What resources did you guys use in selecting schools?

[Tobtolip]

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Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone can tell me any tips on doing research on a school? Is there any reliable publications/websites/list + description of curriculum of all medical schools etc.?? I'm asking this because so far my only resource has been monitoring boards and the US News and World Report (and we all know how great their ranking system is)

Tob

 

[Doctora Foxy]

ask your premed advisor and buy the MSAR from amcas

good luck

 

[Tobtolip]

hehe I hate to be blunt, but my pre-med advisors are incompetent. I asked for a meeting this month (january) and they said they cant give me one until mid February!!!! Also, my last session didn't impress me, she couldnt answer any of my questions/concerns... all she did was give me a sheet and told me I need to take this this and this. Thats why I scour boards looking for any advice I can get =P

JoJo

 

[SMW]

The MSAR (Medical School Admission Requirements) is by far the best all around resource. Check out the schools' websites, too. And do a search on SDN for the schools you're interested in.

 

[deleted7807]

my pre-med advisors are absolutely awful, so I know what you are going through! Anyhow, my two favorite books are the MSAR, which gives a lot of numbers and pretty much is information from the school itself, and Peterson's Insider's Guide to MEdical School, which gives more of a student's perspective and a description of the location, etc. Anyhow...any schools that you still want more information on, look at their websites! Hope that helps and is the type of information that you are looking for 🙂 Good luck!

 

[EMDrMoe]

Preliminary Step: Miles from home (because my husband and I were interviewing to attend med school together, this was a factor.)

Next Step: Letters I got from each department (some were VERY rude/derogatory - they were thrown out).

Final Step: Intuition

 

[Street Philosopher]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Tobtolip:
•hehe I hate to be blunt, but my pre-med advisors are incompetent. I asked for a meeting this month (january) and they said they cant give me one until mid February!!!! Also, my last session didn't impress me, she couldnt answer any of my questions/concerns... all she did was give me a sheet and told me I need to take this this and this. Thats why I scour boards looking for any advice I can get =P

JoJo•••••UCLA's "advisors" are just as incompetent or maybe even moreso. They don't know ANYTHING about premeds, the application process, or the MCAT. In fact, there is no official "premed advisor." There is only a "career center" that helps you write essays and resumes. UCLA advising is ASS.

 

[deleted7807]

Hey I go to UCLA too...those advisors really do suck!

 

[Kadyra]

<a href="http://www.aamc.org/students/applying/about/31questions.htm" target="_blank">http://www.aamc.org/students/applying/about/31questions.htm</a>

This is a really good site with questions ot help you choose a school that's right for you based on a lot of different criteria.

 

[Daredevil]

A little tidbit about MSAR.. You might not have to pay for one, instead you should check to see if your career office or library has it.

 

[paisley1]

I also found it helpful to read through some of the comments posted on <a href="http://www.interviewfeedback.com" target="_blank">www.interviewfeedback.com</a> by students who have actually visited each of the different medical schools. Current students at the respective schools also tend to visit the site and post comments about their experiences as well.

 

[Epi]

The individual school's websites are a big help in describing the curriculum and other things about the school. Thats how i picked my schools.

 

[Sonya]

Just a suggestion... somewhat off topic..

if you're pre-med advisor's are incompetent, try maybe asking physcian/professors or such. Maybe they aren't officially "advisors" but they do not a lot, and have been there. And, at least here , many are willing to help. hopefully you have some sort of that resource.

interms of where to look, MSAR (medical school admission requirements... i think) is a good book.

Sonya

 

[oldman]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by Tobtolip:
•hehe I hate to be blunt, but my pre-med advisors are incompetent. I asked for a meeting this month (january) and they said they cant give me one until mid February!!!! Also, my last session didn't impress me, she couldnt answer any of my questions/concerns... all she did was give me a sheet and told me I need to take this this and this. Thats why I scour boards looking for any advice I can get =P

JoJo•••••If you don't mind answering, what school do you go to?

 

[Original]

In order of importance, I considered 1)research strength; 2)international students' acceptance rates; and 3)diversity. Selection criteria will obviously vary alot between applicants.

Speaking of pre-health advisors, I don't think my pre-health advisor is incompetent. She wasn't very useful to me with my MD/PhD application; but I can understand that, since she has less experience with MSTP applicants. Though one funny thing is that she expects you to kiss her @ss, and she likes it. We were talking the other day and I told her that I would not kiss her @ss anymore since I have gotten accepted already 😛 . We are friends so it was ok for me to say that. My sole beef with her is that she focuses almost exclusively on primary care type stuff. There are no programs available to facilitate research experience. Shadowing and soup kitchen are awesome ideas; but I think she needs to at least MENTION research to the pre-meds even once. I should probably mention this to her before I head out.