Thoughts on Pritzker

[Burtland]

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Hi Everyone-
I was just hoping that people could share what they liked/disliked about Pritzker.
I really fell in love with the place when I interviewed there 6 weeks ago, and would just like to be reminded by other people's observations.
I'd really appreciate your insights.
Thanks.

 

[vyc]

pros:
i really liked their new hospital!
i think Chicago is an exciting fun city.
the school is well integrated into the rest of the university.
students seemed nice (though that day we only met with 4th years)

cons:
the weather!!!!!!!!!!
the curriculum is a lot more lecture-based than i would like.

question: is there an MPH program? i think i remember that there isn't...?

 

[shorrin]

there is an ma/md available but no mph

 

[coop]

hey, I've posted a lot about how awesome I think pritzker is. I recently made the final decision that I'll be going there this fall. When I have a little more time I'll post more thoughts on the school.

They don't have a MPH program, but they have a deal set up with Harvard's MPH program, so if you really want one, you can get a slot, you just have to go to boston for a year.

 

[gel1]

I recently spent the day taking another look at Pritzker. I must've talked to over ten first years and met a few more. All of them loved the school and told me to come. I had talked to more of a range of students on interview day.

Things I liked:
-P/F for two years, and you only need 60% to pass (the lowest I've heard of) and it's not curved. Plus they keep no record of ranking or percentile. They are very focused on learning, but you do still have to work very hard.
-The faculty gives lectures that seem really engaging. Most of the class goes to them even though they have a lot of time spent in class. If you get something out of having the material explained to you, then this school is great.
-The hospital is unbelievable! Ranked in the top 15 of hospitals in the country (and the best in Chicago). But the patient population served is even more amazing. It is very diverse, and you can get so many opportunities to really learn about urban medicine for underserved populations.
-Attendings are teaching the 3rd and 4th years for the most part.
-Take a look at their match list!!! <a href="http://pritzker.bsd.uchicago.edu/pritzkerStudents/table4.html" target="_blank">http://pritzker.bsd.uchicago.edu/pritzkerStudents/table4.html</a>
-There is a ton of construction going on. They will soon have a new research building and a new children's hospital (They have a ton of money).
-Housing is relatively cheap for Chicago. ~$850 for a 2BDRM apt. 3 blocks from BSLC. So half that amount if you share.
-Great financial aid office. Very generous, debt similar to some state schools.
-Administration is very, very supportive. This may be more important than some people realize.
-Do not have to do basic sci. research, but there are tons of opportunities.
-They recently made even more time after second year to study for the boards, since they do not teach to it.
-Easy to get downtown if you want to go or live there.

Things I did not like:
-Each class has 3 exams/quarter per class. I'm not sure if they are cumulative. I like being able to keep up with the material this way, but that is also a large number of tests--&gt;Stress!

Can't think of anything else I didn't like...um...I am really thinking of going to this school. 🙂

 

[vyc]

i'm lazy... does anyone know if their match list is up on the web somewhere?

 

[vkrn]

AWESOME anatomy labs.

 

[ajz]

I have to concur with the above statements. I will probably attend this school (right now I am 99% sure). I believe that the education one receives at this school is second to none. The match list is extremely impressive, especially if you do not fall into the trap of reading the "match percentages" since they are meaningless without knowing what types of residency programs the students actually applied too. While the percentage match for student's 1-3 choice is great, the actual residency programs where the students match is much more important and very impressive at Pritzker.

Double Bonus --&gt;&gt;&gt; FINANCIAL AID PACKAGES ARE VERY COMPETITIVE

 

[ajz]

Oh yeah, one more BONUS...

Being a REDSOX fan my entire life and enjoying an afternoon at Fenway park more than anything, I am extremely excited about going to Wrigley Field and watch the Cubs play. Ballparks like Fenway and Wrigley field are one of a kind and now I can spend some time at two of the best ball parks in the country. Plus, I can catch Redsox games when they come in and play Chisox!! This is nice...

 

[coop]

I definately concur with a lot of what gel1 said... here are some more general thoughts that I cut and pasted from an old PM I sent someone...

1. The approach in the 3rd and 4th years of treating med students like colleagues, and giving them a lot of freedom in the clinics and respecting their intelligence. Every 4th year I met talked about how different their experience has been from the typical scutwork stereotype. I think that by getting responsibility is the best way to learn.

2. Administrative support. Especially if you aren't going to school near your family, to have support from people who genuinely care (sylvia, lombard, rosita, the whole OME) just seems like such an advandage in dealing with the difficulties of med school, especially med school in a new city, new part of the country.

3. The approach the school takes to learning the delicate art of medicine. Things like Kyle the thanatologist, who is basically a death and dying coulselor in place solely for medical students. Dealing with issues all the way from anatomy lab (she teaches the short anatomy lab prep course about dealing with cadavers) to counselling 3rd and 4th year students doing their rotations. Every other school brushed over this topic, I'm sure they aren't disrespectful, but chicago seemed to stress the importance of it.

4. The 1st 2 years philosophy is to train you to think like a researcher and apply that critical mindset to a clinical setting. Most people say this makes the first 2 (especially MS2) really challenging, lots of material, I think P/F balances it out and I'd rather get more as opposed to less than enough material presented.

5. I'm interested in academic medicine, and while clearly I think most of the top schools can prepare you well for this, pritzker seems to place an added focus on this aspect of medicine. (can be a negative if you are interested in family practice)

anyways, as I said before I'm headed there next year, the link gel1 posted wasn't exactly a matchlist, they hand you one on the interview day. It has as many top hospital matches as any other (hopkins, duke, SF, stanford) I've seen. Pritzker can get you whereever you want to be, but a lot of schools can do that, so if you are lucky enough to get pick between places, go to where you want to be for four years. Pritzker is the best fit for me, I look forward to meeting all you guys next year.

 

[USeF]

It's great to see so many of you excited about this school. I was just mentally going back through all my interview days today (while starting blankly at a reflux I was supposed to watch 🙂 ) and I clearly remember the feeling of complete 'goodness' while being there. Then I found this thread and it placed in words exactly what I was feeling/thinking!

For vyc, check out this page to get 4 tables that break down where students come from and where they go. <a href="http://pritzker.bsd.uchicago.edu/pritzkerStudents/index3.html?content=students.html" target="_blank">http://pritzker.bsd.uchicago.edu/pritzkerStudents/index3.html?content=students.html</a>

coop, nice way to put the advantages of the lecture-based curricula in perspective. Many of us want to be academic physicians, so if we never hear any lectures, we will not only forget how lectures were done in undergrad, but never experience first hand how med classes are instructed! Critically thinking about every problem, like a research scientist, is also what I had been seeking, but couldn't place into words.

Here's exactly what I e-mailed to my student interviewer once I arrived at home and collected my thoughts:

...As I
told you, Pritzker was one of the few schools that met all six of my 'criteria' I set
out to find in a medical school (1) Located in a big city (2) No ranking, no
grades (3) Affiliated/nearby the rest of the university campus (4)
Evolving curriculum/Interdisciplinary learning style (5) Availability and ease of
completing a second degree and (6) Students that go onto academic postions/
driven to learn. As I told you in the interview, Pritzker has been a top choice of
mine since I started learning about it, and after the inteview day, its place has
only solidified.

I appreciated your insight on the personal growth process that occurs during
the years of medical education. I pray that your growth may continue in the
opthamology residency you most desire.
have a good day and god bless.

 

[USeF]

One thing that no one mentioned was the Orientation that the MS2's design for the MS1's every year. I figured maybe a picnic and a couple lectures, but it's a whole week of stuff! Check it out here: <a href="http://home.uchicago.edu/~cbradner/" target="_blank">http://home.uchicago.edu/~cbradner/</a>

Wow. I just looked through it some more and there are lots of MS2-4's that were offering MS1's a place to live with them. Emphasizes the oft-repeated comments that it's "A real cooperative place."

 

[USeF]

bump.. any other comments/reflections?

 

[vkrn]

Look at <a href="http://www.studentdoctor.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=009556" target="_blank">my comments about Pritzker</a> ... there I compare Vandy with Chicago, but I have tons and tons of detailed comments about Chicago.

I have two friends on the faculty at Pritzker, so I have pretty good access to info.

(In case you are wondering how I have friends there, I am a very nontraditional/older student, and a lot of my friends are already professors at med schools.)

 

[Thewonderer]

there is really no ranking?

Many schools are P/F but they still rank their students even during the basic science years...

 

[Burtland]

Is anybody worried that there is too much lecture during the first two years? I heard there is an average of like 23 hours of lecture per week during the first year.
Also, will the fact that the school does not gear its curriculum towards the USMLE hurt students applying for residencies?

 

[vyc]

yes this is a major concern for me bc i can't imagine having that much lecture time and then studying even more outside of class. i'd go crazy and die.

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Burtland:
•Is anybody worried that there is too much lecture during the first two years? I heard there is an average of like 23 hours of lecture per week during the first year.
Also, will the fact that the school does not gear its curriculum towards the USMLE hurt students applying for residencies?•••••

 

[USeF]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Thewonderer:
•there is really no ranking?

Many schools are P/F but they still rank their students even during the basic science years...•••••exactly. my MS4 interviewer specifically commended me on noticing that and said that having P/F and still ranking is just a veil for grades. UChicago realized this and removed the grades. result: an incredibly cooperative class :wink:

As for ms. chang's worry about too many hours- you can choose the lectures to attend, and the faculty almost EXPECT students to skip the classes they dont need to attend. Besides, you dont need the 95% in a non-ranking P/F system. Just learn what you need to.

The last thing burt brought up was that they don't teach to the boards. Well, it must work, because they have no problem getting into the residencies they so desire. Besides, this is like high school students seeking undergrads that teach to the MCAT...

 

[vyc]

yea but i don't want to have to feel guilty about skipping lectures or worried that i *might* be msising something important. i want the curriculum organized so that i don't NEED to skip lectures.

•••quote:•••Originally posted by USeF:[QB]
As for ms. chang's worry about too many hours- you can choose the lectures to attend, and the faculty almost EXPECT students to skip the classes they dont need to attend. Besides, you dont need the 95% in a non-ranking P/F system. Just learn what you need to.
[QB]••••

 

[coop]

USeF,
thanks for the subtle shoutout.

They did talk on my interview day about teaching more towards the boards, they also give an entire month off now at the end of second year to study for them. Pritzker used to be really big on all essay tests and concept based learning, which didn't bode as well for the boards, but the faculty thought it produced superior physicians. There has been debates on how much they should change that, and a comprimise seems to be reached between this style and some multiple choice board type questions and structure. I'm not concerned with the boards, because I'm sure the material will be covered that I need, and if there is more board-specific stuff that I need to know, I can learn it in that month.

USeF, whats your pritzker status?? will you be my classmate next year? anyways, I hope so, good luck if you're still waiting to hear.

 

[USeF]

waitlisted on Dec 8th. Figure it's due time to send them an update letter. coop, I'm going to send you a PM.

 

[PelicanMan]

I love Pritzker and want to go there so badly.

They got Pass/Fail, awsome students, awsome city. What more could you want?

 

[USeF]

word up Pelican. Welcome to SDN my fellow Floridian -on-the-waitlist-at-Pritzker :wink:

saw your other post about wanting to know stats of those accepted and not. Well I can tell you that you won't be content with what you find. I know ppl with &lt;30 all the way up to 40 MCAT that are on the waitlist. Then I thought maybe it was undergrad [estoy en USF] then I realized a couple ivy undergrads are on the same list as us... So just as they do when they picked us for interview, there had to be something a bit more than just numbers *cough.. essays.. cough* to get us that far and further *cough.. update letters.. cough*

have you been accepted anywhere yet? Or you in the 'all-waitlist' boat too?

 

[PelicanMan]

I have not been accepted anywhere yet. <img border="0" alt="[Pity]" title="" src="graemlins/pity.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[Pity]" title="" src="graemlins/pity.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[Pity]" title="" src="graemlins/pity.gif" />

I am on a waitlist at UF,Emory, and Pritzker and those were my only interviews

😡 😡 😛