2020-2021 Case Western Reserve

[premedguy12]

Waitlisted!

 

[Rising_Sagicorn]

Waitlisted!

+1, no email yesterday

 

[Idahomie]

The people in the zoom calls must be told not to post about their acceptance or comment on the calls. It's too bizarre for this to happen every time coincidentally.

 

[wallstreetbroke]

The people in the zoom calls must be told not to post about their acceptance or comment on the calls. It's too bizarre for this to happen every time coincidentally.

Which in of itself is pretty telling of what it means

 

[ChonkySkyBison]

Accepted! Couldn't make the zoom call because I was at a funeral so I don't know what went on. What a bittersweet day. I'm sorry to hear about those on the WL. I have faith that everyone will end up at the school that is right for them, I don't know much about Case's waitlist but hang on in there.

 

[flutacious]

Pre-II R, complete late July

 

[loosecriminal]

Just got hit w that pre-ii R rip!

 

[definitely_chondria]

MSTP A! Just wanted to add for my fellow MD/PhD applicants that we aren't included in the zoom meeting thing so no need to worry about that lol. Had me panicking for a sec

 

[bildb111]

MSTP A! Just wanted to add for my fellow MD/PhD applicants that we aren't included in the zoom meeting thing so no need to worry about that lol. Had me panicking for a sec

Did you receive a call or an email or both? I interviewed in October and was told that decisions (A or defer or R) would be given out today but haven't received anything...

 

[definitely_chondria]

Did you receive a call or an email or both? I interviewed in October and was told that decisions (A or defer or R) would be given out today but haven't received anything...

I received both this morning!

 

[Isomerase]

Seems like we're due for another Pre-II R wave?

Pre-II R, complete late July

Yikes I feel responsible

 

[9000ayud0009]

Does waitlist mean no chance at scholarships, even if you get in?

 

[vitafusion]

Does waitlist mean no chance at scholarships, even if you get in?

They’re not giving out merit scholarships this year, only need based aid.

 

[applicanttimes2]

Pre-II R, complete late July

 

[Fawna]

They’re not giving out merit scholarships this year, only need based aid.

Why is that? How do I find this information?

 

[mindstirfry]

How much more expensive do yall think CWRU will be without merit aid? And can we still get merit aid after our first year?

 

[Rising_Sagicorn]

Why is that? How do I find this information?

The admissions team explained that with the effects of the pandemic (people losing jobs), they foresee more people needing need based aid. And @mindstirfry, they havent decided but it could become permanent depending on how this upcoming year goes

 

[GoneDriving]

And can we still get merit aid after our first year?

Can’t imagine that they would have any incentive to

 

[KatsuCurry]

Can any current students or people affiliated with CWRU comment on students negative experiences with the institution's handling of the covid vaccine?

Albeit a small sample size, all 3 Case students who filled out r/medicalschool's survey have a negative view of Case's response to rolling out the vaccine to med students. Furthermore, many of the comments seem to indicate an overall frustration with the lack of transparency and communication with the administration.

 

[CWRUStudent1]

Can any current students or people affiliated with CWRU comment on students negative experiences with the institution's handling of the covid vaccine?

Albeit a small sample size, all 3 Case students who filled out r/medicalschool's survey have a negative view of Case's response to rolling out the vaccine to med students. Furthermore, many of the comments seem to indicate an overall frustration with the lack of transparency and communication with the administration.

Current M2 at Case, on a throwaway account for obvious reasons. The gist of it is this: the admin is an absolute disorganized sh*tshow right now. I'll try to break down some of the main complaints voiced by people in my class for you:

1. In response to Covid, admin re-designed their second year clinical experience curriculum. This new curriculum requires us to do both inpatient and outpatient sessions. We do not have access to N95s for this and are sometimes assigned to high-risk inpatient specialties(e.g. pulmonology inpatient service) while being told to reuse our inadequate PPE.
   1. In the same vein, they have not released enough inpatient or outpatient sessions for all students. They have requested that we track our own sessions (which is fair) but are also tracking our sessions themselves and are doing so incorrectly. The result is that many students have not been able to complete the majority of the sessions, however are not on the admin list for needing sessions, so are not receiving notifications when sessions become available. Admin has consistently blamed us for this, stating that we aren't updating our own trackers, seemingly unaware that the students who aren't updating their trackers don't have any completed sessions they can actually log. Their communications with us on this matter have been very unprofessional and revolve around trying to point fingers at the student body.
   2. The end result of this poor tracking was that admin decided to lump our clinical experience grades in with our last block exam grades. If you had any component of the clinical experience incomplete, you received a failing grade for the entire block. This was done without notifying us in any way and without any clarification of how they were handling it. Net result: a large portion of the class was slapped with a failing grade on our most recent block exam (based on the people I've discussed this with, I'm estimating >50%). About 12 hours later we received an email from admin that they were experiencing a "higher than normal" email volume and would respond when they could. That's the last we heard about this. We assume the failing grades are temporary, but have no actual confirmation of this.
2. Admin has consistently ignored and dismissed our concerns about transmission risk. One of the most prominent examples was when they announced that a portion of one of our block exams would be held in person. We lobbied hard against this, both as a class and through our student representatives. At the time, covid testing was not widely available to usas medical students. Admin shot this down hard, with their rebuttal consisting of essentially two key points:
   1. That it would take them less time to grade this portion of our exams if we hand-wrote them instead of typed them (yeah, we were as confused as you currently are) and that they couldn't figure out a way for us to submit an exam that we'd hand-written at home (despite being provided countless suggestions).
   2. They had run a bunch of simulations that showed that there was no risk of transmission if we took the exam in person. As intelligent people who have a talent for critical thinking, I hope you can all see how ridiculous it is to claim that there's ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE of anyone being infected as the result of holding an in-person exam.
3. None of the branches of admin are talking to each other. Each set of block leaders is making constant changes, often conflicting with the changes made by other block leaders. The result is multiple emails a day about schedule changes, a high degree of unnecessary stress, and mass confusion among the student body.
4. The admin has been 100% silent about the vaccine despite the fact that we have mandatory inpatient/outpatient sessions with inadequate PPE. It is clear they are not prioritizing us or even taking the time to communicate to us that they will not be prioritizing us.
5. Admin has announced that they will not be re-evaluating financial aid packages for students this year and we will instead automatically receive the same package we got last year. Why does this matter? Because the students who will be affected by this are students whose families were deeply affected by the pandemic - parents who were laid off, savings account drained, etc - this decision primarily negatively affects students from low-income families. This is enormously disappointing from a school that claims to have a deep interest in fighting disparities.

This pandemic has been hard on everyone, and we all know that. But despite admin's constant calls for us to be understanding with them while they navigate challenges, they have demonstrated an extremely disappointing lack of grace with us. While some confusion is to be expected, their disorganization is excessive and compounded by an unwillingness to communicate clearly with the entire student body. Finally, they have been extremely dismissive of student safety concerns, which has resulted in a class that is extremely discontent and frustrated.

I will say that during my M1 year I felt that they were very responsive to student concerns and were much more organized. In fact, one of the reasons I chose Case was because of the support from admin.

Takeaway points: Admin response to the pandemic has been poor at best with a lack of student support, dismissal of student concerns, lack of prioritizing student health, and disorganization at every turn. This should raise red flags for applicants. Although Case admin is not normally this much of a disaster, their lack of adaptability and professionalism in this situation (despite their weekly reminders/threats to us about professionalism, understanding, patience, and grace under pressure) should be of concern to current applicants.

*Edit was to add point #5.

 

[Fawna]

Current M2 at Case, on a throwaway account for obvious reasons. The gist of it is this: the admin is an absolute disorganized sh*tshow right now. I'll try to break down some of the main complaints voiced by people in my class for you:

1. In response to Covid, admin re-designed their second year clinical experience curriculum. This new curriculum requires us to do both inpatient and outpatient sessions. We do not have access to N95s for this and are sometimes assigned to high-risk inpatient specialties(e.g. pulmonology inpatient service) while being told to reuse our inadequate PPE.
   1. In the same vein, they have not released enough inpatient or outpatient sessions for all students. They have requested that we track our own sessions (which is fair) but are also tracking our sessions themselves and are doing so incorrectly. The result is that many students have not been able to complete the majority of the sessions, however are not on the admin list for needing sessions, so are not receiving notifications when sessions become available. Admin has consistently blamed us for this, stating that we aren't updating our own trackers, seemingly unaware that the students who aren't updating their trackers don't have any completed sessions they can actually log. Their communications with us on this matter have been very unprofessional and revolve around trying to point fingers at the student body.
   2. The end result of this poor tracking was that admin decided to lump our clinical experience grades in with our last block exam grades. If you had any component of the clinical experience incomplete, you received a failing grade for the entire block. This was done without notifying us in any way and without any clarification of how they were handling it. Net result: a large portion of the class was slapped with a failing grade on our most recent block exam (based on the people I've discussed this with, I'm estimating >50%). About 12 hours later we received an email from admin that they were experiencing a "higher than normal" email volume and would respond when they could. That's the last we heard about this. We assume the failing grades are temporary, but have no actual confirmation of this.
2. Admin has consistently ignored and dismissed our concerns about transmission risk. One of the most prominent examples was when they announced that a portion of one of our block exams would be held in person. We lobbied hard against this, both as a class and through our student representatives. At the time, covid testing was not widely available to usas medical students. Admin shot this down hard, with their rebuttal consisting of essentially two key points:
   1. That it would take them less time to grade this portion of our exams if we hand-wrote them instead of typed them (yeah, we were as confused as you currently are) and that they couldn't figure out a way for us to submit an exam that we'd hand-written at home (despite being provided countless suggestions).
   2. They had run a bunch of simulations that showed that there was no risk of transmission if we took the exam in person. As intelligent people who have a talent for critical thinking, I hope you can all see how ridiculous it is to claim that there's ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE of anyone being infected as the result of holding an in-person exam.
3. None of the branches of admin are talking to each other. Each set of block leaders is making constant changes, often conflicting with the changes made by other block leaders. The result is multiple emails a day about schedule changes, a high degree of unnecessary stress, and mass confusion among the student body.
4. The admin has been 100% silent about the vaccine despite the fact that we have mandatory inpatient/outpatient sessions with inadequate PPE. It is clear they are not prioritizing us or even taking the time to communicate to us that they will not be prioritizing us.
5. Admin has announced that they will not be re-evaluating financial aid packages for students this year and we will instead automatically receive the same package we got last year. Why does this matter? Because the students who will be affected by this are students whose families were deeply affected by the pandemic - parents who were laid off, savings account drained, etc - this decision primarily negatively affects students from low-income families. This is enormously disappointing from a school that claims to have a deep interest in fighting disparities.

This pandemic has been hard on everyone, and we all know that. But despite admin's constant calls for us to be understanding with them while they navigate challenges, they have demonstrated an extremely disappointing lack of grace with us. While some confusion is to be expected, their disorganization is excessive and compounded by an unwillingness to communicate clearly with the entire student body. Finally, they have been extremely dismissive of student safety concerns, which has resulted in a class that is extremely discontent and frustrated.

I will say that during my M1 year I felt that they were very responsive to student concerns and were much more organized. In fact, one of the reasons I chose Case was because of the support from admin.

Takeaway points: Admin response to the pandemic has been poor at best with a lack of student support, dismissal of student concerns, lack of prioritizing student health, and disorganization at every turn. This should raise red flags for applicants. Although Case admin is not normally this much of a disaster, their lack of adaptability and professionalism in this situation (despite their weekly reminders/threats to us about professionalism, understanding, patience, and grace under pressure) should be of concern to current applicants.

*Edit was to add point #5.

Thank you for posting this information - I am sorry you are dealing with all of this turmoil and lack of communication.

Your edit note to add point 5 caught my eye. Why would they not be re-evaluating financial aid each year? (Isn't that how it is typically done?) Was there an explanation for this? I would think, if anything Financial Aid would be evaluated more often, not less.

 

[CWRUStudent1]

Thank you for posting this information - I am sorry you are dealing with all of this turmoil and lack of communication.

Your edit note to add point 5 caught my eye. Why would they not be re-evaluating financial aid each year? (Isn't that how it is typically done?) Was there an explanation for this? I would think, if anything Financial Aid would be evaluated more often, not less.

We can typically have our financial aid package reassessed every year. The only explanation was less than half a sentence and was that it's being done to steward resources as efficiently as possible. Needless to say, this was an extremely disappointing decision that as far as we can see, serves no benefit to any member of our current student body but does directly harm those from lower-income backgrounds.

Friendly reminder to everyone who appreciates my candid post above to PAY IT FORWARD. Unfortunately, most schools care more about their reputation than just about anything else. Candid discussions of the things that need to change are the most effective way to actually encourage schools to address their failings.

 

[GrayArea]

Do you guys know how the voting process is at Case? How do they use the interviews?

 

[GrayArea]

How are the student and faculty interviewes considered when making decisions, does anyone know? Just curious.

 

[premed_kh]

II yesterday for UP! Complete 9/3

 

[orange_chicken]

Anyone have an interview coming up and not have any interviewers assigned on the portal yet?

 

[neuroticgrl]

Anyone have an interview coming up and not have any interviewers assigned on the portal yet?

I have only one interviewer assigned :/ not sure about the other one, it doesn't say what time it is at either...

 

[lumaley]

Just got that pre-II rejection bummed bc I loved this school but not surprised lol

 

[Homunculus150]

Just got that pre-II rejection bummed bc I loved this school but not surprised lol

+1. Complete in July and finally got the R.

 

[P_Kloud]

Just got that pre-II rejection bummed bc I loved this school but not surprised lol

+2 complete in August, you hate to see it

 

[Isomerase]

Anybody else still without an Interview or Pre-II R? Surely there can't be many of us left at this point

 

[medigal97]

Anybody else still without an Interview or Pre-II R? Surely there can't be many of us left at this point

I’m here, waiting on pins and needles

 

[bahamaguy]

I’m here, waiting on pins and needles

Ditto. Sitting here holding my breathe. When were you both completed?

 

[medigal97]

Ditto. Sitting here holding my breathe. When were you both completed?

7/30

 

[hola1997]

Anybody else still without an Interview or Pre-II R? Surely there can't be many of us left at this point

Late Aug completed and silence. Case is one of my top/dream choice along with their college track

 

[lumaley]

Ditto. Sitting here holding my breathe. When were you both completed?

complete 8/26

 

[astrocyte1999]

Ditto. Sitting here holding my breathe. When were you both completed?

Complete 7/23

 

[Rheopecty]

Anybody else still without an Interview or Pre-II R? Surely there can't be many of us left at this point

Same. 9/15 complete.

 

[CalBoy]

Pre-II R today, complete august

 

[GrayArea]

@CWRU.Sman can you possibly tell us when the next round of decisions is coming out? I'm aware that the admissions committee met on Jan 4th, this Monday. So was hoping tou could provide some insight on when those decisions will be released? Thanks so much for everything you do. your appreciated!

 

[medigal97]

@CWRU.Sman can you possibly tell us when the next round of decisions is coming out? I'm aware that the admissions committee met on Jan 4th, this Monday. So was hoping tou could provide some insight on when those decisions will be released? Thanks so much for everything you do. your appreciated!

Where do you find when the admissions committee is meeting?

 

[GrayArea]

Where do you find when the admissions committee is meeting?

My group was told during the wrap up of our interview day.

 

[armaragon]

II I can't believe, I am crying.

First MD II, after 7 rejections, 3 holds...LFG

 

[bahamaguy]

II I can't believe, I am crying.

First MD II, after 7 rejections, 3 holds...LFG

That’s awesome. When were u complete if u don’t mind me asking?

 

[armaragon]

That’s awesome. When were u complete if u don’t mind me asking?

Middle July!

 

[medigal97]

II I can't believe, I am crying.

First MD II, after 7 rejections, 3 holds...LFG

Congrats, that’s an amazing feeling. So happy for you!!

 

[armaragon]

Congrats, that’s an amazing feeling. So happy for you!!

Thank you! Can't wait to get to work on preparing for the interview!

 

[imatarheel]

Does anyone know or can provide some insight for the approximate post-interview acceptance %?

 

[blueberrybutter]

Does anyone know or can provide some insight for the approximate post-interview acceptance %?

Around 50% if I'm remembering correctly

 

[GrayArea]

@CWRU.Sman Hello! Do you happen to know when the next batch of decisions will be coming out? Thanks!