2019-2020 Pittsburgh

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Medicalmelon said:
does anyone know if they waitlist everyone who isn't accepted?
Click to expand...
I think they waitlist the vast majority of people who are not accepted (who interviewed). I remember seeing some thread from previous years where someone had been rejected outright like a few weeks after they interviewed. so something must have not gone well there
Members don't see this ad.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
I just got my letter for the WL in the mail and it is genuinely the nicest correspondence I've ever received

God I love Pitt
 
  • Like
  • Sad
Reactions: 4 users
Members don't see this ad :)
AmericanArthurDent said:
I just got my letter for the WL in the mail and it is genuinely the nicest correspondence I've ever received

God I love Pitt
Click to expand...
what did they say? curious because i've received some cold WL/hold letters
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Anyone else get correspondence in the mail?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Congratulations to everyone who's been accepted!

I'm a current medical student here at Pitt - happily down to answer any questions you anyone may have about Pitt and attending med school here.

Good luck with your final decision because it's an important one!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
For those of y’all who have sent updates, did you get a response from pitt saying they received your email?
 
PittMedStudent said:
Congratulations to everyone who's been accepted!

I'm a current medical student here at Pitt - happily down to answer any questions you anyone may have about Pitt and attending med school here.

Good luck with your final decision because it's an important one!
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing your time with us! :) Would you mind sharing what year in school you are so that we can ask questions that are relevant to your level of experience?
 
Chromium Surfer said:
Thanks for sharing your time with us! :) Would you mind sharing what year in school you are so that we can ask questions that are relevant to your level of experience?
Click to expand...

I’m a first-year. Feel free to ask questions directed at all PittMed students though - we’ll be incorporating answers from upperclassmen. The goal is so you guys can make the best decision.
 
PittMedStudent said:
I’m a first-year. Feel free to ask questions directed at all PittMed students though - we’ll be incorporating answers from upperclassmen. The goal is so you guys can make the best decision.
Click to expand...

On my interview day, I remember that one of the administrators said that professors are encouraged but not required to use NBME exams. Do people that use the school curriculum generally feel that they are prepared well for boards even if they don't supplement with a bunch of outside resources throughout pre-clinical?

How much independence do students get granted as M3/M4s and do people feel pretty comfortable with Step 2 CS due to robust clinical training and enough patient responsibility?

What is a rough approximation of the med student to doc(resident, attending) ratio, and do attending's spend a good amount of time with medical students?

Do students get experience and practice in entering notes and orders?

In general how do students feel about their clinical experience, and do they feel like they missed out on anything?

As a first year how has your experience been, and what have been the most challenging and most rewarding parts of your experience so far/

Thanks so much to you all for taking the time to do this! :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Members don't see this ad :)
1. On my interview day, I remember that one of the administrators said that professors are encouraged but not required to use NBME exams. Do people that use the school curriculum generally feel that they are prepared well for boards even if they don't supplement with a bunch of outside resources throughout pre-clinical?

MS2 - "The school curriculum will prepare you to be a good doctor (lots of info about diagnosis and management) and will also have all the high yield info for Step. I think if you wanna prepare well for Step, you’ll definitely need to use at least some outside resources. That being said, Pitt's curriculum gives everyone ample time to experiment with the curriculum and third party resources. The professors reference the relevant materials. Most of the class uses a mix of both and are quite happy."

MS2: "You’ll be hard pressed to find anyone using purely curriculum material and NOT supplement at all with outside resources. This goes for other medical schools as well. There may be some syndromes, diseases, etc. that may be mentioned in First Aid and not in the school curriculum. However, there has been recent, fervent push by all classes in the school to make our course material align well with “boards” material. One concrete step that was taken in recent years was that each course director is given a copy of First Aid and is required to go through it. This helped make sure none of the high yield topics in First Aid is missed in class. The challenge with using purely NBME exams in a non integrated curriculum is that there are not too many questions available that are purely on one subject while also covering the breadth of material required for class."

2. How much independence do students get granted as M3/M4s and do people feel pretty comfortable with Step 2 CS due to robust clinical training and enough patient responsibility?

MS-3: "The amount of independence you receive varies a lot on a case-by-case basis (ex. who your attending is, who your residents are, how well you advocate for yourself, how much they trust you, etc) - I personally feel very prepared for Step 2 CS as we start working with SPs from MS-1 year and almost every clerkship has an OSCE component to it (some are graded ex. Family Medicine and some are purely formative ex. OBGYN)."

MS-3: "I would say overall clinical training in third year is great. Things are obvs attending dependent but we get ample opportunities on core clerkships to the be the first person to evaluate patient with history/physical and present our a/p to either residents and/or attendings.
Definitely think we are well prepped for CS - Haven’t talked to a fourth year who was concerned or didn’t pass. I think our ob/gyn rotation is a bit short (4 weeks compared to 6 at other schools). But other than that peds, medicine, and sx is well represented."

3. What is a rough approximation of the med student to doc(resident, attending) ratio, and do attending's spend a good amount of time with medical students?

MS-3: "Again very clerkship/ case-by-case basis dependent, ex. when I did my dermatology rotation i was the ONLY medical student that month and I got to work with almost every attending and resident in the department. For Internal Medicine its 2 medical students, 1 senior resident, 2 interns, 1 attending, and +/- an MS-4 Acting Intern - for pediatrics it's the same layout. Family Medicine is very site dependent and I did mine in Altoona so there were maybe 10 medical students total (2 Pitt Med Students and a lot of LECOM/PECOM students) along with maybe 25 residents and multiple attendings; however we never worked directly with another medical student."

4. Do students get experience and practice in entering notes and orders?

MS-3: "Yes; a lot of practice especially on notes! Sometimes you might have to advocate for yourself to get to enter orders, but once you show you're competent, you can take a lot of stress off of your interns by entering orders/consults for them to review."

5. In general how do students feel about their clinical experience, and do they feel like they missed out on anything?

MS-3: "I have absolutely LOVED mine!! I don't feel like I've missed anything; I feel like I will be very competent and prepared as an intern once I've completed MS-4 year and in talking to friends at other medical students it becomes extremely obvious how truly lucky we are to be at Pitt Med where not only do we have our own world class children's hospital, but we have a woman's hospital where there is ~10,000 deliveries annually and you can assist with 3+ C-sections daily, as well as a VA hospital, and more satellite opportunities through UPMC than I can even count."

6. As a first year how has your experience been, and what have been the most challenging and most rewarding parts of your experience so far?

MS-1: "It's been a blast so far. Most challenging is juggling with all the opportunities that are avaialbe here - I feel like I'm changing my mind about specialty every week! Most rewarding would definitely be the friendships and professional relationships I've made here. Pitt's a top-ranked program which can sometimes breed competition, but the whole school really is a big loving community. Also P/F"
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: 5 users
PittMedStudent said:
1. On my interview day, I remember that one of the administrators said that professors are encouraged but not required to use NBME exams. Do people that use the school curriculum generally feel that they are prepared well for boards even if they don't supplement with a bunch of outside resources throughout pre-clinical?

MS2 - "The school curriculum will prepare you to be a good doctor (lots of info about diagnosis and management) and will also have all the high yield info for Step. I think if you wanna prepare well for Step, you’ll definitely need to use at least some outside resources. That being said, Pitt's curriculum gives everyone ample time to experiment with the curriculum and third party resources. The professors reference the relevant materials. Most of the class uses a mix of both and are quite happy."

MS2: "You’ll be hard pressed to find anyone using purely curriculum material and NOT supplement at all with outside resources. This goes for other medical schools as well. There may be some syndromes, diseases, etc. that may be mentioned in First Aid and not in the school curriculum. However, there has been recent, fervent push by all classes in the school to make our course material align well with “boards” material. One concrete step that was taken in recent years was that each course director is given a copy of First Aid and is required to go through it. This helped make sure none of the high yield topics in First Aid is missed in class. The challenge with using purely NBME exams in a non integrated curriculum is that there are not too many questions available that are purely on one subject while also covering the breadth of material required for class."

2. How much independence do students get granted as M3/M4s and do people feel pretty comfortable with Step 2 CS due to robust clinical training and enough patient responsibility?

MS-3: "The amount of independence you receive varies a lot on a case-by-case basis (ex. who your attending is, who your residents are, how well you advocate for yourself, how much they trust you, etc) - I personally feel very prepared for Step 2 CS as we start working with SPs from MS-1 year and almost every clerkship has an OSCE component to it (some are graded ex. Family Medicine and some are purely formative ex. OBGYN)."

MS-3: "I would say overall clinical training in third year is great. Things are obvs attending dependent but we get ample opportunities on core clerkships to the be the first person to evaluate patient with history/physical and present our a/p to either residents and/or attendings.
Definitely think we are well prepped for CS - Haven’t talked to a fourth year who was concerned or didn’t pass. I think our ob/gyn rotation is a bit short (4 weeks compared to 6 at other schools). But other than that peds, medicine, and sx is well represented."

3. What is a rough approximation of the med student to doc(resident, attending) ratio, and do attending's spend a good amount of time with medical students?

MS-3: "Again very clerkship/ case-by-case basis dependent, ex. when I did my dermatology rotation i was the ONLY medical student that month and I got to work with almost every attending and resident in the department. For Internal Medicine its 2 medical students, 1 senior resident, 2 interns, 1 attending, and +/- an MS-4 Acting Intern - for pediatrics it's the same layout. Family Medicine is very site dependent and I did mine in Altoona so there were maybe 10 medical students total (2 Pitt Med Students and a lot of LECOM/PECOM students) along with maybe 25 residents and multiple attendings; however we never worked directly with another medical student."

4. Do students get experience and practice in entering notes and orders?

MS-3: "Yes; a lot of practice especially on notes! Sometimes you might have to advocate for yourself to get to enter orders, but once you show you're competent, you can take a lot of stress off of your interns by entering orders/consults for them to review."

5. In general how do students feel about their clinical experience, and do they feel like they missed out on anything?

MS-3: "I have absolutely LOVED mine!! I don't feel like I've missed anything; I feel like I will be very competent and prepared as an intern once I've completed MS-4 year and in talking to friends at other medical students it becomes extremely obvious how truly lucky we are to be at Pitt Med where not only do we have our own world class children's hospital, but we have a woman's hospital where there is ~10,000 deliveries annually and you can assist with 3+ C-sections daily, as well as a VA hospital, and more satellite opportunities through UPMC than I can even count."

6. As a first year how has your experience been, and what have been the most challenging and most rewarding parts of your experience so far?

MS-1: "It's been a blast so far. Most challenging is juggling with all the opportunities that are avaialbe here - I feel like I'm changing my mind about specialty every week! Most rewarding would definitely be the friendships and professional relationships I've made here. Pitt's a top-ranked program which can sometimes breed competition, but the whole school really is a big loving community. Also P/F"
Click to expand...

Wow this is super helpful, thank you!!:clap:

As a follow up to question 1:

I have close friends who are MS1 and MS2's and some of them have advocated for basically doing enough to pass in house exams, but then spending the rest of time doing step 1 study with a combination of outside resources. However they are also in schools with integrated 1.5 year curriculum and for some of them their classes also use NBME exams. I know that ultimately everyone studies different and that there is no one right way, but given that Pitt uses a traditional curriculum, can students still comfortably pass in house exams while spending most of their time doing outside stuff ie (zanki, BB, etc.) or do many of the in house exams at Pitt test on a lot of minutiae as well?

Following up on the tail end to the response of question 6, is there a lot of collaboration within and between classes? Is it common for students to share their resources( i.e.( class & school specific anki decks/ outlines etc.?) with each other, and for upperclassmen to pass on resources to the MS1/MS2's? Some of my friends at other schools have remarked how this is common in their classes or alternatively how things are pretty cutthroat. One of the things that resonated with me on my interview day, was that it felt that everyone cared about each other and wanted to see their fellow classmate succeed. Also it seemed like people were meaningful about having a life outside of school, and not wrapping up their identity solely in academic performance.
 
Chromium Surfer said:
Wow this is super helpful, thank you!!:clap:

As a follow up to question 1:

I have close friends who are MS1 and MS2's and some of them have advocated for basically doing enough to pass in house exams, but then spending the rest of time doing step 1 study with a combination of outside resources. However they are also in schools with integrated 1.5 year curriculum and for some of them their classes also use NBME exams. I know that ultimately everyone studies different and that there is no one right way, but given that Pitt uses a traditional curriculum, can students still comfortably pass in house exams while spending most of their time doing outside stuff ie (zanki, BB, etc.) or do many of the in house exams at Pitt test on a lot of minutiae as well?

Following up on the tail end to the response of question 6, is there a lot of collaboration within and between classes? Is it common for students to share their resources( i.e.( class & school specific anki decks/ outlines etc.?) with each other, and for upperclassmen to pass on resources to the MS1/MS2's? Some of my friends at other schools have remarked how this is common in their classes or alternatively how things are pretty cutthroat. One of the things that resonated with me on my interview day, was that it felt that everyone cared about each other and wanted to see their fellow classmate succeed. Also it seemed like people were meaningful about having a life outside of school, and not wrapping up their identity solely in academic performance.
Click to expand...


1. I know several students who use only third-party resources and do just fine on in-house exams. In regards to testing minutiae, you can't have it both ways - you can't solely use 3rd party resources and expect to be at the top of the class, but you will still pass. Pitt recently got reaccredited by the LCME (oversight committee for all med schools) for 8 years (the maximum allowed!), which means the school is even more receptive to making beneficial changes to the curriculum. As med students, our voices ARE heard and some things that M1's have asked for are already being implemented.

2. I would not be as successful or as happy here without my M2 - M4 friends. Everyone is super collaborative. We share study tips, online resources, and cool videos we find. We tip each other off where there's free food in the lounge. We look out for each other when it comes to finding a research/shadowing mentor. What you saw on interview day in regards to collaboration and camaraderie is genuine I assure you.

Also want to plug a super cool initiative by one of my friends - follow us on IG: @pittmed_students! You can follow the lives of 6 current students through IG stories and learning more about our day-to-day.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
PittMedStudent said:
1. I know several students who use only third-party resources and do just fine on in-house exams. In regards to testing minutiae, you can't have it both ways - you can't solely use 3rd party resources and expect to be at the top of the class, but you will still pass. Pitt recently got reaccredited by the LCME (oversight committee for all med schools) for 8 years (the maximum allowed!), which means the school is even more receptive to making beneficial changes to the curriculum. As med students, our voices ARE heard and some things that M1's have asked for are already being implemented.

2. I would not be as successful or as happy here without my M2 - M4 friends. Everyone is super collaborative. We share study tips, online resources, and cool videos we find. We tip each other off where there's free food in the lounge. We look out for each other when it comes to finding a research/shadowing mentor. What you saw on interview day in regards to collaboration and camaraderie is genuine I assure you.

Also want to plug a super cool initiative by one of my friends - follow us on IG: @pittmed_students! You can follow the lives of 6 current students through IG stories and learning more about our day-to-day.
Click to expand...

Your point about not having it both ways is well taken. I'm not going in expecting to be the top of the class in any med school, but rather just want to be the best that I can be while also being efficient since I heard that the med school workload is crazy haha.

Thanks so much for answering these questions, and I hope that you continue to thrive in your M1 year! :)
 
immuno1998 said:
Stupid question but does Pitt Med have a separate bookstore? I'm trying to find a t-shirt/sweatshirt to rep for the next few months and The Pitt Shop doesn't seem to have any SOM gear (atleast online).
Click to expand...

I think I ran into the same problem. Good news ... the Patagonia’s come rolling hot off the presses in the first semester
 
  • Like
  • Haha
  • Love
Reactions: 5 users
PittMedStudent said:
Congratulations to everyone who's been accepted!

I'm a current medical student here at Pitt - happily down to answer any questions you anyone may have about Pitt and attending med school here.

Good luck with your final decision because it's an important one!
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for your time! I had a quick question about the PREP program we just got an email about. It looks intriguing but I’m not sure I will be able to fit it into a busy schedule I have this summer. This won’t set me back at all, right?
 
Hey guys,

I got accepted to Pitt and will definitely be attending in Fall. I was wondering if anyone was thinking about living in the Darragh Street Apartments for the next year and was interested in being roommates?
 
Cam877 said:
Thanks so much for your time! I had a quick question about the PREP program we just got an email about. It looks intriguing but I’m not sure I will be able to fit it into a busy schedule I have this summer. This won’t set me back at all, right?
Click to expand...

No, it's an optional program. You take some classes and participate in research/volunteering/shadowing opportunities, but the main benefit of the program is to get you acclimated to the school/city and to make some friends heading into the new year. PREP or not, you'll learn everything once you start M1.
 
Just tried to log into the Pitt portal and it said my account was deactivated. Is this their way of a R? LOL
 
pink101 said:
Just tried to log into the Pitt portal and it said my account was deactivated. Is this their way of a R? LOL
Click to expand...

Weird. Mine is working just fine. Call the office and check with them maybe? Hopefully it's just a tech issue
 
Does pitt have a second look? if so, when is it??
 
Just got an interview invite for PSTP... looks like it's the last interview date. Anyone interview for PSTP and have some words of wisdom (either current cycle or previous PSTP applicants)? So nervous!
 
immuno1998 said:
Just got an interview invite for PSTP... looks like it's the last interview date. Anyone interview for PSTP and have some words of wisdom (either current cycle or previous PSTP applicants)? So nervous!
Click to expand...
Congrats! I thought they did those in like December/January, didn't know they were still sending out interviews for it
 
Frnxa said:
Hi, is there any way I can find out more about the PREP program? The website is pretty generic and the hyperlink to flyers do not work.
Click to expand...
they sent an email out about it a couple days ago


Also, the second look fb group link is working now
 
Got an email with my log-in credentials for AMPUP.

On the WL, stop playing with my feelings Pitt
 
happybday1972 said:
okay now im able to log back into the regular portal. still confused though. did this happen to everyone?
Click to expand...

Took me to the home page as well. Had to reset my password for the supplementary portal
 
Just got the account activation email, logged into my portal and still on WL, but they added a committee decision on my documents dated 02/07.......
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
kkweens said:
Just got the account activation email, logged into my portal and still on WL, but they added a committee decision on my documents dated 02/07.......
Click to expand...
I'm WL'd as well, am I the only one that doesnt have this committee decision lol
 
Wait I’ve been out of the loop. On the WL but don’t have a committee decision thing on my status and haven’t received this email. Conspiracy??

edit: we’re there any steps I needed to take to confirm my spot on the wl
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
throwaway2020MD said:
Wait I’ve been out of the loop. On the WL but don’t have a committee decision thing on my status and haven’t received this email. Conspiracy??

edit: we’re there any steps I needed to take to confirm my spot on the wl
Click to expand...
I don't remember taking any steps to confirm/accept my spot on the waitlist
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
WhatasizedBurger said:
If people that got the email get off the WL this monday please report lol
Click to expand...
I wouldn’t be surprised tbh. It could be that the committee decided on 2/7 for some people. Which could explain why some have it listed in status but others don’t. And the email means off the WL for those reviewed on 2/7. As I type this I realize this theory could either be big brain or the complete email fiasco over again lol.
 
Wait so did not everyone get that email? I got a physical letter that said I was waitlisted, don’t think I’ll be coming off this quickly lol
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

wysdoc
2022-2023 Pittsburgh
21 22 23 24 25
Replies
1K
Views
282K
nemestey
N
TheDataKing
2020-2021 Pittsburgh
31 32 33 34 35
Replies
2K
Views
436K
MedBeast21
M
wysdoc
2021-2022 Pittsburgh
21 22 23 24 25
Replies
1K
Views
299K
nadal123
N
PapaGuava
2019-2020 University of Houston
9 10 11 12 13
Replies
616
Views
147K
wysdoc
wysdoc
K
UTOLEDO MEDSTART 2019-2020
Replies
0
Views
2K
kaleb7221
K
Top