Questions for Einstein Students

[OldBlue]

I am very excited to say that I have been accepted to Einstein for the fall. I have a few questions that I was hoping could be answered by some current students as the May 15 deadline rapidly approaches. I'll get straight to it...

Housing:
-I hear students are not necessarily guaranteed their own room in the on-campus apartments and that some convert the living room into a bedroom. How frequently does this occur? Is there any way to avoid this situation?
-If one finds oneself in the above situation and would prefer to find alternate housing, how feasible is off-campus housing in the surrounding area?

Parking:
-While I'm hoping to bring a car, I hear there is a waitlist for the parking garage. Is that true and, if so, how long is that waitlist? If one doesn't come off the waitlist in a timely manner, what other options are there aside from the outside lot?

Curriculum:
-Do many students find the lack of recorded lectures problematic?
-How much, if at all, does Einstein's explicitly-stated goal of promoting careers as generalist physicians (stated on the website) permeate the curriculum? For those of you hoping to specialize, do you find your preparation adequate?
-With third year being entirely filled with required rotations, does one have enough exposure to other fields to make an informed specialty decision (more of a general question, as I think many schools lack third year electives)?
-Exactly how well do Einstein students do on the USMLE? What is the preparation for the USMLE like there and was it sufficient? While the website says "five points higher than the mean," I do not know how recent the mean to which they refer is.

Other:
-What is the percentage of students who get one of their top residency choices? Do students have difficulty matching on the west coast (in any specialty)?
-While I do not focus much on USNews rankings at all, are there any specific reason why Einstein has dropped significantly over the last few years? Just curious if there is anything underlying about which we are not hearing.

That's pretty much it. I would appreciate answers to any of the above questions, even if it's just one or two. Feel free to PM me if you'd prefer.

And lastly...many, many thanks.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Rendar5]

I don't have time to answer all the questsion have to run soon. But in terms of housing, if you get a studio you get a studio. You may not get one as a single person until 3rd year. if you get a 1-bedroom, you will convert it to 2 rooms and a living room type area. if you ahve a 2-bedroom, you will convert it to 3 rooms and a living room type area. A lot of the time it's already set up for you. You don't want to bother with off-campus housing honestly unless you're 40 and married or something like that. I know it sounds crappy, but trust me it really isn't at all. you've got more than enough room for your needs.

Parking: the wait list is short, just apply for it now. you have indoor monthly parking and slightly cheaper outdoor monthly parking right next to us.

Lectures: lectures suck and don't work for 95% of ppl. So the lack of recorded schedules won't matter at all. Hell, by 2nd year majority of class stops going to lectures because honestly you learn better on your own and using the printed out syllabuses. I think recorded lectures are largely a waste of a school's money as is forced attendance.

US News & World doesn't really say anything about a school except how good the research environment is for hardcare researchers. I don't know where we are currently. I know we had slipped 5 or 6 years ago to under Sinai and NYU, even though we're an equivalent school. It probably has to do with research funding, which means it'll probably start going back up with the new translational research building. Which I have never used.

Matching: we match just fine on the east and west coast. If you want to match ont eh west coast, you probably should really send schools you're applying to a letter or indicate it in your personal statement why you' want to go to California. East is obviously easier because schools on the east are more familiar with us.

USMLE: what you get is largely about you and not the school. All you need for step 1 is the internet and 5 solid books and knowing how to take a standardized test well. I don't think school prep makes that much of a difference. The mean step 1 changes quite a bit from year to year. class of 09 (i was 08, not includng myself in this) pretty much destroyed the test. class of '10 didn't do nearly as well. If they say 5 points above the mean they prolly mean that class.

 

[Rendar5]

whattaya know I'm a faster typer than I thought.

Does the mission of producing primary care permeate the clinical years? Yes. Too much imo, but then again, I'm going into emergency, the opposite of primary care in many ways . I do think the lack of elective time in teh 3rd year is an obstacle. However, I am continually surprised that each year, some specialty or another has a huge number of ppl applying into them. I honestly have no idea how. For instance, last year a large number of ppl went into radiology. This year there was a large number of ppl going into EM. How they discovered their interests I don't know. What I can tell you though is that 4th year is being much more streamlined from next year on so there will be more elective room. And in 3rd year, there is a 2-week period where you can shadow/work in any esoteric medical field you want. One of my best friends last year discovered she wanted to be a pathologist cause of that. And another discovered optho, and another discovered uro.

I know a lot of my answers in the last post seemed very anti-school. But you'll be very surprised how being way past the preclinical years totally changes your views and understanding of what's important in a school and what isn't.

Just realize I'm having massive amounts of senioritis atm And I came to my school instead of a higher ranked school and don't regret my decision at all. Just make sure you have a car or become friends with someone who has a car from ur parking question i'm sure that's not an issue.

And last note ion the housing to make you feel better. While it sounds horrible that "omg we're using a living room as a bedroom", the apt's really are designed to house ppl that way. I had a 2-bedroom for my first 2 years, and I lived in a regular room. My roommate had the living room partially walled of so that he had a room just as big as mine. And we still had a good-sized living room after with a couch, large table, 2 chairs, and a tv. And the kitchen still had space for a dining room table. The 1-bedrooms once walled off offer slightly less living room space and a lot of ppl just decide to have really large rooms and use those for company or use the dining room for company. Right now I live in a really large studio for <$600/mo and I don't think I'll afford something this nice during residency when I"ll be spending $1200/mo on an apt. So I'm enjoying it for my last month here.

 

[OldBlue]

Thanks for your replies Rendar! I appreciate the time you took to do that. Feel free to add anything else if you think of it. Overall do you feel satisfied with your decision? Did Einstein prep you competitively for your specialty?




Oh, and I guess pre-allo is the right place for non-premed/non-admissions related questions to med students? Thanks mods. I put this in allo so it would be easier for current students to see it and reply...especially since I've already been accepted to the school.

 

[Rendar5]

whatever grumbling you ever hear from me, I'm very satisfied with my decision. I'm going into residency feeling strongly prepared for it. And I feel that most of the other students are going to go into their residencies strongly.

 

[PhilaMdSt2009]

Hi all, I'm seriously considering AECOM but still am a little foggy on housing. Rendar, you mentioned that when you get put in a 1 or 2br apartment someone usually get's stuck in the living room. I know one can get really good dividers and stuff but how much privacy does that offer???

Also can any current Einstein students give approximate dimensions and costs of the housing for each type, 1br 2br studio etc and how hard it is to get each one for first years?

Thanks!!

 

[Rendar5]

Hi all, I'm seriously considering AECOM but still am a little foggy on housing. Rendar, you mentioned that when you get put in a 1 or 2br apartment someone usually get's stuck in the living room. I know one can get really good dividers and stuff but how much privacy does that offer???

Also can any current Einstein students give approximate dimensions and costs of the housing for each type, 1br 2br studio etc and how hard it is to get each one for first years?

Thanks!!

You get walls built in. We're not talking exposure, we're talking conversion. Studios are hard to get 1st year unless u're a couple. cost is 400-550/mo off top of my head.

 

[LaLu112]

I'm also seriously considering AECOM, and I appreciate your input Rendar!

I have a few more, completely random questions:

How are the study spaces at AECOM? i.e. where do most students study, is it hard to find quiet places to work etc

How many weeks do you have at the end of 2nd year to study for step 1 (i.e. is there ample time to study and take a few weeks off before starting 3rd year)?

Finally, do you know how many 4th year electives can be done as away rotations?

Thanks so much!

 

[Rendar5]

I'm also seriously considering AECOM, and I appreciate your input Rendar!

I have a few more, completely random questions:

How are the study spaces at AECOM? i.e. where do most students study, is it hard to find quiet places to work etc

How many weeks do you have at the end of 2nd year to study for step 1 (i.e. is there ample time to study and take a few weeks off before starting 3rd year)?

Finally, do you know how many 4th year electives can be done as away rotations?

Thanks so much!

i guess the study spaces in my time ok, and I had time to chill and study for step 1 at the end of my year, but realize my answers are quite dated. Supposeedly and from what little I've seen of the library, the study spaces are much much much better. I would still rather study at Panera over some sandwiches. The thing to realize is that pre-clinical years are a world away from clinical years and what you think is important about schools now really isn't. Just about the only thing I think you should look for in the pre-clinical years when judging schools is whether they block their exams or not. That you can do that at Einstein. which means 2 weeks having fun, then 2 weeks studying, rinse and repeat. If you'd rather have a constant test hanging over your head every week or two in order to motivate you and keep you going at a steady pace, pick a school that doesn't block. As for the rest of it, you could honestly do the first 2 years of any med school spending 90% of your class time at the local Barnes & Noble

Honestly, the biggest shame of med school admission process is that all tours and information generally comes from 1st or 2nd years, but the meat of a school is always in the 3rd and 4th years when you're forced through the grinder. But then again, would you really want to spend every interview day listening to cynical exhausted med students?

Now the electives question ,there's some meat. You can take as many away electives as you want. You just have to make sure to finish your 4th year requirements: 2 sub-I rotations, 1 neuro rotation, and 1 ambulatory rotation (unless you get out of that one). That leaves 9 rotations to do with what you will. Assuming the structure of 4th year doesn't change any more in that time.

In the end, for ppl wanting to go into clinical medicine: if you like the students you met here, if you're ok paying more than you would at your in-state public med school, if you don't mind living in the Bronx or NY in general, and if you realize that cars are the best way to get around here if you wanna get away from your apartment (unless you wanna take an express bus to the city), then come on over.

 

[OldBlue]

Now the electives question ,there's some meat. You can take as many away electives as you want. You just have to make sure to finish your 4th year requirements: 2 sub-I rotations, 1 neuro rotation, and 1 ambulatory rotation (unless you get out of that one). That leaves 9 rotations to do with what you will. Assuming the structure of 4th year doesn't change any more in that time.

In the end, for ppl wanting to go into clinical medicine: if you like the students you met here, if you're ok paying more than you would at your in-state public med school, if you don't mind living in the Bronx or NY in general, and if you realize that cars are the best way to get around here if you wanna get away from your apartment (unless you wanna take an express bus to the city), then come on over.[/QUOTE]


Rendar, you rule...we appreciate your answers. A couple more if you don't mind...
1) can any of those 9 rotations be for research? (if so, can you set up one of those 2 or 5 month Einstein research grants for that time?)
2) along those lines, do you think Einstein sets students up well for academic medicine careers?

 

[Rendar5]

I think that residency more than your med school will st you up for academic medicine. I know that I'd like to go into it eventually after earning some money in community medicine.

And actually research is required here. I think 1 month minimum, bu it's common to do 5 month research projects. The only thing is that you're required to find the mentor and set up the project. It's not gonna be set up for you.

when i say clincial medicine, I'm just excusing my comments from ppl going in to become research scientists or public health officials because I don't know much about what's good and what's needed for that.