Pritzker reputation

[longshot99]

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I applied to the University of Chicago based on its location and solid rankings. Over the past few weeks though I have heard many negative things about the school such as the students are very competitive, classes run all day, and it just isn't a happy place. I'm not sure if its worth the trouble and money of completeing the secondary if I know I won't be happy there. Has anyone else heard similar or conflicting things about the atmosphere and student attitudes at Pritzker?

 

[Lab-Rat21]

First of all, how can you be competitive in a Pass/Fail school? Is your Pass going to be better than my Pass? (Think about this, 60% is Pass, usually.)

The students there were very social when I interviewed there, while I do believe classes run from like 9:30-4:00PM (with lunch break and the late time is for anatomy lab.) Their curriculum is traditional, that is, there is mostly lecture and small group/labs, with little PBL (problem based learning until the 2nd year.)

I cannot say much about the area b/c i have not lived there yet. Reputation-wise, they are good, but you should have some interest/experience in research when applying (it is on the secondary and will be discussed in your interview.)

The admissions staff is very helpful and friendly...PM me if you need any info, though you should really talk to an MSII not an MS0 (I start in 2 weeks)...they also start very late (Sept. 29th) and run on a Quarter system...😎

 

[Schubie]

What you heard is COMPLETELY untrue, and I can not emphasize that enough. This is the most non-competitive med school I've ever heard of, and it is one of the reasons I frequently cite as to why I love it here as a Pritzker student. What you heard however, is absolutely true about the undergrad program here. I honestly feel bad for those kids, as it is probably the most difficult and stressful undergrad school in the nation. They are ultra-competitive and it is nothing like the med school. Believe me, most everyone here is very happy, and what you heard could not be further from the truth. You would be missing out on a great thing if you didn't take the opportunity to at least check it out.

Also, you can look up previous posts by me and other Pritzker students like Usef and coop, and they will have the exact same things to say. I didn't want to come to Pritzker at first, because I had heard the same things you did, but I came out here for my interview, and I was so blown away that it became my top choice. What most excited me about the place was the non-competitive nature of the students and the overall level of happiness. I asked one student on my interview day how Pritzker met his expectations, and he replied that it had far exceeded them. I have had the same experience. I came in with high hopes about what school would be like and I can honestly tell you that the U of C has been far and away better than anything I could have asked for.

 

[longshot99]

Ok, I guess I'll trust you guys and finish their secondary. Thanks for your help.

 

[rager1]

I was wondering if UChicago's secondary was automatically given to applicants after they submit their AMCAS or if there was some sort of screening process... Anyone know?

rager1

P.S. I've only been to Chicago during a December. What's the weather like the other 11 months?

 

[Gleevec]

Apparently most med schools will tell you whether you passed/failed a course, but they will keep records of your exact score for ranking their students for the residency process.

Originally posted by Lab-Rat21
First of all, how can you be competitive in a Pass/Fail school? Is your Pass going to be better than my Pass? (Think about this, 60% is Pass, usually.)

The students there were very social when I interviewed there, while I do believe classes run from like 9:30-4:00PM (with lunch break and the late time is for anatomy lab.) Their curriculum is traditional, that is, there is mostly lecture and small group/labs, with little PBL (problem based learning until the 2nd year.)

I cannot say much about the area b/c i have not lived there yet. Reputation-wise, they are good, but you should have some interest/experience in research when applying (it is on the secondary and will be discussed in your interview.)

The admissions staff is very helpful and friendly...PM me if you need any info, though you should really talk to an MSII not an MS0 (I start in 2 weeks)...they also start very late (Sept. 29th) and run on a Quarter system...😎

 

[ewing]

...and I have a dumb question. If my regular year-long pre-med bio sequence included a few weeks of biochem, do they want to know about it when they ask how many weeks of biochem I have? Or is it considered part of "another course"?

For your amusement, I'm posting the course syllabus for first semester bio at my school. This is the schedule for this year, though I took it a couple of years ago. Let me know how many weeks of biochem this looks like to you.

9/2/03
Introduction. Living things. Cells. Exponential growth.

9/4/03
Water. Strong and weak chemical bonds. Small vs. large molecules. Bio-polymers. Acids and bases. Sugars. Polysaccharides. Lipids. Amino acids. Stereo-isomers

9/9/03
Protein structure. Peptide bonds. Alpha helix. Beta sheet. 3-D structure. Subunit interaction.

9/11/03
Membrane proteins. Catalysis. Enzymes. Protein purification methods.

9/16/03
Enzyme kinetics. Enzyme inhibitors. Feedback inhibition.

9/18/03
Transfer of energy. ATP. Free energy. Introduction to energy metabolism.

9/23/03
Glycolysis as a pathway in intermediary metabolism. Anaerobiosis.

Exam#1
Th 9/25/03
Covers topics actually covered in lectures
1 - 6 inclusive.

9/30/03
Krebs (TCA) cycle. Electron transport. Oxidative phosphorylation.

10/2/03
Alternative energy sources. Biosynthetic pathways. Regulation of pathways.

10/7/03 last day to drop
DNA as hereditary material. Nucleic acid structure. Introduction to DNA replication

10/9/03
Details of DNA synthesis and PCR

10/14/03
Transcription & the central dogma

10/16/03
Translation and the genetic code.

10/21/03
Wrap up of translation; Mutation
Regulation of protein synthesis in eukaryotes.

Exam #2
10/23/03
Exam #2. Covers topics of lectures 7 - 12: Free energy through transcription, the central dogma, and transcription.

10/28/03
Bacterial and viral reproduction.

10/30/03
Restriction enzymes & recombinant DNA technology I. Gene cloning & forensics.

Tu 11/4/03
Recombinant DNA tech. II. Blots and probes. Discoveries about Eukaryotic gene/genome structure. Introns and exons.

Th 11/6/03
Election day - no class

11/11/03
Eukaryotic cell division I: Mitosis and the cell cycle (will do details of cell cycle and chromosome structure next term); meiosis

11/13/03
Eukaryotic cell division II: Consequences of Meiosis -- sex determination, non- disjunction, life cycles & intro to genetics

Tu 11/18/03
Eukaryotic genetics I: One gene at a time.

Exam #3
Th 11/20/03
Exam #3: Covers topics of lectures 13-19 (through regulation).

11/25/03
Eukaryotic genetics II: Genetic diseases, crosses with more than one gene at a time. Crossing over, linkage and mapping

Th 11/27/03
Thanksgiving - no class

12/2/03
Wrap up of crossing over, linkage and mapping
Intro to Darwinian evolution & population genetics

Th 12/4/03
Population genetics and molecular evolution (last lecture)

 

[ewing]

I know that this thread name might not be attracting people who want to answer my question, but it'd be great if someone did answer it. 🙂

 

[LaurieB]

Hey Ewing,

You could always enter in the number of weeks dedicated to biochem in your class and them put your explaination and an abbreviated syllabus in Section 12. Additional Information, although I think you should probably call the Admissions office or email them for a question like this. They are very nice and should give you the best idea of how to represent your situation.

Good luck.

PS I did my post-bac at UofC and also had several friends in the Medical School, and I found everyone to be very personable. The undergrads are pretty competitive and stressed-out, but they were all very nice to me. The med students are laid back but also intellectually curious...a great combination. They are a very tight nit group.

 

[jokester]

hey longshot99
the other posts are right-what you heard about the UofC is true of the undergrads but not of the pritzker students...I should know since I was an undergrad there (let's just say that one of the other posts that talked about how it's one of the most stressful, un-fun schools in the nation is totally CORRECT)...the med students at Pritzker are really cool people. A few of them taught my Kaplan classes and they had nothing but positive things to say about the school AND they were just really cool, interesting people themselves. So be careful don't believe everything you hear or read.....

 

[calebho501]

I came back from my Pritzker interview yesterday.

The campus itself is nice, lots of trees and grassland, but the buildings tend to have that "aged" feeling to them. In terms of location, Hyde Park doesn't have the "urban" setting that Northwestern has, and 60% of the patient population is African American (Good for those interested in underserved population)

The students were nice and happy. The curriculum is lecture-based, and the classes are aimed at training thinking skills in science instead of preparing for the board exams. Also, my interviewer told me that Pritzker looks for people who want to do more than just clinical care (Involve in research, health policy, improving health care, etc.)

 

[Sonya]

HI,

I work at U of C. Having not been a student there, I can't say about how competitive students are. It seems like the people here are cool... or well, interesting. It does give me the feeling of a very academic school.. people are interested in learning/intellectual. I work with a bunch of grad students (not medstudents), they are a cool, normal, social, fun bunch.

A lot of school have traditional 9-5 lectures. My brother goes to Univ Of ill, which does. And at least half the class does not attend these lectures. They are 9-5, but optional. If you learn best from listening to someone lecture, it's available to you. If you prefer to be on your own with a textbook, that's fine too.

Chicago weather is fine. It snows in winter, it gets hot in summer (definetly not this summer though.. we never had a summer this year). I grew up in california, and I don't mind it here.. but, i really don't care about weather (snow's a cool adventure 😀). so, maybe that's why it's hard for me to answer this question. It doesn't get excessively wet. It's just like midwest weather.

People say bad things about the neighborhood around U of C. But, it's not too bad. You DO need to be careful. But, if you know how to manage yourself, nothing bad will happen. Nothing has happened to me or anyone at my work place over the last i've been here. Just, don't catch attention of suspicous looking people, and know what are bad areas to avoid. (eg, Do NOT regularly go more then 5 blocks south of the medical campus by foot). As long as you are ON the campus, you're quite safe.

As another poster said, it definetly has a suburban feel, which I LOVE about it. But, it's still a 20 minute drive/bus ride to downtown. It's got the feel of a private college (fancy buildings, grassy areas, flowers, trees, etc)

ewing, I just estimatmed how many weeks of biochem were in my other classes.

also, the medical school and hospital are very integrated with the campus. The hospital is right along side (well across the street from at my work entrance) chem labs. I think this gives more of a university/community feel.

I **think** U of C (just talking about my impressions of the school, not just medschool) tends to attract liberal students.

 

[Sonya]

ewing,
I would consider your lectures up till 10/2 as biochem.