What are the best med schools to apply to for a URM?

[darkdude]

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Hi Y'all!

Waasup! Ya got a great site here. Wondering if anyone could tell me what's the best med schools to apply to for a URM? I know I could look up stats and all that but was wondering if any of you other URMs could share your experiences as far as the schools that made you feel most comfortable as well as the level of support the med schools provided to URMs.

Peace.

 

[pathdr2b]

I can think of a few based on the expereinces of my friends in no particular order:


Harvard
Temple
UPenn
UPitt
UT-Houston
UNC-Chapel Hill
ECU
UMaryland
Morehouse
Meharry
UMiami
UCSF
Columbia
UMDNJ
UI-Chicago
Stanford
VCU
UT-Memphis
Wake Forest
Wayne State

 

[optimistique]

These are the most welcoming institutions? Your friends have been accepted to these places?

Originally posted by pathdr2b
I can think of a few based on the expereinces of my friends in no particular order:


Harvard
Temple
UPenn
UT-Houston
UNC-Chapel Hill
ECU
Morehouse
Meharry
UMiami
UCSF
Columbia
UMDNJ
UI-Chicago
Stanford
VCU
UT-Memphis
Wayne State

 

[wolferman]

Originally posted by pathdr2b
I can think of a few based on the expereinces of my friends in no particular order:


Harvard
Temple
UPenn
UT-Houston
UNC-Chapel Hill
ECU
Morehouse
Meharry
UMiami
UCSF
Columbia
UMDNJ
UI-Chicago
Stanford
VCU
UT-Memphis
Wayne State

You forgot Howard .

 

[draino15]

IMO...howard should have been off left off on purpose. Those little %^&*#$@ still haven't given me an interview.

but....i'm just venting. hahahahahaha

 

[draino15]

IMO...howard should have been off left off on purpose. Those little %^&*#$@ still haven't given me an interview.

but....i'm just venting. hahahahahaha

 

[Lab-Rat21]

The historically black medical colleges are there: Morehouse, Howard, etc.

But do not limit yourself at all. Choose a few dream or very difficult schools, some middle-tier schools, and some safety schools. Make a good list. Then fill out all secondaries you get and wait for interviews. You may ironically get interviewed at the top schools and be rejected by some safeties. The process is not random, but is too individualized, which means you may get a person on a committee at a particular school, no matter how top it is, that really likes you and wants you there.

Again, do not limit yourself (though I know $$$ is probably limiting) try to apply to 15 schools and choose a tier system, put in a couple of dream schools and you may be pleasantly surprised. Good luck to you.

PM me if you want and I'll tell you specifically which ones I have noticed are URM friendly (or see past one's circumstances), but these are just based on my experiences.

 

[edfig99]

in addition to the above...

cornell med
new jersey med
downstate
einstein
mt sinai

 

[pathdr2b]

Originally posted by wolferman
You forgot Howard .

No I actually didn't forget Howard. I know of about 7 or so graduates of Howard and only one of them would return there.

 

[Deuce 007 MD]

Drew/UCLA Medical Education Program.

 

[pathdr2b]

Originally posted by optimistique
These are the most welcoming institutions? Your friends have been accepted to these places?

Yes, for the majority of the schools on this list, I personally know people that have attended these schools. Others are relatives of personal friends. Remember I'm over 30, so I've had a chance to meet a lot of people over the years.

 

[abw]

Originally posted by edfig99
new jersey med
[/B]

Definitely try umdnj-njms - they really try hard to create a diverse class. I thought they were just saying that like every other school does in their brochures but was surprised when I was the only non-urm in my interview group (~10 people).

 

[UCLA2000]

It really depends on the stats of the particular URM! Diversity wise UCLA and UPenn are great, but if you don't have good scores then you don't stand much of a chance.

 

[pathdr2b]

Originally posted by UCLA2000
It really depends on the stats of the particular URM! Diversity wise UCLA and UPenn are great, but if you don't have good scores then you don't stand much of a chance.

I believe this applies to all applicants regardless of race.

 

[geromine]

University of Michigan. From stand point of admissions as well as financial aid. Also when I was there at the interview, it seemed to have a relatively diverse student body. And we all know that they have a top rated program there at Umich.

 

[ndi_amaka]

Originally posted by pathdr2b
No I actually didn't forget Howard. I know of about 7 or so graduates of Howard and only one of them would return there.

Because?

 

[lilnix]

in my personal opinion (as a urm) i felt comfortable at umdnj-njms, suny downstate, temple and howard..also for me i feel more comfortable when i'm in a city and not a rural area or something

 

[draino15]

all right, and now for a serious post from myself.

I guess deciding which schools to apply to greatly depends on your level of comfort. A lot of schools pride themselves on how many URMs they have as a percentage of their class (more on this later), others pride themselves on the strong support system present in their system (ie...Temple, Morehouse, etc), other schools may be in urban environments which IMO make me feel comfortable knowing that I would still be surrounded by those who are underserved (ie...Howard, Morehouse, Temple, UMaryland, etc).

But check this out....
There was an issue of "Black Issues in Higher Education" (June 20, 2002.) which had a list of the top schools which have the greatest number of medical degree (among other professions) conferences for URM.

FYI ('00-01 total)

for african american
1. Howard (62)
2. MeHarry (57)
3. UIC (37)
4. UMDNJ (33)
5. Drexel (33)

for american indian:
1. UWash (5)
2. Tulane (4)
3. NewMexico (4)
4. East Carolina (4)
5. Marshall (4)


There are a lot of listings in this issue, but those are just from the top of the page that I had photocopied. I'm still an Undergrad @ duke univ. and we had the magazine in our library, so im sure you can find it at most colleges/universities.

hope that helped.

 

[uclamendoza]

I would say:

Drew
Howard
Meharry
Morehouse
Michigan State
Kansas
UCLA
UCSF
Keck-USC
NJMS (new jersey med)
NYU

 

[wazupshah]

Baylor. It's a GREAT school.
They're doing some serious URM recruitment and their secondary fee is $0.

 

[pathdr2b]

Originally posted by wazupshah
Baylor. It's a GREAT school.
They're doing some serious URM recruitment and their secondary fee is $0.

Definitely a strong representation of of URM's in the MD/PhD program!

 

[optimistique]

How do UCLA or UCSF look at out of state URMs? Whats the situation there after cutting AA from the UC schools in '96?? (please no AA flames)

UMich Med:
I went to Michigan for undergrad. They are really big on diversity in student body. I felt really comforable there.

 

[pathdr2b]

Originally posted by optimistique
How do UCLA or UCSF look at out of state URMs? Whats the situation there after cutting AA from the UC schools in '96?? (please no AA flames)

For UCSF, check the UCSF thread. I asked this same question a few months ago and the response was so promisingI decided to add UCSF to my list ( in addition to knowing the brother of a friend that graduated from UCSF).

 

[DarkChild]

well as a URM who applied out of state to UCSF's MD program - i had a less than pleasant experience. ok. it wasnt really an experience; I was rejected pre-secondary.
as with everything take this anecdotal story with a grain of salt - but i got interviews at everywhere I applied to except for Harvard, UCSF and Chicago. So that was (JHU, Penn, Columbia, Cornell, NYU, MSSM, Yale, UCSD (MD/PhD))
one likely explanation for this is that there was something in my app that rubbed chicago and UCSF the wrong way, but my personal take on this is that its pretty damn difficult to get in to UCSF's MD program as an out of stater - irrespective of URM status. I think this is something that is true for all UC schools - the difference being for the MD/PhD programs which are not so focused on residency status.

then again - what the hell do i know??
according to this:
http://www.som.ucsf.edu/som/education/admission/procedure.asp
20% of UCSF's class is from out of state. which is actually more than i expected.

so here's my completely unbiased advice about applying to UC schools:
1) apply very early - these guys are so slow its amazing. and allow for a delay between their receipt of your AMCAS (which in UCSF's case - YOU HAVE TO SUBMIT AGAIN in the form of a UC application). then you have to turn in their secondary - which i believe in UCSF's case is very short - but was stupidly long for UCSD 😡 all in all i found UCSD's turn around time to be on the order of 6-8 weeks. so basically forever.
2) the UC schools are definately worth applying to, just dont invest too much hope - i think the whole residency issue makes the UC schools's admissions process a lot muddier..

Originally posted by optimistique
How do UCLA or UCSF look at out of state URMs? Whats the situation there after cutting AA from the UC schools in '96?? (please no AA flames)

UMich Med:
I went to Michigan for undergrad. They are really big on diversity in student body. I felt really comforable there.

 

[darkdude]

Hey, y'all rock! Many thanks for your responses, and especially article references and your lists. Hey path, you da man! Why didn't your friends like Howard?

 

[pathdr2b]

Originally posted by darkdude
Hey, y'all rock! Many thanks for your responses, and especially article references and your lists. Hey path, you da man! Why didn't your friends like Howard?

No problem. But "I da woman not da man"!😉

PM me for info on the specifics about Howard.

Darkchild:

I spoke to the admissions guy at UChicago and he seemed to be concerned about my age so you notice it wasn't on my list. But I'm originally from San Francisco and I understand that out of state applicants with ties to the area and competitive stats are OK in the admissions process. Well see what happens....By the way have you decided on a schol yet?

 

[pathdr2b]

Bump for efex101 !

 

[thezero]

Hey also check out George Washington University, they are also trying to increase their URM support

 

[efex101]

Thanks guys! This really helps, although I do have the book for URM's, it is still nice to see which schools "really" try to make their classes diverse.

 

[cocoabutter]

Hi, guys! You should definitely add Wake Forest to the list. They have a great minority recruitment program, and have an excellent minority representation in their classes. Although you could say that I am biased since they accepted me. 🙂

 

[pathdr2b]

Originally posted by cocoabutter
Hi, guys! You should definitely add Wake Forest to the list.

Wake Forest should be on the list but have you ever been to Winston-Salem otherwise known as tobacco country? I can't imagine being real happy living there 4 years as a minority.

 

[efex101]

Yeah no kidding, I went there once and will never go back.

 

[cocoabutter]

I have actually only been there once--for my interview. I saw plenty of minorities, but we will see. I plan on making the best of it, but you guys are correct. If you don't see yourself living someplace for four years and being happy, then don't apply.

 

[efex101]

Yeah a lot of truth to what you just said. Also, you will be studying hard so not too much time to dwell on the environment I guess....

 

[pathdr2b]

Originally posted by cocoabutter
If you don't see yourself living someplace for four years and being happy, then don't apply.

Good point. I'm a NC resident and would be a reasonably sure bet for getting into ECU (accodring to the admissions officer). BUT, the idea of living in Greenville is so repulsive I've decided to pass on applying. I live in the Dc area now, so it would be culture shock for me to go back 'down south!

Winston Salem does have plenty of minorities so I don't think thats the issue. It's more the quality of the lives of the minorities you see that's an important issue for me. However, if this is the only acceptance you have, you gotta do your thang and get that MD!

 

[LittleDrBob]

Originally posted by DarkChild
well as a URM who applied out of state to UCSF's MD program - i had a less than pleasant experience. ok. it wasnt really an experience; I was rejected pre-secondary.
as with everything take this anecdotal story with a grain of salt - but i got interviews at everywhere I applied to except for Harvard, UCSF and Chicago. So that was (JHU, Penn, Columbia, Cornell, NYU, MSSM, Yale, UCSD (MD/PhD))
one likely explanation for this is that there was something in my app that rubbed chicago and UCSF the wrong way, but my personal take on this is that its pretty damn difficult to get in to UCSF's MD program as an out of stater - irrespective of URM status. I think this is something that is true for all UC schools - the difference being for the MD/PhD programs which are not so focused on residency status.

then again - what the hell do i know??
according to this:
http://www.som.ucsf.edu/som/education/admission/procedure.asp
20% of UCSF's class is from out of state. which is actually more than i expected.

so here's my completely unbiased advice about applying to UC schools:
1) apply very early - these guys are so slow its amazing. and allow for a delay between their receipt of your AMCAS (which in UCSF's case - YOU HAVE TO SUBMIT AGAIN in the form of a UC application). then you have to turn in their secondary - which i believe in UCSF's case is very short - but was stupidly long for UCSD 😡 all in all i found UCSD's turn around time to be on the order of 6-8 weeks. so basically forever.
2) the UC schools are definately worth applying to, just dont invest too much hope - i think the whole residency issue makes the UC schools's admissions process a lot muddier..

DarkChild: Where are you going?

 

[tonem]

Pitt is another school that is well worth considering for URMs looking for a supportive environment.

 

[FMLizard]

I wish schools would look at diversity and the concept of URMs from angles other than skin color. There are so many people who are of the same race who have completely different backgrounds and personalities, experiences and career goals. Likewise, there are people of different races who are very similar in these regards. As long as schools make a conscious effort to balance their classes based on skin color, race will remain a hot button topic in society.

However, race is much easier to quantify and label than other forms of diversity, so maybe that is why so much emphasis is placed on it.

 

[bennet]

Originally posted by FMLizard
I wish schools would look at diversity and the concept of URMs from angles other than skin color. There are so many people who are of the same race who have completely different backgrounds and personalities, experiences and career goals. Likewise, there are people of different races who are very similar in these regards. As long as schools make a conscious effort to balance their classes based on skin color, race will remain a hot button topic in society.

However, race is much easier to quantify and label than other forms of diversity, so maybe that is why so much emphasis is placed on it.

FMLizard, of all your posts on this issue, i think this one makes the most sense, so i decided to reply. Yes, race is easier to quantify, to some extent. I think another factor is that if no effort was made to create a diverse class, the race aspect of diversity would suffer the most because many conditions in the US actively pose a disadvantage for racial minorities. Think about how different your life would be if your race was different and everything else about you remained the same. There are other types of diversity .e.g personality and experiences, but the conditions today do not actively pose a disadvantage for the bearer of these forms of diversity. With race, you do not need to act or speak before being disadvantaged. It is one of those things where you have to consciously do something to change the trends.

To everyone else, i apologize for the change in topic. I saw that he(or she) finally made some good points, so i thought i'd reply. I wish you all the best in the app. process!

 

[Lara]

Um, before this thread degenerates into yet another AA discussion (hopefully not), I should put in a plug for Temple. IMO it really is one of the best schools to be as a URM - good proportion of students, great support and the ability to help an underserved community, as was mentioned earlier. 🙂 Temple's BLHO and SNMA's chapters are very active as well. And you get to be in a major city besides!

 

[DarkChild]

Originally posted by LittleDrBob
DarkChild: Where are you going?

MSTPing @ cornell

 

[bujji13]

Originally posted by wazupshah
Baylor. It's a GREAT school.
They're doing some serious URM recruitment and their secondary fee is $0.

Agreed. Baylor's student body is around 25% URM, one of the highest in the country (other than the historically African-American institutions of course).

I think a lot of this has to do with the recruitment programs Wazupshah referred to: there's the summer MMEP program, the UH Premedical Honors academy (which I think is aimed at URM's from Houston and offers early acceptance + scholarship money to high school seniors), and the UT-Pan American program (which attempts to do the same for URM's from medically underserved areas in TX).

 

[Ernham]

Wow, 25%. Doesn't that make them incredibly racist?

 

[Madjimbo1]

Duke's awesome too.

To the people who fear Winston-Salem, it's not that bad. Honestly, if you're looking for Korean food at 3 am, this probably won't be your place, but there is a good amount of diversity in the city and plenty to do. That being said, I'm leaving W-S after 4 years, but I can honestly say that I had a blast (mostly because of my friends) so don't let the city be a deterrent in applying to the school! 😀

 

[Jamaican MD]

I don't know if this is already on another thread, but where are URM's actually applying this year?

 

[efex101]

There is another thread.. go check it out

 

[MacGyver]

Originally posted by bujji13
Agreed. Baylor's student body is around 25% URM, one of the highest in the country (other than the historically African-American institutions of course)

This is a flat out lie... Link please?

 

[Gradient Echo]

Originally posted by pathdr2b
Definitely a strong representation of of URM's in the MD/PhD program!

I dont have statistics on the Hopkins MD/PhD program as a whole, but for my entering class we have 7 african-americans, 2 whites, and 4 asians for a total of 13 people.

 

[Thewonderer]

DUKE is huge on URM's too......

honestly, all schools probably place URM's in a different pile from the start and recruit them to some extent.

The key is to not be shy about the number of schools you apply and don't have the mentality that any school is OUT-OF-YOUR-REACH. Apply to many and see how your luck turns out!