Drexel IMS 2014-2015

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Anyone get into the program with an MCAT under 27? I just retook the MCAT, but submitted the app with a <27 score...
 
Just watched the webinar, and apparently 100% of those who applied after IMS year who qualified for the guaranteed interview got in and 87.5% of those in MMS got in. Seems really really high.
 
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Just watched the webinar, and apparently 100% of those who applied after IMS year who qualified for the guaranteed interview got in and 87.5% of those in MMS got in. Seems really really high.
Edit: I'm not sure about stats AFTER ims year, but here's some information about stats DURING the 2013-2014 IMS year.

From the head administrative/coordinator lady (the person that essentially everything goes thru):
16 students earned guaranteed interviews this year from the IMS/MBS program.
2 were MBS Philadelphia students
3 were IMS Sacramento students
11 were IMS Philadelphia students

Now, to give you an idea as to what was boiled down to get that "3 were in IMS Sac" factoid...

There were 16 IMS Sac at the outset.
1/16 dropped a couple weeks in.
1/16 dropped around the end of the first semester
So that left 14 who went on to finish the program.

10/14 were awarded the certificate for completing the required curriculum (Biochem, Physio, Cell Bio & Microanatomy, Neuro)
So 10 people have actually "graduated" (none of which actually walked at commencement, lol)

At least 2/10 qualified* for the interview.
And 2/2 interviewed were accepted.

*(1) I could have qualified, but didn't apply to Drexel. So there's your 3 IMS Sac people earning the interview.
*(2) Most, if not all, of the other 7/10 had above a 3.0 ("straight B's"), but either had a B- or worse in a class or did not take Nutrition/Immunology. Those 2 courses are required for automatic interview consideration (but not required for the certificate). And in theory, you could get a 3.97 GPA and be disqualified. [A single B- in the 1-credit hour Nutrition course would give (37*4+1*2.7)/38 ]

3/16 interview-earners = 19%

The other number was 11 IMS Philadelphia students. Off the top of my head, the head administrative/coordinator lady said there were ~60 Philadelphia students. I remember this because it qualified by how unusually low it was this year.

11/60 interview-earners = 18%

So there you go. There's your "odds" for earning an interview. 1 in 5. But honestly, it really comes down to study time.



Here's the approximate stats / stories of the 2/2 Sacramento acceptances:
One guy had a 4.0 in the program at the time of his interview. With about a ~3.3-3.5 undergrad GPA, clinical exposure, EC's, and >30 MCAT, he had no problems getting accepted. After the news came in, he did receive 2 B+'s and tanked down to a 3.8-3.9. Lolol. He's still in, of course, BUT you do still need to pass the remaining classes or else the offer is voided.

The other guy interviewed claims to have gotten his ass verbally handed to him by the head admissions lady because he had essentially no clinical experience whatsoever. He had about a 3.1 or 3.2 undergrad GPA, and a 31 or 33 on the MCAT. He had okay EC's and volunteering. When rereading his personal statement today versus when he applied, he thought it was absolute $#!%. Needless to say, his 4.0 in the IMS program was, I think, the #1 factor for his admission to Drexel.
 
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Thanks for all that information. Are all those stats referring to during IMS year, basically? I was a bit confused by the 100% thing because I assumed it was during IMS year, but it's only after completing the year--not during. So basically, you just have to take everything and get above a B in everything. My other question is of those 11 Philadelphia people, how many were accepted? Or is all this data AFTER IMS and not during?
 
Sorry, my information is DURING IMS. I do not know about the 11 Philly people.
I too thought your wording ("100% after the IMS year") was confusing... or maybe that's exactly what they meant. All I know is the 100% (2/2 lol) from Sacramento got in DURING the year. As did a handful of the MMSers here.
 
Oh, no. They were referring to the acceptance rate after completing one year of IMS, and acceptance rate after completing MMS.
 
So 10 people have actually "graduated" (none of which actually walked at commencement, lol)

This is actually pretty sad - commencement is a great time to meet people who do have an impact on your admissions if you are applying in the following year - especially if you are going to the Sacramento campus. There are so few people that you get to spend maybe 30 minutes to an hour with important people from DUCOM.

I met Th2 when we attended an event at Sacramento Drexel - "Dinner with President Fry" - where he was able to meet with some people who would directly influence admissions including the Dean of our Medical school - Dr. Schidlow. Dr. Schidlow is a really nice and chill guy and even told Th2 that he should get a ring for his girlfriend. Also to email him when he comes to interview so that they could chat. He came to the event because he was going to be at commencement.

I'll say this, when admissions people talk - we remember people that we meet once. Academics and all that are important - maybe 2/3's of your application, but meeting people and being memorable in a positive way is a huge advantage.

So a note to all future IMS students - networking may help put you over the top if you have decent academic numbers. You have plenty of resources and methods to meet people and you should use that to your advantage. Don't be another faceless person with just stats. There are plenty of people with decent stats that are pretty much the same as you. There are even lots of people with much better stats that get waitlisted. So what puts you ahead? Someone who can vouch for you as a person - the more, the better. You could have low undergrad GPA stats like me, and still get accepted in because you have a bunch of people in admissions who can attest to what type of person you are.

I mean, obviously it isn't going to help if you are getting <3.0 GPA or not making the cutoffs for the MCAT's.

*(1) I could have qualified, but didn't apply to Drexel. So there's your 3 IMS Sac people earning the interview.
*(2) Most, if not all, of the other 7/10 had above a 3.0 ("straight B's"), but either had a B- or worse in a class or did not take Nutrition/Immunology. Those 2 courses are required for automatic interview consideration (but not required for the certificate). And in theory, you could get a 3.97 GPA and be disqualified. [A single B- in the 1-credit hour Nutrition course would give (37*4+1*2.7)/38 ]

I wouldn't want to scare people like that -

In theory you could have a 3.97 GPA that way, but it is very unlikely - I mean if you are getting A's in Biochem (basically 92%+) there's no way you'd get less than 84% in nutrition. The questions aren't tricky at all - if you are doing well in biochem, it means you really understand how the USMLE will ask questions, and your reasoning skills will carry on to nutrition. Usually people do poorly because they don't allocate enough studying time to nutrition compared to the other classes. Unfortunately Dr. Swaney has retired and Dr. White is taking his place. I'm pretty sure the course will be the same along with the exam difficulty. Dr. Swaney was actually really nice in person when I came to Drexel - I met him on the streets then ended up chatting in his office for awhile. Not surprisingly, Dr. Smith was really nice and chatted for awhile too.

So there you go. There's your "odds" for earning an interview. 1 in 5. But honestly, it really comes down to study time.

Yea, I'd agree there, even if you see that there are these many people getting a guaranteed interview, it really comes down to the individual - are you willing to study a lot and put the time in? If so, your odds are great. But if you decide to slack off, you'll do poorly. I think plenty of individuals got interviews even with a B- and stuff this year, maybe even accepted? I've been talking to Dr. DePace (head of admissions at DUCOM and course director for Gross anatomy) about this stuff - he's a really nice jolly guy with the most random stories about Hawaiian punch on his shirts. It looks like a lot more people were accepted this year from the Sac IMS compared to last year.
 
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This is actually pretty sad - commencement is a great time to meet people who do have an impact on your admissions
Yep. I figured I wouldn't walk since it wasn't clear if those coming back for mms was getting a certificate? Still not sure. Me and a buddy definitely went tho. In addition to what he said, there was a speech by a graduating doctorate student that moved those around us to tears, and then many free fruits, chocolate fountains, and wines during the reception 😀 my vice being the chocolate covered cream puffs...
 
Yep. I figured I wouldn't walk since it wasn't clear if those coming back for mms was getting a certificate? Still not sure. Me and a buddy definitely went tho. In addition to what he said, there was a speech by a graduating doctorate student that moved those around us to tears, and then many free fruits, chocolate fountains, and wines during the reception 😀 my vice being the chocolate covered cream puffs...

Yea, the free food is the best part! It gets a little crowded, but there are so many deserts! You should definitely tell the next year's class to try to stay in Sacramento and attend commencement even if you don't walk. It was lonely when I was 1 of 3 people walking each of my years. Dr. Schidlow might be the one coming since Dr. Soslau is no longer around - but you'll never know who you'll see. I'll probably be busy with Step 1 at this time, so I won't be around next summer, but hopefully I'll be in Sacramento for my 3rd year for rotations.
 
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Just wondering, what's the average GPA of those in the program? A lot of admissions people from other schools tell me a 3.5 in any SMP is good. Any less, and it's bad.
 
Just wondering, what's the average GPA of those in the program? A lot of admissions people from other schools tell me a 3.5 in any SMP is good. Any less, and it's bad.
The only average that matters is the med students average course grades. You're essentially competing with the medical school students... if they average 83 in a course, you need an 83 for a B. Then most classes, an A is 90 or 92 somewhat regardless of how the medical students did. And then B+/A- fills in between.

Their averages are 82-85 range typically. All you need to do is do better than that. Since you are not taking gross, genetics, biostats, patient stuff... you're at an advantage. Plus it's not depressingly cold weather over winter here in Sacramento, so you can maintain a decent psyche.

What's your undergrad gpa? Was it because of difficulty or didn't put in effort or something else? And your Mcat? What do you want out of an SMP? What are you willing to put in? Are you motivated?
 
The only average that matters is the med students average course grades. You're essentially competing with the medical school students... if they average 83 in a course, you need an 83 for a B. Then most classes, an A is 90 or 92 somewhat regardless of how the medical students did. And then B+/A- fills in between.

Their averages are 82-85 range typically. All you need to do is do better than that. Since you are not taking gross, genetics, biostats, patient stuff... you're at an advantage. Plus it's not depressingly cold weather over winter here in Sacramento, so you can maintain a decent psyche.

You make it sound easy. It's not. The work load is significantly lighter than actual med school, but the stress level is through the roof. That, by itself, makes it harder than actual med school. If a med student gets a 4/5 on a quiz, they think 'great, I passed'. If an IMS student gets a 4/5, they think 'god damn it, I scored below average'.

Well, that's assuming you're going for the interview.
 
You make it sound easy. It's not. The work load is significantly lighter than actual med school, but the stress level is through the roof. That, by itself, makes it harder than actual med school. If a med student gets a 4/5 on a quiz, they think 'great, I passed'. If an IMS student gets a 4/5, they think 'god damn it, I scored below average'.

Well, that's assuming you're going for the interview.
I'd agree with you... depending on the person. I definitely stressed out. But... What's your response to stress: fight, flight, or freeze? You can channel that energy, fight like a tiger, and overcome or you can let it overwhelm you and lock up like a dying gazelle. (yes, I've been reading some Dr Peter Levine)

Edit: I feel I should announce that these are all, of course, just the opinions of one person.

If you want it, you'll get it. I don't think they accept people to IMS who they think will fail, just to hit some quota or for $ or something. It's a lot of work but it's not challenging material per se, i.e. it's not conceptually difficult like some abstract quantum physics or mathematical proofs or w/e it's just a copious amount.
 
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I am just curious because sometimes my grade will be high or low depending on how tricky the exams are. Sometimes they test on 2% of all the material you were supposed to learn (MCAT!). I got a 3.55 GPA. Never did homework or studied in GE classes, but pretty decent in sciences. I can never tell, since I felt my classmates were unmotivated so I was near or at the top of my class. Small state school that is more business and psychology orientated.
 
I'm going to be in the IMS program as well this August. I'm wondering though, how much will undergrad hurt me even if I do well (from some older reviews, it seems like it can't help a bad undergrad). I had a cGPA: 3.24, sGPA: 3.01 (2.98 if AACOMAS) and 29Q MCAT (which will expire after this cycle). I'm thinking MD is probably out of reach for me and if I go DO, I would retake classes instead of doing MMS maybe. Not sure at the moment.
Also, thank you to the former IMSers for all of the information.
 
I'm going to be in the IMS program as well this August. I'm wondering though, how much will undergrad hurt me even if I do well (from some older reviews, it seems like it can't help a bad undergrad). I had a cGPA: 3.24, sGPA: 3.01 (2.98 if AACOMAS) and 29Q MCAT (which will expire after this cycle). I'm thinking MD is probably out of reach for me and if I go DO, I would retake classes instead of doing MMS maybe. Not sure at the moment.
Also, thank you to the former IMSers for all of the information.

Ask the admissions people at Drexel!
 
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They recommended I do the MMS as well. But I'm wondering if they are just pushing their program. Some on Sdn say I shouln't do IMS at all and everything in between.
I'm just worried and confused lol.
 
I had a cGPA: 3.24, sGPA: 3.01 (2.98 if AACOMAS) and 29Q MCAT (which will expire after this cycle).
Others with more intimate ties to adcoms -- perhaps @tomz1385 -- can probably answer you better. But, here's my $0.02:


Great candidate for a true SMP, I think. Thank you for honestly providing both your c- and your sGPA--I'm sure you already understand the discrepancy is adverse. What are your EC's / clinicals like?

Your stats are out for most MD. You might be in for D.O. as is, if you'd apply sooner than later (like, right now) and broadly.

I think a very strong IMS performance would sweep you into DUCOM, provided you have clinical, ECs, and good interviewing skills. (But as I reported earlier, a sample of n=1 completely lacked clinical, saved face as much as possible during the interview, and still got in with a 4.0 IMS performance.)

Going off past IMS/MMS acceptances, there are at least a few M.D. schools I'm aware of that warmly regards Drexel's program: Albany Medical College, East Virginia Medical School, New York Medical College, The Commonwealth Medical College, and The University of Vermont Medical College.

Drexel also has deals with some D.O. schools for guaranteed interviews as well.

Besides those, a strong first semester would get you interviewed at some D.O. schools, provided you update them with strong first-semester grades. E.g.: I had a 3.0 cGPA (3.1 sGPA) + 32 MCAT going into IMS. I submitted my primary AACOMAS on 11/07/2013. LECOM-B asked me on 12/06/2013 to update them with grades. I sent them screenshots (super official) as soon as they came out on 12/22 and was offered an interview invite the very next day on 12/23; I interviewed in February. I also was offered an ii by PNWU on 02/11/2014, and interviewed on 04/11, their last date. (I was less on top of getting PNWU up to date, instead waiting for my official transcript to reach them.)

Also, what is your rush? You can definitely make up 4 years of marginal undergrad performance with 1 year of an SMP. And for what it's worth, most traditional MS-1's at Drexel are insanely jealous of their classmates who did IMS. It's like... getting an extra year to study for Step 1. In the event that you don't excel, get waitlisted/rejected, and need to finish your master's, the M.S. unambiguously makes you a strong candidate.

If you'd rather retake classes, you seem to know it only works well with AACOMAS and if you had C's. In my personal opinion, however, if you got C's in undergrad and think you can do an SMP / med school, you probably got C's cause you know those classes were a grand waste of your time. Move forward and challenge yourself.
 
I am just curious because sometimes my grade will be high or low depending on how tricky the exams are. Sometimes they test on 2% of all the material you were supposed to learn (MCAT!).
In general, I thought the exams were extremely fair. With some mindfulness, you will start to learn what is high yield and what is not. Even then, professors will often announce in class how they've received 20 emails from students asking the same "do i really have to know this?!" and will proceed to narrow the scope.

As for the exams themselves. Some prompts have 4-5 lines of clinical vignette that could lead you to guess the correct answer without actually reading the question; some have 4-5 lines of clinical vignette that lead you to think one thing while the actual question prompts something else. Some questions ask you what it is, while others ask you what it is NOT.

If you (1) know the material cold and (2) hold your horses and actually read the exam questions, you will do exceptionally. I think only Dr Shumsky in Neuro would love to ask trick questions, but the other professors pull his reins sufficiently that Neuro is extremely logical and straightforward. Dr Larson in Immuno asked, in my opinion, a couple of extremely minute details on final. But in her defense, she did forewarn/hint that she would indeed be asking those questions.

I got a 3.55 GPA. Never did homework or studied in GE classes, but pretty decent in sciences. I can never tell, since I felt my classmates were unmotivated so I was near or at the top of my class. Small state school that is more business and psychology orientated.
You definitely sound like you have the aptitude, so if you have the motivation you will succeed. There's only 2-3 short homework assignments, 1 or 2 in biochem, 1 in nutrition. On the other hand, that never-studying habit will not work well unless you're a 3-4 months in and, with the experience at that point, are sure you can manage your time in such a lazy way.
 
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My EC's/clinicals are definitely lacking. I only have ~100-125 hours of shadowing time and no research. I actually graduated undergrad in May 2013. The only thing I've done was some shadowing with podiatry (just to check it out) from Nov-Dec 13. The rest of my gap year has been spent on family and travel. I've traveled around to many places, particularly to re-unite my parents with lost family members (both refugees). I also ended up in Taiwan, Cambodia. This gap year was a great life experience and quite emotional, but bad for my med applications.

I think I'll only go for the guaranteed interview for now and then apply broadly after a year. I'll definitely do the MMS year IF I do well.
I also see on these forums that Spring of IMS year would be a decent time to work on EC's as well. Will have to buff up my EC's and some more during MMS year. I'll also have to re-take my MCAT next summer (Drexel's office told me to wait until next summer to take the new MCAT. I wanted to get it done this summer).

Thank you @Th2 for all of the advice and information. I've been nervous about IMS but yeah, I definitely need to move forward.
 
I would say 70-80% of exams cover high yield material, but if you are looking to get an A, you'll have to study and understand the fine details. But good news is that you should be able to answer every single question correctly with just the notes provided to you. They may reword things, but if you look back at your notes after an exam, you'll figure out everything. You'll have to use other resources later for Step 1, but for now you'll just be going for the grades - the notes are very detailed and basically all you'll need.

There are plenty of free tutors that you can sign up for as well. I tutored most of the classes when I was an MMS student and had lots of free time, but I think this year I'll only tutor 1-2 because I don't have time to review everything. There are plenty of resources for you if you want to do well.

I was definitely an older non-trad, I started med school at 28, so I had plenty of gap years. I had a <3.0 BMCP gpa when I applied (though the last 2 years were close to a 4.0 with nearly 15 units of science work per semester). I did get 2 MD interviews and got accepted at Drexel. It was actually my first time applying because I knew my gpa would be a pretty big problem. I had a lot of volunteer experience, lab research, leadership, work experience and clinical experience. And I probably had really good letter of recommendations and I spent a good amount of time networking - so I was accepted without having to go on the waitlist even with an abysmal undergrad science gpa. My older MCAT score wasn't even that great either, it was only 30 - slightly below the average for Drexel.

People on admissions do care about your ugpa, but they are more willing to overlook it and see if you meet all the other criteria if you do well in the medical school courses. Dont worry about anything else aside from the IMS classes for the first 5 months, but once the load gets way lighter, I recommend filling up any holes in your application.

If you can get an interview, that really puts you in a good position - it basically means that you are going to be judged as a complete candidate and not just your numbers. You probably won't be a strong candidate during IMS if you don't have research experience and volunteer work, etc. MMS might be good for you if you want research experience working at Kaiser and you'll have a poster presentation. Though you can get research experience anywhere too. I ended up doing the MMS year too because I needed the full year of IMS grades before applying because of my lower gpa.

Plus if you just randomly volunteer at places adcoms can see through it that you are just doing it to fill up your application and it doesn't really mean that much to you. I actually would have strongly recommended filling all the holes in your application before starting IMS, but you can always fill those holes later - just don't do it when you have to study for all these classes in the first 5 months.

Personally, I feel shadowing is overrated. Nice to have a good idea of what you need to do, but you don't really need that much of it. What can you find out with 200+ hours of shadowing experience that you couldn't with 10 hours in the same setting? I'd rather use that time to volunteer at a clinic or in the community. And it's probably better to get a variety, and I think there is a shadowing program at Drexel Sac now that you do in Feb-May at Kaiser? @Th2 can probably offer more information on it. They had it my year, but I already had plenty of shadowing and clinical experiences under my belt, so I didn't do it. But I heard it was sort of mandatory now?

And you don't need to go to a third world country and do those expensive programs if you need clinical experience. There are plenty of places locally that you could volunteer at and make a big impact too. Just know at Drexel (and probably most schools), grades are not the only thing you get judged on. Academics are very important, but they'll look at everything.

Honestly, I'm probably more jealous of the traditional MS-1's - they didn't have to spend 2 years / 30-40k to get into med school and are finishing 2 years earlier! I mean, if you really wanted to spend more time studying for Step 1, you have the summer between year 1 and 2. It's true that after doing the IMS program I had very little stress during my MS-1 year. I basically felt I could study nothing for any class that I had already taken and probably pass the exam because of how hard I had to study for the IMS year. But I don't want to downplay how difficult it can be the first time - like what loltopsy said - it is very stressful because you know you have to do well to get into a school compared to just passing.
 
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@tomz1385 Wow. Thanks a lot for the information and sharing with us.

I've barely ever used tutors but maybe I should start now. I've always just Googled everything in undergrad and hope for the rest but I should take advantage of that during IMS (cause undergrad obviously didn't work).

I'll definitely do the MMS year if everything goes well during IMS, since I also need the full year of grades and might as well get research like you said (maybe I can get the guaranteed interview and get in. Faint chance with my undergrad but it's a free FAP application).

Yeah, plenty of opportunities to volunteer in Philly as well. I agree with your thoughts on shadowing. I'm definitely going to try and volunteer at different places in Spring. I'll maybe throw in some shadowing at Hahnemann since it is so close.
I wish I could have filled up my application before starting IMS, but I just spent so much time traveling and going around that I couldn't sign on for anything. It'll look bad but nothing that I can change now.
 
... I think there is a shadowing program at Drexel Sac now that you do in Feb-May at Kaiser? @Th2 can probably offer more information on it. They had it my year, but I already had plenty of shadowing and clinical experiences under my belt, so I didn't do it. But I heard it was sort of mandatory now?
Yep, the Kaiser Sacramento shadowing program is still intact. It's not mandatory, and I was actually the only one who opted out of doing it because I agree with you--I didn't need more hours seeing what a day in the life was like. That said, you do rotate through who you shadow so you'll see a lot of different specialties, some of which you perhaps might not see again until MS-4 as an elective.

... if you need clinical experience. There are plenty of places locally ...
About 5 of us just started as ED Scribes, with a per diem limit of 20 hours per week / 87 hours per month tops. 10 bucks an hour but, hey, I'd probably do something like this for free. Not something I'd recommend at all during the beginning, though one of the two guys now accepted to Drexel (you met him that night at the Pres Fry Dinner tomz1385) did apply to Sutter around Oct and started shifts around November, I believe. But, he is also incredibly gifted.

Honestly, I'm probably more jealous of the traditional MS-1's - they didn't have to spend 2 years / 30-40k to get into med school and are finishing 2 years earlier! ...
Thank you for reminding me 🙁
 
So does IMS help a lot with schools outside of Drexel (and those other colleges previously mentioned)? I am applying to AmeriCorps for 1 year to do service work and Drexel's IMS and not really sure what's a good strategy for me. AmeriCorps is paid (13k a year) but I really like learning and it seems IMS helps getting into Drexel and other MD schools a lot, and I really want to train at a school with an affiliated medical center and (ideally in an urban one). So I love Drexel, but my only reservation is other people have told me the course load is so much and GPA matters so much, people don't want to take those optional (but mandatory for the interview) classes. So it's choosing between higher total SMP GPA vs. chance of a lower SMP GPA + guaranteed interview.
 
I would say 70-80% of exams cover high yield material, but if you are looking to get an A, you'll have to study and understand the fine details. But good news is that you should be able to answer every single question correctly with just the notes provided to you. They may reword things, but if you look back at your notes after an exam, you'll figure out everything. You'll have to use other resources later for Step 1, but for now you'll just be going for the grades - the notes are very detailed and basically all you'll need.

There are plenty of free tutors that you can sign up for as well. I tutored most of the classes when I was an MMS student and had lots of free time, but I think this year I'll only tutor 1-2 because I don't have time to review everything. There are plenty of resources for you if you want to do well.

I was definitely an older non-trad, I started med school at 28, so I had plenty of gap years. I had a <3.0 BMCP gpa when I applied (though the last 2 years were close to a 4.0 with nearly 15 units of science work per semester). I did get 2 MD interviews and got accepted at Drexel. It was actually my first time applying because I knew my gpa would be a pretty big problem. I had a lot of volunteer experience, lab research, leadership, work experience and clinical experience. And I probably had really good letter of recommendations and I spent a good amount of time networking - so I was accepted without having to go on the waitlist even with an abysmal undergrad science gpa. My older MCAT score wasn't even that great either, it was only 30 - slightly below the average for Drexel.

People on admissions do care about your ugpa, but they are more willing to overlook it and see if you meet all the other criteria if you do well in the medical school courses. Dont worry about anything else aside from the IMS classes for the first 5 months, but once the load gets way lighter, I recommend filling up any holes in your application.

If you can get an interview, that really puts you in a good position - it basically means that you are going to be judged as a complete candidate and not just your numbers. You probably won't be a strong candidate during IMS if you don't have research experience and volunteer work, etc. MMS might be good for you if you want research experience working at Kaiser and you'll have a poster presentation. Though you can get research experience anywhere too. I ended up doing the MMS year too because I needed the full year of IMS grades before applying because of my lower gpa.

Plus if you just randomly volunteer at places adcoms can see through it that you are just doing it to fill up your application and it doesn't really mean that much to you. I actually would have strongly recommended filling all the holes in your application before starting IMS, but you can always fill those holes later - just don't do it when you have to study for all these classes in the first 5 months.

Personally, I feel shadowing is overrated. Nice to have a good idea of what you need to do, but you don't really need that much of it. What can you find out with 200+ hours of shadowing experience that you couldn't with 10 hours in the same setting? I'd rather use that time to volunteer at a clinic or in the community. And it's probably better to get a variety, and I think there is a shadowing program at Drexel Sac now that you do in Feb-May at Kaiser? @Th2 can probably offer more information on it. They had it my year, but I already had plenty of shadowing and clinical experiences under my belt, so I didn't do it. But I heard it was sort of mandatory now?

And you don't need to go to a third world country and do those expensive programs if you need clinical experience. There are plenty of places locally that you could volunteer at and make a big impact too. Just know at Drexel (and probably most schools), grades are not the only thing you get judged on. Academics are very important, but they'll look at everything.

Honestly, I'm probably more jealous of the traditional MS-1's - they didn't have to spend 2 years / 30-40k to get into med school and are finishing 2 years earlier! I mean, if you really wanted to spend more time studying for Step 1, you have the summer between year 1 and 2. It's true that after doing the IMS program I had very little stress during my MS-1 year. I basically felt I could study nothing for any class that I had already taken and probably pass the exam because of how hard I had to study for the IMS year. But I don't want to downplay how difficult it can be the first time - like what loltopsy said - it is very stressful because you know you have to do well to get into a school compared to just passing.

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions for everyone! I agree. Shadowing only needs to be a day or two per specialty.
 
So does IMS help a lot with schools outside of Drexel (and those other colleges previously mentioned)?

I'd say so - someone in my class did pretty well, and she didn't take immunology - she ended up getting a bunch of MD interviews after getting no interviews in her previous cycle due to lower undergrad scores. She was accepted to Drexel, but ended up going to UCSD. Someone else that did pretty well got into UCI too. I think a lot of other things matter in applications, but I'd say that doing well definitely helps boost you academic credentials if you've had some problems with grades in the past.

The course load is going to be big at any SMP. Drexel does rank up there with some of the most medical school courses out of the SMP's, but any SMP will be pretty difficult. This is why a lot of other posters on this post-bacc subforum recommend doing a SMP as a final option because there isn't anything else you can do that can help you academically after a SMP. If you plan to do the IMS, make sure to put everything into it - you don't want to waste your time and money and have regrets because you didn't study enough.
 
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Hello everyone,

I am a IMS student from last year. One of the biggest issues I, and many others, had when starting the program was finding a place to stay. I managed to find a really nice 3 bedroom apartment that is only 2 blocks from school, which made everything very convenient. I am staying in Philadelphia for another year and had a room available, so I thought I would ask you incoming IMSers if you were interested.

Some details:

-Brand new apt. I am literally the first person to have lived here. (the whole building is new).
-3 beds, 2 bath. One master room that has its own bathroom.
-$2000, but the bigger room is a bit more, so $740, $630, $630. It is near impossible to find a place in center city that is this close for this cheap.

Send me a message and I can give you more details, pictures, etc...

Also, since I have done IMS already, I can be of great help to you guys, because succeeding in this program is a bit difficult without some help.

Good luck,
Mitchell
 
Hello everyone,

I am a IMS student from last year. One of the biggest issues I, and many others, had when starting the program was finding a place to stay. I managed to find a really nice 3 bedroom apartment that is only 2 blocks from school, which made everything very convenient. I am staying in Philadelphia for another year and had a room available, so I thought I would ask you incoming IMSers if you were interested.

Some details:

-Brand new apt. I am literally the first person to have lived here. (the whole building is new).
-3 beds, 2 bath. One master room that has its own bathroom.
-$2000, but the bigger room is a bit more, so $740, $630, $630. It is near impossible to find a place in center city that is this close for this cheap.

Send me a message and I can give you more details, pictures, etc...

Also, since I have done IMS already, I can be of great help to you guys, because succeeding in this program is a bit difficult without some help.

Good luck,
Mitchell

Are you doing MMS?
 
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Hey Guys,
I currently work as a laboratory assistant at the USDA. When I was accepted into the IMS program I notified my supervisor that I would be leaving once the program started, but he offered me a part-time position while I am in school. I understand that IMS is a difficult program and I want to do well, but having a source of income is quite appealing. I have read that previous posters are antagonistic to the idea of employment while in school, but has anyone managed to maintain some form of employment and achieve a high degree of success in the program? I am torn between these choices and any input would be greatly appreciated.
 
Hey guys, I received a call from a counselor last week. I returned his call and he hasn't called back yet. Should I wait or keep calling him back? Thanks!
 
Anyone still looking for housing? I'm looking for a roommate (possible in Stiles) or somewhere else pretty close. PM me
 
Hey Guys,
I currently work as a laboratory assistant at the USDA. When I was accepted into the IMS program I notified my supervisor that I would be leaving once the program started, but he offered me a part-time position while I am in school. I understand that IMS is a difficult program and I want to do well, but having a source of income is quite appealing. I have read that previous posters are antagonistic to the idea of employment while in school, but has anyone managed to maintain some form of employment and achieve a high degree of success in the program? I am torn between these choices and any input would be greatly appreciated.
I wouldn't have a job for at least the first 3 months. At the beginning you study like mad because you don't know what tests are like, have no gauge to know how much you know going into tests, etc. etc. Over time, you may come to refine your techniques and lessen your study time, without sacrificing your excellent grades. That can take around 3 months. Maybe ask your supervisor if you can put the offer on hold until you know what you've gotten yourself into?
 
I was just accepted to this program.

Does anyone think it's possible to commute 2 hours each way for the sacramento program?
Or is it necessary to live around the sacramento area?


What is the class schedule like?
I've heard that it's mostly online classes, so I'll only have to be in sacramento a few times a week.

What do you guys think?
 
I was just accepted to this program.

Does anyone think it's possible to commute 2 hours each way for the sacramento program?
Or is it necessary to live around the sacramento area?


What is the class schedule like?
I've heard that it's mostly online classes, so I'll only have to be in sacramento a few times a week.

What do you guys think?

It is possible. You only HAVE to be there 2-3 days a week. However, you should also consider whether you want to make that trip for an 8:00 am exam or quiz. There are exams for a few days about every 4-6 weeks, and quizzes about every 2-3 weeks.
 
I was thinking about doing the same thing, but doing that would cost a fortune in gas. Not worth it.
 
So is it really necessary to be there outside of exams and quizzes?



Also I have religious prayer obligations on fridays, will the university help me make accommodations if i need to make an exam up later or take it prior?
There are labs and case studies also that probably account for 1-2 days a week (depends on the time of year).

I don't know of anyone that needed to make such arrangements, but if you talk to them at the beginning of the year, I can't imagine they wouldn't work with you.
 
Just got accepted to PNWU today 7/15. Cutting it close, for sure. Pleasant surprise.

+1 drexel ims (sacramento) success story
 
Just got accepted to PNWU today 7/15. Cutting it close, for sure. Pleasant surprise.

+1 drexel ims (sacramento) success story

Congrats! I was looking forward to you coming to interview at Drexel this upcoming year so Dr. Schidlow could hassle you some more about getting a ring for your girlfriend, but alas.
 
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Congrats! I was looking forward to you coming to interview at Drexel this upcoming year so Dr. Schidlow could hassle you some more about getting a ring for your girlfriend, but alas.
Lolll thanks, that is clearly the biggest downside to getting accepted this year.
 
Here's an event with 3 speakers: 2 physicians, the director of the California Health and Human Services Agency and the Senior Medical Director of Sutter Independent Physicians; as well as the CEO of the Sacramento Native American Health Center.

Sure, it's public health based, but there was maybe 30 attendees at most. And most were MPH students/alumni... Another awesome example of potential networking events. And did I mention I'm like the only one noshing on the free food?
 
I just got accepted to IMS Sacramento program. I'm choosing between this and Rutgers GSBS. Anyone know about the housing/safety of Sacramento?
 
I just got accepted to IMS Sacramento program. I'm choosing between this and Rutgers GSBS. Anyone know about the housing/safety of Sacramento?
I never felt unsafe in sac. I lived in the suburb of Natomas (about 5-10 from downtown sac), but I spent plenty of time with my classmates in downtown. I never had any problems. You still need to be smart and check out the area you're considering living in, but I'm a bit more worried about my upcoming move to Philly than I ever was about sac.