"Why Georgetown?" Does anybody have any helpful links about the SOM? Any info about their programs? The handbook they have and the website don't help very much. I really enjoy finding out about each individual med school and getting all excited about going there, so if there are resources out there let me know!! Thanks.
I'm a current first here at Georgetown, and I thought I'd take a minute to help you out with the secondary.. its very important because they do get 10,000+ apps and they look for applicants who "fit their mission."
Some things you might want to address are:
1.) The location. A metropolitan area like DC has so many opportunities community service, research (NIH is closeby), for volunteering with underserved populations (a big thing at Georgetown). Theres a student run free clinic called HOYA clinic which many students choose to volunteer at.
2.) Their focus on educating students about healthcare policy and how to be agents for change. This is a HUGE focus; I wrote about how this appealed to me in my secondary ( I had volunteered at a free clinic so I saw firsthand the shortcomings of our system) and I think it really helped. We are starting a class called "introduction to healthcare" soon. Some of my roommates have joined the AMSA here and in a few weeks they are putting on their white coats and going to capitol hill to "lobby."
3.) Clinical Training is valued and emphasized here. The are research opportunities but overall Georgetown is not much of a research powerhouse. They really make sure you interview the patient well.. its been 2 weeks and we start interviewing patients this week (we're split into small groups of 10, and each week someone does a 30 min interview with a patient while everyone else watches.. afterward we discuss the interview, what the student did right, wrong, etc.. strategies to empathize with the patient, to break bad news, etc).
4.) International Opportunities.. Not sure how other schools measure up, but at many (not all) of the schools I interviewed the international opportunities were sparse. The plethora of opportunities is a strength of Georgetown. Most first years spend their summer before second year abroad at a third world country (e.g. costa rica, places in south america, africa) and work in clinics.. although you can go places like ireland, england, germany if you want to. One second year told me he helped deliver a baby in costa rica last summer.. awesome exposure to patients.
Hope that helps a little bit at least. Good luck. I love it here so far. If you have any more questions just PM me.
