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I dont think any official groups/chats have been made but does anyone know when we might get our financial aid?
They mentioned during my interview that financial aid decisions won't come out until June at the earliest... apparently because they have to work on all the other graduate programs first since they begin sooner :/I dont think any official groups/chats have been made but does anyone know when we might get our financial aid?
Oh my gosh! That's so late. I thought most schools sent out financial info before Commit to Enroll day.They mentioned during my interview that financial aid decisions won't come out until June at the earliest... apparently because they have to work on all the other graduate programs first since they begin sooner :/
Idk if admissions made a FB yet. I'll check about Groupme with our president later today.I'd like to join one too!
Uncharacteristically sparse this year, but that's only going off SDN. Even just going off SDN though, there have been at least 3 decent waves of movement last cycle before 5/1 so don't know what's going on.Was there any significant AL movement so far?
Well then I guess I can get my hopes high?Uncharacteristically sparse this year, but that's only going off SDN. Even just going off SDN though, there have been at least 3 decent waves of movement last cycle before 5/1 so don't know what's going on.
Hey. Congrats on finishing STEP 1!M2 who recently finished STEP 1 and doesn't really know what to do with their time here. If anyone had questions regarding the student experience/campus/curriculum/whatever else, feel free to ask.
RFU has always had good movement every year so just gonna trust in the process. Got my fingers crossed for all of us lolWell then I guess I can get my hopes high?
Thanks, feels good to be done.Hey. Congrats on finishing STEP 1!
How easy is it to find affordable housing in North Chicago? Would you recommend staying in the university's apartments?
Thanks!
What’s the research funding for students like (funding to travel and present at conferences)?M2 who recently finished STEP 1 and doesn't really know what to do with their time here. If anyone had questions regarding the student experience/campus/curriculum/whatever else, feel free to ask.
Unfortunately, I don't know the exact answer to this question as neither me nor my friends have done something like this. The Office of Medical Education is pretty supportive of this however, so I would expect that they would provide aid. Apologies for not having a better answer.What’s the research funding for students like (funding to travel and present at conferences)?
Is the financial aid/scholarships here comparable to other similar schools. I’m leaning towards picking RFU with the CYMS dates coming up but nervous about not knowing aid and other financial info.M2 who recently finished STEP 1 and doesn't really know what to do with their time here. If anyone had questions regarding the student experience/campus/curriculum/whatever else, feel free to ask.
I would say it's similar to other lower tier private MD schools which is to say not that great. There is an annual general scholarship which every student is encouraged to apply which gives up to half tuition I believe. The Office of Financial Aid also sends also scholarship opportunities regularly, but I wouldn't expect much directly from the school if you don't get a reward from the general scholarship.Is the financial aid/scholarships here comparable to other similar schools. I’m leaning towards picking RFU with the CYMS dates coming up but nervous about not knowing aid and other financial info.
I'll just add my two cents since I live in Woodlands. They are older, but my partner likes it more just because it has that off-campus vibe. The clubhouse, outdoor grilles, and pool are also cool. But I have friends in student housing who love it too, so I'll also recommend them too.Hey. Congrats on finishing STEP 1!
How easy is it to find affordable housing in North Chicago? Would you recommend staying in the university's apartments?
Thanks!
They have a number of paid summer in-house research opportunities through federal work study grants, Advocate Aurora, Sinai Urban Health Institute, and other affiliates. Tougher in this regard compared to your research powerhouse programs. For travel, back in the day students were granted 1 award for travel during the 4 years of med school- the status of that program is relatively unknown following pandemic and financial changes they made in recent years (e.g. as of this year, the General Scholarship is only available to M2s-M4s). However, there are supplement awards on fall and spring research fairs for top studies to get travel funding, and some of the other programs like those with Advocate pay internally for travel. Wish I had more insight.What’s the research funding for students like (funding to travel and present at conferences)?
Yes I believe all who interviewed got onethe school sent out a nice Journal in the mail. Got that on Saturday. Still waiting on a decision so wondering if that gets sent to everyone who interviews?
What’s the research funding for students like (funding to travel and present at conferences)?
Hey. Congrats on finishing STEP 1!
How easy is it to find affordable housing in North Chicago? Would you recommend staying in the university's apartments?
Thanks!
Hello thank you for answering! Did you mind too much that rotations are spread throughout the Chicagoland and is there a lottery system where you get put or do you just kind of rotate all over?M4 here and I'm back. Matched a month ago. Also open to answer whatever questions y'all have (I'd probably specialize in the latter 2 years at this point)
wondering the same thingThe past 2 years it seems like waitlist movement starts April 15th, coincidence or can we expect similar for this year?
I emailed a few weeks ago and was told to expect movement around May 1stThe past 2 years it seems like waitlist movement starts April 15th, coincidence or can we expect similar for this year?
Hello thank you for answering! Did you mind too much that rotations are spread throughout the Chicagoland and is there a lottery system where you get put or do you just kind of rotate all over?
1) There is a given order of specialties that you rotate in (my class was IM, EM/neuro, FM, surgery, psychiatry, OB, and peds, but I think the order has changed for the current M3s). You rank your preference on which specialty you start with, and then you proceed through your clerkships in the above fixed order (peds -> IM and then you continue sequentially).
2) After you have your fixed order of specialties, you rank your preferred sites per clerkship. There are many sites per clerkship and it can be overwhelming at first, however students from previous years will always compile a yearly spreadsheet of clerkship reviews, giving you a rundown of their experiences per site. It was a helpful and honest resource overall for me and I'd say overall I had a smooth clinical experience (keeping in mind the chaotic nature of clinical rotations in medical school everywhere). Best places to do rotations depends on clerkship and clinical interests. Advocate Lutheran and Advocate Christ are consistently good for most/every rotation.
As mentioned there are a wide variety of rotation sites, some of which are a couple minutes walking distance and others which are farther (think Rockford, Barrington). The farther rotations aren't exactly the most desirable but people make it work. For example, the Rockford rotation for FM and Kenosha rotation for surgery are both lauded for its education opportunities and interactions with clinical staff, but the drives are brutal especially coming from the city. RFU does get periodic SSARP Emergency Grants which helps with resulting finances (can't guarantee this will be here for incoming M1s since it's COVID related) but you do have to apply for them.
To add on as someone who recently just went through this process, you can generally plan your preferences to be close to the city (outside of FM). With the exception of FM, all of my rotation sites are within 30 minutes drive of my Chicago apartment. Even if I were to fall to my 3rd/4th choices, my commutes would not have exceeded 40 mins one way. There were a couple of rotations (particularly surgery that I remember but probably a couple others) where if I had fallen further the commute might've been a bigger PITA.I think I answered part of this earlier in the thread!
It's generally very feasible to have all of your rotations be in or around Chicago, with the caveat that FM is a little more random. To directly answer your question, for the most part I didn't mind too much about the location spread. My farthest rotation was about an hour drive away which was tiring but I managed fine. With that said - I think CMS can, and needs to, do a better job directly supporting students who are placed at a site that is a far commute. It's a very commonly raised complaint by students who are in their clinical rotations and I'm not sure what other steps have been made to rectify this.
Not yet, but I also think the 3/21 group needs to hear back as wellAnyone hear back from the 3/28 interview?
Not sure on this, but I’m going with business casual.Is anyone going to the CMS Admitted Student Visit Weekend or know what the dress code is? I’m assuming business casual but I didn’t see anything in the email
The Dean says they've accepted people up until the first day of classes so I wouldn't expect a formal rejection until after thenCongrats to everyone accepted again! Does anyone know if or when waitlisted people get a rejection email?
I just got a reply from my admission counselor! They are meeting this Friday and are expecting to release decisions next week Monday or Tuesday for this group of interviews.We thinkin the 3/21, 3/28, 4/4 groups will hear back this week?
You are a lovely person thank you for reaching outI just got a reply from my admission counselor! They are meeting this Friday and are expecting to release decisions next week Monday or Tuesday for this group of interviews.
Hello,@Flareicus, @lionWushi or any other current CMS students, could you tell us a little bit about the curriculum in M1/M2? I have a few questions:
1. Are the biweekly exams & quizzes overwhelming, and are they timed per question?
2. How many hours per week would you say CMS students spend in mandatory lectures?
3. Is there any case based learning/PBL during the blocks, and if so, was is helpful?
Thank you!
Thank you!Hello,
1.) Not overwhelming in my opinion. Quizzes- for most classes, it's either open book OR if you get >50% you get 100%. They are timed and usually per question.
2.) M1 year first half you have like 5 hours of mandatories/week between labs, post-orientation formal stuff, and specific lectures (tack on another 1-2 hours of incentivized stuff). Goes down a lot second half and M2 year- more like 3 years/week.
3.) Yes, we do case based learning and PBL all throughout M1 year. I personally found it great. Only trouble was case bases in first half required some prep beforehand.
1. We have weekly quizzes. The quizzes are timed for 2 minutes per question, so you would get 30 minutes on a 15-question quiz (most are 15-20 Q's). IIRC, scientific foundations (SFoM) is open-book and you drop your 3 lowest quiz grades (out of 8 total quizzes). Anatomy is closed book and you drop your 4 lowest quiz grades (out of 11 total quizzes). Everything else is closed book pass/fail (i.e. if you score > 50%, or >60% in some classes, you get a 100% but anything under the cutoff is scored as such). In my opinion, they're very manageable of you stay on top of the material. They're more than doable if you fall a bit behind, too.@Flareicus, @lionWushi or any other current CMS students, could you tell us a little bit about the curriculum in M1/M2? I have a few questions:
1. Are the biweekly exams & quizzes overwhelming, and are they timed per question?
2. How many hours per week would you say CMS students spend in mandatory lectures?
3. Is there any case based learning/PBL during the blocks, and if so, was is helpful?
Thank you!