Drexel IMS Students... where are you??

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jaadu1981

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First off I would like to say this forum rules as I have attained so much knowledge prior to this. You guys are really helpful in all. Now I have a question for those who have attended the Drexel IMS program.

I've just recently been accpeted and am planning to attend this falll. However I have a few questions.

First off, I know that getting the A's and B's isn't an easy task in the program. Therefore I wanted to actually get a little bit of a headstart in studying for some of the courses. For example I was going to pickup my Bio Chem Text book from senior year in undergrad and start reading, but somethign tells me it might not be the same material being taught int he program. I would like to hear from those who've attended if they can give me some tips and pointers in how to get a head start in the studying part and what to start studying, so I have a better chance of doing well in the program.

Second question is, that I heard that when students are enrolling for their first semester, financially, they have to come up with the money out of pocket for tuition and housing, because the loans dont kick in till a month later. Is this true? And if it is, what is the usual way most people approach this, credit cards or is their a better way?
 
J...1981,

My wife and I just returned from Philadelphia (we found a beautiful apartment). Anyway, I will be starting the IMS program this fall too. Personally, I would advise against a "head start" on studying just so you don't burn out or cover info that will not be tested (as there is a TON of info to digest for each test--21.5 hours the first semester).

Maybe CaptainZero can elaborate about getting a head start. See you in August.

drumming 😀
 
Just cutting and pasting part of one of my responses from another thread:

As far as preparing ahead of time...I have to ask, Why? My advice would be to relax and enjoy your summer, you'll be studying PLENTY over the next 10 months that by the end of it you'll be dying for a month off. Additionally, there is SO much information in the text books and you really have no idea what you will be expected to learn until the classes start, so you might end up studying stuff you won't need to know anyway.
If you are adamant about study this summer, I would focus on Bio Chem, Physio and Immunolgy. Don't buy the required texts for these classes (see one of my previous posts in this thread about advice on buying books). Instead, buy USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Exam) prep books - First Aid and Pre Test are the best in my opinion. But honestly, even these overview type books are pretty overwhelming for "summer study". I really think studying over the summer will have little if any benefit to you.
Just work hard once you're there and you'll do fine.
Good luck next year.


I'll clarify a little more...if you're adamant about studying this summer, forget the physio and Immuno...just focus on the metabolic pathways for BioChem...Beta Oxidation, Glycolysis, Glycogenolysis, BCAA Metabolism, FA Metabolism, TCA cycle, gluconeogenesis, pentose-phosphate pathway, ox. phos.,...I think that's all of'em 😱 . I can tell you right now that you'll need to know all of them inside and out.
I maintain previous advice though - just wait until the course starts and enjoy your summer.
 
drumming207 said:
as there is a TON of info to digest for each test--21.5 hours the first semester).

drumming 😀
Click to expand...

What does that mean?
 
what does that mean?
Click to expand...

It means that there is a TON of info to learn the first semester in the IMS program. See below:

Fall 2004:

Medicine and Society I 3.0 credits
Medical Biochemistry I 7.5 credits 😱
Medical Physiology I 3.5 credits
Basic Immunology 1.5 credits
Cell Biology & Microanatomy I 5.0 credits
Medical Nurtition 1.0 credits

TOTAL: 21.5 credit hours for the Fall Semester

I hope this helps.

drumming 😀
 
Hey guys, I have a question:

1) I wrote an email to some medical schools to get an idea of how competitive my med school application would be if id be submitting my application really late in the entire process - Jan '05, and below are two examples of some of the types of replies I have been receiving. My question is, how did 65% of students that are in the IMS program get into a medial school, if many med schools are not willing to review the application past those deadlines?

Thank you for your interest in the University of Vermont College of
Medicine. For your information, the average undergraduate GPA for our
matriculating students has been a 3.4 to 3.5 for the last several years.
The average MCAT has been between 9 and 10 in each sub-test.

All materials (including grades from coursework in process) must be
received by December 31st to be considered part of your application.

Thank you for your continued interest in The George Washington University School of Medicine. We truly regret that so many applicants cannot be interviewed by our admissions committee. We do have one of the largest applicant pools of any medical school. This past year we had 9,000 applicants for 1,000 interview spots for just 150 seats in the incoming first year class.

There are many aspects of an application that we focus on. We evaluate GPA (Science - average 3.6 and Overall - average 3.55), MCATs (average 10s in each section with a P in writing), graduate coursework (if over 12 credits), letters of recommendation, medically-related experiences (volunteering in a doctor's office, clinic, hospital, etc), research, extracurricular activities, work experience, community service and leadership experiences. For more information on the medical school, please consult our admissions handbook or our website at http://www.gwumc.edu/edu/admis . Please also visit www.aamc.org for additional application information.

You should note that due to the timing of the medical school application process, we cannot hold application review for Fall grades. Fall grades are usually not available until late January/early February. We begin interviews in September and complete the interview season by March. As such, most medical schools will not be able to see your Fall coursework. You should speak with an advisor in the program about the timeframe for applying as well as for feedback on what other students in the program have done in the past.

If you have questions about your competitiveness and wish to strengthen your application, you should speak with a premedical advisor or other trusted faculty member regarding your very specific and personal concerns. They can offer you some perspective relative to other students from your college or program.

We wish the very best in all your future endeavors.
Sincerely,

GW Med Admissions
 
You're best bet in the IMS program are schools that are familiar with it and have admitted students in the past. These schools know that your Fall grades will be available in Jan and will keep your application out of the reject pile until they recieve them. This being said, some of these schools rejected me right off the bat.
You're addmission has a lot to do with the relationship you form with a particular school. If theres one school that you really want to go to and have some kind of link to eg state school, call or write the addmissions director or dean and ask if they have heard of the IMS program and if it would improve your chances of addmission. This starts a dialoge that is valuable in getting in. If a school knows you or remembers you name and situation, they will be more likely to wait until Jan. Other schools dont give a crap what program your in if you dont meet the minimum standards. Remember that many students who do well in the IMS program end up at Drexel. If all else fails you still have a good shot at matriculating there.
A couple of tips for all of you who are entering the program next year. 1) get a tutor. These are available for free and are and endless supply of back tests and hints as to what was heavily tested last year. 2) Study the S out of the Weight Loss module. This is the topic of the biggest test of the Fall semester. This midterm dictates how you will do in Biochem and thus how likely you are to get into school the first year. Cheers
 
First of all...as I mentioned in a previous post, The percentage (65%) of accepted applicants out of IMS is exagerated. IMS is run like a business. They want to make money and attract students. strecthing their stats is one way to do that - they make themselves look better. Also, included the IMS applicants are the students that did the MSP program last year and are doing IMS this year. They have an advantage in that they get to apply early and they can submit their application as complete with their MSP grades. Later in the year (after 1st semster) they forward their IMS grades as an add-on/update to their application, rather than a required aspect of it. The thing about doing just the one year of IMS (like you are) is that you don't have anything new to add to your previous year's application until January. This is why your IMS transcripts are mandatory, rather than an update like the students that did MSP last year. Does that make sense?
The fact of the matter is that many schools that you apply to during your IMS year will not even consider your application if it won't be complete until January. I know that's why I got rejected from my state school - if they (UConn) don't have everything by Dec. 31st, your application gets scrapped. Many schools do this, no matter how many letters of intent you write.
That said, here are some schools that don't:
Drexel
NYMC
UMDNJ RWJ
Albany - Although they do require a current letter of rec from a faculty member at Drexel before December. Because your faculty letter won't be ready until january, you can send out the IMS Information Sheet (A form letter available in the IMS office) with your secondary and a letter of intent.
Tufts
There's probably many more...I think most DO schools will hold off if you send them a letter of intent explaining your situation.
Also, your e-mail from UVM - that Dec. 31st deadline basically just means that they're going to look at your application (as it is) on December 31st. However, it might not actually get to commitee until the end of January/February - by which time they will have your 1st semester IMS transcripts and will throw them into your file.
I think the best thing to do would be to call the school's you're thinking about applying to and see what they say. Just explain your situation and the way IMS works...most of them are probably familiar with IMS already. The summer is a good time to make that call because AdComs and their office staff are a lot less stressed, so they're more likely to be friendly and helpful.
 
Hey guys,
Thanks so much for the advice. I actually did as you said, to call up the schools personally and turns out that NYMC college was well informed of the IMS program and the lady on the other end made a point to remember my name. Kinda made me excited to be on the right track.
Considering that I MUST do well in order to succeed, i was wondering whether you guys can give me an idea of what your daily routine would be like? Study schedule? Were exams from different subjects ever scheduled for the same day? Are the quizzes as hard as the tests? Thanks
 
jaadu1981 said:
Hey guys,
Thanks so much for the advice. I actually did as you said, to call up the schools personally and turns out that NYMC college was well informed of the IMS program and the lady on the other end made a point to remember my name. Kinda made me excited to be on the right track.
Considering that I MUST do well in order to succeed, i was wondering whether you guys can give me an idea of what your daily routine would be like? Study schedule? Were exams from different subjects ever scheduled for the same day? Are the quizzes as hard as the tests? Thanks
Click to expand...
I really should be cramming for my neuro final right now, so I'm going to be brief:
Daily routine: 1 hr - 2 hrs of studying in the evening/night for every hour of lecture that I attended during the day.
I would start reviewing for exams about a week to a week and a half in advance of the test day. For one physio exam I kept tract...almost 17 hours of preperation...and that was for just one of 4 exams that week.
Yes, you do have multiple exams in one day (not as much in the beginning of the year, but defnitely as year progresses you'll have multiple exams in one day).
On average, I would say that the quizzes were of about the same difficulty as tests...
 
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