- Joined
- May 23, 2003
- Messages
- 177
- Reaction score
- 3
I thought I'd do this just for all the premeds interested in what goes on at Drexel from a first year IFM perspective. Maybe other med students can give the pre-meds the lowdown on what goes down at their respective schools.
Pros:
1. we have awesome module guides and all our lectures are recorded and can be accessed online. we also have a student-run transcription service which types up lectures (word for word) which is available for purchase.
2. wireless internet access throughout the school is awesome.
3. the professors are fantastic and most of them are strictly there to teach and not affiliated w/ research (which means they're accessible and you can talk to them at any time. For example, our physio prof routinely stays at school and answers questions until midnight the night before exams).
4. the area is very good relative to other med schools in the area (Not to name any names...).
5. the professors are totally responsive to our input... for example, after a weeklong exam fest, we were scheduled for a cumulative biochem final the following monday... we voiced our concerns and got the final pushed back to tuesday.
6. the class totally pulls together. everyone helps each other out and teaches each other.. for our last gross practical, the top students got together w/ the profs and put together a review for the rest of the class.. for microanatomy, the class compiled a huge list of concepts/definitions that were going to be on the final, and distributed them to the entire class... we have a class website where students always post their notes/study guides for all to use... These are just a FEW of the examples of how our class always pulls together to help each other out.
7. totally noncompetitive environment. classes are graded honors, high pass, pass, marginally unsatisfactory, unsatisfactory which are basically equal to A, A-, B+ thru C, C-, fail. The professors set out guidelines at the beginning of the class so you know what you have to do to earn a given grade. For example, many of the professors set honors at 90%, high pass 88-89% and pass is anything above 70%. So you're competing against YOURSELF and not anyone else.
8. we have a great ceac facility which we use for standardized patient interviews.
Cons:
1. gross anatomy lasts way too long (mid september-mid may)... we've given our input on this and hopefully at some point in the future it'll be shortened (although this is probably just my wishful thinking).
2. exam grades aren't released until 70% of the class fills out module examinations. This pisses off alot of people who faithfully fill them out (because some people are lazy and refuse to do them) and this hasn't worked out well because most profs have exam return sessions which allow you to find out your grade immediately after exams... most people hate doing the evals because the software is totally user-unfriendly and becomes time consuming (~20-40 minutes depending on whether or not you actually include written comments). but the faculty carefully reads thru them are makes serious changes based on our input. again, we met w/ faculty and they are going to make changes in the evaluation software and process for next year.
3. att wireless sucks at the school... If you have it, you're assed out. I would suggest dropping them (and forking over the $175 early-termination fee) and getting verizon (which is best) or sprint (which runs a close second).
4. last but NOT least, it's expensive like ALL other private schools. I think for 2003-2004, it's about 35K for tuition. However, on the bright side (if there is any), philly is a relatively cheap place to live (you can get your OWN apartment close to school for ~450-750 dollars depending on how nice/large of a place you want).
Other considerations:
1. Our incoming class (2002) had the following stats: 3.45, 30 mcat, slightly higher for 2003 as I've heard.
2. the school accepts TONS of california students. In fact for the class of 2006, 25% of the class was from california (25% = 60 students).
3. Our interviews are very kickback and friendly.
4. Financial woes are a thing of the past and now that we're part of Drexel, things should be smooth-sailing from here on out.
5. graduating seniors for 2003 had a fantastic match, with quite a few ending up in very competitive specialities at great locations(derm, ent, ortho, and one plastics).
6. we also have the pil program which is for small-group, self-directed learning (which i don't know much about since i'm an ifm student so i won't say anything else).
Pros:
1. we have awesome module guides and all our lectures are recorded and can be accessed online. we also have a student-run transcription service which types up lectures (word for word) which is available for purchase.
2. wireless internet access throughout the school is awesome.
3. the professors are fantastic and most of them are strictly there to teach and not affiliated w/ research (which means they're accessible and you can talk to them at any time. For example, our physio prof routinely stays at school and answers questions until midnight the night before exams).
4. the area is very good relative to other med schools in the area (Not to name any names...).
5. the professors are totally responsive to our input... for example, after a weeklong exam fest, we were scheduled for a cumulative biochem final the following monday... we voiced our concerns and got the final pushed back to tuesday.
6. the class totally pulls together. everyone helps each other out and teaches each other.. for our last gross practical, the top students got together w/ the profs and put together a review for the rest of the class.. for microanatomy, the class compiled a huge list of concepts/definitions that were going to be on the final, and distributed them to the entire class... we have a class website where students always post their notes/study guides for all to use... These are just a FEW of the examples of how our class always pulls together to help each other out.
7. totally noncompetitive environment. classes are graded honors, high pass, pass, marginally unsatisfactory, unsatisfactory which are basically equal to A, A-, B+ thru C, C-, fail. The professors set out guidelines at the beginning of the class so you know what you have to do to earn a given grade. For example, many of the professors set honors at 90%, high pass 88-89% and pass is anything above 70%. So you're competing against YOURSELF and not anyone else.
8. we have a great ceac facility which we use for standardized patient interviews.
Cons:
1. gross anatomy lasts way too long (mid september-mid may)... we've given our input on this and hopefully at some point in the future it'll be shortened (although this is probably just my wishful thinking).
2. exam grades aren't released until 70% of the class fills out module examinations. This pisses off alot of people who faithfully fill them out (because some people are lazy and refuse to do them) and this hasn't worked out well because most profs have exam return sessions which allow you to find out your grade immediately after exams... most people hate doing the evals because the software is totally user-unfriendly and becomes time consuming (~20-40 minutes depending on whether or not you actually include written comments). but the faculty carefully reads thru them are makes serious changes based on our input. again, we met w/ faculty and they are going to make changes in the evaluation software and process for next year.
3. att wireless sucks at the school... If you have it, you're assed out. I would suggest dropping them (and forking over the $175 early-termination fee) and getting verizon (which is best) or sprint (which runs a close second).
4. last but NOT least, it's expensive like ALL other private schools. I think for 2003-2004, it's about 35K for tuition. However, on the bright side (if there is any), philly is a relatively cheap place to live (you can get your OWN apartment close to school for ~450-750 dollars depending on how nice/large of a place you want).
Other considerations:
1. Our incoming class (2002) had the following stats: 3.45, 30 mcat, slightly higher for 2003 as I've heard.
2. the school accepts TONS of california students. In fact for the class of 2006, 25% of the class was from california (25% = 60 students).
3. Our interviews are very kickback and friendly.
4. Financial woes are a thing of the past and now that we're part of Drexel, things should be smooth-sailing from here on out.
5. graduating seniors for 2003 had a fantastic match, with quite a few ending up in very competitive specialities at great locations(derm, ent, ortho, and one plastics).
6. we also have the pil program which is for small-group, self-directed learning (which i don't know much about since i'm an ifm student so i won't say anything else).
