're going through the rough stuff this year, so if you get accepted, relax, and pat yourself on the back. You deserve it.
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What is a typical day like for an M1? Do you feel like you have enough time after class to get work done and relax?
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Have any out of state applicants received word from Louisville? I haven't heard anything in about 5 or 6 weeks (got the secondary on 9/15; submitted it on 9/16; they cashed my check on 9/20).
Should I give them a call, or is this expected?
Should I give them a call, or is this expected?
Absolutely, the class schedule deal was totally overhyped before I got to school. I was anticipating 8-5 everyday, which is not the case. MWF, we have gross lecture at 1 PM, then lab at 2 until you finish and want to leave. This could be anywhere from 3:30-5. In the beginning of the year, the other class we have is Histology, which has lecture and lab components. They've begun to Tegrity the lectures for this class, so I hardly ever attended. The lab component is just looking at histological slides and is not mandatory. Once again, I (as well as most of the class) just studied these online. My sleep schedule has hardly changed, wake up around 10 AM on most days. There is plenty of time M1 to get things done. You will have much more free time than you anticipate. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of material and you must study. However, much better than I anticipated.
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Im in a similar boat: Submitted 7/27 complete 8/1 and Ive heard nothing at all.
I think this is fairly standard for OOS applicants though, they only interviewed about 6% of us last year (MSAR).
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I haven't gotten anything. They meet every 2nd and 4th tuesday, so they shouldn't be sending anything until after the 8th.
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One of my biggest complaints about U of L is the inconsistency of the schedule. Gross lecture is MWF 1-2, and lab is 2-whenever. Past that, they put other classes in wherever they feel like it seems. Some days might be 8-5, some days you might only have class from 1-2.
All in all, I have way more free time than I expected. Histo is on tegrity now, and histo lab is a waste of time so most people don't even bother going. Gross and Embryo are the only two classes that aren't on tegrity, but with the student notes (Gross Notes) and faculty notes, you don't even have to go to those if you choose not too.
I thought the same thing, but then I got this today around 10AM:
We are pleased to offer you admission to the University of Louisville School of Medicine entering class of Fall 2012. Your official admission's offer letter will be mailed on Monday, October 31st. The attached letter(s) contains identical information regarding our offer in order to help facilitate your decision making by (14 days from receipt of this email notification) Monday, November, 14th. Congratulations on your hard work and we look forward to hearing from you.
Only, there was no attached letter, much less letter(s). Guess I should watch my mail this week.
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That does seem weird, but congratulations either way, I wonder if there were any other acceptances that went out, or if it was meant to be sent out later or what.
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What was your interview date? Just out of curiosity.
I interviewed on 9/7 and still haven't heard anything and its driving me insane.
FWIW I interviewed late August and heard back 10/17
Thanks guys! No snail-mail letter has come. If the email hadn't specifically said something about "Monday October 31st" I would wonder if it'd accidentally been sent on the wrong day, but idk what to think.
And I believe I interviewed August 30th. But I would add that there doesn't seem to be much pattern as far as who they notify when. (I mean, apparently I was admitted sans committee meeting, j/k)
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That is strange. Must have been a miscommunication at the office. Congrats though!
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The committee is supposed to meet tomorrow. Does anyone know if they review files in the order we interviewed?
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the chair of the admissions committee said that she tries to make sure that everyone that was interviewed before november hears one way or the other by the end of the year, but the committee has no rule about going in order.
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That must have been the Director of the Office of Admissions, Ms. Pamela Osborne, because the Chair of the Admissions Committee is the Dean of Admissions, Dr. Stephen Wheeler. Ms. Osborne is not a voting member of the Admissions Committee, though I understand she can influence which files get reviewed and when.
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Has anyone who interviewed in September heard anything back? It seems so far that only people who know interviewed in august.
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Interviewed September 15, found out October 17.
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I interviewed on Oct. 5th and I was fortunate enough to have found out on Oct. 17. Remember that Pam Osborne said that it was her goal for those who interviewed relatively early in the cycle to find out before the end of the year.
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Nov 22 committee meeting canceled. Next and last meeting for fall semester is Dec 13...
I am glad the admissions committee won't have to put in any hard work around Thanksgiving or Christimas. Guess I should have thought "I can't work on this secondary this closs to the 4th of July.
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My application was complete 9/7, and I've heard nothing.
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For those accepted, any idea when we should be receiving updates for informational meetings?
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I called the admission office last week and they said there should be info being sent out soon about a "pre-orientation meeting." The date I was given was Feb. 17th. I wanna call and double check, though.
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does anyone know if they accept pre-interview updates (and in what form)? thanks!
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Has someone created a facebook group for those accepted into the class of 2016 yet?
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The information up on Blackboard says the pre-orientation will be feb 18th
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More acceptances sent tomorrow get excited.
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Any ideas when the emails will be sent out today????
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Accepted accepted accepted accepted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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