2022-2023 Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW)

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Pre II R as well OOS

good luck to everyone else here!
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Another M4 here addressing an earlier message today. Could my fellow classmate please expand on their point a bit? No school is without fault, and since my class went through COVID in med school we definitely had a rough go of it for a while. But that being said, I wouldn't go so far as to tell people to avoid MCW. Sure plenty of people match IM, but we have a lot of competitive matches as well. Also, there's nothing wrong with IM? Why are you criticizing your own specialty? The admins can be very frustrating, but the overall environment is so much better and healthier than other places I toured and rotated at. Now there are plenty of issues that I'm very open about discussing, but none of which are isolated just to MCW and also do not impact our overall development into well-educated physicians.

TLDR; to all prospective applicants and students, find a current student and ask them what issues they have with MCW and you'll get a comprehensive and reasonable list. But don't be scared away by an unconfirmed M4 that won't extrapolate on their complaints. Take things you see online with a grain of salt.
 
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medstud1993 said:
Another M4 here addressing an earlier message today. Could my fellow classmate please expand on their point a bit? No school is without fault, and since my class went through COVID in med school we definitely had a rough go of it for a while. But that being said, I wouldn't go so far as to tell people to avoid MCW. Sure plenty of people match IM, but we have a lot of competitive matches as well. Also, there's nothing wrong with IM? Why are you criticizing your own specialty? The admins can be very frustrating, but the overall environment is so much better and healthier than other places I toured and rotated at. Now there are plenty of issues that I'm very open about discussing, but none of which are isolated just to MCW and also do not impact our overall development into well-educated physicians.

TLDR; to all prospective applicants and students, find a current student and ask them what issues they have with MCW and you'll get a comprehensive and reasonable list. But don't be scared away by an unconfirmed M4 that won't extrapolate on their complaints. Take things you see online with a grain of salt.
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Could you please elaborate the frustrations with the admin?
 
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username1999 said:
Has anyone who interviewed on the 30 or 31st heard anything yet?
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nothing yet, I'm guessing that pre-II Rs went out today so we will hear soon, but they did say anytime up until the afternoon of the 12th
 
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vcentwin said:
Could you please elaborate the frustrations with the admin?
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Yes, I elaborated more in your DM but I'll post here as well. Basically, admin is admin is admin. Everyone has had experiences either in retail, customer service, undergrad, grad school, etc where the administration has just been annoying. Most people are lovely, but whether it be in individual classes, scheduling, pathways, general school, etc there can be times where frustrations arise. Nothing too notable, but when you're overloaded by school stimuli during preclinical years or trying to tread water during 3rd year rotations, issues seem bigger than they are. But these things are far from isolated, and I'm willing to bet every cent I've already paid to MCW that you'll find the same frustrations at nearly all med schools in the country.
 
NutriBullet said:
nothing yet, I'm guessing that pre-II Rs went out today so we will hear soon, but they did say anytime up until the afternoon of the 12th
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I swear the wait is worse when you know approximately when you can expect to hear back (vs not knowing if you'll hear back tomorrow or in two months)
 
A this morning as well! Interviewed 3/31 and sent an update letter right after my interview.
 
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medstud1993 said:
Another M4 here addressing an earlier message today. Could my fellow classmate please expand on their point a bit? No school is without fault, and since my class went through COVID in med school we definitely had a rough go of it for a while. But that being said, I wouldn't go so far as to tell people to avoid MCW. Sure plenty of people match IM, but we have a lot of competitive matches as well. Also, there's nothing wrong with IM? Why are you criticizing your own specialty? The admins can be very frustrating, but the overall environment is so much better and healthier than other places I toured and rotated at. Now there are plenty of issues that I'm very open about discussing, but none of which are isolated just to MCW and also do not impact our overall development into well-educated physicians.

TLDR; to all prospective applicants and students, find a current student and ask them what issues they have with MCW and you'll get a comprehensive and reasonable list. But don't be scared away by an unconfirmed M4 that won't extrapolate on their complaints. Take things you see online with a grain of salt.
Click to expand...
medstud1993 said:
Yes, I elaborated more in your DM but I'll post here as well. Basically, admin is admin is admin. Everyone has had experiences either in retail, customer service, undergrad, grad school, etc where the administration has just been annoying. Most people are lovely, but whether it be in individual classes, scheduling, pathways, general school, etc there can be times where frustrations arise. Nothing too notable, but when you're overloaded by school stimuli during preclinical years or trying to tread water during 3rd year rotations, issues seem bigger than they are. But these things are far from isolated, and I'm willing to bet every cent I've already paid to MCW that you'll find the same frustrations at nearly all med schools in the country.
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I sent you a dm as well if you wouldn’t mind responding.
 
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Waitlist this morning, interviewed 3/30. Anyone know how well the WL moves? Haha
 
Hey, just got the A this Friday. I know that its already been posted I'm sure but can't seem to find it. Would someone be able to post the discord or facebook group link? Thanks so much :)
 
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Anyone have takes on the new curriculum? I’m pretty excited about 18 mo pre clinical seems like good change ahead!
 
Got the A on friday. Debating on what to do as MCW is fairly comparable to my other acceptances. MCW seems like a solid school but they seem average at best for surgical subspecialities and I don't like the fact I'd be the first to be on the new curriculum which will assuredly have some kinks to iron out.
 
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EndureVascular said:
Got the A on friday. Debating on what to do as MCW is fairly comparable to my other acceptances. MCW seems like a solid school but they seem average at best for surgical subspecialities and I don't like the fact I'd be the first to be on the new curriculum which will assuredly have some kinks to iron out.
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I think the new curriculum is something that we’ll just never know about until it actually happens. If you have some other acceptances and felt like you fit well into their culture, I would honestly choose one of those! Go with your gut and the school that doesn’t give you any doubts.
 
anxioususer1314 said:
I think the new curriculum is something that we’ll just never know about until it actually happens. If you have some other acceptances and felt like you fit well into their culture, I would honestly choose one of those! Go with your gut and the school that doesn’t give you any doubts.
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Yeah I totally feel that. Really liked MCW on interview day and have heard nothing but good things from students/alumni.

Sitting at 4 As and right now there is nothing that really makes any stand out imo. Prestige, money, match lists etc all seem to be fairly comparable so its hard to separate

As for the curriculum change, from what I've read I think it'll be great in the long haul- just ideally I wouldn't be the first to do so haha
 
Hey! If there is a facebook or discord or something for accepted students can you send it here or PM me pls :)
 
Here is the 2027 Class facebook. There's a lot of info on there and also a spreadsheet link or roommates.

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Withdrew my A. Good luck to everyone still waiting to here back :)
 
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Can any current students speak on the diversity of the patient population - specifically at the Milwaukee campus?
 
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Also, any one receive any merit based aid yet? Someone from the financial aid office told me they think they’ve started sending some out already
 
red20 said:
Also, any one receive any merit based aid yet? Someone from the financial aid office told me they think they’ve started sending some out already
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I thought I read they wait until May 1st? I could totally be wrong though
 
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EndureVascular said:
I thought I read they wait until May 1st? I could totally be wrong though
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Just based on my experience growing up in WI and my basic knowledge of demographics in the Milwaukee area, the patient population is going to be predominantly white and African American, with a sprinkle of SE Asian, Hispanic, and other races.
 
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mikeygrapes said:
Just based on my experience growing up in WI and my basic knowledge of demographics in the Milwaukee area, the patient population is going to be predominantly white and African American, with a sprinkle of SE Asian, Hispanic, and other races.
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Gotcha. Thanks
 
Looked into the new curriculuM a bit more. Summer of M1 to M2 year is academic enrichment aka summer research project and then there’s no summer break from M2 to M3. Is this how most schools do it now? Yes there are spiral weeks but they can’t really be used as vacations as there seems to be a decent amount of manadatory things going on during those weeks.

This past year M2s used summer before M3 to prepare for Step 1 or took it early in April/May and then had a summer break, now the dedicated period for step 1 is December of M2 year around Christmas and New Years which leaves beginning of January for everyone to try and test before they go right into clinical rotations in end of Jan. Wondering how people feel about this? Bc going into a 3 month hospital clerkship while not having gotten step out of the way yet seems disastrous.

I have friends at mcw who needed more than a month to prepare bc the course exams don’t focus on step material and the school had told them not to worry about step bc it was P/F which messed a lot of people up. For example some didn’t take step until the fall of M3 year and had to change their tracks to accommodate. Others have expressed concerns that things are already not the most organized around clinical rotations sites and with the new curriculum now they’ll be fusion M2s rotating at the same time as the discovery M3s.

I do love that they go right into organ systems and the addition of spiral weeks. But besides step exams, clinical rotation evaluations/shelf exams are the most important part of med school so I worry about the novelty of fusion. Would love to hear others opinions!
 
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tolietpaper123 said:
Looked into the new curriculuM a bit more. Summer of M1 to M2 year is academic enrichment aka summer research project and then there’s no summer break from M2 to M3. Is this how most schools do it now? Yes there are spiral weeks but they can’t really be used as vacations as there seems to be a decent amount of manadatory things going on during those weeks.

This past year M2s used summer before M3 to prepare for Step 1 or took it early in April/May and then had a summer break, now the dedicated period for step 1 is December of M2 year around Christmas and New Years which leaves beginning of January for everyone to try and test before they go right into clinical rotations in end of Jan. Wondering how people feel about this? Bc going into a 3 month hospital clerkship while not having gotten step out of the way yet seems disastrous.

I have friends at mcw who needed more than a month to prepare bc the course exams don’t focus on step material and the school had told them not to worry about step bc it was P/F which messed a lot of people up. For example some didn’t take step until the fall of M3 year and had to change their tracks to accommodate. Others have expressed concerns that things are already not the most organized around clinical rotations sites and with the new curriculum now they’ll be fusion M2s rotating at the same time as the discovery M3s.

I do love that they go right into organ systems and the addition of spiral weeks. But besides step exams, clinical rotation evaluations/shelf exams are the most important part of med school so I worry about the novelty of fusion. Would love to hear others opinions!
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where’d u find this info? bc the pdf they gave us was kinda confusing to read
 
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i think at second look admissions said there is somewhat of a break between M2 and M3 but it's not that long??
 
pumalegs said:
i think at second look admissions said there is somewhat of a break between M2 and M3 but it's not that long??
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Yeah theres not much of a break but thats pretty standard for just about every school
 
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imgettininregardless said:
howd you know academic enrichment is a summer project? it doesnt mention that in the pdf and i thought at second look day they said research isnt required (could be wrong about that tho)
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It’s called academic enrichment bc most students use that time to do research. I spoke to a current M2 and M3 about it yesterday. Many people do the research bc they get paid and and if you want honors in research you have to do it. There are varying lengths you can do though. If it was really just a break they would have called it break like they do in the pdf for other periods of time, is my thought process.
 
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pumalegs said:
i think at second look admissions said there is somewhat of a break between M2 and M3 but it's not that long??
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Not according to the PDF. You go from hospital clerkship, get two spiral weeks in end of April then surgical clerkship from May to end of July.
 
tolietpaper123 said:
It’s called academic enrichment bc most students use that time to do research. I spoke to a current M2 and M3 about it yesterday. Many people do the research bc they get paid and and if you want honors in research you have to do it. There are varying lengths you can do though. If it was really just a break they would have called it break like they do in the pdf for other periods of time, is my thought process.
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just emailed them, they said. it’s a summer but we still have the Good Doctor course. they also said “For the “summer” during their first year, that expectation will be lower/they might not need to be on campus at all between 5/27/24 and 8/2/24 but that will depend on their progress through Phase 1 and if they are doing a Pathways or Summer Research project.
Curriculum advises that students not plan time off until they start in July and have a full understanding of their calendars/commitments.”
 
imgettininregardless said:
just emailed them, they said. it’s a summer but we still have the Good Doctor course. they also said “For the “summer” during their first year, that expectation will be lower/they might not need to be on campus at all between 5/27/24 and 8/2/24 but that will depend on their progress through Phase 1 and if they are doing a Pathways or Summer Research project.
Curriculum advises that students not plan time off until they start in July and have a full understanding of their calendars/commitments.”
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everything seems a bit chaotic lol
 
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hobblewobble said:
Does anyone know if the exams in this new curriculum will be NBME or in house?
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They’re USLME “style based” questions for exams from what I’ve heard this is the same as the current curriculum. M3 year for clinical rotations they do NBMEs for shelf exams.
 
imgettininregardless said:
just emailed them, they said. it’s a summer but we still have the Good Doctor course. they also said “For the “summer” during their first year, that expectation will be lower/they might not need to be on campus at all between 5/27/24 and 8/2/24 but that will depend on their progress through Phase 1 and if they are doing a Pathways or Summer Research project.
Curriculum advises that students not plan time off until they start in July and have a full understanding of their calendars/commitments.”
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This makes sense my friend did summer research but it was all remote where as some people had to come into a lab 5 days a week. At least you can pick what you do to set your summer up how you’d like.
 
tolietpaper123 said:
This makes sense my friend did summer research but it was all remote where as some people had to come into a lab 5 days a week. At least you can pick what you do to set your summer up how you’d like.
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Do you know if people are able to do summer research from outside of Milwaukee, like another city/state?
 
deepseafishguy said:
Do you know if people are able to do summer research from outside of Milwaukee, like another city/state?
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you can have it be entirely remote but that depends on your preceptor and the project. My friend that was remote did his while he was traveling europe lol
 
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