Saint Louis University SOM???

[mr.annoying]

hi all-

I just received an acceptance to SLU, but unfortunately I was unable to see the city/school since my interview was a regional interview in So Cal. Can anybody give me their opinion on the area and campus in general? Did you get an orientation of some sort (b/c I sure didn't)? What did you think of the info they gave you when you were there? How did the students there seem to like it? etc etc. Thanks in advance for anybody's help!

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[A. Caveman]

they waitlisted me. i thaught it was because they thaught i wouldn't go there (but i haven't gotten in anywhere else!). the interviewer kept mentioning Jackson hospital and UMiami over and over.

and then some people get regional interview, and STILL get accepted right away?? i don't get it. i actually WENT to st. louis--that shows interest doesn't it?

 

[Hero]

I made it a point to show interest in the school. But still i was waitlisted. I only hope they thought we would go else where and put us in high priority on the waitlist... It's been a while after April 15th.. they should know we are orphans.

 

[hawkeyes]

Congrats! The school is closer to "downtown" than Wash U (closer to suburbs). It's on the U grad campus, adjacent to an enormous looking University hospital, across the street from the Childrens hospital and rehab? Our tour guided was enthusiastic, well rounded, balanced, energetic, had an incredible memory for questions. She would go through each of ours systematically and later expound on old questions when we would go somewhere relevant. The facilities were very nice, and all housed in one building (so you feel you have a home). It is Jesuit, but it didn't *seem* to factor into their academics as much.. not sure, but that was my impression. There was a lunch with quite alot of the students, many M-4's, which is awesome becuase that is really a unique perspective . Many were at the time hoping to match in competitive residencies. All enthusiastic about their school. The thing that the Dean said stood out most about SLU is the faculty attention to student needs. I saw that to be true. The students really had an ear with the faculty. And even with things that may seem minor. For example, the Dean said that they (faculty) had many meetings to determine how they could best improve the student lounge (which, agreeably, was in much need of renovation!) to best suit student needs . I was most impressed by the location of the school (I like the diverse interaction one has with other types of students both other grad and ugrad) and the enthusiasm of the students (all very happy to be there). My tour guide also said that they have a national reputation (strength) in anatomy, perahps, their program? Not sure what that means. Downside is that it is quite an expensive school. Anyway, I hope that helps. If you have specific questions, let me know. I had one of the best "looks" at SLU. I have some email addresses of students (all very eager to help) if you want - PM me for that.

 

[Yogi Bear]

mr.annoying:

how'd you get a regional interview? does slu always offer regional interviews? where was it?

 

[DarksideAllstar]

SLU does not always offer regional interviews. I think the only place that they offer regionals is in California. I agree with most of what Hawkeyes said about SLU. However, I would like to point out that the SOM is not on the undergrad campus and that some of the facilities (the library comes to mind) were not in fantastic condition. I guess the SLU students have free range of the WashU library though. The classrooms were nice. The students were great. It was in a kind of a ghetto area, so everyone lives in a different part of town and commutes. I think this would also make for some good clinical experience though in years 3 and 4. The tuition is a bit much, but then again most private schools are. Hope I could be of some help. Peace

 

[mr.annoying]

hey everybody-

thanks for all the responses, they were very helpful. I guess even though hearing these good/bad things about the school, it's still tough to really take the acceptance that seriously when I'm holding another acceptance with Albany Med and I've been there and really liked it (other than the fact that my balls froze off). By "taking it seriously" I mean that I don't know if I would wanna go to a school that I really didn't get to experience first-hand. SLU and Albany don't even have a big difference in reputation either... we'll see I guess.

hawkeyes- thanks for the detailed info, it helps a lot. I'm sure I'll think of a question to ask you, and I'll PM you.

Caveman and coenocyte - I was waitlisted a couple weeks ago also (interviewed mid-February), then I sent in an "update letter" and I got the acceptance yesterday. I didn't CHOOSE to have a regional interview, they just sent me the invitation with the day/time/location and said I had to be there or there was no other option... I think that hurts them since I never got to see the school, get an orientation/tour, etc. I do have an uncle and aunt that lives there, so that may factor in a little bit.

Anyways, thanks again for all your nice responses! If anybody else has more info about SLU, I would greatly appreciate your input as well!

 

[SMW]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by mr.annoying:
• I didn't CHOOSE to have a regional interview, they just sent me the invitation with the day/time/location and said I had to be there or there was no other option... I think that hurts them since I never got to see the school, get an orientation/tour, etc. I do have an uncle and aunt that lives there, so that may factor in a little bit.

Anyways, thanks again for all your nice responses! If anybody else has more info about SLU, I would greatly appreciate your input as well!•••••Same with me, they just said show up in Seattle on such and such a date. It was a really non-stress interview, and I was more or less assured I would get in, which I did (I've since declined the acceptance). I can't give you any feedback on the school, but I have visited St. Louis before, and I can tell you it seems like a MUCH better place to live than Albany (where I also interviewed, was accepted and declined). Is there no chance you could go visit the school before making your decision? That's what I had planned on doing if the school became a serious contender for me.

 

[mr.annoying]

smw-

thanks for the feedback. I was thinking about visiting the school and staying with my uncle to check it out, but I really don't have enough money to do that right now... especially since it's so late in the process and May 15th is coming up anyways.

I really didn't mind Albany at all. I've heard a lot of people say negative things about the school, but I personally enjoyed my visit there. I didn't get to see much of the city, but it seemed pretty decent. The facilities weren't as bad as people say either. I guess I kinda like peace and quiet, so I wouldn't mind Albany so much. This is a tough decision for me, but hopefully I'll be hearing from a couple of other schools I'm waitlisted at that I would choose over Albany and Saint Louis anyways (cross my fingers). Thanks again!

SMW- I PMed you.

 

[Doctor Wyldstyle]

Just want to comment on a few things. SLU does offer regional interviews elsewhere besides California. Washington, Utah, and I believe one more location are sites for regional interviews. Nevertheless, if you get a regional interview I recommend actually visiting the school. One of the best things of interviewing at the school is seeing where you are going to be spending your next 4 years! (well, at least your first 2 years not including your rotations across the street at the Saint Louis University Hospital). It's funny you mentioned the 4 years waiting for residencies, on the second floor of the medical school you can see where they matched as well as the match lists for the past 4 years. It's quite good.

SLU isn't immediately next door to the undergrad campus, but it isn't that far at all! You can see Xavier church, the undergrad campus etc. from the med campus! It's really close, and is down the street. Grand Avenue is slowly being taken over by SLU. The area is starting to make some leaps in improvement. The SLU Cancer Center just recently opened, as well as the plans for a new research center with the hope that among many things will bring the school up an entire tier. You guys are right about the school listening to the students. We had issues with tuition, the lounge, etc...and now they started a drive to allocate more funds for scholarships and we have 2 lounges instead of one. Life is good here at SLU...I too was waitlisted last year...after they found out I was waitlisted by UCI. I chose the former.

As far as living, I'd say most of the best clinical schools are in "ghetto" areas. The area around SLU is decent, but there are pockets around it that are nice and those pockets are growing. I commute from a pretty nice suburb, but will probably try to live closer to school in one of more historic houses.

Hope that helps.

Wyldstyle2000, MSI
Saint Louis University
School of Medicine

 

[Drako]

I interviewed, accepted, and declined the acceptance at SLU. My student host, a second year student, was incredible. He was very kind, picked me up at the airport, gave me a tour of the city and Wash. U, set me up in my own bedroom for the night, took me out to dinner with his fiance, and drove me back to the airport after my interview ended. He also gave me a personal tour of the school. I got to know the school so well I gave my fellow interviewees a small tour of the campus during the interview day. I was smothered and loved it. The entire student body is somewhat like my student host and that speaks volume for the school. I need not say more!

St. Louis is a very nice town. It isn't large like LA, but not a small town either. It's the middle of the road according to my impression. I was there for two days and really liked the place.

The school is nice and cozy. It could get quite confusing because there are many hallways and corridors. You could go to the chapel and get coffee and candy from the priest, who loves for you to come and visit. From what I heard, he is the one responsible for your emotional well-being. That was something I liked even though I am not Catholics.

From my tour guide, SLU is not out to pressure you into any field of medicine. You have all the freedom in the world to pick which field you want to study and the staff does everything possible to help you in that process. This is proven to me during lunch hour when students and faculty members showed up to talk to you, just for fun. The Dean was there because he wanted to be there to make jokes. There was another faculty, who was supposedly very famous. I temporarily forget his name and what made him famous. The students were friendly and seemed to be laid back. I noticed how people laugh and they laughed quite loud and with abandon. That was a good sign.

The school itself is nice. Everything is in one building. Barnes-Jewish hospital is down the street, about a few miles I think. The Children hospital is accross the street from the school. It is supposedly one of the best in the nation for Pediatrics rotations as well as residency! Everything is fenced in just for your safety. Parking is not a concern because there are plenty of parking structures around for you. I might have this wrong but some years get to park for free?

My interviewer was VERY nice! She totally made me feel welcomed and kept on complimenting me about my "accomplishments." I was flustered! From what I heard of her, she is like a sort of grandmother to the entire student body. Try that for your teacher! I want to come to her house and eat pie!!!

One drawback that I see of SLU, at least for me, is the cost. It is expensive to go there for it is a private institution. I declined acceptance because I am leaning toward Pittsburgh more than SLU. However, SLU is a fine medical school with abundant opportunities (as far as I know of course).

I hope this helps you! Good luck in your decision.

 

[mr.annoying]

wyldstyle2000 and drako-

thanks a LOT for your responses! They're really helpful, although I was hoping people would tell me it's the crappiest school in the crappiest area with the crappiest people... just to make my decision easier I'm pretty distraught about all this... I only WISH I could fly there to check it out, but like I said... NO MONEY and NO TIME! Hopefully Temple or Wake Forest will be calling me up soon to make this easier...

 

[HanSolo]

Hi mr. an.
Like you, I'm also a Cal applicant, got interviewed at SLU. The school is not exactly in the best part of town (though not exactly ghetto either). The teaching building itself is somewhat dated. Granted, the students and people are awesome, superfriendly, non-cutthroat type, but I found out that a large portion of them are there not by choice, but rather by circumstances. And when asked MY INTERVIEWER actually said that for some unknown reason SLU students did not do so well on the Board last year (they had been doing well until last year). So, it might be an interesting info you should take into consideration. I also read someone mentioned about Barnes Hosp. being near by. Yes, it's true, but SLU students do not rotate there; they could go there only for externship because Barnes Hosp belongs to WashU. SLU hosp is quite nice, well-equipped but a bit small (~350+ beds), not huge as someone also said. Hope this helps ya a little more in your decision.

 

[Mutterkuchen]

If you are seriously considering SLU, you should buck up a couple of hundred bucks and visit it. You are making a $150,000 decision. What is a couple of hundred more to have a good look? I like St. Louis a great deal. You may like it too or you may not. I'd want to make sure before I spent 4 years and $150,000+.

A quick search on Southwest.com found me flights for around $400. $500 if you want to bring a friend. Use your credit card and come on out.

 

[mr.annoying]

wow, thanks for all the responses (once again). I've spent the entire day doing more research about SLU and the surrounding area, and I spoke to my uncle who lives about 15 minutes from the school. He seems to speak of the city in high regards, which is a good thing for me to hear, and he's also trying to find me a cheap flight for next weekend (he's got some sort of hook ups). I'm not 100% sure I'm gonna go out there next weekend... but I'm kinda leaning towards SLU right now regardless (in comparison to Albany).

I was thinking about why I liked Albany... and to be honest I couldn't think of a WHOLE lot. Don't get me wrong, I had a great experience with the interviewers, med students, and other interviewees... but I guess there's not much Albany has to offer with respects to ambiance, facilities, weather, location, etc. I can see myself living there, but coming from Southern California I'm probably a lot better off in a place like St. Louis. The two schools also don't have a huge difference between reputation (from the little that I know), and I really like SLU's curriculum. I'm gonna try my hardest to fly out there within the next couple weeks... but even if I don't get to, I'm thinking a lot more about attending SLU over Albany. Like I said before though, I hope all this debating over Albany vs SLU will be for nothing since Wake Forest will be calling me up soon! Thanks again!

 

[jdfraser]

mr.annoying:

How long after you sent in your update letter did you recieve your acceptace from SLU? Just wondering becuase I did the same thing a little while ago, as I am also wailisted there. I had a very positive experience at the school. All of the students were very nice and they all seemed to be very happy there. Also, St. Louis seems to be a decent city, and it would be a nice place to live for a while.

 

[Katie]

go visit the school! I was very favorably impressed by SLU and the city of St. Louis when I interviewed there last year. I'm from the East Coast but I would still go to SLU over Albany (which is in a very bleak city). SLU was the first school to accept me, but I ended up going to Tufts because Boston and the Tufts reputation were too good to pass up. good luck, wherever you end up!

Kate
TUSM'05

 

[Hungry Guy]

SLU is definitely not your top tier school, but I'd choose SLU if my choices were SLU and Albany. StL is mid-sized city and nice. Albany is in the middle of nowhere - I interviewed there. It does get cold in StL, but I'm sure not to the extent of Albany. I am a graduating senior at SLU, going back to southern California for residency. SLU students do well on the Match, in all specialties. Going to a top tier medical school will open up doors for you when you apply for residency. But, coming to SLU and working hard to get good numbers, letters, etc, you will do well on the match as well. The concern about students passing the boards - if you study hard, you'll pass. Definitely visit if you can't make up your mind. You can get roundtrip fare from LA to STL for around $200 if you Priceline.