Drexel Med Class of 2011

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Haemulon said:
Another thing I noticed about the curriculum is that IFM students get very little gross anat the first couple of months and instead focus on microanat and biochem, genetics type material. I'm guessing this not only matches their modular symptom-based approach better, but also gives the PIL students a chance to hit the gross lab hard right at the beginning. I'm really looking forward to starting!
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PIL not only hits it hard, but they're done by the end of October. :thumbup:

IFM's first module is fundamentals, which is pretty much histo/micro, tons of biochem, and genetics. The only "gross" stuff they have earlier on is embryology, which is just a bunch of lectures. :sleep:
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Hey guys!
I have lived in Center City Philadelphia for a few years and lived in a suburb of the city for years before that. I would be more than willing to give some advice to those of you relocating here for school. Just let me know what specific questions you have.

I definitely suggest using craigslist as your primary means of finding an apartment or house. As far as free services go, it's the best!
 
Bernie3144 said:
PIL not only hits it hard, but they're done by the end of October. :thumbup:

IFM's first module is fundamentals, which is pretty much histo/micro, tons of biochem, and genetics. The only "gross" stuff they have earlier on is embryology, which is just a bunch of lectures. :sleep:
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The second module is Abnormal amniocentesis right? And that doesn't have very much gross either. More genetics, biochem, histo, etc.... I actually kinda like it, hitting all of that stuff hard right up front. Dissection is not really my favorite thing anyway though. Not that I mind doing it, its just that I have just always found it to be a lower-yield activity (picking through adipose tissue and scraping fascia, etc...) as compared with other types of learning/studying. Its definitely necessary though.
 
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Has anyone received their financial aid package? Or know when we should expect to hear? I submitted my FAFSA before I knew I was in.
 
Haemulon said:
The second module is Abnormal amniocentesis right? And that doesn't have very much gross either. More genetics, biochem, histo, etc.... I actually kinda like it, hitting all of that stuff hard right up front. Dissection is not really my favorite thing anyway though. Not that I mind doing it, its just that I have just always found it to be a lower-yield activity (picking through adipose tissue and scraping fascia, etc...) as compared with other types of learning/studying. Its definitely necessary though.
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Yep abnormal amnio is basically the same stuff as fundamentals, but they never actually hit up the anatomy lab until mid-september in the muscle weakness module. By this time, PIL is basically half-way through gross.

I also like the 2 straight months at the end of first year that is all clinical experience.
 
melast said:
Has anyone received their financial aid package? Or know when we should expect to hear? I submitted my FAFSA before I knew I was in.
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Crap. I need to get mine in. I don't know why I keep putting it off. Probably because my parent's info isn't yet available. Thats it. I'm doing it tonite (hope I didn't miss any deadlines).

Edit: Yep, i'm screwed. Deadline for FAFSA to be considered for the "Full range of financial aid options" is March 1 for new students. May 1 is absolute deadline. Crap. Ok, maybe 5 days late isn't so bad?
 
I can't wait to meet you all. I started the Drexel class thread after I was accepted in November, but it got removed when not too many classmates posted :( Srp204, I'm from Lehigh too
 
Haemulon said:
Crap. I need to get mine in. I don't know why I keep putting it off. Probably because my parent's info isn't yet available. Thats it. I'm doing it tonite (hope I didn't miss any deadlines).

Edit: Yep, i'm screwed. Deadline for FAFSA to be considered for the "Full range of financial aid options" is March 1 for new students. May 1 is absolute deadline. Crap. Ok, maybe 5 days late isn't so bad?
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My understanding is that their aid is rolling, so they kind of have to say this, but that 5 days won't make a big difference :luck:
 
Thanks! Has anyone had any luck finding housing near school? I heard the best time to find a place is after match :luck:
 
Baroness312002 said:
Thanks! Has anyone had any luck finding housing near school? I heard the best time to find a place is after match :luck:
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I'm already living around the corner from Queen Lane and was able to find it using craigslist. The year before I lived in Manayunk which is a few miles away.

Manayunk is pretty nice and has a larger area that could be considered a "good" area to live in. 1-2 blocks north or east from where I am right now by Queen Lane would not really be considered safe. There is also a lot more to do in Manayunk (main street/ridge) than out here by Queen Lane with a decently young crowd consisting of students and recently graduated people working in Philly. It is also a bit cheaper than going out into center city/old city. Cons: There are a lot of hills, side streets are very narrow and very difficult to navigate/park, especially in the snow!.. the school is further away and you will probably need a car. SEPTA is pretty good for getting into center city from Manayunk, but is really not efficient in getting you out to Queen Lane.

Living near the school is very nice if you like to be close enough to get to class by walking (or rolling out of bed 10 mins before and running out the door). The shuttle to center city is at Queen Lane and is included with tuition to take during the week (people say free, but when looking at the cost of tuition, nothing here is actually free). The R8 train station is also fairly close if you live very close to the med school or the R6 if you live south in east falls.

Craigslist is good to find things, but there are many places on there that look good but are just not in a good area/a lot worse in person. Whoever is here for school and is certain they will be somewhere else next year, they usually need to notify their landlord earlier on so that the landlord can find people to come in as soon as the other people leave. I would say it would be a decent idea to start looking for places throughout May or the beginning of June. Anytime after this is risky, especially since most landlords want students to be in their apartments on June 15, July 1, or July 15.

As far as parking, last year, unlimited parking at any time for the entire year was $400 for students. I'm not sure if it will be the same next year... but I will put money on it not decreasing. If you live anywhere near the school I highly recommend getting this parking pass... even though there is free parking on most of the streets in the area, I would not count on it being free (you or your insurance company may end up paying for damages/losses due to theft). Personally, I have not had a problem when leaving my car out on the street when it's insanely cold out and I do not feel like walking back (knock-on-wood cause it's out on the street right now).
 
Hey, I just got the invite for the "Accepted Students Day" on March 31. I definitely want to attend, how about the rest of you? Who else is going?
 
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I think I will be attending as well. Any idea if the hotel will be at a discounted price? Its going to be expensive for me to find plane tickets from Az with less than a month notice:(
 
I would definitely be interested in attending.. esp since I'm trying to convince my SO to move to Philly with me. But I haven't got the invite yet! Whats up with THAT?
 
I'm definitely going to go, but I haven't received the invite either. Snail mail. ugh.
 
Yep got the email today. You're so lucky- I'd rather be in Amsterdam :)
 
I'm planning on going. Maybe they will answer some of my financial aid questions...:rolleyes:
 
Why have I not heard from them about the admit day :cool:
 
Holy cow. I just tried crunching some numbers with regard to student loans, as well as trying to buy a house in the area. :eek: I have no idea how I am going to afford any of this, even with my wife working. I am thinking I will probably need a house instead of a small apartment because of having 3 kids and all. Real estate is just so high everywhere though. I am even looking across the river in NJ to commute in. Anyone else commuting into school from outside the city?
 
Well, I haven't received any personalized financial aid info yet, but the school is supposed to budget $1,025/month for housing - though I'm not sure what "varying by year" means.

This is going to be nauseatingly expensive no matter how you look at it, but I'm sure that we will all be able to hunt down enough loan money to cover it. Paying it back is the scary part :laugh:

As for commuting, I'm not sure yet.. it will depend if my SO moves with me and we split a commute between his work and my school. If you're buying, I would recommend trying to be near one of the hospitals associated with Drexel where you can do most of the required rotations. You probably thought of that already though.
 
Has anyone received any schedule or hotel info for accepted students day?
 
I got a 36 MCAT (12, 12, 12) and have a pretty mediocre 3.3ish GPA. I have some pretty stellar leadership roles and some research. Do you think I have a shot at Drexel?
 
Haemulon said:
Holy cow. I just tried crunching some numbers with regard to student loans, as well as trying to buy a house in the area. :eek: I have no idea how I am going to afford any of this, even with my wife working. I am thinking I will probably need a house instead of a small apartment because of having 3 kids and all. Real estate is just so high everywhere though. I am even looking across the river in NJ to commute in. Anyone else commuting into school from outside the city?
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Across the river is Camden, NJ which was the crime/murder capital of the country a couple of years ago. And the commute would be long. Don't they adjust the budget for married students? I would look into this. $1000 is a really low budget, I don't know why drexel did that. Aren't they supposed to overshoot? Also there's got to be some cheap housing way north of philly. Maybe by some no-name exit off of the pennsylvania turnpike. I think King of Prussia, Valley Forge, Bridgeport are probably off the list. But I once drove west on Rt 1. way past St. Joseph's University and it seemed like it was country-ish. Drive around until you find the boonies....then get the name of the town, and maybe a realtor. Grocery stores always have apt/housing listings by the entrances. Hopefully you won't have to resort to any of these awful suggestions. I would get another private loan just to live comfortably if I were you. You will make the money to pay it back.
 
Kriyaban said:
Across the river is Camden, NJ which was the crime/murder capital of the country a couple of years ago. And the commute would be long. Don't they adjust the budget for married students? I would look into this. $1000 is a really low budget, I don't know why drexel did that. Aren't they supposed to overshoot? Also there's got to be some cheap housing way north of philly. Maybe by some no-name exit off of the pennsylvania turnpike. I think King of Prussia, Valley Forge, Bridgeport are probably off the list. But I once drove west on Rt 1. way past St. Joseph's University and it seemed like it was country-ish. Drive around until you find the boonies....then get the name of the town, and maybe a realtor. Grocery stores always have apt/housing listings by the entrances. Hopefully you won't have to resort to any of these awful suggestions. I would get another private loan just to live comfortably if I were you. You will make the money to pay it back.
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Yeh, I know about Camden. There is no way I would live there. I was actually thinking a little further west, like in Cherry Hill. But I know that it would probably be a good 40 minute commute or so. Tough decisions. I definitely want to drive around up there and get the feel for the area. Guess I'll know more then.
 
melast said:
Well, I haven't received any personalized financial aid info yet, but the school is supposed to budget $1,025/month for housing - though I'm not sure what "varying by year" means.

This is going to be nauseatingly expensive no matter how you look at it, but I'm sure that we will all be able to hunt down enough loan money to cover it. Paying it back is the scary part :laugh:

As for commuting, I'm not sure yet.. it will depend if my SO moves with me and we split a commute between his work and my school. If you're buying, I would recommend trying to be near one of the hospitals associated with Drexel where you can do most of the required rotations. You probably thought of that already though.
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Yeh, your right about the paying back part. Yikes! :eek: I already have 55k in loans for grad school, so another 60k/year at Drexel (plus interest accrual during residency) will put that baby up to like 300k. Kinda makes me want to throw up. Taking a conservative starting pay of 125k/year (about 7k/month net), those loans would eat up the better part of 4k/month for 10 years. The remaining 3k/month doesn't really allow for much of a lifestyle!
 
I called the office (because I am impatient like that:) ) and the lady I talked to said she thought it would be coming out within the next couple days. By the way she was talking about it though it seems the hotel information is the same as the discounts for the interview.
 
Haemulon said:
Yeh, I know about Camden. There is no way I would live there. I was actually thinking a little further west, like in Cherry Hill. But I know that it would probably be a good 40 minute commute or so. Tough decisions. I definitely want to drive around up there and get the feel for the area. Guess I'll know more then.
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Hey if you are really considering a commute you should think about looking somewhere in Delaware. I live in DE and worked in Philly during my summer breaks and I had about an hour and a half commute to center city via septa or it would probably be smarter to drive which would take a little less from areas north of Wilmington. And right now real estate is pretty cheap, but def. expanding so you might even end up with some money in the bank if you decide to sell and move after medical school.
 
arboth said:
I got a 36 MCAT (12, 12, 12) and have a pretty mediocre 3.3ish GPA. I have some pretty stellar leadership roles and some research. Do you think I have a shot at Drexel?
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yes... I got an interview there... and I have similar (maybe a bit worse) stats... you might get in to some top notch schools depending on your explanation for that 3.3
 
Would any of you guys pick Drexel over your state school? I'm accepted at Wayne State, and I feel like I would fit there, but I have nothing to compare it to... I'm a bit short on cash, but if my parents have to, they'd help me get out to philly... Is it worth it? What are some good/great points of Drexel?
 
UMP said:
Would any of you guys pick Drexel over your state school? I'm accepted at Wayne State, and I feel like I would fit there, but I have nothing to compare it to... I'm a bit short on cash, but if my parents have to, they'd help me get out to philly... Is it worth it? What are some good/great points of Drexel?
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I have to say, if I get off of the waitlist for my in state school, its going to be a very tough decision. I like Drexel's curriculum and facilities better, and escpecially how well everything is integrated with internet technology (all lectures are videotaped and posted, as well as the reading material for the class, even histo-slides. ) Plus, Philly has some awesome clinical and research opportunities. However, the drawback is the cost. The difference is considerable. Adding to this is the cost of moving and getting a new place, which I would not have to do if I stayed in-state. Real estate has gone up (for buying as well as rent), so it will be tough. In short, I prefer Drexel for the education experience, but my state school for practical / financial reasons. We'll see what happens. As of now, its not an issue, but could be in a few months.
 
Haemulon said:
I have to say, if I get off of the waitlist for my in state school, its going to be a very tough decision. I like Drexel's curriculum and facilities better, and escpecially how well everything is integrated with internet technology (all lectures are videotaped and posted, as well as the reading material for the class, even histo-slides. ) Plus, Philly has some awesome clinical and research opportunities. However, the drawback is the cost. The difference is considerable. Adding to this is the cost of moving and getting a new place, which I would not have to do if I stayed in-state. Real estate has gone up (for buying as well as rent), so it will be tough. In short, I prefer Drexel for the education experience, but my state school for practical / financial reasons. We'll see what happens. As of now, its not an issue, but could be in a few months.
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When I interviewed at Drexel, the guy that spoke to us (Dean of Admissions?) said to go to your state school over Drexel if you are accepted to both. That was always in the back of my mind. It's a personal decision though...
 
melissainsd said:
When I interviewed at Drexel, the guy that spoke to us (Dean of Admissions?) said to go to your state school over Drexel if you are accepted to both. That was always in the back of my mind. It's a personal decision though...
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Hmmm. Interesting. I wonder what reasons he has for that?
 
anyone get anything but loans from fin. aid office? any scholarships and how much? just wondering

I got loans and work-study.
 
cdarnay said:
anyone get anything but loans from fin. aid office? any scholarships and how much? just wondering

I got loans and work-study.
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Just loans here. :( But I don't think that there is a whole lot of scholarship money available at Drexel from what I have heard.
 
still waiting to hear back from some NY schools, but as of right now it looks like i'll be with you all in Philly :thumbup: - which i'm really very excited about

i was wondering what you all think about the habitation situation, :cool:

should we be looking for places now? i have been thinking that since this is not a novel situation at Drexel Med, which is to say that there has never been any on-campus housing, that Drexel must have had some type of "plan" or "system" for setting med students up with off-campus housing... was this very nieve of me? :rolleyes: haha, probably...

question 2: do you think we'll need cars?

finally, is anyone here going to the re-visit day for accepted students?
 
Has anyone been to the residential life website: http://www.drexelmed.edu/PostBaccPr...rces/CampusInformation/tabid/685/Default.aspx
the link there for local appartment complexes doesn't work and the contact person doesn't reply to emails (is drexel even a real med school?) has anyone been able to get this list or contact anyone about housing?
my real question if anyone knows is: does drexel offer any housing or is it all off-campus find-on-your-own housing?
thanks
 
Hi everybody. If anyone here has received work-study funds, could you please tell me how much you were awarded? Thank you!
 
AnthonyNY said:
still waiting to hear back from some NY schools, but as of right now it looks like i'll be with you all in Philly :thumbup: - which i'm really very excited about

i was wondering what you all think about the habitation situation, :cool:

should we be looking for places now? i have been thinking that since this is not a novel situation at Drexel Med, which is to say that there has never been any on-campus housing, that Drexel must have had some type of "plan" or "system" for setting med students up with off-campus housing... was this very nieve of me? :rolleyes: haha, probably...

question 2: do you think we'll need cars?

finally, is anyone here going to the re-visit day for accepted students?
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I will be going to the accepted students day and during the trip I am going to look at some apartments. The only thing I know that Drexel offers is this: http://webcampus.drexelmed.edu/Housing/
I am not sure about the car thing but I am bringing one.
 
Hi all,

this is my first post on this thing but i was accepted into drexel and am going to accepted students day. are you guys staying for saturday night or are you leaving during the day?
 
I will be staying the night, but to tell you the truth I am surprised to have no information about the day yet. No hotel information, no schedule, ... nothing. Its only a week and a half away! :eek:

Edit (about 11am): Just received the information. Looks like the day is in some ways similar to interview day, without the interviews. I guess I just want to visit again to poke around the area a little and talk with some of the current and future students. I think the afternoon "student slideshow and panel discussion" and the evening dinner may offer some good insights. Hope to meet some of you there. Where are you staying?
 
Ok I'm glad that no one has received the schedule...does anyone know if this is the time to bring family to see the school? Not a significant other, but family who really wants to see the school. I dont think the invitation even said what time the day began? Anyway, please keep us posted if anyone hears anything, I would call, but my voice is totally busted from a case of bronchitis and I think they would have trouble understanding my questions. I guess I will be meeting a lot of you soon!

Edit--H: did you get the information in the mail or via email? Or did you call? My mailbox is kinda covered with snow so my mail delivery has not been regular...I might have to go to the post office.
 
star6927 said:
Ok I'm glad that no one has received the schedule...does anyone know if this is the time to bring family to see the school? Not a significant other, but family who really wants to see the school. I dont think the invitation even said what time the day began? Anyway, please keep us posted if anyone hears anything, I would call, but my voice is totally busted from a case of bronchitis and I think they would have trouble understanding my questions. I guess I will be meeting a lot of you soon!

Edit--H: did you get the information in the mail or via email? Or did you call? My mailbox is kinda covered with snow so my mail delivery has not been regular...I might have to go to the post office.
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I just got the schedule minutes ago. The day starts at 9am. It does not mention anything about bringing family, and the day looks pretty rigidly scheduled. Including breaking off into group sessions. Actually, the invitation and description of the day seem particularly focused on the student, and not additional visitors. You can always call and ask though.

Edit: I got the info via email.

Additional edit: There is actually only a "virtual" tour scheduled it seems. And not a real tour of the campus. Although I am sure we will be free to walk around after the presentations.
 
i was curious to know the date of this day?
 
Haemulon said:
I
Edit (about 11am): Just received the information. Looks like the day is in some ways similar to interview day, without the interviews. I guess I just want to visit again to poke around the area a little and talk with some of the current and future students. I think the afternoon "student slideshow and panel discussion" and the evening dinner may offer some good insights. Hope to meet some of you there. Where are you staying?
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Most of the hotels that I called on their list are already full if you plan on staying Fri and Sat nights. :(
 
what hotel is everyone staying at? which have room? im plannin on staying fri and sat nights also
 
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