2014-2015 Case Western Reserve University Application Thread

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Please PM the essays or lack thereof to me when the secondary is available and I will update this.

Good luck to everyone applying! :luck:

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Will be applying here. I think it's sweet you can answer two secondaries for the price of one!
 
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I'm a recent grad. I'll be following and can answer any questions that might come up.
 
FAQ(!)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Auriga
Hi guys! Welcome to Case's application thread!

Since this is early on the first page, I decided to create a FAQ to answer what we think are particularly important things that come up often in later pages. I'll update it periodically. Those with moderators' magical wands are free to edit at will.
This is NOT comprehensive. Please feel free to ask questions anytime!

(I.)There are two tracks at Case: the University Program (UP), and the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine (CCLCM) program.

Although when people say "Case," they're frequently referring to the UP, we're one big happy family here. So when you have questions about something specific to one program or another, please specify which (UP or CCLCM). That helps keep things from becoming confusing!

(II.) Common to both programs:

(A.) PBL-style learning: Myuu gives a great explanation in a post below. Linked here:http://forums.studentdoctor.net/show...2&postcount=12

(B.) Free classes (including Masters Degrees!) at Case. Except for Law, Dental, and Nursing degrees. Small fees apply for Masters Degrees. There are quite a few students from both UP and CCLCM who choose to pursue a second degree. Common ones are listed below.
Some students try to cram it all in at once, to finish during the 4 years (5 for CCLCM). Most take an extra year to complete the requirements for the degree.
(1.) Masters of Anatomy (most do finish in the 4 years)
(2.) Masters in Public Health (MPH)
(3.) Masters in Bioethics
(4.) M.S. in whatever.

(III.) Specific to UP: The University Program is a 4 year program with approx. 166 students, including 8 MSTP students. MSTP is tuition-free; the regular UP is the student's responsibility (although there are many financial aid options, scholarships, and grants offered.) For MSTP (Medical Scientists Training Program), it's an 8 year program that leads to an M.D. and a Ph.D. The first 2 pre-clinical years are spent 100% with your fellow matriculating UP class. The following ~4 years are spent completing requirements for the Ph.D. The last 2 clinical years are spent with UP and CCLCM students who will graduate the same year as you.


(IV.) Specific to CCLCM: CCLCM is a 5 year program aimed at training physician scientists. There are 32 students per class. Tuition is paid for by the program, not the student.

Is the CCLCM program only for basic sciences? or would public health be considered in there too?
CCLCM is not just basic sciences. Translational, and clinical are also actively pursued. As for Public Health, you can get an MPH (masters of public health) while you are here, although it is one of the most labor intensive courses of study (based on shear number of classes). You can do public health related research as part of your program here at CCLCM.

What is CCLCM?
"The mission of the CCLCM is "to educate a limited number of highly qualified persons who seek to become physician investigators and scientists committed to the advancement of biomedical research and clinical practice."

"In 2002, the Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University formed an historic partnership to establish the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of CWRU (CCLCM) – an innovative medical school program with a mission to train physician investigators. Every aspect of CCLCM is focused on achieving this goal - from admissions criteria and supportive financial aid to curriculum design and student assessment. Students develop the skills of self-directed learning critical for success as a physician and an investigator." -CCLCM website.

Take a look at our website, and see if this interests you. We train completely separately our first two years from our UP comrades. No grades, no class ranking, and the smallest class I know of (32). We have a portfolio based system of promotion each year.

After our second year, we have the same rights and privileges as the rest of the Case students. CCLCM has an extra year, but the masters degree is free-of-charge if you want it. We are committed to training physician investigators. It is sort of a happy medium between a traditional medical school curriculum and a Mud-phud (MD/PhD) track (which by the way CWRU also has). -vc7777

Is the CCLCM program only for basic sciences? or would public health / other research focuses be considered in there too?
At CCLCM "Research" is broadly defined and can include investigations into the business of healthcare, the delivery of medicine, epidemiology, clinical, translational, or basic sciences (among many others). Public health, nutrition, biomedical engineering, and similar areas are all fair game.

You must do two summers (before your first and second years) in basic and clinical research. No getting out of that. This is to ensure everyone has exposure to both major forms of medical research before graduation.

CCLCM is very personalized after your second year, and the school they will consider any reasonable research pursuit (assuming funding, PI credentials, sound proposals, etc. etc.). The other cool thing is that you do not have to commit until nearing your research year to any given path. -vc7777

How much research do I need to be a competitive applicant to CCLCM?
CCLCM attracts a lot of the same people who apply to MD/PhD programs, including the Case MSTP. I would say that at least one year of part-time research experience is the minimum for CCLCM. The ideal would be to have 3+ years of research experience. More important than the length of time you spend doing research is your role in the research. Washing dishes and running assays without understanding what you're doing for five years isn't very valuable. You should be able to explain the rationale, hypothesis, results, interpretation of data, etc. related to your project. -CCLCMer

How many letters do I need for CCLCM?
You need at least on letter from faculty member who can attest to your performance within a research setting. This likely will be beyond you "usual" letters (or committee letter) for MD-only applications.

What's the match list for CCLCM like?
http://portals.clevelandclinic.org/Students/StudentMatch/tabid/7344/Default.aspx
Please keep in mind that the number of people going into a particular residency is highly variable at any school. If there are more people interested in a particular specialty, there will be more matches. I will say that our track record of alumni success should convince you that Case in general and CCLCM in particular will not limit you.

Can you apply CCLCM and UP?
You can apply to both, or just to one or the other. Please note, our admissions process is entirely separate after the secondary. If you apply to both, you will receive two independent outcomes, meaning there are four possibilities:

Accepted both
Rejected both
Accepted UP not CP
Accepted CP not UP

For admissions purposes, the two programs function quasi independently, almost as if they were two separate med schools. There are two separate admissions offices and two separate adcomms. It is possible to be invited to interview by one program and not the other, and it is also possible to be accepted to one program and rejected by the other. - CCLCMer

If I want to apply to CCLCM and Case for MD, is that same as two different applications, or is it just two different secondaries (one for CCLCM and one for Case MD)? I just want to know the answer mainly because of cost.
You must select Case on your primary. That is, there is no separate checkbox on the primary for CCLCM. However, when you receive your secondary for CWRU, you can elect to apply to CCLCM only, Case only, or both programs. There is no requirement that you must apply to the UP if you are only interested in the CP. - vc7777

There is NO added cost to applying to both, it's all one application. Also, if you do decide to apply to CCLCM, there will be more essays. More bang for your buck! - PhNerd1105

How much segregation and/or integration there is between the regular MD program, the CCLCM program, and the MSTP?
As for CCLCM, we (UP students) actually don't interact with them very much. The campuses are separate, by a 20 minute walk or 5-10 min drive, and our programs are different. It's not that there's no love, it's that we don't have much opportunity. Unless we do on our own. Which is something that the student council (which is comprised of both UP and CCLCM) is working on changing! - Auriga

Yes, we train entirely separately from the UP students. Our programs have different missions and different overall formats for the basic science years. -vc7777

After Step 1 (generally taken at the end of second year), students from both programs do rotations and research together, and the MSTP students rotate with the rest of us as well. The only differences during rotations are that CCLCM students continue to be graded P/F, and taking the shelf exams is optional for us. UP/MSTP students are required to take the shelfs, and they have an H/HP/P/F type of grading system. But students from all three programs rotate at all of the Case-affiliated hospitals, work on the same teams on the wards, attend clinical lectures together, etc. - CCLCMer

Does CCLCM pay for tuition, like MSTP?
CCLCM covers the tuition for the four years of medical school, plus the costs of (optional) masters classes at Case. In addition, a laptop, parking permits, and gym membership are provided at no cost. During your research year (either your 3rd of 4th year) you must find an independent source of funding to cover your research. Given the size and age of our program, we have had impressive success with securing named fellowships/research grants for many of our students, so this should not be a concern at time of application.

What percentage of people in the CCLCM program go for an additional degree?
The number of students who seek other degrees is highly variable. Currently about HALF of my class (!!) is enrolled in CRSP. Four others are taking MPH classes. Some of the engineers are considering the biomedical degree. But take all of this with a grain of salt - this is a personal decision. Just rest assured that CCLCM has cranked out many students with a masters degrees. -vc7777

Many start out planning to do an MS, but few actually finish. In my class, about 1/4 of us got MSes. Four or five of us did CRSP, one person did BME, one did an MPH. There may have been one or two others. -CCLCMer

What options are there for figuring out *exactly* what you want to do?
Depends on when you mean. Once you've decided to matriculate to CCLCM, the school will ask you what areas of basic research you are interested in. You will give a few choices, and they will assign you a researcher for your first summer, which is the basic science summer. For the second (clinical research) summer, students typically choose their own mentor. Likewise for the research year.

You have a ton of exposure to potential mentors during med school. The first block of both preclinical years (first and second) is pretty much all research-oriented. During the rest of the first and second years, you have a weekly research seminar. You also can contact PIs on your own to set up research projects. In addition, you are not limited to doing research at CCF. You can do research at any of the Case-affiliated centers, including the Case med school, University Hospitals, Rainbow Babies, Metro (county hospital), and the VA. If you're interested in geriatrics, there will be plenty of opportunities for you. Likewise in onc. -CCLCMer

Is the interview format the same regardless of whether I'm applying for CP/UP? Are CP applicants interviewed at the same time as UP applicants? or do they get interviewed first?
The CP office doesn't start reviewing applications until later, so CP-only and UP-CP applicants will interview later than people who just apply UP. In terms of actual interview days, your CP interview will be the day before your UP interview. Can't have you spending loads of cash to come here twice, after all. - Myuu

I agree with Myuu, but I suspect this to be true mainly near the beginning of the interview season. But the message should be clear: don't freak out if people who applied AFTER you are getting interview spots for UP before you. It doesn't mean you are not being considered. -vc7777

What is the CP interview format, is it separate from the UP?
If you are invited to interview by both programs, you will have two completely separate interview days. The CCLCM interview day is conducted at CCF, and the UP interview day is conducted at Case, which is about a mile away. The admissions offices will try to coordinate your interview days back-to-back so that you don't have to make two separate trips to Cleveland. Case interviews UP candidates on M-T-F, and CCLCM interviews on M-Th-F, so generally you would either do M/T or Th/F. - CCLCMer

There are three CCLCM interviews, all one-on-one. Two are with faculty and one with a student. Typically, one faculty interviewer will focus more on your research, while the other will focus more on the medicine side. -CCLCMer

I want to apply to both programs (Case and CCLCM), but in AMCAS do I select MD only or the MD/Masters when adding the school?
MD-only unless you know already that you're applying to one of your grad programs as well. - Myuu

Has there been Canadians/other international folks at CCLCM? Just curious.
We have a strong showing of international students. We've even accepted Canadians, too. (that's a joke, btw) -vc7777

Yes. My class had three Canadians and three people from other countries (Japan, Ghana, and India). -CCLCMer

Do you think a phd applying would be weird or is that not uncommon?
Your app will definitely NOT be tossed if you have a PhD, and it will NOT be weird to apply if you have a PhD. There are several students with PhDs who have been accepted and matriculated--we had two people with PhDs in my class, which may not sound like many until you consider that the entire class was only 32 people! For seeing the MS options, the best thing to do is to go to the portal like vc7777 suggested above. -CCLCMer

I have a classmate with a PharmD, and I believe other PhDs were accepted but did not attend. -vc7777

What kind of research and where can you do it at CCLCM?
Sky's the limit for your full research year. You are not limited to just our own institution, but nearly everything in and around Cleveland - (MetroHealth, Univ. Hospital, Rainbow Babies, The VA, Case proper). In addition, if you have funding and an establish program you can perform your research year at away institutions (even international) - however note Dr. Young (our Dean) has set the bar reasonably higher for conducting your research year away from Cleveland. Note that your first two summer research experiences MUST be done around Cleveland (because you also have courses to take during the summers). For the summer before your first year, a compendium is published with potential PIs and their corresponding research interests. You can indicate preferences, however the staff will assign you to one of them before you arrive. -vc7777

When do interviews start?
Interviews to my knowledge will start around beginning of September. -vc7777

What exactly are secondary and interviews based on? I see from the MSAR data the mean is 3.8/35, and I have nowhere near there. Totally wanna apply, but I'm trying to look at the realistic options.
Apply because you love us. Tell us how you love us and how you will make our class more interesting. -vc7777

Interesting people get into Case because they are interesting AND because we feel that they can succeed here. It is a tough question to answer - I think so many factors play into a "successful" application leading to an interview. As banal as it may sound: We have the essays on the secondary because we want to KNOW the responses. I mean, there were (are?) some schools without a secondary when I applied. These schools didn't want additional information before an interview decision was made. I mention this as proof that there is no requirement for schools to put essays on a secondary. So, our essays are there because we want to know the answers. They are important to the adcom, and I suggest you reply in a thoughtful and professional manner.

As for grades and MCAT scores, I can only give you anecdotal evidence from friends and myself. Averages are the average. What neither you nor I know is the standard deviation or other statistical methods of characterizing the cohort. This isn't Lake Woebegone, that I can tell you. We are not all above the average.

From past years' threads, a few bits of insight that I found helpful while applying (I'll go back and clean things up from the quote in a bit). Not sure how much help I'll be, but I'll be at CCLCM and am also happy to try to answer any questions I can.
 
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Really interested in CCLCM. How does not having tests actually work though?
 
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I'm applying to both CP and UP!! They both sound like great, interesting programs. Definite reaches for me though, so we'll see.
 
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What's the difference between the CCLCM and regular MD/PhD programs besides the length of training? I can see "why MD/PhD and not CCLCM?" (or vice versa) coming up...
 
Really interested in CCLCM. How does not having tests actually work though?

I asked literally the same question when I was applying. This was the response I got:

"CCLCM alum here. No, there are no exams at CCLCM, hidden or otherwise, for the entire time you're in med school except Step 1 and Step 2 of the USMLE. You can't avoid taking those no matter where you go to med school. ;)

I think it is fair to say that at CCLCM, you tend to study at a constant level throughout your time there, as you have weekly assignments for PBL and weekly homework assignments (multiple choice questions and essay questions). That is definitely different than at many other schools where your studying level kind of goes up and down depending on how soon your next exam is coming up.

Hope that answers your question, and good luck!"

I will add that talking to people, you have a lot of places to check your knowledge (for example, during the 3rd year you don't "have" to take Shelf exams but you do have them, and from what I understand most if not all choose to take them), so while you don't have formal "tests" you have informal "check what you know but not for a grade" points pretty regularly. It seems to go with CCLCMs focus on getting self-driven individuals. Happy to follow up when I can speak to some of this firsthand.

On a separate but related note, while there are no tests and no "grades," there is a robust evaluation process (can't comment on it firsthand yet, but happy to post links that describe some of the measures).

What's the difference between the CCLCM and regular MD/PhD programs besides the length of training? I can see "why MD/PhD and not CCLCM?" (or vice versa) coming up...

Not actually in classes yet (and I'll never be an MD/PhD student to give a proper comparison), but I can tell you why I didn't pick the latter. First, I think the length of training is huge - CCLCM realizes that you can do research with much less than a PhD (aka a masters-level of knowledge is more than enough for many types of research, especially in the collaborative environments medicine is moving towards, which will have you working with a PhD anyway), so why force everybody to get one? From their perspective, there are a shortage of physician investigators, so anything to reduce the barriers to entry while ensuring specialists (aka people trained to do research) are put into the field is a positive, and that is precisely what they've done.

Aside from the length of training (favoring CCLCM) and the lack of an additional credential (favoring the MD/PhD), I actually think the biggest difference is the CCLCM program itself. You could get an MD/PhD and do research, but you couldn't get an MD/PhD at the Cleveland Clinic, without grades, without tests, with a PBL curriculum, with a schedule that is largely unstructured time (classes 8-12 many days, off on Thursday the first two years). Similarly, if you go for an MD elsewhere you can't get the Cleveland Clinic, without grades, without tests, PBL curriculum, largely unstructured schedule, tuition-free, etc combo you get at CCLCM. All of that is to say I think while you need to have the desire to go into research (the purpose of the program is to train physician-investigators), the reason you'd attend CCLCM and not an MD/PhD program is partly because you realize you don't need a PhD to do research in the current healthcare-research ecosystem and in large part because of the other specifics that CCLCM provides that other programs (MD-only or MD/PhD) don't.

Anyway, that was just my logic when I applied - I'm sure there are some other great reasons as well.
 
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I'm a CCLCM alum from c/o 2011. We were the third class of CCLCM students, so I'd be happy to provide some historical perspective and/or info on transition to residency. Questions about the current curriculum are probably best put to current students.

Not applying here this year, but a long standing member of the fan club. From far back in the Eggplant days. :cool:
When are you going to actually apply? I think I was still a pre-med when you started posting in the Case threads. :laugh:

Really interested in CCLCM. How does not having tests actually work though?
Work in what sense? For being evaluated in med school? For boards prep? For making sure you learn what you need to be learning? If you mean the first or third thing, seeinghowitgoes gave a good answer. (Actually, I think they quoted one of my old answers. lol.) If you mean Step 1 board prep (common question that comes up), it's not an issue. In fact, I'd argue that having no med school tests means you can devote more time to independent board prep instead of focusing on some obscure minutiae that the PhD lecturer of the day wants to test you on. (No insult intended to any PhD lecturers on obscure facts who may be reading this post.)
What's the difference between the CCLCM and regular MD/PhD programs besides the length of training? I can see "why MD/PhD and not CCLCM?" (or vice versa) coming up...
It's fairly common for people to apply to both MSTP and CCLCM if they're interested in a research career. I would say that the biggest difference is that CCLCM is much more clinically focused than the MSTP is. Even for students who are doing basic research for their research year, you are required to take clinical research coursework, do a clinical research lab rotation, and continue doing clinical work (usually one half day per week) during your research year. MSTPs have the options to do these things, but it is not a required, integrated part of their curriculum like it is ours.

I will add that talking to people, you have a lot of places to check your knowledge (for example, during the 3rd year you don't "have" to take Shelf exams but you do have them, and from what I understand most if not all choose to take them), so while you don't have formal "tests" you have informal "check what you know but not for a grade" points pretty regularly. It seems to go with CCLCMs focus on getting self-driven individuals. Happy to follow up when I can speak to some of this firsthand.
This is true.

Aside from the length of training (favoring CCLCM) and the lack of an additional credential (favoring the MD/PhD), I actually think the biggest difference is the CCLCM program itself. You could get an MD/PhD and do research, but you couldn't get an MD/PhD at the Cleveland Clinic, without grades, without tests, with a PBL curriculum, with a schedule that is largely unstructured time (classes 8-12 many days, off on Thursday the first two years).
Actually, that's not totally true. It's not common for CCLCM students to get PhDs, but at least one person from the class before mine did it. He had to take a LOA during his research time, similar to what students in the regular UP would do if they decided to get a PhD without joining the MSTP. I would say that anyone who is interested in doing this (CCLCM + PhD) should contact the admissions office ASAP to find out whether arrangements can be made. But in general, if you're interested in doing an MD/PhD, you're probably better off going into the MSTP in most cases. It's just a much better trodden path, not to mention that you will also get paid a stipend for your living expenses, which you will NOT get if you do the CCLCM + PhD pathway.

All of that is to say I think while you need to have the desire to go into research (the purpose of the program is to train physician-investigators), the reason you'd attend CCLCM and not an MD/PhD program is partly because you realize you don't need a PhD to do research in the current healthcare-research ecosystem and in large part because of the other specifics that CCLCM provides that other programs (MD-only or MD/PhD) don't.

Anyway, that was just my logic when I applied - I'm sure there are some other great reasons as well.
For people who are interested in clinical research of any kind, it definitely doesn't make sense to get the PhD. You're a lot better off doing a five year research MD or MD/MS and getting a clinical research MS. For those want to do basic research, I would say it depends. If you're looking to be a basic research PI, the research training you get from a PhD program could be very useful. If you do go to CCLCM and want to do basic research afterward with just an MS-level of training, you will almost certainly have to do a research fellowship after med school or residency, kind of like being a post doc. So for those of you who are interested in running a basic science lab, I suggest that you seriously consider whether the MSTP might not be a better choice for your career goals.
 
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I'm a CCLCM alum from c/o 2011. We were the third class of CCLCM students, so I'd be happy to provide some historical perspective and/or info on transition to residency. Questions about the current curriculum are probably best put to current students.


When are you going to actually apply? I think I was still a pre-med when you started posting in the Case threads. :laugh:


Work in what sense? For being evaluated in med school? For boards prep? For making sure you learn what you need to be learning? If you mean the first or third thing, seeinghowitgoes gave a good answer. (Actually, I think they quoted one of my old answers. lol.) If you mean Step 1 board prep (common question that comes up), it's not an issue. In fact, I'd argue that having no med school tests means you can devote more time to independent board prep instead of focusing on some obscure minutiae that the PhD lecturer of the day wants to test you on. (No insult intended to any PhD lecturers on obscure facts who may be reading this post.)

It's fairly common for people to apply to both MSTP and CCLCM if they're interested in a research career. I would say that the biggest difference is that CCLCM is much more clinically focused than the MSTP is. Even for students who are doing basic research for their research year, you are required to take clinical research coursework, do a clinical research lab rotation, and continue doing clinical work (usually one half day per week) during your research year. MSTPs have the options to do these things, but it is not a required, integrated part of their curriculum like it is ours.


This is true.


Actually, that's not totally true. It's not common for CCLCM students to get PhDs, but at least one person from the class before mine did it. He had to take a LOA during his research time, similar to what students in the regular UP would do if they decided to get a PhD without joining the MSTP. I would say that anyone who is interested in doing this (CCLCM + PhD) should contact the admissions office ASAP to find out whether arrangements can be made. But in general, if you're interested in doing an MD/PhD, you're probably better off going into the MSTP in most cases. It's just a much better trodden path, not to mention that you will also get paid a stipend for your living expenses, which you will NOT get if you do the CCLCM + PhD pathway.


For people who are interested in clinical research of any kind, it definitely doesn't make sense to get the PhD. You're a lot better off doing a five year research MD or MD/MS and getting a clinical research MS. For those want to do basic research, I would say it depends. If you're looking to be a basic research PI, the research training you get from a PhD program could be very useful. If you do go to CCLCM and want to do basic research afterward with just an MS-level of training, you will almost certainly have to do a research fellowship after med school or residency, kind of like being a post doc. So for those of you who are interested in running a basic science lab, I suggest that you seriously consider whether the MSTP might not be a better choice for your career goals.

Thanks for the info! CCLCM sounds pretty much exactly like what I'm looking for then, since my past is in clinical research and I've been working in clinical research since I graduated.
 
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Hey guys,
Incoming MS1. Before anyone asks, here are the past cycles University Track essay questions:

1)Required Essay: Greatest Challenge (up to 3500ch)
The admissions committee is interested in gaining more insight into you as a person. Please describe the greatest personal challenge you have faced, one which you feel has helped to shape you as a person. Examples may include a time when you felt you were "in over your head," or a time when you felt personally criticized. You may also discuss a moral or ethical dilemma, a situation of personal adversity, or a hurdle in your life that you worked hard to overcome. Please include how you got through the experience and what you may have learned about yourself as a result.

3)Optional Scholarly Essay (up to 3500ch)
One of the four pillars of the Western Reserve2 Curriculum is Research and Scholarship. Although research is not a pre-requisite requirement for the University Track, if you have participated in research or in another scholarly project please tell us about it. Describe your experience, including the question you pursued and how you approached it, your results and interpretation of the results, and most importantly, any thoughts about what this experience meant to you. Remember that the definition of research is broadly-based and can include such projects as a senior capstone or a thesis, and can include both medically and non-medically-related investigations.

4)Optional Additional Information Essay:
Is there any further information that you wish to share with the Admissions Committee?
This could include information about your academic history, personal life or any other area that is of importance to you.


5) Required Small Group Essay: (300-1000ch)
If you were working on a small group project and you thought that another student wasn't carrying his/her load, how would you handle it?

All of the above questions are also part of CCLCM's secondary, along with a couple of others I think (not sure b/c didn't apply).


Here's why I chose Case (UT):
1) True P/F: No ranking whatsoever for pre-clinicals, first two years don't count as part of AOA selection, nor play any role in final class rank.

2) Exposure to all 4 major forms of healthcare in top notch settings : As a Case student you can rotate in: University Hospitals (Top 20 academic center), Louis Stokes Veteran's Affairs (3rd largest VA in the country), Cleveland Clinic (top 5 private hospital), and MetroHealth (busy county hospital)

3) The Society Deans: The class is split up into four houses a la Hogwarts. Each house is headed by its own dean. Come 4th year this dean will collaborate with you in writing your Dean's Letter, a major part of your residency application. In this system each dean only has to write for ~40 students, allowing them to give a more personalized account of your overall application. The current group of deans are a really swell bunch, some of the most approachable people I’ve met.

4) Lots of research support esp. 4 month research rotation in 3rd year: lets you get in some research time without having to take your only summer off/ take an extra year. Also helps you out if you decide on a specialty late in the game.

Disclaimer: Again, I'm only an incoming student so I don't know how all of this stuff will work in practice; but Case seems to have a really good system in place.
 
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Rising M2 here. I check these forums every now and then and am happy to answer any questions you guys may have!
 
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Can someone please post this year's essay prompts/character limits for the secondary? I'm sure everyone would appreciate it! Thank you in advance
 
Dr. Esselstyn fan, here. Anyone else?
 
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I was accepted to Case last cycle but unfortunately won't be attending. If the secondary questions are the same as last year, I just wanted to add that the optional essay on research really is optional! I didn't write it and still managed to get in with a merit scholarship.

I'll also be happy to answer any application/interview questions you guys may have (will defer to rising MS1 and MS2s for questions about Case though).
 
quick question, sorta a unique case...
so i shadow a doctor at a top 5 program who attended case western back in the day. it's definitely a reach for me, but he told me he is willing to write a specific LOR for me for this school (MD program) in addition to the regular LOR he wrote for me for other schools.
how much of an impact would you say this would have on a chance on getting an II? im waiting on mcat score to get released around July 21, but I would definitely pre write the secondary and have everything submitted and be ready for review by august 1st at the latest. just wanted to hear some opinions, thanks.
edit: i have a close relationship with him (i.e. not family tho; i've been shadowing him for ~2 years now, he knows me well)
 
quick question, sorta a unique case...
so i shadow a doctor at a top 5 program who attended case western back in the day. it's definitely a reach for me, but he told me he is willing to write a specific LOR for me for this school (MD program) in addition to the regular LOR he wrote for me for other schools.
how much of an impact would you say this would have on a chance on getting an II? im waiting on mcat score to get released around July 21, but I would definitely pre write the secondary and have everything submitted and be ready for review by august 1st at the latest. just wanted to hear some opinions, thanks.
edit: i have a close relationship with him (i.e. not family tho; i've been shadowing him for ~2 years now, he knows me well)
To be completely honest, I feel like submitting the extra LOR might be a little risky. You never ever know with adcoms. I would ask someone in the admissions department, as they will probably give you an honest, genuine response. They might say to go for it!
 
I'm a recent grad. I'll be following and can answer any questions that might come up.

could you tell me about some opportunities that you really enjoyed being a part of at case western medical school and would recommend to anyone who is going there? What opportunities at case western really influenced your perception of medicine and the medical speciality you're considering?

How close are the faculty to students? is it relatively easy to talk to faculty members and get involved with their research?

What are some research opportunities you have explored?


Could you tell me about the way the curriculum is structured at case western and how that affected your education?


How's the area case western is in?
 
I was accepted to Case last cycle but unfortunately won't be attending. If the secondary questions are the same as last year, I just wanted to add that the optional essay on research really is optional! I didn't write it and still managed to get in with a merit scholarship.

I'll also be happy to answer any application/interview questions you guys may have (will defer to rising MS1 and MS2s for questions about Case though).

This is good to hear. I made my 2 research activities "most meaningful" and expanded upon them in my primary. Didn't really want to repeat myself.
 
could you tell me about some opportunities that you really enjoyed being a part of at case western medical school and would recommend to anyone who is going there? What opportunities at case western really influenced your perception of medicine and the medical speciality you're considering?
I really enjoyed all of the student run events. I know hippo ball and doc opera are the 2 biggest ones that are touted, but honestly, every other week or so there was an event. Academically, I really enjoyed having the afternoons off for the first 2 years, it allowed me to pursue a few rather strange hobbies that I am grateful for to this day. Come the clinical years, you get to rotate at hospitals that are leaders in different fields, with no competition. I got all of my first choices for locations and didn't feel like I was ever in competition with someone else.

I ended up going into my specialty without even thinking about it coming into med school. I ended up really getting along with one of my IQ facilitators and he convinced me that I really wanted to do that field. Guess what? I still do. I couldn't have been any luckier to have had an IQ facilitator like that.

How close are the faculty to students? is it relatively easy to talk to faculty members and get involved with their research?
It is crazy how close all of the faculty members are. I had no shortage of faculty members offering to write letters of rec for residency for me. Most (albeit not all) even took the time to learn my name. Which as a med student is something you don't see everyday.

As far as research goes, UH/Case/CCF/Metro all do a TON of research. At the end I had too many faculty members offering me projects, I ended up having to turn some of them down. If research is a concern for you, this is the place to do it. I got involved with both basic and clinical research and was relatively productive with both.


What are some research opportunities you have explored?
2 basic science projects, 2 clinical projects

Could you tell me about the way the curriculum is structured at case western and how that affected your education?
Curriculum, you gotta ask a current student sorry. What I did like was that anatomy was split up over the first 2 years. Its a lot to learn and its nice not to have to learn it all at once. No grades, no rankings first 2 years is so underrated.

How's the area case western is in?
Its in Cleveland Heights, I felt safe walking home from the bars at 2am. Some might not, never got mugged once.
 
I'm crazy impressed that you recognized it! :thumbup: Not too many people know about them
Clearly premeds have good taste in music! That is my favorite album by them! That and A Lesson in Romantics!
 
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A Lesson in Romantics will forever be my favorite album! :love:
 
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Just got the Secondary...but the link isn't working
 
Check your spam folder folks, that's where mine went!
 
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Nope, nope. That's OK, have like 8 other secondaries to attend to. No rush!
 
If you're in a hurry to start, delete the 2014 in the url (or just go to iapply.case.edu). That will take you to the login screen and allow you to sign in.
 
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The research essay for university track (#6 on the application) is followed by "If you are applying to the College and MSTP tracks, please indicate this in the box below in place of the full essay." So we don't do this essay if applying to college track or MSTP? I don't really see a similar question required for the College track, so it seems weird that we would just not have to answer this prompt.
 
My link works, but when I enter my email and password it says "no match found". I guess I should email them?
 
Umm weird... I am on the phone with admissions right now and she didn't even know the secondary was out yet. She was really caught off guard and put me on hold.... o_O
 
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No secondary for me yet


Posted using SDN Mobile
 
would anyone mind posting the university and college track prompts? or at least confirm they are the same as last year, seeing as how I have no idea how long it will be until I can actually access the secondary. Thanks!
 
Prompts for university track:

The admissions committee is interested in gaining more insight into you as a person. Please describe a significant personal challenge you have faced, one which you feel has helped to shape you as a person. Examples may include a moral or ethical dilemma, a situation of personal adversity, or a hurdle in your life that you worked hard to overcome. Please include how you got through the experience and what you may have learned about yourself as a result. (3500 char.)

Please describe the hypothesis of your research, why the methods were selected to answer that hypothesis, your results and interpretation of your results with respect to future findings. If you have not participated in research or scholarly work, please indicate so in the text area below. (3500 char)

If you were working on a small group project and you thought that another student wasn't carrying his/her load, how would you handle it? (300-1000 char)

Optional additional info essay.

College track prompts:

Each year our students target for themselves areas of improvement. Other than the acquisition of new knowledge, what personal area do you think you have that could use strengthening? Design a plan as to how you could improve it. (500-1000 char)

Tell us about a time when you received unexpected criticism or negative feedback. How did you react? What did you do? (500-1000 char)

How do you see your career ten years from now? (500-1000 char)

EDIT: one more for the college track: When were you challenged to teach, coach, or mentor someone to learn a new skill or improve an old one? Please describe how it went and what you learned from the experience. (500-1000 characters)
 
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is anybody else having trouble uploading the photo?

EDIT: never mind. you just have to make the photo ridiculously small (<25kb)
 
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It took my way too long to make the photo as small a file size as they are asking for.
 
It took my way too long to make the photo as small a file size as they are asking for.

Lol yea!

And it looks like they added two essays for the College Track that weren't there last year...
 
Lol yea!

And it looks like they added two essays for the College Track that weren't there last year...

TWO?! I thought it was just the have you ever had to teach someone something one?
 
TWO?! I thought it was just the have you ever had to teach someone something one?

I might be mistaken, but in a previous year's Case thread, I didn't see the career goals essay. I might be mistaken though.
 
I might be mistaken, but in a previous year's Case thread, I didn't see the career goals essay. I might be mistaken though.

Oh okay, somehow I have that one. Well that's good news.
 
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