MCP Hahnemann HELP!!!

[shirazsyrah]

I accidentally posted this topic in the pre-allo forum. Anyway, I'll repeat. I got accepted into MCP , Boston U, Tufts, and Georgetown. I I didnt like Boston, so itll be b/w MCP and GT. Question: why are the USMLE scores so low w/ all that high tech stuff and 24 hr facilites? I've been reading the SDN forums w/ anything concerning MCP and people say not to go, that the students there "settled", etc. Can ya'll refute this? Or should I just go to GT?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[vyc]

i would go to Georgetown in a heartbeat over MCP.

 

[carddr]

I would go to Georgetown over MCP...

 

[BlackPuma]

georgetown has a FAR better reputation than MCP....

mcp is like the school for pple who got rejected from all the schools!

georgetown is also in DC...it's a happening place

 

[neutropeniaboy]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by WatchaMaCallit:
•georgetown has a FAR better reputation than MCP....

mcp is like the school for pple who got rejected from all the schools!

georgetown is also in DC...it's a happening place•••••I wouldn't say that it is that bad. MCP-Hahnemann University just happened to be caught in the middle of some very criminal and unfortunate decisions by people out of the reach of the school.

MCP-Hahnemann has its problems as a medical school, but I've met a handful of MCP students on interviews and away rotations. In terms of education, I don't think they're any better or any worse academically or clinically. They just carry the burden of their university with them.

 

[FoxyDoc]

Watcha, I'm also gonna have to disagree with your ill-informed remarks. I've been accepted to 4 schools so far (MCP being one of them) and I am still considering it. I really felt a sense of community and helpfulness during my interview day. This is something that I encountered at VERY few other med schools. I also know 4 people who currently attend MCP and are quite happy with their choice. I don't think it is fair to anyone to assume that a student is attending a school only because they had no other alternatives. Also, reputation is by far not the ONLY consideration when choosing a med school. I didn't even apply to Georgetown because I don't want any part of living in DC. So, my point is that choosing a school/environment is a very individualized process and just because it wouldn't be YOUR choice doesn't make it a bad choice.

 

[johnM]

I don't think that everyone at MCPHU is there because they were rejected everywhere else, but their choices were likely other 'less desirable' schools such as chicago med or ny med. I think that you would be hard pressed to find someone that chose MCP over georgetown, unless they have some kind of personal reason such as family or something. Georgetown is just by far a more reputable school in a great location to boot. I agree that the admissions people at MCP were nice, but that really isn't going to make the difference; money, prestige and location will.

 

[ckent]

Why don't you hold off of making any decisions about your acceptances and see what kind of financial aid you get from all 4 schools. One school might give you more in grants then the other schools. Congrats on your acceptances.

 

[neutropeniaboy]

Well, after 4 years of medical school, here's my take on deciding which school to attend.

Regardless of how schools are ranked, I think the education delivered by the majority of schools is roughly the same. Some schools have fancy names for their systems of learning, but when it comes down to it, we generally read straight out of the same books, read the same review books, take the same shelf exams, go through the same match, and end up mixed and matched all over the country.

I personally think that success in medical school is largely dictated by the student himself. I spent the majority of my first and second years of medical school out of the classroom -- I decided to do it on my own because I found myself sleeping during lecture or playing games on my Palm pilot more often then writing down information or following along with the lecture notes. When in class, I guess I could be labeled as one of those guys who always would have asked the professor to repeat the question or say "huh?" when called upon. During the third year, I was very ambitious when it came to article searches, maximizing study time, getting involved with patient care, "challenging" decisions regarding patient care, and going "all out" to prepare for the shelf exams. Everything I did paid off and I got the residency I wanted.

It's hard to say whether I would have done the same at another school, but I think my philosophy regarding learning would have been the same.

So, I think success is less defined by the school itself and more defined by the individual's "hunger" per se.

Having said that, if most medical schools are the same in terms of education and clinical experience, it comes down to additional factors such as reputation, location, financing, family concerns, and a sense of integrating well with the current student population. I think these are important because there's NO WAY any pre-med student can get even a REMOTE idea of what any school's cirriculum is like on a one day visit. So, reputation, etc. become very important factors in the decision-making process.

If a school's reputation and financial status are equivocable, a student would do himself a disservice by considering that institution seriously, unless there are not many options.

Forget about education for a moment -- you'll do well if you make the effort, regardless of where you go. Consider everything. Some programs just shouldn't make your cut because of some red flags -- not because you might think the students at that place are smarter/dumber or the education is superior/inferior. There are Harvard students, I'm sure, who score below the mean on Step I. And there are, I'm sure, MCP students who score well above the mean.

Gut instinct is very important at this point. Think beyond the first year of medical school. Think about residency, if you can. Think about it.

 

[psyche]

Well-said, FoxyDoc. Makes me feel bad for ragging on you for another post of yours several days ago.

At the risk of sounding touch-feely, MCP did have a warmth about it the day I interviewed. I don't think it was all for "show" either. Among the status-obsessed, the choice between MCP and Georgetown must seem like a no-brainer. There are those, however, who may take different factors into consideration. And if it's prestige you're after, Georgetown Med had very little of that until relatively recently. On a final note, the financial picture at Georgetown looks a lot like that of MCP four years ago.

 

[Shark]

Are you crazy?? I'd be on my way to G-Town in a heartbeat. Iv'e heard rumors that MCP is really struggling. Have you ever been in the hospital there? A rotation there is as enjoyable as root canal.

 

[mcphuguy]

I'll assume the above poster is a PCOM student who has rotated through MCP, and I've heard from PCOMers that DO students aren't treated well there, which is wrong, but that may be part of your opinion....anyway as I've said elsewhere, (just search at this point), there are no $$ problems here at all anymore. The Tenet hospitals in Philadelphia are in the black, and Tenet as a whole is RICH!! ($500 million profit last year), and we're recruiting a lot of good new faculty, from Jeff and Temple in particular. I can't understand for the life of me how that equals struggling.

Georgetown is where we were about 2-3 years ago, just pulling out of financial difficulty...they've lost a lot of faculty there (my dad is affilliated with Georgetown), but they'll come back, too.

I'd say if you want to impress your friends, obviously Georgetown is the way to go, but I also largely agree with neutropeniaboy, that, at this point in my med school career, you realize that everybody learns and knows almost the same exact material whereever they go to school, and that it is VERY individually driven, vis a vis how much one succeeds.

p.s. the "biggest name" school that I know that someone gave up to attend here is Case Western, which is "higher ranked" than G'town in US News. Otherwise, people give up mostly on DO schools, Jeff, Temple, Penn State, or NYMC or Finch to come here, since you guys were kind of alluding to it. Actually, I wouldn't mind doing my residency here, even though I could get into bigger name programs, largely because of sense of community, and family concerns, as well as the local connections of some of the faculty here. I think by that time I'd have to change my screen-name to drexelguy, though.

 

[aqua]

I was also very impressed by MCP's students and general atmosphere...it seemed collaborative, lively, and relaxed. MCP seems very invested in teaching, and I had the feeling that I would learn more there than anywhere else. Unfortunately, it seems to take the public a long time to overcome negative opinions (particularly re: finances), despite the facts that MCPHUguy outlined. For me, the decision is going to come down to where I'll be happiest, because that has a lot of impact on how well I do. But it's hard to shake the nagging reputation worries. Good luck making your decision!

 

[mcphuguy]

Good post...I think the reputation thing fades with time, though it does take a while. However, the reputation that pre-meds are ultimately referring to deals more with the "how can I impress my friends" reputation than it does with your career, whether they realize it at this point or not. One can look at <a href="http://www.mcwmd.com" target="_blank">www.mcwmd.com</a> for links to many match lists, and you'll see that we do no better or worse than the other 80 or so non-elite schools in the US. Temple's can be found on its' website, for example, and it's certainly indistinguishable. The Allegheny issue in '98 was well-publicized, but it is not really thought about much amongst students here, and as far as careers go, it's kind of an issue in a bubble, separate from your own application (meaning it doesn't affect your career at all)....and it's an issue that fades with time. I'm sure that becoming part of Drexel in July will help further secure people's feelings...not much else to say I guess....all I can do is present the facts :wink: Besides, if you guys come here, you'll graduate about 10 years post-Allegheny...that's pretty distant...and four years after the establishment of Drexel Med.

I guess to "bottom-line it", there's still a disconnect between how most students here view this issue and how it affects them, and how some outsiders perceive that it would....this should change over the years.

Take care

 

[thegriffy]

I would run to G-town and not look back! I have a good buddy attending MCP who tells me horror stories about the administration. They were unresponsive to student requests and punitive in their actions. You'll have enough things to worry about in medical school. You don't need to worry about your administration yanking your chain.