2018-2019 Sackler School of Medicine New York State Program
Started by justwant2beMD
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Yep. Received one just recently. Looking forward to it.
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deleted868248
Hi.
I never heard about this school. I saw that it's not on AMCAS. Does anyone have information about this school?
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It has its own application. I am not sure if it is technically a US MD program, but they have some kind of agreement with New York State. They take students from USA and Canada only & most students match into residency programs in NY.
Applied here the day the app opened. LM~65 Hopefully more IIs soon!
premedliferip
Full Member
Got an interview invite 2 weeks ago, interviewing at the end of this week with an alumni, LM ~72. Excited to see how it goes!
futuredoctor1!
Full Member
when did you submit your app?
premedliferip
Full Member
the first day it opened! september 8 or 9 i think?
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deleted922690
Interview 11/26
justwant2beMD
Full Member
Are you interviewing in New York? How was the interview?
I know the reply wasn't directed at me, but I can answer too if you're interested.
Interviewed in NYC. Very pleasant experience. Interviewer was very nice & it was very conversational. I left feeling even more excited about the program.
premedliferip
Full Member
I interviewed in CA, and the interview was extremely laid back! It was basically just a 45 minute conversation where the doctor was sharing everything she loved about Sackler and the benefits of being in Tel Aviv and New York, and asked me some super simple "Why Sackler?", "Why medicine?", "What are you involved in?" questions.
Drakozord X
Full Member
Wait what? I never knew about this school. Can someone tell me more...
It may be too late to apply though
It may be too late to apply though
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deleted922690
What information are you looking for? Their website is the best place to start as far as general information goes, as well as current students on SDN (look at previous years' threads). I'm not a student there, but I have traveled to Israel quite a bit, volunteered in the healthcare system, and visited / toured the school. If you have any general questions about my experiences as a very interested pre-med, I'll do my best to answer them.
Their application process runs through May. I applied middle of last month myself and got an interview invite last week, so if you're interested, sounds like applying now is reasonable. Previous SDN threads should also give some overview of when people applied and how their admissions cycle played out.
A quick way to describe the school:
It is an American program located in Tel Aviv. There is some kind of letter from the New York education department that says the school is considered by them to be a New York State medical school. It may cause some issues when applying to certain residency programs, but it seems like the classes match quite well each year.
The school has been around for a while (maybe 30ish years?). It's affiliated with Tel Aviv University. Small class size - under 100. Classes are taught in english, but they teach you some hebrew if you are not proficient (hebrew is useful around the hospitals).
If I got anything wrong above, please let me know!
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deleted922690
When did you apply? I submitted 10/13, II 11/08, Interview 11/26.
futuredoctor1!
Full Member
I submitted 9/26 and still haven't heard back
justwant2beMD
Full Member
I submitted 10/9 and haven't heard back either if that makes you feel better haha (but I am also getting nervous with the silence, they told me I would hear back within the month of applying...)
futuredoctor1!
Full Member
yeah i just emailed them and all they said is that my application is complete and i should give them time to review... just frustrating because this is a top choice for me
justwant2beMD
Full Member
ok, update us if you hear anything! this is my top choice too! did you also apply to technion and MSIH?
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deleted922690
Interviewed at MSIH in 09/23. Should hear back next week.
justwant2beMD
Full Member
what did you think of the interview/school? is it worth applying? do you know how they do with matches compared to sackler?
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deleted922690
The interview was great - 2 individual interviews with 2 faculty members. Both were conversational. One was more of a traditional one-on-one interview, the other was more for me to have the opportunity to ask them questions. I also toured the school a few years back and it was nice. Be'er Sheva is definitely a developing city but from what I've heard, there's tons to do it and it's a big booming university city with a developing tech sector. MSIH definitely has a focus on global health, and the interview did reflect that. They have a good track record of matches, 100% last year with some good hospitals.
futuredoctor1!
Full Member
Yes interviewed at MSIH early october and haven't heard back and also haven't heard from technion yet
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deleted922690
Interviewed yesterday in their NYC office. Very relaxed and conversational. Lasted about 35 minutes. My experience mirrors that of other applicants in the thread who have interviewed. It was definitely one of the best interview experiences I've had so far. Sackler is my top choice school.
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futuredoctor1!
Full Member
stats? also did you hear from MSIH yet? waiting for a decision myself
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deleted922690
505 MCAT (124 CARS), cGPA 3.79, sGPA 3.89, post-bacc 4.0. I have a lot of experience in Israel too, including clinical volunteering.
Re, MSIH: See the MSIH thread.
The school is at Tel Aviv University. They had an administrative office in NYC and an agreement with NYS Dept of Ed. to be considered in-state.
futuredoctor1!
Full Member
well congrats! interesting- because i have similar stats and had 3 MD interviews and havent heard from them yet and same ties to israel, extensive research experience (numerous publications) and clinical experience, a lot of experience in israel and fluent in the hebrew so overall just confused
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deleted922690
It sounds like you have a strong app, I'm not really sure how to explain the disparity. Med school apps are unpredictable. I've had 0 MD interviews other than MSIH and Sackler though. PM me if you want more details on my application. Note sure how worthwhile it will be but nonetheless.
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At Sackler it's about 86% for the last 6 years, including repeat attempts. The school does not report the exact number but if you add up the numbers from the last 6 match lists and divide that by the total number of matriculates (each class starts with 63 students, except the current M2 class), that's what you get. The 4-year graduation rate is quite a bit lower due to students taking research years, needing an extra year for board exams, or for failing and having to retake shelf exams the following year.
A few students in each class leave before entering the match, occasionally students decide to stay and do residency in Israel, and several just don't make it.
Each class starts with 63.
2013 - 47 US/ Canada matches
2014 - 56
2015 - 45
2016 - 68
2017 - 59
2018 - 49
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deleted922690
Do you have any idea the number or percentages of students taking an extra board year, next year retakes, and not making it (not passing or not matching?)? Also, what's up with some years being so much lower?
Decisions start coming out in February.
No one has exact percentages on that.
14% of entrants have not matched into US/ Canada residency programs over the last 6 years. Maybe on average 1 student / year (or 2%) decides to do residency in Israel. The remaining 12% left before entering the match due to multiple failed exams, left for personal reasons, or they were unsuccessful in the match.
Of the 86% of students who did match successfully, many took longer than 4 years to do so. This happens when students decide to take a year for research, or if they want an extra year to prepare for Step 1, or if they fail a shelf exam and have to leave school and retake it the following year. For instance this year's M3 class is picking up more than 13 students from upper years who fell into one of these categories.
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deleted922690
That's a pretty scary set of numbers IMO, and 13 students out of 63 is a lot (20%) to have not matched in 4 years. I'm most concerned about the multiple exam failure, shelf exam retakes, and extra prep time. Do you know anything about the factors behind it, i.e. inadequate board prep time and resources from the school, unusual grading policies, etc...
The numbers are what they are. Some students would say that the board preparation was not adequate. Others would disagree. The passing score needed for some shelf exams is higher at Sackler than it is at most US programs, this is true.
I should mention that, as bleak as these data are, the reality at Sackler is worse. Last year 13(!) M3 students failed the clinical skills portion of the USMLE licencing exam ("Step 2 CS"). That's more than 20% of the entire class! These students were able to retake the exam without missing a year, but a board exam failure is a huge red-flag for residency programs and is sure to have consequences in this year's match. Students generally agree the changes made to prepare future classes for CS are pathetic.
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Out of curiosity, where are you getting this info? Are you a current student at Sackler?
Yep, and happy to answer questions about the program.
Cool! Thanks!
From a student's perspective, do you have any regrets about choosing Sackler? What would you say are the biggest advantages/drawbacks?
If I could do it again I would wait and reapply only to US programs. I had great science grades but a low (506) MCAT. I think I would have been a strong candidate for middle/ low tier MD programs and most DOs if I retook the exam and reapplied early the following year. But I was eager to start my career and examining Sackler's match lists and reading testimonials led me to underestimate the difficulties and risks of studying medicine here.
I would say the advantages are purely personal/ social: Tel Aviv is a fantastic town, and it's been cool to experience a different culture and live in a different part of the world. Also the bond among students is very strong.
The drawbacks are professional. There are too many problems at Sackler to list but suffice it to say the numbers don't lie: too many Sackler students either don't graduate on time (15-20% I'd roughly estimate w/ about half because of exam failure or for needing more study time) or don't make it to residency at all (14%).
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deleted922690
Can any other students corroborate this information?
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Congrats! When did you interview?
December 11!
premedliferip
Full Member
Also got my acceptance letter in the mail today! 🙂 Interviewed in October, LM ~72
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