Hello to all Sackler students Fall 2006

[Gpugems1]

I just wanted to start a thread for all the sackler students that will be starting school in the fall. I personally have not been accepted but have interviewed and hope to get in. Just wanted to start a thread in order for people to get to know each other a little bit and have some kind of communication with the people we will be sharing the next four years with. Hope this goes well, :D

[agolde5044]

Hey,
I have also interviewed with them and hope to get accepted. I process if very long and I have not heard anything back. When did you have you interview? Where are you from?

[Gpugems1]

Hi I had my interview on friday the 24th of April in nyc. But I live in Rochester, ny. Goodluck and hope you get in.

[ytg]

Hi I had my interview on friday the 24th of April in nyc. But I live in Rochester, ny. Goodluck and hope you get in.
Did you mean of Mar.? anyways its good to hear that you're so optimistic. I interviewed beginning of Feb. and still did not hear from them really hope to hear soon.

[maji]

Wow, thats sorta discouraging, you interviewd in feb and havent heard either way? I just interviewed this past friday the 31st in Houston, TX.

Seemed to go well, hope Ill be there or the school im waitlisted at in texas.

Ill let the boards know when I hear , either way.

[The Waiting Place]

I too was interviewed in NYC in March. Does anyone have any idea of how long it takes to hear back from them?

[maji]

I dont know, I imagine they wait till near the end of the interviewing period. Has anyone called not to bug them but to confirm that their interviewer has sent the required stuff back? Has anyone ever talked to them on the phone, and if so, are they friendly?

[Gpugems1]

Hello everybody, I am glad to say that I have been accepted to Sackler and am psyched about attending school in August. I got a letter of acceptance this past saturday which was approximately two weeks after I was interviewed. I hope that the rest of you guys and gals hear back soon, and don't get worried if you don't, I am sure different interviewers take different amount of times to get back to the people they are supposed to get back to. Hope to see all of you in august and update the thread with any acceptances, thanks.

[The Waiting Place]

Hey
Received my acceptance letter today. I am really psyched. Now I have a really tough decision to make... Sackler or Technion! Can anyone shed some light?

[maji]

Did yall recieve it email or snail mail? my 2 weeks is friday!!! GASP im nervous, i so want sackler.

[irina2]

Hey
Received my acceptance letter today. I am really psyched. Now I have a really tough decision to make... Sackler or Technion! Can anyone shed some light?
well there are just a couple of factors to cosider
Where would you like to live, Haifa or Tel Aviv? Apperantly more things happen (social) at Tel Aviv.
The class sizes at sackler are much larger than Technion. Technion got really small classes, so that can be either bad or good.
In terms of getting residencies in states, they both got the same stats. Sackler is bit more known in NY, and one of the reasons is the number of students graduating from sackler's program is much larger than Technion (again class size)
but come'n it's Technion, it's very well known, it is one of the top universities of the world. Noble prizes, research....
But what is important in graduating from foriegn medical school, is how well you'd perform in school, and your rank among others.
I've heard that sackler students get almost the second yr off to study for USMLE, whereas at Technion you got to do all by yourself.
technion's calender goes by israeli schools, sackler goes by american.
i don't know about sackler, but you can do your electives in US at technion
well good luck with your decision

[irina2]

one more thing, i know that technion students were able to get into competative residencies
go to Technion's class of 2006 and NY-rob gives a list

[Gpugems1]

They send it by mail. and for Irina2, you should definitely pick sackler and let me lay down the reasons for ya. First of all the school is in Tel Aviv, say no more. Second of all the Sackler name is definitely more well known than technion and gets better placements into residency from what I have heard. The lady that interviewed me was a sackler alumni and psychiatrist working in nyc, can't get much better than that. and the third reason, you already know a cool person haha. WEll goodluck with the decision and maji, don't sweat it, you will get in.

[cubsfan27]

I got a Sackler interview invite just yesterday. Man, they are fast. Tel Aviv University if my #1 choice.... I hope I get accepted.

Does anyone have any advice for my interview...

[WaitWait]

Hi , I have just recieved a letter from the school saying I am wait listed .
I would like to know from the people accepted when is the due date for you to say if you are going to sackler or not.
I just need a date to look forward too
Thank you.

[maji]

I got a Sackler interview invite just yesterday. Man, they are fast. Tel Aviv University if my #1 choice.... I hope I get accepted.

Does anyone have any advice for my interview...


Just relax, they dont ask much, but Id come with some good questions for them bout the school. Course, who knows if that worked for me, will find out soon :confused:

[The Waiting Place]

Does anyone know when Sackler orientation begins for 2006? Anyone have any idea how we are suppose to find appartments? Is there an option to live in a dorm? Anyone have any overwhelming reason why one should chose Sackler over Technion?

[Gpugems1]

There is a plane that leaves for Israel around August 16th two weeks before school actually begins. Those two weeks are dedicated to orientation and finding apartments/people to live with. I believe school begins the 4th of September.

[maji]

Two and a half weeks since interview, everyday checking the mail is nerve wracking... I sure hope I hear back soon, and its good news.

[cubsfan27]

I interviewed on the 18th of April and I believe i went good. The interviewer said I was a diverse and good applicant but worried that I was interviewed late and might not get in. She expressed real concern about it.

[maji]

Dunno what to say,an older post said some guy interviewed real late and got in. Im still waiting to hear, interviewed March 31st... Perhaps today will be judgement day.

[student-2]

The Sackler wait list really does depend on wether or not applicants get into other schools. In my year I think that 2 people got into other schools at the last minute. You can never know.

[skooled2much]

Hey -
for those of you that have chosen sackler...
why?
was it a last resort?
Did you chose it over a u.s. D.O. program? Would you? why?
Strong points of sackler education?
weak points?

If i'm lookin' at EM, gen surg, etc. Should i consider Sackler or stick with a U.S. D.O. school (i'm waitlisted at u.s. MD programs)
thanks!

[student-2]

About the residency options- it depends mainly on WHERE you want to practice. People go to sackler for different reasons. For me it was my only option, but I really love Israel. Other people I know preferred Sackler to the schools that they could have gotten into. Some thought it would be cheaper, some liked the adventure, some didn't want to spend a year on waiting for acceptance to other schools, and some just didn't get into any place else....
Sackler has some weak points too of course but it is late and I want to go to sleep.
Good luck

[The Waiting Place]

Can you elaborate on the WEAK POINTS.

[Gpugems1]

I personally don't know much about the school, since I will only be going there this coming fall but I think some of the weak points are common among any foreign school as opposed to an american school. People coming from those schools may not get those great residencies like psychiatry, ophthalmology and other tough ones to get. But the person that interviewed me was a sackler graduate and it now working in nyc as a psychiatrist. My reason for going to sackler was that I really like Israel and I didn't want to wait another year of applying, retaking mcats etc. I hope I have made the right choice. I know if I try hard while in school, I can get into pretty much whatever residency program I aim for. Hope this helped a little bit

[student-2]

Weak point a) First 2 years (I am still in the second year) are very tough and discouraging.
However, the second 2 years are very rewarding. The clinical setting that Sackler offers is very good, I am beginning to experience it now (during the second half of second year students go once a week for the entire day to a hospital). As a matter of fact, by talking to the people from a year above me, the same people that complained last year, are very happy today in their clinical setting.
Again- this is from my perspective....a students perspective

I some times wonder if I am the only med student writing this forum....

[skooled2much]

you ARE the only med student replying! But this is what your peers are saying: (i'm cutting and pasting from pm correspondence)

I'm a big fan of options, so am pleased to have a brain
dump in your direction regarding my feelings about Sackler.
No worries at soliciting advice either, we're currently in the
middle of finals for our second trimester now [I'm a first
year] so am psyched at having a somewhat useful and/or
productive way to procrastinate.

So I know very little about DO schools because I didn't
apply, but was deciding between Sackler and some MD
programs in the states.

I'm overall really pleased with my choice here, and today
would be a day that I should be more on the negative side of
things as we're in the middle of finals and am pretty sure I
had my *** handed to me today in a histology lab practical
exam. Sackler gives you the standard american MD
curriculum. Most students do relatively well on the boards,
and thus are pretty competitive for certain residency
placements. So if you want a derm residency at Harvard or
a neurosurgery residency at Yale you probably won't get it
coming from Sackler-- but you for sure aren't even eligible to
apply with a DO degree. Sackler hands down gives you
many many more residency options than a DO degree,
simply bc it is an MD. That being said, the residency
placements this year ranged from Harvard [internal
medicine] to Orthopedic Surgery to Pediatrics [Einstein] to
Rehabilitative Medicine [at Hopkins]....most students go into
internal medicine, family medicine, peds --in addition to
some going into surgery, emergency, obgyn specialties
thrown in there.

I guess first you need to decide if you want a MD or a DO.
If you do in fact want the MD, then I can imagine no better
place than getting it than here. Yes, there are issues with
getting a MD [even if it is an american program] abroad, but
especially on the east coast and amongst certain residency
programs and hospitals on the west coast and midwest,
Sackler is well known and respected. When you return to
the states I think there is of course some stigma on some
level for getting your MD abroad, but at the end of the day
you still a) will have an MD and b) be working in a residency
program in the states that accepted you. I guess it also
matters how much you care about what others think...


From what I hear from the 3rd and 4th years, Sackler's
clinical exposure is really why you'd want to come here. You
do rotations with actual attending doctors --not first year
residents who barely know as much as you. And, apparently
you just get the opportunity to do much more. As a first year
we have optional early clinical exposure sessions, so
though i've obviously not done anything I've got to scrub into
heart surgery and stand next to the attending surgeon as he
explained a quadruple bypass he was performing. Hanging
out over open heart surgery was pretty cool. I'm a dork, I'll
admit that, but it was super cool. Apparently also according
to sackler grads, they are just that much more prepared for
the hands on clinical stuff when they reach residency in
america.

As for the first two years, there are strengths and
weaknesses. Some of the professors have thick Israeli
accents and are horrible lectures and it is a complete waste
of time to sit in class, but then again I had the same
experience at grad school in new york and I know friends in
med schools throughout the states who also say the same
things about their profs. In general, when I talk with my
friends in american MD programs [ at Mt. Sinai, Columbia,
Univ South Carolina, UVM, Albany,etc] it seems that we're
more or less learning the same things. I really believe in the
cliche that any experience is what you make it. . .
living in Tel Aviv is great. I enjoy living abroad and Tel
Aviv is a great city. Most first and second year students live
in Ramat Aviv [north TA where the university is located], but
I live in actual tel aviv, because I prefer the city. Language
becomes a huge issue for some people and others not at
all. There are students who graduate from Sackler who can
hardly muster a shalom and there are students who are
israeli citizens and hebrew is their first language. Sackler
offers an ulpan and encourages you to learn some hebrew
so as to get more out of the clinical experience-- though it is
by far a requirement.

The student body relative to american md programs in
america, I think is filled with not only more interesting
people, but people who are not necessarily those super cut-
throat pre med ubber competitive types. Yes, the other
students are smart and want to do well, but if someone has
an old exam or a good study guide they made-- generally it
is shared with the whole class.

[skooled2much]

Also:

. I know it is a very tough decision as I
had to do it myself not too long ago. I will certainly
do what I can to answer your questions. First off,
you first need to decide if you would be happy with
a D.O. after you name instead of MD. Most
people wont notice or care, as I didnt know my
primary physician was a DO. For me, I wanted the
MD, especially after I heard about the spinal
manipulation thing, which didnt appeal to me.

After that, dont let Israel scare you as a foreign
medical school. Although, indeed it is, it is far
above and beyond your caribean school or
equivalent. It actually has a very good reputation
across the world, but still holds a stigma back
home at being a foreign medical school. From
students before me and people I spoke to, you
have no problems in NY or LA at all, but I cant
speak for anywhere else.

Language barrier is not a problem. Most people
here speak english. I am sure there will be some
things to adjust to, but for the most part, you wont
have to worry at all.

There are a lot of strengths. My particular favorite
are the international rotations available. I can
speak well for this as I just got accepted to one. It
is extremely easy to coordinate and you can find
yourself gaining experiences in the depts of your
choice in hospitals across the world. It is very
cool! There is also a great physician advisor
program here where you learn alot. It is a much
friendlier atmosphere here where the doctors want
you to learn as much as you can and there is no
limit to what they will show you. One freshman
even partook in a transplant surgery, Its absolutely
nuts!

Which I guess answers your clinical question. I
think, no doubt, hands down, the clinical
experience here, particularly with the advisor
program and in the 3rd and 4th yrs when you do
rotatioins are beyond anything you might find back
in the states. I really think this is what makes the
program and its reputation. Weaknesses...well, i
would be lying if I said there wont be days you get
frustrated, whether it be from being far from home,
bad professor, etc. Yet most often, not a
problem...or at least one that cant be avoided.

[skooled2much]

And:
I went to Sackler for two years, and then
transferred to University of X. I went to Israel
initially because I had not gotten into UofX (which
is where I am from) and I figured I had nothing to
lose by living in Israel for medical school...(and I
hoped I'd meet a nice guy there too!)....so I went,
absolutely loved Israel, and met the man of my
dreams- all within the first few months. He was two
years ahead of me at Sackler, so when he
graduated (we were engaged), I re-applied to
UofX and got in and a transfer into their third year
class (the class I would have originally been part of
had they accepted me in the first place)....

Looking at clinical experience I had in city X
compared to my best friend's in Israel, I definitely can
see a difference. In Israel, you learn a lot
more "medicine", but not much practical
knowledge. My friend knew much more about
medicine than I did when i graduated (he also
studied more though), but he had a hard time when
he came to the US for residency. It took him a long
time to understand what people wanted him to do,
to write notes, to manage patients in the american
hospital setting. It made his intern year immensely
more difficult that it already would have been. I, on
the other hand, had all that practical knowledge
because I did my clinicals in the US system.

Medical students in the US get totally involved in
the care of their patients, where in israel they dont-
they just see patients once and get a history, but
dont follow them....I think the medical knowledge
comes with time, but the practical knowledge is
what will get you farther in residency and i feel is
more important. (my friend agrees and if he
could do it over, he would have gone to a DO
school in the US instead).

I know that some people at sackler get into good
residencies, but others struggle, unless they have
amazing board scores, or they want to be in NYC
(which i had no desire of). The other problem they
have is if they are going into competitive
specialities- its very difficult to get into derm,
ophthal, ENT, etc coming from a US school, but
sackler it is nearly impossible.

almost everyone in israel speaks english, but it is
much easier if you speak hebrew, because
sometimes when theyre sick, they dont want to
speak english. also if theyre russian (which many
are) they dont speak english. i dont speak hebrew,
so it would have been hard for me in 3rd and 4th
year, but thankfully i didnt have to deal with it. my
friend speaks hebrew like a child, and he got by
OK, but there were frustrating times for him too.

Im not sure about research opportunities, although
im sure there must be some. its a huge academic
institution.

Culturally, it was the best experience of my life-
living in israel and travelling all over the middle east
was something i'll always cherish. i want to go
back many times, bring my kids there, etc. i had a
toos toos (motor scooter) and went all over tel aviv-
went to all the great clubs, bars, and restaurants,
and made the absolute best of my time there. the
friends i made i will have always, along with all the
great memories. it was amazing...i lived in ramat
aviv one year (where the school is) and north tel
aviv the second year. it was so much fun!!!

[student-2]

That's alot of post

[cubsfan27]

Skooled2Much,

Thanks for the post. It was very informative and entertaining. I interviewed for Tel Aviv University (Sackler) about two weeks ago. They gave me an invite 8 days after I submitted my application! Wow! I called and asked them about my application and they told me that I would receive a letter this week for sure.

Do you think it is an acceptance or rejection if they send the letter within two weeks?

[maji]

Cubs, you just dont know. I know people who heard back in 2 weeks and they got in. I got invited to an interview the day they recieved my last transcript, but it has been a month since my interview and no word yet.

When you called, what did you ask?

[skooled2much]

I interviewed this past monday. my interviewer told me (mid-interview) that he felt confident i would be a good fit at sackler and that he was recommending my acceptance to the board.
Tuesday I called Sackler's NY office to see when the next admission committee results would be distributed. I was told 2-4 weeks. I'd really like to know now so i can weigh my options. I personally feel like it is such a huge decision to move out there.
what about y'all? are you dead set on sackler? what have you heard in texas? chicago?
I'm also curious to know thier applicant numbers / matriculants/ rejections.. there is just No info on their website.
Is sackler hard to get into?

-s2m

[skooled2much]

also... and be honest here...
are you guys "competitive" applicants? is this a last resort? first choice?

as for me, i'm in at a couple DO schools, waitlisted at 1 MD program. and i would say, no, i'm not a "competitive" applicant. I'm a non-trad student (28y/o) a super post-bac GPA and an average mcat but my 1st undergrad GPA was horrendous.

[student-2]

I think Sackler would be better then DO schools usually- depending on the residency you want in terms of specialty and geographic location. What MD school are you waitlisted at? If it is Harvard I would go there but if it is not then think again...

[cubsfan27]

I'm waitlisted at two U.S. M.D. schools. But the rest of my application has been horrible although I applied late and only to 9 schools. I was waitlisted at a third school but was subsequently rejected.

Sackler is not a last resort for me. If accepted into US and Tel Aviv, I would honestly go to Sackler. The school in the US in which I am waitlisted is $50,000 a year with tuition and room/board. It's in the middle of nowhere. The other one is great but I am like in 200th on the waiting list with only about 80 spots. So that is a rejection....

[student-2]

Maji- Any news? I think you can call. It is very legitimate and I doubt it will affect your application at all

[maji]

Yeh , i called, just told me maybe they will meet this week, who knows.

Sackler is not the last resort for me, I got accepted to AUC for that!

Im waitlisted at one awesome Texas MD and DO program, and it will be tough if I get into the DO and also sackler. Main reason is Fort Worth is kind of nice, and I wouldnt mind being close to family. Sackler looks really awesome, aside from the terrorists and crap over there, Israel would rock so much. I love the food, climate sounds decent, Technology, decent rent, and what seems to be awesome clinical years.

So yeh, AUC... Accepted, dont really want to go there though, but I will If it means being a doctor, but 1200/month for a single apt doesnt exactly thrill me.

[skooled2much]

fyi -
if you want a 2006 match list, they'll send it to you via mail... just call / email and request it.
also, i asked mira (ny office) about rumors in regard to a curriculum change. she says she hasn't heard anything about it. though, i wouldn't be surprised if it has been changed and she wasn't informed (given how disorganized that office seems)

[student-2]

they are initiating a curriculum change. It may begin this coming year. Some small changes have begun already. I think they want to make it a bit more system based (not completely).

[skooled2much]

i kind of hope there is a curriculum change... i think systems based learning is much more appropriate for retention. the current schedule reminds me of a pre-med style approach.

[student-2]

every system has its plus and minus

[marceverett]

I was talking to the coordinator of the pathology course a few weeks ago and he told me that while they are designing an overhaul to a systemic approach, the next few years will just have fine tunings of the current system. Hammel said that his goal is to get the general pathology course taught in a block at the beginning of first year, so that as you go about learning everything else, you already know the mechanisms for cellular and local injury and will make other things easier to understand.

Having shifted to a systems approach to review for the USMLE, I think that I'm glad to have learned the disciplines independantly and gotten a rough overview of everything before trying to integrate them together because very few things are limited to just one organ system.
For example, something as simple as Vitamin D.. do you teach it with MSCT (musculoskeletal connective tissue) because of the bones? Or do you teach it with GI because it's a fat-soluble vitamin and requires both pancreatic and colonic viability? Or do you teach it with Renal because of Ca2+ and PO4- balancing? And whichever you decide to teach it with, how are you going to understand the effects and influence it has the other systems you know nothing about yet?

So you can see the flaws in a systemic approach. Not to mention that with all the gaps and overlaps, things get overlooked. I notice that in my review.. Cholesterol synthesis is more pertinent to the pathology of the cardiovascular system but it happens in the liver.. so during CV I was like, screw it, I'll do it later.. and now I'm doing the liver and I'm like, crap, I wish I did it earlier.

[maji]

This just in....


my acceptance into Sackler for Fall of 06!!

Thanks everyone who listened to me whine over the course of 5 weeks!

[student-2]

Congrats!!!!

[Gpugems1]

Congrats maji

[maji]

Thanks both of ya!

I think my phone call did it, they probably went "This guy has waited a month, lets send him his letter already, we have tortured him enough".

Israel wooo.

[Gpugems1]

Hello everybody, I haven't really talked on this thread in a while but just wanted to see how everyone was doing and who was actually going to be attending sackler in the Fall. I am in for the whole shabang, starting with orientation in mid august. Who else is attending the school/orientation? I am really excited

[ijcMD]

I will be attending too. Everyone is pretty much on the yahoo group, so you should join that if you haven't already.

[maji]

Yup, im good to go, flights booked, loans acquired, just need to get them health forms in!

Will be on the group flight.

[Gpugems1]

what is the yahoo group?

[ijcMD]

You should have recieved information about it in your packet after turning in your deposit. Nearly everyone from the Class of 2010 is a member of the group. Just go to Yahoo groups and search for Sackler2010. There is good information and you will also meet other students attending the medical school.