Wake Forest U. (NC)

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initialotus

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Any strong opinions/thoughts/etc? Trying to figure out if I wanna interview there. Thanks

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I just became complete there this week. I just know they got a kick ass cancer program and they hook you up with a laptop and PDA. I gotta do more research!
 
initialotus said:
Any strong opinions/thoughts/etc? Trying to figure out if I wanna interview there. Thanks
when are you scheduled?
 
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I withdrew the week before my interview because I received an acceptance from someplace else. IMHO and from talking to various med school profs, Wake is a standard no-frills med school with an expensive price tag. I heard they had a huge drop in USMLE scores just after they switched to PBL and this turned me off. But apparently they've rectified the situation and scores are about average.
 
Would it be fair to say they are an average medical school? Good but not great?
 
Jon Davis said:
Would it be fair to say they are an average medical school? Good but not great?

Average out of the 125MD schools...no....they are above average, but certainly not in the upper tier
 
where'd you get in better than Wake Forest?


TheMightyAngus said:
I withdrew the week before my interview because I received an acceptance from someplace else. IMHO and from talking to various med school profs, Wake is a standard no-frills med school with an expensive price tag. I heard they had a huge drop in USMLE scores just after they switched to PBL and this turned me off. But apparently they've rectified the situation and scores are about average.
 
Wake is one of my top choices, but then again I live in NC. I'd be thrilled for an interview. :thumbup:
 
initialotus said:
Any strong opinions/thoughts/etc? Trying to figure out if I wanna interview there. Thanks
It really depends on what you're looking for in a med school. Wake as a med school was pretty nice when I visited...really good facilities, the students were nice, they're definitely into student use of technology, etc. However, personally I could not stand Winston-Salem. It's way too small of a town for me and I couldn't see myself enjoying 4 years there...there are few places to eat around campus and not a whole lot to do in ways of a social life (as compared to a larger city). So what it all comes down to is what you're looking for; if you're a city person Wake might not be the best place for you; if you're more of a small town person or the location doesn't matter to you, it seems like a good school to go to and I'd definitely check it out.
 
mustangsally65 said:
Wake is one of my top choices, but then again I live in NC. I'd be thrilled for an interview. :thumbup:


I have a question about the area:

are there any opportunities in general for a computer engineer to get a job? How large is the town? Are there engineering/hardware developing firms around?

Thanks!
 
amand0r said:
I have a question about the area:

are there any opportunities in general for a computer engineer to get a job? How large is the town? Are there engineering/hardware developing firms around?

Thanks!
Well, I'm about 4 hours west of Winston, but my sister lives there and I feel like it has a lot to offer. But most people on SDN tend to think it's a small conservative town. To me it's a big city, but that's probably because I grew up in a town with a population of 1,000 people. :D

According to this, Winston has a population of just under 200,000 people. There are lots of suburbs like Lewisville and Clemmons, as well as old Salem, which has a lot of historical areas and is quite charming.

To me, Winston is in a great location geographically. You're about an hour from Raleigh, which is about two hours from the beach, depending on which beach you're headed to. Winston is an hour from the mountains, if you take 421 you can be in Boone/Blowing rock in about an hour. You can live in a more populated section of town, or just 10 minutes out in Lewisville where there are a lot of farms.

There are also four seasons. You can see snow/ice, it's HOT in the summer, and the fall is somewhat colorful. A short trip to the mountains will give you much more fall foliage, however!

There are a lot of colleges/universities in the piedmont that are nearby, including ones in Greensboro and High Point, which are about half an hour away. So it seems like there would be a lot of people in their early 20's to socialize with.

As far as the job you ask about, I really have no idea. I would think there would be, since it's a big area for research and technology. But don't quote me on that. ;) I'll talk to my sister and get back to you.
 
Jon Davis said:
I just became complete there this week. I just know they got a kick ass cancer program and they hook you up with a laptop and PDA. I gotta do more research!


Where did you learn about this?
 
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MB in SD said:
Where did you learn about this?

The laptop stuff, I was told by a fellow SDNer. (I forgot exactly who)
The cancer stuff, was from their website. They had a seal for the Best Of on there. I am positive they have a highly rated cancer center. Check it out.
 
They don't "hook you up with" a PDA and laptop. You pay them with the Monopoly money we like to call "student loans".
 
registered user said:
They don't "hook you up with" a PDA and laptop. You pay them with the Monopoly money we like to call "student loans".

Yeah, thats true. Your $$$ are funneled into that. But can't I be deluded into think that? Way to burst my bubble. haha
 
MrBurns10 said:
It really depends on what you're looking for in a med school. Wake as a med school was pretty nice when I visited...really good facilities, the students were nice, they're definitely into student use of technology, etc. However, personally I could not stand Winston-Salem. It's way too small of a town for me and I couldn't see myself enjoying 4 years there...there are few places to eat around campus and not a whole lot to do in ways of a social life (as compared to a larger city). So what it all comes down to is what you're looking for; if you're a city person Wake might not be the best place for you; if you're more of a small town person or the location doesn't matter to you, it seems like a good school to go to and I'd definitely check it out.

Tell you what, if you are interested in a kick-ass clinical education - try for it.

The USMLE step 1 pass rate was around 95% for last year - which means about 5 people didn't pass the first time (class of 108). Seems pretty good to me.

Their is also a huge revitalization project going on in Winston-Salem and new restaurants, galleries, and night-spots are popping up all around downtown. The arts are also big in WS.
 
Oh - IBM thinkpads are standard issue for MS1 students (with biometric security access) and MS3 students receive PDAs for their clerkships. I was just there for an interview - so I should be able to answer general questions.

Medikit is in the thick of first year - has helped me with some specific questions.
 
Hey everyone, I'm a first year at Wake and absolutely love it!!! I am originally from California and did my undergrad at UC San Diego. If any of you have any questions you want to ask about Wake or my experiences, I would love to answer them. I think Wake is a wonderful school for so many different reasons and don't mind sharing. :D
 
To say downtown is being revitalized is a joke. A big part of that was to be done by Krispy Kreme who is obviously no longer in a position to do that (accounting scandal and possible bankruptcy). There are about 4 bars in the entire town, and no clubs if thats your thing. Downtown is one street (4th street) and anyone who comes here looking for anything even similiar to a city will be greatly dissapointed. downtown is so bare, it feels like a ghost town after 5:00, you can drive anywhere in a second. Also Winston-Salem is going to have even more problems as textiles and tobacco are being hit hard and everyday on the news they say how many jobs are lost. Yes Dell is opening a plant here but it wont make up for RJR problems (the reason for the towns existence). Wake as a medical school is ok. It has its pluses and minuses. Nice facilities and technology use being the pluses. Board scores are average, and ok match if you like anethsiology (sp?) ..I think they had 19 people match into a year ago.
 
MrBurns10 said:
It really depends on what you're looking for in a med school. Wake as a med school was pretty nice when I visited...really good facilities, the students were nice, they're definitely into student use of technology, etc. However, personally I could not stand Winston-Salem. It's way too small of a town for me and I couldn't see myself enjoying 4 years there...there are few places to eat around campus and not a whole lot to do in ways of a social life (as compared to a larger city). So what it all comes down to is what you're looking for; if you're a city person Wake might not be the best place for you; if you're more of a small town person or the location doesn't matter to you, it seems like a good school to go to and I'd definitely check it out.

i go to wake undergrad and didn't even bother applying to wake med. i hate winston. four years was too much to handle; the thought of being here longer makes me cringe. from what i can gather, it's good if you have a family and/or are retired. i'm trying to get as far away as possible, if you wanna know the truth. that's just my take on the town itself. it seems like the school is pretty good, though.
 
Jon Davis said:
and they hook you up with a laptop and PDA.

Remember, there's no such thing as a free lunch.
 
initialotus said:
where'd you get in better than Wake Forest?

I got into Tulane, and thought I'd be happier there than at any other mid-major med school.
 
Wahina said:
Remember, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Thanks, we've already covered that. :rolleyes:
 
I emailed someone at Wake a while ago and they said they were working on a status page. Does anyone know if they got it up and running?

Thanks!
 
I've gotten accepted to Wake Forest and Emory and am trying to decide between them. I'm leaning towards Emory but my family lives in Boone, NC. What do you all think?
 
DryDoc said:
I've gotten accepted to Wake Forest and Emory and am trying to decide between them. I'm leaning towards Emory but my family lives in Boone, NC. What do you all think?

I cant think of a reason that any sane person would choose Wake over Emory...
 
BOBODR said:
I cant think of a reason that any sane person would choose Wake over Emory...


I'm pretty sure they said they have family in NC. Seems like atleast one reason to atleast consider it.
 
ti89 said:
I'm pretty sure they said they have family in NC. Seems like atleast one reason to atleast consider it.


Atlanta isn't that far. If family is a huge issue than perhaps consider it. But Emory as a medical school would get my vote in a second. And Atlanta over Winston-Salem any day of the week.
 
All else being equal, it's a total no brainer. Emory.
 
I would choose Emory also without hesitation.
 
Here's a response from my sister, who has lived in Winston-Salem since 2001.

w-s is an awesome artsy little town with a lot of history and local interest, not the type of town that big partyers flock to, or the type that people retire in. very good for active and intellectual 20-50 yr-olds. as far as computer hardware/engineering, dell is in the process of putting in their next big factory - winston just got the bid last year to bring dell to the city. i don't know if it's just a factory or if it includes development and software as well. here are some links:

winston-salem website
http://www.ci.winston-salem.nc.us/index.html

winston-salem convention and visitors bureau
http://www.wscvb.com/

Hope it helps! If it were me I'd pick Wake over Emory any day. I hate Atlanta, it's too big for me. But if you pick Emory, maybe a spot will open up for some of us NCers at Wake! :p
 
Yeah, what she said. You should pick Emory so I can get off the stupid waitlist. BTW, I would probably pick Emory as well.
 
registered user said:
Yeah, what she said. You should pick Emory so I can get off the stupid waitlist. BTW, I would probably pick Emory as well.

Well I am withdrawing from the waitlist. Good luck and hope you get in :luck:
 
ti89 said:
Well I am withdrawing from the waitlist. Good luck and hope you get in :luck:

Thanks. Is Pitt your first choice? I'm pretty excited about my interview in Jan.
 
registered user said:
Thanks. Is Pitt your first choice? I'm pretty excited about my interview in Jan.


I did like pitt alot. I wouldn't say its my first choice of all the schools as I would consider other schools strongly. I would love to have the choice among Pitt, Case, Vandy, and Umich.
 
ti89 said:
I did like pitt alot. I wouldn't say its my first choice of all the schools as I would consider other schools strongly. I would love to have the choice among Pitt, Case, Vandy, and Umich.

:luck: Here's hoping you do.
 
i would go to wake hands down (b/c I freakin' HATE atl-- lived there for two summers-- :barf: )
 
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