Name & Fame | Name & Shame | Reviews of Schools 2019-2020

[TheDataKing]

Mercer University School of Medicine

Location:
1. Macon campus -Meh...pretty much the middle of nowhere Georgia with nothing to do. The campus is pretty and I imagine there are some activities to be done in Macon, but altogether not an interesting location. Hot as hell in the summers.
2. Savannah campus - Savannah is a much more desirable location overall. Charming southern town with good food. Also located near the coast so easy access to Georgia beach towns.

Cost of Living: Probably dirt cheap. I'd imagine very easy to share a 2 bed/2 bath for less than $500 per month per person.

Transportation: You would need a car to get around at either campus. Traffic shouldn't really be a problem.

Clinical Rotations: Both campuses are affiliated with a teaching hospital for rotations, although neither hospital is specifically owned by the school. Students seem to enjoy rotations - haven't hear many complaints. I imagine there is a strong emphasis on primary care in accordance with the school's mission.

Positive Impressions: The school definitely has a homey-ness to it. Interview day only included a total of 5 applicants so it really feels as though you were selected with care. Everyone I interacted with at the school was nice as could be. They had a team system within the class that seemed fun and a good way to form a good support network. Curriculum is primarily PBL-based. Students claimed to like it and it was something that I saw as a positive, although I'm not strongly for or against PBL.

Negative Impression: The school clear about their mission to produce PCPs to serve rural Georgia. If this is your passion, great. If you are interested in all of the other med school bells and whistles, too bad. There of course is minimal access to research, etc. but there's certainly no emphasis on it. The school tour felt lame in a way because we were not able to see a lecture hall nor the anatomy lab. We were able to see the study rooms and PBL rooms and library and that is about it, so it didn't really feel like I was able to see what it would be like to go to this school. Lastly, it will always somewhat bother me that the adcom will always take a student who claims to be committed to primary care in rural georgia over another applicant with twice the stats and experience, but I suppose its their perogative to support their mission.

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[TheDataKing]

Medical College of Georgia at August University

Location: Decent. Augusta is a medium-sized city that apparently is starting to get more trendy and therefore has some good restaurants/activities to do in your free time. At the same time, it's a short drive to nature areas/hikes and weekend trip destinations like Savannah and Charleston. If you're looking for the hustle and bustle of NYC you won't find it in Augusta, but it offers sufficient activities to fill a med students little free-time. Hot as F@#$ in the summer.

There is also a 4 year campus in Athens in partnership with the University of Georgia. Benefits include a smaller/more tight knit class and the perks of being a UGA student (i.e. football tickets, etc.). Athens is also one of the best college towns in the country, so pretty enjoyable place to live.

Cost of Living: Should be fairly cheap. I'd imagine you could easily share a 2 bed/2 bath for less than $500 per person.

Transportation: You'd realistically need a car to get around efficiently, but there may be bus services. It also probably pretty walkable as well if you get a place close to campus.

Clinical Rotations: MCG has it's own teaching hospital in Augusta so I believe students have a great clinical experience. There are also about 5-6 other rotation options spread out throughout the state to fit your desires. I believe PDs trust MCGs clinical training.

Positive Impressions: MCG is an all around great state school. The amount of resources/awesomeness of their facilities make it apparent that the school is very well funded. It also just has a great rep throughout the Southeast, which of course helps when it comes time to match. It felt as though you'd have access to any resource you could want to enrich your medical school experience. Altogether, MCG is a great school. P/F preclinical curriculum is a plus as well. Also, low tuition for in-state students is of course a plus when compared to cost of private schools with of similar or lower "rank"

Negative Impression: Honestly don't remember having any strong negative impressions. It is a school with a large class size so if that is a negative to you then that would be a factor. The only real reason I'd choose another school over MCG is if that school had notably more prestige, and therefore would increase your merit when applying to residency. Otherwise, I'd maybe choose a school with equal reputation/resources over MCG if it were located in an awesome city that I wanted to live in.

 

[TheDataKing]

NYU-Long Island
Location: Mineola, NY clearly on Long Island but pretty suburban.

Cost of Living: Free tuition! Subsidized housing provided

Transportation: You likely don't need a car but one would be nice

Clinical Rotations: NYU Winthrop Hospital and their clinical training sites

Positive Impressions:
- Free tuition
- Rotations are local and you can walk to them
- housing is provided, no need to search
- Mineola is only a 35 min train ride to Manhattan
- Small class size
- Intimate professional relationship with faculty
- Conditional placement into a IM, Ped, Ob/gyn, surgery residency program in NYU Winthrop Hospital
- integrated health system science in curriculum
- vertical and horizontal integration of basic, clinical, public health, health system science in the curriculum
- class seems connected
-strong mentorship ( 3 levels: demographic matched, Specialty matched, general academic mentor)
- you aren't required to match into NYU-Winthrop and not consequences for matching elsewhere

Negative Impressions:
- Mineola is lame if I'm being real (thank GOD its not far from Manhattan)
- Research seems hard to fit in early in your education
- NYU-LI seems to get your decisions back to you late in the cycle like around May or April so that is kind of a bummer and you just gotta be ready to make the choice differential near that time if NYU-LI is your top choice.
- very accelerated and jam-packed.
- you will potentially be in Mineola for over 7-9 years if you take the conditional residency placement. (This is not really bad or good but for me, Mineola is not a place I would stay forever.)

 

[TheDataKing]

Tulane
Location: New Orleans, LA; fun location

Cost of Living: rent and tuition are $$

Transportation: A car is needed

Clinical Rotations: has affiliation agreements with more than 10 hospitals & clinics in New Orleans and other communities; three of its principal clinical teaching facilities are in close proximity.

Positive Impressions: Incredible to attend med school in New Orleans; chill attendance policy (seems like very few people attend by the end of first year); true pass/fail pre-clinical years; DeBakey scholars is a structured research program for those interested; pretty large class at about 200 (could be good or bad, depending on who you are); incredible community clinic options; seems like very supportive student body and faculty

Negative Impressions: Tuition is 65k!! Real cadaver anatomy labs (for some this is a pro, but I've had more than my fair share of cadaver classes and I'd prefer to avoid smelling like formaldehyde if I can); while New Orleans is great, Louisiana is far from most things; pretty large class at about 200 (could be good or bad, depending on who you are); NOLA floods and is real hot, just remember that.

 

[TheDataKing]

Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine
Location: Spokane, WA

Cost of Living: Cheap

Transportation: A car is needed

Clinical Rotations: affiliated w/ hospitals in Everett, Spokane, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver

Positive Impressions: Small Class size, health campus integrated with schools of nursing/pharmacy/exercise science, longitudinal integrated clerkships for entire cohort, emphasis on rural and under served (predominantly primary care), Low COL. Pass/Fail preclinical.

Negative Impressions: No academic medical center (No home residencies)

, Need to pursue outside opportunities if you wanna be a gunner (city based top practices discouraged and opportunities limited), Near brand new school/growing pains, not a lot of research opportunities available.

 

[mushu22]

Really love reading these -it's particularly interesting for schools you applied to and did not get an invite to. Thanks TheDataKing!

Haha I felt the same way! Re: particularly interesting for schools you applied to and did not get an invite to.

 

[TheDataKing]

Western Michigan Homer Stryker SOM
Location: Kalamazoo MI

Cost of Living: Very cheap! 800$ for a nice 1 bedroom apt, 500-600 for studios.

Transportation: A car is needed

Clinical Rotations: Major affiliations with 2 local well known hospitals that the residents of the town seem to really trust in. Not much options for advanced clerks hope because the school is new, but the hospitals have a long history as teaching hospitals so the education should be good there for the clerkships they have available.

Positive Impressions: Extremely friendly and welcoming admissions committee. Genuinely care about the wellbeing and health of their students. School is small, class size 84, and I got the impression they really make an effort to know every student by name. Despite being a new school they have had some strong match lists. The process to get to the on-site interview is long and has a lot of intermediate steps, but everyone I met on interview day was the most friendly and cool out of almost all of my interviews. Interviewer was more interested in getting to know me as a person and my life rather than what my file said, which was a relief from other schools.

Negative Impressions: Newer school, less diversity of advanced clerkships, I ranked and may see a negative impact from my he change to step. Decompressed curriculum doesn’t allow for a research summer, instead gives 1 week breaks after every block. (This is either a positive or negative depending on the person)

 

[TheDataKing]

TCU-UNTHSC
Location: Fort Worth, TX

Cost of Living: Moderate, affordable but probably easier with roommates

Transportation: A car is needed

Clinical Rotations: Honestly, poorly explained. This year would be their second entering class. They’re partnered with UNTHSC so they would occur there, but clerkship diversity wasn’t detailed very well.

Positive Impressions: Facilities are nice and new. The dean is a good public speaker - really makes you feel like the school is “up and coming” and leaves you with a positive impression early in the day about the school.

Negative Impressions: oh god the chairs. The most uncomfortable chairs I’ve ever sat in. I can’t imagine sitting in those for 2 years of preclinical I would have permanent back damage - but hey they look cool -.- . They had required reading for the interview to do an example PBL group activity which really left a bad taste in my mouth. The instructors (not med students or MDs, rather the “art department” (????) of the school) attempted to teach us how to interact with a patient based on the article to extract information from them. However they expected you to do this while “knowing” the cause of their symptoms was explained by what was read in the article. This really made my eyes twitch because they taught it all backwards - trying to get your patient to tell you something because you’ve already “decided” the cause of their symptoms is just bad medicine and a horrible introduction to students. I also got called on a “high horse” for saying I wasn’t addicted to my cell phone? Also silent interviewers. This school gets a straight 1/10. The 1 is only for the public speaking skills of the dean which I’m sure rope in enough people.

 

[TheDataKing]

U of Kansas
Location: Kansas City, KS

Cost of Living: Moderate-High in city, low in suburbs

Transportation: necessary

Clinical Rotations: Away and local. Good opportunities for advanced clerkships.

Positive Impressions: Really amazing facilities, great library, fun chairs, comfortable study areas (I really care about the chairs I sit in, yes.) Well established curriculum and strong matches, friendly students.

Negative Impressions: Not OOS friendly, while this is known, even the days reserved for OOS students to interview were filled (90%?) with students that lived in Kansas (<1yr) or have been doing undergrad/grad there so they’re technically OOS but also not really. It’s a little misleading since this means most of the OOS students they accept are basically IS which is what they actually want.

 

[TheDataKing]

Rutgers RWJMS
Location: Piscataway, NJ: It is not a city but it is a safe area with a nice campus. Near the main Rutgers campus so you can feel a part of the community there too!

Cost of Living: Not super pricey, depends where, but most students live in Piscataway close to campus. Reasonable pricing

Transportation: having a car is most convenient but not mandatory. Shuttle from the med school to the medical center since parking there is tough

Clinical Rotations: RWJ University Hospital with other affiliates around NJ, and they will help you to get any away rotations you want

Positive Impressions:
Very accommodating, if you want an away rotation, they will work with you to make it happen
Good proportion of students live in the same apartment complex 5 minutes from campus
A shuttle from medical school to hospital 5 min away
Will connect you with faculty research
P/F preclinical, H/HP/P/F clinical
AMAZING MATCH LIST EVERY YEAR

Negative Impressions: Student-run clinic needs an application and not everyone may be able to volunteer in it
Pricey if you aren't in state

 

[TheDataKing]

UTMB
Location: Galveston, TX

Cost of Living: Cheap Apts go for $800-$1000 per month. Fraternity houses are even cheaper and include 2 meals

Transportation: need a car

Clinical Rotations: Can rotate in Galveston, the Texas Medical Center in Houston, and also rural sites

Positive Impressions:
This school prides itself on collegiality. The staff, students, and faculty were very laid back, kind, and helpful. There were two 30 minute interviews. One interviewer asked easy questions about my application while the second interviewer just told me things about the school. Others who interviewed the same day said that they had the same experience. All of the students seem to believe that interviews at UTMB are just a formality. Soon after you get accepted, current students are more than happy to help guide you through just about anything you need via the Facebook group and a Group Me. The staff is also very helpful in helping you complete your pre-matriculation checklist. There are not many BSL-4 labs in the United States, but one is at UTMB. This is a great place if you're into virology.

META course is supposed to be a good way to transition into medical school and get to know your classmates. Also, you're close to the beach and it is warm year round.

Negative Impressions: Galveston may not be the easiest place to find decent housing. There is a lot of flooding on the island. If you don't like the small-town setting, you may find Galveston to not be exciting enough for you. As I said, it is warm year round which may be a bad thing as there is no winter and it is very hot and humid in the summer. A lot of people, including me, had at least one interviewer who clearly did not read their application. Some people may find this frustration, but as I mentioned before the students seem to think the interviews are just a formality. 2 year preclinical.

 

[TheDataKing]

SUNY Downstate
Location: NYC is an awesome city, but Downstate is in bad neighborhood in Brooklyn

Cost of Living: It’s expensive to live in NYC, but they do have dorms with a bathroom and a tiny kitchen you share with one other person

Transportation: Free 24/7 shuttle between Downstate and the subway for Downstate students

Clinical Rotations: Sites in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island, Long Island, and Queens,

Positive Impressions:
-Downstate was the first to have the 1.5 year preclinical curriculum.
-They match well in NYC and California.
-They have a new sim center, and several new lecture halls.
-Lectures are recorded and are rarely mandatory.
-While my interview was well over an hour, I found it to be very relaxed and conversational.
-The students report that from year one, physicians are happy to let you work with them.
-The physicians are good mentors; the students seem to be able to gain a lot of experience and wisdom from all of the doctors at Downstate.
-I feel like Downstate is known for having very good clinical preparation – the students are very involved in Kings County Hospital.
-Out of state students can get in state tuition starting the second year if they live off campus the first year.

Negative Impressions:
-Downstate is in a bad neighborhood so you may have to commute.
-Brooklyn is gentrifying, but it’s unclear if this will reach Downstate’s neighborhood in the near future.
-Housing is very expensive in NYC.
-Small gym.

 

[TheDataKing]

Texas A&M
Location: Middle of nowhere outside of Bryan, TX

Cost of Living: Depends on where you wind up for the last 2.5 years

Transportation: need a car

Clinical Rotations: The 2.5 years spent at either Baylor Scott & White (Temple), Bryan- College Station, Houston, or Dallas are the main ones. Can also rotate through Corpus Christi, Round Rock/Austin, or San Antonio sites

Positive Impressions:
-Of the 10 schools I interviewed at, Texas A&M has the best welcome packet.
-The comradery at Texas A&M is amazing and I enjoyed my interview day.
-The first 1.5 years are spent in Bryan where they have a new cadaver lab. This lab has no smell and a lot of natural lighting via white frost glass!
-About 3 out of 4 students get their first choice of Baylor Scott and White, Bryan-College Station, Houston, or Dallas for the last 2.5 clinical years.
-The school seems very interested in rural medicine and military medicine. We even heard a talk from military recruiters about military medicine.
-One of my interviewers was a physician/faculty member who also had early low grades like me – so nice of them!

Negative Impressions:
-I only got to see 1st year students. This made it very difficult to find out what Texas A&M is really like.
-We did not interact with students or faculty from any other the sites that are not in Bryan.
-After the first 1.5 years, you will likely have to move.
-Students are graded H/P/F all four years and only 20% of the students can get Honors.
-Of the 10 schools I interviewed, this is the only one where an interviewer started by admitting that a lot of people on the committee didn’t want me to get an interview due to my early low grades. Maybe I need thicker skin, but it was off putting. It made me feel like I wasted time and money coming here to interview. It may also suggest that they don’t believe in reinvention. Oh well.

 

[TheDataKing]

Virginia Tech Carilion
Location: Roanoke – there are actually a wide variety of international restaurants here.

Cost of Living: No in state tuition but you can find nice 1 bedroom luxury apartments for ~$1,000

Transportation: need a car

Clinical Rotations: Mostly in Roanoke all are p/f

Positive Impressions:
-Great place if you want to do research. In fact, all students are required to submit a hypothesis driven research proposal and complete a manuscript that is ready for publication before they can graduate.
-Virginia Tech is a new school, and it has always had a 100% match rate.
-This is the kind of town where every waves and says “hi” to each other.
-The facilities are new and pretty.
-The students kept saying that they were only around for the free food, but they only had good things to say about the school.
-The students found it easy to be able to write up a case report or find a research opportunity.
-p/f all four years including clerkships

Negative Impressions:
-This is the only interview where I had to leave my belongings behind for the entire day.
-Also, a student mentioned that sometime after step someone will look at your record and try to guide you into certain specialties based on what they see in your record. While this could be a plus and may be why they always have a 100% match rate, I see Virginia Tech possibly being a very structured place.
-Despite the name, Virginia Tech Carilion is a private school so no in state tuition.
-Tiny gym.

 

[TheDataKing]

Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW)
Location: Wauwatosa, WI which is right next to Milwaukee. 1.5 hour drive to Chicago. 1 hour drive to Madison

Cost of Living: 1 bedroom $1,000+

Transportation: Some live close enough to walk, but others need a car

Clinical Rotations: Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, Froedtert, Zablocki VA Medical Center among others

Positive Impressions:
-A lot of the non-clinical parts look new and shiny. MCW also has a lot of construction and renovating going on.
-preclinical years are now p/f

-One of my interviewers said that my interview with him didn’t matter, but the other one did. He gave me tips for my other interview.
-My other interview was very pleasant. I wish my interviewer was my doctor.
-This school got a HUGE grant to improve medical education so they are now big on finding ways to produce more empathetic physicians
-They also emphasize student wellness even more than most schools
-This was my first acceptance so it’ll always be special to me

Negative Impressions:
-My Uber driver could tell that I’m not from Milwaukee because I’m friendly and I smile. That’s also what I noticed as I was touring the campus the students didn’t seem as friendly as other schools and they didn’t smile much.
-It’s cold here. Some of us may need to spend a lot of money buying blizzard proof stuff to wear for winter

-The $110 matriculation fee is not refundable
-They don’t match scholarship offers.

 

[TheDataKing]

Albany Medical College
Location: Albany, NY is a big city with a small town feel. 2.5 drive to NYC. 3.5 hour drive to Boston

Cost of Living: Expensive tuition. 1 bedroom apt start at $950/mo

Transportation: Almost all the students live within a 1 mile radius of the school

Clinical Rotations: Albany Medical Center, Samuel S. Stratton Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Capital District Psychiatric Center, St. Peter's Hospital, Ellis Hospital

Positive Impressions:
-The students seem to have fun
-The student lounge is the best I’ve seen out of 11 lounges. It has massage chairs among other things
-The gym is huge
-Albany Med isn’t known as a big research powerhouse but there are some very good PIs if you look for them
-There are skybridges to keep you out of the snow in winter
-I would encourage Californians to apply. There’s a reason why they call it UC Albany
-The graduation cap and gown is nice
-The clerkships have assignments and things for the students to complete, but it helps to minimize the subjective evaluation of the attending
-The students like to go on ski trips. If you don’t ski, you can hang back in the lodge and party and the skiers will come party with you when they’re done

Negative Impressions:
-Expensive tuition
-The guys complain that the gym still doesn’t have a squat rack…
-Preclinical graded EH, E, G, M, U, but what goes on your transcript is essentially pass or fail

-It is very hard to actually do research. Very few students stick with their research project.
-A LOT of snow in winter

 

[TheDataKing]

UMiami Miller
Location: Miami! Beaches, no winter, just some rain from time to time

Cost of Living: 1 bedroom goes for $1,800+ in Brickell where most students live. $700-$1,000 close to campus where there is crime and not many things to do

Transportation: Most students live in Brickell – a 7 minute metro ride from campus. MD/MPH students will need a car in years 3 and 4

Clinical Rotations: Jackson Memorial, Bascom Palmer, University of Miami Hospital, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Miami VA Medical Center, dedicated overseas sites MD/MPH students will go to Jupiter Medical Center, South County Mental Health Center, Broward Health, West Palm Beach VA, JFK, and Holy Cross Hospital

Positive Impressions:
- They accept about 60% of students they interview
-If you’re into Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer is the best
-VERY good match list
-Jackson cards. Residents of Miami who cannot afford insurance can get Jackson cards so that they can receive free treatment at Jackson Memorial Hospital
-DOCS – free student run clinics for underserved in Miami
-A lot of students do overseas rotations. My interviewer seemed impressed that I knew that over half of the students go overseas for a rotation. However, fewer students went in 2020 due to coronavirus
-They seem eager to give scholarships. The students advise us to reach out to admissions to explain our financial situation after we are accepted. They may also consider matching another school’s scholarship offer.
-Scholarships for merit and need, but they also have scholarships for people who have had diverse experiences
-Next Gen curriculum has 1 year preclinical and sets students up to be able to take step 2 after the second year. This may help when step 1 becomes pass/fail

-I like the way Miami grades the clerkships: 1/3 Shelf exams; 1/3 based on things like professionalism, communication, being on time etc.; 1/3 different people evaluate different things you do. Also, if your program director thinks your clinical skills are better than what the shelf exam suggests, they will make sure to write that in your evaluation
-Very diverse student body
-Attendings let students have a voice with respect to patient care
-The gym is huge
-I cried when I got accepted… in a good way

Negative Impressions:
-Interview day was very unorganized as interviewers cancelled at the last minute
-Remember to bring an umbrella to interview day. Miami can go from sunny to pouring rain fast
-The downstairs machines in the gym should face the giant window overlooking the city and not the wall
-You’ll have 2 interviews that are each an hour long. Interviews were pretty easy. Hopefully, your interviewers become your advocates
-The city of Miami is the kind of city where you often smell weed smoke as you’re out in about. Some may find this to be a good thing

 

[TheDataKing]

UVA (Virginia)
Location: College Town with an option to do clinical rotations in the Washington, D.C. suburbs of northern Virginia

Cost of Living: Cheap, college town. Northern Virginia is more expensive, but they give the students money to offset the northern Virginia cost of living.

Transportation: Lots of bike paths, but may need a car if you aren’t close enough to campus

Clinical Rotations: University of Virginia Health System University Hospital, INOVA Fairfax, also rural sites

Positive Impressions:
- They take you to a very nice, exclusive on-campus restaurant for interview day lunch
-They don’t reject anyone they interview. You’re either accepted or waitlisted
-One of my interviewers said that the interview is just a formality
-The students were very friendly – some stopped by the admissions office to say “hi” to the interviewees
-When you go to away UVA rotations, they house and feed you
-They have an option for INOVA Fairfax clinical rotations. The program at INOVA Fairfax used to be run by Virginia Commonwealth University, and there are Georgetown and George Washington University students who rotate here
-They give you extra money if you choose INOVA Fairfax because DC cost of living is expensive
-Lots of chances to get rural medicine experience
-Then again INOVA Fairfax gives the opportunity for urban medicine
-Amazing match list!
-1.5 year preclinical with lots of breaks
-p/f for everything except clerkships
-Grading for clerkships seems fair. Each week a different person evaluates you and then your evaluations are sent to the program director. Much more fair than most schools who randomly assign you to an attending who may or may not grade as easy as the attending your classmate got randomly assigned to
-The students seem to genuinely support each other
-Program directors will call a residency director to get you an interview
-Easy to do a dual degree program. You have to take the LSAT for MD/JD, but other programs will take your MCAT score
-The administration does a good job having dialogue with the students whenever there is a scandal like the unite the right rally or the health system’s previous debt collection scandal

Negative Impressions:
-The students say that dating is hard because it’s a small town and most of the young people are undergrads. The students would not recommend that you date an undergrad.
-It is very hard to find something negative about UVA

 

[openstage]

Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW)


Negative Impressions:
-My Uber driver could tell that I’m not from Milwaukee because I’m friendly and I smile. That’s also what I noticed as I was touring the campus the students didn’t seem as friendly as other schools and they didn’t smile much.
-It’s cold here. Some of us may need to spend a lot of money buying blizzard proof stuff to wear for winter

It's funny you say that. People in rural parts of cold weather states have often been described as more aloof, not as outgoing and friendly. When you go to the mail or post office people don't strike up conversations. Whereas in the south, freely talking and be naturally polite might be a cultural norm. I'm sure people who are part of the school community itself are quite open and warm to each other.

 

[scorpion2020]

Albany Medical College
Location: Albany, NY is a big city with a small town feel. 2.5 drive to NYC. 3.5 hour drive to Boston

Cost of Living: Expensive tuition. 1 bedroom apt start at $950/mo

Transportation: Almost all the students live within a 1 mile radius of the school

Clinical Rotations: Albany Medical Center, Samuel S. Stratton Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Capital District Psychiatric Center, St. Peter's Hospital, Ellis Hospital

Positive Impressions:
-The students seem to have fun
-The student lounge is the best I’ve seen out of 11 lounges. It has massage chairs among other things
-The gym is huge
-Albany Med isn’t known as a big research powerhouse but there are some very good PIs if you look for them
-There are skybridges to keep you out of the snow in winter
-I would encourage Californians to apply. There’s a reason why they call it UC Albany
-The graduation cap and gown is nice
-The clerkships have assignments and things for the students to complete, but it helps to minimize the subjective evaluation of the attending
-The students like to go on ski trips. If you don’t ski, you can hang back in the lodge and party and the skiers will come party with you when they’re done
View attachment 302117

Negative Impressions:
-Expensive tuition
-The guys complain that the gym still doesn’t have a squat rack…
-Preclinical graded EH, E, G, M, U, but what goes on your transcript is essentially pass or fail
View attachment 302118
-It is very hard to actually do research. Very few students stick with their research project.
-A LOT of snow in winter

I interviewed here and a lot of the students were living on $500-700 rent

 

[TheDataKing]

I interviewed here and a lot of the students were living on $500-700 rent

I'm just posting what I've been sent anonymously from people who interviewed at various schools. Obviously, ymmv and the $950/mo for a 1 bedroom may be if you're living alone and $500-700 would be with a roommate? I'm not sure honestly as I didn't interview there

 

[scorpion2020]

I'm just posting what I've been sent anonymously from people who interviewed at various schools. Obviously, ymmv and the $950/mo for a 1 bedroom may be if you're living alone and $500-700 would be with a roommate? I'm not sure honestly as I didn't interview there

I know I just wanted to reply to it in case someone might be misguided on cost of living in Albany. Keep on posting, king.

 

[TheDataKing]

I know I just wanted to reply to it in case someone might be misguided on cost of living in Albany. Keep on posting, king.

oops, that's my bad haha. I shall continue to post if people send reviews in

 

[Predent20192023]

Drexel is in Philadelphia but it’s just in university city. It’s just not “center city”. Philadelphia is big city and manayunk and East falls are also in Philadelphia (just clearing that up for people).

 

[Cosmopolitan96]

Drexel is in Philadelphia but it’s just in university city. It’s just not “center city”. Philadelphia is big city and manayunk and East falls are also in Philadelphia (just clearing that up for people).

Drexel’s undergrad is in university city but the medical school is located in East Falls which isn’t close to center city or university city

 

[TheDataKing]

Drexel is in Philadelphia but it’s just in university city. It’s just not “center city”. Philadelphia is big city and manayunk and East falls are also in Philadelphia (just clearing that up for people).

Drexel is not in University City except for their undergrad. Their med school is in East Falls

 

[KnightDoc]

I'm just posting what I've been sent anonymously from people who interviewed at various schools. Obviously, ymmv and the $950/mo for a 1 bedroom may be if you're living alone and $500-700 would be with a roommate? I'm not sure honestly as I didn't interview there

I was wondering how you could have interviewed at all of these schools, some of them multiple times! 🙂

 

[TheDataKing]

I was wondering how you could have interviewed at all of these schools, some of them multiple times! 🙂

edit: if you'd like to submit a review of a school but want to stay anonymous, you can DM me & I will post it

 

[KnightDoc]

Yes, I was joking based on your response to @scorpion2020! After all, why else would you post multiple, different reports on the same school? 🙂

 

[TheDataKing]

Charles R. Drew/UCLA
Location: Los Angeles, CA - Drew itself is in Willowbrook (near Compton) so the area can be pretty rough. The first two years are primarily done on the UCLA Westwood campus though.

Cost of Living:

welcome to LA - $$Expensive

Transportation: Car is necessary by the third year. Students will be rotating at sites all over LA.

Positive Impressions: Amazing community-based program that offers students the best of both worlds (resources of an academic giant + tight-knit learning environment with faculty at Drew). Students seemed incredibly happy with their choice to attend, and they had a number of diverse interests so it didn't seem like they were being pushed towards primary care. LA living plus in-state tuition through UCLA if you're a CA resident. They also offer a few (8?) full-ride scholarships (Geffen + LA Care Scholars).

Negative Impressions: Not a fan of their admissions process. I have not had any communication with them since my interview with them in the fall/early winter.

 

[TheDataKing]

Loma Linda University
Location: Loma Linda, CA - Down the street from San Bernardino. Extremely hot and dry during the summer. Again, the area isn't the nicest but it's not too far of a drive to LA/OC.

Cost of Living: Reasonable because of IE location.

Transportation: You might be able to get away with not having a car. The school has shuttles that take you all around campus and many students live within walking distance.

Clinical Rotations: Loma Linda University Medical Center, VA, and LLU Children's Hospital. LLU MC Emergency Department is the only Level 1
trauma center in the region. A brand new hospital is going to open up in a year or two and it looks amazing. Excellent rotation sites overall.

Positive Impressions: The school's faculty seemed very approachable. Students seemed like a tight-knit group. Good opportunities for clinical/translational research since their hospital system is pretty sizable.

Negative Impressions: Lifestyle agreement is pretty strict, though anyone that applies here knows what they're getting themselves into. No meat/coffee is sold by the medical center/school cafeterias

No early clinical experiences (standard 2 + 2 curriculum).

 

[TheDataKing]

California University of Science and Medicine (aka CSUSM or CalMed)
Location: San Bernardino, CA - Inland Empire of Southern California. Extremely hot and dry during the summer. San Bernardino isn't the nicest but it's not too far of a drive to LA/OC.

Cost of Living: Reasonable because of IE location.

Transportation: You probably need a car

Clinical Rotations: Students rotate at Arrowhead Regional. Not much to know here yet because students started rotations yet (current class is M2, new school)

Positive Impressions: Southern California. They seemed to have a decent amount of 30k/yr scholarships to give out. They are building a brand new campus on-site at Arrowhead Regional Hospital which should be done in the fall of 2020.

Negative Impressions: Decent amount of mandatory class time. Expensive tuition but understandable because it's a private school. There is a pretty significant lack of research opportunities, although I suppose you could find something at other schools nearby (LLU or UCR).

 

[TheDataKing]

UC Riverside
Location: Riverside, CA - if you're from SoCal, you know the reputation of the IE 😉 That being said, it's still in SoCal, 45 min from the beach if you have a FasTrak for 91 freeway express lanes.

Cost of Living: Very reasonable, especially by CA standards.

Transportation: Car 100% necessary

Clinical Rotations: Students rotate through various community hospital/clinic sites in the IE region. No affiliated hospital but many students rotate at other UC system hospitals. LACE curriculum starts early (M1) and is 1x/wk clinical experience for early clinical exposure.

Positive Impressions: Southern California, in-state tuition is nice if you are a CA resident (100% of all UCR med students are per MSAR). The faculty seemed very approachable. Recorded lectures. Students seemed happy with their choice to attend. Early clinical experience is definitely nice. The school is primary care focused but they make this very clear from the very beginning. They will not set you up for failure if you choose to specialize but they do not have specialty departments (ortho, ophtho, rads, etc.) so if you decide you want to pursue one of these specialties, you will have to to do a lot of self-preparation (e.g. rotate at other UC sites to get a LoR from a clinician in the field you are pursuing)

Negative Impressions: Driving far for rotation sites may be required. IE traffic during rush hour probably makes this even more annoying. It's a small and relatively new program, but they do have their own residency programs in primary care (which, again, is their entire mission focus). Disliked the way they handle the admissions process, interviewed in the fall and still awaiting a response

 

[TheDataKing]

USF Morsani
Location: Tampa

Cost of Living: Not too bad, like 1k/mo avg rent

Transportation: Def need a car unless you live on the trolly line, but still for clinical years

Clinical Rotations: Mostly within Tampa, Tampa general is right next door. Also Moffit cancer center for all the research you can imagine

Positive Impressions: Everyone was super excited to be there. The faculty were super nice (but everyone was intentionally paired with 1 hardass interviewer) of the 2. Tampa is a great city, young vibe, lots to do, not too expensive. Lots of research available. Large student body, BRAND NEW MEDICAL SCHOOL BUILDING!

Negative Impression: Though they (students/staff/faculty) were all happy and good vibes from them, I somehow got the feeling that they only valued high scoring/high GPA students which felt a little weird. Not that they gave this impression, but it just seemed that that is all they're interested in; seeking out high scorers to boot their prestige. Also, OMFG its hot there.

 

[TheDataKing]

UNC
Location: Chapel Hill, NC

Cost of Living: not sure cheap but not horribly expensive?

Transportation: Need a car but parking is rough

Clinical Rotations: UNC School of Medicine has affiliated hospitals in several cities in the state of North Carolina, including Asheville, Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh and Wilmington.

Positive Impressions: Decent enough facilities. Kinda old but def not the worst I've seen (lookin at you Georgetown). Absolutely loved the town around UNC, chapel hill itself, super cute, quaint little town but not too small and not hillbilly at all. Very artistic community.

Negative Impression: Faculty and interviewer seemed disinterested. Kinda Meh vibe, students seemed pretty excited but residents seemed burnt (maybe no more than anywhere else but what do I know). They reeeeaaallly want kids from prestegious UG's. Going around the interview group was like Harvard, Yale, Penn, Harvard, Harvard, Vandy, etc. SO unless you're one of those, they may not be as interested in you (don't know why tf I was there)

 

[TheDataKing]

OUWB:
Location: no thanks. It's an hour north of Detroit in the suburbs. It's cold. It's kinda isolated. Not for me.

Transportation: You need a car

Clinical Rotations: all completed through the Oakland/Beaumont system

Positive Impressions: Everyone was friendly from the moment I walked in (I think this might be a midwest thing?) The lectures are recorded and live streamed which is nice (but see the caveat in negative impressions) and they seem to care about student wellness with discounted/free therapy. You're given a macbook pro/stethoscope/gym membership/health insurance with your tuition and the tuition is reasonable compared to many other schools. You get UWorld for free for 3 months which is a nice perk. The facilities are nice and new and their hospital system is solid. A good # of students choose OUWB over other schools and they're known to be generous with financial aid.

Negative Impressions: One of my interviewers took 25 of the 30 minutes to bash other specialties. She spoke of their incompetence and how she knew more than the attendings did when she was an intern

Meh. The interview day was unnecessarily extremely long and they do interviews in the afternoon when you're exhausted. Their preclinical curriculum is H/P/F and you have to attend 70% of lectures in order to get honors even if you score well on exams. Students are ranked in quartiles on the MSPE - I'd prefer unranked but who wouldn't. The location didn't impress me and I would freeze if I went here. There is no med school library... I refuse to study with undergrads. Exams are not necessarily on Fridays which is meh.

 

[TheDataKing]

Tufts
Location: Bawston

Cost of Living: not good man, not good. $$$

Transportation: Do not bring a car

Clinical Rotations: Tufts Medical Center and affiliated sites

Positive Impressions: Bawston. That's about it. School had a good location. They have a new anatomy facility which was kinda cool

Negative Impression: No one here seemed happy to be here. The students couldn't even honestly encourage the interviewers to come. Facility was mostly old, hospital wasn't inviting.

 

[TheDataKing]

University of Maryland School of Medicine
Location: Baltimore, MD. The school is in an OK area, and downtown Baltimore near the harbor seemed upscale and very safe. That being said, the city is known for its high crime rate. Super close to the football and baseball stadiums. 1 hr to DC and Philly, 3 hours to NYC.

Cost of Living: $600-1200/month for housing depending if you want a studio or to share a house. In-state tuition is cheap and obtainable after 1st year if OOS.

Transportation: Car is not needed they say at least for pre-clinical years. The school has a shuttle and you can also uber or take the city public transportation. I hear subways in baltimore are non-existant

Clinical Rotations: UMMC and the VA are both right next to the school. Great places to rotate at. Shock Trauma is world famous (prob the most famous thing about the hospital. Its the pink scrubs place). 4th year has a mandatory rural rotation outside of the city.

Positive Impressions: Big well-known research school: This is a school with so much research focus and funding but with such great clinical experiences as well. The facilities are super nice (the hospital atrium looked like something straight out of a TV show, and the new gym/campus center was great). Contrary to what some people said, the people I met on interview day were so kind and literally spent 10 minutes walking with me around campus to escort me to the interview locations.

Similarly, the citizens of Baltimore (uber driver, hotel workers, etc) were kind. New updated curriculum with 1.75 year pre-clinical. Diverse and impressive match. Non-mandatory classes done by 12pm. Students seem happy and there was a cute MS3 who quickly said in a high-pitch voice "come here it's great" even after my interviewer told her to not say anything biased.

Negative Impression: I have heard a story of a student's car getting broken into. Seems like west of JFK is dangerous. Not a good place to drive as parking is expensive and roads are bad. I would rather not be at gun-point.. but who knows you may meet these people as your patients later and politely ask for your money back lol. No supermarkets near campus?? How do students get groceries then?

 

[TheDataKing]

Zucker School of Med at Hofstra
Location: Long Island (suburban) - not much to do here at all... Think of suburban America, and that is Hofstra lol. NYC is 1 hr away by train though

Cost of Living: Seems to be around $700-1000 for housing. Tuition can be expensive but they are supposedly good with scholarships and loans.

Transportation: Need a car. Car needed even to get to the train station

Clinical Rotations: The school owns the hospitals so lots of good places to rotate at. They are Northwell health so you have a lot of options in suburbs and in NYC. Far from campus though.

Positive Impressions: Students seemed happy and relaxed. They were superrr organized for interview day and really presented their school well. True P/F grading. The administration is very receptive to their students' criticisms. Good mental health program. Northwell residency pays their residents the most in America they said.

Negative Impression: Mandatory lectures. Full 2 year pre-clerkship curriculum. They seem to claim themselves as a soon to become top tier school, but no one outside of Long island seems to know about them (even in academia). They say research is plentiful at Feinstein and Cold Spring Harbor, but the students didn't seem very research oriented and said basically Cold Spring Harbor is too far to do research at. In the middle of nowhere for first two years. Cant read match lists but their match list didnt have many competitive specialties at prestigious places. It didnt look or feel like a med school - everything is sort of small.

 

[TheDataKing]

New York Medical College
Location: Westchester, NY (Suburban). About an hour or so drive to NYC (uptown). Good if you like nature.

Cost of Living: $800-1100/mo (standard) for housing.

Transportation: Car is needed if you want to go outside of campus.

Clinical Rotations: WMC is right on campus. Trauma level 1 center. There is also one hospital in the Bronx?

Positive Impressions: P/F curriculum. Nice campus vibe to it where everything is in one place with a shuttle that can take you around. They match into many competitive specialties. Students seemed satisfied with the school. Buildings were well maintained and colonial style. You wont be lacking any clinical experience here.

Negative Impression: Not a place to do research in. Unfortunately has the reputation of being a safety school.

 

[TheDataKing]

Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook (SUNY Stony Brook)
Location: Suburban NY. 2 hours via LIRR to NYC (train station on campus). Right next to undergrad campus for you predatory fellows or sports fans. Close to beaches in Long Island

Cost of Living: Can be cheap if you live in a house off-campus ($600-700/mo) or more expensive if you live on-campus ($1000-1100). Not generous with Fin Aid.

Transportation: Most students recommend having a car all 4 years although they say you can get away with not having one first year. There is a campus shuttle if you want to do that too.

Clinical Rotations: All in Long Island. Main hospital is right on campus. Seems to be decent and hospital is nice and big.

Positive Impressions: 1.5 preclerkship curriculum. They have high STEP 1 averages with new curriculum. The whole university campus is nice and nice looking facilities! (that new MART building is pristine). Research seems to be plentiful.

Students seemed to have a lot of time to relax. If you're from NY, you know Stony Brook. They said the school sponsors a couple conferences for students free of charge so lots of students go on these mini vacations. Good Public health research abroad programs.

Negative Impression: Suburban area, need a car. Lots of other NY schools can overshadow SBU. Tiered H/HP/P/F grading for the main parts of the curriculum.

 

[TheDataKing]

SUNY Downstate
Location: Brooklyn, NY. Not the safest location, even walking to the subway stop during the day was a little sketchy. Can get to downtown Manhattan relatively quickly by subway

Cost of Living: Don't know much, but seems like on-campus housing is average price ($800-1000/month)

Transportation: Can get to Manhattan easily as mentioned above by subway.

Clinical Rotations: Probably the thing Downstate is most known for - very good clinical rotations where the physicians give you more responsibility compared to other schools. The school said other Residency directors always compliment Downstate grads on being better trained. You also get real patient experience from 1st year.

Positive Impressions: Good clinical experience starting from M1. Close enough to Manhattan if you want to go there. P/F curriculum. Well known by NYC PDs for their quality students.

Negative Impression: Not a very research oriented school it seems. Dreary buildings (even though they just opened a newer extension). Not very good for research. Large school (200 students) so less attention. Area does not seem the most safe.

 

[TheDataKing]

Albert Einstein School of Medicine
Location: Residential Bronx (1hr drive to Manhattan. A little journey getting to the public transportation stops) If you dont know NYC, definitely make sure you know you like this location bc it is not as urban as youd think - Campus itself is safe, but would not walk a couple blocks outside of it. Only one café (starbucks) on campus

Cost of Living: Cheap on-campus housing (Can be $500-800? for housing). The apartments have small kitchens, medium to large bedrooms, small bathrooms. Apartments are very old though. Tuition can be pricey.

Transportation: Some students had cars, Uber is always an (expensive) option. MTA is ok.

Clinical Rotations: Main Hospitals - Montefiore/Jacobi are nearby. No one really talked much about this.

Positive Impressions: Because it was in an underserved/low-income area, the clinical experience should be good. Housing was cheap. MS1 and MS2 seemed very happy with the P/F grading! I saw a lot of the M1s hanging out together after their exam. Students were pretty friendly and happy to answer all our questions. Lots of students match into NY.

Negative Impression: 2-year traditional curriculum. Have heard negative things about administration once you become a MS3 or MS4 [this was before their COVID-19 response fiasco] that is a stark difference compared to first two years. Vibe seemed very undergrad-student like (sort of immature). Disorganized interviewing experience, no interview folder/packet!, interview done super quick, and no one talked about financial aid! Sort of dreary 1960s facilities. Gym is goshdarn small. Does have religious overtones (jewish) to the school - could be a con if you're not jewish. I think the dean said they were supposed to fix the wi-fi a couple years ago but it still hasnt been touched.

 

[TheDataKing]

VCU
Location: cool, hip restaurants near the med school. Nice nature scenes (James river) that’s about a mile away. A lot of things to do outdoors like hiking and canoeing.

Cost of living: $500-800 per month for apartment, very affordable compared to other cities

Transportation: No need for a car during preclinicals but will need one for clinicals

Clinical rotations: most done at VCU

Positive impressions: kind interviewers and welcoming admissions staff. Great match list this year. 6 matched into neurological surgery. Beautiful large classrooms made of wood. 1.5 years of preclinicals that’s true pass fail. Constanzo who wrote a major physiology book for step is on the VCU faculty board.

Negative impressions: wish I got to interact with more current VCU students on interview day

 

[TheDataKing]

UChicago Pritzker:
Location: Solid! Seems like it’s fairly accessible to downtown but you don’t feel like you’re in a major city - more like a traditional college campus

Cost of Living: Also solid. Not necessarily ‘cheap’ but I think it’s worth it to be in a bigger city without the heft of NYC/SF/etc.

Positive Impressions: Very distinct in their commitment to healthcare disparities. Seemed to emphasize it way more than other T20s. The class is super small and tight-knit; they actually hung around the admissions office for a lot of the day and seemed relaxed but engaged! I would describe it as ‘campy’ and you could not melt into the crowd (in the best way possible).

Negative Impressions: Not many. I think the 2-year pre-clinical curriculum is a little much and would be kind of a hassle now that Step is P/F. I also was disappointed in that I interviewed with three people who all had the same exact demographic which felt kind of strange on a school that acknowledges implicit biases and prides itself on diversity (small point - but something that felt 'off' to me). I also hate that they made us all take a picture together as that is now a weird photo I have in my camera roll since I was rejected haha.

tl;dr Close knit with a strong emphasis on healthcare disparities. 2-year curriculum is the only drawback.

 

[TheDataKing]

Northwestern Feinberg:
Location: In downtown Chicago. This was my first time in downtown proper and it certainly felt like a city but I cannot give much more in terms of insight.

Cost of Living: Best way to get a big city on the cheap. Kind of irrelevant, however, given the tuition price tag.

Positive Impressions: Pretty much everything! Students were friendly, facilities were stunning, and the student body seemed cohesive (although not super tight-knit compared to a place like UChicago). The administration knew their stuff in and out. All of the students were also very attractive to the point where I really noticed it lol.

Negative Impressions (this was my last of a long list of interviews, so take this with a grain of salt): Very little to ‘set it apart’ from other schools. It seemed like a lot of bread-and-butter pre-meds in a lot of respects and there was just not much that felt ‘distinct (so perhaps not the best for non-trads). Also, it seems to skew heavily towards people from the midwest (Illinois in particular) so I assume there is some sort of bias in admissions? I also felt like the match list was a bit more regional than peer institutions’ matches but that’s hard to read. Again, speculation. Really nothing ‘bad’ and I would have been more than happy here.

tl;dr Everything you would want from a research-heavy institution. No major pitfalls but no major differentiator to my recollection.

 

[TheDataKing]

Johns Hopkins:
Location: In Baltimore. Kind of a divisive stance - some feel it’s great to engage with a ‘rougher community’ because it opens up more insights into underserved populations/gives the chance to change peoples’ minds about the institution whereas others feel like it’s not a great city to be a young urban professional. Safety seemed to be at the top of admissions’ concerns and it does seem like not the coziest environment.

Cost of Living: Very low. Seems like under $800 for a very nice row house with ample space and great facilities.

Positive Impressions: Almost everything! Students were definitely tight-knit and that seems to be a big emphasis on the institution. Contrary to the myths around the undergrad campus, things felt more-or-less chill (or at least I found a good emphasis on work-life balance). Clearly a big research powerhouse but everyone also felt committed to social justice. The faculty also felt more invested in students than at other institutions. The curriculum also just felt very much like what I would want (fairly hands-off but still some mandatory things, 1.5 years pre-clinical, funded research, etc.)

My interview here was also the place where I would say the interviewers were most interested in learning more about ‘me’ than ‘my pre-med experience’ (and you can tell that is a big emphasis based on the lengthy secondary prompts). Also, after I was admitted, the school really welcomed me with open arms and made me feel like a part of the community with emails, phone calls, etc. (call me a roll because I love to be buttered up).

Negative Impressions: For me, Baltimore isn’t where I envisioned my 20s. I fall more on the latter side of the ‘location’ argument but that’s a personal sentiment.
There also is a bit more emphasis on ‘prestige’ in the cadence of the faculty/students, but that was par for the course for every top East Coast school that I interviewed at so I think that’s a cultural thing (I see myself as more of a west coaster in that realm).
Rotations are also scattered throughout the city and could be pretty far so a car is a big asset (if not a necessity).

tl;dr Huge emphasis on mentorship and community. Top of the line in every respect but Baltimore can be daunting.

 

[TheDataKing]

Case Western SOM:
Location: Cleveland is seemingly depressing. My student interviewer mentioned that the advantage was that it meant that you were more inclined to study and not get distracted which felt like a red flag.

Cost of living: low, but damn that tuition is insane.

Positive Impressions: New facilities were nice albeit all in one big confined area. Match list is also impressive if that is of importance to you.

Negative Impressions: Mostly everything. It seemed like everyone sort of had to justify their decision to come to the school and that ‘you go here so you can go somewhere better.’ On my interview day, they talked about how well they performed on STEP (and how extensively they prepared you for it) and matched to the point where it felt like they were compensating for something. Everyone said they went to Case because it was the best program they got in. Students were also not particularly diverse and a 200-person class seems big for the price tag.

Also, my faculty interviewer forced me to list out other places where I was interviewing (and my stats were far above the average for Case's stats) and clearly was trying to convince the admissions committee that I would ultimately not attend. Felt like a toxic environment on that front. PBL was cool but nothing that separated it from other schools.

Also, holy cow they are expensive for being in Cleveland. Not sure where that money goes. Probably to the virtual-based anatomy labs (which were a con in my personal opinion).

tl;dr It felt like you were paying a lot of money to ultimately leave.

 

[TheDataKing]

Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine:
Location: Cleveland is seemingly depressing. Definitely need a car.

Cost of living: low and paired with free tuition ++

In all honesty, this is a program that is so distinct you need to ask yourself if it’s for you before you apply. All problem-based learning, attendance-mandatory, dress code enforced, no tests, only 32 people for 5 years, and the entirety of Cleveland Clinic kind of watching you. Very similar to Mayo.

This is a super personal decision but ultimately I know that CCLCM is not how I would want to spend medical school. I will say, however, that if I were a residency director I would be eager to grab CCLCM graduates.

Positive Impressions: ^^ See above. Not for me but for many. The match list is very competitive (and heavily surgically-focused, if that is of importance to you). Students were nice and down to earth! Lots of opportunities for mentorship and having everyone be research-focused would be nice in my book.

Negative Impressions: Cleveland for sure. Also, the curriculum just is not for me. The ‘group exercise’ part of the interview is kind of awkward in my opinion because it’s so unnatural and forced. Finally, they accidentally rejected me before sending me a waitlist which is not my favorite.

tl;dr They treat you more like a full-fledged adult than a student. This program is perfect for some, a nightmare for others. Undoubtedly a strong education.

 

[TheDataKing]

UCLA DGSOM:
Location: Los Angelos - Westwood. You love it or you hate it. I realized after this visit that I am not an LA person - too sprawling and the values are a little different than mine. Would love the sunshine though.

Cost of living: LA, but housing has some subsidies.

Positive Impressions: The weather and facilities were nice! Students were laid back.

Negative Impressions: Administration is a dumpster fire. Look at the SDN thread for UCLA from this past year - it’s nuts how uncommunicative the admissions office is (and it seems to continue to the medical school based on current students’ sentiments). UCLA also seemingly did not fully know what curriculum incoming class of 2020 would have in September 2019 which felt off and very red-flag worthy.

UCLA’s admissions process also leads to a somewhat divided class based on what I heard from a handful of people. It seems that UCLA takes people from broad ranges of the academic spectrum (perhaps to empower traditionally underrepresented groups which is dope) but it leads to a classroom dynamic that is hard to reconcile. I remember a not insignificant number of people at my interview bragging about how low their MCAT/GPA were (and below the supposed minimums of 512/3.4)/how many classes they failed in undergrad which just felt like an odd thing to brag about. Perhaps those with lower academic statistics have interesting/diverging paths/etc., but it was quite jarring compared to UCLA’s peer institutions.

tl;dr Complete and unapologetic mess.