2024-2025 Stanford

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Studiosssss said:
Has anyone who has been waitlisted tried to email an LOI or an update? If so, what did they respond with? Wondering if it’s worth it to yolo one hahah
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yes i did they replied they won't add it to my file since update period was only 2 wks after my interview :/ but was wondering too bc someone on last year's thread said they sent an update after WL decision??
 
I think that it’s probably best just to play by the rules. Although I really want to send an update as well. Anyone willing to call admissions to ask? I may work up the nerve by end of week…
Also, does anyone know if everyone was waitlisted for MD or if there were post-II rejections?
 
hi everyone! i emailed after my waitlist a couple of weeks ago and they stated that communications such as updates (if after your 2 week interview period) + LOI’s aren’t considered or taken into account. crossing my fingers for all of us! 🙂
 
wysdoc said:
6. How will you take advantage of the Stanford Medicine Discovery Curriculum and scholarly concentration requirement to achieve your personal career goals?(1000 character limit)
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This is my very first post, so forgive me if I should have looked elsewhere for answers to this (I tried, but couldn't find any definitive explanations). When viewing the page associated with this prompt, what exactly are we referring to in terms of mentioning which Discovery Curriculum we think would help us achieve our goals? For instance, are they talking about the specific new classes they have implemented, or the various "dual-degree" type opportunities? On another website, they made it out to seem like the Discovery Curriculum is separate from, for instance, a master's program that you can complete in addition to traditional MD coursework. In other words, what specific portions are we to select from on their website for this question?

Appreciate any help 🙂
 
beepbeepboopbop02 said:
This is my very first post, so forgive me if I should have looked elsewhere for answers to this (I tried, but couldn't find any definitive explanations). When viewing the page associated with this prompt, what exactly are we referring to in terms of mentioning which Discovery Curriculum we think would help us achieve our goals? For instance, are they talking about the specific new classes they have implemented, or the various "dual-degree" type opportunities? On another website, they made it out to seem like the Discovery Curriculum is separate from, for instance, a master's program that you can complete in addition to traditional MD coursework. In other words, what specific portions are we to select from on their website for this question?

Appreciate any help 🙂
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That blue phrase Discovery Curriculum is a hyperlink to their web page where you can read about it and see what they mean.
Click on Discovery Curriculum Pathways to see what the options are, and then on FAQs.
If you are interested in Stanford, it's important to know how their school is different and then whether you are still interested.
 
wysdoc said:
That blue phrase Discovery Curriculum is a hyperlink to their web page where you can read about it and see what they mean.
Click on Discovery Curriculum Pathways to see what the options are, and then on FAQs.
If you are interested in Stanford, it's important to know how their school is different and then whether you are still interested.
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Oh yeah, that's what I meant (sorry, I might have phrased my previous post poorly, but I'll try to delineate more on what I mean). I have gone through their site extensively (through the link) and it is unclear what we are supposed to specifically pick from. I was going to say one of their master's programs because I am interested in this, however I was told that is separate from the discovery curriculum. Again, thank you for the help!
 
beepbeepboopbop02 said:
Oh yeah, that's what I meant (sorry, I might have phrased my previous post poorly, but I'll try to delineate more on what I mean). I have gone through their site extensively (through the link) and it is unclear what we are supposed to specifically pick from. I was going to say one of their master's programs because I am interested in this, however I was told that is separate from the discovery curriculum. Again, thank you for the help!
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The discovery curriculum is basically the curriculum at Stanford. You can do a 4/5/6 year degree because of how the (discovery) curriculum is structured. Essentially Stanford gives you a lot of flexibility to make the most of your md, they’re asking how you’ll use that flexibility to achieve your goals. Hope that helps!
 
hi! for those who received their financial aid award letter, is there a process for acknowledging or confirming receipt? I know several other schools require that, so just wanted to check -- thank you 😊
 
On ^ topic, has Stanford's aid historically been this limited compared to other peer T20 schools? I was feeling 100% certain about attending last week, but now I’m having a harder time coming to terms with the significant amount of loans I’d need to take on.

Is the financial aid office generally open to discussing or negotiating aid packages? I’d really appreciate any insight y'all might have.
 
biotechwannabedoc said:
On ^ topic, has Stanford's aid historically been this limited compared to other peer T20 schools? I was feeling 100% certain about attending last week, but now I’m having a harder time coming to terms with the significant amount of loans I’d need to take on.

Is the financial aid office generally open to discussing or negotiating aid packages? I’d really appreciate any insight y'all might have.
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I attend the undergrad here. From what med students told me at least, Stanford used to give really good packages to be competitive w other T5s. However, they lost their donor (which iirc was the very prominent on campus arrillaga family) after they died and the estate was less generous or something…I did hear they replaced the donor but other med students said they didn’t actually replace the full funding, and several people complained about packages.
 
Also with regards to your second question about negotiating…I mean I’m sure it can’t hurt to try. But Stanford typically for undergrad doesn’t negotiate fin aid and I’ve heard they don’t negotiate at the med school level either…it’s just their policy supposedly.
 
meowkat1011 said:
I attend the undergrad here. From what med students told me at least, Stanford used to give really good packages to be competitive w other T5s. However, they lost their donor (which iirc was the very prominent on campus arrillaga family) after they died and the estate was less generous or something…I did hear they replaced the donor but other med students said they didn’t actually replace the full funding, and several people complained about packages.
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Oh that's tragic (both loss of an amazing donor and less aid for students overall), a lot of great talent is going to be lost of other schools this year based on my discussions with other students at discovery day to Hopkins and other programs, I really hope the admin reconsiders...
 
biotechwannabedoc said:
Oh that's tragic (both loss of an amazing donor and less aid for students overall), a lot of great talent is going to be lost of other schools this year based on my discussions with other students at discovery day to Hopkins and other programs, I really hope the admin reconsiders...
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I mean hence why there’s been more waitlist movement last year than in previous years for example.
 
meowkat1011 said:
I mean hence why there’s been more waitlist movement last year than in previous years for example.
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For what it’s worth, I got more aid from Stanford than any other school I got into. I think the school has been listening to the concerns of the students and has tried/is trying to make the packages better. Can’t compare with Hopkins or NYU price wise but can compete with other top schools.
 
anyone know if stanford will stay p/f clinicals? multiple other schools, including harvard, told us at admit weekend that they are considering switching back to H/P/F.
 
Daris said:
anyone know if stanford will stay p/f clinicals? multiple other schools, including harvard, told us at admit weekend that they are considering switching back to H/P/F.
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heard stanford is switching back either on this thread or reddit. can anyone confirm?

garlic_hunter said:
When you say multiple schools, what programs are you referring to?
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hopkins, harvard, stanford i've heard whispers about. i wouldn't be surprised if there's more
 
Stanford is doing p/f with the opportunity to “pass with distinction”. The number of students who can earn distinction isn’t capped and it’s based on patient care/attending recommendation, not shelf exam scores. I’m only an admitted student though so maybe I’m wrong
 
Mangoenthusiast said:
Stanford is doing p/f with the opportunity to “pass with distinction”. The number of students who can earn distinction isn’t capped and it’s based on patient care/attending recommendation, not shelf exam scores. I’m only an admitted student though so maybe I’m wrong
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thank you mango enthusiast! wouldnt this basically be H/P/F then, just worded differently?
 
Daris said:
thank you mango enthusiast! wouldnt this basically be H/P/F then, just worded differently?
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Kind of? I think the important distinction is that there is no set number of people who can achieve the “H.” It’s ‘supposed’ to be an unbiased assessment of your clinical performance and as long as you meet certain benchmarks you will receive the “H” regardless of how anyone else in your class performs.
 
Daris said:
thank you mango enthusiast! wouldnt this basically be H/P/F then, just worded differently?
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Not exactly!

For context, I'm an M1 here

The clerkship grading system is being moved from a P/F system to a P/F system with an opportunity to earn a distinction, which is going to be criterion-based. Everyone has the ability to obtain a distinction with this new system, and there will be no competition between students to obtain it. Also, this is a confirmed change and will be implemented in 2026.

The main difference between this grading system and a H/P/F grading system is that ours will be criterion-based, and is not applied per clerkship rotation, but rather to larger competencies at Stanford (so technically clerkships themselves are still P/F, and you will have the opportunity to earn distinctions in different academic domains - these have yet to be finalized). Stanny's clerkship grading will be actually very similar to WashU's clerkship grading policy.

And huge shout out to @Mangoenthusiast for fielding some of the questions!!
 
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BrokenLlamas said:
Not exactly!

For context, I'm an M1 here

The clerkship grading system is being moved from a P/F system to a P/F system with an opportunity to earn a distinction, which is going to be criterion-based. Everyone has the ability to obtain a distinction with this new system, and there will be no competition between students to obtain it. Also, this is a confirmed change and will be implemented in 2026.

The main difference between this grading system and a H/P/F grading system is that ours will be criterion-based, and is not applied per clerkship rotation, but rather to larger competencies at Stanford (so technically clerkships themselves are still P/F, and you will have the opportunity to earn distinctions in different academic domains - these have yet to be finalized). Stanny's clerkship grading will be actually very similar, if not identical to WashU's clerkship grading policy.

And huge shout out to @Mangoenthusiast for fielding some of the questions!!
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Thanks for the reply! Was there a specific decision made to model this after WashU's policy? When you mean identical, even the unfinalized pieces? Finally, when do they expect to finalize these polices?
 
wise_university1 said:
Thanks for the reply! Was there a specific decision made to model this after WashU's policy? When you mean identical, even the unfinalized pieces? Finally, when do they expect to finalize these polices?
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ofc! Apologies, the only thing that has not been fully finalized were the actual competencies that we will be able to receive distinctions in. The overall grading policy is very similar (actually, identical was a little too strong of a word hahah - will edit that shortly)

Regarding the finalization of this process, that remains to be determined, but we have a monthly town hall with our director of medical education who shares the current status of clerkship grading with us. Not quite sure when it will be fully fleshed out!
 
BrokenLlamas said:
ofc! Apologies, the only thing that has not been fully finalized were the actual competencies that we will be able to receive distinctions in. The overall grading policy is very similar (actually, identical was a little too strong of a word hahah - will edit that shortly)

Regarding the finalization of this process, that remains to be determined, but we have a monthly town hall with our director of medical education who shares the current status of clerkship grading with us. Not quite sure when it will be fully fleshed out!
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Thank you BrokenLlamas! Questions: so the way the proposed grading system works, people won’t get a pass w/ distinction in surgery or pass w/ distinction in IM right? Instead they’ll just pass in surgery and IM but have a “distinction in communication” or a “distinction in patient care” that isn’t for their specific clerkship but instead across all of them?
 
From what you are describing it sounds like they are adopting the distinction system that WashU adopted a few years ago. They award distinctions at the end of the year, and not specific to each clerkship block. For instance, you can earn a distinction in Foundational Knowledge for Practice if you score above 85% on two or more shelf exams. You can earn a distinction for professionalism (punctuality, demeanor etc), interpersonal and communication skills and, patient care based on the comments from your attending and residents, and your record. In a nutshell, not getting distinctions won't hurt your residency application at all (won't be screwed for surgery for instance because there is no grade or distinction specific to your surgery block), but getting distinctions can help you stand out by highlighting your strengths. It sounds like a great system that minimizes the stress of clerkships by reducing the subjectivity and competitive nature of grading, while also incorporating some of the benefits that come with graded clerkships.
 
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Mangoenthusiast said:
Thank you BrokenLlamas! Questions: so the way the proposed grading system works, people won’t get a pass w/ distinction in surgery or pass w/ distinction in IM right? Instead they’ll just pass in surgery and IM but have a “distinction in communication” or a “distinction in patient care” that isn’t for their specific clerkship but instead across all of them?
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Yup! That's the plan - no distinctions tied to specific clerkships

Thanks, @garlic_hunter for the additional context behind how WashU's grading system works!!
 
Does Stanford have a high priority waitlist for MD? Apparently they have one for their MSTP.
 
eep there was movement by this time last year correct? don’t know if it just seems slow for those waiting or if it’s genuinely slower than other years haha. still wishing everyone the best of luck! (whether it’s for stanford or wherever else you may end up!) 😁
 
FB group is at 101 right now... I have no idea how many are current medical students/admin though! Also not everyone joins the FB group so who knows. Slack is at around 130
 
Mangoenthusiast said:
FB group is at 101 right now... I have no idea how many are current medical students/admin though! Also not everyone joins the FB group so who knows. Slack is at around 130
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Has anyone joined the slack or FB group in the last week?
 
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