<p>It was really dissapointing. If it wasn't nearly free I would not be considering it. My friend felt the same way.</p>
<p>in termz of quality of education, facilities, neighborhood, stuff like that.</p>
<p>makshim I thought open house waz good. mad informative.</p>
<p>Well, I went to the Open House and I'm applying and I have to say that my opinion was overall pretty positive. I won't say the financial thing isn't a huge deal for me, because it is, but Sophie Davis has some great opportunities. For example, although it is common for pre meds at normal four year colleges to volunteer in local hospitals, how common is it for them to get the kind of hands on exposure to primary care that Sophie students get? For those of us who are really sure that primary care is what we want within medicine, this is an incredible advantage. Also, you can't underestimate the advantage of no MCATs and the ability to go through your undergrad years without having to stress SO much about getting into med school. Instead of worrying all the time about buffing your application and studying for the MCATs, you can take the time to explore your interests and really enjoy your experience, or so I think. Also, Sophie Davis is small, which I think will give it a really good learning environment, and I hear they have great academic support services, which is something I doubt you'd get from other med schools. Plus, you get out in seven years instead of eight and you get to start taking medical courses right away, which could make you feel like you were really taking a step towards your future instead of biding your time until medical school. Finally, from what I saw of the CCNY campus, it is quite pretty, and new york is a good location.</p>
<p>To be fair, I guess I'll also say the disadvantages I see. If anyone wants to refute them, they can feel free, but this is what I think. Undoubtedly, four year colleges, especially private ones, have some resources that Sophie/CCNY can't muster. We could be sacrificing that "college experience" that is such a stereotypical dream for us right now. I've noticed that departments such as women's studies aren't as strong at CCNY as at the other colleges I'm looking at, so if you want to minor or take electives in an area like that you could be at a disadvantage. Also, not such a great dorm set up, in my opinion (only the towers and I guess some people still have to live off campus). Also, being around only med people for five years could lead to a bit of a lack of diversity in viewpoints and interests that wouldn't happen in a four year college.</p>
<p>Overall, looking at my list, and especially with financial considerations having as much weight for me as they do, I feel like Sophie is a good choice. I took the open house with a grain of salt, personally. I mean, it's pretty impossible to get the feel of a place in that setting. I know they have an accepted students' reception type thing, and (if I make it that far -crosses fingers-) I'm counting on that to give me a more accurate portrayal of what the school is like, because it will be a smaller group and hopefully will allow for some more individualized Q & A as well as the opportunity to meet potential future fellow students.
Anyway, what I'm saying is as a fellow Sophie applicant, I can see where you're coming from, but I can also see a lot of advantages that Sophie has. So, anyone have any comments on my exhaustive analysis? ;)</p>
<p>wow, long post. But for the most part I agree. The only thing i don't really like about sophie davis is their push for primary care.</p>
<p>primary care: we do get a lot of exposure to primary care, both in the classroom and in "hands-on" experiences (as much as students are allowed according to the law). but there's no push. we're taught the importance of primary care, but we're still encouraged to find our own places. don't worry, they are not bent on brainwashing impressionable young minds. lol</p>
<p>even if u go to a regular college, u have to make the effort to get to know other people. it's no different at sophie (ok maybe u have to make a <em>little</em> more effort lol). talk to people in ur elective classes. go to ccny club meetings. go to national conferences (you'd be the youngest ones at medical conferences lol).
it's harder to get people together just b/c a lot of people commute (the Towers are nowhere near enough to house everybody, and they're unfinished and extra-expensive to boot), but it's not impossible.</p>
<p>sophiedavisfan01:</p>
<p>sophie vs. brooklyn ba/md
caveat: as a sophie davis student with no acquaintances in the bklyn ba/md program, I haven't paid attention to bklyn ba/md since 2003.</p>
<p>major diffs that influence everything else u asked about:
bklyn ba/md = total 8 years, full college requirements, MCAT, and med school is Downstate.
sophie = total 7 years, skip 1 year of college (stuff docs don't really use), no MCAT, and med school is one of 6 schools (nyu, dartmouth, downstate, stonybrook, new york medical college, albany med college).</p>
<p>I don't know how strict bklyn ba/md is now... in 2003, i was told you could apply to other med schools if u think ur app is strong enough, but u lose the 'guaranteed' spot at Downstate.</p>
<p>quality of education--it's just different. at bklyn ba/md u get 4 years of college. if ur in the cuny honors program, u r encouraged to take humanities classes. At sophie, u have less time for regular college courses. ur not allowed to enroll in the honors program (i think there's not enough time to complete all the requirements) u don't have to take as many humanities classes, but that shouldn't matter if u know what u want to do; there is time for electives. for the motivated student, there is even time to earn a minor (in addition to your "major" of "biomedicine") with your BS degree.</p>
<p>facilities--in terms of facilities for medical education, bklyn ba/md = Downstate. I think sophie is better, compared to Downstate. Sophie doesn't have its own medical library, but i don't think u really need it, even if ur doing research (especially now with all the online resources). If u happen to need it, u can ask for permission to visit other medical schools' libraries. sophie's anatomy lab is excellent. i don't know how long he's staying, but we have Dr. Estomih Mtui teaching anatomy (google him). :D</p>
<p>i don't know about Downstate's schedule, but sophie has recently switched to a block system, which is very nice. u get to focus on 1 subject at a time. it feels a little rushed sometimes, but if u can manage your time well, i think it's less stressful than the traditional schedule. Fewer time conflicts (like having 2 or 3 major exams in 1 week).</p>
<p>neighborhood--really, neither is in a savory neighborhood...
i've visited bklyn college a few times, and maybe it's just b/c i am around ccny more, but i prefer to be in the area around ccny. it's also easier to visit midtown & downtown manhattan. if u plan to do extracurricular activities off-campus, travel might be easier if u go to sophie/ccny. (both bklyn college and downstate med school are in the middle of brooklyn, which is like the middle of nowhere :P) it might not seem like a big deal right now, but in the grunt of things, travel time for everything will become an important consideration.</p>
<p>For me, the "primary care push" is one of the hugest advantages Sophie has, so I guess that's just a difference of opinion type thing.</p>
<p>actually, if I had to guess, I would probably be doing primary care. But I would like to experience other specializations.</p>
<p>Fortunately, going to Sophie does not preclude that. :D</p>
<p>does Sophie sent notifications of interview by email or is it mostly mail?</p>
<p>thanks sar, sophie's sounding pretty good. what classes r u taking now, and overall are you glad about going to Sophie?</p>
<p>They send them out only by mail, as far as I know; I have never heard anything from them by any other method.</p>
<p>Yeah i think it's just by snail mail.</p>
<p>I'm on the last leg of my Sophie journey, so I'm only taking med classes. (if i want to, i could still take some more electives in the summer, or squeeze it in during the fall or spring.) I'm currently taking pharmacology, and in another 2 weeks or so i'll be taking immunology/microbiology/pathology. The school integrates subjects as well as having a block schedule. It's a fairly new change that was phased in over a few years, but I think for your class it's going to be firmly in place. You can ask about this during the interview.</p>
<p>There are ups and downs, and honestly you'll hear some students say they can't wait to get outta here. But overall, I am very glad to be at Sophie and I think those students just don't realize how lucky they are. ^_^</p>
<p>For example, if you fail a class (which you should try not to do in any case, but you know, things happen), you have a chance to re-take the year & keep going in the program. You'll be spending 1 more year at Sophie, but with that failing grade, you'll have a much higher chance of getting a MD degree in the US than you would in the traditional route. If you fail a class with an average that can be salvaged by one more exam (50/50), you are allowed to review for the class and take that exam. If you pass, you don't have to stay an extra year.</p>
<p>Some people complain that we have fewer breaks, but really, what did they expect when they signed up for an "accelerated" program? lol The new curriculum gives more breaks than before, but you should still be prepared to have some long burns.</p>
<p>A relatively small class size definitely has its perks. Sometimes it doesn't help because the school does budget according to class size, but professors are generally more accessible.</p>
<p>I hear that despite the small class sizes, cliques still form. But that's really up to all of you who choose to attend...</p>
<p>Oh, more:</p>
<p>I felt no pressure while choosing courses for the required elective credits; I just took classes in whatever I was interested in. Though this means I don't have time to earn a minor in anything, I at least have a background on which to build if I later decide to pursue anything else. Some of my classmates decided to take "easy" classes just to relax, and that's fine too (but if u want to go to nyu or dartmouth that might not be enough). For the motivated student, it's even possible to do 2 minors. I don't know why someone would want to do that, but... <em>shrugs</em> you can if you want to. lol</p>
<p>I was concerned about the quality of CCNY classes, but I think it was okay. There are professors and TAs like any other college. We use the same textbooks, learn the same basic things. You probably won't meet mad geniuses or the children of powerful people, but I didn't care about that. lol</p>
<p>I'll post again if i think of anything else y'all did not ask me. haha
jk- you've probably already considered all this. i'm just adding my 2c as a 4th year Sophie student :)</p>
<p>I'm leaving for my interview now :) Hopefully I can convince the Sophie people that I'm a good fit :) -crosses fingers-</p>
<p>thanks sar. i can see that ppl may want to leave, i bet the work gets tiring and stuff. i mean, i can't wait to leave hs, and work wasn't so bad here! but ur right, it's a gr8 opportunity to become a doctor, especially in the us, so ppl really can't complain... too much.</p>
<p>that's curious how you g2 take significant electives to have a better chance at nyu and dartmouth. what do you consider about the med school match choices? are they all good, or are you better off at nyu or dartmouth? </p>
<p>are you doing those student interview things sar? my friend said they did those last year and that they were pretty cool.</p>
<p>how went the interview, tryp?</p>
<p>All med schools are great. :P</p>
<p>They each have their pros and cons, and I'm sure those change over time. It just so happens that, due to the prestige of nyu and dartmouth and because each accepts only about 5 students each year, there is more competition for those schools. so if u and other applicants have basically the same applications, your elective choices might help them decide. (i'm just speculating here)</p>
<p>Since I have no doctorly connections, I don't really know if we'd be better off in one school or another. Since we will rotate through different health centers and different specialties, and meet all sorts of random patients regardless of what school we're in, it might not matter at all. Some med schools even share medical facilities. But I hear that you meet cooler teachers and you might make better connections at more prestigious schools, which is more important for specialists and aspiring researchers than it is for primary care docs... cost is also a factor for some people, esp. those who are set on being primary care docs (in which case your med school doesn't matter too much). Stony Brook and Downstate don't cost a lot because the govt helps pay for in-state students.</p>
<p>i'm not doing interviews. i might scare people away. lol i'm fairly articulate on written media, but the verbal one is something i need to work on if i decide to go into a social medical field like psychiatry. i might do it next year, at least once before i leave the school. I know some of my classmates are doing them this year, though.</p>
<p>a person from sophie davis called me today and told that I was still missing parts of my application, so i guess they are still sending out interview notices.</p>
<p>So, I had my interview today. I think it went fairly well, actually, because my interviewers said I seemed very intelligent and said they liked a lot of my responses. Overall, though, the students I met seemed pretty unenthusiastic about the school, and seemed more interested in talking it down than talking it up. Even one of my interviewers told me some negative things about the school, which sets off some major red flags for me...</p>
<p>how long were the interviews? ( i heard that there were 4)</p>