2018-2019 Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin

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kraskadva said:
You will get an email with instructions for setting it up. A search back through my archives showed that I got the email in the middle of May, so don't stress about it for a week or so. They try to do it in waves iirc, so the first round should be coming soon.
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syed121 said:
I called IT and they said the "Preparing for your RFU student experience" email goes out really early for some reason. He said to expect the email with the actual information on how to set everything up will be sent in the next couple of weeks. He also said the to-do lists make it sounds more urgent than it is but its nothing to stress over and to just get it done whenever you get the email.
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Anyone commuting from Chicago city or planning to do so? Would commuting from the city be practical for the first two years?
 
Accepted today off the waitlist! Interviewed back in September and was ghosted until the waitlist on 5/1 so there’s still hope for everyone!
 
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Gonfrix said:
Anyone commuting from Chicago city or planning to do so? Would commuting from the city be practical for the first two years?
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People certainly do it. It's a small percentage of each class, mostly folks who were already living in the city.
Be prepared to commute up a few times a week, but if you're on the "watch lecture at home" plan anyway, its usually not a big deal as most mandatory things (other than exams) happen in the afternoons.
You'll miss out on a fair bit of the pre-clinical social life, or have to drive up/stay late for it, but if that's not a concern for you then no problem.

If you live somewhere with easy access to the UP-N metra line, you can ride the train up (good study time) and there's a shuttle to/from the school.
 
Gonfrix said:
Anyone commuting from Chicago city or planning to do so? Would commuting from the city be practical for the first two years?
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I'm a current M1 at CMS and commute from the northside of Chicago. Commuting is doable, but I would casually encourage you to consider living near campus. The best part of living in Chicago is that you don't have to deal with moving into the city between Step 1 and the start of rotations, like most of the M2's do. And personally, I prefer Chicago living 10,000,000,000:1 compared to North Chicago.

On the flip side you lose 1.5-2 hours a day commuting, and time will be your most precious commodity at school. As a result, I try to not go to campus on days when class isn't mandatory. You also miss out on some events/get togethers when you're not on campus regularly. During the commute you can study on the train or listen to lectures while you drive, which is a reasonable compromise -- albeit a subpar one.

My girlfriend works in the city and we live together, so it really wasn't practical to move up to North Chicago. That said, if I was making the decision exclusively on my needs I would have preferred to live closer to school.

Sooo bottomline, commuting won't ruin med school for you, but it's nice to subtract obstacles from your life/education, such as wasted time and $$.

Best of luck!
 
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kraskadva said:
People certainly do it. It's a small percentage of each class, mostly folks who were already living in the city.
Be prepared to commute up a few times a week, but if you're on the "watch lecture at home" plan anyway, its usually not a big deal as most mandatory things (other than exams) happen in the afternoons.
You'll miss out on a fair bit of the pre-clinical social life, or have to drive up/stay late for it, but if that's not a concern for you then no problem.

If you live somewhere with easy access to the UP-N metra line, you can ride the train up (good study time) and there's a shuttle to/from the school.
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Thank you for your help, much appreciated!
 
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Dr. GuitarBeard said:
I'm a current M1 at CMS and commute from the northside of Chicago. Commuting is doable, but I would casually encourage you to consider living near campus. The best part of living in Chicago is that you don't have to deal with moving into the city between Step 1 and the start of rotations, like most of the M2's do. And personally, I prefer Chicago living 10,000,000,000:1 compared to North Chicago.

On the flip side you lose 1.5-2 hours a day commuting, and time will be your most precious commodity at school. As a result, I try to not go to campus on days when class isn't mandatory. You also miss out on some events/get togethers when you're not on campus regularly. During the commute you can study on the train or listen to lectures while you drive, which is a reasonable compromise -- albeit a subpar one.

My girlfriend works in the city and we live together, so it really wasn't practical to move up to North Chicago. That said, if I was making the decision exclusively on my needs I would have preferred to live closer to school.

Sooo bottomline, commuting won't ruin med school for you, but it's nice to subtract obstacles from your life/education, such as wasted time and $$.

Best of luck!
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Perfect, thanks for all the useful information!
 
just accepted!! so hyped. interviwed in early october, waitlisted on 5/1
 
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Received the email about setting up by helix account last night at around 10:30 for anyone interested
 
For any current students, how do people get to hospitals and clinical research sites without a car? What do people do if they want to shadow and do research during their first two years and will be living on-campus? For reference, I’m moving from California
 
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sophieya said:
For any current students, how do people get to hospitals and clinical research sites without a car? What do people do if they want to shadow and do research during their first two years and will be living on-campus? For reference, I’m moving from California
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For the first two years, either pick places to shadow/research that are accessible through public transport, or make very good friends with someone with a car, or buy a car.
For the clinical years, they buy a car. There's no way to get to all of the rotation sites without one, no matter where you live.
You might be incredibly lucky, get all your sites at public-tran-accessible places and get an apartment close enough to them to make it work...but that's unlikely.
You can get a decent older car for a few grand around here (dealerships, craigslist, or FB marketplace) so folks will get one before 3rd year, if not sooner.

I have a car, but I share it with my husband who uses it for work. On occasion when we both need it, I've rented a car for a day (~$25). But I'm going to get a 2nd car this summer before rotations start, because I can't be doing that every day.
I've done a bit of shadowing the last couple years, and 2/3 of the places I could get to with public tran, no problem (though more travel time).
For research, most people do the bulk or all of their research during the post-M1 summer and sublet a place down in the city, then use public tran to get around.
 
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Pretty specific question here, but are there any opportunities for llanguage in medicine at Rosalind? Like a medical spanish elective or group? Just something I'm personally interested in
 
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Just got off the waitlist!!
 
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sophieya said:
For any current students, how do people get to hospitals and clinical research sites without a car? What do people do if they want to shadow and do research during their first two years and will be living on-campus? For reference, I’m moving from California
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Pretty much what @kraskadva said. You can definitely get by the first two years without a car if you are living on campus/woodlands/navy. Life is easier with a car, but the school has a shuttle that goes to Target/grocery store and you could probably bum a ride. I am also married and we shared a car for the first two years. I can walk/bike/beg to most things I need to do.

I will be buying a car this summer. There's no realistic way to do M3/M4 year without a car.


ak427 said:
Pretty specific question here, but are there any opportunities for llanguage in medicine at Rosalind? Like a medical spanish elective or group? Just something I'm personally interested in
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There is a student organization, Salud Ofrecida a Latinos, that does outreach and health screenings in the surrounding area as an opportunity to practice your medical Spanish. Any level of proficiency is welcome.

If you are more proficient, the student clinic is always looking for medical interpreters. You can do normal ICC shifts and interpreter shifts if you are worried about missing out on one or the other.

There is a medical Spanish elective. I've been told that many people save it for fourth year because it is pretty chill and a good thing to do during residency interview season when you need free time.

There are also global health opportunities over the summer after M1 year, some of which are in Latin America. I've been told that they are working on a partnership with a Mexican University to set up rotations in Mexico for students that are interested (4th year I think). I don't know if that will happen or not.
 
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holdthemayo said:
There are also global health opportunities over the summer after M1 year, some of which are in Latin America. I've been told that they are working on a partnership with a Mexican University to set up rotations in Mexico for students that are interested (4th year I think). I don't know if that will happen or not.
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I think it is happening. I talked to a M1 who is doing that over the summer, so it looks like it went through.
 
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damn, i'm really feeling like i'm screwed this cycle by looking at all these acceptances :nailbiting:
 
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What are the current students' thoughts on the new curriculum and its potential effect on STEP preparedness/outcomes? Thanks!
 
sophieya said:
What are the current students' thoughts on the new curriculum and its potential effect on STEP preparedness/outcomes? Thanks!
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Some responses I've given to other folks who've asked in PM. Quoting those so I don't have to retype all of it :)
kraskadva said:
The curriculum is p/f first 2 years right?
yes

And lecture isnt mandatory?
Nope. But there are still a number of mandatory things - labs, workshops, etc. - so its rare that you'd get more than one or two days a week with nothing to show up for.

Do most people not go to lectures and just do their own thing then?
Pretty much. I'm a M2, and I stopped going to lecture the first week. My class was down to a core contingent of about 20 lecture goers by Xmas, and 7 by the start of 2nd year.
This year's M1s kept going to lecture a bit longer, since they were less certain of the feasibility with the curriculum change, but they've mostly stopped now too.

And how is the new curriculum looking?
Like any new curriculum, there have certainly been hiccups. It will realistically take 5-10 years before it's really set and the kinks are worked out. BUT...that can be a pro or con depending on how you look at it. The school is very responsive to student feedback and is adjusting on the fly to some things, or making adjustments between years for other ones. For example, the current M1s got their grading scheme adjusted mid year to better balance it. I've been heavily involved with anatomy as a TA (this year was a cluster**** for the course) and put in a lot of work with faculty to get it reshaped to something better for next year - so that will be a lot better.
So, con if you want everything to be perfect and set up, but pro if you want to be involved with curriculum design and have that as a CV line.
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kraskadva said:
Not sure what the most recent number is that you're seeing. For the last ~5 years (iirc from info sessions here) CMS avg STEP score has been at the national average, plus or minus a point.
Except for the class of 2019. But they were an unexplained dip across the board (preclinical grades, clinical grades, board scores, etc.) We think they're just a little bit dumber on average... lol. They're super nice and matched really well, so that didn't hurt them.
The class of 2020 was right back at the natl avg with no real changes made and my class, 2021, is predicted to be the same or a few points better, but we'll have to wait and see once we all take step in the next couple months.

With the new curriculum though, all exams are NBME questions, which means you have more board-style prep all the way through. There is also 10 weeks of uninterrupted, dedicated Step study time at the end of M2, which is amazing.
Generally there are tons of resources - the school gets us all UWorld subscriptions and things like that.
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kraskadva said:
I know curriculum is a huge issue talked about on the thread, ive seen differing opinions. I guess should I be concerned that I will be part of a class in which the curriculum is still being figured out or tested.
It's one factor, for sure, but depending on what your other options are, it may or may not be a major factor.

So, on the up side, a lot of the major issues with the curriculum have been addressed for next year already. There will be more kinks to work out, but the school is really receptive to student feedback and things can be adjusted for the better mid-year.
Also, no curriculum is going to be *exactly* perfect or to your preference. Things you like or dislike will be great or awful for the next person, and so there are a lot of things you will just have to suck up and make the best of, because that's the nature of the beast.

On the down side, it was a rough year for the M1s. Next year *shouldn't* be as rough, but there's no guarantee that the fixes put in place won't bring their own problems.
But they survived it and the class of 2023 will too.

So again, how much of a factor it is will depend on you and your other options. If you've got a great spot somewhere else and this is a backup, then save yourself the stress and go with the other school. If you don't have another acceptance, or one at a school that you don't like so much, then it's a non-issue because you're gonna come here anyway and just deal with it.

This school was one of the only ones ive interviewed at that revealed their step 1 score averages and they were the national average which idk if that is common but i was curious as to why they would tell us if they werent like above national average. The faculty attributed to the old curriculum to those scores. Could you shed some light on this issue if you know anything about how well the school preps you for the step?
Having the school avg at the natl avg is good. Very few schools sit above the natl avg. Individuals will score above or below depending on their talents and studying rigor/intensity, but for the school at the whole to be at average is really solid.
_________________________________________________________
***A note on averages in medical school***
IDK if you've ever heard of the 10% rule of social dynamics, but say you have 1000 people... roughly 10% of them will be ________(fill in the blank - cool, smart, whatever). If you take that 10% and separate them off, then again, 10% will be ______. You can continue this and it will hold true until you run out of people to separate off. It's a pretty stable thing across humans.

So when you think of averages, you're thinking of the big average - across the whole population - which is generally synonymous with mediocre. But in med school, you've already separated off that top 10% a couple times over (via UG gpa, mcat, med school admissions, etc.). So your population solely consists of people who are at the far right end of the statistical curve and you've zoomed in to a special little bump in that curve that is the variation just within that group. Being average in that group is *not* mediocre. It's just a slight variant on pretty damn good. This is true for any metric you want to look at.
_____________________________________________________________

As to how well they prepare us for step... it's fine. Nothing to stress about (as with any US med school). There are some areas here that are better (anatomy, neuro) and some that are worse (physio), but all around we're on par. With the new curriculum, there have been some improvements made - NBME questions for M1/2 lecture exams instead of in-house questions (so more practice throughout), and a few weeks more dedicated study time - both of which are significant. I take step in a month and any unpreparedness I feel is entirely due to 1) expected nerves and 2) my own laziness in studying, but not to how the school prepared me.
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kraskadva said:
The biggest issues were in the first quarter, which is mostly the initial basic science block and the immunology block. The first quarter is tough anyway, as folks climb the learning curve of getting used to med school, but this was extra rough.
Because of the reshuffling of the schedule, but professors not rewriting their lectures, the first quarter got really overloaded. The faculty were supposed to cut out the redundant bits and things that were mostly irrelevant (like their research). But of course they were really attached to all the parts and pieces they'd been teaching for however many years, so the M1s got hit with crazy ****, like 25 lectures a week plus 9 hours of online lectures. Then there was the EMT class and Anatomy conflict, which was discussed in the thread.

So for next year, the plan is to spread the basic science block out over (I think) 2 quarters, to make it less intense, and to enforce the removal of the irrelevant bits. Also, taking time away from some blocks that are easier (like GI) and giving that time to immunology, so that can be spread out a bit too.
The EMT class is moving to more of a clinical skill class amd the schedule has been altered to not conflict with anatomy. Anatomy has been adjusted too - cutting a lot of lecture to give more lab time, every body getting to do all the dissections again, and lab exams set up differently to not take an entire day to run.
Plus a lot of minor adjustments.
So it really should be significantly better next year.
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expired_bagels said:
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...a part of me wonders if this is an indicator of thinly spread resources at the school??
No. All the programs have their own funding and are run on their own budgets. For the med school in particular, part of LCME accreditation involves having a sizeable enough endowment to be self supporting, so definitely not an issue.

Are a lot of classes in the MD curriculum shared with the PA school, etc?
Not the main body of classes. There are a few overlaps... Anatomy is med and podiatry students together. Bioethics and epidemiology you take with pharm students. There's one class on general heath issues, disparities, etc that all the first years take together. Plus a couple others. But in general, the bulk of classes are separate.

Do you think this lowers the quality of education in the MD program because of so many students sharing the same classes?
No. For the reasons above (most classes are separate, plenty of funding) and because, all of that aside...
1) a med school can't keep accreditation if they don't meet the standards, and we do
2) the interprofessionalism really does add a positive aspect to the curriculum and the culture of the school.
 
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Accepted students, I am wondering if you guys/gals can share when the Commit To Enroll deadline is for Rosalind Franklin?
 
Does anyone know when financial aid packages are expected to be sent out?
 
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For current students, do you recommend signing the 10-mo or the 12-mo contract for housing? I got into on-campus housing system and don't know if most people pick one or the other.
 
sophieya said:
For current students, do you recommend signing the 10-mo or the 12-mo contract for housing? I got into on-campus housing system and don't know if most people pick one or the other.
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Are you intending on staying around campus next summer? If so, then 12 mo. If not, then 10.
If you don't know, just pick one - they're very amenable to adjusting the contracts at a later date since they're well aware that people's plans change all the time. Either way, don't stress about it.
 
Anyone moving up with a SO that is working in the city? What are you guys thinking about for living arrangements?
 
kmedhopeful95 said:
Anyone moving up with a SO that is working in the city? What are you guys thinking about for living arrangements?
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My wife will be working in the city and we plan on living in the city. I’m going to use the train to commute to CMS. Can’t wait to live in Chicago and start classes soon!
 
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Accepted off of the waitlist! Interviewed Feb 14th.
 
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Withdrew my acceptance today, hopefully it goes to one of you waiting!
 
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The 4/30 email asking me to confirm my alternate list position somehow got lost in my inbox in the midst of finals and everything, so I sent an email today apologizing and asking if I could confirm the position now, and within an hour I received an email with an acceptance!!! After 5 waitlists and a VERY long year, this is absolutely amazing!
 
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AnxiouslyHopeful said:
The 4/30 email asking me to confirm my alternate list position somehow got lost in my inbox in the midst of finals and everything, so I sent an email today apologizing and asking if I could confirm the position now, and within an hour I received an email with an acceptance!!! After 5 waitlists and a VERY long year, this is absolutely amazing!
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Lmao send nao3541 a thank you letter. Congrats!!!
 
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AnxiouslyHopeful said:
The 4/30 email asking me to confirm my alternate list position somehow got lost in my inbox in the midst of finals and everything, so I sent an email today apologizing and asking if I could confirm the position now, and within an hour I received an email with an acceptance!!! After 5 waitlists and a VERY long year, this is absolutely amazing!
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What the heck, what great fortune
 
Received an acceptance yesterday via email. LM 70. Interviewed in October. Placed on alternate list 5/1/19.
 
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Has anyone contacted the admissions department? Do we basically think it’s over at this point or....?
 
Ilovepuppies2 said:
Has anyone contacted the admissions department? Do we basically think it’s over at this point or....?
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Their commit to enroll I believe is July 12th, there was an earlier post by a current student saying a majority of his/her friends got accepted in July even a Canadian, so don't lose hope!
 
Accepted 30 minutes ago!!!!! Intervieed early October, waitlisted end of April. Cant believe it!
 
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