2012-2013 Temple University Application Thread

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tookiclothespin said:
+1

Also, all we needed to fill out was the FAFSA, correct? I looked on temple med online but couldn't find any other information... (like do we need to fill out the need access, etc?). I'm starting to get worried because I haven't gotten any other information from them...
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+2 I searched too, but all it said was to fill out FAFSA in order to receive aid. Can any current medical students comment on when they received finanical aid information?
 
What's the longest time someone has waited after their interview for a decision? I didn't list St. Luke's as my first choice, but it was my second.
 
GoatMachine said:
What's the longest time someone has waited after their interview for a decision? I didn't list St. Luke's as my first choice, but it was my second.
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I interviewed Jan 24th and have yet to hear anything. I have emailed twice asking about this and have not received a response. I have called but they say not to ask about your status. Its awful. My status page still says "Interview Complete"
 
ClownTown1234 said:
I interviewed Jan 24th and have yet to hear anything. I have emailed twice asking about this and have not received a response. I have called but they say not to ask about your status. Its awful. My status page still says "Interview Complete"
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Talk to a person and check to see if your decision has been sent out or not.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
GoatMachine said:
What's the longest time someone has waited after their interview for a decision? I didn't list St. Luke's as my first choice, but it was my second.
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when did you interview ? I interviewed on 2/14 and still nada. second look is tomorrow and I wish I was able to attend 🙁 :cry::poke::wtf:
 
ClownTown1234 said:
I interviewed Jan 24th and have yet to hear anything. I have emailed twice asking about this and have not received a response. I have called but they say not to ask about your status. Its awful. My status page still says "Interview Complete"
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I interviewed January 24th too and I am still waiting. I called and asked about my status (I didn't know we weren't supposed to...) and I was told my app was still under review and it was odd that there wasn't a decision yet and it could be due to the interviewer submitting their evaluation in late. :/
 
ClownTown1234 said:
I interviewed Jan 24th and have yet to hear anything. I have emailed twice asking about this and have not received a response. I have called but they say not to ask about your status. Its awful. My status page still says "Interview Complete"
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temple, imo, needs to step up in their correspondence with applicants. they haven't replied to any of my emails since the beginning of this cycle. i understand they get a lot of applications.. but more applications = more money through application fees.. they could really use that money to hire another office assistant or something. i feel it's a real lack of administrative organization.. and it's a bit impolite.
 
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UrbanRiver said:
temple, imo, needs to step up in their correspondence with applicants. they haven't replied to any of my emails since the beginning of this cycle. i understand they get a lot of applications.. but more applications = more money through application fees.. they could really use that money to hire another office assistant or something. i feel it's a real lack of administrative organization.. and it's a bit impolite.
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medicalhobo said:
I interviewed January 24th too and I am still waiting. I called and asked about my status (I didn't know we weren't supposed to...) and I was told my app was still under review and it was odd that there wasn't a decision yet and it could be due to the interviewer submitting their evaluation in late. :/
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Interivewed 1/24 and got in the mail today a letter saying I am in the continuing candidates list, which I assume is their wait list. I got this 4/6 the letter is dated 3/15. No idea why it took over 3 weeks for the letter to go from PA to MA. I guess they are using carrier pigeons this year.
 
ClownTown1234 said:
Interivewed 1/24 and got in the mail today a letter saying I am in the continuing candidates list, which I assume is their wait list. I got this 4/6 the letter is dated 3/15. No idea why it took over 3 weeks for the letter to go from PA to MA. I guess they are using carrier pigeons this year.
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Carrier pigeons LMAO
 
ClownTown1234 said:
Interivewed 1/24 and got in the mail today a letter saying I am in the continuing candidates list, which I assume is their wait list. I got this 4/6 the letter is dated 3/15. No idea why it took over 3 weeks for the letter to go from PA to MA. I guess they are using carrier pigeons this year.
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Maybe they printed the letter early on and your interviewer took forever to sign it?
 
loveanswers said:
For anyone who is interested

Here is the info about Temple's Block Schedule (And also breakdown of grading for each block, Just click on block name and it will open pdf).

http://www.temple.edu/medicine/education/Integrated_Curriculum.html

Here is the Temple's Match Info

http://www.temple.edu/medicine/education/student_affairs_match2012.htm
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Just an FYI, some of those pdf's need to be updated. A few of them still say the school grades on a curve. That is no longer the case, as I'm sure you guys were told at interview day and probably at Second Look.

BTW, some of you may have seen me there at the end of lunch. I hope you had a good time!
 
So I interviewed on 2/14 and still haven't heard anything. Should I give up hopes on an acceptance this late in the cycle ?
 
wizzy67 said:
So I interviewed on 2/14 and still haven't heard anything. Should I give up hopes on an acceptance this late in the cycle ?
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I would not. Their admissions office is just REALLY REALLY slow. I interviewed jan 24th and heard back just this past Saturday (snail mail).
 
Geekchick921 said:
Just an FYI, some of those pdf's need to be updated. A few of them still say the school grades on a curve. That is no longer the case, as I'm sure you guys were told at interview day and probably at Second Look.

BTW, some of you may have seen me there at the end of lunch. I hope you had a good time!
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Lol woulda been cool to see you!

I'm on vacation now but in a few days ill write up some notes of what I got out of second look for the people that couldn't attend
 
bk9iq said:
How many people went to the second visit? How was it? sorry I could not go!
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I went to the second look on Friday and was really happy with it! I just feel so positive about the TUSM atmosphere. Everyone there seems really happy and excited about their work. The Director of Student Affairs spoke about how when we start school right away people start seeing us as colleagues and as an integral part of TUSM rather than students paying to go to school there which was a really interesting comment that I hadn't heard at other second looks. A lot of the stuff we went over was pretty basic: financial aid, mission, curriculum, etc. Everyone I met seemed really happy to be working there and I got so much positive feedback about how appreciative and interesting all the patients were.

It was also cool to see future classmates! People seemed pretty down to earth which isn't as common as I'd hoped when starting this process.

Overall, I'm really happy with Temple, I think it is a really grounded institution and will be an awesome place to learn to be a healthcare provider. ALSO, the 2013 matchlist was given out and I was pretty impressed. I think TUSM is definitely climbing in ranks and quickly. I work at CHOP (children's hosp of philly) and everyone here really loves Temple students and say they're great clinicians.

Anyways, I loved it, I'm withdrawing my other acceptances! Good luck everyone!!🙂🙂🙂🙂
 
bk9iq said:
How many people went to the second visit? How was it? sorry I could not go!
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I went to second look as well and I really loved it! The other accepted were really nice and relaxed, and I'm excited to spend the next four years with them. They gave us a ton of info so I'm having a hard time condensing everything we were told into a post. Here are some things that we learned that might be useful to those of you unable to attend.

-There is now a pre-orientation checklist online. It's at the TUSM website (not application portal) under MD Program -> Admissions -> Accepted Applicants. They'll be adding more info to this list as it becomes available.

- You should have gotten a TUPortal account after being accepted. If you didn't you should call the helpdesk and they can help you get one set up. Your financial aid offer will eventually be posted in the 'self service banner' of this portal

- The orientation week will consist of being at the school for info sessions every day and then social events every night. There is also a summer book that the class reads for discussion during orientation. I think we get to pick one out of several options.

- The students I spoke with didn't really use books, which is great for me because I've never really used books to study. They did all have the anatomy atlas (Netters) but other than that they recommended going block by block to see if you want the book before buying anything.

Those are some of the things that stuck in my head. It was really a fun day, and it really eased any anxiety I had about attending Temple in the fall. I can't wait to get started, and I hope to meet some of you in August! 😀
 
This school is a trip! I called and I am still under review. Why don't they just say I'm rejected already?! Lol. I don't expect to be interviewed and they refuse to tell me any more than what is on the online status page. Geez!
 
Does anyone have an idea about the difference between Temple and Drexel ? Like which one is ranked better ? They seem pretty similar!
 
aspiringdoc09 said:
This school is a trip! I called and I am still under review. Why don't they just say I'm rejected already?! Lol. I don't expect to be interviewed and they refuse to tell me any more than what is on the online status page. Geez!
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same here - does anyone know if they will be interviewing students in the future?
 
had my interview 2/7. have people been waiting that long? is all hope lost? don't know what to do since most decisions are made within 4 weeks or so at Temple
 
ymcmb27 said:
had my interview 2/7. have people been waiting that long? is all hope lost? don't know what to do since most decisions are made within 4 weeks or so at Temple
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You still have a chance! For some reasons they experiencing problems with people who interviewed on Thursdays. The interviewers are always late at submitting/attending meetings. I interviewed 2/14 a week after you and they still did not make a dicession on my application ( I called them today ). So the 4 weeks turn around don't apply to ppl who interview on Thursdays. Hope you will hear a good news soon !! They meet every Friday so maybe you will hear something tomorrow!
 
wizzy67 said:
Does anyone have an idea about the difference between Temple and Drexel ? Like which one is ranked better ? They seem pretty similar!
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Temple is ranked way higher. (Not thank rankings have even that much importance) Temple is in the high 40's i think and Drexel is in the 80's. I had Drexel on my list too but Temple by far has better rankings, resources, and national acknowledgment. They also have a really incredible hospital that's within the top 10 grossing hospitals in the country. Also, the school is beautiful and really attracted me. For me, it was a no brainer to choose Temple.

Good luck!
 
wizzy67 said:
Does anyone have an idea about the difference between Temple and Drexel ? Like which one is ranked better ? They seem pretty similar!
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phillymed89 said:
Temple is ranked way higher. (Not thank rankings have even that much importance) Temple is in the high 40's i think and Drexel is in the 80's. I had Drexel on my list too but Temple by far has better rankings, resources, and national acknowledgment. They also have a really incredible hospital that's within the top 10 grossing hospitals in the country. Also, the school is beautiful and really attracted me. For me, it was a no brainer to choose Temple.

Good luck!
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🙁 IMO rankings are a horrible way to compare schools. US News/World report is the worst thing a premed can read. I'm not really into comparing prestige either, because sometimes prestigious programs seem to have some malignant qualities for medical students...

I don't know too much about Drexel (though I have heard many complaints about their campus/program/interview days which I take with a grain of salt), but Temple is a very nice beautiful school, located in a not-so-nice not-so-beautiful part of Philly. Temple Hospital has been described to me as a "safety-net hospital" which, given the impoverished population it serves, will give you a very different patient population and clinical experience than I would imagine Drexel would. Temple is Pass/Fail (though I don't think it is considered "true pass/fail" if that is important to you), there's a Doctoring course that provides "early patient interaction", and the administration, as well as the students, really emphasizes clinical competence, residency preparedness, and service to the community and the underserved.

The one thing that might be considered a drawback (but only to some) is that Temple has many clinical affiliate sites. What this means is that you enter a lottery to pick your year 3 and 4 rotations, and while many of them will likely be in Philly, you also will likely have to do some of them at the other clinical sites. I believe they are in Bethlehem, Pittsburg, Danville, and West Philly (but I could be wrong about this).

Sorry I don't have more information on Drexel, but I'm sure you can find some on the Drexel thread. Hope this helps
 
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One of the things that drew me away from Temple is the safety issue. I know I'm probably going to take a little bit of heat for this and people are going to say to just be smart, but if one of the selling points of a school is its flood lights and escort service to walk you to your car, then I can't help but be a little concerned. Although Drexel isn't in the best of areas either, the students seem to be less concerned about getting mugged or having their car broken into.

Drexel also has a free shuttle that takes you from it's medical campus to center city, which is pretty nice feature. One bad thing about Drexel is that it's not P/F, although like another poster mentioned Temple isn't a true P/F school. Although Drexel doesn't try very hard to sell itself during interview day, supposedly second look was a really great experience, but I didn't go since I can't afford another cross country flight. One Drexel student who frequents these forums is a MS2 in the PIL program (Jojokarade I think?) and has a blog where he writes about his experiences at Drexel and in Philly: http://www.medicalstudentjourney.com/ It's wonderfully laid out and might help you get a better feel for Drexel since the interview day may not have answered all your questions.

Temple does have a beautiful new building and anatomy lab, but I just didn't feel I would fit in well at Temple, and I didn't feel too comfortable there so I ultimately chose Drexel over Temple. Temple is a great school though, and I'm sure you'll get a great education wherever you go. Hope this helps a little!
 
Temple is Honors/Pass/Fail for the regular blocks and Pass/Fail for doctoring, unless they're changing that this year and I haven't heard about it. More importantly, the grades are based on your performance, not a curve. Well, they will curve tests sometimes, but never up, just down, if they throw some questions out. Hypothetically, the whole class can get honors. My class often shares study guides, notes, charts, etc. on our FB group.

FWIW, I've never felt unsafe on campus, but I also don't stay after dark, never wander off campus and park in the garage every day I'm there.

Drexel and Temple were the only two places I was accepted outright and were very different for me. There was no question in my mind Temple would be where I was going. I liked everything about it more than Drexel (though I do have a friend there who seems pretty happy). They just did not impress me on interview day. And while I'm sure the shuttle to Hahnemann is nice, TUH is right across the street from MERB. You can't beat that.
 
Hey all, random question. So I've been accepted to the Temple/St. Luke's program and I'm honestly pumped about it - second look was last Friday and the whole thing just seems a really good option (for me personally though I see why some would be less excited about it). In any case, the only thing keeping me from dropping my other acceptances (and withdrawing from my wait-lists) is that I will be moving with my SO.
I won't go too much into it but she's wicked smart and has a great job and her career is very important to her and to me. We're honestly pretty confident about her finding a good job in the Lehigh Valley for years 2-4 (the area in general was actually one of the pleasant surprises from second look day) but we're now a bit worried about her finding a job in Philly for year 1. Of course there are a million jobs in Philly but not many companies want to hire people for one year.

So we've looked through some of the basic (not-Philly-specific) job search tools but does anyone (especially people from the area or current first/second years) have any insider tips for exploring further? Again the issue is that she would probably only be able to work for whatever company for a single year. Right now she works in market research consulting but she would definitely be willing to (and capable of) doing anything even semi-related.

Any ideas would be much appreciated!
 
MDDOQuestions said:
Hey all, random question. So I've been accepted to the Temple/St. Luke's program and I'm honestly pumped about it - second look was last Friday and the whole thing just seems a really good option (for me personally though I see why some would be less excited about it). In any case, the only thing keeping me from dropping my other acceptances (and withdrawing from my wait-lists) is that I will be moving with my SO.
I won't go too much into it but she's wicked smart and has a great job and her career is very important to her and to me. We're honestly pretty confident about her finding a good job in the Lehigh Valley for years 2-4 (the area in general was actually one of the pleasant surprises from second look day) but we're now a bit worried about her finding a job in Philly for year 1. Of course there are a million jobs in Philly but not many companies want to hire people for one year.

So we've looked through some of the basic (not-Philly-specific) job search tools but does anyone (especially people from the area or current first/second years) have any insider tips for exploring further? Again the issue is that she would probably only be able to work for whatever company for a single year. Right now she works in market research consulting but she would definitely be willing to (and capable of) doing anything even semi-related.

Any ideas would be much appreciated!
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Well, there's another option though it might be a PITA. Do you both have cars? Would she be willing to have about an hour commute for a year? If you guys got an apartment in Northwest Philly or in Montgomery county not far from 309 or the turnpike she could potentially just get a job in the Bethlehem area and have a long commute for just one year. OR she could look somewhere between Philly and Bethlehem (Bucks or Montgomery County, like around Doylestown or Lansdale) that she could commute a similar distance all 4 years, just from the south next year and from the north during your MS-2 to MS-4.

Or you know, she could just not tell them that she's only going to be staying there a year. Unless she's worried about getting a bad reference because of that.
 
MDDOQuestions said:
Hey all, random question. So I've been accepted to the Temple/St. Luke's program and I'm honestly pumped about it - second look was last Friday and the whole thing just seems a really good option (for me personally though I see why some would be less excited about it). In any case, the only thing keeping me from dropping my other acceptances (and withdrawing from my wait-lists) is that I will be moving with my SO.
I won't go too much into it but she's wicked smart and has a great job and her career is very important to her and to me. We're honestly pretty confident about her finding a good job in the Lehigh Valley for years 2-4 (the area in general was actually one of the pleasant surprises from second look day) but we're now a bit worried about her finding a job in Philly for year 1. Of course there are a million jobs in Philly but not many companies want to hire people for one year.

So we've looked through some of the basic (not-Philly-specific) job search tools but does anyone (especially people from the area or current first/second years) have any insider tips for exploring further? Again the issue is that she would probably only be able to work for whatever company for a single year. Right now she works in market research consulting but she would definitely be willing to (and capable of) doing anything even semi-related.

Any ideas would be much appreciated!
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Hahaha. I think I know who you are now.

My SO is in the same boat, so I'm telling her not to reveal the fact that she'll be leaving in a year, but also not to lie about it if asked. People leave their jobs all the time, and when she leaves her job after a year in Philly, she doesn't have to offer a reason or reveal that she was planning on it all along.

I think the commute/halfway job that geekchick mentioned is a real good option, but my SO has never commuted in her life, so isn't as convinced. This was an initial concern of mine as well, but I don't think it will be too much of a problem should I choose Temple/St Lukes
 
dgk7480 said:
Yeah ...and left messages... Who did you talk to?
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Didn't get a name, since I just had a quick question. To be clear, I called the department number, not the number of a specific financial aide person.

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To any current Temple Med Students:

Are there any beginning Spanish courses available for medical students? I have zero Spanish knowledge but am very interested in learning! 🙂

Thanks in advance!
 
Yes! There is a medical Spanish elective that runs once a week for several weeks out of each semester. There are actually a handful of weekly elective classes (though you can only sign up for one per semester), but most of them are escaping me right now.
 
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