University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine Individual responses

📚 General Info ▼

What graduating class are you in?

2012

Are you pursuing any joint degrees (MD/PhD, MD/MPH, etc.)?

No

Are you considered in-state or out-of-state for tuition purposes?

out-of-state

What is your race/ethnic background?

Caucasian

Overall, how would you rate this medical program?

8 out of 10

What is the reputation of the school in the medical community?

6 out of 10

What is the reputation of the research that goes on at this school?

7 out of 10

What was your MCAT score?

517

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What was your undergrad GPA?

3.15

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What was your undergrad science GPA?

2.94

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What was the zip code of your residence in high school?

64112

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What do you like most about this school?

Perhaps the best part about UAMS, to me, is its focus on teaching clinicians. Research does not interest me in the slightest, so the fact that most faculty are interested solely in making you a better doctor is fantastic.

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What do you like least about this school?

The intent focus on primary care gets a bit old. There are some required primary care clerkships that many other schools do not include. I would prefer to not have rural health rammed down my throat at all times.

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Please provide any other general comments on your school

My classmates are awesome. UAMS seems to do an excellent job of admitting good people. While there are certainly plenty of stereotypical med students around, most people are very easy to get along with. The atmosphere is very relaxed and friendly, for the most part.

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Curriculum ▼

How is the curriculum structured?

Systems-based

How many courses are taken at a given time?

5

How long are you typically in class per day?

5-6 hours

Are courses recorded for medical students?

Free note taking service Powerpoint slides provided only Video recording

How many days per week is anatomy lab?

4

How many students per cadaver?

3-4

How long (in months) do you have anatomy?

6 months

Is the curriculum lecture-centric or small-group centric?

1 out of 10

Are standardized patients used?

yes

How much patient interaction is there in the pre-clinical years?

8 out of 10

Are syllabi provided for the student?

yes

How frequently do pre-clinical medical school activities have mandatory attendance?

Rarely. Obviously, anatomy lab is mandatory, but outside of that, you might have one class per week, at most, that's required. Usually it's one per 2 weeks.

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What books are necessary?

The only book I feel is truly essential is Grant's Dissector. Others that helped me immensely are BRS Phys, Rohen's, RR Cell and Microbiology, Haines's Neuroanatomy atlas, and Lippincott's Biochem. Books that helped to a lesser extent were BRS Gross, Netter's, and BRS Neuro. I would not suggest buying any of the required texts at all beside the dissector and Haines's atlas.

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What books are unnecessary?

Anything that's a big text book is a complete waste of money. You will not use it at all. The cell bio and biochem texts are particularly terrible.

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Is the curriculum designed to promote a specialty? If so, which specialty?

As I said, primary care is what everyone pushes you towards.

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Location & Housing ▼

How do you feel about the location of the school?

4 out of 10

Do you feel safe on campus?

9 out of 10

How available and convenient is public transportation?

3 out of 10

Is a car necessary at any point during your education here?

All years

If a car is required for education, how available and convenient is the parking provided to students?

5 out of 10

Is on-campus housing available?

yes

What is the quality of available on-campus housing?

6 out of 10

What percentage of your medical school classmates would you estimate live on campus, if on-campus housing is available?

2 out of 10

Is couples housing available?

yes

Is nearby off-campus housing available?

yes

How expensive is nearby off-campus housing?

10 out of 10

Please describe the on-campus housing if available (i.e., cost, type - studios, 1-br, 2-br, etc.)?

Campus housing includes anything from tiny single rooms to one-bedroom apartments. The prices are a bit high for the area, but you pay for convenience.

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Cost/Financial Aid ▼

Are fees/tuition expensive?

9 out of 10

How is the cost of living (rent, food, bills, etc.)?

10 out of 10

Are many institutional scholarships/grants available?

7 out of 10

Is institutional aid need-based or merit-based?

Both

Faculty/Grades ▼

Are faculty members very open to students during office hours?

8 out of 10

Are faculty members very available to students via email/message board?

10 out of 10

Are there many opportunities to shadow/work with clinical faculty?

10 out of 10

Are the faculty willing to mentor students in regards to career guidance?

7 out of 10

Is the class ranked?

yes

How is the instructional faculty during pre-clinical years?

During cell bio and biochem, most are buried in their research and don't teach the subjects as med students need to know them very effectively. The rest of the year, they were excellent. Most second-year faculty are similarly exceptional.

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How is the instructional faculty during clinical years?

I'll let you know when I get there, but I hear they are very good teachers.

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What is the grading scale used during pre-clinical years?

A/B/C/D/F

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What is the grading scale used during clinical years?

A/B/C/D/F

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Clinical Rotations ▼

Are the desired rotation sites easy to obtain?

6 out of 10

Is desired rotation order easy to obtain?

0 out of 10

Are the elective rotations easy to obtain?

8 out of 10

Is there substantial hands-on experience for medical students?

9 out of 10

Are the rotation sites conveniently accessible for medical students?

5 out of 10

How far are the clinical sites from the main campus?

10 out of 10

How are clinical rotations scheduled? What are the required rotations?

Unfortunately, we have no control over our rotation schedule. The required rotations are as follows: family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery, OB/GYN, geriatrics, psychiatry, and neurology. A sub-I in family medicine, internal medicine, or pediatrics is required during 4th year.

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What responsibility do med students have on the wards?

I'm not sure, specifically.

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What is the status/condition of the affiliated hospital(s)?

Everything is brand new.

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What is the typical patient population medical students work with?

It's an underprivileged urban population, for the most part, but there are a significant amount of patients from the surrounding rural areas.

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Social Environment ▼

Do students do a lot of activities outside of school together?

6 out of 10

How would you rank student involvement in extracurricular clubs?

7 out of 10

What is the range of extracurricular clubs available?

9 out of 10

Is the student body cooperative or competitive?

9 out of 10

Is the environment supportive for underrepresented minorities?

5 out of 10

Is the environment supportive for lesbian/gay/bisexual/transsexual students?

2 out of 10

Is the environment supportive for students with disabilities?

4 out of 10

Is the environment supportive for married students?

9 out of 10

Is the environment supportive for older/non-traditional students?

8 out of 10

What do the students typically like to do in the area?

There are a decent amount of bars and restaurants near UAMS. Most people gather there to decompress.

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Post Graduation ▼

How do graduates from this school fare in residency and clinical practice?

Many graduates match into residencies in Arkansas or Texas with the intention of practicing here. Other who want to leave the state typically have no problems doing so.

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Is this school known for producing physicians strong in a certain area? If so, which area?

The geriatrics, pediatrics, orthopedics, and neurosurgery programs are exceptionally strong here.

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What do you believe residency directors think about graduates from this program?

From what I've heard, UAMS has a very good reputation for putting out strong residents.

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University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine

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