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- Sep 24, 2010
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Out of curiosity...for those of you getting in off the waitlist, did you send any sort of updates and or letters of interest/intent?
Current students, a few questions.
1. What is student life like; do you guys have trips, do things together? Are there a lot of clubs, ect.? Is there a student government - if so, do you have elections?
2. How long do you have to study for the Step 1?
3. What did you do for orientation?
- Mike
Mike,
We do a lot of things together. There was a mini-golf outing last night. We're having a pot luck next week. There's a breakfast for dinner before exam week.
We went to a bunch of islanders games when hockey was going on here, too.
There are a bunch of clubs. We're pretty open to starting clubs.
There is a student government and we have elections, yes.
We have between 6 weeks and 2 months dedicated step1 study time, with some kind of in-school review.
Orientation was intro to cthe curriculum, how pearls works, how to look things up, where stuff is. There were usually social things to do at night.
We went to NYSE and the bodies exhibit on the Friday. I don't know if you'll do that or something else. TBD.
Thanks for your response, I appreciate it. I know NSLIJ has the box at the Colosseum, did you guys get free tickets for that during the season?
There should be soon. Just withdrew my acceptance. Good luck to all of you! Hofstra will always be special to me.Thanks for the updates - and Congratulations!!! Did you send any updates?
Any new waitlist movement out there?
There should be soon. Just withdrew my acceptance. Good luck to all of you! Hofstra will always be special to me.
I was accepted today! I sent no updates or letters. Was interviewed in February and waitlisted in March.
Hi guys!
In my honest opinion, if you have more established options, definitely go for them and don't look back. Last year, I was deciding between Hofstra and a couple of other schools, but could not turn down a full tuition scholarship. The curriculum here is great, but when it comes to other opportunities, I think Hofstra lacks what other medical schools offer(I can go into more detail about this if anybody wants).
Also, many of us are scared about residency placement. We have no idea how competitive we will be at non-NSLIJ residencies. And apparently our third year is not going to be the same as other medical schools (apparently they are talking to us about this next week).
Good luck everybody!
I guess. But there are students like myself who would have attended without the scholarship. I really wanted a case based curriculum with early and meaningful clinical exposure.
I am also not any more worried about residency than most medical students are.
There isn't a special medical school where students don't worry about matching and their future. It's an inherently uncertain and nerve-racking process.
Our third year is going to be some way different, we think, but I'm not sure that's a bad thing. I don't know if following the current model of medical education is totally worth it, hence the structure of our first two years.
I like school a lot.
Can you elaborate on that? How is it different?
I'm not 100% sure. I think there will be a longitudinal patient component that arches over "normal" third year things. Part of it will be following the LP to radiology, inpatient things, etc...
Again, I'm not 100% sure: we have a session on this next week. I'd be happy to fill you in then. We're not going to not learn medicine during that time, I just think the form will be different given the clinical knowledge we'll already have and what they'd like us to get out of M3.
Since our first two years are pretty different from the national norm, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect similar changes in the nature of years 3 and 4.
1. I didn't know they gave out Full scholarships as well?
2. Can you expand on what Hofstra Lacks?
3. What do you mean the third year is not going to be like other medical schools?
THanks!
1. Yes, everybody received a standard half scholarship last year. However, there were some that received additional scholarships as well (anywhere up to a full scholarship).
2. A few cons of Hofstra
a. Because our curriculum is based on self-motivated learning, professors never explicitly tell us what to study/know for a test. Thus, it is pretty difficult to gauge whether we are focusing on the right material or measure our preparedness before exams. I understand that I chose Hofstra because it is a case-based curriculum and I honestly enjoy learning by myself rather than being talked to for endless hours in lecture. However, the frustrating part of the curriculum is the fact that in addition to teaching ourselves the material, we have to figure out (by ourselves) what we need to teach ourselves. There is no such thing as a syllabus that tells us exactly what we need to know, as there is at other med schools. We have things called Learning Objectives that are meant to direct our focus/studying but when it comes to integrated courses that deal with the physiology of multiple systems, Learning Objectives become futile.
b.It has been extremely difficult to secure research positions at hospitals/institutes other than Feinstein. When applying to prestigious research programs, you will most likely lose out to the other NY-based medical students in the area. (I think that this is a significant foreshadowing of how difficult residency applications will be.) If you are applying to non-NY residencies, I suggest you look at other schools. (Not many outside of NY know about Hofstra)
c.Sometimes it feels like the administration is overwhelmed and that we are severely understaffed as a school in certain areas. For example, although we have a plethora of doctors to teach us, our Student Affairs office consists of one person responsible for our class research, personal issues, clubs, meetings, organizations as well as dealing with admissions for the incoming class.
d.Just because you are the second class does not mean that there will not be kinks to work out.
e.No established structure for summer opportunities. Many people in our school wanted to explore global issues over the summer and they had a pretty hard time securing funding. Not sure how this will pan out when our school more than doubles in size next year
3.We are not sure how are third year is going to be different yet. Many of us are just hypothesizing/speculating based on hearsay. I will definitely provide more information once we know concretely how our third year will differ.
Thank you for this very thorough review. Two more followup questions before I leave you alone
1. Regarding point B about research at other institutes, what do you mean by this? Did you or your classmates apply to other programs (what are some summer programs for med students?) and not get in? And is the Feinstein institute not a good center to do research in?
2. 2e - I guess this is similar to the first question, but did people obtain funding for the global opportunities? if so, how did they get them? How was it hard to get funding?
Sorry for the stupid questions...I'm just interested.
Thank you for this very thorough review. Two more followup questions before I leave you alone
1. Regarding point B about research at other institutes, what do you mean by this? Did you or your classmates apply to other programs (what are some summer programs for med students?) and not get in? And is the Feinstein institute not a good center to do research in?
Yes, some of us applied to summer research programs at Sloan-Kettering, etc. and did not receive any love. Considering that some of my colleagues have significant previous research experience in addition to a variety of other accolades, we were left to conclude that it was due to the lack of recognition of our medical school. Feinstein is a reasonable alternative for basic research but is not a nationally recognized institution. You can peruse their website to see what they offer. Granted, many students found opportunities at NSLIJ and at Feinstein but it seems like it is very difficult to find opportunities at more renowned institutions.
2. 2e - I guess this is similar to the first question, but did people obtain funding for the global opportunities? if so, how did they get them? How was it hard to get funding?
Since Hofstra does not have any structured method of obtaining global opportunities in place yet, it was not easy for students to obtain funding. In the end, several students devised a project and received funding for their trip but they faced several obstacles along the way because of the lack of structure provided by the school.
Sorry for the stupid questions...I'm just interested.
These are by no means stupid questions. I think that Hofstra will be a fine institution one day, but I think that it currently has some kinks to work out. Dont get me wrong, I love the curriculum and the self-motivated way of learning as well as the support system we receive because we are such a small class. However, in my opinion, one should not have to struggle so hard to acquire what most medical students take for granted (research, global opportunities, internships, etc.). Medical students are already burdened with enough.
Listen, here is my suggestion. I don't think that anybody should gamble with his or her medical school education. If you have other options, think carefully.
Sloan did get 800-something applicants for 60 spots, do I don't know if it's fair to blame the school for not getting a spot when 93% of applicants didn't get a spot, either.
These posts also say things that aren't true.
We have more than one person in student affairs; and other, different people work in admissions. People that applied for money for summer projects got it.
The feelings about the curriculum are also dissonant. We are definitely told what we're supposed to be learning. And even if it isn't clear during class, the faculty live in their offices so they are always around to ask.
The school was very liberal in giving out money for summer projects even if the projects did not meet the requirements the school initially set out. Most medical schools do not give out as much or to as many students as Hofstra. We gave more to each student than NYU gave to theirs, if you wanted to compare us to a local popular institution. .
Congrats! Do you mind sharing your stats? Will you be attending?I got off the wait list about a week ago, so there's hope! Good luck!
Thanks so much for the update! You fill me with hopeThanks! My stats are nothing impressive, 3.57 and 31Q, and I definitely think I will be attending. I had other acceptances, but I turned those down for Hofstra. Absolutely loved the school curriculum/ philosophy/ and the students I spoke with when I interviewed. Hofstra was one of my top choices.
The only thing that could change my plans is if I get off the wait list at UC Irvine. I liked the gut feeling that I got at Hofstra more, but for price, proximity to family etc. I would attend Irvine over Hofstra.
Good luck to you! Hopefully the wait list Gods are as kind to you as they were to me!!
Thanks so much for the update! You fill me with hope
Do you mind me asking if you sent any updates in while on the waitlist?
I didn't send any updates. However, if you have an update or want to write an LOI I'm sure it couldn't hurt.
Losing hope for waitlist movement. Any updates out there?
Thanks medstar91 and congrats! Would you mind sharing when you received your acceptance and your stats?I got accepted the other day but had to withdraw. So looks like there is still movement
The Admisinstration could care less about the students. They lied about the Curricululm It is not new - has been done at other schools. They said they were giving more time after coursework for studying for the boards and they canceled it . Clearly missinfoming incoming students of this when they applied. They say they are concerned with the students but they are not. Any suggestions are ignored. Its their way or no way. They think they are doing it right but won't take any criticism from the students when they are not. There is NO concern for the students.
The Hofstra students I talked to told me the exact opposite of what vanishing is saying. They said the administration was extremely responsive. Can you be any more specific about the changes you wanted that they ignored?
i'll go ahead and vouch for the administration in being responsive to our concerns. Is it perfect? No. Is the administration making a sincere effort? Imo, i really believe they are. I'll admit that it's tedious for us to fill out weekly surveys and to attend meetings talking about the pedagogy of how we're supposed to learn. At the same time, we do it to make improvements to our school and this new curriculum. We do this b**ch work so that way future classes can benefit from any struggles we've had this year. All in all, i'm still extremely happy to attend the school, and i know we're experiencing things this year that very very few first years (if any) in the country get to do. And it's only going to get better when the school adapts to what the students weren't wild about. The novelty of this curriculum is not pearls (which is essentially pbl adapted from what cwru started); it's the utilization of all of the research done in the last xxx years on improving medical education and implementing it in a unified way. This is admittedly a very difficult task, and from what i've experienced this year, the administration did a great job. If you come into medical school expecting something perfect, you're going to be disappointed. Newsflash - no medical curriculum is perfect. It can be a stressful, depressing, lonely time - i can tell you that firsthand. However, if you arrive at medical school eager to take advantage of the opportunities available to you, you will definitely thrive at hofstra-nslij.
That being said, in the first class there are 40 of us and we all have different attitudes, goals, and experiences that have led us here. Our past has led us to expect that our medical education should be one way or another, and it seems like some people expected something different than what they got. For me, i'm going to be the first doctor in my family. I really had no preconceived notions of what medical school was going to be like other than what i heard from older friends in med school and docs i've worked with as a premed. I expected it to be hard - and it is - it's hard everywhere. In the end, you as an individual make the decision to attend. Hofstra isn't the right school for everyone, but it was for me.
as always, pm me if you have any q's.
1. Yes, everybody received a standard half scholarship last year. However, there were some that received additional scholarships as well (anywhere up to a full scholarship).
2. A few cons of Hofstra
a. Because our curriculum is based on self-motivated learning, professors never explicitly tell us what to study/know for a test. Thus, it is pretty difficult to gauge whether we are focusing on the right material or measure our preparedness before exams. I understand that I chose Hofstra because it is a case-based curriculum and I honestly enjoy learning by myself rather than being talked to for endless hours in lecture. However, the frustrating part of the curriculum is the fact that in addition to teaching ourselves the material, we have to figure out (by ourselves) what we need to teach ourselves. There is no such thing as a syllabus that tells us exactly what we need to know, as there is at other med schools. We have things called Learning Objectives that are meant to direct our focus/studying but when it comes to integrated courses that deal with the physiology of multiple systems, Learning Objectives become futile.
b.It has been extremely difficult to secure research positions at hospitals/institutes other than Feinstein. When applying to prestigious research programs, you will most likely lose out to the other NY-based medical students in the area. (I think that this is a significant foreshadowing of how difficult residency applications will be.) If you are applying to non-NY residencies, I suggest you look at other schools. (Not many outside of NY know about Hofstra)
c.Sometimes it feels like the administration is overwhelmed and that we are severely understaffed as a school in certain areas. For example, although we have a plethora of doctors to teach us, our Student Affairs office consists of one person responsible for our class research, personal issues, clubs, meetings, organizations as well as dealing with admissions for the incoming class.
d.Just because you are the second class does not mean that there will not be kinks to work out.
e.No established structure for summer opportunities. Many people in our school wanted to explore global issues over the summer and they had a pretty hard time securing funding. Not sure how this will pan out when our school more than doubles in size next year
3.We are not sure how are third year is going to be different yet. Many of us are just hypothesizing/speculating based on hearsay. I will definitely provide more information once we know concretely how our third year will differ.
These are by no means stupid questions. I think that Hofstra will be a fine institution one day, but I think that it currently has some kinks to work out. Dont get me wrong, I love the curriculum and the self-motivated way of learning as well as the support system we receive because we are such a small class. However, in my opinion, one should not have to struggle so hard to acquire what most medical students take for granted (research, global opportunities, internships, etc.). Medical students are already burdened with enough.
Listen, here is my suggestion. I don't think that anybody should gamble with his or her medical school education. If you have other options, think carefully.
Looks like Hofstra's stats will be in the crapper this year. They got a nice high GPA/MCAT last year with lots of 1/2 off and full tuition rides. This year, a 3.95+ 41 MCAT got the same offer that a 3.6/30 was given.... $5000. Look for Hofstra to sport the same crappy stats seen at other new Meds schools, like Commonwealth in Pa.
Out of curiosity - When does orientation start and when's the first day?