I just wanted to write some background information on pros and cons of this program. I was a recent graduate of the IMS program within the last 3 years, successfully completing it with over a 3.8 gpa. There are some great things about this program, but then there are some not so great things about this program, and I just wanted to write a full review of it. Just to be very clear, these are my opinions based on my observations.
Lets start with the pros:
The program itself is a great idea. You get to take medical school classes, albeit through a projector, but you ARE indeed learning the material before you get into medical school, so by the time you go, you should be even better the second time around. Some may say this is a con, because its a waste of tuition money to learn things twice, but I would say its better to learn something twice, and knock it out of the park the second time when it really matters.
Youre also being compared to Drexels own medical school students. The way the grading scheme works is that if you get the median medical school score, you score a B in IMS. The A range is basically honors level if you were at Drexel med. In other words, if you get a straight 3.0 across the board, you were the average medical school at Drexel. Obviously you want to do better than that though, because theyre taking a couple classes that youre not, such as anatomy (a real tough one) and genetics. But the great thing is that in theory, if you do extremely well in this program, you can say that you basically would be one of the top medical students at Drexel.
Lastly, some of the people are just phenomenal. Christy Streeper is one of the most dedicated people I know, and she puts a lot of effort into trying to get you in the best position to apply for medical school. I highly suggest getting to know her. Plus shes always got candy in her office that youre free to take.
And to the cons:
While the ideas are great, for some reason the actual results in my opinion are not that good. The people from my year who got interviews and acceptances at other schools besides Drexel are those who did well in the program, but ALSO came in with a pretty decent GPA already (like 3.6, 3.7ish). I had a decent GPA from an Ivy league school, I did not receive that many interviews despite doing phenomenally in the program. At Drexel, I was waitlisted with a >3.8 gpa, as was the valedictorian of our class. Eventually I received a rejection and had to reapply the next year, where I was not even extended an interview, perhaps because I did not do the MMS program. But I think it speaks volumes about a school if you can excel in a program supposedly built to funnel great students into the med school, and then not even be considered after you outperform the med schools own students. I believe many of my classmates feel the same way after experiencing the same thing. Now I am in medical school, but I believe it is more due to my efforts before and after the IMS program than anything else.
To summarize, I think the program itself is a great idea, and I think it could potentially bring a lot of great students into Drexels medical school. Its a great program if you want to get a sense of what the medical school curriculum is like, and if you can perform well in medical school. Its also got some really friendly, helpful people. However, if you are only doing it because you think this will boost your chances at medical school by a significant amount, I would suggest a different program. Having applied three times, I saw very little change from my first application to my second application with 1 semester of grades, to my third application with a full years grades, and most of the schools I interviewed at were more interested in the activity I did after IMS, and a bit dismissive of my performance in the program.
Other notes for people interested in the program:
It is not that difficult to get a 3.0 across the board. Yes it will be challenging material. Yes you will need to work hard. But if you sit down and seriously put in the effort, dont waste your time throughout the day, and keep in mind that this is a do-or-die situation (if you do well, you might get a shot at med school, if you do poorly its basically a nail in the coffin) then you will succeed. As I said, I had above a 3.8 GPA, and I still did my fair share of partying and going out, albeit mostly after tests.
The average day in the program varies student to student. I tried to go to every class, but knowing myself, that always starts out great but then fades. This is the case with most people, I feel like. Classes are usually packed in the beginning of the program, and then becomes like 10 people sitting in a huge class at the end. The trick is, if you DO decide not to go to class, you HAVE to keep up with the lectures. I skipped most classes, but mostly because I just didnt feel like waking up and walking there. You can also watch the lectures at home at 1.5 or 2x speed. Much of the time Id still wake up and watch the lectures the same day, or go to the library and do the work.
good luck everyone on the path to medical school! keep trying, you'll get there one day!
