Is it worth it to apply to Georgetown and George Washington?

[LuluLovesMe]

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Since they get so many applicants, I'm assuming only a certain type of applicant should apply there. 12000 applicants for 350 slots just doesn't seem like good odds to me.

 

[SpartanWolverine]

If you're a reasonable applicant, say 32/3.7ish, yes. It's a desirable location and they're solid schools.

And yeah... it's actually more like 26000 applications (don't know about independent applicants) for 380 spots. 😵

 

[LuluLovesMe]

Is 37/3.5 reasonable =\

 

[veryborderlineapplicant]

Georgetown is all about fit. You can easily get an interview, if you really have good reasoning about why you want to go there in the secondary and have the accomplishments to back it up. I have a side note though: Be very guarded about Georgetown and its hype, the medical school isn't on par with undergrad or it's top-tier law program. During my interview day there I got a very bad vibe about the place. They wouldn't let us see the main hospital, and I got the impression that the administration really doesn't care about the students, and that it has a very competitive cutthroat student body.

 

[SpartanWolverine]

Is 37/3.5 reasonable =\

Yes, certainly. 😛. They both interview well over 1,000 people, so I think a 37 (v. high for both)/3.5 would give you a decent chance for an interview. Do you have a compelling interest in either one?

Georgetown is all about fit. You can easily get an interview, if you really have good reasoning about why you want to go there in the secondary and have the accomplishments to back it up. I have a side note though: Be very guarded about Georgetown and its hype, the medical school isn't on par with undergrad or it's top-tier law program. During my interview day there I got a very bad vibe about the place. They wouldn't let us see the main hospital, and I got the impression that the administration really doesn't care about the students, and that it has a very competitive cutthroat student body.

Yeah, what's GTown all about? Cura Personis or something like that? (I remember having to really think about their essays). Echoing the poster above, yes they are quite expensive... but not quite as bad as Tufts! You would just have to make up your own mind after an interview.

 

[WhittyPsyche]

*Cura personalis

 

[justadream]

If you're a reasonable applicant, say 32/3.7ish, yes. It's a desirable location and they're solid schools.

And yeah... it's actually more like 26000 applications (don't know about independent applicants) for 380 spots. 😵

So holding everything else like secondary essays to be constant (for example, let's say they are equally enthusiastic/convincing in showing that GT is a good fit), does 36+, 3.8+ make one less desirable than 32/3.7?

 

[aegistitan]

I heard Georgetown's facilities are pretty bad through the grapevine. Also this:

DO NOT GO TO GEORGETOWN. It has some really bad financial problems, which could definitely hurt its reputation when you go into the match process. Some students I've talked to definitely think its reputation is declining and it will start having a harder time coming up with good matches in the future. Also, it's facilities are pretty bad. Seriously, drop G-town as fast as you can. Hope I helped.

Also it's pretty expensive. With HH/H/P/F grading. I'm personally not applying there. I don't know much about GW though.

 

[SpartanWolverine]

*Cura personalis

Yup, that's it. Guess I could have taken two seconds to Google.

So holding everything else like secondary essays to be constant (for example, let's say they are equally enthusiastic/convincing in showing that GT is a good fit), does 36+, 3.8+ make one less desirable than 32/3.7?

I don't think 36+/3.8+ is ever less desirable than 32/3.7 as long as you still show compelling interest... I just picked those numbers out of the middle of their ranges.

 

[veryborderlineapplicant]

I heard Georgetown's facilities are pretty bad through the grapevine. Also this:



Also it's pretty expensive. With HH/H/P/F grading. I'm personally not applying there. I don't know much about GW though.

Yes, from firsthand experience georgetown's facilities are very old. It wouldn't surprise me if many of them are probably from around the time the school was founded and haven't changed since. Yes, georgetown is very expensive and need-based financial aid is near non-existent.

Yes, certainly. 😛. They both interview well over 1,000 people, so I think a 37 (v. high for both)/3.5 would give you a decent chance for an interview. Do you have a compelling interest in either one?


Yeah, what's GTown all about? Cura Personis or something like that? (I remember having to really think about their essays). Echoing the poster above, yes they are quite expensive... but not quite as bad as Tufts! You would just have to make up your own mind after an interview.

yea Cura Personalis, or rather holistic healing emphasizing mind, body, and soul is their "unique" selling point though really every medical school emphasizes holistic care so it's hardly unique.

 

[WhittyPsyche]

I heard Georgetown's facilities are pretty bad through the grapevine. Also this:



Also it's pretty expensive. With HH/H/P/F grading. I'm personally not applying there. I don't know much about GW though.

I would take that post you quoted with a grain of salt. I've yet to meet a student that expressed those sentiments, and they have no reason to lie to an ugrad, unlike interview days etc. I will say that fit is very important, and cura personalis resonating with you is important. That being said, statistically you shouldn't apply if you are average with the typical incoming class, probably not worth the money to. Or definitely if you don't like the grading system.

Ditto for GW, friends there seem to think it's even harder to gauge fit because Georgetown has many central ideologies you can discuss and GW is a lot simpler so to speak, so speaking to something unique to the school is very hard.

 

[ireoyellet]

You can easily get an interview, if you really have good reasoning about why you want to go there in the secondary and have the accomplishments to back it up

 

[moop]

Georgetown is all about fit. You can easily get an interview, if you really have good reasoning about why you want to go there in the secondary and have the accomplishments to back it up. I have a side note though: Be very guarded about Georgetown and its hype, the medical school isn't on par with undergrad or it's top-tier law program. During my interview day there I got a very bad vibe about the place. They wouldn't let us see the main hospital, and I got the impression that the administration really doesn't care about the students, and that it has a very competitive cutthroat student body.

i.e., the @Jalby thread

 

[Law2Doc]

Since they get so many applicants, I'm assuming only a certain type of applicant should apply there. 12000 applicants for 350 slots just doesn't seem like good odds to me.

Yes and no. 12,000 applicants may be a lot but if it's only a fraction of that that are serious applicants with solid stats and reasons they are interested in the programs beyond just that "DC seems like a good place to live for four years", is that really all that different than most other schools?

 

[gshocke]

GW is all about fit. ive seen manyyyy 32/3.7+ rejected pre-interview.
GWs matriculant numbers have a broader range because they look for fit. When I was at my interview one of the Deans blatantly said 'If your main focus is research, this is not the school for you. The biggest change in our schools structure is the heavy incorporation of Public health into every part of our curriculum'

 

[ridethecliche]

OP, as I said in the other thread. Get the MSAR. You're overthinking this.

Come up with a good list of schools and post it in the WAMC thread to get feedback. Obviously you have to give the school a compelling reason to interview by writing a good series of primary/secondary essays...

 

[justadream]

OP, as I said in the other thread. Get the MSAR. You're overthinking this.

Come up with a good list of schools and post it in the WAMC thread to get feedback. Obviously you have to give the school a compelling reason to interview by writing a good series of primary/secondary essays...

When people talk about finding schools that "fit" with them, is that from just browsing the websites?

 

[WingedOx]

A

When people talk about finding schools that "fit" with them, is that from just browsing the websites?

GW Fit: I want to live in DC.
Jefferson Fit: I want to live in Philly
Boston U Fit: I want to live in Boston.

 

[sunflower18]

When people talk about finding schools that "fit" with them, is that from just browsing the websites?

Most of the time. A lot of it is research vs primary care focus, opportunities for public health or free clinic or medical education or global health or humanistic medicine or whatever other medical interest you may have, etc. For example, I want to go into academic medicine, so a school that is more geared towards producing primary care physicians and doesn't have a lot of research opportunities doesn't necessarily fit with my career goals. I also am interested in art and humanities, so I applied to schools that have medical literary journals or other art opportunities, since I thought that'd be a good fit for me. Someone with different experiences, goals, and interests would have likely chosen a different set of schools than me in order to fit his/her particular goals.

 

[IlDestriero]

They were a mess 20 years ago as well. Arrogant, weird, aggressive interviewers, everything rubbed me the wrong way. Wait listed and didn't care. And that was before all their financial problems. Sounds like nothing has changed.

 

[WingedOx]

Most of the time. A lot of it is research vs primary care focus, opportunities for public health or free clinic or medical education or global health or humanistic medicine or whatever other medical interest you may have, etc. For example, I want to go into academic medicine, so a school that is more geared towards producing primary care physicians and doesn't have a lot of research opportunities doesn't necessarily fit with my career goals. I also am interested in art and humanities, so I applied to schools that have medical literary journals or other art opportunities, since I thought that'd be a good fit for me. Someone with different experiences, goals, and interests would have likely chosen a different set of schools than me in order to fit his/her particular goals.

The problem with the schools like the ones I mentioned above (namely mid-tier stats with an insane number of applicants) is that you can't really pin down a "fit" for any of them. There's some research, there's some primary care, etc. There's no major skew to most of them. Admission is basically a crapshoot.

 

[sunflower18]

The problem with the schools like the ones I mentioned above (namely mid-tier stats with an insane number of applicants) is that you can't really pin down a "fit" for any of them. There's some research, there's some primary care, etc. There's no major skew to most of them. Admission is basically a crapshoot.

Sure. I don't know much about BU or Jefferson, but I was accepted to GW, and I am still not exactly sure what kind of "fit" they are looking for. The schools that I applied to/interviewed at which seem to value fit very highly (that jump to mind) are Brown, Rochester, Mayo, CCLCM, and Penn State.

 

[Dr.Zoidberg]

They were a mess 20 years ago as well. Arrogant, weird, aggressive interviewers, everything rubbed me the wrong way. Wait listed and didn't care. And that was before all their financial problems. Sounds like nothing has changed.

Isn't the hospital owned by MedStar? That would seem to suggest troubles, and also seem to suggest they've got a large corporate entity up in their business. That doesn't seem conducive to creating the best teaching hospital, but how would I know? I've been there before and I'll say it's certainly no Mass. General, but it's impossible to tell without training there and a bunch of other places (which no one here has done presumably).

When people talk about finding schools that "fit" with them, is that from just browsing the websites?

It's giving a legitimate reason why you'd be likely to matriculate. I want to live in X is a real reason you'd go there, but not the only thing you'd cite, since it's pretty weak and anyone could say it. Family in the area, SO in the area, or tie to the region are the typical ones. Maybe if you did a lot of research there and knew some faculty specifically. I think the "I like the message of the school" is bull and any interviewer will see through it. I mean, by all means point out things you like about the curriculum, but I think at the end of the day they'll decide to accept you first based on merit, and then decide whether to actually accept you based on, "how likely is he/she to enroll."

 

[JPA178]

Isn't the hospital owned by MedStar? That would seem to suggest troubles, and also seem to suggest they've got a large corporate entity up in their business. That doesn't seem conducive to creating the best teaching hospital, but how would I know? I've been there before and I'll say it's certainly no Mass. General, but it's impossible to tell without training there and a bunch of other places (which no one here has done presumably).

I don't know much about the Georgetown University hospital itself, but I can say that MedStar is a pretty good organization based on my own experiences working with them. Their charitable giving and outreach to underserved communities throughout Maryland and DC is excellent. My resident friends at Georgetown, Washington Hospital Center, and Union Memorial all seem to be very satisfied with their respective programs and with MedStar. Though of course, like most residents, they complain that their pay could be better.

From what I understand, MedStar's involvement did stem from Georgetown's financial troubles, but it seems to have been a beneficial partnership for everyone involved.

 

[justadream]

Most of the time. A lot of it is research vs primary care focus, opportunities for public health or free clinic or medical education or global health or humanistic medicine or whatever other medical interest you may have, etc. For example, I want to go into academic medicine, so a school that is more geared towards producing primary care physicians and doesn't have a lot of research opportunities doesn't necessarily fit with my career goals. I also am interested in art and humanities, so I applied to schools that have medical literary journals or other art opportunities, since I thought that'd be a good fit for me. Someone with different experiences, goals, and interests would have likely chosen a different set of schools than me in order to fit his/her particular goals.

Should this stuff about yourself (e.g., whether you want to go to academic medicine, whether you want to go into primary care, etc) be included in the PS?

I'm asking because including that information might automatically "exclude" you from schools you apply to that don't focus on that aspect as much (but that you might want to attend for more practical reasons like it being in-state, cheap, etc.).

 

[sunflower18]

Should this stuff about yourself (e.g., whether you want to go to academic medicine, whether you want to go into primary care, etc) be included in the PS?

I'm asking because including that information might automatically "exclude" you from schools you apply to that don't focus on that aspect as much (but that you might want to attend for more practical reasons like it being in-state, cheap, etc.).

I very clearly stated my career goals in my PS, yeah. No idea if it helped or hurt any, but I did get into my primary care oriented state school, so it couldn't have been wholly damning! YMMV.

 

[ridethecliche]

Most of the time. A lot of it is research vs primary care focus, opportunities for public health or free clinic or medical education or global health or humanistic medicine or whatever other medical interest you may have, etc. For example, I want to go into academic medicine, so a school that is more geared towards producing primary care physicians and doesn't have a lot of research opportunities doesn't necessarily fit with my career goals. I also am interested in art and humanities, so I applied to schools that have medical literary journals or other art opportunities, since I thought that'd be a good fit for me. Someone with different experiences, goals, and interests would have likely chosen a different set of schools than me in order to fit his/her particular goals.

Fact is, that this might apply to like 10-15% of schools. The difference is going to be What your peers might be interested in. All schools have research, primary care opportunities, caring for underserved etc.

Most of it is marketing from the schools, but obviously people who go to more competitive schools are going to do research...they've been doing it already for the most part.

Should this stuff about yourself (e.g., whether you want to go to academic medicine, whether you want to go into primary care, etc) be included in the PS?

I'm asking because including that information might automatically "exclude" you from schools you apply to that don't focus on that aspect as much (but that you might want to attend for more practical reasons like it being in-state, cheap, etc.).

Most schools that care about this ask about it in secondaries or in interviews.

 

[Dr.Zoidberg]

I don't know much about the Georgetown University hospital itself, but I can say that MedStar is a pretty good organization based on my own experiences working with them. Their charitable giving and outreach to underserved communities throughout Maryland and DC is excellent. My resident friends at Georgetown, Washington Hospital Center, and Union Memorial all seem to be very satisfied with their respective programs and with MedStar. Though of course, like most residents, they complain that their pay could be better.

From what I understand, MedStar's involvement did stem from Georgetown's financial troubles, but it seems to have been a beneficial partnership for everyone involved.

That's actually pretty interesting. I didn't know much about them except that they're one of the few big training hospitals owned specifically by a larger regional company. I think all residents feel their pay could be better, but at least it's fairly even across the board.