I'm an M2 at CMS and I have a 60 lecture exam tomorrow, but I felt like I had to take the time to correct some things. First of all, thank you for providing such a thorough response, but a lot has changed since you graduated and I wanted to clarify those points (from your "cons" list):
1) Clinical preparation is DECENT (not amazing, not terrible) and I felt totally prepared walking into my preceptorship last week and doing HPI's on real patients. I actually appreciate that we don't have hours and hours of clinical skills training each week because it gives us time to study - you will learn how to do a good HPI and physical no matter what. Learning the basic sciences (for Step 1) is more important right now. Anyway, we now have 2 OSCE's and multiple other clinical skills workshops as part of our 2nd year Essentials of Clinical Reasoning (ECR) class. We also have the Interprofessional Community Clinic (ICC) which allows for COPIOUS clinical exposure. We ('cause I'm on the ICC board) train you on EMR. You take your own HPI's and do focused physicals. You present to physicians. Shifts are NOT hard to come by, especially before exams, especially if you get involved (i.e. apply for a board position). Lastly, students last year started a shadowing program through the alumni relations department where you can shadow CMS alums in ANY SPECIALTY you want. I know a lot of people that used the program and loved it. The bottom line is that now-a-days, if you don't have enough clinical training by the end of 2nd year, that's your fault.
1a) This comment has serious merit. We don't have an attached hospital so clinical research opportunities are hard to come by. Nonetheless, it's not impossible and I know many students who (a) found clinical research at the VA (b) found clinical research at Northwestern or other academic centers that they can do on their computer (c) do clinical research on gait, biomechanics or podiatry-related topics (THESE OPPORTUNITIES ARE PLENTIFUL ON CAMPUS), or (d) do summer clinical research programs. In fact, we have a handful of CMS-only clinical summer research programs. One of them is the Sinai Urban Health Institute (SUHI) summer clinical research program (paid ~$5,000 per student, five or six student spots), where you research health disparities in Chicago and other public health issues. One is the Russell Summer Clinical research program (also paid, also plenty of spots) where they pair you with clinicians to do research. There is also an EMED summer research fellowship I think. You will also get emails from the Dean every week (as an M1) regarding summer research programs. Once again, clinical research is not as readily available as it is at UCLA Medical School, but there are still tons of opportunities.
1c) The M3/M4 grading scheme has COMPLETELY CHANGED, due to student input. This is no longer an issue. Also M1/M2 year is now pass-fail.
2a) The students have been shoving Step 1 down faculty's throat and it now seems like classes are PRETTY GOOD for step 1 (haven't taken it yet, but I've started studying for it). Path teaches almost exactly to Pathoma, most of what we learn in other classes is very similar to First Aid level of detail/depth. That being said the M1 curriculum is WAY TO DETAILED, and M2 still has some issues (like Micro/Immuno being too detailed) but we are undergoing a massive curriculum overhaul that will address this. M1/M2 exam questions are now being written as clinical vignettes, much more similar to Step 1. We've also gotten school-sponsored discounts on nearly every Step 1 prep material (First Aid, DIT, USMLE-Rx, Picmonic, are discounted and Firecracker is Free).
2b) See 2a)
3) We do not have our own hospital so clinical mentorship can be difficult to come by. THIS IS A SERIOUS DISADVANTAGE. However, we do have professors/clinicians on staff with a wide reach who can help you think about which programs (nationally) to apply to and for some residency programs (i.e. neuro) maybe even put in a good word. You also have to realize that because our school has been around since 1912, there are CMS alums in EVERY SPECIALTY, EVERY CITY. Go into Google right now and type in "Chicago Medical School," with a specialty of your choice and a city of your choice. You are guaranteed to find at least one faculty page where they list their alma matter as "Chicago Medical School." Email them. They're almost guaranteed to respond (I've had 100% response rate from 3 CMS alums I emailed in Boston) because alums want to help current students out. Also if you're from SoCal, we have a THRIVING SoCal alumni association with at least yearly (if not twice yearly) baller meetings (with catering, open bar, tons of alumni from every field).
4) Cost. This is still a serious issue. However, they continue to add more and more options for students. I was funded (internally - i.e. from the school) with a $15,000 fellowship last year, as well as a separate $2,000 scholarship. They do offer some money. And Alumni continue to donate money. I think that EVENTUALLY (probably too late for you reading this), this will no longer be an issue. We also have a tuition freeze so your M1 tuition is the tuition you will graduate with.
In closing, I just want to say that CMS is GOING UP (...on a Tuesday...) - no really, things are improving drastically at this school. People ARE choosing CMS as a first-choice over other med schools (I have a friend here who chose CMS over a large East-coast state school and over Temple because of our SoCal connections). I have another friend who chose CMS over other acceptances because of our interprofessional focus (strange, I know, but true story). There's way more school pride than I saw last year (everyone's wearing school gear), intramural sports and recreational activities get added every week, more and more volunteering opportunities. Faculty, staff, and admin are happy to be here - it's kind of strange to see all of these middle-aged or older people bouncing around the hallways who just LOVE SERVING STUDENTS. Our facilities are EXTREMELY NICE - I've seen many medical schools and not a single one has had as up-to-date, clean, modern, spacious facilities as we do. Also, when students complain about something it gets fixed. In general, this is a really amazing place to be. I think of it (in the winter at least) as an island of good vibes in the frozen North Chicago tundra.
GOOD LUCK to those applying and feel free to PM with specific questions (keep it specific please, time is of the essence for me right now)!