University of Hawaii

[HSteacher]

Does anyone have any thoughts on the University of Hawaii (UH) Medical school? I've been accepted to UH and the University of Pittsburgh. Going to UH would save me a lot of money since it's my state school and they gave me a scholarship making the 1st year free. It would also make life a bit more comfortable, versus being in Pittsburgh... My only fear is that it may hurt me when applying to residencies. The school probably ranks in the bottom 10 or 20 in terms of NIH funding, and they were placed on probation a few years back.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

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[redorkulated]

wow, I thought they wouldn't start giving out acceptances at UH jabsom until around march, congrats. How do feel about their pbl curriculem? From, the info they gave me it looks like their grads matched well, and there are things you can do to make yourself stand out i.e. do research at another institution on the mainland or somthing. I liked their new buildings also. I would base it on how well I felt the school fit me.

congrats

 

[TSisk23]

Personally after I interviewed at UH I would not attend no matter how much money they threw at me. I think the PBL leaves much to be desired. Its all about teaching yourself with minimal direction it appeared so if I were you I would truly consider U of Pitt. I think the learning will be more guided and better in the long run. Just my thoughts...congrats on the acceptances.

 

[HSteacher]

wow, I thought they wouldn't start giving out acceptances at UH jabsom until around march, congrats. How do feel about their pbl curriculem? From, the info they gave me it looks like their grads matched well, and there are things you can do to make yourself stand out i.e. do research at another institution on the mainland or somthing. I liked their new buildings also. I would base it on how well I felt the school fit me.

congrats

Yes, i was told the same thing --they would start sending out acceptances in march / april. I have mixed feelings about their pbl curriculum. I like the fact that you have a lot of free time w/ the pbl, but I'm worried about how prepared I would be for step 1. A friend of mine just graduated, and I remember him having to go to Princeton Review to learn Biochem... I would like to have a bit more structure to my education. Their match list seemed pretty good, with some guys going to Harvard/Yale etc, but I also know that one of their better students didn't match in surgery, which isn't super-competitive.

That being said, Pitt also uses PBL, but they do it in conjunction with traditional lectures, which I like. I think that Pitt is definitely the better fit, but I cringe at the thought of having to take out 200k+ in loans without any parental help.

 

[notdeadyet]

If you were raised in Hawaii, you probably know a few folks attending or that have attended UH. I'd get as much info as possible to judge how you'd stomach their PBL curriculum. Some love it, but I know a few folks who absolutely hated it. It's largely up to your learning style.

But you have to choose between two schools. Not a bad place to be...

 

[shetland]

Hello HS,

Congratulations on your acceptance and scholarship

 

[herrf]

yea first of all congrats. i too am a hawaii resident who interviewed at UH and am awaiting the final decision. i am very surprised that acceptances were handed out already. Personally, as the school will publicly advertise. the pbl system is not for everyone, so its ultimately up to your discretion which school to pick. in terms of prep for boards, the statistics eighty nine percent passing step 1 is a lower than the national, but i don't think it is horrendous. i've talked to students and they say that in general people are pretty well prepared. i think ultimately the student is in control of prepping themselves and the school doesn't make or break you. money on the other hand, might.

once again congrats, its a wonderful situation you're in.

 

[herrf]

btw HSteacher, when did you receive your letter of acceptance? i am wondering if i should switch the anxiety back on?

 

[HSteacher]

Thanks, guys. I'm definitely fortunate to be in the situation that I'm in.

My friend from high school actually graduated from JABSOM last year, and he told me all the good and bad points about the school. He liked the school, but he said that he also needed to take a Kaplan biochem class in order to learn the material... He did emphasize that a lot of students were able to get into good residencies, many at UC schools.

herrf- I found out on December 13. I don't think that you should worry about it. They told me that they would make decisions around April. Someone told me that every year they let in a small handful of students early, and that everyone else gets in around April/May. If you look at mdapplicants.com, only 2 people on the site have gotten in so far. I probably got in early b/c my numbers are really high.

 

[star22]

Does anyone have any thoughts on the University of Hawaii (UH) Medical school? I've been accepted to UH and the University of Pittsburgh. Going to UH would save me a lot of money since it's my state school and they gave me a scholarship making the 1st year free. It would also make life a bit more comfortable, versus being in Pittsburgh... My only fear is that it may hurt me when applying to residencies. The school probably ranks in the bottom 10 or 20 in terms of NIH funding, and they were placed on probation a few years back.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

I lived in Hawaii for a long time, so I also know a bunch of JABSOM students and grads. Do you want to stay in Hawaii to practice? Are you leaning towards primary care? If so, Hawaii would be fine, it seemed like there was a lot of opportunities there. Two of my UH friends got first choice residencies (in primary care fields, one at UCLA and the other at OHSU). But if your long term goal is to go into a really competetive field (othopedic surgery, etc) and work on the mainland, then Pittsburgh might be a better choice. A scholarship is awesome and in-state tuition too. Plus you have to admit the quality of life in Honolulu dwarfs Pittsburgh. I personally wouldn't go back to Hawaii as an out-of-stater, but depending on what you are looking for it might be a great choice.

 

[Jamerson]

2nd year JABSOM student here...

Whoa, I haven't been on these boards in a couple years, but being as you're being told things by people who a) graduated from JABSOM already and b) only interviewed here and had brief impressions of the program at best, I might as well tell you what I know of the school.

Just for background info, I am an out-of-state student who chose Hawaii over GW.

Anyway, as far as studies are concerned, it's true that you have tons of free time... to study your butt off and learn as much as you can. I loved this as I could learn according to my own pace, without feeling burnt out after long days of classes. Another thing is that you aren't ranked here, so that takes away a lot of intraclass hostilities which may develop (I have a few friends in other med schools who hate the pressure of being a ranked students).

As far as the USMLE Step 1 is concerned, although it is true that in the past students did just OK, last year's class scored an average 7 or so points above the national average. Not too bad considering they were coming off the Manoa floods and were practically school-less for half the year.

As far as residency is concerned, I too felt like I needed to do exceptionally better than the average applicant to be considered for a competitive field... until I saw last year's JABSOM match list. I would be glad to share this with you (I'd have to give you the Excel file without names or something), as it was a truly kick-ass list. We had a student go to Harvard Derm, a couple ophthlamologists, a urologist to UW-St. Louis, and so on.

I figure you might as well get some hard facts in while you're making your decision.