i'm a third year at temple. i'd hate to tell you that my experiences are just like those of everyone else in my class, but it'll give you one more opinion to consider.
first thing's first: if you're looking for cutting edge research or a flashy name, temple probably isn't the way to go. that's what penn and jeff are for. another option, of course, would be to do a summer of research at the nih or another similar program after your first year. but i didn't even want to do research, so this was no big factor for me.
overall, i'd say that the main draw of temple are the clinical years. temple grads are well known for being amazing residents. if you want a wide variety of interesting clinical experiences at a good selection of sites throughout pennsylvania, this is your school. i'm not a big book learner. i learn by seeing and doing. and as such, i was pretty miserable my first two years. but i can't begin to emphasize how much i've enjoyed my third year. i've seen cases that i don't think people in the nicer neighborhoods of philly could ever dream of...
that being said, i'm sure you interviewed at temple and saw the facilities and the neighborhood and it was a concern. i'm a relatively small white female. i haven't had any problems with safety. yes, people do get mugged and their cars get broken into. but those things can easily be avoided if you use common sense. there are 24 hour security escorts. there are parking garages and indoor ways to get around. also, the school's working on building a new med school building. no idea when that'll be done. but i can honestly say that, within the time span that i've been at the school, the administrators have worked very hard at improving the facilities for everyone and it definitely shows. still not the prettiest campus ever, but it gets the job done.
another major factor for you to consider is that temple is definitely a commuter school. the closest people live to campus is probably center city philly, which is about 15-30 minutes away depending on traffic. this is something i didn't really factor into my decision at all, and was made miserable by it for quite some time as i've been commuting from a far away suburb (living at home with my parents to save money). during my college years i was so accustomed to living in a dorm on campus and stumbling out of bed 3 minutes before class. not so the case now... but i've since grown accustomed to the commutes, and no doubt you will too. as a major warning: to my experience, philly public transportation sucks (often late, very expensive, dirty, unreliable in poor weather etc). so prepare to drive if at all possible, unless you live in center city when it'd probably be easier to take the public transportation system.
regarding the alternating class theory, i'm in the class of '06. i'm about as type b as it gets for a med student. every class has its gunners. every class has its fair share of those who aren't nearly as cut throat. in general, i'd say that temple students have been quite pleasant to be around. a very down to earth group of people in my class, many with amazing life experiences, genuinely caring personalities. the admissions people definitely knew what they were doing when they chose my classmates.
hope this was helpful. please feel free to pm me with any other specific questions you have.
