2018-2019 Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin

Getting into Med School is Hard? Not with BeMo.
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Acceptance yesterday :)! Excited to start with you guys, and hoping for good news soon for the rest on the waitlist.

Can someone help me find the accepted students facebook page please?
 
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First off congrats to everyone getting accepted today!

nima91 said:
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!
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It's not half, but I have multiple friends who were accepted in May/June/July. The admissions cycle runs long here, so all the WL folks definitely still have a chance here.
 
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Any accepted students get their new student emails yet? I wanna get started submitting my immunization records
 
  1. How many days on average are we required to be on campus per week?
  2. For those living/commuting from the city, where are the best places to live in Chicago city?
  3. What are CMS students doing to match in so many competitive specialties? Is CMS helpful in helping students find research opportunities and making connections with other institutions?
 
These are super popular PM questions, so imma copy paste some of what I've said to others...
Gonfrix said:
  1. How many days on average are we required to be on campus per week?
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kraskadva said:
Scanning back through the M1 calendar from this past year, it's more front loaded, with 4-5 days a week with required things (most afternoons) through the first quarter, then 3-4 days of required things in 2nd quarter, and down to 2-3 required things in 3rd quarter. I know part of the plan for you guys next year is to spread things out to make it a bit more even, but I think that's mostly about the lecture schedule, rather than the mandatory labs and such.
Anatomy lab will run through December and that'll be at least 1 day a week you'll need to attend. ECR lab is front loaded too and that will be 1 day a week through about January. Then you have HIPS on Wednesdays through Feb for a hour, but they usually schedule something behind that too, like Histo Lab. You also have the EMT class, but that afaik, will still end after the first 8 weeks. Bioethics will pick up in the spring to replace one of those afternoon slots.
And Fridays you'll always have to be on campus for either formative quizzes or summative exams.
But generally that's all in the afternoon. Other than exams, there are rarely morning mandatory things. So at least you won't be catching traffic coming up.
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Gonfrix said:
2. For those living/commuting from the city, where are the best places to live in Chicago city?
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Depends on you. Will you have a car, or are you planning on taking the train to commute? Do you want to be in, near by, or far away from the nightlife (and there are many flavors of night life...) Do you want roommates, or nah? Are you funding your apt completely out of loan money or is there other income? Do you have a SO who/who's commute needs to be taken into account?
All of these factors would affect where would be "best" to live. So, hard to give good advice on this without any info on your situation.

That said (*shameless self-promotion*), if you have a car, want an easy commute to campus, and like the look of the Irving Park/Mayfair neighborhood, I've got a house and am renting to med students - still have rooms available. PM me if that area/living with a M3 sounds interesting to you.

Gonfrix said:
3. What are CMS students doing to match in so many competitive specialties? Is CMS helpful in helping students find research opportunities and making connections with other institutions?
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Being awesome :) The match was really good this year.
Yes, and yes.
Some more C/P info...
kraskadva said:
There are tons of resources for research. It depends on what you're interested in, but I have classmates interested in optho, derm, ortho, etc. who are all doing research in those fields.
If you want to do basic or translation science research, there are lots of options for that on campus. If you want clinical research, there are many options - some in the area but most downtown.
When you get here, Dr. Marr will give a presentation during orientation about how to get involved. He's the dean for student research and has contacts all over, plus a list of all the places students have done research in the past, so you have somewhere to start. If you're sure you're coming here and want to email him before getting to campus, that's also an option. He's really nice.
Folks who are really gung-ho get involved during M1 year, most people doing research will do a project over the summer after M1, and a few continue into M2 year. During M3/4 you can get involved in projects through the attendings you work with to publish case studies, or take a month elective to work on something.

I don't know what you research experience is, but there are opportunities at all levels. Typically medical students get involved in shorter projects, as opposed to longitudinal stuff, since we're f*ing busy. But some folks do do longer projects, and a few take a year off to do research, or even join the MD-PhD program after M1 year.
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kraskadva said:
Hey, I saw you have been quite informative in some posts and was wondering if you could share your insight on this- I saw a former student mentioned in an older forum about RFU that "Most of the people who do neurosurgery from RFUMS end up taking a year off, while that often isn't necessary at a prestigious program like Northwestern. Keep that in mind as it results in a year's difference in when you go to residency and thus when you become an attending. Some at Northwestern still take a year off to match into a more prestigious program, but at RFU, it's almost necessary to do that just to match". What does it mean by "take a year off"? Thanks in advance!
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So, taking a year off in this context would mean taking a research year in the middle (typically between M2 & M3) to do specialty specific research in order to make one's app more competitive.

Honestly - I'm not interested in neurosurg, or surg in general, so I haven't looked into all the ins and outs of what it would take to match into that particular field, other than what I know in general about having a competitive app. If you want to see what matched neurosurg folks look like in general, check out the NRMP data Main Residency Match Data and Reports - The Match, National Resident Matching Program

I do know that we matched 3 people into neuorsurg in 2018 and 1 in 2019 (though I have no idea how many applied, prob not many, or any, more than that though). And that the woman who advises us on the match process is REALLY good at her job...she's very direct, and knows exactly what it takes to get somebody from our school into any given specialty, and will tell you how to get there and (if necessary) that you won't get there (cause some people just don't want to recognize what their apps actually look like). You can go meet with here as early as you want (I sat down with her in the middle of M1) and tell her what you're interested in. She'll show you the apps of folks from our school who watched into whichever specialty you like, and tell you exactly what you need to be competitive for that field. So then you can craft your app from the beginning and get all the necessary parts and pieces along the way, rather than having to take time off to pull stuff together.

Also, as a note on "competitiveness", say with something like neurosurg, or derm, or whatever high-level field like that... you're gonna need the grades, and the Step scores, and the research, etc. no matter what school you go to and no matter where you apply.
But if you want to do any of those residencies in, say, California, as opposed to, IDK... Louisville, KY, then you're gonna need to be *THE*BEST*. But if you're okay with going anywhere as long as you get to do that thing, then it's not so crazy. Still gotta be good, but there's much more flexibility.

So I don't know what you read, or if the person writing it is credible, or just has sour grapes about not getting what they wanted (like derm in CA instead of Missouri or whatever), but we do match really well in general - hell, we even had a couples match to Yale-EM this year (which is crazy good). And most folks do not take a year off.
Generally, the people that take a research year have 3 reasons for doing so: they loooove research, they want to match something competitive in someplace competitive, or they weren't doing so hot to begin with (relative to whatever they want to go into) and take an extra year to boost their app. And any of those 3 would apply to folks at any school. School prestige is at best a minor bump on anybody's app and not being from a prestigious school is not held against anyone that has a good app anyway.
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kraskadva said:
What are the major cons from the students' perspective about CMS's model for rotations/clinical training if there are any?
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Drive time is the biggest complaint, with second place maybe being not getting the site you wanted for a particular rotation. But other than those (which are fairly minor grumblings imo) there really aren't any complaints about the model itself.
Not to knock any of the branded hospitals (UC, NW, UIC), because they're all well respected hospitals and very good places to learn apparently, but if you're a student at one of those schools, you don't see any other system or patient population but that one. Whereas with our model, I will see folks from all areas of the city, from southside to the northern suburbs, and learn to use all the different EMRs at each place, and get a really broad range of experience.
Take something like EM for example...
1) it's not a mandatory 3rd year rotation for the LCME, so a lot of schools don't offer it. I don't know about the other Chicago schools, whether they do or not, but they don't have to. We have it built in, you can opt out if you really want to do something else, But if you're interested in EM, then you have a leg up, because you can do it 3rd year, then again as an elective 4th year and do really well for recommendation letters 4th year, since you already have experience. If the other schools with a home base do EM during M3, it's only at their home institution.
2) There are 6 Level 1 trauma centers in Chicago: UC, NW, Advocate Masonic, Lurie Children's, Sinai, and Cook. We rotate through the latter 2 for EM. There's only 1 in Lake County - Advocate Condell - and we rotate there too. So the 3 possible sites for our EM rotations are all Level 1 trauma centers, which means you see *everything*. And of those, if you wanted to go into EM, Cook County is the best EM residency in the region. So you can potentially rotate through there twice, which sets you up really well when it comes time for residency apps, since they get to know you. We match several folks to EM at Cook every year.
That's just one example...
You said you were interested in surgery - we have 11 different sites for surgery. Some you can see what the residency program is like there, some have no residents, so you get to be 1st assist, there's also a rotation through Cancer Centers of America, so you can see really complex surgeries if you want. And there are a couple that are really chill with old surgeons who dgaf and send you home early, so the folks who definitely don't want surgery tend to try to get into those sites. You can tailor it to what you're interested in.
All of which is a big pro in my book and for most of my classmates.
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kraskadva said:
These are super popular PM questions, so imma copy paste some of what I've said to others...






Depends on you. Will you have a car, or are you planning on taking the train to commute? Do you want to be in, near by, or far away from the nightlife (and there are many flavors of night life...) Do you want roommates, or nah? Are you funding your apt completely out of loan money or is there other income? Do you have a SO who/who's commute needs to be taken into account?
All of these factors would affect where would be "best" to live. So, hard to give good advice on this without any info on your situation.

That said (*shameless self-promotion*), if you have a car, want an easy commute to campus, and like the look of the Irving Park/Mayfair neighborhood, I've got a house and am renting to med students - still have rooms available. PM me if that area/living with a M3 sounds interesting to you.


Being awesome :) The match was really good this year.
Yes, and yes.
Some more C/P info...
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All very helpful, thank you!

Given that CMS seems to take care of their students, how much of a disadvantage is it that CMS lacks home residency programs?

I have a car, but would like to utilize the train as much as possible. I am moving with my spouse and will have additional income for housing. We prefer neighborhoods with diverse people and eateries, plenty of live music, and a wealth of culture in general.

Again, thank you so much for your time. I need to pick between CMS and another school I’m a few days, so I really appreciate your guidance.
 
So I got an email regarding financial aid, and when I click the link it asks to sign in but I havent created a sign-in. Is there supposed to be an email sent to create a student portal/login? And I simply got the financial aid one before that one got sent?
 
Shammyguy3 said:
So I got an email regarding financial aid, and when I click the link it asks to sign in but I havent created a sign-in. Is there supposed to be an email sent to create a student portal/login? And I simply got the financial aid one before that one got sent?
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Did you set up your RFUMS email yet? If I remember correctly, they will send checklists with instructions for setting up your helix account, etc. and all of the directions will be in there. I think the financial aid info can be found in the self service portal, but you need to set up your helix account first.
 
Gonfrix said:
Did you set up your RFUMS email yet? If I remember correctly, they will send checklists with instructions for setting up your helix account, etc. and all of the directions will be in there. I think the financial aid info can be found in the self service portal, but you need to set up your helix account first.
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Never got anything to set up a helix account. So i guess I just wait for that email?
 
Shammyguy3 said:
Never got anything to set up a helix account. So i guess I just wait for that email?
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Yeah I would just call or send an email. They have been really helpful and prompt with every concern I have brought to their attention.
 
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kraskadva said:
The bug thing is just from people who are scared of spiders. The 1st floor apts in all the buildings are right on ground level, and not perfectly sealed, so in the fall spiders like to come in for the warm. Totally harmless, won't bite you, kind of spiders, but ya kno, freaks some folks out. No real bug issues (roaches, bedbugs, etc) that I've ever heard of in the 2 years I've been here. And no spiders on 2nd/3rd floors.

Pros:
Pool in summer
Study space & small gym in the clubhouse with free coffee/tea/soda
BBQ grills and picnic tables (I use these a lot :))
Walk in closets
Good maintenance response
Gas stove/oven, DW, microwave in kitchens
W/D in building (pay/load) or option to have in-suite with some units
Locks on BR doors in 2br apts
Pet friendly buildings
Package delivery to your door, or to the management office
equally close to campus as SH, but *technically* not on campus

Cons:
Price also
cold floors on 1st floor (back to that not totally sealed thing)
no elevators for upper floors
Manager can be a little scary sometimes (she's totally cool if you talk to her and act like a reasonable person, but sometimes people are not their best selves and she will chew them out for whatever dumb thing they've done)

Pro/con depending on you:
Also unfurnished (this was a pro for me, cuz I have a lot of stuff) (People will also give away furniture here when they leave)
Very quiet normally, and can kinda hear neighbors through the walls (not a big issue generally) just because it's so quiet. However, there are occasionally very large, multi-building parties that happen here, so loud on rare occasions (mostly just beginning/end of school year).
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Do the apartments have AC?
 
Gonfrix said:
All very helpful, thank you!

Given that CMS seems to take care of their students, how much of a disadvantage is it that CMS lacks home residency programs?

I have a car, but would like to utilize the train as much as possible. I am moving with my spouse and will have additional income for housing. We prefer neighborhoods with diverse people and eateries, plenty of live music, and a wealth of culture in general.

Again, thank you so much for your time. I need to pick between CMS and another school I’m a few days, so I really appreciate your guidance.
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Another PM question...
I know that for some surgical specialties, you need a strong recommendation from specific departments and I was wondering how students from CMS get the leg-up when people from Rush, Loyola and UIC are all going through the hospital system as well. Is there an extra layer of competition since the hospital isn't collaborating with one specific school. I get the impression that a school-affiliated hospital and their attendings directly linked to a school has extra motivation to support their students and help them get into home residencies. Are we at a disadvantage then and if so, how do CMS students make up for it?
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Nah, not at a disadvantage. Most letters come from M4 year anyway, especially specialty related ones, when you do sub-I's and aways and aren't in such a crowd (which isn't that common even in M3 - only a handful of rotations/sites). But getting letters from M3 isn't a problem either. Step one is to do well in that rotation, of course, and get to know your attending. Then just ask them at the end of the rotation if they'd be cool with writing you a letter. They'd tell you if they weren't, so yes means yes. And even if they had 30 students at a go, and all of them asked for letters, they'd write letters for all of them (assuming they all did well, etc.) Letters are not a limited quantity and any teacher wants to see all their students do well.
Also, even big name schools do not match even half (typically <25%) of their students to home residencies. People go to med school where they get in, and go to residency (or try to) where they want to live. So often folks are trying to match elsewhere, even if their school has an internal program in their specialty. Letters are meant to set you up well for wherever you apply - so back to teachers wanting all their students to succeed - and success can be many different things.
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It's not a major disadvantage. We have home programs in IM and Psych (through collaboration with the VA) and PM&R (through collaboration with NW). So those are options. We also have good relationships with a lot of PDs in the area, since we match a lot of students in the region and are a known quantity.
But we also match far and wide - and really well. We have a lot of students from CA who want to go home for residency and a lot of them manage to do that. We match big name programs and academic centers every year (Yay!- couples match to Yale this year). But success in residency apps is not just about the reputation of the programs matched into - it's more about what percentage matched overall, and what percentage matched to their top choice (or within the top 3). And we do really well in both those respects every year.

If you want to take the train, then you'll need to be somewhere on the UP-N line - walkable to one of those stations. Ravenswood is a good midpoint of price/distance/nice things to do. As you go more south towards city center, there will be more things around you but the prices will go up correspondingly. But there really aren't any bad neighborhoods along that line. Uptown has a lot of fun spots for food, music, etc. Boystown is covered in rainbows. Wrigleyville is nice, but can get congested during baseball season.
If you choose to drive, you'd have a longer commute from these areas, since you have to drive through a fair bit of city before you get to the highway, but the train will be accessible and the neighborhoods are nice.

EDIT:Adding... Was writing this on my phone in a rush earlier
 
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goldenpothos said:
Do the apartments have AC?
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Yep. Central AC and heat.
sm_mcat said:
Do we have to buy the mattress for the bed or buy the entire set (frame, mattress) for the college housing? Also how do we sign up for the ComEd electric service?
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Woodlands, student housing, and navy apartments are all unfurnished, so you need to bring/buy your own everything.
Just call ComEd. Customer Service will get you set up over the phone.
 
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During the interview, a student panel discussed a scholarship "basically all students got". Do any of you guys remember what they were talking about? Trying to minimize the loans I take out
 
gtpremedstudent said:
During the interview, a student panel discussed a scholarship "basically all students got". Do any of you guys remember what they were talking about? Trying to minimize the loans I take out
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I don’t remember that, but I’m wishing for that to be true!
 
kraskadva said:
Another PM question...

It's not a major disadvantage. We have home programs in IM and Psych (through collaboration with the VA) and PM&R (through collaboration with NW). So those are options. We also have good relationships with a lot of PDs in the area, since we match a lot of students in the region and are a known quantity.
But we also match far and wide - and really well. We have a lot of students from CA who want to go home for residency and a lot of them manage to do that. We match big name programs and academic centers every year (Yay!- couples match to Yale this year). But success in residency apps is not just about the reputation of the programs matched into - it's more about what percentage matched overall, and what percentage matched to their top choice (or within the top 3). And we do really well in both those respects every year.

If you want to take the train, then you'll need to be somewhere on the UP-N line - walkable to one of those stations. Ravenswood is a good midpoint of price/distance/nice things to do. As you go more south towards city center, there will be more things around you but the prices will go up correspondingly. But there really aren't any bad neighborhoods along that line. Uptown has a lot of fun spots for food, music, etc. Boystown is covered in rainbows. Wrigleyville is nice, but can get congested during baseball season.
If you choose to drive, you'd have a longer commute from these areas, since you have to drive through a fair bit of city before you get to the highway, but the train will be accessible and the neighborhoods are nice.

EDIT:Adding... Was writing this on my phone in a rush earlier
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Seriously you are awesome! Thank you for the inside scoop!
 
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gtpremedstudent said:
During the interview, a student panel discussed a scholarship "basically all students got". Do any of you guys remember what they were talking about? Trying to minimize the loans I take out
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There are several in house scholarships, which a lot of folks get one of (at least for 1st year), but they're on average $1-1.5k for the year. So don't be holding your breath for any big drop in the amount of loans. Sorry :shrug: Private school....
 
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If I pay the deposit and fill out the “Intent to Enroll” form, does that mean I have to withdraw from other waitlists?
 
What is everyone doing for health insurance? The insurance through CMS seems fairly expensive.
 
Gonfrix said:
What is everyone doing for health insurance? The insurance through CMS seems fairly expensive.
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It’s 240 a month man. Thats so cheap it’s insane. I was paying just about the same before but only because i was getting it through work.
 
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thissuckslol said:
It’s 240 a month man. Thats so cheap it’s insane. I was paying just about the same before but only because i was getting it through work.
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I pay about $50 per month through work, so it’s not so cheap for me
 
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thissuckslol said:
It’s 240 a month man. Thats so cheap it’s insane. I was paying just about the same before but only because i was getting it through work.
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Through covered ca it’s even cheaper. Hopefully there is something similar in IL, good luck!
 
gemcattini said:
Is RF interested in diversity in terms of LGBTQ inclusive care or not rlly?
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I would imagine all schools are. Especially since treating Trans individuals takes a certain level of competence and inclusion.

Good luck.
 
Friendly reminder that the CTE date is tomorrow for RFU!
 
What is "end of the day"? Like if I submitted my CTE at 7:05pm today is that ok? Also, do I still need to email all schools that I am waitlisted on? Thanks!
 
pp156287 said:
What is "end of the day"? Like if I submitted my CTE at 7:05pm today is that ok? Also, do I still need to email all schools that I am waitlisted on? Thanks!
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You can probably email Admissions to find out what the official deadline was. And yes, once you hit CTE you are supposed to withdraw all other waitlists
 
Looks like there are packages for anatomy and ECR that can be purchased at the school store. Do students tend to purchase these packages or do they purchase them individually? Also how much are the packages?
 
Accepted off the waitlist today. Interviewed way back in October, IS 3.9 GPA and 509 MCAT. I will be attending. There's still hope!
 
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The real "frank the tank" said:
Accepted off the waitlist today. Interviewed way back in October, IS 3.9 GPA and 509 MCAT. I will be attending. There's still hope!
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Congratulations! Now here comes the associated stress of getting your transcripts, titers, insurance, etc. done in the next 3 weeks
 
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gemcattini said:
Is RF interested in diversity in terms of LGBTQ inclusive care or not rlly?
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yes
wingsicarus said:
Looks like there are packages for anatomy and ECR that can be purchased at the school store. Do students tend to purchase these packages or do they purchase them individually? Also how much are the packages?
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ECR kit - yes. Fair price and easier than putting together all the options yourself. I heard that they may not be doing the kits anymore (IDK, call the store and check). If they're not, get the mid-range littman stethoscope, the round headed reflex hammer, eyechart card, and Maxwell's from the spirit store. Penlight get somewhere else - theirs is crap. I've got a mini Maglight that I like.

Anatomy kit - no. Not needed. Get some cheap scrubs at Wal-Mart, an old pair of tennis shoes, and then buy a pack of scalpel blades as needed for like a dollar at a time from the spirit store. All instruments are provided in lab and you're gonna trash those scrubs/shoes after anatomy is done anyway.
Oh, and gloves... you have to get your own. Spirit store sells them, but they're a bit cheaper at walmart. Make sure to get nitrile, not latex - better formaldehyde blockage. Strongly recommend double gloving.
 
kraskadva said:
ECR kit - yes. Fair price and easier than putting together all the options yourself. I heard that they may not be doing the kits anymore (IDK, call the store and check). If they're not, get the mid-range littman stethoscope, the round headed reflex hammer, eyechart card, and Maxwell's from the spirit store. Penlight get somewhere else - theirs is crap. I've got a mini Maglight that I like.
Click to expand...

You're right, just called the store. They don't sell the kit anymore but they sell everything individually.
 
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Could any current studies lend some advice about what most students use for note taking in class? Will a laptop suffice or would it be beneficial to invest in a tablet?
 
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