2022-2023 Charles R. Drew University

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Unconditionalloves said:
I think yall need to stop worrying about calc and biochem and worry more about the fact that this school is private loans only, since they do not qualify for federal ones.
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Wow. Why aren’t they doing federal loans?
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dreamzchaser said:
Wow. Why aren’t they doing federal loans?
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they need to be approved to get federal loans and usually one of the requirements is being fully accredited. since this is a new school, it won't be accredited until it graduates its first class, so in 4 years
 
Lux23 said:
Turns out I got a call before the email invite, just thought it was spam so I didn’t answer lol. Said it was an incoming call from Huntington Park.
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Hmmm interesting. I’m looking back at calls and didn’t receive a call I didn’t recognize haha only an email invite!
 
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HopefulPremed. said:
they need to be approved to get federal loans and usually one of the requirements is being fully accredited. since this is a new school, it won't be accredited until it graduates its first class, so in 4 years
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I was told during my interview the school has already received it’s accreditation. I didn’t know schools need to graduate their first class to be accredited. Do you mind sharing where got that info from?
 
HopefulPremed. said:
they need to be approved to get federal loans and usually one of the requirements is being fully accredited. since this is a new school, it won't be accredited until it graduates its first class, so in 4 years
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but isn’t CDU in general a well-established school? it’s just the medical school that is “new” I was able to add them on my fafsa?
 
ManlyCougar69 said:
It means we wouldn't be eligible for FAFSA if I am understanding @Unconditionalloves correctly. If we have to get private loans then the rate might generally be higher and we wouldn't be able to have them forgiven through federal programs like Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).

Borrowing through a private lender is usually not ideal for graduate students unless they've exhausted their borrowing cap through the federal government and need more money to cover additional expenses.

(If you come from a rich mommy or daddy home, this wouldn't be an issue because you could pay out of pocket and not need to borrow money for tuition expenses)
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If this is true this sucks😭 Being a disadvantaged applicant + low income I want to go to a school whose mission is to serve the underserved but CDU is so expensive and private loans sound like a nightmare 😓
 
dipsy88 said:
Wait...I don't get it...I too don't have the Calc 2 requirement but none of this was brought up even until the interview invite...and even during the interview I was just told my application was looked favorably because of its fit, mission, etc. If I am ultimately rejected due to the missing Calc 2 requirement, wouldn't CDU have mentioned this before?
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Oh nice. They told you during the interview your application was Looked favorably? That’s great because I feel like my interview was them asking me a lot of questions. I barely got the opportunity to ask questions or have a back and forth conversation
 
dipsy88 said:
Wait...I don't get it...I too don't have the Calc 2 requirement but none of this was brought up even until the interview invite...and even during the interview I was just told my application was looked favorably because of its fit, mission, etc. If I am ultimately rejected due to the missing Calc 2 requirement, wouldn't CDU have mentioned this before?
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Isn’t it closed file? how would they see your application?
 
HopefulPremed. said:
its other programs are well established so i'm not sure how that impacts its MD program
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dreamzchaser said:
I was told during my interview the school has already received it’s accreditation. I didn’t know schools need to graduate their first class to be accredited. Do you mind sharing where got that info from?
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ilovebreadsticks said:
but isn’t CDU in general a well-established school? it’s just the medical school that is “new” I was able to add them on my fafsa?
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  • The MD program has preliminary accreditation, it needs full accreditation to be able to get Federal loans...
  • Individual professional programs get accredited by different accreditation bodies etc.
  • Whether they get some exemption(doubtful) because of their partnership program with UCLA I don't know, but that other program was under UCLA accreditation.
 
PanoramicSurvivor said:
On the admissions FAQs, question 11, follow the link, it says “In addition to federal financial aid, all students should look into applying for CDU and external scholarships”. So who really knows.
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This is linking to the University wide financial aid info, and is not specific to the MD program.
If you click on cost of attendance it will open a document with every other program but the MD program.
 
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Spiceupyourlife said:
I feel like for those who have gotten interviews and don't fulfill these requirements, should be fine. Really everyone who has already been interviewed are probably a shoe in for the most part based on your application alone.

Also, it could be very well the person responding to the emails has conflicting information and they really don't even know the answer lol (I know a school like that).
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Yeah I agree. I would say most of the interviewers probably don't know the answer to the question. All faculty members conduct interviews voluntarily. There really are only a few designated interviewers. If you really want an answer, you need to contact the med admissions email.
 
Unconditionalloves said:
It is standard for every new school to fundraise and make the first class tuition-free; that said, these free inaugural cohorts are usually 20-40 students, not 60... Kaiser did this to 5 cohorts to compete for top students with NYU, who at the time had recently made it tuition-free for everyone, and some other schools that implemented similar need and merit-based full rides.

That said, no info is available about CDU, and no information about final tuition costs or financial aid options except for anecdotal data from people who were interviewed earlier.
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Yeah but I wouldn't guarantee it for CDU. From what I have heard, there will be some scholarships to upset some of the costs but no full rides as of yet. Tuition is about 70k. The CDU admissions director held an info session with CDU students a while back and all of this information came directly from her.
 
Lux23 said:
I would hope that their inaugural class reflects their mission, in training URM physicians from backgrounds similar to the community. They might have a wide pool of affluent candidates with all the proper pre-reqs to choose from, but it wouldn’t be a good look for them if thats all that ended up in their first class.
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The goal is to recruit a class that is diverse with a focus on URM. What people fail to understand is that CDU has a postbacc and Masters program. Most of the students in these programs have fulfilled all requirements. They probably have enough candidates in these programs to fill the entire class. As an applicant you need to put yourself in the best position to gain acceptance. If you are not willing to do this, then you probably don't really want to come here and it sounds like you are not a good fit.
 
Has anyone gotten a reply from them via email? I emailed them 3weeks with questions I had about the program but I still haven’t received a reply
 
OCcalistud18 said:
The goal is to recruit a class that is diverse with a focus on URM. What people fail to understand is that CDU has a postbacc and Masters program. Most of the students in these programs have fulfilled all requirements. They probably have enough candidates in these programs to fill the entire class. As an applicant you need to put yourself in the best position to gain acceptance. If you are not willing to do this, then you probably don't really want to come here and it sounds like you are not a good fit.
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Buttttttt CDU's Biomedical degree itself only requires 1 Calc and 1 Biochem course lol.

I'm personally not bothered because with my Masters, I've technically took a year of biochem but I understand the concerns and frustrations of others. And people without the full requirements have gotten interviews, so it seems they are still a fit.
 
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OCcalistud18 said:
Yeah I agree. I would say most of the interviewers probably don't know the answer to the question. All faculty members conduct interviews voluntarily. There really are only a few designated interviewers. If you really want an answer, you need to contact the med admissions email.
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Oh I was actually hinting that even people in admin who you think would know... Really don't know a thing due to lack of communication (That legit happens and I've seen it 🙃🙃😂😂)
 
Spiceupyourlife said:
Oh I was actually hinting that even people in admin who you think would know... Really don't know a thing due to lack of communication (That legit happens and I've seen it 🙃🙃😂😂)
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They know it's just they won't give you a straight answer like any other program. Just the generic "we will make exceptions on a case by case basis."
 
Spiceupyourlife said:
Buttttttt CDU's Biomedical degree itself only requires 1 Calc and 1 Biochem course lol.

I'm personally not bothered because with my Masters, I've technically took a year of biochem but I understand the concerns and frustrations of others. And people without the full requirements have gotten interviews, so it seems they are still a fit.
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Yeah but a good amount of biology programs require both Calc to graduate since it's often used for physics. Some medical schools require both so it's a good idea to have them. Students in these CDU programs are usually encouraged to fulfill all the other requirements to be more competitive for medical school. Because when it comes down to it, if you are going against someone with similar stats, 9 out of 10 times they will select the person who has shown higher academic rigor.
 
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OCcalistud18 said:
Yeah but most biology programs require both to graduate. Also, these are the requirements just for the master's program. Students in these programs are usually encouraged to fulfill all the other requirements to be more competitive for medical school. Because when it comes down to it, if you are going against someone with similar stats, 9 out of 10 times they will select the person who has shown higher academic rigor.
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Some* programs. The requirements I listed was specifically from CDU's catalog for their Biomedical sciences BS program.😊
There's a good possibility if you look at the list of applicants to this school they probably also applied to Howard and Meharry- neither have this requirement. Harvard doesn't even have it listed as required nor recommendation. It's one if your list is filled with schools that require these courses, but it's another to do extra for 1 school, especially a brand new one.

And with the recent emphasis of having students with a personality and life experiences, academic rigor isn't everything. It's exactly why people with 510+ get rejected. This is essentially an HBCU- they're really looking for the complete candidates, not just the smart kids.


OCcalistud18 said:
They know it's just they won't give you a straight answer like any other program. Just the generic "we will make exceptions on a case by case basis."
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Yes, that is the politically correct answer. I'm saying there are literally people who are clueless within some admins. 😂

But anyways. This is trivial since apps are already submitted. A glorious 4 day weekend is approaching. Let's move on
 
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Spiceupyourlife said:
Some* programs. The requirements I listed was specifically from CDU's catalog for their Biomedical sciences BS program.😊
There's a good possibility if you look at the list of applicants to this school they probably also applied to Howard and Meharry- neither have this requirement. Harvard doesn't even have it listed as required nor recommendation. It's one if your list is filled with schools that require these courses, but it's another to do extra for 1 school, especially a brand new one.

And with the recent emphasis of having students with a personality and life experiences, academic rigor isn't everything. It's exactly why people with 510+ get rejected. This is essentially an HBCU- they're really looking for the complete candidates, not just the smart kids.




Yes, that is the politically correct answer. I'm saying there are literally people who are clueless within some admins. 😂

But anyways. This is trivial since apps are already submitted. A glorious 4 day weekend is approaching. Let's move on
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This is Harvard Math requirements.

Math

  • Pathways- Encouraged to complete one year of coursework in mathematics, including one semester each of calculus and statistics (preferably biostatistics)
  • HST –Coursework that includes upper-level mathematics (typically to include differential equations and/or linear algebra)* is strongly encouraged, although evidence of comparable engagement with analytic and computational tools through other activities will be considered. Statistics (preferably biostatistics) is also encouraged
 
Lawd have mercy lol. Many undergraduate pre-med curriculums do not coincide with med school prerequisites, as much as they try to make them align. I would have needed 2 math courses for my degree plan, but I scored well on my math placement test entering college and only had to complete the 1 calc course that was required on my track. I think there’s a lot of panic going on right now, but many of us have received a “case by case” answer. If you fit the mission, receive an interview, just continue to drive the boat. It’s a new program. I’m sure they’re aware that there’s a few wrinkles that need to be ironed out.
 
PanoramicSurvivor said:
Lawd have mercy lol. Many undergraduate pre-med curriculums do not coincide with med school prerequisites, as much as they try to make them align. I would have needed 2 math courses for my degree plan, but I scored well on my math placement test entering college and only had to complete the 1 calc course that was required on my track. I think there’s a lot of panic going on right now, but many of us have received a “case by case” answer. If you fit the mission, receive an interview, just continue to drive the boat. It’s a new program. I’m sure they’re aware that there’s a few wrinkles that need to be ironed out.
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I love your username. Made me chuckle lol
 
How many questions should we expect in each interview? Is it laid back/conversational?
 
Broke&Bougie said:
How many questions should we expect in each interview? Is it laid back/conversational?
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for my first one, he said he had to ask 5 mandatory questions so time was tighttt but luckily it was conversational. my second one… not so much. she didn’t say anything about mandatory questions and she was less conversational imo. i would say she asked about 5 questions as well
 
when do yall think we will hear back? are they really gonna wait til after march 15 🙁
 
Spiceupyourlife said:
Probably since that's what they do for CUD/UCLA (I know different program but they are pretty firm with the wait, too) and probably because they also plan to keep interviewing to March as well
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suckssss haha !! i wonder what the post ii acceptance rate will be. class size is only 60 and i feel like they've sent out at least 100 interviews.
 
Moms_spaghetti said:
Hey! I recently participated in a mock MMI event for CDU/Ucla over the weekend. Idk if this may be helpful, but I would just be confident with that style of interviewing and expect traditional questions as well as a little bit of ethical scenarios. 🙂
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Do you think the mock MMI prepared you well for the real interview?
 
Broke&Bougie said:
Do you think the mock MMI prepared you well for the real interview?
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Absolutely! My interviewers were very giving in terms of feedback. Plus I got exposed to ethical scenarios that maybe I hadn’t thought of before so I just kept me on my toes and I feel like overall it was just good prep.
 
HopefulPremed. said:
suckssss haha !! i wonder what the post ii acceptance rate will be. class size is only 60 and i feel like they've sent out at least 100 interviews.
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That's actually not bad. The CDU/UCLA program gets thousands of applicants and only gives out about 200-300 interviews. They only accept about 24 students. Getting an acceptance is extremely difficult.
 
imgettininregardless said:
for my first one, he said he had to ask 5 mandatory questions so time was tighttt but luckily it was conversational. my second one… not so much. she didn’t say anything about mandatory questions and she was less conversational imo. i would say she asked about 5 questions as well
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Both told me they had to ask mandatory questions. Seems like I got the same female interviewer, less conversational and felt a little rushed.
 
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