2009-2010 University of Minnesota (Twin Cities) Application Thread

[betheltim]

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So did anyone here have to miss an interview tomorrow at this school due to the snow on the east coast?

Grats on your house Sas, you might want to really think about the area though. South Minneapolis can get pretty rough and has changed a lot over the last couple decades.

I'd second that, though I don't know firsthand. One my friends lives down there, and he says it can be pretty dangerous at times. Northeast seems to be a place in which everyone loves to live though, so maybe that's worth checking out too...

 

[Tutmos]

After thinking about it you should probably consider renting for a bit Sass. Rental housing is pretty hard up for renters right now so deals are out there and housing is likely going to take another plunge as all the extended unemployment runs out and the deals the banks are offering hoping to keep people from foreclosure run out, point being there is another bottom you'll be able to buy at and get more house for your money. Of course inflation could muck it all up but I'm not even a doctor Jim.

 

[sassilysweet]

Congratulations! It must be a blessing to not have to worry nearly as much as you did just a few weeks ago about all these things! I hope the mortgage process and whatever is involved goes smoothly for you. Good luck to everyone else waiting, I'm starting to feel the frustrating part of the anxiety sneak through every now and then, and I've only been waiting nearly eight weeks! I thought about calling them this week just to see if I made it into the review, because I have an interview in Milwaukee next Friday, but if I've been accepted at the U, I don't have to make that drive out there...

I know this is found in the other forums and threads, but I really don't want to go searching through them, so... If I were to send a letter of intent along with an update, how how would one go about formatting such a thing? Again, I recognize that this can be found elsewhere, but if you're willing to help a fellow applicant out, I would be very grateful!

If you want to see what my update included, PM me. I don't know what the "proper" format is, but they accepted mine =0)

No, we are definitely not moving anywhere in North Mpls, that is GHET-TO.
Our friends just bought a place this summer in South and they love it, I'm sure there are batches of "rough" but their area seems fine (right by the VA). Also, since most (all?) people have some rotations/something at the VA, it would make it really convenient ;0)
I think it depends on what part of South Mpls, too. We currently live in Uptown and it is pretty nice, but once you get farther down Lake St. it all turns Hispanic and the crime rate goes way up (not that I am correlating the two, I just am not very fluent en espanol).

As for renting, I am SO tired of living by others' rules and dealing with upstairs neighbors. Our rent is very expensive but I am not willing to move to a smaller apartment and I REALLY do not want to live by a lot of college kids or way out in the 'burbs. We are looking at a 5-1 ARM which would lock us in at about 3.75% for the 1st five years and a 3.5% down payment. We will also qualify for the $8000 first-time home-buyers credit as long as we sign by April and close by June.

Thanks for the advice, though. I agree that the market is going to be bumpy for awhile, but the rates we are looking at are pretty amazing in any standard.


Sorry to hijack the thread, I am just super-excited for this. I got a buy-a-house-bug 3 years agao and man am I happy we didn't pursue it then.

 

[Tutmos]

Down by the VA is Richfield isn't it? I do research at the VA. The area around it isn't bad. I'm thinking south Minneapolis like Chicago Ave and Lake etc.

Don't do an ARM whatever you do and don't do a short term unless it's something like a 15. There is no possible way that rates are going to come down from here. The other problem is if the banks get into trouble they may not refinance you at end of the 5 and want the balloon payment. Then you have the joy of trying to sell your house in what could be an even worse economy. Do whatever fixed you can afford and lock in the super low rates. Uncertainty in housing is probably not something you're going to want at the start of residency. : )

 

[Tutmos]

Well I found out exactly how the admissions process works today. I can't really give out the details because we're not sure if I was supposed to be told and I have no interest in getting people into hot water. My guess earlier in this thread was pretty close. Delays aren't because people are slacking or dragging things out. They're trying to be as fair as possible to the applicants. Honestly I think they should just publish how the process works, but that's not my place to decide.

I just hope I didn't paint myself into a waitlist by letting the person know it would cost me as much as medical school itself to go to any other school. Now I get to join the line for the big wait.

 

[sassilysweet]

Down by the VA is Richfield isn't it? I do research at the VA. The area around it isn't bad. I'm thinking south Minneapolis like Chicago Ave and Lake etc.

Don't do an ARM whatever you do and don't do a short term unless it's something like a 15. There is no possible way that rates are going to come down from here. The other problem is if the banks get into trouble they may not refinance you at end of the 5 and want the balloon payment. Then you have the joy of trying to sell your house in what could be an even worse economy. Do whatever fixed you can afford and lock in the super low rates. Uncertainty in housing is probably not something you're going to want at the start of residency. : )

ARM =/= balloon payments
ARM = fixed rate for the first set number of years. After the fixed rate is over the rate adjusts to a new percent for that year and CANNOT change by more than 1%. The entire loan cannot change by more than 5% ever.
So if we did the 5-1 ARM, it would be 3.75% for the first 5 years (at which point we would most likely sell anyway). After that, it can adjust up or down so the rate for that year would be 2.75%-4.75%. The next year would be the same, with a worst-case that it went up two years in a row an entire percentage point to 5.75%.
If we did a 30 yr fixed, it would be about 5%. So even if we kept the house through say residency and had it for 8 years, our percentage rate would only be at worst 2% higher than the fixed and it would be a percentage of a lower number since we had already made payments for five years (no early pay-off penalty, either) at a lower rate.


Yeah, we are looking at all of South, all the way up to Richfield. Yeah, it is not very good over by that side of Lake.

 

[sarahjane2]

Does anyone know how quickly the waitlist has moved in past years?

 

[Golf Shoes]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Golf Shoes
Does anyone have any more knowledge on waitlist movement from last year? I, too, find this hard to believe. I failed to uncover a thread for last year's application cycle.

Three years ago, the UofMN accepted too many applicants initially. They accepted somewhere in the range of 300 applicants directly after interviews. 183 accepted, which was 13 over the desired limit. Thus, the waitlist did not move at all this year.

Two years ago, the UofMN made an effort to prevent this from happening again by accepting a much lower number of applicants initially directly after interviews. They accepted 242 applicants and proceeded to take 43 from the waitlist.

At least up until two years ago, the retention rate for acceptances had been increasing. I don't know if they had ever accepted less than 300 applicants for the 165-170 spots in the class. That's why I'm curious how they could have exhausted the waitlist last year. I wonder if they gave out more than 285 acceptances.

Any insight?

I'm surprised that no one in this thread is a reapplicant from last year that can provide some insight into the waitlist movement from the past cycle.

Anyways, I've asked a few people and finally today, I got an answer. Apparently last year the waitlist moved 63 spots and there were in the range of 290-300 acceptances given (~230 outright acceptances). The above values remain accurate to my knowledge.

So I'd expect around 300 acceptances this year. I feel like the retention rate will go down slightly with the price of instate tuition.

 

[Golf Shoes]

Hi Sarah Jane,

The above post gives the numbers that I have. They are not complete, but close to complete. You could ask the admissions office if you wanted more specific information. Though, I'm guessing it would be difficult to obtain that information from them.

 

[Tutmos]

Those numbers seem unrealistically high. Just going by what we see in this forum it seems hard to beleive. Are almost 70% of those interviewed being accepted? Looking at the number of interviewees here it sure doesn't seem like it. I used 415 interviews and 285 accepted to come up with the 70%.

As an interviewee I certainly hope it's true.

 

[Golf Shoes]

Those numbers seem unrealistically high. Just going by what we see in this forum it seems hard to beleive. Are almost 70% of those interviewed being accepted? Looking at the number of interviewees here it sure doesn't seem like it. I used 415 interviews and 285 accepted to come up with the 70%.

As an interviewee I certainly hope it's true.

My numbers are as accurate as I can get them. They are not off by much if they are off at all. However, I didn't include the overall number of interviews. That number can be found in the MSAR, but I think it's more like 450 interviews total. (I would include the MD/PhD candidates in that group as they can be accepted to either or both programs so they are in competition with regular MD candidates.) About 60% of those that interview get accepted, which sounds like a good percentage.

 

[Tutmos]

My numbers are as accurate as I can get them. They are not off by much if they are off at all. However, I didn't include the overall number of interviews. That number can be found in the MSAR, but I think it's more like 450 interviews total. (I would include the MD/PhD candidates in that group as they can be accepted to either or both programs so they are in competition with regular MD candidates.) About 60% of those that interview get accepted, which sounds like a good percentage.

I wasn't questioning the veracity of your numbers. I was just pointing out how the anecdotal evidence, people on this thread, seems so different.

While 60% is kind of nice to hear as an interviewee waiting to find out, on the other hand it also would make me feel even worse if I didn't make it in, as one of the 40% instead of 50%. 😱

 

[CielloStelatto]

For what it's worth, md/phd applicants here only apply to the combined program and cannot apply to the md-only program in the same year. So really they can only get into the combined program, but yes they would take up spots. I'm not sure if they're included in the number of interviews.

 

[turkeyjerky]

Thought I'd pop in and see if anyone has any questions for a current student. I don't know anything about admissions, but I'm happy to comment on any other aspects of the school or life in minneapolis.

 

[mpls]

I wasn't questioning the veracity of your numbers. I was just pointing out how the anecdotal evidence, people on this thread, seems so different.

While 60% is kind of nice to hear as an interviewee waiting to find out, on the other hand it also would make me feel even worse if I didn't make it in, as one of the 40% instead of 50%. 😱

Remember that some of those 60% came off the waitlist.

 

[almostthere1]

Thought I'd pop in and see if anyone has any questions for a current student. I don't know anything about admissions, but I'm happy to comment on any other aspects of the school or life in minneapolis.

I was wondering if Minnesota accepts update letters and if so where to send them to.

 

[Tutmos]

Some interesting numbers I found. These are effective Feb 3. I'm not quite sure what the 126 have accepted is supposed to mean. Is it only those the school has accepted and the student has taken the spot or just those sent acceptance letters?


(i) Admissions:
1. 570 offers for interviews extended
2. 425 people have interviewed
3. 126 people have accepted
4. 9 md/phds

More interesting here is the January data
1. 3900 applicants, way more than last year; most ever
2. 90 people accepted
3. Interviewed 300 people, was at about 200 at this time last year
4. 3 MD/PhDs that have accepted

3900 applicants!!!

 

[sassilysweet]

Some interesting numbers I found. These are effective Feb 3. I'm not quite sure what the 126 have accepted is supposed to mean. Is it only those the school has accepted and the student has taken the spot or just those sent acceptance letters?


(i) Admissions:
1. 570 offers for interviews extended
2. 425 people have interviewed
3. 126 people have accepted
4. 9 md/phds

More interesting here is the January data
1. 3900 applicants, way more than last year; most ever
2. 90 people accepted
3. Interviewed 300 people, was at about 200 at this time last year
4. 3 MD/PhDs that have accepted

3900 applicants!!!

It take it to mean that 126 people have accepted offers to attend.
Otherwise I would think they would phrase it "126 acceptances extended" or something like that.
Plus they probably don't want anyone to know how many people have turned them down....
Thanks for the information, it was interesting to see those numbers.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

It take it to mean that 126 people have accepted offers to attend.
Otherwise I would think they would phrase it "126 acceptances extended" or something like that.
Plus they probably don't want anyone to know how many people have turned them down....
Thanks for the information, it was interesting to see those numbers.

There is little reason for anyone to turn them down right now. All one needs to hold the acceptance is a refundable $100 deposit.

 

[sassilysweet]

There is little reason for anyone to turn them down right now. All one needs to hold the acceptance is a refundable $100 deposit.

I understand that, but at the same time, if people got into a top 10 (or whatever) and then got into U of M (as we all know their slowness), do you still think they would take the acceptance?

I agree right now it is a moot point to argue and that yes most likely all offers were accepted, but by the wording that was listed I would still say that there could be a discrepancy


...and apparently I just like to argue 😛

 

[Tutmos]

I talked to someone that interviewed recently and they claimed they were told at the interview that the school was planning to interview 600 people this year. Big grats to all those accepted. It looks like the later spots will be really rough trying to pick up.

 

[renegade0097]

I talked to someone that interviewed recently and they claimed they were told at the interview that the school was planning to interview 600 people this year. Big grats to all those accepted. It looks like the later spots will be really rough trying to pick up.

If that is true, it is absolutely ridiculous. What are they gaining by interviewing 600 people? They can't even handle making decisions on the 425 they have already interviewed! I guess that they might be trying to maintain the same interview:applicant ratio as previous years. But still, if they are not intending to increase the class size (and I haven't heard that they are, right?), why interview so many people if you know that you are just going to end up rejecting 50-60% of them?

 

[betheltim]

Some interesting numbers I found. These are effective Feb 3. I'm not quite sure what the 126 have accepted is supposed to mean. Is it only those the school has accepted and the student has taken the spot or just those sent acceptance letters?


(i) Admissions:
1. 570 offers for interviews extended
2. 425 people have interviewed
3. 126 people have accepted
4. 9 md/phds

More interesting here is the January data
1. 3900 applicants, way more than last year; most ever
2. 90 people accepted
3. Interviewed 300 people, was at about 200 at this time last year
4. 3 MD/PhDs that have accepted

3900 applicants!!!

I talked to someone that interviewed recently and they claimed they were told at the interview that the school was planning to interview 600 people this year. Big grats to all those accepted. It looks like the later spots will be really rough trying to pick up.

I'm not sure where you're getting your numbers from, but as far as number of applicants, according to data published by the Star Tribune and given by the school, that is very far off. According to the report from the Trib, there were 3360 applicants this year.

For everyone else, I would be very critical about where you get information, especially for admissions numbers. Even if Tutmos got his information from Paul White, himself, it just goes to show that data from administrators can be completely off (if we accept 3360 as the real number, that is over a 16% error in number of applicants alone)... Furthermore, this would probably apply to interviews and acceptances alike.

All I am trying to say is that I would be careful regarding all the "statistics" being thrown around on this site, even those reported as coming from interviewees, administration, friends, or whoever else. Of course, this is not a personal or individualized post, but a general warning to be careful about accepting data as fact from unverified sources (for what it is worth, my information is indirectly from the Star Tribune).

 

[betheltim]

If that is true, it is absolutely ridiculous. What are they gaining by interviewing 600 people? They can't even handle making decisions on the 425 they have already interviewed! I guess that they might be trying to maintain the same interview:applicant ratio as previous years. But still, if they are not intending to increase the class size (and I haven't heard that they are, right?), why interview so many people if you know that you are just going to end up rejecting 50-60% of them?

For some reason I highly doubt that 600 people were or intend to be interviewed...

 

[renegade0097]

For some reason I highly doubt that 600 people were or intend to be interviewed...

I tend to agree with you that the numbers seem questionable. The MNDaily/Star Tribune article was published on Jan. 17 (mid-January), and the AMCAS deadline for the U was November 15. I'm going to go ahead and assume that the number of applicants referenced both in Tutmos' reporting and from Paul White is the total applicants from AMCAS. Plus, if it is true, it would be an 18% increase over the number of applicants that applied last year, where the incremental increases from years before that were only about 1-2%. Again, interviewing 600 students seems like a lot, and the 126 that had been accepted even seems kind of high considering the self-reporting we have seen on this site and by the fact that they are just starting to hand out acceptances from early December now. So, the 126 number doesn't include many people who interviewed in December or anyone who interviewed after that.

 

[renegade0097]

For some reason I highly doubt that 600 people were or intend to be interviewed...

Also, 9 MD/PhDs have been accepted already? Really? Last year, they only took 6 total and I believe it was 6 the year before as well. The MD/PhD is extremely competitive, and as I understand it, it is also extremely expensive to train MD/PhD students. So, I would be very surprised if that number is accurate as well.

 

[SecretInfo]

I dont know if the 600 interview number is real but all the other numbers Tutmos posted are just off the UMN Med School Page. Look for Minutes of Meetings for Med Student Council and they list all of that data. You can find the links in previous years threads from the school on this forum. They have former years so you can double check those numbers v. old years. For example they do list 425 interviewed already by Feb 3 so 600 might not be far off.

https://www.student.med.umn.edu/stuco/minutes.php

The ugly part is one of the minutes talks about the big rise in applications of former years mainly being from OOS, IS applicants staying the same. They mention that they should start ignoring the Minnesota resident status and offer more of the same spots to OOS instead of IS. That is not cool for a state school. I think not part of the mission the state government has for its tax dollars going to the school.

 

[Tutmos]

I always wondered about the whole state funding and how much tuition actually covers since we always hear about how our tuition doesn't cover much. Well it seems that's true. For fiscal year 2008 the school needed $730M. Total tuition only covered 4.8% and by contrast the State provided 12.4%. Why would they be offering more seats to OOS people when the state has increased the percentage of the schools total funds in the last year or two. The state paid 12.4% in 08 and only 8.4% in 04.

No comment on the admissions numbers. It's all public record but...

 

[renegade0097]

I dont know if the 600 interview number is real but all the other numbers Tutmos posted are just off the UMN Med School Page. Look for Minutes of Meetings for Med Student Council and they list all of that data. You can find the links in previous years threads from the school on this forum. They have former years so you can double check those numbers v. old years. For example they do list 425 interviewed already by Feb 3 so 600 might not be far off.

https://www.student.med.umn.edu/stuco/minutes.php

The ugly part is one of the minutes talks about the big rise in applications of former years mainly being from OOS, IS applicants staying the same. They mention that they should start ignoring the Minnesota resident status and offer more of the same spots to OOS instead of IS. That is not cool for a state school. I think not part of the mission the state government has for its tax dollars going to the school.

Nice source. Thanks for sharing that. Though, it looked like the meeting was with people from Duluth, so it's hard to tell whether the numbers include Duluth or not as well. But still, that's a lot of applicants. I'm glad to hear that IS is about the same. I don't mind if they are getting more OOS applicants and interviewing more of them, it would just bother me if those people are getting the IS spots.

 

[Tutmos]

Nice source. Thanks for sharing that. Though, it looked like the meeting was with people from Duluth, so it's hard to tell whether the numbers include Duluth or not as well. But still, that's a lot of applicants. I'm glad to hear that IS is about the same. I don't mind if they are getting more OOS applicants and interviewing more of them, it would just bother me if those people are getting the IS spots.

Interesting idea about it being combined numbers with Duluth. Is there anyway you could figure that out? The numbers wouldn't seem so out of whack if that were the case.

 

[sassilysweet]

Doesn't the U's entering class statistics page include all the Duluth students also? Then it would make sense to have this set of admissions info include Duluth applicants as well. That would explain the overall increases...

 

[TooMuchResearch]

If that is true, it is absolutely ridiculous. What are they gaining by interviewing 600 people? They can't even handle making decisions on the 425 they have already interviewed! I guess that they might be trying to maintain the same interview:applicant ratio as previous years. But still, if they are not intending to increase the class size (and I haven't heard that they are, right?), why interview so many people if you know that you are just going to end up rejecting 50-60% of them?

Conducting more interviews may allow the school to select a better entering class. Many schools with class sizes smaller than MN interview more than 600 people.

 

[Tutmos]

After a little reflection I think the hope that the numbers are combined for both campuses is unrealistic, wishful thinking. With an economy that fell apart and new government spending us all into oblivion it shouldn't be surprising that a lot of people on the verge of graduating suddenly veered toward a safe profession like medicine, or at least tried to at the last minute.

 

[mpls]

After a little reflection I think the hope that the numbers are combined for both campuses is unrealistic, wishful thinking. With an economy that fell apart and new government spending us all into oblivion it shouldn't be surprising that a lot of people on the verge of graduating suddenly veered toward a safe profession like medicine, or at least tried to at the last minute.

It says at the top of the minutes that there is "Polycom to Duluth." I would imagine that this means that these are the combined numbers. I am still waiting to hear back from a 11/9 interview. It seems unlikly that they would have accepted this many people if they haven't even finished going through people from the first half on the interview season.At least I hope not.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

It says at the top of the minutes that there is "Polycom to Duluth." I would imagine that this means that these are the combined numbers. I am still waiting to hear back from a 11/9 interview. It seems unlikly that they would have accepted this many people if they haven't even finished going through people from the first half on the interview season.At least I hope not.

I keep reading your name as Mipples.

 

[mpls]

I keep reading your name as Mipples.

I feel like I should respond to this, but I'm not really sure how. Thanks for sharing?

 

[TooMuchResearch]

I feel like I should respond to this, but I'm not really sure how. Thanks for sharing?

I intentionally left it open for you to respond however you felt was appropriate, Mipples 😛

 

[Tutmos]

It says at the top of the minutes that there is "Polycom to Duluth." I would imagine that this means that these are the combined numbers. I am still waiting to hear back from a 11/9 interview. It seems unlikly that they would have accepted this many people if they haven't even finished going through people from the first half on the interview season.At least I hope not.

I really wish you were right about this but I'd bet against it. If, perhaps, there's a shared student council between the two campuses maybe you're right. Maybe they do since all Duluth 3rd & 4th years come to the TC campus. I guess in the end it really doesn't matter. If you get in 👍 If not 😡.

 

[Tutmos]

Heh, looks like I have a little egg on my face, maybe you were right, see below:

PREAMBLE
[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]We, the medical students at the University of Minnesota Medical School-Twin Cities and Duluth, for the purpose of advancing the interests and wellbeing of the Medical School and its students, both current and future, do propose and subscribe to the following Constitution of the University of Minnesota Medical School Student Council. Effective Academic Year 2004-05, the Medical School-Twin Cities and the School of Medicine-Duluth have integrated into a single medical school with unitary accreditation, and this Constitution shall reflect this unification.
..MISSION STATEMENT
[FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman][FONT=Times New Roman,Times New Roman]The mission of the University of Minnesota Medical School Student Council is to provide a voice to the student body to foster the highest quality educational experience for students on both the Twin Cities and Duluth campuses. The Student
..

 

[thamsenman]

👍 I called the admissions office yesterday and she said my file went to review last week....and that I should hear something soon after.

Interviewed Dec. 4th.

 

[PoniNo1]

👍 I called the admissions office yesterday and she said my file went to review last week....and that I should hear something soon after.

Interviewed Dec. 4th.

I didn't think there was a committee meeting last week. I thought it was earlier this week on feb 17.

 

[Tutmos]

Okay I guess I can spill the beans, now that I found the exact thing repeated in the 2006 U of M thread here. On 4/1/05 Alaskagirl posted the following listed below. This is exactly what I heard the other day while at the school. I hope this sorts everything out for the people wondering what's going on. I didn't want to mention details because I didn't know if it was in the public arena already, which it is but I didn't know it.

As far as hearing back from the committee, I agree with Paragozardelsol. Your interviewer will write a report and a lot of the timing depends on how long they take to write it. The report then is added to the file and goes on to two reviewers. If they both give it a thumbs up it is an automatic acceptance. If there is a disagreement it goes to the committee that only meets once a week and only gets through 10-12 applicants at a time. So I think that is where the backlog occurs. At that point the committee decides on acceptance, rejection, or waitlist status and you are either called (if accepted) or get the letter in the mail. I know they only call for acceptances and send everything else out. Hope that helps! And congrats to everyone else who was accepted at the U!!! I hope to see you in August

.

 

[Ignition]

Anyone who interviewed on 12/4 hear anything (either accept or waitlist)?

 

[futile]

Anyone who interviewed on 12/4 hear anything (either accept or waitlist)?

Yep. I was accepted today. I interviewed 12/4.

 

[skakaiser]

I got the call while getting another call. Finally something good after months of silence.

 

[lixxx669]

Accepted!
Got the call @ 4:07pm.

Stats:IS, MCAT 35O, cGPA 3.9, sGPA 4.0, interviewed 12/10/2009

 

[Tutmos]

Grats Lixx. I suppose you're going to go to Iowa right? 😀 Kidding.

 

[lixxx669]

Grats Lixx. I suppose you're going to go to Iowa right? 😀 Kidding.

Haha~
Mmmmmmmm, it's a tough decision😏

 

[Untraditional]

Accepted yesterday!

Complete 11/24/09, Interview 2/05/10, Accepted 2/19/10

I'm almost certainly going to be a Gopher if I get in-state tuition or better. Anyone in the area got advice on where to live?

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!

 

[BrentSp44]

So did anyone here have to miss an interview tomorrow at this school due to the snow on the east coast?

Grats on your house Sas, you might want to really think about the area though. South Minneapolis can get pretty rough and has changed a lot over the last couple decades.

Umm...South Minneapolis?? Rough?? True south minneapolis is one of the nicest places to live in Minneapolis. I lived on the light rail at 46th and Hiawatha for 2 years and absolutely loved it. I currently live on Lake Nokomis at 51st and Cedar. South Mpls is the only way to go! If you are referring to streets between like 20th and 38th, then perhaps it isn't the best, but again it depends on which avenue you live on...and that's not S. Mpls, that's Midtown. Sorry for the rant...but I love living in S. Mpls and was very surprised to read that. Go for the light rail! It's awesome!