Thanks for comments. They were helpful. If anyone else has any comments, please reply.
I am very happy with my decision to come here. I was fortunate enough to have several options (both public and private) in a few different states. I did not apply to South Alabama as I was out of state and had never heard of it. I still have no clue where it is actually, and if you told me the name of the city I would still just stare at you blankly.
I made my final decision based upon several factors.
1. The reputation of the school as one that consistently produces high quality residents that program directors love to hire.
2. The fantastic environment for clinical learning (an excellent children's hospital, a great VA, a huge university hospital) and pretty much unparalleled access to a variety of patient populations (UAB & Children's see virtually every trauma patient in the state, the RNICU, high risk L&D, ridiculous numbers of transplants, busy ICUs with high acuity, the list goes on and on.) Basically I wanted to do my clinical training at a place big enough where I will have the opportunity to see some crazy zebras, but at the same time I really like the fact that there is a large population of disadvantaged people who use our hospital, and often present with common diseases and pathologies that will be essential for me to learn and understand as best I can. There is no problem with dividing up the patient population between two or more large academic centers (as is the case in some states). Here in Alabama - UAB is really all there is when it comes to managing the most complex/critical/baffling patients. Plus, the VA will afford us all some great clinical experience.
3. The research emphasis - I wanted to be somewhere that is producing a large quantity of great research, both clinical and bench. I knew something of the research going on down here, but didn't have a clue the extent of it.
Furthermore, our faculty are often bigwigs in whatever their field happens to be. I oftentimes wish that I knew enough to actually appreciate their accomplishments more. It's exciting and pretty cool to be in an environment with some of the top specialists or researchers in the country. Another helpful fact is that several of them write some of the USMLE questions. If you open up FirstAid you'll even see a special thanks to one of our module directors and UAB for half of the pictures in the book (which I just noticed last week). Hopefully that will translate to a tiny bit of insight as to what sorts of questions will be asked on it.
4. Did I mention the Children's Hospital? Or the fact that they're opening the new one in 2012 and will have something like 600 total beds once it's up and running?
5. The school and it's students seemed pretty down to earth and chill
6. It's warm(er) in the winter than some other places I could have ended up. Didn't plan on the whole tornado thing though.
7. The rec center was the best of any school I visited. (while I say that rather tongue in cheek- that's actually quite true. It's also the best location for a rec center as it is right next to Volker- although the rec center really didn't factor into my decision at all)
Reasons I almost didn't come here:
1. It's in Birmingham (not used to being places where violent crime actually occurs)
2. It's in Alabama (no offense - it's just not by my friends, family, or mountains - they also don't follow college basketball here - very strange)
3. Traffic (honestly, I don't understand how a city this small can have traffic this horrible)
4. Pricetag
5. The secondary application - it was the longest and most arduous of all
As I said, I am very happy I matriculated here. My classmates are phenomenal, which is honestly the most important part if you ask me. Everyone all over the country has to learn the same stuff, at least I get to learn it with a fun group of folks. I have really enjoyed school (honest to goodness). Despite what you read on SDN, med school is not nearly so bad as they make it out to be. It's a whole lot easier than my senior year was-- 2 jobs + MCAT + research and so forth. It's nice (and much easier) to be able to focus on just one class and just one test at a time. It also helps that (for the most part) the stuff we're studying is really interesting. Yes, of course I spend a whole lot of time studying - everyone does, the volume of material is staggering, but I have had plenty of time to spend with my wife, I have had plenty of time with friends, I've worked out regularly, and I've never pulled an all-nighter (the only reason I'm still up is because my wife is on night shifts and unfortunately my schedule is beginning to mirror hers).
I have had an awesome year.
In terms of courses - I actually liked Fund I and Fund II, although not nearly so much as the organ modules which have been tremendously better. It's hard to make Fund I and Fund II work really well since there is such a tremendous variety of subject matter covered. I didn't think it was all that bad for what it's worth. I despise the attendance requirement. I despise all things related to anatomy and anatomy lab and dead bodies and grant's dissector. If I had my way I would abolish the anatomy lab requirement entirely and replace it with more surgical and radiology focused anatomy (a soapbox for another day). I was not a fan of PDS - I felt as though I were being treated like an 8th grader half of the time, but things got much better after that. As stated above - GI tests were rough, but because of that I feel as though I know that stuff pretty darn well so I can't really fault them too much for that (I spent all my time in textbooks after the brutality of the midterm made me give up on studying lectures for that module). Advise for if you matriculate (notice the clever british spelling) - don't let her fool you with her wit and accent - know that she will write deviously hard questions that will make you want to gauge your eyes out with the computer mouse. You'll retain the knowledge though, as one current MS3 said, you remember what you hate.
Otherwise, I'm pretty happy with the curriculum. There are many little things I would change, but I'm pretty sure that in general they do most things just as well as most other schools, if not a little bit better. I have friends from undergrad who are in medical schools all over the country and it seems as though they have very similar experiences with their curricula. UAB also seems to be very receptive to feedback from students when it comes to specific modules - for instance, I think some images on certain tests will be of a higher pixel quality and in better focus for your class as that was a common theme in student feedback after that particular module. ICM is a course that is hit or miss. I have a tremendous preceptor, thus I look forward to my sessions with him and always learn a ton. Other folks aren't nearly so lucky.
In summery, great students, great faculty (most of the MDs that teach us in lectures or small groups seem invested and genuinely interested in teaching/helping us and I haven't really encountered any giant egos or condescending faculty so far), great hospital, great first year, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.
Good luck deciding. Welcome to the school if you've already chosen.
