Rosalind Franklin SMP?

[NRAI2001]

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Any thoughts on the program? Advantages or disadvantages? Likes or dislikes?

How do people like the school and its faculty? The city? How fun is the school and the students attending the med and other schools?

Thanks.

 

[TheKoman]

Any thoughts on the program? Advantages or disadvantages? Likes or dislikes?

How do people like the school and its faculty? The city? How fun is the school and the students attending the med and other schools?

Thanks.

If you do a search, you can find more info about it. I went thru the program and its great. Its not going to help you get into other medical schools much, but I dont think many SMP programs do. They are all feeder programs into their own med school. The good thing about the RFU-SMP program is that it puts more weight on your grades here than your undergrad. Of course you still need a decent MCAT after to get into the med school after. I think the advantages is that they dont limit the number of students in the program that get into our school after the SMP is done. This past year 55 or so of us got in. I know Georgetown's SMP only takes 25 students into the med school AND the look at your undergrad grades still. My friend went thru that program at got a 3.7GPA with a 37 MCAT but didnt get in to GU. Thats cuz his undergrad grades were sub-par but he ended up at his state school so...
The students here are really chill, not competitive at all and the faculty is great, alwayz looking out for us students. Disadvantages: location....we are 1 hour away from downtown Chicago....NORTH CHICAGO does NOT = Chicago
As far as fun.....is any med school fun? Be ready to work your butt off!!! no joke. I view one year of med school as 4 years of undergrad.....esp. when it comes to 2nd year. But overall, if you end up going to the AP/SMP program, I think you'll enjoy it.....but be ready to work hard, like 8-12 hours of studying a day. Hope this helps....you can always PM me...

TheKoman

 

[NRAI2001]

If you do a search, you can find more info about it. I went thru the program and its great. Its not going to help you get into other medical schools much, but I dont think many SMP programs do. They are all feeder programs into their own med school. The good thing about the RFU-SMP program is that it puts more weight on your grades here than your undergrad. Of course you still need a decent MCAT after to get into the med school after. I think the advantages is that they dont limit the number of students in the program that get into our school after the SMP is done. This past year 55 or so of us got in. I know Georgetown's SMP only takes 25 students into the med school AND the look at your undergrad grades still. My friend went thru that program at got a 3.7GPA with a 37 MCAT but didnt get in to GU. Thats cuz his undergrad grades were sub-par but he ended up at his state school so...
The students here are really chill, not competitive at all and the faculty is great, alwayz looking out for us students. Disadvantages: location....we are 1 hour away from downtown Chicago....NORTH CHICAGO does NOT = Chicago
As far as fun.....is any med school fun? Be ready to work your butt off!!! no joke. I view one year of med school as 4 years of undergrad.....esp. when it comes to 2nd year. But overall, if you end up going to the AP/SMP program, I think you'll enjoy it.....but be ready to work hard, like 8-12 hours of studying a day. Hope this helps....you can always PM me...

TheKoman

So what is there do for fun around the school? Do students go to downtown chicago on the weekends?

 

[TheKoman]

So what is there do for fun around the school? Do students go to downtown chicago on the weekends?

Oh man, I find it very funny that your asking me more about what there is to do around here than the program. Not to slander you or anything but I guess some things are more important to other ppl. WORD OF ADVICE: If your more worried about what there is to do around here than actually getting into the med school, DONT COME, you're not in the right mind set! Dont get offended by me saying that but I just want you to know its not like a walk in the park. Your competing with the med students who've gotten in without the program 33MCATs average and 3.4GPA. Since your probably not in that same boat, you're going to have to work harder than you've done in undergrad. Im just making sure that you dont have any misconceptions about this being easy or you having to study like you did in undergrad. Its a high stress environment.

Im sure you know all this and you're probably just asking me about the life here as a student so I'll answer your question. There's not much to do around her in North Chicago except watch TV or something. Nothing really that close, its not at all like LA or Berk/SF. But we do go downtown occationally. Downtown is about an hour away and we mostly go down there to bars/clubs. Of course this is not every weekend or even every other weekend. Id say students at LEAST goes after each midterm block (once every 10 weeks) and maybe the average student goes down once every 5 weeks. Its not that we dont want to, its just there's not enough time since most of the APs are scared as hell and study. Dont get me wrong, we dont study 24/7 but Id say the average student studies 8-12 hours a day and maybe takes friday nights off to chill and go to the movies or what not. But let me again says its a high stress environment...especially when it gets near tests. All Im saying is just be prepared, whats the point risking 35k in tuiton and end up not getting in b/c you didnt study enough. I guess Im telling you all this b/c I feel bad for all those ppl who did the program (including some of my close friends - I lost 3 in my inner circle of 7) and didnt get in because the ended up with a B in physio by .5% when they needed an A. Plus, Im sure other ppl are reading this b/c I've gotten like 10 Private messages about it in the last month. Hope this helps everyone

 

[NRAI2001]

Oh man, I find it very funny that your asking me more about what there is to do around here than the program. Not to slander you or anything but I guess some things are more important to other ppl. WORD OF ADVICE: If your more worried about what there is to do around here than actually getting into the med school, DONT COME, you're not in the right mind set! Dont get offended by me saying that but I just want you to know its not like a walk in the park. Your competing with the med students who've gotten in without the program 33MCATs average and 3.4GPA. Since your probably not in that same boat, you're going to have to work harder than you've done in undergrad. Im just making sure that you dont have any misconceptions about this being easy or you having to study like you did in undergrad. Its a high stress environment.

Im sure you know all this and you're probably just asking me about the life here as a student so I'll answer your question. There's not much to do around her in North Chicago except watch TV or something. Nothing really that close, its not at all like LA or Berk/SF. But we do go downtown occationally. Downtown is about an hour away and we mostly go down there to bars/clubs. Of course this is not every weekend or even every other weekend. Id say students at LEAST goes after each midterm block (once every 10 weeks) and maybe the average student goes down once every 5 weeks. Its not that we dont want to, its just there's not enough time since most of the APs are scared as hell and study. Dont get me wrong, we dont study 24/7 but Id say the average student studies 8-12 hours a day and maybe takes friday nights off to chill and go to the movies or what not. But let me again says its a high stress environment...especially when it gets near tests. All Im saying is just be prepared, whats the point risking 35k in tuiton and end up not getting in b/c you didnt study enough. I guess Im telling you all this b/c I feel bad for all those ppl who did the program (including some of my close friends - I lost 3 in my inner circle of 7) and didnt get in because the ended up with a B in physio by .5% when they needed an A. Plus, Im sure other ppl are reading this b/c I've gotten like 10 Private messages about it in the last month. Hope this helps everyone

I know its going to be a lot of work, just like anyother med school, but since I ve never visited the school I am just wondering what kinda of environment the school has. I dont' want to a school for the next 5 years where i am not going to be happy.

 

[Phil Anthropist]

I know its going to be a lot of work, just like anyother med school, but since I ve never visited the school I am just wondering what kinda of environment the school has. I dont' want to a school for the next 5 years where i am not going to be happy.

Well if you did RFU's masters program and got accepted, you would spend two more years in North Chicago
(read: booooooorrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnggggg!).
But your MS-3 and MS-4 years of med school would be in Chicago. And Chicago is the bizzomb. 👍 👍 (And a great place to do clinicals too)

Also, I think RFU's program is the most hardcore program out there. I do not think it's just like any other med school.

• RFU students are stereotyped as being some of the most overworked med students (but it pays off with the boards).

• Koman's saying it's normal to study 8-12 hours A DAY. G-town's Survival Guide posted by successful graduates of the SMP say they study about 5-6.

• RFU is 48 credits w/ the majority taken with the med students

• It must be completed in one year

• You take very few tests, some are 40 question multiple choice--so little margin for error

• It costs $35k tuition + living costs = $52k AND you'd be paying about that amount for five years

• The med students have nothing to prove but you do (hence, high pressure)

• Grades are A/B/C/D/F WITHOUT pluses or minuses (so if you get one point off an A in a course, sorry bud you get a 3.0 for the course--not even a 3.3, 3.5, or 3.7)

• Every time you get a C you have to start gunning for As to make it up

• There's no sense of grade inflation. You will work to get a B average. And even if you pull something like a 3.2 grad gpa it's not going to come off as spectacular on AMCAS if you're trying to get into another school. This is probably one reason it's hard to get into other med schools.

• The program starts in July, which is the time when most applicants would be working on secondary applications. You will have very little time.

• And you can forget about (re)taking the August MCAT. You will be busy.

Could it be worth it? Of course. If I was determined to get into a US allo med school as soon as humanly possible, I would do RFU's program. But definitely think long and hard about this. If you're in a situation where you screwed up before (for whatever reason) and that's why you're looking at an SMP, can you really allow the slightest possibility for something to go wrong again? If I went into this program I would think, "All or nothing." 😎

Im sure other ppl are reading this b/c I've gotten like 10 Private messages about it in the last month. Hope this helps everyone

The funny thing is that I googled Drexel IMS today and the first match wasn't from Drexel's website...it was the recent SDN thread! Next thing you know these random peeps are gonna see your posts on Rosalind Franklin and send you MORE PMs! 😀

P.S. feel free to correct me if I'm wrong with any of my secondhand info above (I talked w/ a former student of the program awhile back) 😳

 

[TheKoman]

Phil pretty much knows his SMP programs well. I almost thought he went to my school but I guess not. Its scary how accurate his info is....very good advice I must say.

Oh, Phil, ya I only say 8-12 hours b/c we have ppl come here and just slack off thinking they'll get in, and what happens? They dont. I studied about 8-12 hours but not just to pass, wanted good scores for residency. Ended up doing really well. Im sure if you studied like 6-8 Georgetown stats, you could get in. However, I personally know a lot of ppl who went thru the GU-SMP and 6-8hrs is kinda low. Id say more like 6-8 on weekdays not including class and 8-12 on weekends. I lived with my bro when he went thru the program and he studied more than that. But overall, your right that any SMP program is not a walk in the park and studying hours per individual vary.

 

[medanthgirl]

I'm so glad someone's discussing RFU's post-bacc program, I don't see it discussed a whole lot on here. Do you know of anyone that lives in Chicago or the northern part of Chicago and commutes to RFU? i don't know if there's a suburb or community in between. My husband may be working at Northwestern and I've been scoping out RFU's 1 yr program. (undergrad GPA=3.1 double in anth and chem), MA in int. health = 3.8, but no hard science, now have research exp and intl. travel exp) and reeeeeallly want to be a doctor. I've been making up some of my bad grades in physics and math while working too.

 

[TheKoman]

I'm so glad someone's discussing RFU's post-bacc program, I don't see it discussed a whole lot on here. Do you know of anyone that lives in Chicago or the northern part of Chicago and commutes to RFU? i don't know if there's a suburb or community in between. My husband may be working at Northwestern and I've been scoping out RFU's 1 yr program. (undergrad GPA=3.1 double in anth and chem), MA in int. health = 3.8, but no hard science, now have research exp and intl. travel exp) and reeeeeallly want to be a doctor. I've been making up some of my bad grades in physics and math while working too.

Nope, most of the students live around here. Downtown is way to far away, its an hour without traffic. In the morning, you'll have to go against traffic since many ppl work north bound and then traffic after class. I dont recommend it. Plus, with 8am class, you'll have to wake up by 5 and leave at 6am. As far as in between, the farthest I would live is about 20 mins from here. Thats about 40 mins for your husband to travel to work at Northwestern but during rush hour, more. I think the area is called North Shore, but not sure. Hope that helps

 

[medanthgirl]

thanks! that does sound like a steep drive. it really sounds like a great progam though, even with the significant financial cost. do you know if most people are successul getting interviews and matriculating to med school, who did as well as you suggest? were there any classmates that you had that had really bad grades in their undergrad?

Reason why i'm asking is that even though my undergrad was a 3.1, i still had one F and 2 or 3 D's. I did very well in my master's, but there was no hard science. since then i've been working to replace those bad grades with good ones, all A's so far!

 

[jintonic5]

if i am taking the april mcat, will i be at a disadvantage/unable to apply to this program?

thanks!

 

[Phil Anthropist]

medanthgirl-- if you have a B average in the program, you have a very high probability of acceptance into Chicago Medical School (RFU)

jintonic5-- when I was in contact with a person in the program she told me to apply the earlier, the better. The April MCAT may or may not put you at a disadvantage. The deadline is June 15 which coincidentally is also the day that the April MCAT scores are released 😉 So they will look at those scores if there are still openings in the program.

Alternatively, the MS in Applied Physiology program also takes the GRE. The GRE is offered pretty much year-round and is pretty much like the old SATs on steroids: a little bit more math, harder vocab, analogies, antonyms, reading comprehension, etc. There's also a writing section that sounds pretty similar to the MCAT. It's a computer-adaptive test. This means that it adjusts the difficulty as you go. If you did very well on the SAT I, you might not have to work too hard to do well on the GRE. So that's one way to get your app in sooner.

However, you would still have to take the MCAT (probably by April) to matriculate successfully into RFU the following year. Whether or not you are willing to sacrifice some time studying for the GRE (at the cost of spending less time for the MCAT) to get your app into RFU on time is a decision you'll have to consider. I would say skip the GRE (unless you did very well on the SAT) and just study and do well (at least upper 20's) on the MCAT this April.

 

[TheKoman]

1. If i am taking the april mcat, will i be at a disadvantage/unable to apply to this program?

Answer: No, you can still apply, yes at a disadvantage because they accept students on a rolling basis. There will be less spots open. Pretty much, after May 15th (when most ppl with multiple acceptances have to choose one med school) comes around, the application pool skyrockets and they take a lot of high caliber students.

2. Do you know if most people are successul getting interviews and matriculating to med school, who did as well as you suggest? were there any classmates that you had that had really bad grades in their undergrad?
Reason why i'm asking is that even though my undergrad was a 3.1, i still had one F and 2 or 3 D's. I did very well in my master's, but there was no hard science. since then i've been working to replace those bad grades with good ones, all A's so far!

Answer: ALL students in the program are interviewed. We are interviewed at the beginning of the year before any grades are set and they store the interviewers feedback in a file. The interview WILL NOT BY ITSELF make you get in NOR really keep you out unless its really bad. Plus they are really laid back about it and if you have a bad interview, they make you interview again. That all being said, its all about how well you do here. Now you think to yourself, wow, that sounds great! Yes it does, thus, we have a lot of applicants each year and its actually really hard to get into the program. I dont know of anyone who actually had a D or F in undergrad that even got into the AP program but ppl dont really disclose that information so.... I guess its worth the application. If it makes you feel any better, I had a undergrad of 3.1 but my grad school grade was a 3.6. I think the average stats for ppl who got into the AP program was around 3.2 and 29. The average student who made it into the med school had and undergrad of 3.3 and 30 with a AP-GPA of 3.5. But the range is from obviously (3.0-4.0). Also, those stats dont matter, its just kinda an indication of how well you'll do. If someone had a 2.6GPA undergrad and 24 MCAT, you're most likely not going to do well in the program, nor get into AP for that matter. Not to be harsh to anyone with those scores, but those are strong indications of how you'll do here. Most of the kids in AP are slightly deficient in one area but make it up in another. i.e. Low GPA < 3.2 but High MCATs > 30 or vice versa. There's also many top students as well, my roommate when to UCSD and had a 3.6GPA and 33MCATs and went thru the AP program. His deficiency was for disorderly conduct on campus that went on his school record. Also, there's a lot of students from those states that its harder to get into in med school in general, ie Cali, Oregon, etc. maybe NY but NY has a lot of med schools/pop so maybe not. But they look at your application as a whole so, I think you know best if you have a chance. As for your grades in undergrad, I dont know how that will fair with admissions but if you do get into AP, that means that they at least see you as a potential Medical Student.......

Hope that helps

 

[medanthgirl]

Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to let me know some of the considerations they give to students, and the grade and MCAT ranges that students there have. Much, much appreciated. okey dokey, now it's time to rock the mcat. 😀

 

[jintonic5]

yup yup thanks so much for taking the time, TheKoman!! you rock! 😀

 

[hypersting]

I have to disagree with some of the things in this thread, I find that a person can go out to Chicago (that is) pretty much every weekend except the last two before exams. Downtown is about 45 minutes by car, and hour by train, the commuter rail does come here and people do commute from other places, (downtown and other farther suburbs, but not alot). For the one person, if you lived in between Northwestern and RFU, both of your commutes would be about 20-30 minutes during peak hours. The program itself basically comes down to 1 heavily weighted course you take, if you ace it you are golden. Also, I think 8-12 hours a day is pretty high. Think about it, if you let out of class at 3, you are going to study till 3 AM (without break)? I think 4-5 is more than sufficient, if you are consistent, with a step up around exam time, of course.

 

[TheKoman]

I have to disagree with some of the things in this thread, I find that a person can go out to Chicago (that is) pretty much every weekend except the last two before exams. Downtown is about 45 minutes by car, and hour by train, the commuter rail does come here and people do commute from other places, (downtown and other farther suburbs, but not alot). For the one person, if you lived in between Northwestern and RFU, both of your commutes would be about 20-30 minutes during peak hours. The program itself basically comes down to 1 heavily weighted course you take, if you ace it you are golden. Also, I think 8-12 hours a day is pretty high. Think about it, if you let out of class at 3, you are going to study till 3 AM (without break)? I think 4-5 is more than sufficient, if you are consistent, with a step up around exam time, of course.

I guess thats personal opinion. Like I said, it all depends on the person and what your aiming for. First off, I wasn't aiming for a GPA that would just get me into the med school, I was looking to prove myself for future residency spots. Of course you could go out every weekend and pull a B average with a few As, but if your looking to be AOA (Honors), you have to spend more time than that and most competitive residencies look at that including your boards. Also, AP year, most of the time you get out of class at noon, so then you study till like 8pm (ie 8hrs). I think thats reasonable. the 12hr (max) mark is usually on weekends when you dont have class. However, I do tend to mess around alot so probably I only get around 5 hours of good studying down during those 8 hrs so....

 

[sgod34]

i have a 3.2 gpa and a 29 mcat score....if i apply in the next few weeks when do you think i would hear back, and do you believe i would get into the ap program? i really wanna do anything possible to make my application look more presentable bc this is my first choice for next year. thanks

 

[thechosenone]

I have a 3.2 gpa (undergrad) and an MCAT score 26N: 10 PS; 6 VB; 10 BS .. I am considering applying to the RMS AP program.....I am interested in this program because of the possibility of matriculating into medical school after completing the prgoram....Would I have to retake my MCAT, and how well would I have to do to matriculate into the medical school...I am confused, I am considering either going to RMS, the BU masters program, or St. Georges school of medicine...

 

[battina]

If you do a search, you can find more info about it. I went thru the program and its great. Its not going to help you get into other medical schools much, but I dont think many SMP programs do. They are all feeder programs into their own med school. The good thing about the RFU-SMP program is that it puts more weight on your grades here than your undergrad. Of course you still need a decent MCAT after to get into the med school after. I think the advantages is that they dont limit the number of students in the program that get into our school after the SMP is done. This past year 55 or so of us got in. I know Georgetown's SMP only takes 25 students into the med school AND the look at your undergrad grades still. My friend went thru that program at got a 3.7GPA with a 37 MCAT but didnt get in to GU. Thats cuz his undergrad grades were sub-par but he ended up at his state school so...
The students here are really chill, not competitive at all and the faculty is great, alwayz looking out for us students. Disadvantages: location....we are 1 hour away from downtown Chicago....NORTH CHICAGO does NOT = Chicago
As far as fun.....is any med school fun? Be ready to work your butt off!!! no joke. I view one year of med school as 4 years of undergrad.....esp. when it comes to 2nd year. But overall, if you end up going to the AP/SMP program, I think you'll enjoy it.....but be ready to work hard, like 8-12 hours of studying a day. Hope this helps....you can always PM me...

TheKoman

Hey TheKoman, do you know if they have given out any acceptances? I applied early (mid/late Dec), talked to a few people who are in the program right now, and did my own research. I'm really hoping to get in. I definately see this as the opportunity to show I can can handle the med curriculum (I have non-science undergrad background and did 2 yrs of pre-req with 3.96 GPA but did really poorly in the MCATs). Im starting to get a little bit worried that I may not even have the necc stats to get into this program. Any thoughts???

 

[TheKoman]

Hey TheKoman, do you know if they have given out any acceptances? I applied early (mid/late Dec), talked to a few people who are in the program right now, and did my own research. I'm really hoping to get in. I definately see this as the opportunity to show I can can handle the med curriculum (I have non-science undergrad background and did 2 yrs of pre-req with 3.96 GPA but did really poorly in the MCATs). Im starting to get a little bit worried that I may not even have the necc stats to get into this program. Any thoughts???

I PMed the last 3 of you SDN posters. To summerize, it takes about 2-3 months to hear back. I applied in Jan and heard back March/April....... I think.......its kinda a blur. I do not know if they have accepted anyone yet this year. I applied after my rejection to the med program. I think if you have a strong application, they will accept you early on. (ie > 29, > 3.3) If its weaker, it might take a while. Its kinda early right now and they kinda wait till at least March before taking lots of ppl. It gives time for ppl who might have interviewed at some med schools but got rejected or waitlisted to apply, and then AP to accept them first. Then they kinda start filling the remaining spots. Of course I dont know the detail details but thats what I figure they would do, makes sense to accept the best students, no? Please note that I am getting all my facts from what I experienced or asked about ppl. The ppl I know who got accepted early tend to be those with higher stats and those who got accepted late were a little lower with the stats. Course there's alwayz acceptions...... good luck, hope that helps

 

[gnin]

If you wait until the june 1st deadline to apply, are you at a disadvantage in the process of admission into the AP program? Also, someone said the program starts in july, but the school website says the fall semester begins much later in the year than this. When in the year does the AP program begin?

 

[Phil Anthropist]

Interesting...I mentioned that the program started in July (more than once actually). I know it did in previous years because the M1s started classes in July and since the Applied Physio students shared classes, they started in July too. But I'm looking at the website now, and these schedules (current year) suggest that the program starts in the beginning of August, so I could very well be wrong [ 😳 ]

http://66.99.255.20/schedule/

That's still more early than I would like though because I will probably take the MCAT this August and it falls around the 20th or so. But good luck if you decide to apply