2012-2013 Hofstra University Application Thread

[medstud2015]

Thanks for the advice, medstud.

I have a general question about letters. Personally, I would never send a letter of intent (expressing my you-are-my-one-and-only feelings about a school) until I was 200% certain I wanted to attend that school and that school only. On the other hand, I don't see why sending additional letters of interest/update letters could hurt.

How do you all feel about post-interview letters of INTEREST? You know, the letters that talk about personal updates but also include content expressing your continued interest in the school?

It seems like SDNers have strong feelings about letters of intent, as do I. But I'd love to hear your takes on letters of interest/update letters post interview.

Thanks!

Letters of interest are, in my opinion, rather anemic. It's sort of like when a medical school puts you on its "preferred alternate list." Your (unofficial) response is most likely "well, thanks school, now I feel all warm and fuzzy, but I still need to get into a medical school to become a doctor." I can't remember if admission has every told me specifically about letters of interest, so take this as general applying to med school advice. Letters of interest won't hurt you (unless you send them in before you are waitlisted) but probably won't help you much either.

The purpose of the letter intent is to inform the school "you can count on me to fill your last few spots" because at the end of the season medical schools want to make sure they matriculate the right number of people and in general try to avoid sending out acceptances after the school year begins. Think of it like this: every medical school has a ranked list fo all their interviewees in the order in which they wish to accept them. This ranked order is finalized after interviews are completed--they know who they want. A letter of intent is essentially a way to improve your ranking; it's more valuable to schools when they need it more, and not beforehand. A letter of interest basically tries to accomplish the "I really want to go here" effect of a LOI but fails to accomplish the "You can count on me to go here" effect of a LOI. If you did your job on interview day, schools should already know you really want to go there.

tl;dr: if a letter of interest makes YOU feel better, and you wait until after you are waitlisted, go ahead and send one. Just don't expect it to do all that much for you.

Again, this is based on my own personal experience and the feel I get from admissions faculty, whereas the "don't send LOIs before you are waitlisted" is verbatim.

P.S. Don't forget to send thank you emails/letters to your interviewers, you can restate your interest there, and do it expediently, you never know when the next admissions meeting is!

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[parks]

Does anyone know if Hofstra is offering merit scholarships this year? In years past they offered a couple thousand to all accepted students it seems. Did you current students get that offer with your acceptance or with the financial aid package in the spring?

 

[blegrand5]

Just got my interview bumped up a whole month! I'm interviewing this monday. Any tips or advice?

 

[powerof0]

Does anyone know if Hofstra is offering merit scholarships this year? In years past they offered a couple thousand to all accepted students it seems. Did you current students get that offer with your acceptance or with the financial aid package in the spring?

At the financial aid presentation, they mentioned that merit scholarships will be awarded in addition to the money that everyone gets (if any). Unfortunately, they didn't say much about the merit scholarships, so I don't know how many scholarships are offered, how much is offered, etc. However, I think they did mention that the merit scholarships are need based (not sure how that would work).

 

[saveourpens]

Just withdrew for an interview in a couple of weeks. Someone will get bumped up.

 

[PingPongPro]

I'm sorry if this has already been answered, but I am traveling to Hofstra soon for an interview and was wondering about my travel options. I've never been to new york so I might have some dumb questions.

How safe is it to use public transportation at night? I fly in to JFK at ~8pm and was wondering if it would be safe to use the train system to get to the school at this time.

How expensive would a taxi from JFK to hofstra be? I'm leaning towards this option to save time and to not have to stress out as much.

Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[skais595]

I'm sorry if this has already been answered, but I am traveling to Hofstra soon for an interview and was wondering about my travel options. I've never been to new york so I might have some dumb questions.

How safe is it to use public transportation at night? I fly in to JFK at ~8pm and was wondering if it would be safe to use the train system to get to the school at this time.

How expensive would a taxi from JFK to hofstra be? I'm leaning towards this option to save time and to not have to stress out as much.

Anyone have any suggestions?

You would take the LIRR from Jamaica Station which is basically at JFK. It's pretty safe, I was going to do it at like 10pm (and I'm a young-looking white girl), but the timing was off. That's the thing you should be aware of... the trains run maybe hourly? If a train will be there at the right time, go for it...you'll need a taxi from the LIRR station near Hofstra though. I ended up calling my hotel and they arranged a taxi for me, which cost $50 or $60. They said if I had just taken any one from the airport it would have been more expensive.

 

[powerof0]

I'm sorry if this has already been answered, but I am traveling to Hofstra soon for an interview and was wondering about my travel options. I've never been to new york so I might have some dumb questions.

How safe is it to use public transportation at night? I fly in to JFK at ~8pm and was wondering if it would be safe to use the train system to get to the school at this time.

How expensive would a taxi from JFK to hofstra be? I'm leaning towards this option to save time and to not have to stress out as much.

Anyone have any suggestions?

You can also use Supershuttle, which is around $45 for a one-way trip from JFK to Hofstra.

 

[PingPongPro]

You would take the LIRR from Jamaica Station which is basically at JFK. It's pretty safe, I was going to do it at like 10pm (and I'm a young-looking white girl), but the timing was off. That's the thing you should be aware of... the trains run maybe hourly? If a train will be there at the right time, go for it...you'll need a taxi from the LIRR station near Hofstra though. I ended up calling my hotel and they arranged a taxi for me, which cost $50 or $60. They said if I had just taken any one from the airport it would have been more expensive.

Lol wow this post made me look like such a wussy .

You can also use Supershuttle, which is around $45 for a one-way trip from JFK to Hofstra.

I just booked my supershuttle from JFK to the hotel for ~46$ including tax. Everything seems pretty self explanatory. Thanks.

 

[skais595]

Lol wow this post made me look like such a wussy .

No! I didn't mean to be taking the train that late...was catching up with a friend in manhattan and time got away from me! Plus I'm from LA and have been to NYC a decent number of times...if you're not a city person it could be intimidating!

 

[Camy99]

This may sound like a stupid question, but having been used to this fake-California winter for the last few years, I'm not sure how to dress warmly for the interview yet still look professional. That and I get cold REALLY easily.
Will it be understandable if I have my huge coat, scarf, gloves... but take it all off when I get there (although I'm not sure where I would leave them all); or do I just have to suck it in (and look like a mess because I'm shivering to death XD)? My friend will be driving me directly so I technically won't have to suffer much outside temperatures--unless there's an outside portion to the tour D:

 

[BecksTriad]

This may sound like a stupid question, but having been used to this fake-California winter for the last few years, I'm not sure how to dress warmly for the interview yet still look professional. That and I get cold REALLY easily.
Will it be understandable if I have my huge coat, scarf, gloves... but take it all off when I get there (although I'm not sure where I would leave them all); or do I just have to suck it in (and look like a mess because I'm shivering to death XD)? My friend will be driving me directly so I technically won't have to suffer much outside temperatures--unless there's an outside portion to the tour D:

No outside portion of the tour. There is a bus ride tho where u might get cold. It shouldn't be a big deal if you dress warm. They'll put ur scarf gloves etc away for you. I wouldn't worry about it. Good luck!

 

[DrPurr]

So for those who received the password expiry email...did anyone call the office?

 

[notimeforlovedr]

Can any current students comment on what a "typical week" is at Hofstra? What time do classes normally run until? I understand it's predominately PBL so I'm assuming this occurs MWF, so does Structure occur on Tues and Thurs?

Thanks!

 

[srosseel]

Just withdrew from my acceptance here. Hope it goes to someone who really wants it!

 

[drscholls]

So for those who received the password expiry email...did anyone call the office?

Nope. Wondering about this myself.

 

[parks]

Notimeforlovedr, Check out the response about a typical week at Hofstra. I asked the same question a page back.

 

[Wifey1985]

Pre-interview rejection email about 10 minutes ago. Gross

 

[notimeforlovedr]

What percent of students live on campus? I currently live in Queens but I'm wondering how feasible it would be to stay where I am if I am accepted.

 

[nymeria321]

Pre-interview rejection email about 10 minutes ago. Gross

+1
hurts

 

[khorasanchi]

Pre-Interview Rejection Complete 8/13

 

[nBeeDee]

+1 for the rejection train

 

[SmithieWin]

Accepted via email yesterday! Interviewed on 01/16/2013. Good luck to everyone else still waiting.

 

[nabilesmail]

Accepted via email yesterday! Interviewed on 01/16/2013. Good luck to everyone else still waiting.

Congratulations!!

I interviewd 1/18, I wonder if they have gotten to that pile yet . If so, I guess I'm waiting until March to find out about a waitlist/rejection. Man I wish I could have an acceptance right now.

 

[Tyw]

Congratulations!!

I interviewd 1/18, I wonder if they have gotten to that pile yet . If so, I guess I'm waiting until March to find out about a waitlist/rejection. Man I wish I could have an acceptance right now.

I totally feel you. Just one acceptance would make that looming threat of reapplication disappear. Soooooooo stressed right now.

 

[drscholls]

I totally feel you. Just one acceptance would make that looming threat of reapplication disappear. Soooooooo stressed right now.

Agreed, at least March is only a few weeks away now.

 

[powerof0]

At the interview, did they say that people who are not accepted about a month after the interview will either be put onto the waitlist or rejected in March? I'm not sure if I'm remembering this correctly.

I interviewed in 1/11 and didn't hear anything, so I guess I will be waitlisted or rejected.....

 

[BecksTriad]

At the interview, did they say that people who are not accepted about a month after the interview will either be put onto the waitlist or rejected in March? I'm not sure if I'm remembering this correctly.

I interviewed in 1/11 and didn't hear anything, so I guess I will be waitlisted or rejected.....

Unfortunately I believe this is the case. I interviewed in late Oct and was most likely WL or rejected. I've heard almost half the class comes from WL tho. So I am hopeful

 

[powerof0]

Thanks for confirming this, SourD21.

I am hoping that Hofstra would have to accept at least 200-300 to fill the class of 80. If this estimation is somewhat correct, then the chances of getting off the waitlist isn't too bad, given the small class size.

 

[drscholls]

Thanks for confirming this, SourD21.

I am hoping that Hofstra would have to accept at least 200-300 to fill the class of 80. If this estimation is somewhat correct, then the chances of getting off the waitlist isn't too bad, given the small class size.

Optimistically I'd like to agree with you, but I think it all depends on the number of people they interview (I believe it is quite a large number, like 600 or something)- (80+whoever is rejected outright which I would guess to be a very small number). I'd guess that the first 80 people on the waitlist have a pretty awesome shot of getting in, but only a few of us can be in that group.

 

[powerof0]

Let's just hope that they reject very few people post-interview and have extremely low yield so we can get in.

 

[drscholls]

Let's just hope that they reject very few people post-interview and have extremely low yield so we can get in.

Preach.

 

[nabilesmail]

At the interview, did they say that people who are not accepted about a month after the interview will either be put onto the waitlist or rejected in March? I'm not sure if I'm remembering this correctly.

I interviewed in 1/11 and didn't hear anything, so I guess I will be waitlisted or rejected.....

Yeah they said if you didnt hear back around 2 weeks after your interview then in March you would hear of a rejection/waitlist. And yeah 1/2 the class comes from the waitlist

 

[nabilesmail]

Both my interviewers asked me if I had other interviews and I said no at the time. And the first guy gave me advice on sending update letters and possibly reapplying lol

 

[MDhopeful23]

Ugh, my paranoia is setting in. At my (recent) interview they asked me if I had other acceptances already, and I (truthfully) said that I did. Should I have dodged the question? I feel like there's not a graceful way to do that. Do you think they're more likely to take someone with no acceptances since a no-acceptance person is a pretty safe bet, yield-wise? I wish they just hadn't asked!

If you were accepted to other US MD schools why would you wanna go to Hofstra anyway?

 

[parks]

If you were accepted to other US MD schools why would you wanna go to Hofstra anyway?

Ok so that was pointless and irrelevant to the original question. If you're not interested why would you post on the Hofstra thread anyway?

 

[MDhopeful23]

Ok so that was pointless and irrelevant to the original question. If you're not interested why would you post on the Hofstra thread anyway?

Because I wanted to understand why somebody who was accepted to an established and proven US MD school would be interested to enter a school that is unproven in both USMLE preparation and residency matching. Not only is this school unproven when it comes to scoring on the boards but it fails to put an emphasis on ensuring its students successfully score above the national average by either providing USMLE preparation courses or structuring their exams or curriculum to resemble that of the boards. Instead Hofstra administration continously cites a statistic that states that students taught using a PBL system score higher on their boards then do students taught using the traditional system,however, such a statistic has so many aspects to even consider it applicable to Hofstra. Yes, Hofstra's curriculum does a wonderful job in preparing students for the clinical aspects of being a physician,which is obviously important,but if their students can't pass the boards then it won't matter anyway. Now I do realize that the questions on the boards tend to be clinically based but I,also, do not believe that neglecting to include a component that is geared toward familiarizing the students with the question style of the boards is acceptable. Just giving out USMLE questions to the students that won't be discussed or graded doesn't count.
Anyway, I asked that question to understand what people saw in Hofstra that they liked.

 

[wanderedtoolong]

Because I wanted to understand why somebody who was accepted to an established and proven US MD school would be interested to enter a school that is unproven in both USMLE preparation and residency matching. Not only is this school unproven when it comes to scoring on the boards but it fails to put an emphasis on ensuring its students successfully score above the national average by either providing USMLE preparation courses or structuring their exams or curriculum to resemble that of the boards. Instead Hofstra administration continously cites a statistic that states that students taught using a PBL system score higher on their boards then do students taught using the traditional system,however, such a statistic has so many aspects to even consider it applicable to Hofstra. Yes, Hofstra's curriculum does a wonderful job in preparing students for the clinical aspects of being a physician,which is obviously important,but if their students can't pass the boards then it won't matter anyway. Now I do realize that the questions on the boards tend to be clinically based but I,also, do not believe that neglecting to include a component that is geared toward familiarizing the students with the question style of the boards is acceptable. Just giving out USMLE questions to the students that won't be discussed or graded doesn't count.
Anyway, I asked that question to understand what people saw in Hofstra that they liked.

Did you interview at Hofstra? I did, and there were a LOT of things I liked. I was impressed by the quality of the student body- for a new school, I met a bunch of students who had done interesting things on their way to med school and came out of high quality undergrad institutions. I was also impressed by the curriculum. If you talk to people on curriculum committees at "proven" med schools, that is the direction they're trying to go, but it takes a long time to shift a stale old curriculum over to a more dynamic, interactive teaching structure. I also really like the small class size, just because I know from past experience that I learn better when people at the school know who I am, can be supportive, and I feel held accountable for being in class etc. I have an acceptance at a "proven" US MD school, but if Hofstra accepted me, I would strongly consider their offer.

 

[parks]

Did you interview at Hofstra? I did, and there were a LOT of things I liked. I was impressed by the quality of the student body- for a new school, I met a bunch of students who had done interesting things on their way to med school and came out of high quality undergrad institutions. I was also impressed by the curriculum. If you talk to people on curriculum committees at "proven" med schools, that is the direction they're trying to go, but it takes a long time to shift a stale old curriculum over to a more dynamic, interactive teaching structure. I also really like the small class size, just because I know from past experience that I learn better when people at the school know who I am, can be supportive, and I feel held accountable for being in class etc. I have an acceptance at a "proven" US MD school, but if Hofstra accepted me, I would strongly consider their offer.

Ditto all of this. I too have an acceptance at an established US MD school and am completely torn.
Once you interview and see the school, the "why would you choose this school" becomes a lot more clear.
Also take a look at Commonwealth. Everyone **** on the school all over SDN and their students score above the national average on Step 1 two years in a row. If Commonwealth, with all the financial probation and administrative issues they had to deal with, can get their students past the boards successfully, I seriously doubt that Hofstra, which is financially super strong and forward thinking in terms of curriculum and medical education, will have problems preparing their students for boards.

 

[parks]

Also I learned by speaking to Hofstra students that their PBL curriculum and essays style exams are supplemented by USMLE question bank practice questions that are assigned every "block" or whatever the term is Hofstra uses to describe sections of the curriculum. This starts during MS1. I dont really see how this "doesnt count". what do other schools do that you feel is superior?
Also there is designated USMLE prep time at the end of second year which is typical of most schools. I'm under the impression that board performance is dependent more on a student efforts in preparation and how they use the resources available to them than the school itself. correct me if I'm wrong.

Talk to first and second years. From my experience on SDN alone they are more than happy to answer questions, not mention how enthusiastic they were on interview day.

I don't know how or what you learned about this school but perhaps having a complete understanding of the curriculum before expressing your disapproval and doubts would be wise.

 

[anguisette]

Because I wanted to understand why somebody who was accepted to an established and proven US MD school would be interested to enter a school that is unproven in both USMLE preparation and residency matching. Not only is this school unproven when it comes to scoring on the boards but it fails to put an emphasis on ensuring its students successfully score above the national average by either providing USMLE preparation courses or structuring their exams or curriculum to resemble that of the boards. Instead Hofstra administration continously cites a statistic that states that students taught using a PBL system score higher on their boards then do students taught using the traditional system,however, such a statistic has so many aspects to even consider it applicable to Hofstra. Yes, Hofstra's curriculum does a wonderful job in preparing students for the clinical aspects of being a physician,which is obviously important,but if their students can't pass the boards then it won't matter anyway. Now I do realize that the questions on the boards tend to be clinically based but I,also, do not believe that neglecting to include a component that is geared toward familiarizing the students with the question style of the boards is acceptable. Just giving out USMLE questions to the students that won't be discussed or graded doesn't count.
Anyway, I asked that question to understand what people saw in Hofstra that they liked.

I initially had some of the same concerns you mentioned with regards to a proven boards record, but that's a component that's overemphasized by pre-meds in general (probably because the MCAT is still fresh in our minds). If you ask medical students and beyond, time and time again they will say Step I scores are a result of individual effort, not the school. All schools teach the same things--they just teach them in slightly different ways. If you're really worried about Hofstra's unproven curriculum, it's pretty much the same as Cast Western's curriculum--and their students do just fine on Step I.

Personally, I think the fact that they focus on clinical training rather than "teaching you to pass an exam" is a strength because it speaks to their mission. They want to train well-rounded, compassionate doctors, because 10 years down the line when you're in the field, it's not your board scores that make you a great doctor. It's like the doctors, educators, and community leaders sat around one day, and went: What qualities make the best doctors you know? Why do these doctors have these qualities? How can we best foster these qualities in training? And then they got together and created a new medical school and designed a curriculum around their findings (another point of comparison: that's how the Cleveland Clinic started). On the flip side of when you asked what's the point of great clinical training if you can't pass the boards: Even if you have the highest Step I score and match into neurosurgery, what's the point of all that knowledge if you can't connect to patients, establish a trusting relationship, and convince them to do the surgery in practice?

tl;dr There are certainly some concerns when it comes to a new medical school, but I don't think failing your boards should be one of them. However, if you know that you won't succeed in Hofstra's teaching environment, well then maybe it isn't the school for you whether you have other acceptances or not.

 

[parks]

I initially had some of the same concerns you mentioned with regards to a proven boards record, but that's a component that's overemphasized by pre-meds in general (probably because the MCAT is still fresh in our minds). If you ask medical students and beyond, time and time again they will say Step I scores are a result of individual effort, not the school. All schools teach the same things--they just teach them in slightly different ways. If you're really worried about Hofstra's unproven curriculum, it's pretty much the same as Cast Western's curriculum--and their students do just fine on Step I.

Personally, I think the fact that they focus on clinical training rather than "teaching you to pass an exam" is a strength because it speaks to their mission. They want to train well-rounded, compassionate doctors, because 10 years down the line when you're in the field, it's not your board scores that make you a great doctor. It's like the doctors, educators, and community leaders sat around one day, and went: What qualities make the best doctors you know? Why do these doctors have these qualities? How can we best foster these qualities in training? And then they got together and created a new medical school and designed a curriculum around their findings (another point of comparison: that's how the Cleveland Clinic started). On the flip side of when you asked what's the point of great clinical training if you can't pass the boards: Even if you have the highest Step I score and match into neurosurgery, what's the point of all that knowledge if you can't connect to patients, establish a trusting relationship, and convince them to do the surgery in practice?

tl;dr There are certainly some concerns when it comes to a new medical school, but I don't think failing your boards should be one of them. However, if you know that you won't succeed in Hofstra's teaching environment, well then maybe it isn't the school for you whether you have other acceptances or not.

Very eloquently put

 

[pawn2chessplaya]

Hi guys,

I haven't heard anything from Hofstra after my interview. About a week ago, though, I received an e-mail with the subject title "Hofstra Password Expiry Email Notification‏." To my knowledge I have not yet been accepted to Hofstra, but apparently I was given an account for the Hofstra portal, as well as a hofstra ID.

Has anyone else received this e-mail? I'm wondering if every applicant received this e-mail.

 

[oddotter3]

Hey- I got that email too even before my interview. I fowarded it to their IT department and they told me it was a mistake and they weren't sure why I got that. Maybe you should forward it to IT as well to make sure that is the same situation?

 

[wanderedtoolong]

Hi guys,

I haven't heard anything from Hofstra after my interview. About a week ago, though, I received an e-mail with the subject title "Hofstra Password Expiry Email Notification‏." To my knowledge I have not yet been accepted to Hofstra, but apparently I was given an account for the Hofstra portal, as well as a hofstra ID.

Has anyone else received this e-mail? I'm wondering if every applicant received this e-mail.

look a page or two back in this thread

 

[nabilesmail]

so no acceptance yet and I interviewed 1/18. Is it safe to say I'm in the waitlist/reject bin?

 

[BecksTriad]

so no acceptance yet and I interviewed 1/18. Is it safe to say I'm in the waitlist/reject bin?

Unfortunately I think that is the case. I interviewed in Oct and no decision here yet. If I'm WL here it will be my fifth one......,

 

[anguisette]

so no acceptance yet and I interviewed 1/18. Is it safe to say I'm in the waitlist/reject bin?

I don't think so. I heard about a month after my interview.

 

[nabilesmail]

I don't think so. I heard about a month after my interview.

Hmm did you have an earlier interview? At my interview they told us around 2 weeks for an acceptance

 

[jsak]

Hmm did you have an earlier interview? At my interview they told us around 2 weeks for an acceptance

What you are thinking about is the time when the admissions committee makes a decision, not when they send out acceptances.


The adcom will generally review and vote on your application within two weeks of your interview. However based on how many spots they have left and how many acceptances have gone out, that determines the rest of the time frame after those two weeks.

People who interviewed my day heard back about 4-5 weeks after our interview day