Duke Part II

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To anyone who has submitted an update letter/LOI for this year or in years past, do you usually receive a reply? or even just an email letting you know that they received your update email? Just wondering, thanks 👍
 
husky0684 said:
To anyone who has submitted an update letter/LOI for this year or in years past, do you usually receive a reply? or even just an email letting you know that they received your update email? Just wondering, thanks 👍
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I didn't receive one.
 
husky0684 said:
To anyone who has submitted an update letter/LOI for this year or in years past, do you usually receive a reply? or even just an email letting you know that they received your update email? Just wondering, thanks 👍
Click to expand...

I didn't receive a reply either.
 
Does anyone have any details on why Duke dropped the family medicine program for at least a year? No matter what type of reorganization they were attempting it seems quite extreme to affect the careers of all of the residents that chose the program.

While the USNWR rankings don't have absolute value they do provide an indicator of change/trouble. Research dollars lost, program faculty left, etc. Or, is Duke experimenting with a new hybrid approach to family medicine.

Any information?
 
i think they are just restructuring the program. it should come back in a year or two.
 
For those that sent an LOI, did you just write it as an email or attach a word document? Also, did you address it to Dr. Wallace or the entire admissions committee?
 
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aero said:
Does anyone have any details on why Duke dropped the family medicine program for at least a year? No matter what type of reorganization they were attempting it seems quite extreme to affect the careers of all of the residents that chose the program.

While the USNWR rankings don't have absolute value they do provide an indicator of change/trouble. Research dollars lost, program faculty left, etc. Or, is Duke experimenting with a new hybrid approach to family medicine.

Any information?
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They aren't accepting new students right now. I don't think the current resident had to leave.
 
ragcu said:
For those that sent an LOI, did you just write it as an email or attach a word document? Also, did you address it to Dr. Wallace or the entire admissions committee?
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I haven't sent one, but I was planning on just sending an email (sans attachment). Seems like it is more user friendly that way. Actually... now that I think about it. It might be better to send an attachment so that he can print it out. What do the rest of you think??? 😕

Also, is it not Mr. Richard Wallace. Cuz if it is Dr. Wallace, I have been totally shooting myself in the foot during this process :scared:
 
FemalesCANTDriv said:
I haven't sent one, but I was planning on just sending an email (sans attachment). Seems like it is more user friendly that way. Actually... now that I think about it. It might be better to send an attachment so that he can print it out. What do the rest of you think??? 😕

Also, is it not Mr. Richard Wallace. Cuz if it is Dr. Wallace, I have been totally shooting myself in the foot during this process :scared:
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haha i checked on the duke website like 8 times to make sure it is Mr. and not Dr. .....because you know how pissed off Drs. get if you do not refer to them as Dr. so and so. but yes it is definately MR. ... I sent my LOI by email to mr. wallace just in the body of the email, no attachment..don't want to risk losing/can't open the attachment.
 
husky0684 said:
haha i checked on the duke website like 8 times to make sure it is Mr. and not Dr. .....because you know how pissed off Drs. get if you do not refer to them as Dr. so and so. but yes it is definately MR. ... I sent my LOI by email to mr. wallace just in the body of the email, no attachment..don't want to risk losing/can't open the attachment.
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Wow... ya that is a good point as well. I think I will stick with the email. Glad I'm not the only neurotic checker of titles.

40 days.

:luck: :luck: :luck:
 
Haha thanks for reminding that it is Mr. Wallace. That would have looked pretty dumb. I decided to just send it as an email so that I didnt have to fool with the business letter format as much. Also, I got a reply from Dr. Wallace. Just a little note saying thanks for the letter and wishing me luck. It probably means he has time to kill on a Saturday afternoon I'm guessing.
 
Let's just continue the Richard Wallace love-in a little. A few of us came back from the DR with some nasty tummy bug and at one point it made it so that I had to leave the 2nd look brunch early. A couple hours later I get an e-mail from him "just to see if I was ok". 🙂 If only all admissions staffers were this friendly!
 
pagemmapants said:
Let's just continue the Richard Wallace love-in a little. A few of us came back from the DR with some nasty tummy bug and at one point it made it so that I had to leave the 2nd look brunch early. A couple hours later I get an e-mail from him "just to see if I was ok". 🙂 If only all admissions staffers were this friendly!
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What a nice guy. Sorry to hear about the stomach bug 🙁 So, it is officially snowing in west texas. Lame.

39 days.

:luck: :luck: :luck:
 
Snowed a few flurries in the RDU area over the past couple of nights. It literally went from >80 degrees to below freezing in the space of like 36 hours. Bizarre. Hope it warms up for kickball game #3 tomorrow. . .
 
Is it wrong to like Duke more because they have intramaural sports?
 
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madden are you leaning towards duke?

i am as of now. just cant wait for that fin aid package. need it to make a decision.
 
Honestly, I really don't know. It's frustrating.

From a quality of life standpoint, I'm leaning towards Duke. I like the feel of being on a campus AND being able complete the worst part of med school after two years.

Here's what I'm torn about: Does having a full year dedicated to research (and potential publication) at Duke outweigh the name of Hopkins, sans research, when it comes to residency?

But, my mind tells me that I shouldn't turn down Hopkins because well, it's Hopkins.
 
JohnMadden said:
Honestly, I really don't know. It's frustrating.

From a quality of life standpoint, I'm leaning towards Duke. I like the feel of being on a campus AND being able complete the worst part of med school after two years.

Here's what I'm torn about: Does having a full year dedicated to research (and potential publication) at Duke outweigh the name of Hopkins, sans research, when it comes to residency?

But, my mind tells me that I shouldn't turn down Hopkins because well, it's Hopkins.
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Having a year of research in the area that you're going into is only going to help your residency app, especially since during that year you are much more likely to get pubs than you would in 10 weeks over the summer. From what I can gather, research experience in the particular specialty field that you're going into is MUCH more valued in the competitive specialties. Rad Onc and Ophtho come into mind as fields where research in the area is particularly critical. However, if you're more interested in Internal Med, Surg, Path, etc, then research is obviously helpful, but a lot less necessary, unless you are determined to go to a top academic center for residency. For me, it really came down to the fact that a year of research >>>> an extra year of doing school work in terms of how I'd personally prefer to spend my time. Plus, we get electives during second year, so we can look at different fields that aren't required rotations before we commit to a research project. I realize that Hopkins is a great name, but based on Duke's past match lists, the name Duke certainly doesn't seem to be hindering our grad's residency placements.
 
JohnMadden said:
But, my mind tells me that I shouldn't turn down Hopkins because well, it's Hopkins.
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No offense, but that's a really strange reason to choose Hopkins over Duke. Duke is one of the most highly-respected medical schools in the world. Hopkins is too, for sure, but we're talking about two world reknowned medical centers. And I don't say that because I have some sort of inferiority complex...if you were deciding between Harvard and Duke, I might actually say go to Harvard because it has so many more affiliated hospitals. But it certainly wouldn't be because I think the name carries more weight.

Duke is a school that was ranked 3rd just a few years ago...the rankings can be so fluid that any increase or decrease in research dollars can affect where a school is on the list. Duke is no worse a school ranked 8th than it was ranked 3rd. Go where you're more comfortable going.
 
So I actually think I may be coming around on Duke. For me, I've been thinking about the money thing recently. For Duke students, how common/possible is it for students to do the whole research while getting a full tuition scholarship and stipend for the third year, thing?
 
Money for the third year is somewhat deceptive. I can't remember what percentage of students get $$ but it's a pretty high percentage. However, some of those scholarships don't necessarily mean full tuition plus stipend; some just mean a flat sum. Let me see if I can find some descriptions. . .

"Research and Other Significant Outside Scholarship Policies
Need-based financial aid is available during the third year basic science elective and fourth year clinical elective years. A student receiving a research scholarship may also qualify for need-based financial aid funds.
Your award will incorporate the scholarship along with your financial aid award in accordance with NIH, Duke SOM policies and federal financial aid regulations. Duke University School of Medicine policy dictates that all external scholarships replace need-based loans first. At such time that these loans are replaced, then the grant portion of your aid award will be reduced. This includes any merit scholarships as well. Total aid from all sources cannot exceed the established and Board approved cost of education"

Here are a few (out of many) examples:

Duke Roadmap Scholarship

The Duke Roadmap Scholarship supports one and two-year options in didactic and mentored hands-on training in clinical research at Duke. The one-year program includes four core courses in biostatistics, research design, and responsible conduct in Duke's Clinical Research Training Program in addition to a mentored research project. Two-year students complete the course work and research project that lead to a Master of Health Sciences in Clinical Research degree. Elective options within the two-year degree program include two course clusters in genomics. This scholarship carries an annual stipend of $20,772 plus up to $5800 to offset health insurance, CRTP tuition and approved travel. For further information please contact Eugene Z. Oddone, M.D., M.H.Sc. ([email protected]) or Lori Bastian, MD, MPH ([email protected]). For additional information please visit their website at http://crtp.mc.duke.edu

R. Randall Bollinger Surgical Scholarship

The Department of Surgery is offering Research Scholarships in Surgery for MSIII students at Duke University Medical Center. Applicants are reviewed competitively. Funding is variable but has ranged between $3,000 - $10,000 per year in the recent past. Ideally, students will be expected to publish their findings in peer-reviewed journals and to present their research at regional or national scientific meetings. Accepted applications will be expected to interview and present a brief presentation in April for consideration. For more information you may contact Dr. Carlos Marroquin at [email protected].

Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship Program

This fellowship is designed for students to do one year of "hands-on" and didactic clinical research training at one of the following ten medical centers: Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Harvard Medical School, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, University of California at San Francisco Medical School, University of Iowa Medical School, University of North Carolina Medical School, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas, Washington University Medical School, and Yale University School of Medicine. At least 5 students will be accepted to the program at each of these schools. The stipend is $23,000 plus health insurance. Medical students must apply directly to the ten participating medical schools. Additional information is available at http://ddcf.aibs.org.


If you want more info re: third year scholarships go to:
http://medschool.duke.edu/modules/som_sdt_affairs/index.php?id=3
 
I couldn't make it to second look, but did they talk at all about the third year funding and what students tend to do during that year?
 
pagemmapants said:
Money for the third year is somewhat deceptive. I can't remember what percentage of students get $$ but it's a pretty high percentage. [/url]
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Just to add, the dukemed website gives an idea of how many students get third year funding, and they state is around 30%.

"Duke students can often obtain special scholarships during the third year. In fact, for 2004-2005, 30 percent of our students won outside funding to conduct their third-year research."

Also in the whole deciding on duke versus hopkins. when you get down to it, as others have said, they are both INCREDIBLE medical centers/institutions. Lame example but that is like comparing a BMW to a mercedes.( just to carry on with the whole "prestige" theme). I think if I had to choose I would look at what makes these schools so different from each other and what pops out for me is : 1. location and 2. curriculum. Both are very different so, in this case, it seems one should really pop out for you. But that is an awesome decision to be making so congrats on that 👍 👍 👍
 
i heard somewhere (might have been on interview day) that many of duke's scholarships are reserved for minorities. is this true?
 
byong_soo said:
i heard somewhere (might have been on interview day) that many of duke's scholarships are reserved for minorities. is this true?
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What you're saying is that I shouldn't hold my breath for a scholarship...
 
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nope that is not what i am saying
 
If you're talking about the renewable scholarships for entering classes, there are only three half-tuition Haas grants without minority restricitions. All full-tuitions are reserved for URMs. I'm guessing these went out with the acceptances.
 
Wow... all of these people all of a sudden wanna come to Duke now... interesting 🙄 JohnMadden, the one thing I notice about Duke and Hopkins is that if you wanna match to a badass residency, you can do it from either school. However, if you would rather match residency at Hopkins, you should prolly go to Hopkins. If you wanna match at Duke, then you should probably go to Duke. Either way, you will have an easier time matching at the school you went to since the ppl there actually know you. If where you match doesn't really matter, then choose whatever I guess. Also, I'm not really familiar with the differences in curriculum but I guess you should probably take that into account and living situation, etc, etc. I don't think you can really go wrong either way.
 
FemalesCANTDriv said:
Wow... all of these people all of a sudden wanna come to Duke now... interesting 🙄 JohnMadden, the one thing I notice about Duke and Hopkins is that if you wanna match to a badass residency, you can do it from either school. However, if you would rather match residency at Hopkins, you should prolly go to Hopkins. If you wanna match at Duke, then you should probably go to Duke. Either way, you will have an easier time matching at the school you went to since the ppl there actually know you. If where you match doesn't really matter, then choose whatever I guess. Also, I'm not really familiar with the differences in curriculum but I guess you should probably take that into account and living situation, etc, etc. I don't think you can really go wrong either way.
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I agree with this. Having the choice between Dook and Hopkuns is pretty damn cool. They are both amazing places. But you're got to be leaning one way or another. I would not let name sway you since neither name will get you further than the other by itself. They both hold a hell of a lot of weight, especially among residency directors. I would really just look at things like location and curriculum. I can't tell you which one is better since it really comes down to what you want. I know Duke is better for me personally, but it certainly might be the wrong choice for you. I know you've heard it a thousand times, but having a year to lock yourself into the field of your choice through research is pretty cool. Either way, it's a great choice to have. And if you can't decide, go with the cheaper school. If you can't decide after that send me a personal check for $10 and I'll make the decision for you. You know, like a secondary fee or any other fee that is "just because..."
 
JohnMadden said:
Here's what I'm torn about: Does having a full year dedicated to research (and potential publication) at Duke outweigh the name of Hopkins, sans research, when it comes to residency?
Click to expand...

i think the names are pretty much the same for the people that matter (residency directors).

i talked to one of my friends who is a fourth year at dukemed going into a ortho. he told me about another benefit of the third year outside of research/pubs ------ you can get to know the doctors you work with a hell of a lot better (go to their conferences, ask to scrub in for surgeries, etc). remember these are the folks that will make a call for you.
 
Dookter said:
If you can't decide after that send me a personal check for $10 and I'll make the decision for you. You know, like a secondary fee or any other fee that is "just because..."
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:laugh: I should have thought of that...
 
Also, there are ninjas at Duke. Hopkins has no ninjas.
 
FemalesCANTDriv said:
Hey, Stolen, what happened to Vandy???
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nothing happened really. vandy is a sweet school and i still may very well end up there. i have to gauge that during second look..... and by money. Vandy by no means has gone down in my eyes.

the key to my shift towards duke is from my attitude towards living in durham for another 4 years. it has changed... and im starting to see myself here. though i have some worries about the first year, the more and more people i talk to, the more and more i feel more comfortable about it.
 
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Dr Durden said:
Case closed Stolen, Embellis, and Maddden; we're all going to Duke.

Females, byong, & husky; you're coming too.
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Excellent. Now that that's settled, I should make the $10 check out to...? 😛
 
Dr Durden said:
Case closed Stolen, Embellis, and Maddden; we're all going to Duke.

Females, byong, & husky; you're coming too.
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Oh Durden... I wish. Don't even say stuff like that... it gets me nervous just seeing it in writing on sdn :scared: I don't even know what I would do if I got in. Probably sprint to all of my friends' apartments screaming jibberish or something... who knows.

37 days.

:luck: :luck: :luck:
 
Embellis, I'd settle for one of those Starbucks cards. . . 😉

(Also, in my head, your name turns into "EmbolisMaVie" which is something quite different to think about)
 
pagemmapants said:
Embellis, I'd settle for one of those Starbucks cards. . . 😉

(Also, in my head, your name turns into "EmbolisMaVie" which is something quite different to think about)
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I'm callin the inside joke police on this one 😕 😍
 
I just emailed Richard Wallace with some updates, and he emailed me back!!! 😱 It was pretty awesome. Now it's like... he actually knows I exist. YES!!! :hardy:
 
diosa428 said:
:banana:
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iiiiiiiiit's peanut butter jelly time, peanut butter jelly time, peanut butter jelly, peanut butter jelly, peanut butter jelly and a baseball bat! 😆 ...gotta love that crazy banana. anywho i never received a reply from this demi-god med school admissions director, Mr. Wallace. I never actually met him. I have only interacted with dr. armstrong who also rocks by the way! My letter was really long though, maybe too long 😳 , so maybe he saw the length and just skipped over it haha...oh well, I would just like to know that it has been received...
 
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