A tough decision I must say! The Technion known as the MIT of Israel has a tremendous reputation. The school recieved a Nobel Prize for chemistry in 2004. However, the med school is now going through a change. Students will no longer be required to do a qualifying year at Touro... instead they will start in first year in Israel. Do any Technion students have an opinion about this?

It seems that Technion runs on a different schedule than the US schools. Does this cause any problems when students try to do clinicals in the states or apply for a residency or sit for the USMLE?

Do Technion students have the option of doing clinical rotations in the US?

The Technion has a stigma for being an extremly tough school...

Sackler on the other hand, requires students to take part in clinical rotations in the US... is this beneficial when trying to get a residency match?

Which is regarded as a better medical school. Can both Sackler and Technion students speak to these questions...

Thank you

It sounds like you have pretty good grasp of the pros and cons of each program. I am in a similar situation as you and I have had to decide between the two programs.

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to visit with an Israeli friend of mine who lives in Jerusalem. From a "prestige and recognition" standpoint within Israel, she said that there is really no comparison. The Technion is far and above the most prestigeous university in Israel. On the other hand, the long-term track record of Sackler and the broader exposure to US rotations at Sackler is a distinct advantage... but Technion students are also able to apply for US rotations at either Brown University (Providence, RI) or at Johns Hopkins (Baltimore, MD). You also have to consider the differences between living in Tel Aviv vs. Haifa. Once again, there are advantages and disadvantages to both locations. In the end you just have to decide which factors are most important to you. I decided to go to Technion. But the decision wasnt an easy one.

One more thing...
It is my understanding that the difference in the schedule at Technion is primarily during the first two years. The clinical rotation schedule during the third and forth years is similar to US schools and is compatible with the US residency match schedule.

It is also worth noting that although medical school classes begin in mid October, students are actually encouraged to arrive in August for basic Hebrew language classes. The Hebrew classes are not part of the actual medical curriculum, and the med school classes are all in English, but the Hebrew component is included to help students get a jump on language skills that will help them during their clinical rotations.

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.

It is not enough to consider how the schools are percieved within Israel, it is more important to realize that it is important to take into consideration how American hospitals view these schools. There is a huge difference

In the Northeast (particularly in New York), I think that Sackler is probably better known among the residency programs. However, outside of the Northeast I think that Technion is more widely known. I live in the Midwest and no one here has heard of Sackler... on the other hand, all of my grad school professors were familiar with Technion because of the regularly published research articles that originate at Technion. I also have a brother who went to medical school in Alabama and is now at NIH in DC. He had heard of Technion because of their two recent Nobel Prize winners, but he was not familiar with Sackler.

Once again, I really think that it just depends on where you are from and whether the hospital you are talking about has a more clinical focus or a more research-based focus. Regardless, you cant go wrong with a Sackler education if you are wanting to come back to the US to do a residency and to practice.

You should also take into consideration that clinical settings (residency programs) judge other hospitals according to their clinical settings and I think that it matters less that they have a good research facility (the nobel prize winners were not physicians and their prize winning work had to do with molecular biology-apoptosis cell regulating mechanisms).
I am not saying that Technion is bad I just don't think that American residency programs base their judgment on wether or not you went to an award winning school or not. From what I learned so far is that residencies use their experience from previous grads to judge a school more. Again, this is just speculation.

It's a big move to Israel, particularly if you don't speak Hebrew well or aren't Israeli so you need to keep the social aspect in consideration as well... I met a guy who goes to the Technion in a cafe in Ramat Aviv and he told me that there are 5 other students in his class. Sackler has around 60 in each year. Read into that as you will, I personally do not know what I would do with myself in a class of 6.

This year class at technion is going to be much larger than pervious years, especially if the students from NY are going to be in the same class as the 4-program students.
Sackler is really known only in NY, pple from west or other states don't know anything about it. Technion in general has much greater reputation from what i know and have heard. Sackler is definantly a great school but one of the greatest factors that i know pple choose sackler over technion is the fact that sackler is in tel aviv. but they are good school