Class of 2019!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Thread starter Thread starter deleted393595
  • Start date Start date
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Oh come on, "if" you get interviews? That's crazy talk. All of you guys have extremely extremely competitive applications and you will get in to tons of fantastic schools. I'm the underdog of this thread, and I have ~average or slightly above average stats! When you worry, I worry 10x more haha and I'm trying to stay positive! So don't say "if" you get any interviews -- you will get tons and be swimming in so much free interview food that you don't know what to do with it all 🙂

swimming.png


:l
 
hahah. Via stalking the school-specific threads??



I just want my MCAT score back 😢
Oh yeah you brave soul submitting before MCAT score is out
 
Go to preferences by your profile and enter your mdapps id, silly rabbit😛
Oh hot damn I've never seen this page before
So this is how people add clever little taglines.. 😳


Edit: nevermind. only the preferences page pops up and looks fancy
 
Good luck to everyone who submitted today/will be submitting in the upcoming weeks! Can't believe it's already been a year!
Enjoy Cornell! (That's where you're going, right?) Don't become a jaded New Yorker too quicky, now. 😛
 
Wowsers just checked my stats...I have a 2.30 post-to-like ratio. That's not bad at all...
 
Wowsers just checked my stats...I have a 2.30 post-to-like ratio. That's not bad at all...

LOL I have a 12 post-to-like ratio. I guess I should put more thought into my posts...
 
Fedex is going to make me have heart attack...I need to meditate or something
 
Let me know if you have any questions! And good luck with your cycle!

Thanks!! One quick one -- have you gotten a sense for what Cornell looks for in its applicants? Other than research and good stats, are there any qualities or activities that most successful applicants to Cornell seem to have in common?
 
Can I ask questions too? :shy: How do you feel about Cornell's new curriculum?

Yep sure! I feel like it's very similar to the condensed curriculums found at other schools like Penn and Columbia. On top of that, they're reducing the number of PBL sessions, so that's a plus. 😉 That being said, I'm sure they still have some kinks to work out (which was a con I considered when I was debating which school to matriculate at), but I'm sure things will be smoother by the time you guys come.

Thanks!! One quick one -- have you gotten a sense for what Cornell looks for in its applicants? Other than research and good stats, are there any qualities or activities that most successful applicants to Cornell seem to have in common?

To be honest, I would probably say it's the same as the other schools-- a passion and drive for everything you do. That being said, I met some people who had some crazy/unique ECs and had done some amazing things, which was really humbling and made me feel really uneasy about myself. One girl on my interview day had founded a clinic in Botswana, and another guy was the major force behind healthcare policy reform and healthcare delivery in Thailand.

Oh and also, my Cornell secondary essay had a typo, so don't sweat it if you find a typo in yours also. 😀
 
Yep sure! I feel like it's very similar to the condensed curriculums found at other schools like Penn and Columbia. On top of that, they're reducing the number of PBL sessions, so that's a plus. 😉 That being said, I'm sure they still have some kinks to work out (which was a con I considered when I was debating which school to matriculate at), but I'm sure things will be smoother by the time you guys come.



To be honest, I would probably say it's the same as the other schools-- a passion and drive for everything you do. That being said, I met some people who had some crazy/unique ECs and had done some amazing things, which was really humbling and made me feel really uneasy about myself. One girl on my interview day had founded a clinic in Botswana, and another guy was the major force behind healthcare policy reform and healthcare delivery in Thailand.

oh my gosh, that's crazy. seriously, wow. that's really awesome though. props to them! thanks for your replies and taking time to answer our questions 🙂 very helpful!
 
Yep sure! I feel like it's very similar to the condensed curriculums found at other schools like Penn and Columbia. On top of that, they're reducing the number of PBL sessions, so that's a plus. 😉 That being said, I'm sure they still have some kinks to work out (which was a con I considered when I was debating which school to matriculate at), but I'm sure things will be smoother by the time you guys come.
Yaye I get to ask questions too! 🙂Thank you for answering this, I didn't know they would have less PBL.

Good to know! So with the new curriculum, step one is taking after the clinical year? Also will there be dedicated time for research?
 
Let me know if you have any questions! And good luck with your cycle!

I've got another question, sorry! What are some examples of AOCs and SPs that students have done (if you know)? It looks like students have a lot of freedom in designing their own programs, but I'm just interested to know what form most of them have taken.
 
2019...it seems so far away. Good luck to everyone applying this year
 
Yaye I get to ask questions too! 🙂Thank you for answering this, I didn't know they would have less PBL.

Good to know! So with the new curriculum, step one is taking after the clinical year? Also will there be dedicated time for research?

There was actually some confusion about this. But it seems like in Cornell's curriculum, you can take Step 1 anything during the MCY (so you can do it right after finishing the pre-clinical stuff or after finishing all of your clerkships, though that would coincide with Thanksgiving and Christmas, with about 7 weeks for studying). So you'll be done with everything by December of the major clinical year. This is a little bit different from other schools with a condensed preclinical curriculum as they tend to take January and February off right after the MCY to study for Step 1. In the old/current curriculum, the MCY used to actually be 59 weeks total (excluding Step 1 prep). In order to make room for the 7 weeks needed to complete the MCY in one year, they're cutting down some of the clerkship time, which despite what that means, won't affect your clinical experience at all compared to other schools. For example, currently, Cornell's medicine and surgery clerkships are 12 weeks, which are much longer than what other schools tend to have (they normally fall between 6-10 weeks at other schools, with 8 being the norm).

And yes, there is time dedicated for research... There will be 6 months of protected time for research (and up to 9 if you need it).

I've got another question, sorry! What are some examples of AOCs and SPs that students have done (if you know)? It looks like students have a lot of freedom in designing their own programs, but I'm just interested to know what form most of them have taken.

So the AOC thing is going to be a new part of the curriculum starting with my class. During second look, they gave us a list of possible AOCs, and I don't think this list is exhaustive (since you can design your own), but here it is:

Global Health
Medical Ethics
Quality and Health Informatics
Biostatistics/Epidemiology
Biodesign
Nanomedicine
(HMHRI)
Stem Cells/Regenerative Medicine
Substance Abuse
Community Health
Business of Medicine
Health Care and Human Rights
Medical Education
Rheumatic Diseases
Preoperative care
Ophthalmology
Surgery
 
And yes, there is time dedicated for research... There will be 6 months of protected time for research (and up to 9 if you need it).

So they give you 6 whole months for research? That sounds awesome! Are there classes going at that time as well? And how do they accommodate 9 months of research time?
 
victory is sweet~

Edit: Buffer
 
Last edited:
There was actually some confusion about this. But it seems like in Cornell's curriculum, you can take Step 1 anything during the MCY (so you can do it right after finishing the pre-clinical stuff or after finishing all of your clerkships, though that would coincide with Thanksgiving and Christmas, with about 7 weeks for studying). So you'll be done with everything by December of the major clinical year. This is a little bit different from other schools with a condensed preclinical curriculum as they tend to take January and February off right after the MCY to study for Step 1. In the old/current curriculum, the MCY used to actually be 59 weeks total (excluding Step 1 prep). In order to make room for the 7 weeks needed to complete the MCY in one year, they're cutting down some of the clerkship time, which despite what that means, won't affect your clinical experience at all compared to other schools. For example, currently, Cornell's medicine and surgery clerkships are 12 weeks, which are much longer than what other schools tend to have (they normally fall between 6-10 weeks at other schools, with 8 being the norm).

And yes, there is time dedicated for research... There will be 6 months of protected time for research (and up to 9 if you need it).
Thanks that was really helpful, you're awesome🙂
 
So they give you 6 whole months for research? That sounds awesome! Are there classes going at that time as well? And how do they accommodate 9 months of research time?

Yep, 6 months of research only. No classes.

We aren't particularly sure about 9 months. I assume they give elective credit if you go beyond 6 months. I know at Columbia, the scholarly project period is approximately 4 months, but you can do up to 10 months if you need it. I also have no idea how you can possibly accommodate 10 months, but I assume they manage somehow. Maybe @mmmcdowe can tell us.
 
You can do more than 4 months by using elective months. To get to 10 you would probably have to give up your vacation months too, or cut your step 1 studying shorts.

The research time is nice but be aware you are essentially paying tuituon to do research, which is annoying.
 
So I just went through all of last year's school specific threads to collect all the prompts for all the schools I am applying to. Rather than starting to brainstorm and outline--like a normal person--instead, I categorized each question in a spreadsheet and calculated that I will need to write, at the very minimum, 30 unique essays. Yay procrastination!!
 
So I just went through all of last year's school specific threads to collect all the prompts for all the schools I am applying to. Rather than starting to brainstorm and outline--like a normal person--instead, I categorized each question in a spreadsheet and calculated that I will need to write, at the very minimum, 30 unique essays. Yay procrastination!!
Well, hopefully some of them are like <350 words? Those wouldn't be too tasking..
 
Well, hopefully some of them are like <350 words? Those wouldn't be too tasking..

Yea, many of them are under 350 words. I am just doing needless, neurotic tasks to put off writing these essays as long as possible.

Also, thanks @moop for all the likes. You are single-handedly saving my post-to-like ratio.
 
Yea, many of them are under 350 words. I am just doing needless, neurotic tasks to put off writing these essays as long as possible.

Also, thanks @moop for all the likes. You are single-handedly saving my post-to-like ratio.
Good plan 👍 :smuggrin:
 
Very nice first post on the AMCAS verification thread :laugh:
Gunners gunna gun. 😎

lol ok with the :grumpy: it doesn't sound snarky like I read it at first. Yay smilies! :wacky::wacky:

Though I wouldn't consider myself a straight-up top-tier applicant. There are others on SDN to fill that role. I'm just wishing for at least one on my current list, not gunning for all of them haha :cigar:
As veteran applicant 🙂p), I would consider you top tier. Take it with pride!!! :horns::bow:

Well, hopefully some of them are like <350 words? Those wouldn't be too tasking..
Yea, many of them are under 350 words. I am just doing needless, neurotic tasks to put off writing these essays as long as possible.

Also, thanks @moop for all the likes. You are single-handedly saving my post-to-like ratio.
Secondaries usually aren't too bad. A lot of them overlap with similar questions so I copied and pasted a lot of my secondaries and slightly changed the tone. Questions like "What kind of physician do you want to be" and "Where do you see yourself in ten years" can be answered slightly similarly with more goals in the second one. Just gotta find ways to tweak old essays to save lots of time!

But the autobiography questions ............ although you really only need to write it once, that first one is a SOB to write ... :boom:
 
So I just went through all of last year's school specific threads to collect all the prompts for all the schools I am applying to. Rather than starting to brainstorm and outline--like a normal person--instead, I categorized each question in a spreadsheet and calculated that I will need to write, at the very minimum, 30 unique essays. Yay procrastination!!

That's what I did! It's very useful though.
 
Just wanted to stop by and wish you guys good luck on your application cycle. Its a long, rough, depressing, demoralizing, aggravating, frustrating journey; but it can also be fun, interesting, exciting, and the rewards at the end are oh so worth it. GOOD LUCK!!!!:luck::luck::luck:
 
But the autobiography questions ............ although you really only need to write it once, that first one is a SOB to write ...

How "autobiography" is autobiography? Is it like an extended version of the personal statement (why medicine? tell me about yourself--but really only if it's related to medicine) or for you to tell the adcom about yourself as a holistic person?
 
Top