2014-2015 Duke University Application Thread

BU Medical Sciences
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FullmetalDuck said:
Hey yall--just interviewed at Duke today and I've never had an MMI before. Is it good etiquette to write a thank you note to somebody when you attend one? If so, who might you suggest directing it to?
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Honestly, when I interviewed here I got the impression that they were not into sucking up. They also specifically said no updates. I decided not to send a thank you letter but maybe it couldn't hurt. Good question though. What did must of you do?
 
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Does anyone know about how many people they are interviewing in total?
 
Leviosaaa93 said:
So I interviewed here last week, but for some reason I thought that they were going to email us the survey and I didn't realize that it was in our application portal. Apparently, your application isn't sent to committee until the survey is completed. Do you know if it is frowned upon if you take too long to complete the survey? Does it really delay your application going to committee? I'm like kinda freaking out :/
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Did the same thing, nothing we can do now...
 
Does Duke accept post-interview updates/LOI/Letter of intent? I can't remember or find this info.
 
Cell-R said:
Does Duke accept post-interview updates/LOI/Letter of intent? I can't remember or find this info.
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I believe they said that they would evaluate your application within a week or two of your interview, so updates are a moot point.
 
I just called them - today is indeed the last day they'll be sending out interview invites
 
middkid said:
So...from my quick once-over it seems there hasn't been an II since 12/30/14 (Seizurecrow). Does the Duke adcom work past 5 PM? If today is the last day to receive an II...
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lol, I totally tried to get that information, but the woman over the phone wasn't sure what time they would actually go out…
 
jsquared91 said:
Did the same thing, nothing we can do now...
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I talked to my friend who's an M2 and he said he turned in his survey 3 weeks after he interviewed. He was directly accepted, no wait list. So, that's positive.
middkid said:
So...from my quick once-over it seems there hasn't been an II since 12/30/14 (Seizurecrow). Does the Duke adcom work past 5 PM? If today is the last day to receive an II...
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I got my interview invitation on 12/30 at 10 pm, so I'm pretty sure that the admissions staff works pretty late hours haha.
 
Leviosaaa93 said:
So I interviewed here last week, but for some reason I thought that they were going to email us the survey and I didn't realize that it was in our application portal. Apparently, your application isn't sent to committee until the survey is completed. Do you know if it is frowned upon if you take too long to complete the survey? Does it really delay your application going to committee? I'm like kinda freaking out :/
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I forgot to complete this survey too last year... I think I completed it about 2 months after I interviewed and I was accepted. You're fine!
 
Another Duke med student here. Congrats to those who got IIs! For those who may have received less happy news, I'm sorry - I know it feels like a major blow now, but I'm confident your paths will lead to the right place for you.

Thought I would join @2018Duke in making myself available for questions, etc. I have really enjoyed my experience at Duke and in Durham so far, and I am happy to share those experiences and talk about why I decided to come to Duke, what factors I considered and what factors I think really set Duke apart and make it a unique and phenomenal place to learn medicine, as well as whatever else might be useful/interesting to hear about. I'm not associated with admissions nor can I prognosticate or speak on their behalf, but I can offer another current student perspective, and I'll do my best to keep up with any questions up here!
 
Anyone get one of the those last II? Just checked the portal and still says under review so holding on to the little bit of chance I still have.
 
SpikeWave said:
Another Duke med student here. Congrats to those who got IIs! For those who may have received less happy news, I'm sorry - I know it feels like a major blow now, but I'm confident your paths will lead to the right place for you.

Thought I would join @2018Duke in making myself available for questions, etc. I have really enjoyed my experience at Duke and in Durham so far, and I am happy to share those experiences and talk about why I decided to come to Duke, what factors I considered and what factors I think really set Duke apart and make it a unique and phenomenal place to learn medicine, as well as whatever else might be useful/interesting to hear about. I'm not associated with admissions nor can I prognosticate or speak on their behalf, but I can offer another current student perspective, and I'll do my best to keep up with any questions up here!
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Hey thanks for helping out. I felt so great about this school when I interviewed and don't really have any questions about the school but I have a couple personal questions. Since you got in, you obviously did it right.....I really want to go here...it is my number 1 school. However, I didn't feel too great about 2 of the stations but I felt great about a lot of the others. How did you feel leaving your interview? Also, did you send a thank you letter after your interview? Lastly....do you mind sharing your GPA/MCAT and possibly if you would consider the amount of ECs you had on your application to be either a little/moderate/a lot? Thank you so much.
 
DaMedDude said:
Hey thanks for helping out. I felt so great about this school when I interviewed and don't really have any questions about the school but I have a couple personal questions. Since you got in, you obviously did it right.....I really want to go here...it is my number 1 school. However, I didn't feel too great about 2 of the stations but I felt great about a lot of the others. How did you feel leaving your interview? Also, did you send a thank you letter after your interview? Lastly....do you mind sharing your GPA/MCAT and possibly if you would consider the amount of ECs you had on your application to be either a little/moderate/a lot? Thank you so much.
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Congrats on the interview! Duke is a great place, and I'm glad to hear that you liked it! With the MMI, I think it can be difficult to assess how you did based on your feeling after the interview, whereas in a traditional interview format, I always felt that I at least had some sense as to how the interviews went. At Duke, I actually felt pretty terrible leaving the interview day and thought that there was no chance I would get in, even though I also loved the school - so it was a really great surprise when I got the letter. I guess I can't promise anything either way, but I'd keep up hope! I'd bet you did better than you think, and remember there are many other stations that probably went well!

I think I sent general thank you note to the admissions office thanking everyone. They specifically design the MMI so that you don't know much about the people interviewing you, so they know that you won't be able to send individual thank yous, but I don't think you can go wrong just sending one to the office!

I honestly don't know too much about what the admissions committee weighs more heavily vs less heavily on the application. I think that the essays on the secondary are pretty important to helping them get to know you as a person. In terms of numbers, anecdotally, I know that I've heard some variation within my class, but I really don't know too much more in that department. I'm also more than a year out from applying, so I know that the field changes a bit each year. Because of that, I'm a little hesitant to share my numbers as I don't necessarily know anything about how they may or may not reflect the class overall (n=1) and I don't want to mislead one way or the other. I know this isn't very helpful, and I remember having similar questions when I was in your shoes... I'd say that if they are interviewing you, your numbers are probably pretty good, but beyond that I'd rely on your pre-med advisors as they are probably more familiar with that aspect of admissions than I am.
 
SpikeWave said:
Congrats on the interview! Duke is a great place, and I'm glad to hear that you liked it! With the MMI, I think it can be difficult to assess how you did based on your feeling after the interview, whereas in a traditional interview format, I always felt that I at least had some sense as to how the interviews went. At Duke, I actually felt pretty terrible leaving the interview day and thought that there was no chance I would get in, even though I also loved the school - so it was a really great surprise when I got the letter. I guess I can't promise anything either way, but I'd keep up hope! I'd bet you did better than you think, and remember there are many other stations that probably went well!

I think I sent general thank you note to the admissions office thanking everyone. They specifically design the MMI so that you don't know much about the people interviewing you, so they know that you won't be able to send individual thank yous, but I don't think you can go wrong just sending one to the office!

I honestly don't know too much about what the admissions committee weighs more heavily vs less heavily on the application. I think that the essays on the secondary are pretty important to helping them get to know you as a person. In terms of numbers, anecdotally, I know that I've heard some variation within my class, but I really don't know too much more in that department. I'm also more than a year out from applying, so I know that the field changes a bit each year. Because of that, I'm a little hesitant to share my numbers as I don't necessarily know anything about how they may or may not reflect the class overall (n=1) and I don't want to mislead one way or the other. I know this isn't very helpful, and I remember having similar questions when I was in your shoes... I'd say that if they are interviewing you, your numbers are probably pretty good, but beyond that I'd rely on your pre-med advisors as they are probably more familiar with that aspect of admissions than I am.
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Thanks for posting!! I just have a couple questions.

What is the culture (active? brainy? chill? etc.) like at Duke Med in 3 words?

What was important to you in choosing a med school? / How did you decide on duke ?

If you don't mind me asking, how is fin. aid there ?

Thanks!

Edit: If you have finished/are currently doing clinical rotations, how are the faculty/preceptors? (culture question again) Is your experience pretty hands on ? Do you feel like you are really becoming clinically sound?
 
SpikeWave said:
Congrats on the interview! Duke is a great place, and I'm glad to hear that you liked it! With the MMI, I think it can be difficult to assess how you did based on your feeling after the interview, whereas in a traditional interview format, I always felt that I at least had some sense as to how the interviews went. At Duke, I actually felt pretty terrible leaving the interview day and thought that there was no chance I would get in, even though I also loved the school - so it was a really great surprise when I got the letter. I guess I can't promise anything either way, but I'd keep up hope! I'd bet you did better than you think, and remember there are many other stations that probably went well!

I think I sent general thank you note to the admissions office thanking everyone. They specifically design the MMI so that you don't know much about the people interviewing you, so they know that you won't be able to send individual thank yous, but I don't think you can go wrong just sending one to the office!

I honestly don't know too much about what the admissions committee weighs more heavily vs less heavily on the application. I think that the essays on the secondary are pretty important to helping them get to know you as a person. In terms of numbers, anecdotally, I know that I've heard some variation within my class, but I really don't know too much more in that department. I'm also more than a year out from applying, so I know that the field changes a bit each year. Because of that, I'm a little hesitant to share my numbers as I don't necessarily know anything about how they may or may not reflect the class overall (n=1) and I don't want to mislead one way or the other. I know this isn't very helpful, and I remember having similar questions when I was in your shoes... I'd say that if they are interviewing you, your numbers are probably pretty good, but beyond that I'd rely on your pre-med advisors as they are probably more familiar with that aspect of admissions than I am.
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Hey, thanks a lot. I really appreciate it.
 
For those of us that still haven't had a status change: I called the admissions office this morning and they told me that they are still extending interview invites! Best of luck to those of us that haven't heard yet!
 
Gcubed said:
For those of us that still haven't had a status change: I called the admissions office this morning and they told me that they are still extending interview invites! Best of luck to those of us that haven't heard yet!
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Did they mention when would be the last day invites went out?
 
Gcubed said:
For those of us that still haven't had a status change: I called the admissions office this morning and they told me that they are still extending interview invites! Best of luck to those of us that haven't heard yet!
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I wonder if this means, for those of us who have interviewed, we will have to wait longer to hear a decision :/
 
I wish the admissions portal had that little status bar that pizza delivery places have when you order pizza- like "John just took a look at your application! Now we're waiting for Maria to read it!" and "John and Maria have both read it! They're undecided and will come back to it!" Maybe they could add in some emojis, too.
 
drahovzal said:
I wish the admissions portal had that little status bar that pizza delivery places have when you order pizza- like "John just took a look at your application! Now we're waiting for Maria to read it!" and "John and Maria have both read it! They're undecided and will come back to it!" Maybe they could add in some emojis, too.
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Brilliant! Decision-makers, take note!! :laugh:
 
SpikeWave said:
Another Duke med student here. Congrats to those who got IIs! For those who may have received less happy news, I'm sorry - I know it feels like a major blow now, but I'm confident your paths will lead to the right place for you.

Thought I would join @2018Duke in making myself available for questions, etc. I have really enjoyed my experience at Duke and in Durham so far, and I am happy to share those experiences and talk about why I decided to come to Duke, what factors I considered and what factors I think really set Duke apart and make it a unique and phenomenal place to learn medicine, as well as whatever else might be useful/interesting to hear about. I'm not associated with admissions nor can I prognosticate or speak on their behalf, but I can offer another current student perspective, and I'll do my best to keep up with any questions up here!
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Hi Everyone, I'm yet another Duke Med student. I was inspired by @2018Duke and @SpikeWave to join the forum and to help out with any questions that arise. Like the others, I am not affiliated with admissions and have no say in anything admissions-related whatsoever. If I did, we would have a Domino's-style pizza status bar, like @drahovzal suggested!

I am a married, non-traditional student so I might have a little different perspective than the others (or maybe not!). I would be happy to weigh in on any questions you have, and between the three of us (and whoever else joins), hopefully, we can answer anything that you want to know about Duke.
 
Willy38 said:
Thanks for posting!! I just have a couple questions.

What is the culture (active? brainy? chill? etc.) like at Duke Med in 3 words?

What was important to you in choosing a med school? / How did you decide on duke ?

If you don't mind me asking, how is fin. aid there ?

Thanks!

Edit: If you have finished/are currently doing clinical rotations, how are the faculty/preceptors? (culture question again) Is your experience pretty hands on ? Do you feel like you are really becoming clinically sound?
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I hope that @SpikeWave answers this, too, but I will take a stab at your questions in the meantime.

1. My three words would be: Relaxed, Open, and Efficient
2. I had a unique circumstance so I needed to find a medical school that was willing to work with me as an individual. No other top medical school was willing to work with me like Duke was, and I chose to come here over several other top 10 programs because of flexible and caring Duke is.
Other key factors were:
a) good job prospects for my husband --> The cost of living in Durham is much, much lower than in many cities, but we did not find that salaries decreased proportionally. This means that, for us, every paycheck goes a lot further here.
b) a nice place to live --> We have a nice house here in Durham, something we could have never afforded most places.
c) the outdoors --> I am pretty outdoorsy so Duke is a perfect fit for me. I can run and hike on the trails around campus year round. Yesterday, I spotted a red fox, and a few weeks ago I saw a bald eagle.
d) the people --> This is actually #1. I immediately felt at home here at Duke. This is the kind of place where if you are sick and miss class, your classmates call (yes, on the phone, call) to see if you're OK or need something. When my husband was searching for a job, so many people at Duke and in our community made calls on his behalf and met with him. We were floored at how neighborly and kind everyone was.

My impression is that the financial aid is fair here. I have friends who literally pay nothing and others who take "loans" that will be completely forgiven if they work in North Carolina, which is where they were planning to practice medicine anyway. Duke has a relatively strong program for those who want to practice in the armed services, which also provides a full scholarship. When you consider financial aid from Duke, it's important to remember how low the cost of living is here and that many (most?) students get funding for 3rd year and often a stipend.
 
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Cell-R said:
Does Duke accept post-interview updates/LOI/Letter of intent? I can't remember or find this info.
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I was very, very late in completing the survey. I think I got it in a week or two before admissions decisions came out. Because I was so delayed, I sent a brief note to apologize. I don't think the letter is necessary, but I don't see how it could hurt either.
 
DaMedDude said:
Hey thanks for helping out. I felt so great about this school when I interviewed and don't really have any questions about the school but I have a couple personal questions. Since you got in, you obviously did it right.....I really want to go here...it is my number 1 school. However, I didn't feel too great about 2 of the stations but I felt great about a lot of the others. How did you feel leaving your interview? Also, did you send a thank you letter after your interview? Lastly....do you mind sharing your GPA/MCAT and possibly if you would consider the amount of ECs you had on your application to be either a little/moderate/a lot? Thank you so much.
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I've got my fingers crossed for you @DaMedDude (and everyone else on this forum, too!).

I think that @SpikeWave did a great job answering your questions, and I would just echo regarding the MMI.

After MMI, I felt really tired. It's hard to know how you do on MMI. I still have no idea how I did. I am certain that if I were a jerk or offensive that I would not have been accepted, but beyond that, who knows?

Regarding stats, mine were good, but I don't know how much it mattered. Duke does not seemed to be stats-obsessed, but Duke students have nearly universally done something impressive and meaningful outside of the classroom--something to prove that they will be leaders in medicine. For example, we were having a discussion today, and I learned that one of my classmates coauthored a book on the topic we were discussing. This kind of surprising / inspiring moment happens a lot around here.
 
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GoBlueDevils said:
I hope that @SpikeWave answers this, too, but I will take a stab at your questions in the meantime.

1. My three words would be: Relaxed, Open, and Efficient
2. I had a unique circumstance so I needed to find a medical school that was willing to work with me as an individual. No other top medical school was willing to work with me like Duke was, and I chose to come here over several other top 10 programs because of flexible and caring Duke is.
Other key factors were:
a) good job prospects for my husband --> With the cost of living adjustment, he effectively got an 80% raise by moving to Durham.
b) a nice place to live --> We have a nice house here in Durham, something we could have never afforded most places.
c) the outdoors --> I am pretty outdoorsy so Duke is a perfect fit for me. I can run and hike on the trails around campus year round. Yesterday, I spotted a red fox, and a few weeks ago I saw a bald eagle.
d) the people --> This is actually #1. I immediately felt at home here at Duke. This is the kind of place where if you are sick and miss class, your classmates call (yes, on the phone, call) to see if you're OK or need something. When my husband was searching for a job, so many people at Duke and in our community made calls on his behalf and met with him. We were floored at how neighborly and kind everyone was.

My impression is that the financial aid is fair here. I have friends who literally pay nothing and others who take "loans" that will be completely forgiven if they work in North Carolina, which is where they were planning to practice medicine anyway. Duke has a relatively strong program for those who want to practice in the armed services, which also provides a full scholarship. When you consider financial aid from Duke, it's important to remember how low the cost of living is here and that many (most?) students get funding for 3rd year and often a stipend.
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When you say "funding for 3rd year", do you mean that many students only pay for cost-of-living for third year? Or what exactly does that mean?
 
justadream said:
When you say "funding for 3rd year", do you mean that many students only pay for cost-of-living for third year? Or what exactly does that mean?
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People do so many different things during third year that it ends up being very individualized--both in terms of the project and in terms of the funding. Thankfully, Duke has done the third-year program for a long time, and there are a lot of resources in place to help students navigate this process. More info can be found here: http://thirdyear.mc.duke.edu/ and here: http://thirdyear.mc.duke.edu/study-programs

To try to give you a more concrete answer: Some students secure fellowships that pay them a stipend on top of tuition, covering both cost of living and tuition. Others earn grants for tuition or part of tuition. In special circumstances, i.e., if a student enters Duke Med after earning a PhD, there are even more options. Finally, I suspect that there are students who may decide that they don't need to try to get funding for third year (i.e., due to an outside funding source, scholarship, etc).

Hope this helps!
 
GoBlueDevils said:
People do so many different things during third year that it ends up being very individualized--both in terms of the project and in terms of the funding. Thankfully, Duke has done the third-year program for a long time, and there are a lot of resources in place to help students navigate this process. More info can be found here: http://thirdyear.mc.duke.edu/ and here: http://thirdyear.mc.duke.edu/study-programs

To try to give you a more concrete answer: Some students secure fellowships that pay them a stipend on top of tuition, covering both cost of living and tuition. Others earn grants for tuition or part of tuition. In special circumstances, i.e., if a student enters Duke Med after earning a PhD, there are even more options. Finally, I suspect that there are students who may decide that they don't need to try to get funding for third year (i.e., due to an outside funding source, scholarship, etc).

Hope this helps!
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Question: At my interview day the financial aid person said that we would be expected to pay full tuition for our third year IN ADDITION TO the cost of any professional programs. Ie.. if we wanted to get a MPH using our third year, we would have to pay double tuition that year. This seems incredibly expensive... how do current students manage this? (We asked her multiple times to clarify the question and this is still the answer we got, so I don't think there was any mixed communication)
 
ProbablyAPenguin said:
Question: At my interview day the financial aid person said that we would be expected to pay full tuition for our third year IN ADDITION TO the cost of any professional programs. Ie.. if we wanted to get a MPH using our third year, we would have to pay double tuition that year. This seems incredibly expensive... how do current students manage this? (We asked her multiple times to clarify the question and this is still the answer we got, so I don't think there was any mixed communication)
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this is my #1 question too! haven't had my interview yet but this is what I've been mega confused about as well
 
@GoBlueDevils - I actually have some questions about marriage/family, I understand if you don't want to answer though!

since you haven't mentioned them, I'm guessing you don't have kids yet? do you plan on having them during med school? this is something I am thinking a lot about, especially since my significant other will also be in medical school (he is applying for the 2016 cycle though so I guess I shouldn't be saying it as a definite haha), and I will be in my early to mid-30s after residency/fellowships depending what I choose to do.
 
kjj17 said:
this is my #1 question too! haven't had my interview yet but this is what I've been mega confused about as well
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The finaid representative and fourth year we spoke to said that if you're proactive about applying to graduate programs or seeking a mentor for your third year, then you should be able to score tons of scholarships/fellowships or other funding from your mentor's research project to supplement your research year. This only works if you're very familiar with the priority deadlines for the graduate programs you apply to. Basically, it's going to work itself out. Lol. They said a majority of students who pursue a degree during that time receive funding for it. If for some strange reason it turns out that you can't get a scholarship or fellowship for your third-year degree, work on a research project so that you won't have to double up on tuition and then earn the degree after graduation. That was my understanding, at least.
 
kingtba said:
The finaid representative and fourth year we spoke to said that if you're proactive about applying to graduate programs or seeking a mentor for your third year, then you should be able to score tons of scholarships/fellowships or other funding from your mentor's research project to supplement your research year. This only works if you're very familiar with the priority deadlines for the graduate programs you apply to. Basically, it's going to work itself out. Lol. They said a majority of students who pursue a degree during that time receive funding for it. If for some strange reason it turns out that you can't get a scholarship or fellowship for your third-year degree, work on a research project so that you won't have to double up on tuition and then earn the degree after graduation. That was my understanding, at least.
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But then you still have to pay tuition for year 3, when you aren't even going to be taking classes or doing (many) clinical rotations for year 3. That just doesn't make sense to me.
 
ProbablyAPenguin said:
But then you still have to pay tuition for year 3, when you aren't even going to be taking classes or doing (many) clinical rotations for year 3. That just doesn't make sense to me.
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Yeah that part of it is a little iffy. Whichever route you choose, you'll have a write a thesis or paper documenting your "scholarly experience". Technically you're still enrolled at the school and you still have to take your medical statistics course during the third year (offered online). That's their rationale. This is a recent change apparently.
 
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ProbablyAPenguin said:
But then you still have to pay tuition for year 3, when you aren't even going to be taking classes or doing (many) clinical rotations for year 3. That just doesn't make sense to me.
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I understand it seems weird to pay for a research year. The best way to think about it is you will be paying 4 years of med school tuition no matter where you go. The cool thing is Duke gives you the opportunity to earn scholarships/fellowships for the third year. At what other school can you do that?? It is my understanding that a significant number of students (i.e. most or all of those that try) get some sort of funding and some are able to pay their entire tuition for third year through intramural/extramural funding.

One final note is that any additional 3rd years (aka research or second degree or whatever) that one decides to take is tuition free, more like a year off at another school. If you decide to get a MBA, which is a 2 year degree, you would pay for the third year at the med school but not the second "3rd" year. Some people take an additional research year and that is tuition free. Sorry if this seems confusing, I couldn't figure it out for the longest time!
 
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Hey all!

Not sure if this question was answered already but I was wondering how the need-based financial aid here at Duke is.

I remember during the fin aid presentation, the lady had mentioned that 70% of the demonstrated need was met with grants (in previous years) but that it's around 60%. Earlier in the cycle, the fin aid website did mention that 60% of need would be covered with grants but I think they updated it recently and it now mentions 50% will be met with grants.

I was just wondering if this actually happens in practice and what % is actually met with grants. 50, 60, or 70?
 
kjj17 said:
@GoBlueDevils - I actually have some questions about marriage/family, I understand if you don't want to answer though!

since you haven't mentioned them, I'm guessing you don't have kids yet? do you plan on having them during med school? this is something I am thinking a lot about, especially since my significant other will also be in medical school (he is applying for the 2016 cycle though so I guess I shouldn't be saying it as a definite haha), and I will be in my early to mid-30s after residency/fellowships depending what I choose to do.
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Thanks for asking about this, @kjj17. My husband and I don't have kids yet, although we do have a dog, who seems to think she is a person! Your question is something a lot of med and pre-med students--single students and those in a serious relationship, younger students and older ones, women and men--think about and, at least here, talk about, too.

I wish there were a blueprint for the ideal time to have kids in relation to medical training, but, unfortunately, I haven't found anything like that yet. What I can say, though, is that I think it is more feasible to start a family here than most other places. The reasons are pretty straightforward:
1) flexibility in the curriculum, especially with 3rd year
2) the low cost of housing--a two or even three bedroom apartment here in Durham will cost less than a studio would cost many other places.
3) the low cost of daycare--in many of the cities where we looked, daycare was simply unaffordable even after it was "pro-rated" based on our income. Very generally speaking, daycare in Durham costs about half or less of what we saw in many other cities.
4) a supportive environment--from the faculty, to the advisory deans, to the other students
5) a critical mass of students with kids--off the top of my head, I can think of seven MD or MD/PhD students here at Duke with kids, but there are probably more.
 
GoBlueDevils said:
Thanks for asking about this, @kjj17. My husband and I don't have kids yet, although we do have a dog, who seems to think she is a person! Your question is something a lot of med and pre-med students--single students and those in a serious relationship, younger students and older ones, women and men--think about and, at least here, talk about, too.

I wish there were a blueprint for the ideal time to have kids in relation to medical training, but, unfortunately, I haven't found anything like that yet. What I can say, though, is that I think it is more feasible to start a family here than most other places. The reasons are pretty straightforward:
1) flexibility in the curriculum, especially with 3rd year
2) the low cost of housing--a two or even three bedroom apartment here in Durham will cost less than a studio would cost many other places.
3) the low cost of daycare--in many of the cities where we looked, daycare was simply unaffordable even after it was "pro-rated" based on our income. Very generally speaking, daycare in Durham costs about half or less of what we saw in many other cities.
4) a supportive environment--from the faculty, to the advisory deans, to the other students
5) a critical mass of students with kids--off the top of my head, I can think of seven MD or MD/PhD students here at Duke with kids, but there are probably more.
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thanks so much 🙂
 
GoBlueDevils said:
Regarding stats, mine were good, but I don't know how much it mattered. Duke does not seemed to be stats-obsessed, but Duke students have nearly universally done something impressive and meaningful outside of the classroom--something to prove that they will be leaders in medicine. For example, we were having a discussion today, and I learned that one of my classmates coauthored a book on the topic we were discussing. This kind of surprising / inspiring moment happens a lot around here.
Click to expand...
Well darn haha I haven't done anything impressive outside of grades and mcat. That's awesome though, thanks for your help and support.
 
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