2009-2010 Case Western Reserve University Application Thread

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Anybody interviewing 9/22?? Also -- I'm currently writing a paper as first author.. but it prob won't go for publication for another month. Should I bring that update with me to the interview, or just wait until it's a legit paper in a journal?
 
LeavingThisLab said:
Anybody interviewing 9/22?? Also -- I'm currently writing a paper as first author.. but it prob won't go for publication for another month. Should I bring that update with me to the interview, or just wait until it's a legit paper in a journal?
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I'd save the official update until it's in publication, but it certainly won't hurt to let your interviewers know about it.👍

Note: I was never in this situation, so one of the others might have more to say about this.
 
Anyone heard anything lately from CCLCM? They sent some invites out a while ago, but it seems pretty quiet since then. I remember the Dean was going out of town, but I would think they still have others reviewing files and such???
 
Dapper Dan said:
Anyone heard anything lately from CCLCM? They sent some invites out a while ago, but it seems pretty quiet since then. I remember the Dean was going out of town, but I would think they still have others reviewing files and such???
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I don't know when the next batch of invites will go out. I'll see if I can find something out for you.
 
I haven't heard anything yet from Case or CCLCM. I was complete 8/16. Is that normal?

Also, I'm now a TA for introductory biology lab. Should I send an update letter to tell them about that?
 
anyone know when the interview day ends at Case for the university track? Thanks!
 
Got placed on hold. Oh well. Should I send updates if I'm doing a new volunteer activity not listed on AMCAS? It's a pretty good one, although not medically related. It's kind of leadership as well.

Man....this is totally as;ldgha;lsdjf. I think I got straight rejected when I applied last year though. Maybe getting a hold from Case is a slightly good omen? Is there a % on how many from hold get invited eventually? My guess is like 5-6% if even that.
 
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I've been complete since August 6, does this mean bad news?

Should I send in an extra ref letter?
 
Food said:
Got placed on hold. Oh well. Should I send updates if I'm doing a new volunteer activity not listed on AMCAS? It's a pretty good one, although not medically related. It's kind of leadership as well.

Man....this is totally as;ldgha;lsdjf. I think I got straight rejected when I applied last year though. Maybe getting a hold from Case is a slightly good omen? Is there a % on how many from hold get invited eventually? My guess is like 5-6% if even that.
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Did you get an e-mail or just checked the website?
 
A lot of people are asking about sending updates. If you have something you think is worth telling the school about, it can't hurt. Make your update short and sweet, and send it. But if you're hoping to update yourself out of being on hold, there is probably not any EC you've started doing since last month that is going to get you an automatic invite. Again, it can't hurt to send the update in, but it's not going to make or break your app to the point that you guys should be stressing so much about whether to send it. Of course it sucks big time to hang out in limbo like some of you are, but right now there isn't much you can do besides wait for the admissions offices to make their decisions. Try to stop obsessing about how long you've been complete, because there's no known correlation between how long you've been complete and whether you're going to get an invite. Sometimes no news really is good news.

Monday is the first interview day at CCLCM. Any of you coming? 😀
 
I know a kid from my school who just started here. Hopefully I can meet him.😀
 
Things feel a little stale....

So, let me ask a question of the Case and CCLCM folks lurking out there...since every school has gross anatomy, I think it is an interesting meter stick to which I can compare teaching and student experiences. I recently attended a interview at a university where it seems like there are up to six students on a single cadaver, and that struck me as quite a large number.

What were the experiences of folks out there with gross anatomy at your school? Did you have a 'sandbag' partner? Did you feel you spent too much time / too little time actually performing prosections etc? How were your cadavers prepared? Did you get lots of time with the instructor? Could you see everything he was pointing out during class? Did you spend much time after hours in the lab? How were/are your exams? are they timed? stations? how many 'jumps' or compound questions did they do (for example "name the innervation of the muscle that shares its insertion with this muscle?" would be three jumps)?
 
vc7777 said:
What were the experiences of folks out there with gross anatomy at your school?
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vc7777, if I answer all of your questions, what will there be left for you to find out on interview day? :meanie:

So seriously, our anatomy curriculum at CCLCM is a lot different compared to most other med schools. In general, here's how it works.

First year, we have anatomy once per week. We use prosections rather than dissecting. Prosections are cadavers that have already been dissected for you. In our case, the prosections are done by surgery residents outside of class. These residents then come to the anatomy sessions to show us the anatomy we're studying that week. There are typically four cadaver stations plus one radiology station. So we were divided into groups of approximately 6-7. For those who want extra help, you can go to office hours in the afternoons. There are two anatomists at CCLCM, and they are the ones who answer questions and review anatomy with us during the office hours. The anatomists are also present during the class itself to go around and help answer questions.

Second year, we continue to have regular anatomy sessions about once per month. These are run similarly to the first year sessions, except that some of the cadaver stations are replaced by pathology and practice USMLE question stations. (Our head anatomist used to write actual questions for Step 1, so his practice questions are golden.) We also have cadaver stations that are more procedural. For example, I performed a bimanual exam (female exam), drove a laparoscopy camera, and practiced suturing on cadavers before doing those things on live patients.

Third year, we have two anatomy sessions at the beginning of our clinical rotations to help us review.

One other unusual thing about our anatomy classes is that we use fresh cadavers, not preserved ones. They are unsurprisingly bloodier and well, a little stronger smelling sometimes compared to preserved cadavers. But having gone through both the anatomy curriculum as well as my surgery and OB/gyn rotations, I can tell you that the cadavers we use look and feel exactly like what you will see for a real patient, except that the cadavers are a lot colder.

Finally, for those of you who feel that you won't get the real med school experience if you don't dissect, this is offered as an option to MS2+ students. To paraphrase our anatomy prof, at CCLCM we don't allow first year students to hold sharp objects. 😛

Getting to specifics, some of the questions you asked don't apply to us, but I'll do my best. N/A means not applicable.

Did you have a 'sandbag' partner?
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N/A

Did you feel you spent too much time / too little time actually performing prosections etc?
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I think you mean performing dissections. Prosections by their very nature are already performed for you.

How were your cadavers prepared?
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See above.

Did you get lots of time with the instructor?
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Yes, as much as you want. See above.

Could you see everything he was pointing out during class?
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Yes. They have step stools for the shorter people, exactly like what you'd use if you were observing a surgery. In fact, our anatomy lab is a converted OR.

Did you spend much time after hours in the lab?
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Yes. I went to office hours every week, sometimes twice a week.

How were/are your exams? are they timed? stations? how many 'jumps' or compound questions did they do (for example "name the innervation of the muscle that shares its insertion with this muscle?" would be three jumps)?
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N/A to all of the above. We don't take exams at CCLCM.
 
Interviewed there yesterday -- loved it! Everyone is so laid back and it def makes you less stressed.
 
CCLCMer said:
So seriously, our anatomy curriculum at CCLCM is a lot different compared to most other med schools. In general, here's how it works.
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Thanks CCLCMer! Ever the help, you are! 😀
Do you wish to clarify how many different cadavers you work with during your first year? I may be mistaken, but this is also highly variable from one school to the next?

FallenHero said:
Doesn't seem like the Case/CCLCM folks are lurking at all
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Anyone else care to offer their comments out there? How about from the UP group out there? Yes, FH you might be right...besides of course CCLCMer who apparently has SDN directly feed to her brain...

Perhaps if I charge the Others with malingering instead, they will come forward? [poke, poke, poke...using my rake to gingerly tap the beehive]

My general point is to get some feedback on how we can all intelligently evaluate the (hopefully) different programs we are considering *objectively* as we go through this long and drawn out process.

And yes, I acknowledge that much of people's choices have and always will be subjective, but still I feel we should be approaching our interviews and visits with some tools of comparison beyond US News rankings, costs, size, etc.

Does anybody else have any good suggestions as for how they do or did evaluate or compare different medical school programs?

AND finally...on a completely unrelated note...my new job has fresh brewed coffee for the taking even at 8PM at night! AWESOME! 😱
 
Invite via status change email sent at 7:10 PM tonight, interviewing first week of November.

After reading all the posts in this discussion, I am super thrilled to get this invite and cannot wait to see the school.
 
So I'm already interviewing at Case for the UP, and I got a letter today from CCLCM. Basically it starts out saying we welcome your interest in CCLCM, goes on to talk about some highlights of the program, and points me to their website and the included CCLCM brochure for more info. I was just wondering, so does every applicant get one of these or does this mean they would actually be interested in having me apply CCLCM in addition to UP? I do have a significant amount of research experience and loved it so I had been thinking about applying CCLCM when I turned in my secondary, but I decided I'd have no shot with a class size of only 32. Does anyone have any insight? Thanks!
 
vc7777 said:
Anyone else care to offer their comments out there? How about from the UP group out there? Yes, FH you might be right...besides of course CCLCMer who apparently has SDN directly feed to her brain...

Perhaps if I charge the Others with malingering instead, they will come forward? [poke, poke, poke...using my rake to gingerly tap the beehive]
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I was hoping iceman'd chime in, seeing as I haven't successfully navigated anatomy yet.
 
tallandshort said:
So I'm already interviewing at Case for the UP, and I got a letter today from CCLCM. Basically it starts out saying we welcome your interest in CCLCM, goes on to talk about some highlights of the program, and points me to their website and the included CCLCM brochure for more info. I was just wondering, so does every applicant get one of these or does this mean they would actually be interested in having me apply CCLCM in addition to UP? I do have a significant amount of research experience and loved it so I had been thinking about applying CCLCM when I turned in my secondary, but I decided I'd have no shot with a class size of only 32. Does anyone have any insight? Thanks!
Click to expand...

The worst thing they can say is "no." Go for it.👍
 
vc7777 said:
What were the experiences of folks out there with gross anatomy at your school? Did you have a 'sandbag' partner?
Click to expand...

You pick your anatomy group of 4-5 students. I'm sure individual experiences may vary, but as far as I know, since you're working with your friends, you're not as likely to sandbag. Plus, the more you put into preparing for anatomy, the more you ultimately get out of it.

vc7777 said:
Did you feel you spent too much time / too little time actually performing prosections etc? How were your cadavers prepared? Did you get lots of time with the instructor? Could you see everything he was pointing out during class?
Click to expand...

I felt the amount of time we spent doing dissections was about right. I took the medical school anatomy course at my undergraduate school and Case doesn't baby you as much as I was in undergrad, but it was still sufficient time. There are several instructors/TAs roaming the labs and there were enough of them that when we needed help, we could get it relatively quick.

vc7777 said:
Did you spend much time after hours in the lab?
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I probably spent two hours total in lab outside of the class lab time. Others spent much more.

vc7777 said:
How were/are your exams? are they timed? stations? how many 'jumps' or compound questions did they do (for example "name the innervation of the muscle that shares its insertion with this muscle?" would be three jumps)?
Click to expand...

Exams were fairly easy/straightforward for the most part, especially in year 1. The second year anatomy exams on musculoskeletal and head/neck anatomy were definitely more challenging, but it is also more detailed stuff as well. Questions were primarily identification with occasional innervation/insertion/etc questions.
 
Less than a week away from my interview! Getting excited.
 
anyone interviewing on monday?

Can i meet the infamous CCLMR and Myuu when I'm there?

He2
 
vc7777 said:
Thanks CCLCMer! Ever the help, you are! 😀
Do you wish to clarify how many different cadavers you work with during your first year? I may be mistaken, but this is also highly variable from one school to the next?
Click to expand...
We use each cadaver for maybe 4-6 weeks, four of them at a time. So, about 2-3 dozen over the course of a year?

Yes, FH you might be right...besides of course CCLCMer who apparently has SDN directly feed to her brain...
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It's your fault, actually. Every time you send me a PM, I get an email telling me to log on because I got a PM from vc7777. Of course, I am naturally dying of curiosity to find out what you wrote in your PM, and I log on, and I check this thread, and, and.... 😳

Does anybody else have any good suggestions as for how they do or did evaluate or compare different medical school programs?
Click to expand...
You're an engineer, so you'll appreciate my approach. I made a spreadsheet with each school, things that were important to me (cost, location, etc.) and ranked them that way. I'm doing the same for potential residencies already. 😳

Oh, and take good notes after each interview. Do it that very night. After a while, all the schools start to sort of run together if you don't keep track of them. Except CCLCM of course. We always stand out. 😀

tallandshort said:
So I'm already interviewing at Case for the UP, and I got a letter today from CCLCM. Basically it starts out saying we welcome your interest in CCLCM, goes on to talk about some highlights of the program, and points me to their website and the included CCLCM brochure for more info. I was just wondering, so does every applicant get one of these or does this mean they would actually be interested in having me apply CCLCM in addition to UP? I do have a significant amount of research experience and loved it so I had been thinking about applying CCLCM when I turned in my secondary, but I decided I'd have no shot with a class size of only 32. Does anyone have any insight? Thanks!
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You should listen to Myuu. Seriously, she's a smart girl.

I hate to get on my soapbox again, but you guys keep inspiring me. I'll try to keep it brief though. 😳

For all of you who are vacillating because of the low number of seats at this school, you might want to reconsider your assumptions. I keep seeing people say how they don't think they can get in because the class size is so small. But what you're wrongly assuming is that every applicant to CCLCM has an equal chance of getting in, which can't possibly be true if you think about it. So, if you think you'd be a good fit for this program, and you want to apply here, you should. The adcomm may disagree with how good of a fit you are, but if you don't apply at all, then they'll never even consider whether you'd be a good fit. You follow me?

PowerButton said:
Less than a week away from my interview! Getting excited.
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Awesome!

By the way, PowerButton, I saw you on the glucose meters. Not the fake standby power button, but YOU. 😀

He2 said:
anyone interviewing on monday?

Can i meet the infamous CCLMR and Myuu when I'm there?

He2
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Are you coming to CCLCM on Monday? First interview day, it should be a blast. :hardy:

Oh, and make sure you wear comfortable shoes. The tour is 1.5 hours long, and this hospital is bigger inside than the Pentagon according to an article I read.
 
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no, not CCLM, but just the regular university.

IRC, they are separate.

please tell me if i royally screwed that up

He2
 
He2 said:
no, not CCLM, but just the regular university.

IRC, they are separate.

please tell me if i royally screwed that up

He2
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No, you're right, they're separate interviews. If you were interviewing for both, you would come to us on Monday and UP on Tuesday, because we only interview on Mon/Thurs/Fri. They do Mon/Tues/Fri I think.
 
He2 said:
no, not CCLM, but just the regular university.

IRC, they are separate.

please tell me if i royally screwed that up

He2
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Ah, the UP! See you on Monday, then.🙂 As I understand it, CCLCM interviewees typically have Monday (or Thursday) at CCLCM and then Tuesday (or Friday) at Case-proper.
 
Myuu said:
Ah, the UP! See you on Monday, then.🙂 As I understand it, CCLCM interviewees typically have Monday (or Thursday) at CCLCM and then Tuesday (or Friday) at Case-proper.
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Haha, beat you to it! :meanie:
 
so is there like a secret word to say to figure who Myuu is?

I nominate "eggplant"

or do u just go around saying ur Myuu?

even if you do, can i still say eggplant?
 
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