Tulane Cell and Molec Bio Masters

[misssciencenerd]

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^Thank you. I will probably need a SMP after I graduate university, and Tulane CMB is my top choice right now.

I wonder why this thread is so dead? Maybe because the Tulane CMB program has such a small class size?

I'm not sure why it is so dead. The CMB program is only around 35 people so that could be why.
I will be sure to let you know how the program is!

 

[sam87q]

Hey guys,
Congratulations to every one whose gotten in so far. For the ones waiting, hope you get your answer soon. Good luck!! I got in around two weeks ago, and since then i have been trying to look for housing around campus. Is it me or the housing is ridiculously expensive?? Most houses I look at were made in like 1930's and look really crappy. Is anyone having similar problems?? I hear that the downtown campus has better housing. Its far, its cheaper and the shuttle can take you back and forth at most times. I don't even know what to pick. After this week Ill have 20 days to find a place and will have to get there in a cab right after I arrive at the airport, so i better get my act together. Anyone in the same scenario??

 

[williamdent]

Hey guys,
Congratulations to every one whose gotten in so far. For the ones waiting, hope you get your answer soon. Good luck!! I got in around two weeks ago, and since then i have been trying to look for housing around campus. Is it me or the housing is ridiculously expensive?? Most houses I look at were made in like 1930's and look really crappy. Is anyone having similar problems?? I hear that the downtown campus has better housing. Its far, its cheaper and the shuttle can take you back and forth at most times. I don't even know what to pick. After this week Ill have 20 days to find a place and will have to get there in a cab right after I arrive at the airport, so i better get my act together. Anyone in the same scenario??

I hear ya. I`m from Canada so by the time my Visa gets approved I will have even less time to look for a place. I know some people say it`s not the greatest place to live but for a number of reasons I have signed a 4 month contract with Deming Pavillion in the downtown campus.

Apparently the shuttle is across the street and can take me to the uptown campus. I wont have to worry about needing to make sure the place is up to standards because I have student reviews and it`s affiliated with the university. The price is high but everything is included (it comes with furniture and appliances and bed and desk). Hydro and gas included as well (even the internet you just have to bring your cord).

If anything by the end of first semester if I can find a new place I will go there but for now this will do >_>.

 

[misssciencenerd]

I hear ya. I`m from Canada so by the time my Visa gets approved I will have even less time to look for a place. I know some people say it`s not the greatest place to live but for a number of reasons I have signed a 4 month contract with Deming Pavillion in the downtown campus.

Apparently the shuttle is across the street and can take me to the uptown campus. I wont have to worry about needing to make sure the place is up to standards because I have student reviews and it`s affiliated with the university. The price is high but everything is included (it comes with furniture and appliances and bed and desk). Hydro and gas included as well (even the internet you just have to bring your cord).

If anything by the end of first semester if I can find a new place I will go there but for now this will do >_>.

You are lucky...I was told Deming is full 🙁
I had to look elsewhere.

 

[misssciencenerd]

Hey guys,
Congratulations to every one whose gotten in so far. For the ones waiting, hope you get your answer soon. Good luck!! I got in around two weeks ago, and since then i have been trying to look for housing around campus. Is it me or the housing is ridiculously expensive?? Most houses I look at were made in like 1930's and look really crappy. Is anyone having similar problems?? I hear that the downtown campus has better housing. Its far, its cheaper and the shuttle can take you back and forth at most times. I don't even know what to pick. After this week Ill have 20 days to find a place and will have to get there in a cab right after I arrive at the airport, so i better get my act together. Anyone in the same scenario??

From what I have heard and researched...there is a town about 10-15 minutes away (if you don't mind the drive) called Metairie that has apartments. It is a nice suburb with studios for around $600

 

[dr octagon]

Hey guys

I just graduated from this program so I can answer some of your questions if you have any since I know how frustrating it is to not really know what youre getting yourself into.

I loved the program and highly recommend it. I chose it over Drexel IMS (which i toured and seriously considered going to) and Georgetown SMP and I don't regret it at all. You can accomplish at lot here and the class schedule is flexible enough to allow you to take what interests you and the teachers are AMAZING.

FYI. I was waitlisted this past year at my number one med school choice (partially because I applied late and because I was mid-masters and they wanted to see all my grades due to my less than stellar undergraduate grades).

If you have any specific questions post em here and I'll get to them as soon as I can. I am busy with secondaries so it may take a while. You can PM if you have any private questions.

 

[williamdent]

Hey Dr. Octagon thanks so much. Do you have course selection recommendations? (e.g. gross anatomy, topics in dev biology,etc..) or even research topic recommendations for research rotations?

 

[sam87q]

Thanks Dr. Octagon. If you could tell us some courses that are easy to score on, it would be awesome.

 

[dr octagon]

Here are the classes I took. I made my schedule to be as easy as possible (still was somewhat challenging though) 🙄 but they were very rewarding classes.


First Sem:

Cellular Physiology (recommend)

Cellular Neuroscience

Syn Org of The Brain (Cronin was teaching when I took it, great class)

Filled out with research and seminar



Second Sem: took more hours this sem.

Biomedical Ethics (recommend this class as well, great teacher)

Adv Molecular Biology (easy A)

Anatomy (and Lab, teacher is kinda out there but lab experience is worth it)

Neurobiology of Disease (DEF take this)

+3 hours of auditing a philosophy class out of interest and to look 'well rounded'

Filled out with research and seminar



Total of 34 hours (not including audit)

A lot of my classmates enjoyed Embryology, though they said it was a challenging class. Some also took the biology of cancer class (or something simliar, dont remember the exact name) and they liked it, though it is much more challenging than those I have listed above.



I chose to do clinical shadowing/work instead of research. I kind of wish I had done research now because I already had too much shadowing but I really loathe research.

They give you a lot of options so you can figure out what you like and what you want to do. Naturally, lab research is more of a time commitment than shadowing but on up the upside you may get published!

Hope I helped, feel free to ask more..

 

[williamdent]

Thanks a lot, again!

I guess if you have any nice study spots you eventually learned of on-campus (just library? studied at home? coffee shops?) or stuff of that nature it would be nice to know 🙂. Other than that I don't think I have any other questions I can think of at the moment.

 

[sam87q]

Dr. Octagon, it seems you have a neuroscience background because you took courses that were related to that. I did my undergrad in biochemistry, and I am thinking of taking cell bio, cellular biochem and molecular bio as the three electives in the first term. Do you know anyone that took any of these courses? or do you know if it is manageable to do good in these courses? Thanks so much.

 

[dr octagon]

I actually didn't have a neuroscience background which is why I chose to take a lot of neuro classes because it interested me 🙂. Sam87q, those classes sound very manageable together. I took the second semester advanced molec and loved the teacher (Thien). If that's your teacher for molec then you're in good shape. I've heard that BioChem is hard though so be prepared to work hard (shouldn't be to bad since youre a biochem major..).

williamdent, in terms of study places the library is great. They also have a CMB lounge room that is open to CMB students, and that can be a great place to study with other people. You'll find all the local coffee shops once you get there (there's a PJ's on and close to campus as well as an awesome coffee shop called Rue de la Course)

 

[kaDa]

Hey all, I finished Tulane's CMB program for 2010-2011 so feel free to msg me questions about it...

Pros:
Cost - I paid for tuition, rent + food, and travel expenses for the price of just tuition at other, similar programs. By paid, I mean took out loans 😎.
Class Size/Mentality - My year had 27..28 people in it? So it's really small and you get to know everyone really well. Everyone is there for the same reason, to boost their app to prof. school (vast majority were to med school my year). No on wants to see each other do badly so it's a very friendly atmosphere.
Location - NOLA baby 😉. Also, there's a lot of decent housing options to the west of campus. shout out to s&j's!
Class Selection - You can really tailor your schedule to your needs. I especially liked taking Anatomy for a year (fresh cadavers each semester!)

Cons:
Reputation - of lack thereof..It's only been in recent years that it has been picking up (I think last year there was ~400 apps for the 28 spots). Also, there is no link b/t this program and Tulane Med.
Small, private school drama - For those who have been, you already know. Basically, small environment of teachers + a few who rub ppl the wrong way -> drama. Some teachers really are unreasonable, but hey that's at any school IMO. People get all caught up in it, but don't be abrasive and you'll be fine.

I hope this helps some ppl decide, I know there wasn't a lot of info about the program when I was looking. My top reasons for going were the cost and location. Also, all schools I was going to apply to after the program said the top factors on whether or not a Masters helps is 1) heavy science course load and 2) high gpa from these classes. You can achieve both of these in this program for sure. I'm pre-dental and already have a few interviews lined up and I'm sure it's because of this program. good luck all !

 

[kaDa]

whatup dr...OCTAGON! I just bottled another batch of beer...which will be guaranteed tasty this time since I didn't experiment this time around 🙄.

FYI all we were the bamfiest ppl in the program for sure. 😍

 

[dr octagon]

FYI all we were the bamfiest ppl in the program for sure. 😍

I second this motion.

Loved the program! Highly recommend it to anyone interested/applying.

 

[sohaih2]

Hi Dr. Octagon,

I will be attending Tulane for their 2011-2012 semester, and I just had a quick question. Among your courses, you mention Neurobiology of Disease is a great course. I was just wondering if you need a solid neuroscience background in order to do well in this course? Or is it manageable and we can get a good grade in it? Your input about the program has been tremendously helpful. Thanks for your sharing your experiences.

 

[dr octagon]

Hi Dr. Octagon,

I will be attending Tulane for their 2011-2012 semester, and I just had a quick question. Among your courses, you mention Neurobiology of Disease is a great course. I was just wondering if you need a solid neuroscience background in order to do well in this course? Or is it manageable and we can get a good grade in it? Your input about the program has been tremendously helpful. Thanks for your sharing your experiences.

No you do not need a neuroscience background to take the class. Many do not have one before entering. The professor provides you with some supplementary material at the beginning of the class and the rest you build upon as the class progresses. Effectively, you goes over many disease states and what goes wrong at the physiological level.

 

[TennesseeDent]

As a dental student with
3.2 gpa and 20 on the DAT

what would be my best bet for getting into dental school this upcoming cycle

this program (CMB) or Midwestern AZ MAMBS or NYU oral bio?

What did you decide to do and what was the result? I have the same stats and have a pending application with Tulane's CMB program.