Sackler school in Tel Aviv

[Sababa]

Hello,
I was wondering if anyone had info on this med school, aside from just "it's a good school".
Is it on par with top american universities?
What is the level of students that attend the school (gpa and MCAT)?
Are there opportunities for research?
What is the structure of the curriculum?
Are students happy with their choice to attend it?
Did these students have other options in the USA, or did they choose this school as a last resort?
Are students successful in getting placed in American residencies?
If you know anyone who attends or has attended the school and would like to help a prospective student, please help me get in touch, my email is [email protected]
thank you!
__________________
hacol over chabibi

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[bubster9]

I'm wonderint the same. I've heard great things about them and that their grads get some unreal residencies (Columbia, Cornell, NYU, etc!)

 

[nyskindr]

Sackler medical school has a very good reputation in the US and its graduates do well securing high quality residencies...they do better overall than offshore and other foreign med schools but will still be less competitive than US graduates.Most students who get in there have good stats and just missed getting into US Schools.

 

[e2k]

I am a third-year at Sackler. Like all medical schools, it has it's pros and cons, but I feel I am getting a fantastic clinical education, learning a new culture and language, and I live five minutes from the Mediterrean ocean! The weather is fantastic, Israeli girls are gorgeous, and our professors are top notch (most trained in the U.S. anyhow)

I am planning to do a residency in Emergency Medicine, and I'm pretty sure I'll get my first choice. Sacklers tend to get the residencies they want.

There are many opportunites for research (we are associated with 15 major teaching hospitals!) but most of us spend too much time on the beach or in nightclubs. Not too many gunners here.

The major benefit we have over U.S. school is NO SCUTWORK. Our only job in to learn. Also we are taught by directly by professors, not by residents or interns. I have the dean of medicine as my instructor, and we spend a lot of time together. He's like Sherlock Holmes when it comes to making diagnoses. (He's an American from NYU, did medicine at Bellevue)

I would definately choose Sackler again, and I would recommend it to anyone interested. (BTW, don't believe what you read on CNN, it's very safe here)

 

[KungFuMaster]

Hey e2k,

I also heard great things about Sackler. Couple years ago I saw the residency placement list, and it was truly amazing. I don't remember the exact details. Do you have that list again? Somehow they don't post it on the web again. I remember LOTS of students made to unreal places like UCSF for surgery and such.

 

[Sababa]

Thank you for the reply friends!
e2k, you sold me, it sounds great. just a couple more questions though... is it necessary to take any special foreign graduate exams when you return to the usa?
and do any students end up staying in israel? i can't see how they would do that... i know what docs get paid in israel, and it's pretty sad.

 

[bubster9]

What about learning Hebrew? Do you have a link to a match list? Also, what about US clinicals, what places are there arrangements with? Thanks

 

[nikappella]

Originally posted by bubster9:
•What about learning Hebrew? •••

i lived in israel for a little while and managed to get along just fine on virtually no hebrew. i also know people who have been there for years and still only use english. israelis learn english in school from the time they are very young, and, in my experience, are always very eager to use it.

 

[e2k]

Dear folks,

Here it goes.

You don't have to learn Hebrew, but it certainly helps. When I am on rounds, and the conversations are occuring between resident and patient and attending, I will eventually get a translation but it's better to understand it yourself. My Hebrew is pretty bad but getting better every day.

Israel is a truly multicultural environment.
I have even learned a tiny bit of Russian. I do interviews in Spanish. My friends do interviews in French, Farsi, Arabic, German, you name it. Any language skills help here.

As for matches, most Sacklers go for Medicine or Pediatrics, and about 40-50% get their first choice, almost all get one of their first three choices. Every year we have a lots of people going to Harvard, UCLA, Columbia, NYU, Mt. Sinai.

Most go to New York City: partially because we have more contacts there, and partially because most of us are from NYC to begin with. Sacklers do about as well as any mid-level American school. We don't go to 'FMG ghettoes' like Jamaica in NYC. (not to be prejudiced, but FMGs and carribean grads frequently get lumped into bad hospitals who treat them like garbage)

Little known factoid: Israel is the only country in the world that does better on the USMLE than the US.

You will do four months of rotations in the states in your fourth year. You can do rotations at Mt. Sinai, Columbia, Harvard, UCLA, all sorts of big schools. Some schools, e.g. Stanford, will not let you do Externships there, but accept Sacklers for residencies on a regular basis. (Then again, UCSF doesn't allow us to do Externships there, but I know at least two people who have. It all depends how persistant you are!)

Yes, we are technically foreign graduates (except in New York State, because Sackler is liscenced by the NY board of education), and we have to take the CSA. It's an easy exam, it just costs money. We also have to take the TOEFL! Other than that, we are treated pretty much like Americans.

Very few people end up staying here: usually one or two each year. 99% go on to residencies in the states.

Down side: obnoxious Tel Aviv Israelis, bad drivers, smoking everywhere (like Europe), bad school administration, many professors who speak poor English

Up side: frequent vacations to Europe (Italy and Prague are both about four hours and 300$ by plane!), gorgeous Israeli girls, fantastic weather and beaches, taught medicine by professors, no scutwork.

Lastly: I feel safer here than I do in the US!

Hope that answers your questions,
ERIC

 

[MI6]

What's tuition like there? What about the cost of living ie. on average per year - how much would it cost for cheap housing (no rats), food, books, blah?

 

[bubster9]

e2k (Eric)

Couple of quick questions. Where in the US did you do clinicals? What are you looking to match in? What places in the US are usally "usual suspects" on the Sackler match list? Do you know if the list in on the web? Thanks for everything!!!

 

[e2k]

Where in the U.S. do you do your clinicals: anywhere you want, but espeically NYC. You do 16 weeks in the U.S. Most schools accept Sacklers for rotations, and many even waive the international student fee. I'll probably be going to St.Luke's (Columbia), North Shore (NYU), Denver Health (U of Denver) and maybe Beth Israel at Harvard.

Where do we go for residencies: Usually NY and LA, mostly because that's where most Sacklers come from. Usual suspects include Albert Einstein, Columbia, NYU, UCLA, and the SUNYs (too many hospitals to name)

There is no list on the web, but you can get a copy from the Sackler office.

 

[neilc]

hey e2k, i have several isreali freinds here in prague, they speak very highly of sackler. sounds like you enjoy your time here in prague as well! next time you pop on up, drop an email and i'll buy a pivo. i would love to do a rotation or 2 at sackler, and would like to pick your brain. do you know if sackler participates in the erasmus/socrates exchange program?

 

[e2k]

Neil,

I know that Sackler participates in the European Medical Student's Exchange. I went to Mexico but most people go to Europe. Ask your guidance councellor, and if you come, tell me so that I can recommend which hospitals/rotations to do,

ERIC

 

[Transposon]

Do you have a website for this program? I am very interested in going to Israel for Med School. Do they take many Americans? What is the criteria?

Toda

 

[Resident Alien]

One question: How many non-jews go to Sackler?

 

[e2k]

I'm not Jewish. About 5-10 people out of every year are not Jewish.

Actually, people are surprisingly cool about non-Jews here. I thought it would be a big deal, but it just isn't. Tel Aviv is the most secular city in Israel, almost anti-religious. There are also a lot of religious Christians and Arabs here as well. I work in a hospital that has many Arab patients, and I haven't found the slightest bit of racism there. (not to say we don't have racism here, just not in my hospital)

The best part: NO CHRISTMAS BULL****! I hate the commercialized crap that they have every year in the states, starting after Halloween and lasting until February.

The only problem I have is that I have many Orthodox friends who I cannot invite over for dinner because my kitchen is not Kosher.

Not to say that Israel is all roses. I MISS BORDERS AND BARNES AND NOBLES. There are no good English-language bookstores around here. Sob!

 

[bubster9]

How early do you get clinical experience? E2k, what year in med school are you in? And do you ever get to go the the boardwalk?

 

[Skye04]

From what I've read it sounds like Sacklers is a pretty sweet option... just a coupla questions for ek2 or anyone else who can answer...

1) I think someone asked this a while back on this thread, but I don't think anyone answered it -- what is the tuition for Sackler? Also, are US citizens eligible to apply for federal loans for this school?

2) What is it like studying in Israel with all of the current turmoil? Do you feel safe?