Wash U

[acm1980]

Hi
I was wondering if anyone has gotten an interview to Wash U St Louis? I am very interested in this program and I did not see it on the interview thread. Thanks

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[SocialistMD]

Hi
I was wondering if anyone has gotten an interview to Wash U St Louis? I am very interested in this program and I did not see it on the interview thread. Thanks

They usually come out early to mid-October. The interview dates are Nov 16-17, Dec 14-15 and Jan 11-12, so if you really want an interview, leave one of those weekend's open.

 

[acm1980]

Thanks for the info. Do you think I should contact the program?

 

[SocialistMD]

I guess, although I would probably wait a week or so to see if the invitations have been sent. I'm not all that convinced that calling makes that much difference as to who gets an interview (although, yes, I too had a friend who called a program for an interview and ended up matching there. Yes, yes, I know what everyone will say; anything is possible and blah, blah, blah...) on the initial round of invitations.

 

[surgeon2b forev]

I just got an interview offer. Now I have to decide if I wanna go. Anyone know anything about St. Louis? Isn't wash u known for their radiology? how is surgery after that last famous chair left? how's life there?

 

[geekgirl]

I just got an interview offer. Now I have to decide if I wanna go. Anyone know anything about St. Louis? Isn't wash u known for their radiology? how is surgery after that last famous chair left? how's life there?

are you kidding? wash u is a terrific surgery program. their facilities are really very impressive and their staff are well known and well respected. i knew it was a good program, but i was suprised how much i liked it in reality when i interviewed there. had it been closer to home, i might have ended up there.

many of my friends went there/are going there for med school/residency/fellowships. you'd be lucky to end up there. go and check it out.

 

[Pilot Doc]

Anyone know anything about St. Louis? Isn't wash u known for their radiology? how is surgery after that last famous chair left? how's life there?

St. Louis is a metro area of about 1 million people. It is not like the coasts. That is a good and a bad thing. Good, you can afford to live a nice life in St. Louis on a residents salary, and there's a lot to like. Bad, it is not as diverse or cosmopolitan as NYC, SFO, etc. (Although the stereotype of it as a midwestern cow town is overblown)

Wash U is known for radiology and many other disciplines. The medical school is #4 nationally for NIH funding ($377 million in 2005) and the dept of surgery is #2 ($17 million). The current chairman (since 1998), Timothy Eberlein, is accomplished as was the former chairman, Sam Wells.

 

[maxheadroom]

St Louis is quite a bit larger than 1 million. It's probably somewhere around 2.5 million people in the metro area. People from the coasts sometimes have a hard time adjusting to its character, but it has a reasonable cost of living and lots to offer for people in their twenties.

WashU has great surgical programs. I can't speak to GenSurg too much, but my friends who are there have great things to say.

 

[Pilot Doc]

St Louis is quite a bit larger than 1 million. It's probably somewhere around 2.5 million people in the metro area.

If Wikipedia is to be believed, the truth is somewhere in the middle. The very broadly defined St Louis Metro area is 2.8 million. A more reasonably defined area runs 1.5-1.9 million depending if you count the East Side.

 

[SLUser11]

St. Louis is a metro area of about 1 million people. It is not like the coasts. That is a good and a bad thing. Good, you can afford to live a nice life in St. Louis on a residents salary, and there's a lot to like. Bad, it is not as diverse or cosmopolitan as NYC, SFO, etc. (Although the stereotype of it as a midwestern cow town is overblown)

No doubt, Wash U is a solid program from a research perspective.

When it comes to St. Louis, I think you'll find that the stereotype is less midwestern cowtown, and more trashed, dangerous, crime ridden, abandoned buildings, etc. This is only partially true.

I personally hate the city, having been there for 8 years and gone through college and med school at SLU, and having routinely lived in the bad areas. BUT, there is a strong effort from the city to revitalize previously bad areas, and it's looking pretty sweet in certain areas now.

For somebody considering spending 7 years there (for Wash U surgery), it's important to remember that it's ranked #1 most dangerous city in America, and that does not include East St. Louis, which is it's own city, separated by a river, and probably the worst place to get lost in the entire US. But, it should also be considered that there are nice and relatively safe places to live, and there's a lot of fun things to do. Just do your research before signing any apartment contracts.......

 

[Pilot Doc]

For somebody considering spending 7 years there (for Wash U surgery), it's important to remember that it's ranked #1 most dangerous city in America, and that does not include East St. Louis, which is it's own city, separated by a river, and probably the worst place to get lost in the entire US.

While technically true, that ranking is a statistical accident of the city of St. Louis having long ago seceeded from the county of St. Louis. As such, the city (much of which is a bad area) is statistically separate from the much tonier county. If the two are combined as is done with every other metro area, St. Louis comes out middle of the pack.

As for getting lost in East St. Louis - if you do that, it's your own fault. There is NO reason to cross the river unless you're looking for gambiling, dancing girls etc. Caveat emptor.

 

[TxMed]

nobody...i repeat NOBODY brings the truth (in all matters) like pilotdoc.

 

[maxheadroom]

If you exclude North St Louis, you'll find that most of the city is safe. There are some sketchy areas in other parts of town, but North City is kinda like East St Louis. Stay out of that area and you're pretty set.

I grew up in St Louis and I'm in and out of town pretty often. I think it's a great place, but it's no NYC/LA/Chicago/Miami.

 

[SLUser11]

While technically true, that ranking is a statistical accident of the city of St. Louis having long ago seceeded from the county of St. Louis. As such, the city (much of which is a bad area) is statistically separate from the much tonier county. If the two are combined as is done with every other metro area, St. Louis comes out middle of the pack.

As for getting lost in East St. Louis - if you do that, it's your own fault. There is NO reason to cross the river unless you're looking for gambiling, dancing girls etc. Caveat emptor.

You're right, the county is pretty nice. As for accidentally ending up in East St. Louis, it's relatively common, and a lot of people unfamiliar with the area accidentally cross the river on the interstate, decide to get off at the next exit to turn around, and bingo.

Besides, gambling and dancing girls are fun....especially at 3 in the morning.

If you exclude North St Louis, you'll find that most of the city is safe.

I think that's kind of an overstatement. The problem with St. Louis is its patchy bad areas. You can be walking through a beautiful neighborhood with $500K houses, and then the next block is projects with bullets whizzing by your head. It's definitely dangerous, and my original point is that people looking for houses and apartments should take the time to scout out the areas nearby their proposed home to be sure they don't end up in a crappy area.