Whats the Deal with SIU

[datdood]

SIU school of Medicine 18,000 Tuition Per Year MD School
I know its not a "Top Tier" school
However, If I'm accepted there wouldn't it be VERY difficult to turn down such a great financial offer? Yet time after time people choose "better" schools in Illinois over this one. What is so bad about this place? I know there avg mcat is alot lower than avg, but who cares it probabally be filled with more relaxed non competetive people.

Could someone run down the Ups/Downs of this school?
My stats are more comprable to the MIDDLE TIER SCHOOLS such as SLU/Loyola Range. I heard students at loyola enjoy life very much however tuition there is 40K. How bad could SIU be that people chose to goto other schools over it?

Personally, I am from Southern Illinois and like the people down here. I think were nicer in general. (I just threw this in here don't comment on this)

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Mobius1985]

One person's "Up" is another person's "Down":

Many don't like the idea of living a long distance from the exciting life of a big city. Others prefer quiet, no pollution, and a cheaper cost-of-living. Some don't want to take a chance on a curriculum they aren't familiar with (Problem Based Learning), but others had experience with this as an undergrad and aren't intimidated. Yet others might prefer a traditional grading system so they know they are at the top of their class, rather than SIU's more relaxed, less competitive pass/fail system. Some feel that a school's Big-Name Recognition is important to them. Others prefer not to enrich loan companies and are struck by how much less expensive SIU is, even compared to UIC.

Happily, you are familiar with the school and resided down-state. Your competitive stats should make you a shoe-in. They admit very few folks from the northern part of Illinois, giving you a smaller applicant pool to compete with. To compare: UIC had 7000+ applicants last year, and SIU had about 1000 (according to my recall, feel free to correct me if I'm off base).

 

[bcat85]

SIU school of Medicine 18,000 Tuition Per Year MD School
I know its not a "Top Tier" school
However, If I'm accepted there (1) wouldn't it be VERY difficult to turn down such a great financial offer? Yet time after time people choose "better" schools in Illinois over this one. (2) What is so bad about this place? I know there avg mcat is alot lower than avg, but who cares it probabally be filled with more relaxed non competetive people.

(3)Could someone run down the Ups/Downs of this school?
My stats are more comprable to the MIDDLE TIER SCHOOLS such as SLU/Loyola Range. I heard students at loyola enjoy life very much however tuition there is 40K. (4)How bad could SIU be that people chose to goto other schools over it?

Personally, (5) I am from Southern Illinois and like the people down here. I think were nicer in general. (I just threw this in here don't comment on this)

I got into SIU and eventually ended up choosing SLU. First, I'll answer the above questions.
1. Yes, but you have to consider other things along with price.

2. A. Problem Based Learning. The idea of sitting in a room in a big group cluster#$%^ for 4 hours a day sounds about as appealing as sticking a bottle rocket where the sun doesn't shine.

B. A lot of the students I met there were of the "I finally got in after 2 tries" or "This was really my only choice" variety. This is fine, and I admire their persistance. However, when a whole group of these individuals is combined with the above named PBL, it would make for a rough experience.

3. Ups: I thought springfield was a nice place, and everyone I met was very nice.
Downs: See above. Also a turnoff was the fact that my student interviewer told me he was repeating his second year for the second time.

4. I wasn't so impressed. I didn't really think it would get me where I wanted to be. I was looking for more of a big city setting with a lot of opportunities for research and stuff, and this wasn't so much present there.

5. I agree. I'm from So.IL too.

Ok, so I ended up picking SLU over U of I, SIU, and Rush. SIU because of the above, U of I because I was placed in Peoria and they have class all day everyday, and Rush because SLU was cheaper and closer to home. I also really liked their curriculum and everyone I met there was really pretty cool. Just my insight though, good luck in the app. process!

 

[shiftingmirage]

I currently live in Chicago and applied to SIU with stats above their average and was surprised that they didn't even offer me a secondary. I knew SIU preferred individuals from rural areas but I figured as an IL resident I would get some love.

Although SIU is not a UofC or a NW, I have heard that it actually has a good program and most of its facilities are new, though bcat85 is making me question the first part of the statement.

 

[bcat85]

I currently live in Chicago and applied to SIU with stats above their average and was surprised that they didn't even offer me a secondary. I knew SIU preferred individuals from rural areas but I figured as an IL resident I would get some love.

Although SIU is not a UofC or a NW, I have heard that it actually has a good program and most of its facilities are new, though bcat85 is making me question the first part of the statement.

I think it could be a good program for someone who is into group learning. I have a friend who is a MS II there and she said she likes it but that she never knows what she's supposed to learn because the PBL is really scattered as far as covering the material that will be on the exam. Maybe i didn't give it a real fair shake because I kind of had a bad interview day (cold, boring, I was tired, the students were a little shaky, my interviews were strange, etc.) I suppose that if i had revisited I could have found some more positives to relate. I would definitely recommend checking it out, though I found it just wasn't the place for me.

 

[candbgirl]

You'll do fine in applying at SIU. They almost never interview people from North of I-80 and their whole focus is on underserved communities. However I was invited for an interview in March of my application year after I had been accepted at 4 other schools with seemingly much better reputations. And if the stats listed above saying they only had 1000 apply last year are true that's pretty interesting.

 

[Caesar]

I currently live in Chicago and applied to SIU with stats above their average and was surprised that they didn't even offer me a secondary. I knew SIU preferred individuals from rural areas but I figured as an IL resident I would get some love.

Although SIU is not a UofC or a NW, I have heard that it actually has a good program and most of its facilities are new, though bcat85 is making me question the first part of the statement.

They work through 2 local hospitals, one of which is a level I trauma that is new. They also opened a new Children's hospital, are building a caner institute and have the Prarie Heart Institute. SIU has an amazing system here, (all of my doctors, all of my life have been SIU grads). What I note is that here people like homegrown doctors, they ask quite often where their docs went to med school and when they say "SIU" the patients are always glad. I can't speak about the students since I am not one, but I think you definitely have to want PBL. They do focus on primary care and service in downstate Il, not just under served communities, (they like to staff the hospitals with SIU grads). Preference is given to students from downstate illinois, not just rural. As far as matches, they match students every year into plastics, derm, rads and anything competitive (in fact they offer most of the residencies in springfield also).

 

[nu2004]

I grew up downstate and didn't apply to SIU because of the combination of location and PBL, and also the perceived focus on turning out primary care docs.

Don't get me wrong, i loved growing up down there but i've just found too much in the city to ever live down there again. Also, even though I am a huge proponent of PBL and think I will do well with a few hours of PBL each week, I'm not sure that I would enjoy such a PBL-heavy curriculum, particularly if the students are of the caliber that bcat described.

 

[hypnix]

Is SIU 100% PBL or are there still lectures?

 

[bcat85]

Is SIU 100% PBL or are there still lectures?

There is some lecture, but I think its more of the "this is something that would take us forever to teach with PBL" sort of thing. There isn't any syllabus or anything if that's what you're asking.

 

[hypnix]

There is some lecture, but I think its more of the "this is something that would take us forever to teach with PBL" sort of thing. There isn't any syllabus or anything if that's what you're asking.

So are you assigned to a group of students and you guys just work together throughout the year? Some professor assigns a few cases, you go over it, and then at times, a professor gives a supplemental lecture?

 

[bcat85]

So are you assigned to a group of students and you guys just work together throughout the year? Some professor assigns a few cases, you go over it, and then at times, a professor gives a supplemental lecture?

I think the groups rotate, but thats pretty much the way I understand that it works. The average student debt there is ~145-150k BTW.

 

[DBR]

Guess how SIU determines AOA. They take a vote. You know just like class elections in highschool. The school is really pretty backwards.

 

[hypnix]

I think the groups rotate, but thats pretty much the way I understand that it works. The average student debt there is ~145-150k BTW.

Thanks for all the helpful feedback.

 

[hypnix]

Guess how SIU determines AOA. They take a vote. You know just like class elections in highschool. The school is really pretty backwards.

Could you elaborate please? I'm really interested in SIU.