The official Jefferson Thread

[tomjr]

Hey everyone~

I noticed that many of you are interested in/interviewing at/accepted to Jefferson Medical College... so I thought it would be fun to start a thread to fill with Jeff banter.

Anyhow, I interviewed in the first week of December, and I was really impressed... the school actually seemed to have more of a college atmosphere that my COLLEGE (BU).... beautiful location in downtown philly.

I really liked the interview day... I am thinking that the interview day is pretty indicative of how the school treats its med students, and the staff totally went out of the way to make us feel welcome.

The academics seem really solid too... they are a USnews top 50 school (for what thats worth) which at least means that they have some significant research dollars coming in. And by all reports, Jeff students are very clinically competant and ready to start residency (I am close to several jefferson grads who are currently practicing docs)

so I'm excited to hear everyone else's impressions of the place... carry on!

deuces,

Tom

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[LittleMD]

I interviewed at Jefferson on 1/8. I thought it was such a unique interview experience, as they REALLY REALLY go out of their way in terms of hospitality. I was very impressed. The students there were very friendly and seemed to genuinely love the place. And the alumni network is so vast, supportive, proud,... which equates to plenty o' funds for great programs. Dean Callahan was unbelievably nice and approachable,... and yes, it is a campus in a beautiful area in philly.

They emphasized that they'd get back to interviewers within a month, so i'm hoping for good news!!!

Tomj, good luck, you'll probably hear from them very soon.... Maybe I'll get to meet you at the Jefferson re-visit weekend?!

 

[JScrusader]

Tomjr, were you there 12/4? I also enjoyed my visit and am still weighing my options, but I can definately see myself going there. I really like the curriculum setup.

 

[tomjr]

JS:
Yep.. I was there on 12/4!! I'm glad you had a good visit too.

LittleMD:
I'm sending your mailbox good vibes! I got in on the 20th of december... I'm such a dork that I put the letter under the tree on Christmas morning.

deuces,

Tom

 

[LittleMD]

Awesome tomjr!!!!

Congrats!! You're going to be a great doctor!!

I'm such a slave to my mailbox now, and it's just going to get worse

 

[Wednesday]

Congratulations Tomjr!

I just wanted to say that I'm so happy that Jefferson is getting some love this year on SDN! I'm an MS1 at Jeff this year and last year we were the punching bag for all the stressed-out, unhappy premeds out there (well one of the punching bags, Finch didn't fare very well either).

When I interviewed, I couldn't believe how great the school was, since I'd heard so many negative things. Since August, I have had so many pleasant suprises. I really love it here and would recommend the school to anyone.

If you guys have any specific questions about the school, feel free to PM me. I have only been here five months, but I'll do my best to help. Good luck everyone!

 

[Cory]

hey all,
i interviewed back in october, and heard that i got accepted in november. i was so psyched!
i had an amazing time when i was there, i stayed with a 3rd year who is a friend of mine and he showed me the area around jeff. the students there were incredibly friendly and laid back, and really seemed to enjoy it there. it also seemed like there is a ton of stuff to do in the area, and the students are pretty social too outside of the academic environment. i'm still weighing my options as well, but i think there is a pretty good chance i will go there.
and dean callahan is awesome, she even sent a holiday greeting letter with handwritten notes on it welcoming me again to the jefferson community.

 

[sperry]

since this is the "official" Jeff thread, maybe someone here can answer a question for me....

I was just placed on the Jeff waitlist - based on threads from last year, it sounded like there were two unranked waitlists at Jeff. One termed 'regular' and the other 'high-priority'. Does anyone out there have any info about this? Just curious about my chances (and yes I'm writing LOI's, updates, calling, etc). My letter placed me in the Alternate Category. Did anyone's letter say anything else?

Congrats to those that have been accepted - Jeff sounds like a great place to be!!

 

[DW]

hey hey, just stopping in on the jefferson thread

tenatively the school i'm going to I might end up at one of the NYC schools if they take me, but we'll see. (this is all heavily dependant on financial aid) I really liked the school and they've got the best location of the philly schools. plus, thank god they swtiched from a numerical grading system to honors/pass/fail, now THAT would suck.

also, if you guys didnt see them before, i'd suggest checking out the medical frat houses they have in center city. They're really nice and rent goes fror ~200 a month

 

[LittleMD]

Speaking of frat houses,... I'm a female, so that's not as easily an option for me (although there is one coed house), but did anybody get a chance to see the dorms? Are they nice? Do they have coed communal bathrooms like NYU (iyck, i hope not)?

 

[DW]

Originally posted by LittleMD
Speaking of frat houses,... I'm a female, so that's not as easily an option for me (although there is one coed house), but did anybody get a chance to see the dorms? Are they nice? Do they have coed communal bathrooms like NYU (iyck, i hope not)?

I checked out barringer hall, the dorms are pretty good. they're actually apartments (kitchens and bathrooms in each unit, closets, etc). Between the residence halls, you can get a studio, a one bed, two bed or a three bed which are all pretty decent sized. In the little blue spiraled book they gave you interview day they have floor plans for all the dorms, check it out.

Plus, there are lots of apts in the area to look at. Center city is more expensive than most parts of the city, but reasonable relative to other east coast cities.

hope that helps

 

[TexasGirl]

I interviewed at Jefferson 11/20 and really liked it. It is my favorite outside of Texas school for sure. I called them yesterday because I hadn't heard anything and they had told us we would hear within a month. The man I talked to said they hadn't reviewed my file yet and wouldn't for a month!?! This doesn't sound good since people who interviewed after me have already been reviewed and gotten in. Any advice? I just want to hear something!

 

[PrincessCKNY]

I just got a letter from JMC about my placement on the "Alternate Category." I am so bummed. This is the first post-interview letter I have received. I liked the school a whole lot too. Looks like I need to put together a letter of interest.

FYI, I interviewed late December. Sorta weird that I would hear before you November guys. Maybe alternates have less paperwork to push.

 

[allan120]

I was there on 12/4 also. I was the silent Asian guy (the other Asian guy was friendly and witty). Anyway, I got my acceptance from Jefferson today, so I am a happy man. I had a great time during the day and was impressed with what I saw. Best wishes to everyone.

 

[banannie]

awwww man,

i reeeeeeally want an interview at Jefferson! I was born there! When I was very young, my dad was a bartender at Moriarty's (home of the best list of beers on tap I have ever seen!) and Doc Watson's! I feel like, unofficially, I am as good as a legacy!

 

[xaelia]

It took them three months to get back to me on my "Alternate List" letter after my September interview. They can be slow if they want to.

I'm too claustrophobic to go to Jefferson.

 

[tufts02]

woohoo... i just got an invite for feb 5th. any tips for me?

 

[ShortStuff]

Hi All
I interviewed on 11/20 (TexasGirl I thnk we talked before the whole day got started??) and was accepted mid-December! I am totally psyched about going and feel that they really make an effort to get to know/take care of their students. Dean Hershman's recollection of activities that people did who were interviewing on my day was incredible! I think Center City is a great location and coming from the south side of Chicago it seems incredibly nice/safe.....

I wish all of you luck who haven't heard ! Hang in there...My acceptance came in a card size envelope which was really small and thin so don't freak out if you get that....

SS

 

[tomjr]

Hey all,


Thanks for the kind congratulations, and I'll offer my own congrats to the accepted folk as well!!

tufts,

The interview day is very relaxed... they really try to make you feel at ease. Its basically a lunch and presentation by the dean, followed by a student interview for about 20 mins (mine was more of a Q&A session for my benefit than an evaluation interview) then a facilities tour with the really cool and friendly students (mine were 2nd years i think)... after that its time to stroll off and find your interviewer's office (they give good directions, dont worry). i actually was looking at the card with the interview's name on it in the elevator up to the office, when I felt a hand on my shoulder and someone say "well, should we begin our interview now?" Thats right, my interviewer was standing right behind me.... somewhat a strange situation... i think i blurted out something about it being really cold outside

anyway, it ended up being funny, and the interview was very straightforward... questions right off my amcas app.

advice: bring a coat (you may have to walk to your interviewer's building) try to get to the restroom before your interview (to make sure you dont have a poppy seed in your teeth from lunch) dress nice and be yourself!!

deuces,

Tom

 

[tomjr]

Wow, that was my 25th post! I'm a Member now! Super Cool!

 

[tomjr]

BUMP for all the jefferson talk going on right now.... post to the OFFICIAL jefferson thread

I mean, it is official after all!

cheers,

Tom

 

[ayj]

Today I finally got an email inviting me for an interview at Jefferson, file complete there on 11/8/02. My interview day is 2/26. Anyone there that day?

ayj

 

[Allygator89]

My interview is scheduled for First week in March.. Is this too late?

 

[ayj]

Luel in the admissions office told me they interview until the 2nd week of April, seems like there are plenty of people interviewing after you. good luck

ayj

 

[Parrothead123]

I'm a MS1 at Jeff....Congratulations to all of those accepted, I look forward to seeing you here next year...and no worries to those of you still waiting...I didn't interview until March...I know some of my classmates that got in off of thw waitlist so for all of you guys/gals...hang in there. Jeff is a great place...really good peeps....and you'll benefit from a curriculum change...first year now is terrible...but they're going to change some things for you newbies...Any questions please feel free to contact me.

 

[Cory]

Hey Parrothead,

I'm definitely leaning toward Jeff as my top choice now, but I was wondering if you could elaborate on what you meant by the first year being terrible, and what do you think they are going to change for our class?

Thanks!

C

 

[Yogi Bear]

here's the scoop on first year (i heard bits and pieces so correct me if i'm wrong):

the majority of the complaints i heard when i interviewed there were from students who lived in the dorms. jefferson recently put some of their domrs under the control of a mangagement company over teh summer. this company decided to change the contract that the 1st years had signed. effectively, the rent was raised roughly 50%. the stdents were initally required to pay for utilities even though their contract didn't say so (however, this was later reversed). additionally, the school promised that the renovated dorms would have ethernet access. however, instead of putting wires into the building, they decided to build a wireless system. afraid of random peeps from the streets stealing bandwith, they put a bunch of security restrictions. notably, students had to buy a special $200 cisco wireless network card and couldn't use regular 802.11b cards that run from $40-80 in stores. they couldn't install the cisco cards themselves--only the computer dept had the cd-rom to install it. also, they were restricted in what sites they could visit, aim didn't work on some computers, etc. (btw, i tried using sdn at one of the public computers during my interview and it blocked me, say: "moderately offensive content"....hehe).

the whole dorm/computer problems is the only thing i found to be negative. aside from those issues, the students really seemed enthuisastic about jefferson. they said next year will be better once the bugs are solved. i had a positive experience.

 

[tarzan]

Hi Tomjr (and others), I am also really interested in JMC. My application was complete in August and I have heard NOTHING since then. Any idea how JMC admissions works? Do they just send all of their rejection letters out in the spring or could this long period of silence be a possibly good thing? Has anyone had any luck sending pre-interview letters of interest? Thanks a lot for your help ! Tarzan

 

[TexasGirl]

Hi, I just received a letter from JMC saying I'm on the waitlist. I'm kind of dissapointed but I guess its better than a rejection. Any advice on what I can do to convince them that I am still really interested? Also, in my letter it says I have been placed in a special high priority catagory by the committee but that the waitlist isn't ranked. Any one know what exactly this means? Thanks.

 

[Yogi Bear]

Originally posted by TexasGirl
Hi, I just received a letter from JMC saying I'm on the waitlist. I'm kind of dissapointed but I guess its better than a rejection. Any advice on what I can do to convince them that I am still really interested? Also, in my letter it says I have been placed in a special high priority catagory by the committee but that the waitlist isn't ranked. Any one know what exactly this means? Thanks.

just outta curiosity, when did u interview?

 

[care bear]

anyone interviewing next wed?

and is it pretty acceptable to look for off campus housing @ jefferson? i hate dorms.

 

[TexasGirl]

I interviewed on 11/20 and my waitlist letter is dated 1/15.

 

[LittleMD]

I got a letter as well from JMC placing me on the "high priority" waitlist. I interviewed on 1/8 and got the letter via snail mail yesterday. I guess at the least they got back to me quickly

 

[Cory]

Originally posted by care bear


and is it pretty acceptable to look for off campus housing @ jefferson? i hate dorms.

from what i hear and have seen, there is ample off campus housing for jeff. i think the med school has lists of places for rent, check out the website.

but jeff doesn't really have dorms, there are two main apartment buildings, and you can get studio, one bedroom, two bedroom, or three bedroom apartments, all with full kitchen/baths/living rooms...there is one dorm-like building there, but i hear the apartments are really nice.

and fyi about 100 people live in medical fraternities (not sure if any are coed or not), which are close by, and are really really cheap.

 

[Allygator89]

Originally posted by tarzan
Hi Tomjr (and others), I am also really interested in JMC. My application was complete in August and I have heard NOTHING since then. Any idea how JMC admissions works? Do they just send all of their rejection letters out in the spring or could this long period of silence be a possibly good thing? Has anyone had any luck sending pre-interview letters of interest? Thanks a lot for your help ! Tarzan

My file was complete in August, and I just heard from them for an interview.. Don't sweat it.

 

[coolhandluke]

Looks like I got my answer above! Thanks for everyone's help...I figured it was time to bring back the official Jefferson thread anyhow.

 

[promethius]

Anyone going to the financial aid workshop being held at Jefferson this week? Say word!

 

[::Seabass::]

for those interested, they are still inviting to interview. I was complete in August or September and just received an invite yesterday for 4/3. I probably won't be going though.

 

[tomjr]

Every time I see this thread, I regret that I didn't call it

OFFICIAL Jefferson Thread

Oh well, maybe 'The official' is classier. What do you guys thinK? <g>

Anyway, I desperately want to go to the second look weekend, but the final presentation for my required senior thesis is in a few weeks and my chosen research, which looked so cool in the beginning, has turned out to be the most boring, excruciating chore. So, I'll be doing the chore that thursday and friday

but y'all report back to me!

cheers,

Tom

 

[PrincessCKNY]

I spoke w/ Dr. Callahan on the phone a few hours ago and was notified that I was accepted!

It was so random. I played phone tag w/ her for about an hour trying to schedule a phone appointment to see if anything new had come up since I had been waitlisted. When I finally spoke w/ her and asked if I could schedule an appointment she said, "I don't think it's necessary since you've been accepted." I was absolutely and totally shocked! She mentioned that I should be receiving paperwork in a few weeks.

Don't lose hope guys. Waitlist is moving slowly but surely!

 

[sperry]

Congrats!!!!!

Were you on the alternate list or the high priority list?? Either way - you've given me a booster shot of hope!!!

 

[DW]

congrats princessckny

maybe i'll see you next year

 

[JlazyMD]

Congratulations Princess!

I'll bet Dean Callahan gets a kick out of doing that to people. Are you going to the 2nd look on April 3-4? There is still time to sign up, until Mar 17. Maybe I'll see you there!

JMD

 

[ayj]

hey,

is the 2nd look thing offered only to those who are accepted? how do you sign up for it? I'm in the "High Priority category"

Thanks!

ayj

 

[srmonkey]

On another thread they mentioned that they still had acceptances available and that the turnaround to hear from them was about a month. I interviewed there last week so it would be nice to hear something soon.

 

[ayj]

Congrats CKNY!

ayj

 

[JlazyMD]

ayj,

Yeah, I think the 2nd look is only for acceptees, they call it a Recruiting Day or something. Maybe if you call up Dean Callahan like Princess, you'll hear from them soon enough to come.

Good Luck!!

jmd

 

[PrincessCKNY]

Thanks everyone! I wish I could afford to go fly out for second look but money is tight right now. I am pretty sure JMC is the place for me. I fell in love with it at first sight. Plus, my gut feeling tells me that JMC is the best fit for me. I'll be running into you guys come fall anyways!

As far as I know, I was not placed on a high priority list. However, when I called up the office of admissions they were avoiding the subject when I asked them about high priority status up front. All they kept saying was that the list was not ranked, but reviewed often. All the dean mentioned was that a few spots had opened up recently and that I got one.

Good luck to everyone waiting! Give me the DL on how second look was and on the status of that internet fiasco.

 

[allan120]

Congratulations! I'll be seeing you in the fall also. Filling out the financial aid forms as I type this.

 

[ayj]

CKNY,

Congrats again! You mentioned that you spoke with Dean Callahan. I've called the admissions office once or twice and spoken with what I presume is the admissions secretary. When you call, do you usually ask to be connected directly to Dean Callahan? Thanks,

ayj