Can anyone who already been on interview or already on campus comment a bit about the campus environment (the neighborhood, buildings, etc.) ? Thanks!
2017-2018 Rosalind Franklin University
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Campus is pretty cut off from the surrounding community, with dorms where students live on campus.
The surrounding neighborhood is a lower-middle class suburb about half way between Chicago and Milwaukee.
When you say cut off, does that mean it is like far away from Chicago downtown, or far away from some basic life essentials (supermarket, restaurants, etc.)
Do you see any potentials of some extracurricular actives on campus or would study be the #1 priority?
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It's far from Chicago downtown but also far from many of the other things in the suburb itself.
No idea what else students do on campus other than study 🙂
That should be OK. As long as they got something similar to Kroger and Trader Joes it will work.
The cut off from entertainment may contribute to the high board score they have.
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Do not assume going in you will be anywhere near Chicago, because you aren't. There is a train station that drops you off on campus that you can take if you do want to live in Chicago. There is no real supermarkets or restaurants in walking distance of campus, but the campus itself has a pretty decent cafeteria and some large fridges to store lunches/dinner if you want to bring your own.
But its close enough so if you have a weekend night available you can go hit up the town? I saw it was 45 min drive without traffic which is realistically like 1.5 hours im assuming
I think with traffic in the account, Milwaukee might be closer metropolis?
How is everyone doing with the winter there? I used to be in upstate New York and it was real bad weather during winter.
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I think if you want it enough it's definitely possible. I was also told there is a town somewhat nearby that has some nice bars that a lot of them go out to as well.
Ehh it's pretty close both ways. I prefer Chicago x10, but other people may have different opinions haha. Rosalind Franklin was nice in that all the buildings are connected so mid-winter you don't have to walk outside for basically any reason. But winters for driving and in general are pretty bad in the area. If you are used to upstate New York it might be a little bit better, but probably not.
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I took the train after my interview day into the city, it was an exceedingly long ride (a bit over an hour) that would probably make going into the city for a night out a “big event”. There’s no casually visiting the city unless you don’t value your time at all lol
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You all are better off taking the train north to Kenosha, WI (40 min) and eating at the cool vintage Taco Bell that hasn't been renovated since the 80's
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Current student. People go downtown pretty frequently, and some even live downtown. The drive down or train is about an hour, depending on how far south you want to go. Since we have block exams every three weeks, the week post-exam is calm enough to be as social as you want to be.
Not everyone likes going out, as there are older people in the class, and people who would rather study or save money. But there’s a good amount of people that go out frequently. Also there’s Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Libertyville, Vernon Hills, etc within 10 miles, which all have restaurants and bars.
Not everyone likes going out, as there are older people in the class, and people who would rather study or save money. But there’s a good amount of people that go out frequently. Also there’s Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Libertyville, Vernon Hills, etc within 10 miles, which all have restaurants and bars.
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Waukegan (the neighborhood north of the school) is below the poverty line and the neighborhoods south of the school have an annual average income of $500k. We don't live in dorms, but in our own apartments. So far I have managed to live on campus without a car, but it is a inconvience not to have your own vehicle. There is a weekly shuttle to Target (which is next to a Chipotle, Heinens, a steakhouse and bar) from and to the campus.
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The Waukegan median household income is $45,983. That would only be below the poverty line if the average Waukegan household has 9+ people, which it does not. Lower-middle class was an apt description.
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@MDProspect @Her?
Hey guys, so something that concerned me when I interviewed was that every student we talked to said, 'there's research if you want it, but trust me, you'll never have time to do it, you'll be so busy studying'. This stuck in my mind because the other schools I interviewed at seemed to emphasize their involvements outside of class and pride themselves on being not only medical students but researchers, volunteers, advocates etc.
Do you think you could elaborate on this at all? Was it just that the M1s were inexperienced and new? Does Ros give so much work no one has time? Does the student body as a whole not aspire to much extracurricular work? Are their actually limited genuinely good opportunities?
Not trying to trash talk the school, just trying to get an honest, anonymous answer
Hey guys, so something that concerned me when I interviewed was that every student we talked to said, 'there's research if you want it, but trust me, you'll never have time to do it, you'll be so busy studying'. This stuck in my mind because the other schools I interviewed at seemed to emphasize their involvements outside of class and pride themselves on being not only medical students but researchers, volunteers, advocates etc.
Do you think you could elaborate on this at all? Was it just that the M1s were inexperienced and new? Does Ros give so much work no one has time? Does the student body as a whole not aspire to much extracurricular work? Are their actually limited genuinely good opportunities?
Not trying to trash talk the school, just trying to get an honest, anonymous answer
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Current student. I would say that it is unrealistic to expect to do research during M1 year, at least not during the first half. That same sentiment was echoed on my interviews at other schools and by friends now attending other schools. Plenty of people do research during the summer between M1-M2 year which can often be continued into M2 year. From what I understand, it is not realistic to expect to research much M3 year anywhere.
There are research opportunities if you want them. I think our students word it that way because there is not a research requirement (which some schools have). Most of the faculty have areas of research which they welcome students to work with. Many people opt instead to do research through some of the hospitals in the Chicago area.
If you are particularly interested in research, the school offers MD/PhD options or you can pursue distinction in research.
As far as volunteering and advocacy options, there are countless options for both. These range from volunteering events through student organisations to year long self-designed fellowship projects during M1 year that come with some money ($10k I think). There is also the clinic.
There is time and opportunity to pursue any of these things. That said, it is medical school, you will be busy, so there won't be time for everything.
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I didn’t think M1 research was much of a thing during the school year anywhere? There’s plenty of time over the summer, and even some M2 electives geared towards research. I’ve heard of M3s getting case studies as well. I have ample free time this year, but I use it doing things I enjoy. I of course can’t speak for other students, but I’m definitely not overwhelmed by school at all!
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I guess it would fall under inexperienced and new M1s on my interview day then, it certainly seemed as if no one did anything because they were so busy and when they weren't busy they didn't want to do anything lol, Which is fine...
And I agree, other M1s I've met weren't so actively involved in research (and other activities) as much as they knew they would be in the summer and future. At Ros it was more of a 'what? who cares?' vibe which I guess is a result of its non-requirement as mentioned above.
Thanks for the responses guys
And I agree, other M1s I've met weren't so actively involved in research (and other activities) as much as they knew they would be in the summer and future. At Ros it was more of a 'what? who cares?' vibe which I guess is a result of its non-requirement as mentioned above.
Thanks for the responses guys
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No problem! Mind you, our class is large, and we are medical students. So there will be a population of people who camp out in the library 12 hours/day and don’t do anything social.
You have time to have fun. Classes are not mandatory, so your day is your own usually. Pass/fail takes a LOT of stress off. But will you have the same social life as friends who are now working 9-5 jobs? No, but that’s okay.
Our faculty (and upper classes) highly stress to focus on classes first year. If you want to get involved, go ahead, but don’t make yourself overwhelmed. It’s an adjustment. It’s hard to get out of the premed mentality of “I need to be a leader/involved in everything!” at first, at least it was for me. So it’s pretty encouraged to do what makes you happy, because your one job is passing first year.
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I think i recall that there wont be advanced standing anymore
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I was probably one of the students that said that you won't have time for research. Every student here has a different experience, and your experience will be different from ours as the whole curriculum has been restructured. Under our current curriculum, we had classes added on throughout our first two quarters.
Back in August, we started out with embryology, biochem, clinical micro cell biology, anatomy, and essentials of clinical reasoning. Then in September, we had histology added on to our schedules and so on. So for the first 3 or 4 exams (one exam every three weeks), we had 5 sciences on them.
Depending on your learning style, it can take anywhere from an hour to several hours to read through and understand one lecture. I did not sign up for any of the student organizations or had any time for leisure aside from an occasional party or watching Netflix for a couple of hours a week until recently. But this is just my experience. I have a classmate who works as a full-time trauma nurse, has kids, and she still manages to do well in school. I also have a classmate who started research at RFU right after the orientation week and he's doing well in school.
I also think it's important to note whether you are interested in being at the top of your class or just want to pass all of your classes and move on. If it is the former then you will have to quickly learn how to manage your time if you want to be on top of everything and have time for extracurricular activities.
RFU is not a research powerhouse and is not highly funded by NIH, but the administration tries hard to get us involved in research. We are constantly emailed when an opportunity comes up and the school offers an option to graduate with a distinction in research if you take a year off and do research directly through RFU or through one of its partners.
Before coming here, I got accepted into two other MD schools. One school had mandatory classes from 9-4pm M-F and mandatory clinic hours several days a week after class. The idea that I won't have time to study was really offputting. The other school was at a higher tier than RFU. During the interview day at this school, the Dean boasted how most of the class is involved in research and in the community starting from the first M1 semester, but what he did not tell us is that this school does not offer tutoring or any real support network for failing students. Personally, I'd be **** of luck at either of these institutions. At RFU, our progress gets monitored. If you fail the first exam, you get assigned to a tutor for the rest of the year for free.
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From what I heard, the linkage to the MD program will not change, but the current BMS students will have to take all of the M1 courses.
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Another current student here...
I'll second @holdthemayo and others who've chimed in, there's time for whatever you want there to be time for. Personally, I wasn't feeling like doing research, but the option is there and I have friends who do. I have a part time job, am on a committee, am very deep into my netflix queue, do some crafting, am going out for trivia tonight, have a husband, am looking at setting up shadowing, regularly get sufficient sleep, and still do fine in my classes. Some weeks are busier than others, but that's life/med school. I'd say you probably can't have more than one or two major, time-consuming extracurriculars, so you do have to make choices about what's most important for you, but there is more time than you've been led to believe. There's not that much work, people aspire to and do all kinds of things, and there are more opportunities than you can shake a stick at.
Unless of course you either a) aren't a great student, b) are seeing this material for the very first time, or c) are obsessive and want/need to spend 14hrs everyday studying.... some do, but they're the minority.
FTFY. If ICE took a pass, half of Waukegan would be gone, so that number is inflated by incomplete reporting.
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Not too late at all. There were people last year who interviewed well into April and got in.
Thanks very much for the input!
Do you mind telling a bit more about anatomy and histology? Do you guys still go through dissection labs and histology labs?
In addition, I noticed that the school is trying to incorporate system approach in the curriculum. Does that begin in the first year or second year?
Can you comment a bit more about the student committee? Are they more academic oriented (surgery club, cardiology club, etc.) or recreation recreated (hiking, skiing etc.)
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Anatomy is straightforward with a class and lab components. For lab, you have 6 people per cadaver. Histo is also lecture and lab based, but only the first few labs are mandatory. I have noticed that our class has a love-hate relationship with histo where some of us are killing it and the others are dreading the class.
The curriculum change goes into effect for the M1 class of 2022
You're right. I really can't see myself going there over my state school, so why go through the stress and expense? I'm not gonna take the interview.
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II yesterday! LM 76. Very excited and honored!
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Just to be clear, North Chicago is not the north side of the city of Chicago. It's a suburb 45 minutes north of the city.
Downtown Chicago isn't really too big of a hangout spot. It's mostly a business hub and touristy, although it has good shopping and large music/theater venues.
There are many fun neighborhoods across the city of Chicago that are better for food, drinks, shopping, etc. Most neighborhoods also have a "vibe" -- as in they've got a generalized group of people who live and hangout there. Some are wealth and young, preppy, preppy and young, preppy and wealthy, artsy, hipster, gay and young, gay and wealthy. The list goes on and on and it's easy to find your niche. Definitely worth coming into the city when you've got free time. I believe it's about $5 for the train to/from RFU and Chicago.
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There's the whole gamut. During orientation I was given a list of the clubs/groups and there are 84 on that list, plus I know of at least 3 more that have been started from scratch by my classmates
-Interest groups in most specialties you can name (EM, Ortho, Neuro, OB/Gyn, etc, etc)
-advocacy groups (I'm also part of Med Students for Choice, as one example)
-volunteering groups (like the free clinic run by the students)
-clubs for various activities (athletics, pottery, etc. and if you want a different one you can always start one)
-alliances for students from different back grounds (black, latino, south asian, jewish, muslim, etc.)
-plus student counsel (just like any school) and house counsel (look up the learning communities - kinda like Hogwarts houses)
There's even a medical fraternity. All have board/committee positions that you can sign up for, and most don't require a huge amount of time.
I'm on a committee that's a subset of the House counsel and it requires me to put in a few weeks of work each year to set up/ run the events we do, but the rest of the time I don't need to do much with it. House/Student counsel seats are 4 year terms, but the duties change as you move through the years to accommodate the changing schedule. Board positions for clubs or interest groups are generally 1 year terms that change over mid year - i.e. M1s take control about the time M2s want to step down a focus on Step 1, hold the post until the following year, and then pass it on.
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any post-II decisions recently or does anyone know when the committee is meeting? this post-II hold is weird bc they say "upon recommendation of the Admissions Committee.." but then they don't accept anyone...
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Exactly...
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@Her? @MDProspect @holdthemayo @kraskadva thanks for all your guys' insight! Was just wondering for M3 and M4 rotations whether most of them are downtown Chicago or in the suburbs? Also have you heard anything about the new curriculum and how the M1s are liking it? Are there still no mandatory classes or are they going the PBL/TBL/CBL way too..
Just interviewed here, so not a student, but what I gathered from talking to the students is yes, most M3 and M4 sites are in chicago so most people move into the city or closer to the city for those years. People also talked about how a good handful of students from Cali go back to Cali for their M4 year. The new curriculum will be new for the entering class, so the M1s have no experience with it. The M1s and professors I talked to though basically said that despite the fact that the teaching is going to be different, the same basic concepts will be taught obviously, so they didn't seem worried about the transition and the ability for older students and professors to tutor and help the incoming M1s.
Did they mention how long it would take to hear back from them about decisions?
4-6 weeks, that was two weeks ago. But based on what some people are saying on this thread, it seems like it can be much longer.
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I've been waiting about 9 weeks post interview and haven't heard anything.
Edit: uhh, no, 10.5 weeks.
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Most people move downtown third year. Current M1s still have the old curriculum, but from the sounds of the new curriculum, it won’t be too difficult of a transition. It’s systems-based, meaning the order you take classes will be different, but I don’t think that means more PBL/TBL. I could be wrong.
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Waitlisted after interviewing few weeks ago.... got a decision rather quick. Don't know if I should be happy or sad about the swift waitlist slap.
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Y'all were interviewed after me and got decisions. I wonder what's going on.
It's weird...I feel like I need to be grateful I got a decision so fast, but also kinda sucks to wonder if they knew right away they didn't like me enough to accept me...
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Pretty sure I have seen people get off the waitlist in April on past years threads but not positive.
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I'm in the same boat.
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I'm just waiting for my II or rejection...
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Maybe it's that southern accent you have. 😉
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Or maybe it's the 20 II's and 5 acceptances?
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Looks like they're waiting to give out acceptances, so I'll take it as a positive sign I haven't heard back lol
