AECOM Class of 2011

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Here are my thoughts. I spent a lot of time at Einstein a few years ago because I dated a guy who went there.

The housing seemed AWESOME for most people...reminiscent of fun times in the dorms (at my school all students lived in the dorms all four years, so it really was fun). Students were regularly hosting dinner parties, getting together to study/watch movies, etc. The administration seemed pretty liberal with letting people paint/decorate/move/add roommates, etc. so it seemed like a good situation for all.

The community is a bit dry right there, I'll be the first to admit. There was one good restaurant and a few ok ones within a 5 minute walk, a video rental store, a bar, and a few shops. A fifteen minute walk would get you more restaurants (mostly Italian) etc. Food delivery was so-so. If you took the bus across town to Arthur Avenue, the food was great (I worked right there, so I know) and the Fordham Road scene was a bit more "happening". The schools in the area, honestly, were not that good unless you get your kids into a special program of some sort (I know, I was a teacher...so if you end up going and have kids, ask me for some recommendations to get you started). The area never felt unsafe. I walked around at night. Alone. As a girl. And it never felt unsafe. I actually really like the area, except for the general lack of things to do. If you have a car and can get to attractions nearby (climbing gym, theaters, restaurants, bowling, ice skating, etc. etc.) it's a lot better. Getting to NYC took only an hour or 75 minutes, but the students often felt like they were light years away... That said, I felt like they made it into the city A LOT.

As for the students, I never met a cooler group. And, as I am older, I have a LOT of friends in med school. The students I met were so genuine, outgoing, personable, fun, etc. etc. etc. If I knew that the students I met would be in my entering class, I would go there regardless of wherever else I got in. Honestly.

Just what I know from having been around the campus and having talked to students about it a lot. Hope that helps at least a bit.
 
MaiPenRai said:
As for the students, I never met a cooler group. And, as I am older, I have a LOT of friends in med school. The students I met were so genuine, outgoing, personable, fun, etc. etc. etc. If I knew that the students I met would be in my entering class, I would go there regardless of wherever else I got in. Honestly.
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agreed. i was lucky to interview at eight schools, several that the usnews deems "top 20", and the best students were by far at aecom. i felt like i fit in very well there. i just wished the school offered better financial aid.

addendum for monkey12:

why the best students? there are always going to be sampling bias issues. i had the most contact with students who volunteered to lead the tour or to meet with us for lunch. the students just seemed interesting, laid-back, and had a healthy sense of humor. overall, they just seemed like they had everything in proper perspective and weren't freaking out about the little things. that probably had a lot to do with these students on average being a little older.
 
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Doctor~Detroit said:
agreed. i was lucky to interview at eight schools, several that the usnews deems "top 20", and the best students were by far at aecom. i felt like i fit in very well there. i just wished the school offered better financial aid.
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Hey Detroit,

How come you felt the students were the best? I only got to speak with the tour guides and they seemed great. I wish they had a 2nd look weekend.
 
Can anyone comment on the neighborhood as far as parks are concerned? Right now I am choosing between AECOM ( my first choice ) and Stonybrook. Stonybrook is much cheaper and its in suburbia which sucks for most students but is great for my family since we have a baby. My wife is not crazy about raising our child in a concrete jungle. We live in NY now but not in Manhattan and we have parks and such all over the neighborhood. I am worried about getting stuck with a one bedroom apt and having nowhere to take my baby except the small lawn on campus. But AECOM IS my first choice because the school just seems to offer so many opportunities.
 
Just want to agree with the overall awesomeness of the student body. When I went on my tour i got the most down to earth, happy, and great sense of humor feel from the students. Definitly makes me excited to be at AECOM.
 
What's up all? Looks like I am going to be at AECOM too. I loved the school when interviewing and I am definitely siked to live in NYC! Actually I will be moving up with my girlfriend who will be working in the city. I am strongly considering living in manhattan, hopefully in close proximity to the bus. Any one else thinking about this?
 
Well this thread has slowed down...

I'll chime in with a question and hopefully a current student or well informed pre-med can answer. How well do you feel Einstein prepares you for non-primary care specialties? Do you feel that you are adequately prepared for the boards, have enough prestige (if this even means anything), given enough rotation opportunities, etc. to choose specialties that are somewhat competitive (not nec. derm, but say anest. or cards)?

Edit: I did note on the match lists that there are lots of people who match anest. and radiology each year which is a good sign
 
DblHelix said:
Well this thread has slowed down...

I'll chime in with a question and hopefully a current student or well informed pre-med can answer. How well do you feel Einstein prepares you for non-primary care specialties? Do you feel that you are adequately prepared for the boards, have enough prestige (if this even means anything), given enough rotation opportunities, etc. to choose specialties that are somewhat competitive (not nec. derm, but say anest. or cards)?

Edit: I did note on the match lists that there are lots of people who match anest. and radiology each year which is a good sign
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Great question! Anyone? I really wish they had a 2nd look weekend :(
 
Does anyone know how housing works? i.e. how roomates are matched, etc.
 
DblHelix said:
Well this thread has slowed down...

I'll chime in with a question and hopefully a current student or well informed pre-med can answer. How well do you feel Einstein prepares you for non-primary care specialties? Do you feel that you are adequately prepared for the boards, have enough prestige (if this even means anything), given enough rotation opportunities, etc. to choose specialties that are somewhat competitive (not nec. derm, but say anest. or cards)?

Edit: I did note on the match lists that there are lots of people who match anest. and radiology each year which is a good sign
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does anyone have a copy of 2007 match list for einstein?
 
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DblHelix said:
Haha yeah, the school probably doesn't even have an official one yet.
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hahaha just wanted to see since on the pre-allo page there's people posting stuff up already
 
DblHelix said:
Well this thread has slowed down...

I'll chime in with a question and hopefully a current student or well informed pre-med can answer. How well do you feel Einstein prepares you for non-primary care specialties? Do you feel that you are adequately prepared for the boards, have enough prestige (if this even means anything), given enough rotation opportunities, etc. to choose specialties that are somewhat competitive (not nec. derm, but say anest. or cards)?

Edit: I did note on the match lists that there are lots of people who match anest. and radiology each year which is a good sign
Click to expand...

I think the curriculum is definitely geared towards primary care, but there are plenty of opportunities for people to get experience in whatever they choose. I'm doing surgery myself, and I didn't notice a problem with securing interviews. I know there were several in this class who matched in derm, optho, anesthesia, etc. You get five weeks to study for the boards, which I feel is adequate as long as you pay attention for the first two years.

Roommates are random, unless you have some kind of preference. Then they try to accomodate you (orthodox jews get the lower floors, etc).
 
My boyfriend and I are registered as domestic partners. Does anyone know if this is sufficient documentation for obtaining couples' housing? Any info would be much appreciated.

Can't wait to meet everyone in a few months!!
 
DblHelix said:
Got the e-mail. Pretty impressive. Did you see all those diagnostic radiology and surgery matches? Wah wah wee wah
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I was really surprised with all the rad placements. Very impressive.
 
Anyone else out there planning to join the ranks of AECOM?
 
DblHelix said:
Anyone else out there planning to join the ranks of AECOM?
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not sure yet. waiting to hear back on fin. aid from a couple schools. i suspect i'll get better deals at at least one other school, but it would be cool to be near manhattan, einstein seems great at matching people in nyc, they have great clinical years, and they have a great rep in the area of medicine that i'm interested in. the question will be how much extra am i willing to pay for that.
 
I'm coming and am super excited!
 
can anyone comment on how students go about living in manhattan for the clinical years (i think it's housing near beth israel hospital)? does one have to do *all* rotations at beth israel to live there? or most? some? none?
 
another question: do we fill out any additional paperwork for financial aid? or do they just give us aid off the fafsa?
 
For your second question: We're supposed to fill out the CSS (?) form. You can find it on the website under financial aid.
 
Doctor~Detroit said:
another question: do we fill out any additional paperwork for financial aid? or do they just give us aid off the fafsa?
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if you want to qualify for the einstein scholarship or the loan you must fill out the CSS profile and mail in tax forms for both you and your parents
 
Doctor~Detroit said:
can anyone comment on how students go about living in manhattan for the clinical years (i think it's housing near beth israel hospital)? does one have to do *all* rotations at beth israel to live there? or most? some? none?
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If you're on a rotation at Beth Israel, the school will provide you with housing next door (17th and 1st). If not, you're on your own. I know of a couple of people that chose to live in Manhattan and just commute to classes and rotations. If you've got money and a car (or don't mind taking out huge loans), I don't see why it would be such a big deal. Personally I stayed in the school housing for all five years solely because 330 a month for rent is pretty hard to beat anywhere in NYC.

I'm a fifth year on my way out, so feel free to ask whatever you want.
 
meathooks said:
If you're on a rotation at Beth Israel, the school will provide you with housing next door (17th and 1st). If not, you're on your own. I know of a couple of people that chose to live in Manhattan and just commute to classes and rotations. If you've got money and a car (or don't mind taking out huge loans), I don't see why it would be such a big deal. Personally I stayed in the school housing for all five years solely because 330 a month for rent is pretty hard to beat anywhere in NYC.

I'm a fifth year on my way out, so feel free to ask whatever you want.
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thanks meathooks.

what's the community like at aecom? i've heard that plenty of aecom students are from nyc. so do a lot of people have pre-existing friends in the city that they spend most of their free time with? do people hang out with each other much? what do they usually do? how often do folks tend to go into manhattan?
 
I was wondering if anyone knew why Einstein has dropped almost 20 spots in the USNews research rankings in the past few years. Before people jump on me, I am not saying it has changed or influenced my opinion of the school whatsoever, but I'm just a bit curious. Thanks.
 
bbvfgr54 said:
I was wondering if anyone knew why Einstein has dropped almost 20 spots in the USNews research rankings in the past few years. Before people jump on me, I am not saying it has changed or influenced my opinion of the school whatsoever, but I'm just a bit curious. Thanks.
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Not sure, but I do know that they are building a brand new research building and this new dean seems pretty focused on getting the research back on track. I'm confident that by the time we graduate, Einstein will be higher in the rankings.
 
Doctor~Detroit said:
thanks meathooks.

what's the community like at aecom? i've heard that plenty of aecom students are from nyc. so do a lot of people have pre-existing friends in the city that they spend most of their free time with? do people hang out with each other much? what do they usually do? how often do folks tend to go into manhattan?
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Most of the people I've met aren't from around here. You just end up hanging out with other students since you're kind of isolated out in the Bronx. You can go into Manhattan as often as you like, but if you're out past midnight you have to cough up $40 for a cab ride home (or split it with others). There's a bar next door called Gleason's that the students have adopted. Every Thursday it's full of med students getting hammered (no so much in 3rd or 4th year).

I'm not sure what the deal with the rankings drop is. I think it was around 30s-ish when I started and it's still in that neighborhood now. I've heard that it used to be a top ten place a while ago, but I'm not sure when. With the new research building, the rank should rise as funding increases (more space = more research). The site says we're 18th in primary care and 39th in research (whatever the hell that means).

The new dean is an awesome guy (he was the chairman of medicine at Beth Israel when I did my clerkship there). He should be pretty helpful. If there's any more questions, just post. The rotation I'm on right now gives me plenty of time to play in the internet.
 
Does anyone know the chance of getting off the waitlist at AECOM for an out of state student?
 
thanks again, meathooks.

can you comment more on the quality of the clinical years at einstein? how hands-on is the experience? how would you rate the instruction?
 
For the clinicals, it varies by rotation. You've got a lot more time to stand around and talk about differentials in medicine than in surgery, where they pretty much expect you to read on your own and pimp you later. For the most part, all our rotations are at county hospitals, which means they're going to give you patients and make you responsible. It can be a beating, but it also makes you pretty smart by the time you're finished. You'll get more than enough line starting, blood drawing, chest tubes, etc. The one thing I didn't like was the month of family medicine (seemed like a waste when you could do something more useful, like neurology or ER). Helping out in some random clinic isn't really my idea of a good time.
 
How did you all hear?
I interviewed on March 8th, and I'm still waiting for news.
 
I interviewd on 2/15 and still have not heard anything.. Every time I call they tell me that the ADCOM was a on a break... Im from the Bronx and really liked Einstein.. I hope I get in.. even though im regretting not applying early enough:scared:

well good luck to the rest of you! The Bronx is not as bad as many have said and its pretty safe.. but like many other major cities, you just have to mind your business and have common sense (no walking around at 2am).. alright if you have any questions about the Bronx, feel free to PM me.. Congrats to all you guys going there! and good luck to those still waiting!
 
meathooks,

You mentioned that you're an MSV--did you take third year off to do research? Could you elaborate a bit on how medical student research (non-MSTP) is handled at Einstein in terms of when it can take place, how do you get into a lab, etc.? Also, how is the neurosurgery department at Einstein and are there opportunities to do neuroscience/ns research (if you know this information)? I was accepted in January and am strongly considering Einstein. Thanks a lot.
 
important question: i noticed that the aecommunity website mentioned an ultimate (frisbee) group that meets twice a week to play. anyone know if the group is still active, and how many ppl usually play?
 
Doctor~Detroit said:
important question: i noticed that the aecommunity website mentioned an ultimate (frisbee) group that meets twice a week to play. anyone know if the group is still active, and how many ppl usually play?
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does anyone know when the financial aid packages are ready?
 
ahhh123 said:
does anyone know when the financial aid packages are ready?
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financial aid? why clutter the c/o 2011 thread with such trivial issues? you'll get nothing and like it! ;)
 
Doctor~Detroit said:
financial aid? why clutter the c/o 2011 thread with such trivial issues? you'll get nothing and like it! ;)
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why do they make us fill out all the paperwork if we're gonna get nothing??
 
ahhh123 said:
why do they make us fill out all the paperwork if we're gonna get nothing??
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i was joking, but the website and past sdn threads suggest that they don't give out much grant money. many people seem to get 3k, and i think they give 10k to people with the most financial need. so don't expect much.
 
When I decided to do a year of research, all I did was go to the dean, tell him my plan, and that was it. If you can find a lab, you can pretty much do whatever the hell you want. The neurosurgery dept. at Einstein is pretty fancy I think (they did the conjoined twins that shared some brain, which was in the news for a while). I know they have some big shot named Goodrich, but that's about it. There's always some basic science research going on across the street, and there will probably be more with the new building. However, you can just as easily do research at one of the fancier places. A friend of mine spent a year doing brain surgery and imaging on rats over at Cornell. Most labs will crap their pants at the prosepct of having someone to work their lab for free.

There are one-month, five-month, and one year research fellowships given out by Einstein which pay $2,000, $5,000 (I think), and $14,500, respectively. If you look around on the AECOM website you can get more information than I have. Labs get free labor, and you get a MD with distinction in whatever.

For those of you still waiting, keep this in mind: I submitted my secondary in December, interviewed in March, and got my acceptance in May. That was five years ago, though. I don't know if it's changed that much.

As of right now, I owe 217,000 (I thoroughly enjoyed myself). Good times.
 
Thanks for the info, meathooks. Are the Einstein fellowships paid for by Einstein or do they come out of your pocket?
 
You get a paycheck from Einstein. Honestly, the pay sucks, but nobody does a research year for the money I guess.
 
meathooks said:
You get a paycheck from Einstein. Honestly, the pay sucks, but nobody does a research year for the money I guess.
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just out of curiosity are you living off of your loan money right now.. the pay 14,500 doesn't exactly seem enough to live off of esp in nyc (I might be wrong).. if so would your loans be less if you didn't do a 5th year?

I'm strongly considering Einstein, but the fact that their financial aid sucks so much is keeping me from attending!!
 
Doctor~Detroit said:
i was joking, but the website and past sdn threads suggest that they don't give out much grant money. many people seem to get 3k, and i think they give 10k to people with the most financial need. so don't expect much.
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are u still considering aecom? i've read about your acceptances to pitt and u of chicago.. congrats! i bet they give out more $$ than einstein
 
ahhh123 said:
are u still considering aecom? i've read about your acceptances to pitt and u of chicago.. congrats! i bet they give out more $$ than einstein
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i'll have to wait and see how the financial aid works out. there's a lot that i like about aecom. if my debt would be the same for all three schools then i would choose aecom. but the question will probably be how much extra am i willing to pay to go to aecom, and i'm just not sure what that number is.
 
Doctor~Detroit said:
i'll have to wait and see how the financial aid works out. there's a lot that i like about aecom. if my debt would be the same for all three schools then i would choose aecom. but the question will probably be how much extra am i willing to pay to go to aecom, and i'm just not sure what that number is.
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wow really!! you would choose aecom over u of chicago? what about aecom is so appealing to you? I'm trying to decide if i'm willing to fish out the extra money to go there too! argh decisions decisions..
 
ahhh123 said:
wow really!! you would choose aecom over u of chicago? what about aecom is so appealing to you? I'm trying to decide if i'm willing to fish out the extra money to go there too! argh decisions decisions..
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if i let myself get obsessed about pretige, then yeah, i would probably lean toward pitt or chicago. but instead i've been trying to focus on which school would let me be the happiest, and i think it would be aecom. some reasons:

-based on interview visits, i felt that i fit in with the students there more than other schools i visited.

-i like the school's tradition/mission of service to the community.

-i like their housing situation, in that it's cheap, has plenty of space, contains a gym, and most students seem to live there such that it should be a good community experience.

-pass/fail for first two years and block scheduling (if i remember correctly).

-an affiliated hospital has a good rep in emergency med (which i'm most interested in) and they seem to match well in that. edit: i asked folks on the em forum, and they thought all three schools would let me match in em equally well.

- i'd prefer to be in nyc over chicago or pittsburgh, and plenty of ppl seem to match there from aecom.

edit: so what are your thoughts?
 
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