Temple M4 here....feel free to ask questions. Here are some FAQs I've gotten over the years:
1. Are preclinical classes truly P/F?
- Classes are pass fail but there are internal rankings. Not sure what else they use them since not even AOA is determined from preclinicals. On your deans letter for residency application, they don't say your class rank but they do use some kind of vague descriptor words that represent like "top 25%" or "middle 25%". I'm not sure if programs know what the words actually represent but, regardless, the way that Temple does P/F makes school a lot less stressful. For M3/M4, we work on the F/P/HP/Honors system. HP is pretty standard for everyone to get. Above and beyond gets honors, and to get a pass you kind of have to do something that pissed someone off.
2. What does Temple look for in an applicant?
- Temple cares about students who want to serve the underserved, volunteer their time to help people, acknowledge that inequities exist and want to do something about it. These are things that are emphasized thoroughout the curriculum. They evaluate students very holistically.....grades matter of course but if you app shows your dedicated to helping others it will go a long way. I do not suggest reaching out to admissions as I don't think it will help.
3. Research opportunities at Temple?
- Although research isn't super emphasized, there are endless research possibilities. Literally anyone in my class could reach out to any of the research departments and get involved from M1 if the wanted. I'm not personally a big research person but, I have friends who are going into fields like optho, neurosurgery, urology who got into research very early on and had no problem finding it. The main building of Temple (MERB) is 11 floors high and like 8 of those floors are dedicated to research.
4. Campuses
- Temple has 2 curriculum campuses...one at the medical education and research building (MERB) across from Temple hospital in Philly and the other located in Bethlehem PA. When choosing which program is good for you, you need to assess what you find important to you. My opinion, if community service is something youre really interested in, no question that the Philly campus is where you want to be. I don't know much about the opportunities in Bethlehem but, I know it's not Philly so there can't possibly be as many opportunities. In philly, you can literally do whatever community service your heart desires. Its really great. Other differences between the St. Lukes program in Bethlehem and the main campus in philly is the size of the program. St. Lukes is only 30 students and students do rotations at the same hospital for 3rd and 4th year. At the main campus, students travel all over (mostly Philly area) for 3rd an 4th. Finding a St. Lukes student is probably best to get more info.
5. Are there clubs/opportunities to get involved in leadership?
- SO many clubs, for every specialty, even fun non medical related things. If you have an idea for a club that doesnt exist yet, you can start it very easily.
6. Do I need a car?
- M1/M2 you do not need a car since everything is on the main campus. M3, my friends without cars struggled if they had an away rotation without housing very close to the site. Plan accordingly. This is not a surprise so if you get an away or two and need a car, budget for a rental or set up plans to borrow someones car. I don't understand how my classmates would get mad at admin for not accommodating them...they knew a car might be necessary!
Hope this helps everyone, good luck with the cycle. Feel free to PM with any specific questions. Curriculum I don't know much about since they changed it since I was in M1/M2 but I'm sure someone in the classes below me will be on the site at some point. All I know is that they switched from a 2 pass system (system physiology year 1, system pathology year 2) to a 1 pass system (entire system both physiology and pathology in one long block)
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