2019-2020 Weill Cornell

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If a student chooses to live in Olin followed by Lasdon, are they allowed to either stay in Olin, or move in to Lasdon for continuous housing for summer research or other NYC options after completing first year? Also, in subsequent years are they provided 12 months/year accessibility in Lasdon?

I believe you can stay in Olin if you choose but not sure as no one has really wanted to stay. Lasdon you have your room all 12 months of the year and really for all of 2nd-4th year if you choose to stay in the same room each year.

And the housing is generally very flexible, you can leave whenever you want as long as you give a month’s notice (I know people who left in the middle of the year to live off-campus). If you decide to re-enter school housing you’ll have to re-enter the lottery system though to determine who you’ll share the apartment with. Hopefully this answers your questions!

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Is the new student only lounge in the education center open 24/7 for studying?
I believe so...I wouldn’t see why not as everything else we have is open 24/7 for students (PBL rooms, anatomy lab, a certain part of the library).
 
I know some schools have a class called "Doctoring" or something similar that meets once a week where you learn history taking, physical exam, and other clinical skills (ie. ultrasound) in addition to working with a preceptor. Does Cornell have something similar?
 
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I know some schools have a class called "Doctoring" or something similar that meets once a week where you learn history taking, physical exam, and other clinical skills (ie. ultrasound) in addition to working with a preceptor. Does Cornell have something similar?

Yep! It’s related to the preceptorship course. We learn all those things including ultrasound starting in the first semester through the rest of preclinical, building up your skills slowly — practicing on your classmates and with standardized patients before doing those things with real patients.
 
Hello everyone! I'm a current upper-class student, happy to answer questions 🙂. For those on the waitlist, I too was on the waitlist, and in previous years there has been a lot of movement (I approximate that 1/3 of my class came off the waitlist). Unsure if it will be different this year. I sent a letter of strong interest (not intent).

In preclinical exams start off as weekly (though in the second and third semester become more of every other week) and are fully multiple choice questions (non-NBME). Anatomy questions used to be short-answer but have been changed to multiple choice. There are usually 2-4 quizzes per course (depending on length of course; though anatomy runs through the whole first semester and you'll have some anatomy questions almost every week) and you need an average of 65% across all the questions in that course to pass. So, if you do well on the first ones, puts a lot less stress on the subsequent ones. For Monday quizzes (I'd say they comprised about 2/3 of the quizzes in the first semester) I worked hard during the week so I could study very little on weekends and still did well. Lectures are all recorded and 95% of them are optional. But of course small group sessions and anatomy are required).

Personally I liked having quizzes often as it kept me from procrastinating and it made the material easy to digest (only so much material can appear on a weekly exam). Also it puts much less pressure on each quiz, so if you do poorly on one, it's no big deal.
Thanks for taking the time to answer all our questions! Could you speak to the feasibility to be involved with multiple projects/research? Is doable to have 2 projects simultaneously given WCMC's curriculum?
 
when do you guys think would be the best time to send a letter of intent if you're on the waitlist?

edit: asking because I'm unsure if it'd be more effective to send a letter in early April or in late April, especially given the withdraw deadline on April 30th
 
@flyingeagle Thank you so much for answering our questions. I know that there are clinical electives during phase 3, but are there classroom based extracurricular electives for M1s and M2s?
 
Thanks for taking the time to answer all our questions! Could you speak to the feasibility to be involved with multiple projects/research? Is doable to have 2 projects simultaneously given WCMC's curriculum?

It’s possible for sure if you’re motivated enough! I think it’s different for each person though. Some people have a more difficult transition to medical school and may feel busy enough just with the school curriculum itself. I would recommend no matter where you go is at least spend a few months ensuring you are comfortable before trying to add research on top. And of course, it’ll depend on what kind of research you do and how involved you are. Any kind of basic science research may be very difficult to do during preclinical.
 
@flyingeagle Thank you so much for answering our questions. I know that there are clinical electives during phase 3, but are there classroom based extracurricular electives for M1s and M2s?

Yes there are! Many classmates did them. There is a Nutrition elective where you learn about health for patients and about cooking healthier. There are a few other ones as well but it’s been a while so my memory is not as good (I think one about narrative medicine, a reproductive medicine one, and I think an advanced ultrasound one). None of these count towards your graduation elective credits, you do them just because you’re interested and want to learn the material.
 
@flyingeagle do you know of or have any experiences related to internally applying to the MD/PhD portion of Weill? You said that basic research science may be very difficult to do during preclinical, and it gives me a sad face because I heard that you gotta get dems extra research £xp€₹i£n¢€$ during preclinical if u wanna slide into MD/PhD's DMs :/ 🙁 :'(
 
Do you guys have any ideas on how pass fail step 1 will potentially affect curriculum or time management in our first 1-2 years?
 
@flyingeagle do you know of or have any experiences related to internally applying to the MD/PhD portion of Weill? You said that basic research science may be very difficult to do during preclinical, and it gives me a sad face because I heard that you gotta get dems extra research £xp€₹i£n¢€$ during preclinical if u wanna slide into MD/PhD's DMs :/ 🙁 :'(

I mean you probably can do it during preclinical but basic science research is usually much more time consuming and requires a couple hours almost daily in a lab so may be very difficult to do without dedicated research time. It may require you going in at night or on weekends? I wouldn't count it out though.

And from what I know I think they usually take 1 student internally into the MD/PhD program every year or so. Don't know if that's been changing at all. If I had to guess I'd say a handful of students apply each year? But that's something you could discuss early on during medical school with the MD/PhD program leaders if you're interested.
 
Does the school assign you faculty and or peer mentors? I feel like that would help figure out the research stuff?
 
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Does the school assign you faculty and or peer mentors? I feel like that would help figure out the research stuff?

M1 here. Yes, we get assigned several faculty mentors actually and there are a lot of opportunities to develop more relationships, which is nice because you're obviously not going to click with every mentor you're assigned right off the bat. Everyone gets assigned two longitudinal mentors, one general and one for AOC, and they've both been pretty helpful personally in connecting you with people in the area of research you're interested in. In addition, for the doctoring classes connected to preceptorships that FlyingEagle mentioned, two faculty are assigned per group of ~10 students. Since you guys meet 1-3 times a week for the entirety of the first semester, a lot of people end up becoming pretty close to these mentors, and many groups have had meals with their mentors or get invited to their homes at the end of the semester. Furthermore, although your mileage may vary, I personally became pretty close with my preceptor, who helped hook me up with a research project. There are also numerous faculty/student socials and I know of classmates who found research opportunities through those, so in general, you get a good amount of attention from faculty and you can pick and choose which ones you want to connect with most!
 
M1 here. Yes, we get assigned several faculty mentors actually and there are a lot of opportunities to develop more relationships, which is nice because you're obviously not going to click with every mentor you're assigned right off the bat. Everyone gets assigned two longitudinal mentors, one general and one for AOC, and they've both been pretty helpful personally in connecting you with people in the area of research you're interested in. In addition, for the doctoring classes connected to preceptorships that FlyingEagle mentioned, two faculty are assigned per group of ~10 students. Since you guys meet 1-3 times a week for the entirety of the first semester, a lot of people end up becoming pretty close to these mentors, and many groups have had meals with their mentors or get invited to their homes at the end of the semester. Furthermore, although your mileage may vary, I personally became pretty close with my preceptor, who helped hook me up with a research project. There are also numerous faculty/student socials and I know of classmates who found research opportunities through those, so in general, you get a good amount of attention from faculty and you can pick and choose which ones you want to connect with most!
Thanks that helps a lot! Would you say that the doctoring class has an inclusive curriculum (LGBTQ+ history taking, trauma informed care)?
 
Quick question on housing for those that are familiar. How many openings do they have for Stahl for second year students? The low rent + studio/jr one bedroom options seem appealing. I'd be in the Tri-I program (if that makes a difference).
 
Quick question on housing for those that are familiar. How many openings do they have for Stahl for second year students? The low rent + studio/jr one bedroom options seem appealing. I'd be in the Tri-I program (if that makes a difference).

I’m not sure how many but it’s usually not a lot. I’d say there are about 4 people in my class who live there. I’ve heard it’s quite competitive to get but I think if you’re a couple (married or domestic partnership) it may help your chances?
 
Also do we know if anyone can use the fitness facilities in lasdon even if you live in olin?
 
Does anyone know when virtual Revisit Weekend will be?
For Tri-I it's April 24. I believe it'll be around this date for the medical college as well (as it's two days back to back in past years).

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To any current M1s on this thread: I know there's a lot going on, but now (perhaps more than in previous years) having a facebook group to connect with other accepted students would be great. There's so much daily socializing moving to online platforms right now, I think there's an opportunity to start building community now, even as we're all in isolation.
 
It would also be really nice to be able to hear from current students about their experience so far.
 
Also do we know if anyone can use the fitness facilities in lasdon even if you live in olin?

Yes you have access to both no matter where you live! People from Lasdon often come to Olin for more weight training, basketball, or soccer games.
 
Does anyone know what what type of Ipad we get? I'm considering getting an ipad pro to use with the apple pencil

Only the administration can provide a definitive answer, but our M1 class got the 9.7-inch iPad with 128gb of storage with a keyboard case. Our PA class which started in Feb got the updated 10.2 iPad, 128gb, a keyboard case, and an Apple Pencil. We do get note-taking software as well as pro versions of some other apps, and you can download them on your personal iPad for free.
 
To any current M1s on this thread: I know there's a lot going on, but now (perhaps more than in previous years) having a facebook group to connect with other accepted students would be great. There's so much daily socializing moving to online platforms right now, I think there's an opportunity to start building community now, even as we're all in isolation.


not an April fools joke—accepted students group is up!
 
Hey guys, I'm interested in applying to Weil Cornell next cycle (20-21) and I was wondering how strict they are on the prerequisites being completed by January 31st of year of matriculation? I have all my prereq's done except general chemistry (I had AP credits). I emailed them and they said advanced coursework in biology etc could subsitute for gen chem, but I would need to send them my transcript. I did that and they have not responded. I need to register for classes soon and I was just wondering if any of you guys have experience with this? Also are they lenient on me potentially delaying gen chem to spring of 2021, even though they said all pre-req's should be completed by January 31st of year of matriculation? Thank you!
 
Hey guys, I'm interested in applying to Weil Cornell next cycle (20-21) and I was wondering how strict they are on the prerequisites being completed by January 31st of year of matriculation? I have all my prereq's done except general chemistry (I had AP credits). I emailed them and they said advanced coursework in biology etc could subsitute for gen chem, but I would need to send them my transcript. I did that and they have not responded. I need to register for classes soon and I was just wondering if any of you guys have experience with this? Also are they lenient on me potentially delaying gen chem to spring of 2021, even though they said all pre-req's should be completed by January 31st of year of matriculation? Thank you!
I think you'll be fine. If you've taking more advanced chem then you're good. Just contact them at the end of July or something and confirm.
 
Hey guys, I'm interested in applying to Weil Cornell next cycle (20-21) and I was wondering how strict they are on the prerequisites being completed by January 31st of year of matriculation? I have all my prereq's done except general chemistry (I had AP credits). I emailed them and they said advanced coursework in biology etc could subsitute for gen chem, but I would need to send them my transcript. I did that and they have not responded. I need to register for classes soon and I was just wondering if any of you guys have experience with this? Also are they lenient on me potentially delaying gen chem to spring of 2021, even though they said all pre-req's should be completed by January 31st of year of matriculation? Thank you!

I took two of my prereqs senior spring without realizing this requirement and I was able to go straight through without any problems so you’re good!
 
For any current students, is there a reason why the white coats are completely blank? Most schools have the school embroidered on it and/or have a patch on the arm.
 
we just need to pay the deposit and select 'plan to enroll' on AMCAS by April 30 right? will stuff like the final school transcript, background check, etc be due after?
 
we just need to pay the deposit and select 'plan to enroll' on AMCAS by April 30 right? will stuff like the final school transcript, background check, etc be due after?

Transcripts are due by July 15
 
How strict is this deadline? I can’t find any source demonstrating that it’s enforceable? I know the April 30th deadline is strict but isn’t the April 15th just courtesy?
Idk how strict but I think someone her posted that they’ve heard of some schools rescinding acceptances for not following it? No clue of the Validity behind the story lol...
 
Idk how strict but I think someone her posted that they’ve heard of some schools rescinding acceptances for not following it? No clue of the Validity behind the story lol...
lol it may have been me who said that. During my interview at an undisclosed top 20 school in the south their director lady told us this story about how they had to call a girl and rescind her acceptance because she did not follow the PTE/CTE protocols. There were no details about what stage this happened but the point was please follow the guidelines because if you don't schools can choose to rescind your acceptance.

Having said that, one of my schools already sent out an email saying they will be lenient with the April 15th deadline because this is a chaotic time but a different school recently sent out an email with the language "You must withdraw your acceptances from other schools" which does not seem very lenient. So maybe worth checking with the schools you are still considering. The bottom line is that if a school wants to withdraw your acceptance they can without consequence and, although it is very unlikely, not following the deadlines could give them a reason to do that.
 
So I’ve heard from a couple of other SDNers that Cornell is a bit competitive. Does anyone have any input on that? Also does Cornell tank based on pre clinical grades or just during clinicals?
 
So I’ve heard from a couple of other SDNers that Cornell is a bit competitive. Does anyone have any input on that? Also does Cornell tank based on pre clinical grades or just during clinicals?
I’m not that knowledgeable but most students on the fb page have made it sound that it’s not as competitive (HMMMM..) as we think. Sure there’s some ultra gunners that no one like, but that’s w every school lol.

correct me if I’m wrong, but there’s no ranking I think preclinical. Admin does keep track of it but doesn’t report it, only to break AOA ties if it comes to it?
 
Every student I've talked to has said it's very collaborative and people share study materials and stuff all the time in the class group chat. Of course there's going to be gunners, but that's going to happen anywhere. It seems like the admin does a lot to encourage collaboration.
 
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