Difficulty: Georgetown SMP vs. Drexel IMS

[cannedhead325]

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I guess my question is pretty unanswerable since I doubt anyone who has been to both the Drexel and Georgetown med schools exists, let alone roams this board. But I had to ask, does anyone know if one program is more intense than the other? From what I gather, they're both insanely intense and just as likely to provide me with the grueling, stressful experience that I'd desparately like to avoid. Still, is one even a tiny bit less intense than the other. At their level of intensity, I think knowing this would be helpful. Of course, some may argue the reverse, but whatever.

Any insights would be great.

 

[drizzt3117]

I am not sure about Drexel, but I've heard the GT program is very difficult. Then again, so is medical school.

 

[Instatewaiter]

why dont you compare the number of classes that they take with the medical student. The more classes w/ med students as opposed to being in the graduate school, probably the more difficult.

 

[beachblonde]

here's the coursework breakdown:

Georgetown
Fall:
Microanatomy, 4 credits
Embryology, 2
Physiology, 4
Immuno/Microbio, 2
Career Pathways, 1
Total: 13

Spring:
Intro Neuroscience, 2 credits
Neuroscience, 5
Physiology, 7
Nutrition, 2
Endocrinology, 3
Total: 19

Summer:
Research Paper, 2 credits

Drexel:
Fall:
Biochemistry, 7.5 credits
Microanatomy, 5
Physiology, 3.5
Immuno, 3
Nutrition, 1
Medicine & Society, 3
Total: 23

Spring:
Biochemistry, .5 credits
Medicine & Society, 2
Physiology, 3.5
Microanatomy, 3
Neuroscience, 6
Total: 15

I know that only part of the Georgetown classes are with the medical school, and the rest are graduate courses. For Drexel, all of the classes except the Medicine & Society ones are with the medical school. Use the information as you will...

 

[PistolPete]

I don't know about Drexel's program, but I'm currently in the SMP and the program is hard as $hit.

Take that for what it's worth. Spring is going to be a killer.

 

[tacrum43]

I know that only part of the Georgetown classes are with the medical school, and the rest are graduate courses. For Drexel, all of the classes except the Medicine & Society ones are with the medical school. Use the information as you will...

But you get an actual M.S. degree with the Georgetown SMP in one year. It takes two years to get the degree from Drexel (you just get a certificate after the first year). Also, you are allowed to sit in the actual lecture hall at Georgetown and don't have to watch on video monitors in another room.

 

[MiztiKatz]

I have heard very bad things about the Drexel program. I think that they get video feed into the room from the medical school class. The feed does not work all the time. Sometimes they have audio without video or video without audio. When you have a good day and you are lucky enough to get both video and audio there is no professor to ask questions to, so you are on your own.

I am not at this program, I chose to go into another program, however friends of mine have done it. I think they would re-review their choice if they did it again.

 

[cannedhead325]

thanks a lot for your responses! seems like taking that many more credits at drexel than at georgetown would probably mean that it's more difficult, but i can't be sure. i've heard about georgetown being among the cream of the crop as far as SMPs go, but i haven't heard or seen much on drexel ims. i'm particularly interested in drexel because it's much cheaper, closer to home, and seems like a more realistic target in terms of eventually becoming accepted than georgetown does. anyone else wanna shed some light on drexel ims?

 

[dogsnme2]

thanks a lot for your responses! seems like taking that many more credits at drexel than at georgetown would probably mean that it's more difficult, but i can't be sure. i've heard about georgetown being among the cream of the crop as far as SMPs go, but i haven't heard or seen much on drexel ims. i'm particularly interested in drexel because it's much cheaper, closer to home, and seems like a more realistic target in terms of eventually becoming accepted than georgetown does. anyone else wanna shed some light on drexel ims?

As an MS-I at Drexel, I can tell you that yes, the 'rumors' are true--the IMS and DPMS students do receive live video from our lectures. This is done for several reasons: #1--The campus for both the IMS and DPMS programs is in downtown Philly, while the medical school campus is in East Falls, about 20 min from the IMS/DPMS location. #2--Our auditorium isn't big enough for both medical students and IMS/DPMS students. 🙂

I am not sure how much support is available for you if you do IMS/DPMS, although I would imagine that there are professors and upper-level students available for assistance. Furthermore, I know that the bulk of the Physiology department is located downtown, at the same site as the DPMS/IMS site, so that could help in terms of faculty interaction.

Despite all the negativity that you may be perceiving, you should be aware that at least 5 or 6 (if not more) students from the IMS/DPMS programs are in my class as MS-I's.

You need to decide what's best for you. Best of luck.

 

[beachblonde]

But you get an actual M.S. degree with the Georgetown SMP in one year. It takes two years to get the degree from Drexel (you just get a certificate after the first year). Also, you are allowed to sit in the actual lecture hall at Georgetown and don't have to watch on video monitors in another room.

true, Drexel doesn't give out a degree after the first year. but, if you're in med school (and Drexel has a higher acceptance rate after the first year), does it really matter? I suppose that's each individual's personal choice. plus, if you don't get in right after the first year, you can then do a second year to help improve your app.

I have heard very bad things about the Drexel program. I think that they get video feed into the room from the medical school class. The feed does not work all the time. Sometimes they have audio without video or video without audio. When you have a good day and you are lucky enough to get both video and audio there is no professor to ask questions to, so you are on your own.

I am not at this program, I chose to go into another program, however friends of mine have done it. I think they would re-review their choice if they did it again.

ok, the video thing is not nearly as horrific as people make it out to be. half of Drexel's own MS1's have to watch video feed because there are too many students in their first class to fit into the lecture hall. the video/audio works ~98% of the time. there might be a few blips every now and then, but the profs will always go back and repeat what they need to. you can ask questions through a microphone if you need to during class, and you can always email the profs. also, having recorded lectures means you can watch them whenever you want-so missing class for interviews is not a problem.

I had the choice of attending pretty much whatever SMP I wanted to go to and I picked Drexel. Personally, I felt that the program was far more rigorous at Drexel (you take more actual med school classes) and certainly the success rate is higher that Georgetown's. Also, Drexel guarantees interviews to students with above a 3.0, whereas GU might only interview a few at the top of the class. Really, it's each person's choice, but these rumors about how awful Drexel is are really tiring to see all the time. all of the programs are hard, go where you want to go, do well, and you'll get into med school.

 

[dogsnme2]

true, Drexel doesn't give out a degree after the first year. but, if you're in med school (and Drexel has a higher acceptance rate after the first year), does it really matter? I suppose that's each individual's personal choice. plus, if you don't get in right after the first year, you can then do a second year to help improve your app.



ok, the video thing is not nearly as horrific as people make it out to be. half of Drexel's own MS1's have to watch video feed because there are too many students in their first class to fit into the lecture hall. the video/audio works ~98% of the time. there might be a few blips every now and then, but the profs will always go back and repeat what they need to. you can ask questions through a microphone if you need to during class, and you can always email the profs. also, having recorded lectures means you can watch them whenever you want-so missing class for interviews is not a problem.

I had the choice of attending pretty much whatever SMP I wanted to go to and I picked Drexel. Personally, I felt that the program was far more rigorous at Drexel (you take more actual med school classes) and certainly the success rate is higher that Georgetown's. Also, Drexel guarantees interviews to students with above a 3.0, whereas GU might only interview a few at the top of the class. Really, it's each person's choice, but these rumors about how awful Drexel is are really tiring to see all the time. all of the programs are hard, go where you want to go, do well, and you'll get into med school.

I agree--the video feed is a little weird, if you are receiving all of your lectures in that format. However, as an MS-I, it is awesome, because it allows you more flexibility. For example, I skip early-morning lectures, and watch them later. A lot of my friends who want to take a long weekend will go away, and watch the lectures another time.

However, I do not know much about the different post-bac programs at Georgetown and Drexel. I don't think that it makes much of a difference whether you have a Master's, or a certificate--especially if your terminal degree will be an M.D. or a D.O.

 

[CoolSpot7Up]

Also, Drexel guarantees interviews to students with above a 3.0, whereas GU might only interview a few at the top of the class. Really, it's each person's choice, but these rumors about how awful Drexel is are really tiring to see all the time. all of the programs are hard, go where you want to go, do well, and you'll get into med school.

I'm currently applying to the Georgetown SMP. On their website it states that Georgetown's Medical School will interview approximately 50% of the SMP students. Also, if you enter GU for med school, you do not have to retake any of the medical classes you took during the SMP, which I find to be a huge plus. Just throwing it out there...

 

[thebozz1975]

I would stay clear of Georgetown. Georgetown suffers from the collegiate equivalent of short man's syndrome. A majority of the faculty members that I have been in contact with seem to have a chip on their shoulder. Everyone there thinks that Georgetown should get recognition as a top 10 school, but the reality is that it is a top 30 school. (There have been numerous articles in their student paper complaining about the school's inability to break into the top tier of the college rankings.) The faculty members are not the cream of the crop and classes are often difficult not because of the subject matter but because the instructors have a complex about making the college seem top shelf. They also use grade deflation as another way of trying to assert their status. It's really quite pathetic.

 

[alEXatosu]

one thing is no one likes the administration at drexel. they are just difficult. it seems everyone has had a problem at one point or another with them.

at the beginnning of the year you have 100% of the students going to class. by the end of the year- 10-15% actually go to the class (video feed). everyone just watches the lecture online, this is great mainly because you can watch the lecture at high speed (great for those really slow talking lecturers) and it saves time. and allows you to sleep in. most medical schools have it now.
whenever i had questions, i just emailed to the professor or posted them on the discussion board.

i think overall there were about 20-25 students total accepted into drexel from ims/msp/mms.
also, if you do mms-the second year involves just one second year med school class (pathology, pharm, or microbiology) and you spend the rest of your time doing research. if you play your cards right, you can get a good research job that will help you down the road with residency. that is what i did- at UPenn hospital--i was published and everything.

its a good, but rigorous program.

 

[beachblonde]

I'm currently applying to the Georgetown SMP. On their website it states that Georgetown's Medical School will interview approximately 50% of the SMP students. Also, if you enter GU for med school, you do not have to retake any of the medical classes you took during the SMP, which I find to be a huge plus. Just throwing it out there...

Yes, Georgetown will interview maybe 50% of students...but generally if you have below a 3.7 or 3.8 in the program, you're SOL when it comes to getting one of those interviews. Drexel grants interviews to anybody who gets A's and B's during the first semester (one B-, though, and you join the SOL pool). Of course, Georgetown has a "better" medical school, so if you want to go to GU Med by all means go to their SMP.

And Drexel will let people pass out of classes as well. That's not that unusual-I can think of some schools that don't allow it, but there are several that do.

 

[cannedhead325]

Drexel and Georgetown seem to have the most visibility and are the most well-established, judging from SDN. I'd like to attend an SMP with a proven track record. Since I'm from NY, and I'd like to be close to home, they seem like natural choices for me.

Tufts is not as well-established, I don't think. While I'd gladly matriculate if accepted to EVMS (mainly because I'd have a relatively high chance of getting into its med school), they're small class size leads me to believe this won't happen. But maybe they receive a proportionately lesser number of applications (?), I don't know. Anyone have data on acceptance rates?

I'm definitely still learning about SMPs. Drexel and Georgetown were the first ones to really stick out in my mind.

 

[Perrotfish]

Tulane has a 95% acceptance rate to medical school, EVMS has an 85% acceptance rate to medical school. Not idea about the difficulty of getting into the programs, but I definitely got into both EVMS and Tulane and not Georgetown (though I did get into Drexel). Also Georgetown has $120 application and they don't even bother sending you a rejection note if they don't want you 😡.

The difference between Tulane/EVMS programs and Drexel/Georgetown is that all the Tulane/EVMS SMP kids go on to the host medical school, so if you attend one of those programs you're pretty much planning on staying at that school for 5 years. Drexel/Georgetown SMP kids get accepted all over. The advantage to the high linkage programs is that they have set program requirements you need to meet to get in: at Tulane you need to beat the class average and at EVMS you need to high pass all your classes. I think this is lower stress and, more imporantly, this means you essentially have a clean slate. No such guarentees at Drexel/Georgetown: If you're geting a 3.99999 you still need to stress because you're not getting a 4.0, and even if you get a 4.0 it may or may not overcome whatever was wrong with your application in the first place.

Don't know about Tufts, RFU, or Loyola acceptance rates. I'm pretty sure Loyola is a well respected program, though.

 

[cannedhead325]

Thanks for the info. I actually meant the acceptance rates into the SMPs, in case that wasn't clear. Isn't the Tulane SMP for people that were waitlisted at a med school? I'm planning on going straight from undergrad into an SMP, cause I think applying would be a waste of time for me. I'm pretty weak with my 3.2 (2.6 sci) gpa and minimal ECs, and my 32 def doesn't make up for it.

 

[beachblonde]

I can't speak for any of the other programs, but I know that the EVMS waitlist moves a ton. I have friends who have done/are doing the med masters programs, and none of them were initially accepted. I feel like there's a fair amount of turnover for them.

The Georgetown program takes 150 students out of approx 800-900 apps. They accept more than 150, though, because they have people turn them down.

Perrotfish said it right regarding Tulane and EVMS: only go to their SMPs if you want to go to their medical school. If you want to go elsewhere, pick another SMP.