Drexel DPMS 2020-2021

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Does anyone know if you are expected to retake Medical School coursework once matriculated into the Medical School? Is it possible to graduate in three years?
 
Does anyone know if you are expected to retake Medical School coursework once matriculated into the Medical School? Is it possible to graduate in three years?
My understanding is that you have to take the classes that all M1s take, because the DPMs year is only a portion of the curriculum. One advantage though is you will already know some of the topics which will hopefully make the first year of medical school slightly less overwhelming
 
My understanding is that you have to take the classes that all M1s take, because the DPMs year is only a portion of the curriculum. One advantage though is you will already know some of the topics which will hopefully make the first year of medical school slightly less overwhelming
Hello current DPMS student and incoming first year MD student. You definitely have to take all of the classes for four years. Though DPMS definitely prepares you with similar material, the medical school is its own separate beast and you will do it all normally.
 
Are there any other programs similar to Drexel's DPMS that target URM's and offer linkage to their MS? Thanks.
 
Hello current DPMS student and incoming first year MD student. You definitely have to take all of the classes for four years. Though DPMS definitely prepares you with similar material, the medical school is its own separate beast and you will do it all normally.
Do all the current DPMS students now know for a fact if they are matriculating?
Congrats btw!
 
Do all the current DPMS students now know for a fact if they are matriculating?
Congrats btw!
Thank you very much! And yes the official acceptances into the med school went out for us today !
 
Are there any other programs similar to Drexel's DPMS that target URM's and offer linkage to their MS? Thanks.
Hello! There are a couple others. Off the top of my head there is GEMS at Georgetown. It doesn't have official conditional acceptance, but it is targeted toward URM's and a lot of people in the program get accepted into their medical school. Ohio State has a program called MEDPATH that is similar to DPMS, but you have to apply to their medical school first and get offered to do the program. I am definitely leaving some out, but those are the ones I know of.
 
Hello, everyone!

My interview for DPMS is coming up and I have to admit, I'm very nervous and excited at the same time. People that have interviewed, any suggestions or words of advice? Thank you and congrats to the people that have acceptances already!
 
Hello, everyone!

My interview for DPMS is coming up and I have to admit, I'm very nervous and excited at the same time. People that have interviewed, any suggestions or words of advice? Thank you and congrats to the people that have acceptances already!
There’s some really good advice a few pages back!!! Good luck you got this!!
 
Hi everyone! My interview is also coming up and I am so nervous! For those of you who have interviewed, approximately how long/ how many questions were asked during your interview?
 
Hi everyone! My interview is also coming up and I am so nervous! For those of you who have interviewed, approximately how long/ how many questions were asked during your interview?
Congrats on getting an interview and good luck!! I think the interviews are anywhere from 20 - 30 minutes, although mine ran a little over time. The amount of questions varies depending on the interviewer, your own questions/answers, and the flow of the convo. I don't quite remember how many questions I was asked but they were a mixture of the traditional interview questions and more "fun" questions.
 
@sandbox_17 @MDfututreMD interview lasted a little over 20 minutes. There were a few standard interview questions but they were mostly about details in my background like where I’ve lived and worked. I spent a lot of time trying to prep for my interview but I don’t really feel like it was helpful because the interview felt very... Informal maybe? I think my time would have been better spent trying to calm my nerves haha. Good luck on your upcoming interviews!

And if you’re feeling like I was afterwards, it helps to read all the stories on SDN about people who were accepted after feeling like they didn't interview well
 
Anybody else still waiting for an II? As each day passes by, I’m kinda losing hope lol. But hey at least I got in IMS. Also, good luck to every one interviewing next week!!!
 
Anybody else still waiting for an II? As each day passes by, I’m kinda losing hope lol. But hey at least I got in IMS. Also, good luck to every one interviewing next week!!!
IMS looks like a great program. I’m considering applying but I don’t have the 3.2 cGPA. Hopefully you get a DPMS interview but if not, at least you have a strong backup.
 
I received an email today and it unfortunately was a no for me. Good luck to those applying!
 
@sandbox_17 @MDfututreMD interview lasted a little over 20 minutes. There were a few standard interview questions but they were mostly about details in my background like where I’ve lived and worked. I spent a lot of time trying to prep for my interview but I don’t really feel like it was helpful because the interview felt very... Informal maybe? I think my time would have been better spent trying to calm my nerves haha. Good luck on your upcoming interviews!

And if you’re feeling like I was afterwards, it helps to read all the stories on SDN about people who were accepted after feeling like they didn't interview well
I am so with you. I interviewed on the 4th and I left my interview feeling as if I didn’t do enough. Where are these other stories because I definitely need them.
 
I am so with you. I interviewed on the 4th and I left my interview feeling as if I didn’t do enough. Where are these other stories because I definitely need them.
Hello there! I am current DPMS student and my interview was pretty informal too! They basically can read all about your accomplishments and stuff within your resume and stuff like that. I believe they really just want to get to know who you are and what you are like during your interview. So being yourself is the best bet!
 
I am so with you. I interviewed on the 4th and I left my interview feeling as if I didn’t do enough. Where are these other stories because I definitely need them.

Here, Here, and if you’re on Reddit, this was my favorite Lol

There are tons of them. Can y’all tell I’ve got too much time on my hands? Not like I should be studying for my MCAT or prepping apps
 
Congrats on getting an interview and good luck!! I think the interviews are anywhere from 20 - 30 minutes, although mine ran a little over time. The amount of questions varies depending on the interviewer, your own questions/answers, and the flow of the convo. I don't quite remember how many questions I was asked but they were a mixture of the traditional interview questions and more "fun" questions.
Thank you so much! And okay! Well I hope I get a nice interviewer then lol
 
Is the ethics essay anything to worry about? I'm not sure how to approach preparing for it
 
Is the ethics essay anything to worry about? I'm not sure how to approach preparing for it

nope! Super straightforward. I had more than enough time to complete my response which was my biggest concern, as I tend to be a very slow writer.
 
What is the consensus about sending updates? I haven’t received a rejection or an interview invite yet and I was complete in Dec 2019. Do you think it would help the admissions committee make a decision? Are we even allowed to?

thanks for everyone’s help!
 
What is the consensus about sending updates? I haven’t received a rejection or an interview invite yet and I was complete in Dec 2019. Do you think it would help the admissions committee make a decision? Are we even allowed to?

thanks for everyone’s help!
I sent an update and was told they will send my update to the right people. It doesnt hurt to do it.
 
nope! Super straightforward. I had more than enough time to complete my response which was my biggest concern, as I tend to be a very slow writer.
Also to anyone else who has interviewed, were you thrown any questions that caught you off guard? I know a few people mentioned "fun" questions, is that more of scenario based or just really trying to get to know who you are as a person? Thanks ! 🙂
 
Also to anyone else who has interviewed, were you thrown any questions that caught you off guard? I know a few people mentioned "fun" questions, is that more of scenario based or just really trying to get to know who you are as a person? Thanks ! 🙂

I don't think I had any questions that threw me off guard and I don't think that my interviewer was trying to make a point to throw me off guard either. He asked questions about things I knew he would ask questions about, but the only surprising thing were the questions he asked. For example, I'm an EMT, so I figured he'd ask questions about that, which he did, but the question I got was "what's the craziest thing you saw" when really I was expecting questions like... tell me about a time you handled an emergency well or something like that haha. The point being, though, was that the interview is quite literally trying to get to know you as a person and the "fun" things that were being asked were fun because it was unique to each person and almost in a way that you can't prepare for, I guess? There were, of course, the obvious questions like "why medicine" and such, but then there were less obvious ones about you, such as your experiences, jobs, and so forth. If you know yourself well enough and have a deeper understanding of why you're pursuing medicine and why you did the things you did leading up to everything that got you this interview, then you should be well prepared! Don't me wrong, it'll definitely be hard to think on the spot and I think probably my biggest problem was that I felt maybe over prepared because I was expecting a lot of really tough questions so I was thinking a little differently than the purpose of this interview. Don't do that. I hate to say a cliche, but they're cliche's for a reason -- just be yourself!
 
DocJordan’s advice is spot on: the questions were very tailored to the specifics of my application. I also felt over prepared because I anticipated difficult interview questions and was thrown for a loop by the conversational nature of the interview. If you want to prepare, i’d suggest reflecting on your experiences and what they taught you/helped you grow.
 
@docjordan and @BubbleStitch thank you for the responses and awesome advice! I'm a little worried that they'll ask me about the research experience I did bc it's been awhile and I don't exactly remember the details of the project. any chances they'll ask for that or prob just what I got from the research experience?
 
Last edited:
They didn’t ask me anything about my research experience and I’ve been working in surgical research for the past year LOL. But I’d still maybe have an answer about why you did it and why you enjoyed it or didn’t enjoy it (aka why you’d want to pursue research or why you know now that it isn’t for you). A question that didn’t surprise me but definitely took more thought to answer was “if you were in an administrative role or a physician during COVID, what would you have done differently in the months before what we’re seeing now?”
@docjordan and @bubblestich thank you for the responses and awesome advice! I'm a little worried that they'll ask me about the research experience I did bc it's been awhile and I don't exactly remember the details of the project. any chances they'll ask for that or prob just what I got from the research experience?
 
@Plant_Daddy how'd your interview go? 🙂
I think it went well, thank you for asking! 🙂 I’m never really sure after interviews though, LOL. It was very conversational, like others in the thread have stated. And I really liked my interviewer so that helped a lot. There were a few moments after my interview where I felt like I did bad or I had doubts, but I just tried to remind myself of all of the good things we talked about and the positives from the day. Everyone I met who were interviewing were so nice too and it made me so excited to hopefully get to be in a class with them! This waiting game is worse than the actual interview day tbh
 
They didn’t ask me anything about my research experience and I’ve been working in surgical research for the past year LOL. But I’d still maybe have an answer about why you did it and why you enjoyed it or didn’t enjoy it (aka why you’d want to pursue research or why you know now that it isn’t for you). A question that didn’t surprise me but definitely took more thought to answer was “if you were in an administrative role or a physician during COVID, what would you have done differently in the months before what we’re seeing now?”
I was asked the same question :laugh:
 
I was asked the same question :laugh:
OMGGGGG we probably had the same interviewer LOL I was def expecting the “thoughts about current medical event” question but the way they worded it I was like oof let me not get too political for a minute here 😆
 
Last edited:
Hey guys my application status just went blank and I haven’t been interviewed either so based on previous posts, I’m assuming I have been rejected. However, I was accepted to their IMS program last week and I was just wondering if it’s worth it?
 
Hey guys my application status just went blank and I haven’t been interviewed either so based on previous posts, I’m assuming I have been rejected. However, I was accepted to their IMS program last week and I was just wondering if it’s worth it?
Honestly it looks like a good program with a guaranteed interview if you meet the benchmarks. That’s better than most programs out there. And I believe it’s only for 1 year too
 
Honestly it looks like a good program with a guaranteed interview if you meet the benchmarks. That’s better than most programs out there. And I believe it’s only for 1 year too
Yeah I guess. Really bummed out. But my online app was never updated that I got into IMS. I got a call instead so I’m staying positive and hoping they’re updating my app to reflect my IMS acceptance. I wish I had at least gotten an interview.
 
Hey guys my application status just went blank and I haven’t been interviewed either so based on previous posts, I’m assuming I have been rejected. However, I was accepted to their IMS program last week and I was just wondering if it’s worth it?

I’m hoping that I’ll at least get into IMS if not accepted for DPMS. The curriculum is similar-- more rigorous looking, in fact-- and Drexel accepts ~50% of the applicants they interview, which I would say are pretty good odds. You would have a year to prove yourself and make a strong impression on the med school professors. I think it's worth it!
 
I’m hoping that I’ll at least get into IMS if not accepted for DPMS. The curriculum is similar-- more rigorous looking, in fact-- and Drexel accepts ~50% of the applicants they interview, which I would say are pretty good odds. You would have a year to prove yourself and make a strong impression on the med school professors. I think it's worth it!
Did you interview for DPMS?
 
No I haven't heard anything about an interview.
 
Top