2022-2023 Chicago Med (Rosalind Franklin)

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Pre-II rejection. Complete 8/31/2022. Best of luck to everyone else :)
 
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Members don't see this ad :)
do IIs/pre-II Rs show up on the portal somewhere?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Still waiting to hear back. Submitted 09/17 and marked complete by RFU 10/14
 
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Did you guys get an email when you were placed on the alternate list? I interviewed 11/8 and was expecting an email update. But I just checked today and on the portal it has the option to confirm my place on the alternate list. Did anyone else have this experience?
 
Is it worth trying to go to the in-person tour without an II to try to show interest? or is that just a waste of time/money? Just got the email about it and debating making a chicago trip
 
wahoo.med said:
Is it worth trying to go to the in-person tour without an II to try to show interest? or is that just a waste of time/money? Just got the email about it and debating making a chicago trip
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+1, got one before also and didn't attend due to conflict and waiting for an II
 
wahoo.med said:
Is it worth trying to go to the in-person tour without an II to try to show interest? or is that just a waste of time/money? Just got the email about it and debating making a chicago trip
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I personally think it’s a waste because I went after an II and there was like over 100 students there and you don’t really speak to people 1:1 unless you approach them. I spoke to the Dean for a bit and he was super nice! He even wished me luck, but I still got waitlisted lol. So if your really interested in the school and want to see what it’s like then I would say yes, but if your going solely for the reason that you want to show interest it probably won’t make a difference.
 
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wahoo.med said:
Is it worth trying to go to the in-person tour without an II to try to show interest? or is that just a waste of time/money? Just got the email about it and debating making a chicago trip
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I went to the tour and got an II later, but they may have not been correlated. I thought it was a good opportunity to at least get dressed up and introduce myself to some of the folks at the school. Plus, it's a good opportunity to see the school. If you're local, I would consider it.
 
ucband said:
Would you be able to share what dates were available to interview?/when they are booking out to?
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So this was about a month ago and they were booking Dec 6 and 13. Not sure what dates they’re booking now, however I would say there was a good 2 week buffer between the invite date and first available date :)
 
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I didn't apply here but I just received a handwritten letter to apply here, did anyone else get one of those??
Edit: I just saw the application deadline has passed lol why did they send this to me now haha
 
Medical_dummy said:
I didn't apply here but I just received a handwritten letter to apply here, did anyone else get one of those??
Edit: I just saw the application deadline has passed lol why did they send this to me now haha
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They do this often lol its nice. I got one when I was looking at SMP programs as well. V personal. If the deadline passed it probs just got to you late
 
Hi everyone! I'm a fourth year medical student at CMS, currently applying to residency. Posting to make myself available if anyone has any questions, now that I've gone through pretty much the entire gauntlet of being a medical student at this school. Feel free to ask whatever throughout the year - tag me and/or send me a private message and I'll try my best to help.
 
lionWushi said:
Hi everyone! I'm a fourth year medical student at CMS, currently applying to residency. Posting to make myself available if anyone has any questions, now that I've gone through pretty much the entire gauntlet of being a medical student at this school. Feel free to ask whatever throughout the year - tag me and/or send me a private message and I'll try my best to help.
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Would you choose this school again if you had to go back in time and apply to med schools?
 
premedbedhead said:
Would you choose this school again if you had to go back in time and apply to med schools?
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I would! Overall, I enjoyed my time in medical school and at CMS. I think in the medical school subreddit there's a lot of doom and gloom about school admin and clinical years, but I didn't really experience those adverse experiences at my school. I thought that administration did come around to do the right thing for our class during the pandemic, and I had a positive experience in my clinical rotations.
 
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lionWushi said:
I would! Overall, I enjoyed my time in medical school and at CMS. I think in the medical school subreddit there's a lot of doom and gloom about school admin and clinical years, but I didn't really experience those adverse experiences at my school. I thought that administration did come around to do the right thing for our class during the pandemic, and I had a positive experience in my clinical rotations.
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Is the Neuro block as bad as people say it is? :))
 
Ebonylmocanu said:
Is the Neuro block as bad as people say it is? :))
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Definitely the toughest block of preclinical year. I will say however that it really prepared me for Step 1, so much to the point where when preparing for Step 1 + 2 I saw a neuro question and I knew I was going to get the question right lol. I do think it also prepares you well for the neuro rotation (easy honors for me). Came in handy when my actual Step exams were pretty neuro heavy.
 
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lionWushi said:
Definitely the toughest block of preclinical year. I will say however that it really prepared me for Step 1, so much to the point where when preparing for Step 1 + 2 I saw a neuro question and I knew I was going to get the question right lol. I do think it also prepares you well for the neuro rotation (easy honors for me). Came in handy when my actual Step exams were pretty neuro heavy.
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How is the location? Are there things to do/ is it really far from the city?
 
beginningswitch2 said:
How is the location? Are there things to do/ is it really far from the city?
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Admittedly, the campus itself is not exactly in the most vibrant location (faculty will even joke about this). It's the suburbs. North Chicago is about 40 minutes away from the city itself by car/over an hour via Metra. It is not a neighborhood in the north side of the city, so brace for a culture change if you're a city person. Food options improve dramatically if you drive down to Vernon Hills which is about a 15-20 minute drive, and continues as you drive towards the city itself. I spent many weekends downtown or sometimes in.... O'Tooles lol so I wasn't bored or anything.

The cost of living I will say is pretty affordable, particularly if you live in Navy housing - a common off-housing option that's a 2 minute drive/15 minute walk away from campus where rent is 300-500 per month. On campus/Woodlands are a little more expensive (don't remember the exact numbers, like 800 to 1200 per month but an m-1 might need to correct me on this). It's definitely a safe area, although you'll need a car while here.

tl;dr - affordable, safe, you need a car to do fun things
 
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lionWushi said:
Hi everyone! I'm a fourth year medical student at CMS, currently applying to residency. Posting to make myself available if anyone has any questions, now that I've gone through pretty much the entire gauntlet of being a medical student at this school. Feel free to ask whatever throughout the year - tag me and/or send me a private message and I'll try my best to help.
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does the school offer any help when it comes to the match process or are you left to figure it out on your own?

and what are your thoughts on rotations? ie their locations, setting them up, communication about them with admin, problems within rotations, best places to do rotations

thank you!!:)
 
lionWushi said:
Hi everyone! I'm a fourth year medical student at CMS, currently applying to residency. Posting to make myself available if anyone has any questions, now that I've gone through pretty much the entire gauntlet of being a medical student at this school. Feel free to ask whatever throughout the year - tag me and/or send me a private message and I'll try my best to help.
Click to expand...
How often did you go to campus during your preclinical years? Im sure its changed with Covid but just wondering how often student meet in person for required things and extracurricular activities?
 
II Just now! OOS LM 73, WARs 90. Any insight into interview date from those who have already interviewed? Options are tomorrow and Jan 10th for interviews.
 
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changingovations said:
does the school offer any help when it comes to the match process or are you left to figure it out on your own?

and what are your thoughts on rotations? ie their locations, setting them up, communication about them with admin, problems within rotations, best places to do rotations

thank you!!:)
Click to expand...

Match process: On a general level, I say they have been helpful. In the beginning of M4 year, you have the option to sign up for an "M4 Development" elective (which also offers credit that counts for graduation) which basically keeps you on track to develop a list of programs to apply to, drafting your noteworthy characteristics on your MSPE, writing rough drafts of your personal statement and ERAS supplemental app, and other things I'm forgetting off the top of my head but are needed for residency applications. You get feedback for each of these as well. Personally I've been getting many interviews - almost all of them said my PS was glowing, and I think the elective helped with that. Faculty are accessible for mock interviews as well which has helped with my interview days.

The other thing that was nice was that for my class (and the Class of 2022 who just graduated) we were allowed to apply for an additional 2k to help offset the costs of residency applications, which can get pretty expensive just like medical school admissions. Not everyone got it because they didn't apply for it, and it was first come first serve but I think everyone who applied did (hopefully I am not wrong). Everyone I talked to at least got it. You just have to look out for an email saying applications are open and you're good.

In terms of drawbacks, I think the amount of additional support you get will vary per specialty. One of the biggest things to keep in mind when selecting a medical school is that CMS does not have residency programs in many departments, although the school does its best to pair you with a mentor in a field of interest. Additionally, there are fourth year electives in pretty much every specialty I think, and being in/near Chicago helps with building a professional network for those who are proactive.

Rotations: Oh man this is a big topic haha. I will try to break it down the best I can. Basically how it worked for my class is:

1) There is a given order of specialties that you rotate in (my class was IM, EM/neuro, FM, surgery, psychiatry, OB, and peds, but I think the order has changed for the current M3s). You rank your preference on which specialty you start with, and then you proceed through your clerkships in the above fixed order (peds -> IM and then you continue sequentially).
2) After you have your fixed order of specialties, you rank your preferred sites per clerkship. There are many sites per clerkship and it can be overwhelming at first, however students from previous years will always compile a yearly spreadsheet of clerkship reviews, giving you a rundown of their experiences per site. It was a helpful and honest resource overall for me and I'd say overall I had a smooth clinical experience (keeping in mind the chaotic nature of clinical rotations in medical school everywhere). Best places to do rotations depends on clerkship and clinical interests. Advocate Lutheran and Advocate Christ are consistently good for most/every rotation.

As mentioned there are a wide variety of rotation sites, some of which are a couple minutes walking distance and others which are farther (think Rockford, Barrington). The farther rotations aren't exactly the most desirable but people make it work. For example, the Rockford rotation for FM and Kenosha rotation for surgery are both lauded for its education opportunities and interactions with clinical staff, but the drives are brutal especially coming from the city. RFU does get periodic SSARP Emergency Grants which helps with resulting finances (can't guarantee this will be here for incoming M1s since it's COVID related) but you do have to apply for them.

Kirby101101 said:
How often did you go to campus during your preclinical years? Im sure its changed with Covid but just wondering how often student meet in person for required things and extracurricular activities?
Click to expand...

An M1/M2 is better suited to answer this, but in my M1 year Pre-COVID I was on campus for 2-3? times a week which slowly dwindled to 1-2 times as we progressed through the curriculum. M2 was virtual for me so can't comment.
 
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lionWushi said:
Match process: On a general level, I say they have been helpful. In the beginning of M4 year, you have the option to sign up for an "M4 Development" elective (which also offers credit that counts for graduation) which basically keeps you on track to develop a list of programs to apply to, drafting your noteworthy characteristics on your MSPE, writing rough drafts of your personal statement and ERAS supplemental app, and other things I'm forgetting off the top of my head but are needed for residency applications. You get feedback for each of these as well. Personally I've been getting many interviews - almost all of them said my PS was glowing, and I think the elective helped with that. Faculty are accessible for mock interviews as well which has helped with my interview days.

The other thing that was nice was that for my class (and the Class of 2022 who just graduated) we were allowed to apply for an additional 2k to help offset the costs of residency applications, which can get pretty expensive just like medical school admissions. Not everyone got it because they didn't apply for it, and it was first come first serve but I think everyone who applied did (hopefully I am not wrong). Everyone I talked to at least got it. You just have to look out for an email saying applications are open and you're good.

In terms of drawbacks, I think the amount of additional support you get will vary per specialty. One of the biggest things to keep in mind when selecting a medical school is that CMS does not have residency programs in many departments, although the school does its best to pair you with a mentor in a field of interest. Additionally, there are fourth year electives in pretty much every specialty I think, and being in/near Chicago helps with building a professional network for those who are proactive.

Rotations: Oh man this is a big topic haha. I will try to break it down the best I can. Basically how it worked for my class is:

1) There is a given order of specialties that you rotate in (my class was IM, EM/neuro, FM, surgery, psychiatry, OB, and peds, but I think the order has changed for the current M3s). You rank your preference on which specialty you start with, and then you proceed through your clerkships in the above fixed order (peds -> IM and then you continue sequentially).
2) After you have your fixed order of specialties, you rank your preferred sites per clerkship. There are many sites per clerkship and it can be overwhelming at first, however students from previous years will always compile a yearly spreadsheet of clerkship reviews, giving you a rundown of their experiences per site. It was a helpful and honest resource overall for me and I'd say overall I had a smooth clinical experience (keeping in mind the chaotic nature of clinical rotations in medical school everywhere). Best places to do rotations depends on clerkship and clinical interests. Advocate Lutheran and Advocate Christ are consistently good for most/every rotation.

As mentioned there are a wide variety of rotation sites, some of which are a couple minutes walking distance and others which are farther (think Rockford, Barrington). The farther rotations aren't exactly the most desirable but people make it work. For example, the Rockford rotation for FM and Kenosha rotation for surgery are both lauded for its education opportunities and interactions with clinical staff, but the drives are brutal especially coming from the city. RFU does get periodic SSARP Emergency Grants which helps with resulting finances (can't guarantee this will be here for incoming M1s since it's COVID related) but you do have to apply for them.



An M1/M2 is better suited to answer this, but in my M1 year Pre-COVID I was on campus for 2-3? times a week which slowly dwindled to 1-2 times as we progressed through the curriculum. M2 was virtual for me so can't comment.
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super helpful!!! thank you so much for the reply! greatly appreciated!
 
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Kirby101101 said:
How often did you go to campus during your preclinical years? Im sure its changed with Covid but just wondering how often student meet in person for required things and extracurricular activities?
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Hi, I'm an M1 at CMS. I attended 3 lectures at the very beginning (about 4 months ago) to see if I liked them and have not attended any lectures since then. The recordings are all uploaded (after a 24-48 hour delay), and the PDF/PPT slides are provided on our portal. I personally only use Anki to study and do not watch lectures/look at many lecture slides.

There are some incentivized/mandatory sessions, but not all are in-person. I go in about once per week on average for workshops.
  • Lectures are not mandatory
  • Clinical Reasoning workshops (e.g. how to take vitals/perform an MSK exam/Cranial nerve exam/etc.) are in-person and will take place about once a week. These are mandatory
  • Some earlier case discussions/workshops were in-person (e.g. History taking, schema case, etc.) and mandatory
  • Our current schema/case discussions are virtual and mandatory
  • There are some in-person group discussions and labs that are incentivized or not mandatory
  • There are some virtual schema cases/discussions that are not mandatory nor incentivized
  • Quizzes are virtual, and exams are in-person

I can't really speak for many clubs, but the clubs I'm a part of will meet once every 1-2 weeks.
 
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How long does it usually take for them to send the decision?
 
II received on 12/12. Complete 9/20.
cGPA 3.69, sGPA 3.57, MCAT 517
Grew up in Chicago. Living in MKE now.
 
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Any chance for another round of decisions before adcoms take a break for the holidays?
 
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