2017-2018 Jefferson Medical College

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Please post the essays or lack thereof (in addition to word or character counts) in this thread and tag one of the pre-allo mods (WedgeDawg, Ismet, Lucca, or gyngyn) so we can update the OP.

Good luck to everyone applying!

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PGY-1 Jefferson alumni here. Feel free to ask my any questions.

What are your thoughts on the new curriculum? How does it differ from what you went though, and do you think it will be an improvement?
 
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What are your thoughts on the new curriculum? How does it differ from what you went though, and do you think it will be an improvement?
I honestly don't know much about it, but from what I've heard, it sounds like it's going to work well. The emphasis will be on more clinical application of lecture material, which will help you with critical thinking in the long run.
 
I honestly don't know much about it, but from what I've heard, it sounds like it's going to work well. The emphasis will be on more clinical application of lecture material, which will help you with critical thinking in the long run.

Awesome, thanks!

What was your favorite part about the school? And how much time did you have to play games? I'm a huge gamer, so I'm hoping I'll still have the time to keep up with it.
 
Awesome, thanks!

What was your favorite part about the school? And how much time did you have to play games? I'm a huge gamer, so I'm hoping I'll still have the time to keep up with it.

Yoooo nice! If we both end up going to this school we should game together
 
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Something I noticed about Jefferson is that there are so many student organizations. How active are these organizations in the school and how is student life here in general?
It depends. Some organizations will have talks and lunches every couple of weeks, while other groups are very volunteer oriented and go out doing good in the community.

Student life is great. The student body here is extremely diverse, and Jefferson has recently been taking interest in increasing its diversity by admitting people from different backgrounds... History, art, humanities, etc.

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What are your thoughts on the new curriculum? How does it differ from what you went though, and do you think it will be an improvement?
Big change. Unsure if they will pull it off. It will also make for a large number of students in clinical rotations because the next class will overlap due to shorted pre-clinical curriculum. We will have something like >750 medical students on rotations at the same time (not including 20-30 PA students who have rotations that overlap with medicine rotations in some instances) . So everyone will get scattered around and there will probably be a headache that comes with this.
 
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I'm a student at SKMC. This is kind of a misleading statement. Huge class size, but the number of minority students is minimal which is made worse by large class size.
Diversity isn't just about race or ethnicity. Doctor Strange was even specifically talking about educational backgrounds rather than race.
 
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Diversity isn't just about race or ethnicity. Doctor Strange was even specifically talking about educational backgrounds rather than race.

While I agree with that, one of the years has one black male in a class of >260 students. Diversity isn't JUST about race, but it's an important part. It's also a misdirection to say how diverse a school is but only mean because you have a few art history majors.
 
While I agree with that, one of the years has one black male in a class of >260 students. Diversity isn't JUST about race, but it's an important part. It's also a misdirection to say how diverse a school is but only mean because you have a few art history majors.
No doubt racial diversity is important, I 100% agree with you.

I don't think anyone would say that having diversity in undergraduate studies is the ONLY way to be diverse, it was a specific example of a way in which he saw diversity in the student body.
 
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No doubt racial diversity is important, I 100% agree with you.

I don't think anyone would say that having diversity in undergraduate studies is the ONLY way to be diverse, it was a specific example of a way in which he saw diversity in the student body.

Totally agree. I guess my point was, as much as Dr Strange is always spot on about SKMC and is a legend, I think he's wrong on this one.
 
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Strong points being made, and I will concede that my original statement was a little strong. That being said, I think SKMC has come a long way in terms of diversity. Admissions has made diversity of all kinds (educational, racial, LGBT) one of it's biggest priorities in recent years, and the classes that have come in after mine have been increasingly diverse.

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hey all =) will be an M1 this upcoming year (super excited) and will be available to answer questions about the new curriculum's first year as I experience it and anything else about the cycle/Jeff! good luck with the cycle!

Also, I'll be doing an unconventional dual degree so feel free to shoot me any questions related to that, as well =)
 
Hi everyone! I will also be an incoming first year and I am willing to answer any questions about the cycle! I wish everyone good luck!
 
Hi everyone! I will also be an incoming first year and I am willing to answer any questions about the cycle! I wish everyone good luck!
Hi! Did you discuss why you were applying to Jefferson in the secondary essay?
 
Hi! Did you discuss why you were applying to Jefferson in the secondary essay?
Hi! Yes, I believe I did write about the reasons why I wanted to go to Jefferson in my secondary. I think it is always a good idea to let admissions know why you are specifically interested in their school.
 
Hi everyone! Not sure if this is a good question, but MSAR says that's it is June 26th when secondaries are released for Jefferson Med. Does anyone know if this is a solid fact? And has anyone received their secondary yet?
 
No, no secondary for me yet ! Anxious to get started though :oops:
 
Hi everyone! Not sure if this is a good question, but MSAR says that's it is June 26th when secondaries are released for Jefferson Med. Does anyone know if this is a solid fact? And has anyone received their secondary yet?


I think this was last year's date. The AMCAS is submitted to med schools on the last Friday of June. Last year it was June 24th, so Jefferson probably sent out their first secondaries the following week. We can probably expect them July 2/3 this year.
 
I think this was last year's date. The AMCAS is submitted to med schools on the last Friday of June. Last year it was June 24th, so Jefferson probably sent out their first secondaries the following week. We can probably expect them July 2/3 this year.
No, no secondary for me yet ! Anxious to get started though :oops:
Hi everyone! Not sure if this is a good question, but MSAR says that's it is June 26th when secondaries are released for Jefferson Med. Does anyone know if this is a solid fact? And has anyone received their secondary yet?
Hi! I passed through the same thing last year when I was applying. Please do not worry if you did not get a secondary yet. The way that Jefferson does it, is that they download your application off AMCAS and they send the secondaries out in batches. But, everybody does receive a secondary. I expect that secondaries will be released within the next few weeks. But, like I said if you are not in the first few batches do not worry.
 
Anyone else going to use their diversity essay as their secondary question?
 
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Hi! I passed through the same thing last year when I was applying. Please do not worry if you did not get a secondary yet. The way that Jefferson does it, is that they download your application off AMCAS and they send the secondaries out in batches. But, everybody does receive a secondary. I expect that secondaries will be released within the next few weeks. But, like I said if you are not in the first few batches do not worry.

Ah, gotcha, thank you very much for the stress-reducing message!
 
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If you don't mind me asking, why are you unsure that they will pull it off? It seems like they have put quite a few years of planning into this and even held off starting it for a year to work out kinks?
They did trial runs of some things like TBLs for my class and other classes over the past few years. Didn't seem like they took student feedback very well and they fell pretty flat for a lot of students. With such a big class size, more TBL and small group, just seems like a logistical nightmare IMO. I know people on the curriculum committee and they have definitely put lots of work into it, but I would have my reservations. Maybe someone else has more insight than me.
 
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They did trial runs of some things like TBLs for my class and other classes over the past few years. Didn't seem like they took student feedback very well and they fell pretty flat for a lot of students. With such a big class size, more TBL and small group, just seems like a logistical nightmare IMO. I know people on the curriculum committee and they have definitely put lots of work into it, but I would have my reservations. Maybe someone else has more insight than me.

I rarely hear any positive things about TBL I wonder why so many schools insist on using it...
TBL often doesn't make sense until you hit the wards and realize exactly how relevant it really is.

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TBL often doesn't make sense until you hit the wards and realize exactly how relevant it really is.

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this is 100% right. but those things need to be done concurrently to make the most sense. hopefully the JeffMD curriculum does that!
 
Just got an email saying the secondary will be delayed up to 2 weeks due to a new process

Thank you for your interest in Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. We are in the process of introducing a new, exciting admissions portal. As a result, you will not be receiving your invitation to do our secondary application immediately but you should get it within the next two weeks. We are sorry for the delay, but please be assured that the date on which we receive your secondary will not influence whether you will receive an interview invitation or acceptance.
 
Just got an email saying the secondary will be delayed up to 2 weeks due to a new process

Thank you for your interest in Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. We are in the process of introducing a new, exciting admissions portal. As a result, you will not be receiving your invitation to do our secondary application immediately but you should get it within the next two weeks. We are sorry for the delay, but please be assured that the date on which we receive your secondary will not influence whether you will receive an interview invitation or acceptance.

To be honest, getting this email was kind of a relief
 
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Can confirm with everyone here. Seems that this secondary has been delayed.
 
I just hope they don't change the essay
 
We are in the process of introducing a new, exciting admissions portal.

This scares me lol o_O. Maybe it has to do with their union with PhilaU. If they add another secondary question, I hope its not a generic "adversity/diversity/challenge" question...
 
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Just received an email stating

"Thank you for your interest in Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. We are in the process of introducing a new, exciting admissions portal. As a result, you will not be receiving your invitation to do our secondary application immediately but you should get it within the next two weeks."
 
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...I hope we're not talking about a "new, exciting admissions portal" that entails a video. I remember hearing that some schools may move to doing this (I don't remember which). That would be...interesting.
 
The old portal was very basic, so I image they are simply upgrading the platform to centralize your application as well as include more information (stuff from the website but focused on the highlights of Jefferson, JeffMD information, etc).
 
Did everyone who got the above email get it to the email address they put into the AAMC? idk how, I got the same email but it was sent to my personal email that I've put nowhere on my application...
 
From their website, it says that "If individual letters are sent, we prefer one biology, one chemistry, one physics and one humanities." I know it says "prefer," but do you think it's worth the secondary fee if I only have 2 biology, 1 humanities? Anyone else running into this problem?
 
From their website, it says that "If individual letters are sent, we prefer one biology, one chemistry, one physics and one humanities." I know it says "prefer," but do you think it's worth the secondary fee if I only have 2 biology, 1 humanities? Anyone else running into this problem?
I can't imagine many people have such a wide range of specific letters! at least I hope I'm not the only one lol. I only have 2 biology, 1 english
 
From their website, it says that "If individual letters are sent, we prefer one biology, one chemistry, one physics and one humanities." I know it says "prefer," but do you think it's worth the secondary fee if I only have 2 biology, 1 humanities? Anyone else running into this problem?

So I had this same issue and I wasn't even going to send my primary to them because of this and other worries but after some great advice I e-mailed the admissions about the letters that I had and if they would satisfy their requirement and they gave me a letter saying my letters were fine. So just added Jefferson to my list yesterday! Couldn't be more excited, especially since the Dr. I work for went here and he has nothing bad to say at all.

So in all, you won't get your answers unless you ask right? So I would e-mail admissions and ask to be sure but they seemed very flexible.
 
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