- Joined
- Sep 16, 2022
- Messages
- 16
- Reaction score
- 10
Lolll 1st tier waitlist, interviewed Nov 4th
+1 first tier waitlist. Does anyone know if Hofstra has multiple waitlists? Or what the chances are like for people on the first tier WL?
I did. I also interviewed mid Sept. RIP lolAnyone else get an email saying "this email serves as an update that your application remains under review and will continue to be considered for a position in our next class between now and the end of March."? Interviewed mid November :/
Anyone else get an email saying "this email serves as an update that your application remains under review and will continue to be considered for a position in our next class between now and the end of March."? Interviewed mid November :/
No idea, it's so unsettling! Maybe they need more time for the decision, but it feels like a bad signYes I did!!!! I was just about to ask the same question in this thread. I interviewed mid November as well.
Are they trying to play catch up or something?
Got the same email, interviewed mid-December! To me, it kind of just sounds like they haven't gotten to our apps post-II/haven't made a decision, especially since they give an interval of now to March (i.e. before you have to narrow down acceptances and before any significant WL movement would happen). Just my two cents though!Anyone else get an email saying "this email serves as an update that your application remains under review and will continue to be considered for a position in our next class between now and the end of March."? Interviewed mid November :/
Also got this email and interviewed 1/9.Can anyone post what their 1st tier waitlist emails exactly say? Got an email that my application is still under review, but not sure if that counts as WL or if I should take it as an R.
Yeah I just got this also, Hope it doesnt mean an R is coming LOL. Although with the language they used that seems unlikely…fingers crossed!I got the same under review email (interviewed late Nov) and I am taking it as a good sign? Lol just because it means we could potentially hear an acceptance first rather than being placed on the waitlist which I feel they would have already done if they knew they for sure didn't want to admit us right away.
Same, fingers crossed it's the former.Not sure whether under consideration means they're debating between A/WT or R/WT....different ends of the spectrum but maybe either or :/
I was going to call and ask them if the waitlist survey was something we are supposed to fill out now or later but when I just checked the portal, the survey is not there anymore. Is that the case for you too?first tier waitlist…. 🙁 does anyone know how much movement this has?
edit: do we have to complete the waitlist survey? or just the form?
My waitlist survey disappeared from the portal too. Not sure if they removed it for everyone.I was going to call and ask them if the waitlist survey was something we are supposed to fill out now or later but when I just checked the portal, the survey is not there anymore. Is that the case for you too?
I sent 2 update letters between Jan and Feb and then a letter of intent in early AprilHi! Did you send an update letter/letter of intent?
Hey!! Hofstra is my dream school and I have an interview with them coming up next month. I have a lot of questions if you don't mind 🙂🙂🙂Hey y'all, current MS1 at Hofstra here to answer any questions yall have!
Interviewed Dec 2021 --> "under review" in late Jan --> 1st tier WL in March --> Accepted off WL in May
it’s also gone for me!I was going to call and ask them if the waitlist survey was something we are supposed to fill out now or later but when I just checked the portal, the survey is not there anymore. Is that the case for you too?
There’s a lot to talk about here, but i want to answer them all to be helpful, so I’ll get back to you soonHey!! Hofstra is my dream school and I have an interview with them coming up next month. I have a lot of questions if you don't mind 🙂🙂🙂
1) I'm a little nervous about PEARLS. How did you feel about them before starting Hofstra? Do you feel like they are effective in preparing you for STEP 1?
2) How do you feel about the mandatory 8AM lectures? Do you learn substantially from them, or is it more like "lets just get over lecture so I can self study at my own pace with my own material"? Do you feel that the general student body is supportive of these mandatory lectures as well?
3) What are your thoughts on the short-answer response exams? I'm worried this would make studying for Step 1 difficult as step 1 is all NBME multiple choice
4) I know that Hofstra is P/F pre-clinicals, but are there any internal rankings or some sort of stratification in the Deans letter for residency apps? (i.e. for example top 10% of people get honors at SUNY downstate for preclinical performance, despite a p/f pre clinical)
5) Are the students generally happy? Are you happy? How did you know Hofstra was the 'right' one?
6) Are the faculty receptive to feedback and is the curriculum constantly evolving? For example, I'd imagine students may be upset with the mandatory lectures and I'm sure many students in the past advocated against them, but I'm guessing the admin wasn't receptive to that since they've been mandatory the past decade?
7) How easy is it to find clinical research within the Northwell system? Do students have the opportunity to get on projects with residents with the possibility of getting published?
8) So many people tell me Hofstra is new and to stay away, but that makes me upset as Hofstra is one of my top choices. I'm curious, as a med student yourself, do you foresee the reputation/"rankings" of Hofstra increasing in the coming years? I'd imagine they are high up there but everyone keeps telling me to stay away and it honestly makes me upset that they think that way.
9) It seems like Hofstra is recruiting extremely high stat applicants (519 median MCAT!!!), which makes me worry that their admissions process is slightly biased and may inherently forge a class based purely off stats and not on mission fit, diversity, experiences, etc. What are your thoughts on this?
okay I know that was a lot so if you wanna just answer 1 or a few I wouldnt mind at all!
Wow.... I can't thank you enough for taking time out of your busy MS1 schedule to answer my questions!!!! This DEFINITELY assuages all of my reluctance about this school. <3 You are the best!! go pride!@lady.gaga
1) PEARLS is definitely an adjustment, whether you are excited or nervous about it prior to starting! It’s a strong emphasis on self-directed learning and research that most students aren’t familiar with prior to PEARLS. Many students initially (and some still do) feel that the research done to prepare for each case discussion takes up a lot of time because there are no concrete resources that the school tells you to use. I feel neutral, mainly in that the clinical context provided in each case really helps consolidation and retention of the underlying biology and disease mechanisms, but we are responsible for making our own “Learning Objectives or LOs” derived from the case, that we research prior to the case discussion, which feels like maybe not a good use of time. At the end of the day, self-directed learning is a super important skill to develop to be a good physician because you will constantly be looking things up and researching on your own during residency/career to stay up-to-date and knowing how to navigate that now is ultimately helpful, even though it can feel like a time suck. As for STEP 1 prep, I can’t speak too much bc I’m just an MS1 but it really drives home a complete picture of disease and as i mentioned, the format helps you better retain info about disease because it is presented in a clinically relevant context.
2) At first, I was not feeling it, but I eventually came around and got used to it because it is so important to build an early-morning routine since this is eventually how early (sometimes earlier) your day starts as a 3rd year, resident, and sometimes an attending. Developing those habits now means you won’t have to adjust to the early routine later on. Also, mandatory lectures make it so that you see your classmates all the time, which I have evidently seen foster more class camaraderie and community and allow for more socializing, because you're literally with your peers for 3-4 hours a day. Some lectures feel like “this could have been a zoom lecture” or could be learned at your own pace, but most of the time I would say its beneficial to be in-person, especially because half of our curriculum involves small-group learning: PEARLS and small-group humanities/clinical reasoning sessions. Im sure there are classmates who despise the 8ams, but again I don’t see the school getting rid of this anytime soon so just something to think about when deciding to come here.
3) They’re hard!!! I just finished my second block exam in December and the short-answer exams STRONGLY emphasize active recall over rote memorization, which in the moment makes you frustrated because of how you have to adjust your studying, but ultimately and ironically, super beneficial for STEP1 prep given you will retain the information better than just memorizing information and taking multiple-choice exams. You just become a better studier overall because you can’t just rely on recognizing info, you need a solid understanding of the material. That being said, most students do perfectly fine on the exams since the grading is very forgiving.
4) No internal rankings during pre-clinicals. There is however AOA, which is a national honor society that is present in a lot of medical schools, and includes top 20% of students based on your clerkship grades and faculty input. AOA is only relevant 3rd/4th year.
5) I would say students are generally doing well mentally, but this can fluctuate, especially as exams near. Med school is hard. Most students recognize this and pretty much 100% of students have bad days, which is totally normal/valid and a part of the journey to becoming a physician. The important thing is how you take care of yourself on these days and the systems you put in place to take care of your mental health and balance school vs rest of your life. I’m definitely happy since I’ve come here and I feel that I have been able to find time to have fun most weeks. I definitely have had rough days as I mentioned most do, but they don’t define my experience. It does get harder in second year and third year, but i think if you know how to take care of yourself, med school can be a happy time, and not a stressful blur in your medical career.
of course! happy to help. I was in your shoes last year and I know that I would have appreciated this information from a current studentWow.... I can't thank you enough for taking time out of your busy MS1 schedule to answer my questions!!!! This DEFINITELY assuages all of my reluctance about this school. <3 You are the best!! go pride!
have you heard of other outcomes after "under review"?Hey y'all, current MS1 at Hofstra here to answer any questions yall have!
Interviewed Dec 2021 --> "under review" in late Jan --> 1st tier WL in March --> Accepted off WL in May
Usually 1st tier WL or A (as evidenced above!!) so don't lose hope!!have you heard of other outcomes after "under review"?
as someone who interviewed mid-Nov and got an under review email last week, this makes me want to throw up. congrats!!!!!A today after under review email last week - interviewed mid-Nov!
Mandatory in-person Mon-Fri at 8am.Can any current students describe the PEARLS/ preclinical setup? How many days a week are you in person, what do the sessions look like, etc. I recently had my interview but felt that this wasn't very clear
This honestly sounds so awesome but I'm wondering how 2 cases a week with learning objectives would prepare you for the huge huge volume of information needed for Step 1? With my self directed studying I'm scared I wouldn't dive "deep enough" to the topics needed to do well on step 1. Also, are the ideal learning objectives still being released at the end of the week or at the start? I feel like it would make sense to release them at the beginning of the week? Thanks!!Mandatory in-person Mon-Fri at 8am.
PEARLS are MWF and run from 8am-10pm. Monday PEARLS, you'll be introduced to the 2 cases for the week, which typically align with the content/theme of the week, and youll read case 1 (first hr) and 2 (second hr) and work with your group to develop "Learning Objectives" or LOs that will guide your research in preparation for Wednesday and Friday. These LOs are to help you understand the pathophysiology, clinical presentation, underlying biology, etc. related to the case. You'll then research the answers to the LOs and discuss these for Case 1 during Wednesday session and Case 2 during Friday Session. At the end of each pearls session, theres about 20 min of wrap-up/reflection on your self and the group's performance, and your faculty facilitator provides additional feedback. On friday, the ideal LOs that the school has developed for each case will be released and usually the group LOs match up with the ideal LOs as students get more experience with PEARLs a few weeks into school.
Pre-clinical classes 1st/2nd yr will run 8am-12/1pm Mon-Fri with a mix of Large-group lectures, PEARLS, Structure (anatomy lab, and structure large group lectures), Physical Diagnosis/Exam, and PPS (social medicine/humanities courses) every week. Some days can run earlier, but will rarely run past 1pm. You will also have 3 "Clinical Learning Sessions" per block (starts after the first CPR block) where you are in a small group with a faculty facilitator and work through clinical cases by generating differential diagnoses through history taking/critical thinking and ultimately diagnosing a mock patient. There are weekly essays that are due 12pm on Sundays covering that week's content (they are only graded on completion). For the PPS, you will have large-group lectures and also be assigned a small 8-10 person Family group with faculty (same group for the whole year) and learn/practice the patient encounter (Chief concern, HPI, full history taking, etc) and also run through scenarios/discuss medical ethics and other social aspects of medicine. We also have Ultrasound sessions where you learn basic Ultrasound techniques and practice identifying anatomy on all the body systems, led by Radiology residents/and our Head Sonographer.
Part of the pre-clinical curriculum is to get students early exposure into a clinical setting. In the first block, CPR, you get EMT training/certification and participate on ambulance ride-alongs with Northwell EMT's (see minimum of 10 patients). Starting the second block, BI, and until the end of your second-year, you begin your ICE (initial clinical experience) rotations where you are paired with a physician preceptor in Medicine, Surgery, and Ob/Gyn starting MS1, and pediatrics and psychiatry (starting MS2). During ICE sessions, which are typically once a week for about 4 hours, you work with your preceptors and see patients, getting hands-on experience and practicing history taking/physical exam (general and focused depending on the type of specialty)/patient encounters. For surgery ICE, you get to see pre-op/post-op visits and also scrub in on surgical cases with your Surgery ICE preceptor. There's so much to learn during ICE and it really positions students to excel during third-year rotations because you have been learning and honing the core clinical skills since the first semester of school, and so patient encounters feel more comfortable. Without ICE/similar programs at other schools, you might not even talk/see a patient until your third-year, which can be really scary!
Hope this helps!
So PEARLs is just one aspect of the curriculum! Much of the content is delivered through large-group lectures as you would expect, where you learn the material traditional style (PEARLs cases help supplement this learning/provide a clinical context for better retention/understanding). The concern about student's depth of research is definitely real, but since the same PEARLS content is reinforced during lecture, you will be able to fill in the gaps. And yes, I agree that releasing ideal LO's at the end of the week doesn't really make sense and I believe this is one of the changes they are trying to make to PEARLS so that Monday sessions are more about analyzing the case (with LOs released at the beginning of the week) and less for creating LOs.This honestly sounds so awesome but I'm wondering how 2 cases a week with learning objectives would prepare you for the huge huge volume of information needed for Step 1? With my self directed studying I'm scared I wouldn't dive "deep enough" to the topics needed to do well on step 1. Also, are the ideal learning objectives still being released at the end of the week or at the start? I feel like it would make sense to release them at the beginning of the week? Thanks!!
Above someone said the last interview date was todayAre they still interviewing here?
Just double checking, is FAFSA the only thing we have to fill out for financial aid (if we don't have to do non-custodial parent app)? And does anyone know if there's a way to check that your FAFSA has been received?
+1. Interviewed early DecJUST GOT THE A!!! So surprising as my mcat is very average!!
Are you me??? +1Pre-II R, Completed Mid-August, LM 72 WARS 83, ORM