Hi All! I chose to apply to wake forest because I have heard of it! I KNOW, silly reason. But anyways I was just offered an interview here, can someone please give me a run down of some basic facts about WF? For example why should I want to go to a school like this specifically vs other schools? What kind of things make WF special relative to other schools? What could I get at WF that I couldn’t at other schools ? How is the hospital here relative to say cooper hospital in NJ (If anyone’s familiar) I currently am accepted into a CMSRU and am trying to see if it’s worth it to miss class and drop $850 to go to this interview, but from my preliminary research it does seem like a more established and better school than cmsru. Thanks!!
As far as WF goes, here are what makes WF one of my top choices:
-Very established program - founded in 1902
-Has a good reputation with Residency program directors, Students do well in the match
-18-month preclinical education, leaving extra time for exploring specialities
-True Pass/Fail preclinical education
-New Building that is very bright and open
-Extremely low cost of living
-From what i've heard, traffic is not an issue in the area
-Houses like in Harry Potter (how can this not be a huge plus?)
-NC location is close to hiking and outdoor activities (if you like this kind of thing - this is definitely a plus in my book)
-One main teaching hospital, so you're not driving all over creation during your clinical rotations (and I believe they have a trauma center)
-One of the cheaper private schools, and they are fairly generous with aid and scholarships
-As far as I know (please correct me if I'm wrong), classes are not mandatory unless you have a special guest speaker (I plan to go regardless)
-It is in the middle of a very small city center, which gives it a bit of an urban feel while still being in a suburban area
I have some individual plusses and minuses to the school that have to do with my personal situation (such as how far my husband would have to drive to work, where I want to match, etc.). It's really hard to give you a specific answer as to whether you should attend the interview. There are a lot of people who interviewed here and absolutely loved it and would like to get off the waitlist. There are also many people waiting to get an interview here and would take your place in a heartbeat. I think it's a fantastic school with an established reputation and an excellent Pass/Fail curriculum. I hope this helps a little with your decision. FWIW, I have not regretted going to any of my interviews as each school has given me a different perspective on what I am looking for and has helped me determine what is really important.