2021-2022 Drexel

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Ultravox Vienna said:
Here are some of the cons I've drawn up, although I haven't spoken to any current students there yet so correct me if I'm wrong:

1. Expensive COA
2. Massive class size ~250 at Philly alone
3. No home programs
4. c/o 2026 will have to move every year (Queen Ln for M1, new building in University City for M2, who knows for M3/M4)
5. Lotto system for clerkships which are spread out
6. Need a car
7. Weekly in-house quizzes; NBME-style final exams but not true NBME questions I believe

Haven't looked into true vs ranked P/F or how clerkships are graded but would imagine it varies greatly since their sites are vastly different. Hope this helps in making decisions 🙂
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I agree with the rest of this list, but regarding #4, Queen Lane and University City are not too far apart. Coming from someone who has lived in Philly, one could live in Center City (more expensive but fun and convenient) both years and take the shuttle or drive to Queen Lane during M1 and walk or take SEPTA (bus, trolley or subway) to UCity during M2. This is what I will do if I end up going to Drexel. My student interviewer and Brian both confirmed that students (and him) already do this when it comes to getting to Queen Lane from CC.
 
DOES ANYBODY ELSE SEE A NEW "student office hours" section ON THEIR PORTAL??? INTERVIEWED BACK LAST YEAR. IS THIS GOOD NEWS OR AM I READING TOO FINE A PRINT???? 😂😂😂
 
GrainofSalt said:
DOES ANYBODY ELSE SEE A NEW "student office hours" section ON THEIR PORTAL??? INTERVIEWED BACK LAST YEAR. IS THIS GOOD NEWS OR AM I READING TOO FINE A PRINT???? 😂😂😂
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Yeah, saw it pop up yesterday or Monday, can't recall which lol no idea if it means anything. Interviewed in December, haven't heard anything since.
 
Does anyone know what the post-interview process is like for Drexel? Or is there anyone on admissions I might be able to PM with?
 
GrainofSalt said:
DOES ANYBODY ELSE SEE A NEW "student office hours" section ON THEIR PORTAL??? INTERVIEWED BACK LAST YEAR. IS THIS GOOD NEWS OR AM I READING TOO FINE A PRINT???? 😂😂😂
Click to expand...
I have it as an accepted student but I probably wouldn't look too much into it as it could be that everyone who interviews receives it?
 
raspberryreef said:
@Rei02sDinnerParty could you speak to any of these points? I would love your input!!!
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1. Expensive COA - it is what it is lol
2. Massive class size ~250 at Philly alone - split up into two smaller groups of A and B, which makes the class size seem much more manageable and then gives you some fresh new faces to befriend in third and fourth year
3. No home programs - there are definitely home programs as far as I can tell (at least for my specialty) but perhaps not for every specialty
4. c/o 2026 will have to move every year (Queen Ln for M1, new building in University City for M2, who knows for M3/M4) - this may be true but idk if id see it as a bad thing.. I loved the queen lane campus bc I felt it had a certain charm to it but I certainly wouldn't mind a newer facility.
5. Lotto system for clerkships which are spread out - I was a dreaded rotating student bc I did not get an all year site like a lot of my peers did although this was something I felt like I definitely wanted. id say this is a definite con of the program (driving 6 hours to Lake Erie for a rotation? ick. repeating epic training for each new hospital? ick) all that being said, it definitely was not the end of the world and so much of rotations are what you make from them/what you want out of them. also if you rotate, there is a much higher likelihood of being local to Philly for most of third year so this was a plus for me.
6. Need a car - I hated driving prior to med school but I felt like third year encouraged a lot of necessary growing up, including driving. probably wouldn't need a car if you're at an all year site in third year.
7. Weekly in-house quizzes; NBME-style final exams but not true NBME questions I believe - not sure if they changed it but in my experience there were tests every month or couple of months but there were also online quizzes that count for very little and were graded but more of a self assessment than anything else. definitely a preferable system to having frequent high stress tests. oh also, definitely not NBME styled but definitely feasible in second year to get by with only studying from boards resources (this is what I did). compared with some other schools that pull minutia from PowerPoints, I think drexel in second year focuses on the need to know points in their tests. first year in retrospect, you could probably do this too to some extent but I think now with everything pass fail, id just study the materials given, not stress about boards (and maybe stress a little about research lol)
 
Rei02sDinnerParty said:
1. Expensive COA - it is what it is lol
2. Massive class size ~250 at Philly alone - split up into two smaller groups of A and B, which makes the class size seem much more manageable and then gives you some fresh new faces to befriend in third and fourth year
3. No home programs - there are definitely home programs as far as I can tell (at least for my specialty) but perhaps not for every specialty
4. c/o 2026 will have to move every year (Queen Ln for M1, new building in University City for M2, who knows for M3/M4) - this may be true but idk if id see it as a bad thing.. I loved the queen lane campus bc I felt it had a certain charm to it but I certainly wouldn't mind a newer facility.
5. Lotto system for clerkships which are spread out - I was a dreaded rotating student bc I did not get an all year site like a lot of my peers did although this was something I felt like I definitely wanted. id say this is a definite con of the program (driving 6 hours to Lake Erie for a rotation? ick. repeating epic training for each new hospital? ick) all that being said, it definitely was not the end of the world and so much of rotations are what you make from them/what you want out of them. also if you rotate, there is a much higher likelihood of being local to Philly for most of third year so this was a plus for me.
6. Need a car - I hated driving prior to med school but I felt like third year encouraged a lot of necessary growing up, including driving. probably wouldn't need a car if you're at an all year site in third year.
7. Weekly in-house quizzes; NBME-style final exams but not true NBME questions I believe - not sure if they changed it but in my experience there were tests every month or couple of months but there were also online quizzes that count for very little and were graded but more of a self assessment than anything else. definitely a preferable system to having frequent high stress tests. oh also, definitely not NBME styled but definitely feasible in second year to get by with only studying from boards resources (this is what I did). compared with some other schools that pull minutia from PowerPoints, I think drexel in second year focuses on the need to know points in their tests. first year in retrospect, you could probably do this too to some extent but I think now with everything pass fail, id just study the materials given, not stress about boards (and maybe stress a little about research lol)
Click to expand...
For #3: my mistake I meant the closing of Hahnemann. I also haven't extensively researched Drexel yet so thanks for clearing these up!

Yes, there are home programs through Tower Health but they are very limited for Philly students in terms of proximity. Chestnut Hill Hospital only has FM residency through Drexel and St. Christopher's Hospital for Children only has Peds and child neurology. These are the only two hospitals actually located in Philly from my understanding.

Reading Hospital has quite a few more which is nice though but still ~1 hr drive away from Philly campus and not to mention they have their own cohort of students.
 
Is there an accepted students group chat or page somewhere? And if so can let me know how many people are currently in it? (Trying to see how many As have been given out)
 
weekly panic

scared stressed out GIF
 
“Starting on February 4, acceptances will be sent out on a weekly basis”

It’s weird bc this message was reported on the portal, and then admissions decisions swiftly skidded to a halt. Why post that message?

And the original date was supposed to be Feb 18th for next round of decisions. Drexel just floated both ideas and chose neither?

They are definitely swamped - I get that. I’m just confused about their messaging and why they post things (*and communicate in their interviews that they are increasing meetings*) and then ghost everyone on their published dates.

Just say “March” and nobody will stalk their portals. Hopefully they negate this post and send decisions later tonight. Good luck, everyone.
 
premed9494 said:
I interviewed this week and they mentioned they are currently taking ~ 10 weeks to give decisions and people who interviewed this week would hopefully hear back in 7-8 weeks.
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Thank you for the update! Even 10 weeks might not be realistic! This was week 10 for me, and I think there are people from earlier interview dates still waiting.
 
Muad_Dib said:
I just got a surprise II on Wednesday after getting put on hold a while ago. Anyone have some Drexel interview wisdom for me?

Also really feeling for y'all waiting for A's, hang in there!
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Did you happen to send them any updates? Also on hold but losing hope for this cycle
 
Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone knows how the lottery system for rotations works? Specifically, I was wondering how often students get their preferred site for rotations? I would assume it depends at least in part on how popular a specific site is but was wondering if it is completely random or if there is some structure to it. Thanks for any potential information on this!
 
MD/PhD45 said:
Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone knows how the lottery system for rotations works? Specifically, I was wondering how often students get their preferred site for rotations? I would assume it depends at least in part on how popular a specific site is but was wondering if it is completely random or if there is some structure to it. Thanks for any potential information on this!
Click to expand...
I had to dig into my notes for this, but I went to a "get to know DUCOM" Q&A open house session last March about their clinical site rotations with Dr. Farabaugh. They might have one again in March/April as the cycle winds down and admits start making their choices!

As of March 2021 they have:
- 21 clinical sites across PA, DE, NJ, MD, CA for M3 and M4 years which existed even before Hahnemann closing
- You are expected to find your own housing if you are within 35 mile radius around DUCOM; if outside this radius your housing will be provided for you. You MUST have reliable transportation; the form this takes may change if you are rotating to different sites.
- There are academic clinical and regional medical campuses; regional medical campuses can allow for a student to complete their entire year of rotations at one site for M3 and/or M4.
- Students rank their preferences for being at a regional medical campus or opt to go to a rotating system for different sites (e.g. to experience different populations/academic vs community based/experience different systems/be closer to home). Dr. Farabaugh recommends rotational sites to get to experience different environments for what kind of doctor you want to be in terms of where you want to practice, HOW you want to practice, who you want your patient population to be, etc.
- Sites are "comparable" not "identical" - even two students at the same site will not have the same experience due to different patients, etc, let alone those who are at different sites. They have provided requirements for education to standardize to some extent the amount of knowledge you get.

- Sites are assigned by LOTTERY. There are three stages of the selection process:
  1. Regional medical campus preference IF you want it in early January of M2. Placed there for whole year of M3 so it's a separate lottery from the rotational site lottery. You're done if you get your choice.
  2. Grid selection for rotational sites. You place what order you want your rotations, such as surgery first, obgyn next, etc. You are assigned your schedule for M3.
  3. You go back into the system to select your preference of site locations for EACH rotation. You still have some say of which sites you go to for which rotation and that goes through a lottery. The lottery goes through computer selection; you're assigned a number for numerical priority at each rotation so you aren't going to say, be last place pick for all of your rotations.
The "majority of students are satisfied with their rotation schedule and placements."

You can also match rotations with friends for regional medical campuses, with the ability to drop them if you get in but your friends don't 😉

There is a waitlist for some of the campuses but generally those who apply to a place get in (depends on the class though). The worst waitlist is typically something like 45 people want to go to a site with 40 spots available. Lottery system is NOT merit based; it's not influenced by your grades.

M4 has some additional flexibility since a bunch of rotations are electives. There's a trade option between students to switch spots, electronic scheduling system to add/drop electives to pick up rotations if you see a spot (and you can see them all). There are a lot of options because Drexel accommodates a LOT of students, therefore many sites to pick from/have options for. You get an advisor for the pathway you choose starting Feb of M3. You can change your pathway (e.g. Emergency Medicine is a 4th year requirement; you don't get to do it in M3) so you can meet with multiple pathway advisors before finalizing. Global rotations are available but not sure with COVID; they are still done starting January of M4 as your interviews should be done-ish by then (ranking doesn't require you to be in the US). Research is encouraged in M4; it's doable but very difficult in M3.
 
vera12 said:
I had to dig into my notes for this, but I went to a "get to know DUCOM" Q&A open house session last March about their clinical site rotations with Dr. Farabaugh. They might have one again in March/April as the cycle winds down and admits start making their choices!

As of March 2021 they have:
- 21 clinical sites across PA, DE, NJ, MD, CA for M3 and M4 years which existed even before Hahnemann closing
- You are expected to find your own housing if you are within 35 mile radius around DUCOM; if outside this radius your housing will be provided for you. You MUST have reliable transportation; the form this takes may change if you are rotating to different sites.
- There are academic clinical and regional medical campuses; regional medical campuses can allow for a student to complete their entire year of rotations at one site for M3 and/or M4.
- Students rank their preferences for being at a regional medical campus or opt to go to a rotating system for different sites (e.g. to experience different populations/academic vs community based/experience different systems/be closer to home). Dr. Farabaugh recommends rotational sites to get to experience different environments for what kind of doctor you want to be in terms of where you want to practice, HOW you want to practice, who you want your patient population to be, etc.
- Sites are "comparable" not "identical" - even two students at the same site will not have the same experience due to different patients, etc, let alone those who are at different sites. They have provided requirements for education to standardize to some extent the amount of knowledge you get.

- Sites are assigned by LOTTERY. There are three stages of the selection process:
  1. Regional medical campus preference IF you want it in early January of M2. Placed there for whole year of M3 so it's a separate lottery from the rotational site lottery. You're done if you get your choice.
  2. Grid selection for rotational sites. You place what order you want your rotations, such as surgery first, obgyn next, etc. You are assigned your schedule for M3.
  3. You go back into the system to select your preference of site locations for EACH rotation. You still have some say of which sites you go to for which rotation and that goes through a lottery. The lottery goes through computer selection; you're assigned a number for numerical priority at each rotation so you aren't going to say, be last place pick for all of your rotations.
The "majority of students are satisfied with their rotation schedule and placements."

You can also match rotations with friends for regional medical campuses, with the ability to drop them if you get in but your friends don't 😉

There is a waitlist for some of the campuses but generally those who apply to a place get in (depends on the class though). The worst waitlist is typically something like 45 people want to go to a site with 40 spots available. Lottery system is NOT merit based; it's not influenced by your grades.

M4 has some additional flexibility since a bunch of rotations are electives. There's a trade option between students to switch spots, electronic scheduling system to add/drop electives to pick up rotations if you see a spot (and you can see them all). There are a lot of options because Drexel accommodates a LOT of students, therefore many sites to pick from/have options for. You get an advisor for the pathway you choose starting Feb of M3. You can change your pathway (e.g. Emergency Medicine is a 4th year requirement; you don't get to do it in M3) so you can meet with multiple pathway advisors before finalizing. Global rotations are available but not sure with COVID; they are still done starting January of M4 as your interviews should be done-ish by then (ranking doesn't require you to be in the US). Research is encouraged in M4; it's doable but very difficult in M3.
Click to expand...
Thank you for this. It is exactly what I was looking for!
 
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