All the inside scoop on Sackler - once and for all!!!

[GetaLife]

1) Average MCAT 27, Average GPA 3.3 - 3.5
2) Knowing Hebrew/Israeli background a plus, lots of kids have Israeli parents and came here every summer. Interview plus: Show strong conneciton to Israel, relevant experience THERE! Hebrew! (Russian or Arabic also good)
3) You wont get a good shot at top 5 residencies (derm, optho, ent, ortho, neuro) but last year 50 graduated and all 50 got goood residencies inclusing general surg, ER, int med, etc. Most NY at NY hospitals/
4) Most people came here cause nothing in US came through, so keep in mind if you didnt get 90% on MCAT (33+) what makes you think youll all of a sudden ace the USMLEs and kick butt on them which are 5 times harder. In otherwords, be realistic - it may not be sackler keeping you out of derm...
5) if you are zionist, love israel, dont want to pay $37K a year tuition, or didnt get in and dont want to go DO or carib, consider it the ebst option to be some kind of fully licensed US doctor.
6) FYI - I got over 30 on MCAT, 3.5 GPA rom top 20 IVY, speak fluent Hebrew, and didnt get in anywhere else. Also i didnt want to be derm, optho, ent, ortho, neuro so life for me is GREAT!
Shalom, out!

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[Dr.Wolkower]

I think you are knocking sackler for no reason-there are lots of alumni I know who are in top positions and doing top residencies if they get great grades at sackler and if they do well in their clerkships in israel and do well in their subinternships and electives in the USA.

Sackler is better then many medical school and there are alot of losers in medical schools who are lousy doctors from the USA.

In my class at sackler there were many non jewish people and I could not speak Hebrew and all of us are successful.

Actually some of the non jewish people learned hebrew better then others.

In Israel everyone of the teachers and staff you need to interact with speak english and most citizens speak english as well as i speak medical spanish

It all depends on the person-

 

[hope280]

Dr. Wolkower, You surprise me for a physician who graduated medical school almost 25 years ago. People on this website are looking for peoples' honest opinions and appreciate whatever wisdom they can share and obviously take everything with a grain of salt as they are taking advice from a stranger. The previous poster was talking directly about his class which i am sure he is more well informed than you. My point is simply this: Because you constantly defend Sackler to death making it seem like the ultimate perfect school (which obviously no school is, not even the big H in Boston) your opinion becomes very biased and people cannot take what you say seriously. I also do not understand how come you pick so many fights on this website, definitely not the characteristic of modesty that most doctors have. In truth, I was going to attend Sackler this upcoming Aug. and got very excited about the school because I learned that it was an excellent school whose students love it and receive a great education. However, I was accepted at a US school and will attend there because it is closer to my family, no concerns about terrorism, and more likely to get a better residency. I still believe that Sackler is a great school though but like every other school it does have some faults. Dr. Wolkower, i hope you take what i say to heart because your experience and opinions could be useful to some people.

 

[Dr.Wolkower]

Hi hope -



everyone is entitled to their opinion even me and all the other people in the world.

hope first correction i graduated 19 years ago not 25,started med school at age 20 but I am yearly involved with this medical school I know whats going on

hope i agree with you that you need to take everyhing with a grain of salt on this board - I'm sure you agree that if you are saying things and naming people on this board you should allow them to respond and identify yourself by name?

I am not sure what you are talking about concerning picking fights -unless a difference of opinion and the right to express it is your definition of "picking fights."
On your comments concerning modesty of most physicians please pm me about your opinion in this area after you finish your residency-you are in for quite a surprise.

On terrorism-i really dont believe your statement that you had no concernsin Israel---
And we are at work Hope-we are in an orange alert you better get used to be concerned about terrorism because you are going to learn alot about chemical, biologcal and dynamite treatment for patients in trauma over the next 8 years
When i visit israel its always on my mind but its a risk that i can live with and have lived with during the war in 1982.

good luck in med school

 

[Dr.Wolkower]

Hi hope,

forgot to add
I am giving my honest opinion as I see it.


good luck in school-pm me if you need advice and want objective opinion

 

[YML]

whats the tuition at sackler???

 

[Dr.Wolkower]

everything on sackler that you want to know

http://med.tau.ac.il/ny/


cost-here is the link

http://med.tau.ac.il/ny/expenses.htm


I hope this helps Yaniv

 

[YML]

Thanks Doctor W,
I am considering applying to sackler and have a few questions.
Can you PM me with contact information?

 

[milanrp]

I am considering Sackler for '05 admission. The education is first rate and I'm confident that it will prepare me for a rewarding career in the US. My only concerns are:

Do non-jewish students feel like "outsiders" in the country, hospital, with patients?

I'm a personable and friendly person, but I worry about not being able to make friends and meet people. I assume that the class is a relatively tight group. Is it as easy to go out and meet people as it would be in the states.

I don't really see/think/care about race in the US, but wonder about how the Sackler experience changes, if at all, for an American of Indian descent.


Thanks in advance for your insight.

 

[Dr.Wolkower]

When I was in sackler in my class 25percent were non jews mainly christians. There were catholics and jews,muslims as medical students . My first roomate was muslim at the dormitory.

Israel doesnt discriminate against its citizens unless you are a terrorist.


There is a large Indian community in Israel.

I dated Israeli women made friends with Israeli medical students and had a great time there.

It all depends on your attitude

 

[alev]

Dr. W - you praised sackler b/c of their lower med school costs amongst other things- however - relatively low is still 22,000 in tuition - if one were interested in moving to israel would it make more sense to learn hebrew and try to get into an israeli med school rather than going to a med school in israel but having to take an american loan to get through the four yrs and then in turn having to take an american job to pay off the loan?
btw - thank you for the web site links (and for anyone interested in going to med school in israel, there's also the international med school at Ben Gurion University in Be'er Sheva, and Technion med school in Haifa, and i think a program in Hebrew U in Jerusalem)