Lindyhopper said:
I think many people including myself don't have much sense of what the program is about. Is it a new program? Is the program focused on making researchers? Would an aspiring MD aplicant in need of demonstrating aptitude in science classes be better off in a lecture/didactic focused SMP like GU or Drexel? Why did you choose Sinai? What's your assessment of the quality of the educational experience?
Thanks
The focus of the program, like some others of these masters programs, is to improve your credentials for applying to medical school. What I think makes this program different is that it goes above and beyond just helping you improve yourself "on paper." Although the program is run by the graduate school, the med school, hospital, laboratories, etc. are all under one roof, which means you basically are immersed in every aspect of the profession. Since it is a new program, you have have A LOT of flexibility with regard to what you want to spend your time doing. There is a lot of research involved, but it can be in anything you want. In the end you will have a published masters thesis and probably a published paper, all of which will actually help you after med school when you are applying for residency.
With regard to classes, you take courses with PhD and MD/PhD students, courses that are actually more advanced than medical school courses. What this means (what I have noticed in my own application process) is that performing at the same level as doctoral students in classes looks very impressive (I received B/B+ in most classes, which is still considered awesome). Depending on what research area you are interested in, you have the opportunity to take electives as well. For example, I am involved in virology/immunology research so I took the microbiology course in the med school with medical students (I actually got my highest grade in this course, after taking the other courses, medical courses felt far easier). I think its far more interesting and more unique to take these types of courses, you have 4 years ahead of you for didactic learning, I wanted to try something different in the meantime.
One of the reasons I chose this program is that the administration here is AMAZING. They know each and every student, and we are all on a first-name basis; Its pretty awesome to apply to medical school with 3 LORs from a medical school written by people who know you really well. The students here , both grad students and med students, are really laid back and warm.
As far as my experience goes, I've received 8 interview invites and 2 acceptances so far. There is plenty more I can say, but I'm already rambling. Let me know if you have more questions, hope this helped!
