'righty then, here goes...
What is housing like? How difficult is it to get a house? Do people tend to live w/people they don't know previously, and how does that work out? Along those lines, how many people have cars? Do you find a car is necessary/preferable?
The options are pretty limitless--people live in houses (postbacs group together and rent), with families in the area, or live in apartments (this is by far the most common). While there some who live in Philly, I would say the vast majority of postbacs live within a 10 minute drive of campus. In the spring before you start, you'll be given a lot of info on housing around here and they set up an online forum to meet up with others in your class to find roomtes if you're looking for one. Given that traffic is pretty congested along the Main Line, and SETPA is pretty darn expensive, I think it makes sense to live close to campus. Having a car is quite helpful and most do, but I would not call it a necessity as the basics (banks, coffee shops, bars, foodstore or two, etc) are within walking distance...there is also a SEPTA stop about 30 seconds from campus to get to philly and the airport.
How do you find the pre-med advising (the main reason I would choose the program)? On a board from a few years ago (last year?) people mentioned Jodi had particular favorites that gave she gave preference to (particularly for linkages) ... Do you find that to be the case? And is the linkage system really opaque? How helpful is Jodi in terms of choosing whether/where to link, and then putting together other apps?
I find the advising here to be excellent (it's the primary reason I chose BM). I have not noticed Jodi playing favorites, and honestly cannot imagine her doing so. She wants us all to go to the med school of our choice--period. Jodi and the office staff is VERY helpful for applying to med school (via linkage or the standard route). I'm not quite sure what you mean by the link system being "opaque," but you'll be well informed of how things work when you're here.
How do you find competition between postbacs? Is it a supportive environment? How competitive is it (not only in terms of grades -- I understand classes are not curved between postbacs -- but based on a spirit of competition/group study/etc.)? What sort of grades do postbacs tend to get, or is it a true spread?
I would say the environment here is generally VERY supportive--in the last 8 days (finals), I witnessed more note-swapping than I ever saw as an undergrad. When you get any motivated, smart group of people together, there will always be a few who feel like they are in competition with everybody else, but this is more the exception than the rule here. As for grades, I really don't know what other people get...we do our best not to talk about them as it makes life a lot easier/less stressful (hard to imagine now, but it will feel great when you're here). But, as far as I know, it's totally possible for everybody to get an As in classes here--you'll work very hard though 😀.
What are the social dynamics like? How much time do you spend studying -- I'm sure that varies, but I would assume that during the year it is pretty constant ...? Do people go out in Philadelphia on the weekends, or not really, due to schoolwork (or anything else?) What is the male/female breakdown of the program? Is the group cliquish/all friends/etc? (I would assume there is a sleepaway camp sort of "dating" scene, complicated by the existence of the all-female undergrad population, but who knows ...)
You're going to study. You're going to study a lot. You will spend a lot of time studying. With that in mind, our group is a pretty social bunch--we have our own IM sports teams, hit the main line (and philly) together, and have parties fairly often (obviously this is less common around tests). A balanced life is encouraged, and I would say the majority of people make it out one or two nights a week. Not 100% sure of the male/female ratio, but it feels around 50/50ish.
How many postbacs are planning on taking independent review courses separate from the rather piecemeal one offered at BM?
Not sure what you're askin' here, but I'm assuming you're talking MCAT and I'm not sure of the breakdown. They have a night where they present all the MCAT study options--they bring in people from Kaplan, EK, etc and present the in-house class option also--yet our program has no agenda on this and doesn't push any one program.
Blah ... Sorry there are so many. I guess answer what you choose, and ignore the rest. And thanks for the info ... (I'm a Philly team fan, so I no sweet nothings for me.)
actually i'm ok with the eagles...the 700 level is pretty charismatic.
hope this helps. feel free to fire any other questions.
to you all in the process!
