Tufts MBS vs Drexel IMS

[lykyamy00]

sooo does anyone have any advice? drexel or tufts?

pro tufts
-med school classes
-real teachers (actually teach at med school in the morning!)
-administration and faculty at open house seemed really nice
-tufts is a good school

pro drexel
-med school classes
-26 years old
-fairly good percentage get into med school
-closer to my home
-22000 plus living
-can get a guarenteed interview during the program

con tufts
-35000 plus living costs
-only get a guarenteed interview after the program for the next application cycle
-program is only 2 years old
-no real stats on how many get accepted to med school

con drexel
-taught by video
-appearantly (according to a thread i was reading) you cant really contact teachers?
-also says the thread, the administration/faculty is really un helpful and un caring?

does anyone have any advice? i'm leaning towards drexel only because it seems there is more of a chance in getting into med school anywhere during the program and at tufts it seems most people are taking a year between mbs and med shool which is something i really want to aviod. but i guess there are no guarentees either way but any advice would be appreciated!

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[lykyamy00]

tufts does offer an interview to the top 25% but for instance if we did the 09-10 mbs we would not have our guarenteed interview until feb 2011. that's

 

[lykyamy00]

tufts does offer an interview to the top 25% but for instance if we did the 09-10 mbs we would not have our guarenteed interview until feb 2011. that's about a year after i want to enter med school

 

[lykyamy00]

i was hoping not to take it again... but who knows. i probably should but i've already taken it twice and i dont want to go down

 

[djherse]

Tufts may be new but I'd say TUFTS HANDS DOWN!!!!!!!!

their program looks more solid, it is more personalized, Ive heard 3 people tell me not so great things about drexel especially with their sucky administration, Tufts is one of the most well known schools, some of the aspects of their curriculum look really good like learning how to take medical histories even if you are not working with real patients and the pathology component as well.

Boston seems like a nicer place to live, no offense to philly lovers.

Tufts medical school is more reputated as a medical school. I could go on. I'll just repeat what I said in the first line: TUFTS HANDS DOWN.

The intro to clinical medicine component of the program is a joke. Do no base any decision you make off of that.

 

[peasant05]

Hey,
I know absolutely nothing about the Tufts program, but as a former IMS student, I feel like a few things should be cleared up about Drexel.

1) There is an important distinction between the program administration and the med school faculty. Yes, the program administrators are not always super helpful or caring. I always try to remember that, just like med school admissions people, they have to deal with crazy pre-meds and super-crazy post-bacs on a daily basis. So it can be a pain when they are not helpful, but I personally barely had to deal with them anyway. As for the med school faculty, the vast majority of them were fantastic in terms of answering questions and making sure IMS got the information we needed. You ARE allowed to contact them. I emailed faculty from every class at some point, usually 24 hours before an exam, and they always responded to my emails thoroughly, even though they have almost 400 (250 medical + 140 IMS) students to deal with. I believe IMS is "discouraged" from going over to the med school to the professor's offices. That might seem harsh but, frankly, by the time I actually had questions a few days before an exam, I never felt like taking the shuttle out there to get 2 questions answered anyway. And especially in the first semester, many faculty members come to center city to do reviews and answer questions in person.

2) I did not think video was a con at all, it was actually an enormous PRO for me. As the semester goes on, you see that more than 75% of the IMS students AND medical students stop coming to class, so they are all learning from video too. The videos are great, since you can rewind, replay, speed up, and slow down professors. With hundreds of lecture videos, I remember having problems only a couple times. So even if we were allowed to go to the live lectures, I (and most IMS it seems) would have stuck with the videos anyway. Keep in mind that some med schools do not have recorded lectures, or only have audio recordings or note-taking services.

3) Here is what is required for the automatic interview:
27 MCAT with no less than an 8 in any one section

A grade of "B" or above in every first-semester class. These include: Biochem, Physio, Microanatomy, Immunology and Nutrition. It might also include Medicine and Society, an IMS-only class, but it is close to impossible to get below a B in that class if you put in any effort at all. And yes, an above-3.0 GPA with all As but just one B- will keep you out of the automatic interview.

IMS is given the option of dropping Immuno and Nutrition first semester. If you drop them, then you do NOT get the automatic interview. Keep in mind that the medical stduents are taking all of these classes, plus Gross, Genetics, and a bunch of other small classes like Behavioral Science, so this rule does not really seem so unreasonable.

P.S. I just went on the IMS website and couldn't find anything about Nutrition, so maybe they are making changes for next year. I haven't heard anything about it but it seems weird that it's not on there.

4) All statistics that they give about people getting into medical school include ALL medical schools: MD, DO, caribbean, etc. Just so you know.

So that's it from me. Good luck deciding! Drexel does have its faults and is extremely difficult, and it is a big risk (as are all SMPs). But it does what it says it will do - it gives people a chance to prove how well they could do in medical school. I, for one, am glad that nobody discouraged me from going. It's different for everybody.....sorry for the essay🙂

 

[Cali Anteater]

Hey,
I know absolutely nothing about the Tufts program, but as a former IMS student, I feel like a few things should be cleared up about Drexel.

1) There is an important distinction between the program administration and the med school faculty. Yes, the program administrators are not always super helpful or caring. I always try to remember that, just like med school admissions people, they have to deal with crazy pre-meds and super-crazy post-bacs on a daily basis. So it can be a pain when they are not helpful, but I personally barely had to deal with them anyway. As for the med school faculty, the vast majority of them were fantastic in terms of answering questions and making sure IMS got the information we needed. You ARE allowed to contact them. I emailed faculty from every class at some point, usually 24 hours before an exam, and they always responded to my emails thoroughly, even though they have almost 400 (250 medical + 140 IMS) students to deal with. I believe IMS is "discouraged" from going over to the med school to the professor's offices. That might seem harsh but, frankly, by the time I actually had questions a few days before an exam, I never felt like taking the shuttle out there to get 2 questions answered anyway. And especially in the first semester, many faculty members come to center city to do reviews and answer questions in person.

2) I did not think video was a con at all, it was actually an enormous PRO for me. As the semester goes on, you see that more than 75% of the IMS students AND medical students stop coming to class, so they are all learning from video too. The videos are great, since you can rewind, replay, speed up, and slow down professors. With hundreds of lecture videos, I remember having problems only a couple times. So even if we were allowed to go to the live lectures, I (and most IMS it seems) would have stuck with the videos anyway. Keep in mind that some med schools do not have recorded lectures, or only have audio recordings or note-taking services.

3) Here is what is required for the automatic interview:
27 MCAT with no less than an 8 in any one section

A grade of "B" or above in every first-semester class. These include: Biochem, Physio, Microanatomy, Immunology and Nutrition. It might also include Medicine and Society, an IMS-only class, but it is close to impossible to get below a B in that class if you put in any effort at all. And yes, an above-3.0 GPA with all As but just one B- will keep you out of the automatic interview.

IMS is given the option of dropping Immuno and Nutrition first semester. If you drop them, then you do NOT get the automatic interview. Keep in mind that the medical stduents are taking all of these classes, plus Gross, Genetics, and a bunch of other small classes like Behavioral Science, so this rule does not really seem so unreasonable.

P.S. I just went on the IMS website and couldn't find anything about Nutrition, so maybe they are making changes for next year. I haven't heard anything about it but it seems weird that it's not on there.

4) All statistics that they give about people getting into medical school include ALL medical schools: MD, DO, caribbean, etc. Just so you know.

So that's it from me. Good luck deciding! Drexel does have its faults and is extremely difficult, and it is a big risk (as are all SMPs). But it does what it says it will do - it gives people a chance to prove how well they could do in medical school. I, for one, am glad that nobody discouraged me from going. It's different for everybody.....sorry for the essay🙂

As a former Tufts MBSer, the Drexel experience sounds pretty on par with what you'll get at Tufts. Each SMP has its pros and cons. You just need to make sure that you make the most of where you end up. True that most of the classes are in person - but some of the Tufts MBS classes/review sessions are taught by video as well (e.g. immuno) and I did not see this as a barrier to my learning.

I'd go with where you'd be happier living. A good performance at either with a good MCAT score will get you to where you want to be.

 

[lykyamy00]

thank you all for the amazing advice!! it really has been so helpful 😀 if you dont mind me asking peasant05 and Cali Anteater, did you guys get into med school? and if so which schools and where did you decide to go. also, Cali Anteater did you wait a year to get an interview or apply during the mbs?

 

[deleted212936]

Does Tufts have a minimum cut-off for MCAT?

Two things I dislike about Tufts is (1) the thesis, and (2) it doesn't guarantee admission upon successful completion of the program.

 

[deleted212936]

I wonder whether Drexel classes are taught exclusively on videos though..

 

[peasant05]

thank you all for the amazing advice!! it really has been so helpful 😀 if you dont mind me asking peasant05 and Cali Anteater, did you guys get into med school? and if so which schools and where did you decide to go. also, Cali Anteater did you wait a year to get an interview or apply during the mbs?

I did get into an MD school during the IMS year. I only applied to one other school besides Drexel during the IMS year (wasn't really expecting to get in and was kind of banking on Drexel) and that's where I ended up getting in, so there wasn't much of a choice. I got the guaranteed interview at Drexel but got waitlisted. I will PM you with details.

 

[Cali Anteater]

thank you all for the amazing advice!! it really has been so helpful 😀 if you dont mind me asking peasant05 and Cali Anteater, did you guys get into med school? and if so which schools and where did you decide to go. also, Cali Anteater did you wait a year to get an interview or apply during the mbs?

Applying right now...so hopefully good news is on the way!

 

[Cali Anteater]

NO SMP really guarantees admission, but a lot of more established ones have proven records of people getting into medical school and give at least some percentage of the students an interview at their own medical school.

It is foolish to think any SMP will guarantee you an admissions ticket. The thesis requirement doesn't have to be a lab thesis. Except for Drexel IMS/USF IMS, and maybe a couple others, most require you to write a library thesis aka review paper to justify giving you an MS since traditionally an MS involved doing research and writing a paper. its just a way of saying they can justify giving you an MS even if it is not real research in the sense of lab work.

also I'm not saying that cuz I've vouched for tufts in here. I'm saying that because I've seen BU MAMS, Gtown SMP, and the regular MSMS programs that are non IMS at USF all require such. I think EVMS might require one too if I recall correctly but if I'm wrong Daedalus or Immunorocks can confirm.

Very true...don't ever think an SMP is going to guarantee any med school admission. Just know that it will give you a chance to enhance your overall application. Plus the thesis option is in some elements good...it gives you an opportunity to really explore one area of the medical sciences in depth and can only make you a better applicant and physician in the future. Plus publication credits are always possible and always nice.

 

[deleted212936]

Tufts' program seems extremely rigorous to me. And you'll have to be on top 20% to get an interview.

Yes I believe they are but there are both good and bad sides of that. the good sides being you can rewatch it later and rewind it or watch at fast speed. i've had experience with video lecture and in some ways its better. the cons are that while you can email you can't visit them directly at the med school for questions.

So there's no live lecture.
Then how do you take exams?
Is Drexel the only school that does this?

 

[USFmedical]

lykyamy00, for whatever it's worth, I am choosing Drexel over Tufts for the following reasons in order of importance to me:

1. Take strictly medical school courses (I'm currently finishing a masters in anatomy, so I've already been a grad student and want to be as much a med student as possible).
2. Cost.
3. Video archive lectures are great for me because I tend to teach myself the material. Lecture simply serves as reinforcement for me. This allows me to spend more time either studying or doing whatever it is I need to do.
4. Philadelphia seems to suit my likings better as a place to reside.
5. Drexel IMS is a well established program; several of my mentors said, "Go where the reputation is".
6. Grading and examinations seem to be harsher at Tufts (a lot of free response exams and apparently no curves; if you achieve the mean for the med students at Drexel, you have a 'B') - this isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I've worked hard getting my 3.8 in my anatomy masters and this next program is really serving to just solidify my getting in this year; but of course I plan on working my ass off at Drexel).

Truthfully, if you make the best of whatever program you choose, it will serve its purpose. You get out what you put in. Hope this helps.

 

[5twilight5]

So as a former Drexel MBSer, I did the MSP the first year and IMS the second year. If your MCAT is not so strong and you want to strengthen your undergrad GPA science courses, I would strongly recommend doing the MSP/IMS route instead of starting with IMS. Main reason is that if you can rock MCATs and if you put in some sort of effort, you can get a 4.0 that first year for sure. I know a lot of IMSers who started that first year who wished they had done the MSP program instead to guarantee that 4.0. It is a good program but at the end of the day, its what you put into it. I got into a great M.D. medical school in my homestate of Michigan. They do embellish the stats of entrance into medical school. They are including DO as well as Caribbean. I did not know that entering into the program. Administration is pretty sucky but all my experiences with school administration have been that way so it didnt bother me. I just made sure what I needed to get done was done. If I had to do it all over, I definitely would. I loved Philly and made some great friends and got into the medical school I wanted to. Hope this helps!

 

[Siggy]

They are including DO as well as Caribbean.

Newsflash. DO schools graduate AMGs just like MD schools. I'd see an argument that using Caribbean medical school admissions as embellishment since most can get into a Carb. school anyways. However insinuating that DO school isn't medical school is just ignorant. 🙄

 

[yesorno]

I have been meaning to post on here for a while. I have a fair amount of firsthand information and experience with the Drexel IMS (and by default their other post-bacc programs) program, and I wondered if anyone might have questions concerning this program? I wish that I would have had a ton more information available at the time that "we" decided to pursue it. So, if you have questions, send away!!!

 

[yesorno]

Questions about the IMS nutrition class? I could probably go on for hours about it. It is not a well taught course, and it has several glitches to its grading. For instance, extra credit points are awarded for certain assignments/performance, the manner in which these points are calculated into the final score is completely NOT in the manner that most of the students assumed that it was. There are several very vague areas to grading in ALL of the courses in the IMS program. All ambiguity is handleable and workable in the grading, but slightly Kafkaesque. If you are aware of this from the get-go, you have a better chance of knowing where you stand immediately and how to approach everything. Do not assume that what is written in the syllabus is how it is -- you have to look at it from every which angle to understand what each "grading" reference means.

 

[yesorno]

The IMS program also seems advantageous for later down the road -- doing the information twice seems to make it stick a lot better, the first year of med school is not as tough, and you tend to have a better chance of retaining information for Boards. That being said, I have never encountered such a poorly run program. Students were threatened by the administrator of the program that there schools would be called (med schools) to refer to behavior deemed "unprofessional" (and being neutral here, there was really nothing that happened that warranted an hour long yelling session -- just an email sent from a student -- two sentences -- that referred to being treated by the administration like a child). There are weird things like that -- so the administration is the worst I have seen, but the program itself serves its purpose.

 

[ms08bayo]

Hey everyone,
I'm currently in the process of applying to both drexel IMS and tufts MBS program, I have friends who have gone through both of these programs, and both have regarded them as decent programs. I'm actually worried that i wont get into either program...i've had a rough ugrad. my first 2 years i had a cumulative gpa of 2.26, but for the past 3 semesters ive had a gpa of 3.65, and a 26 mcat. is it a reasonable concern about getting into either of these programs? i'm also applying to UPenns, Georgetowns, and NY Medical College's programs

 

[deleted248403]

ms08bayo - so whats your cumulative GPA then?

If its sub-3.0, you'll have a tough time getting into Penn's program. Its been done but not easy

 

[ms08bayo]

It's literally a 2.94, and i'm taking the MCAT in april...is penn the one that i would have a hard time getting into? because most have the min gpa of 3.0 as a criteria...so i'm pretty worried about that.

 

[deleted248403]

Sub 3.0 - you'll have a hard time getting in many places