Official Weill Cornell Medical College 2012 Thread

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NobodyOwnsMeTHO

NobodyOwnsMeTHO

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Say something random, answer these questions, or make up your own.

1) Why Weill Cornell?
2) Isn't New York City great for early to mid 20's life?
3) Is the patient population of NYC great for med students? (rhetorical)
4) Will Weill investment in medical college transfer to students (they got 400 million this summer i think)?
5) Could Cornell be the best all around school because of their placement in NYC? (reputation, location, resources, etc.)
6) Do my questions make me sound partial?
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Cornell is probably my top choice right now! I was beyond excited when I received my acceptance email. It kind of sucks that the revisit weekend is so close to the May 15th decision date. Cornell seems to have everything that I would ever want in a medical school: pbl curriculum, location, great student life, etc. So far, looks like I'll be Weill Cornell c/o 2012 for me!!
 
It *could* be Cornell c/o 2012 for me, but I've got some serious thinking to do. I think the revisit weekend will help me decide, but I wish it wasn't so close to the deadline. Fortunately I'm already in the area, so I could make my own trip to Cornell, but I think meeting my potential future classmates will help me decide.

OP, are you leaning towards Baylor or Cornell, or do you not know yet?
 
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Finally a Cornell thread! Weill is definitely my top choice out of the ones I've been accepted to so far.. but I still have to hear from 7 more schools so we'll see come March. I really loved Cornell when I visited! My only concern is the H/P/F grading system (which some students said could breed competition) but that is really a minor concern.

Congrats to everyone else!
 
Bump!

Any new updates? I'm thinking of swinging by Cornell soon since I'm in the NYC area and May 9-10 feels like years away...
 
Congratulations all of you :) I'm a current student at Weill and I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have. In answer to some of your current comments/questions:

-NY is a great place to be when you're in your 20's. At least I think so. :D

-Weill's money goes to research and clinical programs. So while it won't help you directly it does mean there's a lot of great resources for you here. Also, our fin. aid office is very good at their job and fund raising. Plus funding for summer research and international opportunities is pretty stellar.

-The H/P/F curriculum is fine. Most of us would prefer P/F but there are only about three people in my class that I can think of that actually care whether they get the H or not. It has not breed competition yet.

-Revisit is a lot of fun. If you've kept any e-mail addresses from interview day, or if you just want to pm me/post questions in this thread, most of us are thrilled to answer questions from prospective students.

Best of luck with all your choices!
 
I just graduated from NYU and I love NYC. I was also recently accepted to Cornell in Decmber and am 99% positive that is where I wil be going. I can not wait to see the rest of our class! I loved the area Cornell was in and felt that PBL was a great way to learn medicine. I also loved the hospitals they were affiliated with! Yay go Cornell!!!!:love:
 
Hey current Weill student yay! (I'm so late with keeping this going).Tell us everything about your first year! I mean from moving in to last day of classes, plus extras. Are you from out-of-state Caristra? Is it really as expensive as they make it seem to live in NY? Congrats to NYUM, MsJLewis, LovelyMD, wutwinb
 
Caristra said:
Congratulations all of you :) I'm a current student at Weill and I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have. In answer to some of your current comments/questions:

-NY is a great place to be when you're in your 20's. At least I think so. :D

-Weill's money goes to research and clinical programs. So while it won't help you directly it does mean there's a lot of great resources for you here. Also, our fin. aid office is very good at their job and fund raising. Plus funding for summer research and international opportunities is pretty stellar.

-The H/P/F curriculum is fine. Most of us would prefer P/F but there are only about three people in my class that I can think of that actually care whether they get the H or not. It has not breed competition yet.

-Revisit is a lot of fun. If you've kept any e-mail addresses from interview day, or if you just want to pm me/post questions in this thread, most of us are thrilled to answer questions from prospective students.

Best of luck with all your choices!
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How do you feel about the PBL system at Cornell? Was it initially difficult in PBL since no one really knows anything to start? Did you feel that some of it was a waste of time or were they really helpful in learning/solidifying course material? Thanks for answering questions Caristra!
 
NobodyOwnsMeTHO said:
.Tell us everything about your first year! I mean from moving in to last day of classes, plus extras. Are you from out-of-state Caristra? Is it really as expensive as they make it seem to live in NY?
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If I told you everything I would lose your antention before the end of the extremely long post. So I'm going to stick to answering specific q's.

I'm from instate but a large portion (majority) of the class is out of state. NY is in fact expensive, but the fact that student housing is nowhere near the price you would normally pay for living in this area helps. If you are wise about budgeting you should be fine. They have lots of talks about how to make a financial plan when you first start here. Plus there always seems to be free food around which cuts down on your major expense. ;)

MsJLewis said:
How do you feel about the PBL system at Cornell? Was it initially difficult in PBL since no one really knows anything to start? Did you feel that some of it was a waste of time or were they really helpful in learning/solidifying course material?
Click to expand...

A note on PBL since I want to make sure we are on the same page: We are NOT a totally PBL curriculum. I don't know where people get this impression from but apparently lots of people think this is true. In the first year you have PBL three times a week. Each session is an hour or an hour and a half. Nothing that you are responsible for is soley covered in PBL. If you have to know a concept it will be done in lecture as well. It's just a knew way to get you to engage the material. Plus they give out a sheet of objectives at the end so you can be sure you have learned what they intended you to learn from the case. Learning other things is great, but you know that each group has covered the basics.

When we first started PBL none of us knew what to expect but it worked surprisingly well. In the beginning you have to spend more time looking things up since you have less background. This tapers off after the first few weeks. What is really useful about PBL is that you learn how to find useful information quickly. You also get really good at making five minute presentations, speaking to a group and answering questions, which may seem like a drag now but is pretty helpful for when you start the clinical years and find yourself...you guessed it: making five minute presentations, speaking to a group and answering questions. It is also great to have part of the day in smaller groups. I found I remembered things from PBL very well because there was that "hook" of the story to hang the information onto.

You also get to start thinking about how different diseases present and how to go about logically working up a patient. Your "triple jump" at the end of the course is very much like a PBL case and as far as final exams go, it's the most painless one I've ever taken.

What annoys most of us about PBL is that it is at eight in the morning. You will like some facilitators more than others and some groups more than others but I've yet to see any total train wrecks.

Thanks for answering questions Caristra!
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You're welcome, it's my pleasure. I remember decision time all the questions I had.
 
Is there a dress code at Cornell? A friend of mine said that some medical schools require a certain type of clothing?
 
I interviewed in a Thursday, which is the day that they have their Medicine, Patients, and Society class and the day that most students go to physicians offices to shadow. I think everyone is required to dress up (business professional), on that day only.

The only other med school I've heard of that requires a dress code is Cleveland Clinic.
 
You wear "professional attire" when you see patients. I think every school is like that. I mean would you want your Dr. showing up in shorts, a t-shirt and flip-flops?

On any day when you don't see patients you can wear whatever you want.
 
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I'm definitely leaning towards attending Cornell right now :D. Who else is going to the revisit weekend? Carista can you tell us what type of events are held at revisit and is housing provided? Thanks!
 
I'll be at revisit weekend. When is it again??
 
re cornell dress code: from what i can tell, 50% of the students appear to be required to wear old jeans and tshirts that announce the college from which they graduated.

the other 50% wears the same jeans but their tshirts lack a college imprint.

they do put on dr clothes on days in which they go to hospitals.
 
i'm very excited about the cornell revisit!! there's a chance i can only stay for the first day, but i will definitely be there to meet you all!
 
hope08 said:
Carista can you tell us what type of events are held at revisit and is housing provided? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Revisit is currently being planned! There are general info sessions about fin. aid, curriculum, student life etc. There is also a mock PBL session and several fun out on the town social events. Special interest groups (nontrads, LGBT, Minority etc.) usually host mixers. The current students are around for question answering and usually put on some sort of entertainment. Fun social things are almost all student organized and change from year to year based on feedback. I am sure I left out something, but they will send you a rough schedule when the weekend gets closer.

Housing with current students is provided on request.

As for the t-shirts from undergrad: You might be surprised to find that several of us have shirts from numerous colleges that we have not ever attended. Those things just tend to show up from somewhere...:laugh:
 
Random question but if my bathroom toilet backs up in Lasdon who do I call and how quickly do they take care of it?
 
You go to the housing office on the second floor or to the front desk/lobby people. I have never had an "emergency" situation like that and have only filled out on line work requests. Those have been completed rather quickly (1-2 days) so I would assume a toilet backup situation would get taken care of even quicker since it is bumped to the top of the list.

Of course, if we happen to be friends, I would tell you to call me. As long as you don't need new parts, I can probably fix it. Thank my handy dad for that.
 
I´m studying abroad right now (actually 2 in the afternoon, don´t worry im not on sdn at four in the morning!) , and am bummed that I won´t make it to revisit weekend. I am really leaning towards cornell because of so many things. I´m wondering if I should even apply for aid cuz I heard it´s all needbased. Caristra, do you have any advice on this?
 
A lot of financual aid is need based but there are also certain donors who want money to go from students from different places etc. When in doubt about financial aid it is always best to call the financial aid office. They are very nice and, essentially, they are the only people who can answer your questions with guaranteed accuracy.

Honestly though, why not fill out the form? It's not going to hurt you in any way.
 
Caristra said:
You go to the housing office on the second floor or to the front desk/lobby people. I have never had an "emergency" situation like that and have only filled out on line work requests. Those have been completed rather quickly (1-2 days) so I would assume a toilet backup situation would get taken care of even quicker since it is bumped to the top of the list.

Of course, if we happen to be friends, I would tell you to call me. As long as you don't need new parts, I can probably fix it. Thank my handy dad for that.
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Thanks. I went to the office and they took care of it in a few hours. They weren't too happy doing it though haha.
 
do all first years live in olin? where do students live generally in various years?
 
Cescfab said:
do all first years live in olin? where do students live generally in various years?
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Most first years live in Olin. People with legal significant others (domestic partnership/married) and/or kids live in either Lasdon or the 77th street housing. In year two you move out of Olin and into Lasdon. They will be revamping housing/tearing down Olin soon but I am not sure when this is planned to occur. Probably not your year. In any case the housing is a pretty sweat deal and so most people chose to live in it. A few people live off campus. Usually because their significant other all ready had a place in NY.
 
Anyone receive financial aid docs from Cornell yet?
 
No nothing yet. I think they were supposed to send a form in late feb. for early accepts to fill out that will supplement gov finaid information but it still hasn't arrived. Might give a call next week.
 
i spoke to someone from Cornell's fin. aid office last week, and they just said to work on the FASFA and NeedAccess forms if you wanted to. They suggested waiting until your parents had file their 2007 taxes before we did anything though. Also, since Cornell's financial aid is totally need based, the lady said it doesn't really matter about getting the forms in super fast, the amount of need-based aid you qualify for should be the same.
 
Where'd you get the Needs Access forms?

Also, I'm kinda sad I'll be missing revisit weekend.
 
I couldn't find an answer on the website...
 
Has anybody received any more Cornell info in the mail since the acceptance letter? I'm assuming not, but just wanted to make sure. I guess they might be waiting to send more stuff until they accept the rest of the class...
 
hope08 said:
Has anybody received any more Cornell info in the mail since the acceptance letter? I'm assuming not, but just wanted to make sure. I guess they might be waiting to send more stuff until they accept the rest of the class...
Click to expand...

Nope, no mail here. Not even financial aid info.
 
The need access thing makes the CSS profile look like a joke!
 
MsJLewis said:
The need access thing makes the CSS profile look like a joke!
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YEAH it does. It's absolutely terrible. I submitted it on Friday, and they say it's supposed to take 1 business day to process, but when I checked yesterday on the access group website, it didn't say anything. Unless I'm not looking in the right place...
 
MsJLewis said:
The need access thing makes the CSS profile look like a joke!
Click to expand...

yikes...what's the CSS profile?...Is that part of the FAFSA?
 
wutwinb said:
yikes...what's the CSS profile?...Is that part of the FAFSA?
Click to expand...

No, it's a separate application that some schools require (Emory, for example). The annoying thing about that one is that it costs around $25. But it isn't nearly as much of a headache as the Need Access app!
 
Besides the H/P/F issue, is there anything holding people back from going to Cornell?
 
The floodgates have been opened.
The rest of the acceptances went out today.
 
There are three things that I'm considering when it comes to Cornell:
  1. PBL - I don't know how I'll like it. I hope I do because I like Cornell.
  2. H/P/F - I would prefer p/f
  3. No pharmacology course - some students said that this is a pain since its on the boards and they have to teach it to themselves.
Can anyone else speak on these things?
 
I AM IN SHOCK AND SOOO HAPPY. my dream has come true
 
Just wanted to join the family! :) Just got the acceptance today...

so excited!
 
Hey guys! I'm currently a first year at WCMC and I wanted to say: Welcome to the family!!!
I'm so incredibly excited to meet you all at Revisit! Cornell is an amazing place, and I'd love to share my love for the school with you all, so if you have any questions, please let me know. :)

Also, I'm actually heading up the planning for Revisit Weekend, so if you have any questions about THAT let me know ;)
I know it's a bit late this year and I'm sorry for that! But apparently admissions had a tough time finding a better date. BUT, it's going to be a blast so you seriously shouldn't miss it! It's what sold ME on Cornell.

Once again, Congrats!!! And I hope you all choose to go Big Red ;)
 
Hi all,

Congrats! I'm a current first-year here at Cornell and it has been a fabulous experience so far. Feel free to ask anything you guys want to know more about!

I just wanted to answer two questions that have come up, but haven't yet been answered:

1) "Is NYC's patient population a good place for medical students to learn?"

A: Yes, yes, yes. While I understand that there are rumors that the hospital population at our home institution is "upper-east side yuppie," it is important to realize that a) all students, from their first year, spend time at hospitals and clinics in all five boroughs - ie, a very diverse patient population with different clinical and socioeconomic needs. b) the New York Hospital, despite it's prestige, does have significant undeserved populations, as well as a student-run free clinic that you can become involved with as a student. c) NYC is the epicenter of different cultures coming together - you get the full experience of working with people from all around the world in your clinical work here.

2) The issue of "no pharm class."

While I'm a first-year who hasn't taken the full preclinical curriculum yet, I get the impression from others - and from speaking with some professors about this - that while we don't have a dedicated pharm course, we do get all the pharm that we need. A first-year class, called Host Defenses, includes a general pharmacology module; the rest of pharm is delivered along with disease information in the Basis of Disease and Brain and Mind courses. Like alot of things at Cornell, the curriculum is body-system based....so we've seen some beta-agonist/antagonists, for example, when doing the cardio module with anatomy and physiology. So while pharm is not a blocked out course, it is taught throughout the first two years.

Hope this helps!
 
Hey Everyone! CONGRATS to all those accepted!! We are so excited to welcome you to the Cornell Fam and are more than willing to answer questions you may have. I am also involved in some of the planning for second look (a couple of the social events on Friday and Saturday) and can't wait to meet all of you in May!! :D
To quickly answer a few questions I've seen so far:
*My housing is less expensive here at Cornell than it was when I was an undergrad (when you take into account that utilities are included). No one who lives in NYC can believe how inexpensive our housing is. It really is a steal!
*YES, you should absolutely fill out all the fin aid for every school. I know it is a pain. However, I got such a wide range of packages even with most places being all need-based aid, that I have to encourage everyone to fill them all out.
*I really enjoy PBL for all the reasons that have already been stated, but I want to reiterate what Caristra mentioned that it is not the only way we learn. We are in PBL for approx. 4.5 hours per week and in lecture/lab/other small group sessions for 15 hours. And we get out at 1pm almost every day! We do have afternoon sessions when we have office preceptor visits and if we are taking an elective. Right now, I am taking an entrepreneurial medicine course which has been great. People are also currently shadowing physicians and taking part in a global health elective (which was almost COMPLETELY designed by students for students)
*(To answer a rhetorical question) Cornell is affiliated with 13 hospitals in 4 out of the 5 boroughs (and I've talk of a trying to find something on Staten Island) so you definitely get exposure to a wide range of patients. That was something I did not know about Cornell, and that I think more people should know. A lot of people think we only work with patients from the Upper East Side (UES, gotta start learning the abbreviations now!) and that is not true. Plus, if you are at a location outside of Manhattan Cornell provides Car service :)
To answer one question I saw as remained unanswered:
mollie said:
I couldn't find an answer on the website...
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Second years start class the Tuesday after Labor day (I believe Sept 2nd), which is when we started as first years. Orientation usually starts at least a week before so I wouldn't make any plans for the last week in August. I'm sure you'll get a more definitive schedule soon!
 
Thanks to all the first years for answering questions! I have a quick question about revisit - is it all day Fri & Sat? I'm just trying to figure out travel plans and days off from work. Thanks.
 
Thank you, first years, for answering our questions! I have a couple more questions that I'm hoping you can answer (they're really random!):

1. How can one make living in the UES more affordable? Do you guys cook for dinner most nights? If so, are there cheap grocery stores around?

2. If I were to have family come and visit me from CA, what would be the best airport to have them travel to? I'm thinking JFK, then catch a cab? Do you guys know of any better/cheaper ways this can be done?

Thanks so much!!! I'm really excited for second look!! :D
 
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