Finch and Flak

[jpeterson99]

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Finch U, or Rosalind Franklin seem to get a lot of negative comments.
I was wondering, does the supposed "negative" reputation come from some legitimate reason or is the criticism based on rumors and mere rankings of magazines? Do the doctors that come out of this school somehow face a much more challenging position when they are trying to match? Are the graduates somehow "less qualified" in some way? Are they looked down upon by collegues when you start residency? Do the graduates fail to compete well with other doctors from other schools during residency training?

I personally thought that the school was fine. The students worked hard and were geniunely nice people. The administration seemed very supportive and the professors seemed to be competent and caring. The campus looked great and the facilities were pretty nice too.

If anyone has some constructive criticism or comments, please reply.
Thanks all!

 

[TheRussian]

This quote comes from a 4th year that went there. I asked him about the school before I went there for an interview. This is what he said:

"Let me give you some advice about Finch. If you can avoid coming here by any reasonable means, i.e. going to any other allopathic school it the US do so. The education here is not very good and the school is expensive. If you are at the top of the class you'll still do fine but otherwise residency options are not that good."

 

[TheKoman]

I would have to disagree. CMS is not that bad of a school. I did the AP program there and its great. Okay, Im not saying it compares to the top tier schools. Any idiot would go to Duke over CMS. But for ppl like me who partied during college, this school is one of the few choices I had left other than the Carrib and DO. But after going through this year, Im happy I went. My brother is a first year at Downstate and he wants to transfer after I told him all about our school. Its very tech. advanced. They give you the ppt slides for class on CD in color etc. The anatomy lab is high tech. The residency match is good. CMS is not perfect but its a good school. They changed their name b/c of the bad legal problems they had in the past in which they got sued cuz of the AP program. But they dont have that same problem anymore. Well, heres a list of the pros/cons

Pros: MD school, good board scores, good clinical hospitals, good residency match, GREAT prof. (very student oriented since the research is not the top priority), very new student housing and very nice students

Cons: Cost, location (first two years only), ppls (from other schools) opinion about it even thou they have no first hand experience, weather.

If anyone wants more detail info or advice, you can email me at [email protected]

 

[Odaroloc]

"But for ppl like me who partied during college, this school is one of the few choices I had left other than the Carrib and DO." TheKOMan

This would be a reason for some flak. Also, among doctors in the area, the opinion of the school is less than stellar.

 

[LvlyBlkPreMed]

Yeah I had a decision that was rough pre-May 15th. I was deciding between Finch and Morehouse. Although Morehouse has a more recognizable name, I didn't think it was necessarily a better one. I also thought that by going to Morehouse I was faciing an even bigger dilemma in that although it is NOT affiliated with the undergrad Morehouse, people assume that it is a historically black school. In the medical world that carries with it it's own stigma. So that along with a host of other reasons made me choose Finch...
now I am reading all of these negative comments about Finch (which I really liked when I visited) and I am starting to regret my decision. Now I REALLY hope I hear something from the Tulane or UCSD waitlists. 🙁

 

[ornis4]

"But for ppl like me who partied during college, this school is one of the few choices I had left other than the Carrib and DO." TheKOMan

This would be a reason for some flak. Also, among doctors in the area, the opinion of the school is less than stellar.

Yes, because partying during college obviously eliminates any possibility of a successful medical career... 🙄

 

[Odaroloc]

You were just relating it to the Carrib. and DO, and maybe that has something to do with the flak...Nothing against partying here...

 

[ocean11]

Finch still has a pretty high average around 3.5 and competitive MCATs so I don't know how anyone who partied could get in to Finch or any other medical school for that matter.

I actually know people (several friends of mine) who were rejected with higher averages than that, so its not really fair to say that it is a back up for carib or DO schools.

Finch actually only interviews around 500 applicants out of 10,000 so your application does have to be decent to get in.

 

[TheKoman]

I personally dont think Finch is that bad. For those of you who interviewed there, most ppl come back with a good impression. Our match list is pretty good and our boards are ABOVE the national average. The reason why ppl give it so much **** is because of the location, its research is not as well developed, and its not part of some major University like UCLA that has an undergrad. Im not saying its top tier, but there are a lot of schools just as bad as finch if not worse. Drexel...why does everyone think Drexel is better? Their school changed names as well, but because of financial reasons, unlike Finch. Finch is changing its name because it wants a new image. The school used to be called Chicago Med. In the past10-20 years, it joined with a pods school, nursing school and grad school, thus they needed a name that incorporated all this different schools...Finch was born. Its still called the CMS. So now its kinda like how many schools name their medical school by a different name...ie Keck school of medicine (USC) etc. Since Finch was an admin guy that pulled the school out of finacial trouble in the 80s, the school was named after him. Now they are changing it to Rosalind Franklin, not because the got some huge donation but because the wanted a new rep and image. They are trying to eliminate all the stigma that ppl associate with it for no reason. So Flak, maybe if you dont really know the school, but once you visit, I think you'll be quite impressed. If your just judging the school by the stats of the students, thats not the only factor you have to look at. I think you have to look at the overall picture and Finch is a decent school. Not top top caliber but it holds its own weight.

 

[LvlyBlkPreMed]

I personally dont think Finch is that bad. For those of you who interviewed there, most ppl come back with a good impression. Our match list is pretty good and our boards are ABOVE the national average. The reason why ppl give it so much **** is because of the location, its research is not as well developed, and its not part of some major University like UCLA that has an undergrad. Im not saying its top tier, but there are a lot of schools just as bad as finch if not worse. Drexel...why does everyone think Drexel is better? Their school changed names as well, but because of financial reasons, unlike Finch. Finch is changing its name because it wants a new image. The school used to be called Chicago Med. In the past10-20 years, it joined with a pods school, nursing school and grad school, thus they needed a name that incorporated all this different schools...Finch was born. Its still called the CMS. So now its kinda like how many schools name their medical school by a different name...ie Keck school of medicine (USC) etc. Since Finch was an admin guy that pulled the school out of finacial trouble in the 80s, the school was named after him. Now they are changing it to Rosalind Franklin, not because the got some huge donation but because the wanted a new rep and image. They are trying to eliminate all the stigma that ppl associate with it for no reason. So Flak, maybe if you dont really know the school, but once you visit, I think you'll be quite impressed. If your just judging the school by the stats of the students, thats not the only factor you have to look at. I think you have to look at the overall picture and Finch is a decent school. Not top top caliber but it holds its own weight.

Wow you just took us to church on that one! Yeah I haven't been too excited about going to Finch but then I realized that a lot of that dampened spirit came from reading these posts that blast Finch. In fact, I thought the school was off the chain when I visited. Everyone was so helpful and the facilities were better than all of the schools that I interviewed at. The only things i hated off the bat were the $$$$ and the grading system. I need to stop reading SDN...you people are starting to depress me 😎

 

[ocean11]

Finch was my first choice when I applied to medical school and after interviewing at several (and getting accepted to 3 med schools this year) it is definetly my #1 choice. Amazing facilities and staff... the only two big downsides I see are 1) location and 2) tuition. I think the grading system is fine, I actually prefer it than the pass/fail system.

I am so looking forward to going to Rosalin Franklin next year, can't wait 🙂

 

[ForensicPath]

Im not saying its top tier, but there are a lot of schools just as bad as finch if not worse. Drexel...why does everyone think Drexel is better? Their school changed names as well, but because of financial reasons, unlike Finch.

Correction: MCP Hahnemann had financial problems. Drexel does not. The financial problems went away when Drexel took over. Drexel is considered the most technologically advanced medical school in the country and is considered the technological leader in Philadelphia (thats even with schools like UPenn in the area). Their technology stems from the fact that Drexel University has a very reputable engineering program.

 

[TheKoman]

Well, I just found out from someone studying for the boards that the BRS book for patho (Board review series) is written by professors from Finch. If anyone has the 2002 version or later, check it out. Arthur S. Schneider.... Type it into yahoo search and you'll see. I heard that almost everyone uses this review book. Other subjects of the BRS are from Yale and other top schools. So Flak? I think not.....

Added response to post above: Drexel doesnt have problems but one of its related hospitals that students spend their clinical years in does....MCP...(run by Tenat). This although isnt directly related to the medical school, it is part of the clinical training site and overall will affect the schools clinical education that it provides for the students.....

 

[manik]

Hey, F**K the haters! i don't feel the need to defend the medical school I attend to you snobby sons of bitches. Peace.

P.S. I'll see ya in a couple months Koman...haha

 

[LvlyBlkPreMed]

Hey, F**K the haters! i don't feel the need to defend the medical school I attend to you snobby sons of bitches. Peace.

P.S. I'll see ya in a couple months Koman...haha

LOL. Yeah manik!

 

[OmahaMX80]

Don't let anyone tear down your school folks. Especially here on SDN, where we see these I-have-a-39T-MCAT-and-a-3.9-GPA-and-I'm-going-to-Johns-Hopkins snobs trying to belittle and demean any other medical school. Well you know what? Getting into medical school is f---ing hard, no matter where you do it. So, show a little f'ing respect for your peers because in 4 short years we'll all be colleagues. I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. Creighton, for example, has an incredible reputation around here and regionally. Getting in there means a hell of a lot to me, more than getting into some stuffy hoity toity school I frankly know nothing about. It may mean squat to some Harvard brat but it means a lot to me and that's really all that matters. So if you're happy with Finch, whatever you do, don't let these self-congratulating snobby know-it-all elitists make you feel bad.

 

[ocean11]

Don't let anyone tear down your school folks. Especially here on SDN, where we see these I-have-a-39T-MCAT-and-a-3.9-GPA-and-I'm-going-to-Johns-Hopkins snobs trying to belittle and demean any other medical school. Well you know what? Getting into medical school is f---ing hard, no matter where you do it. So, show a little f'ing respect for your peers because in 4 short years we'll all be colleagues. I grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. Creighton, for example, has an incredible reputation around here and regionally. Getting in there means a hell of a lot to me, more than getting into some stuffy hoity toity school I frankly know nothing about. It may mean squat to some Harvard brat but it means a lot to me and that's really all that matters. So if you're happy with Finch, whatever you do, don't let these self-congratulating snobby know-it-all elitists make you feel bad.

I second that 👍