Trying to decide between the programs. I wish I had a better understanding between the differences between DGSOM and CDU/UCLA, but thinks change a bit when considering the additional support given at PRIME. It seems like UCLA Prime-Drew comes with more BENEFITS than just UCLA Prime, but what are trade-offs or costs? Which of the two would you choose and why?
Firstly, CONGRATS!! What a terrific feat you've already accomplished!
Shall we dig in? Great!
I'm a first year medical student in the program. And I would choose Drew/UCLA all over again. In fact, I received an acceptance from DGSOM as a general admit BEFORE receiving one of the highly prized acceptances from Drew. And I simply "transferred" my acceptance to the specialized Drew/UCLA program. Like you, I had a quasi-basic understanding of the two programs, but I didn't understand any of the details. I'll do my best to share my experience and answer your questions.
-Points of concern for me:
*FINANCIAL AID: Given the Future leaders of tomorrow fellowship with CDU acceptance letter, but I think the scholarship is decided and can be used with any program? Should that be the end of the conversation if it would only apply to UCLA Prime-Drew?
The first thing you should know is that ANY scholarship, grants, financial aid you receive from DGSOM can and will be used toward your medical school education should you choose Drew. I was concerned that the scholarship money I received from Geffen would be forfeited if I switched to Drew. That's not the case at all. The benefit of being in Drew is that you'll be serviced by BOTH institutions' financial aid offices and be eligible for the same exact scholarships that regular Geffen admits receive. In fact, there are 5 Drew first years who received the Geffen Scholarship, which pays for 100% of their medical school tuition. On the other hand, general Geffen admits and UCLA/Prime students do NOT get access to scholarships offered by Drew. But note, Drew-Prime students (there are only 4 seats for this program) have access to scholarships offered by Drew/UCLA, Prime/UCLA, and DGSOM general admissions.
* RESIDENCY: difference in residency slots and matches?
One thing physicians and 4th year students who had matched kept telling me when I was narrowing my school list was that Residency slots will be 99% ENTIRELY up to YOU. Your STEP scores, leadership positions, research projects, advocacy work and execution during 3rd/4th year rounds will determine which residency programs you match to. But one advantage Drew students have is that our Dean (Calmes) and SAO staff (Joe, Kay Lynn, etc) are constantly on the look out for special opportunities that will bolster your residency application. What's more, Dean Calmes works directly with the Dean of Student Affairs at DGSOM to carefully craft a letter that will highlight your unique strengths. This shouldn't be taken for granted because Dean Calmes works extremely hard to build a relationship with students so that she knows you very well by the time 4th year rolls around, and is thus able to contribute comments that make your letter more personal (i.e. less generic).
* (related) RANKING/PRESTIGE: prestige and ranking differences? How is it recognized, some programs/physician professional think DGSOM is just more competitive that UCLA/CDU? Does what other students think of CDU affect performance/well-being of Drew Students?
I completely understand where you're coming from with this question. And because we live in a world where prestige matters, it's not something that we can easily overlook. But here's the thing: you receive your diploma from both The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA AND (!!!) The Charles R. Drew University. That's TWO diplomas for the same degree! #IHopeYouHaveEnoughWallSpace
Your degree does not come with an asterisk. The beauty is that you will be affiliated with a well respected university deeply rooted in serving the underserved AND an international powerhouse that brings the upper class prestige that you may be looking for. Prime/UCLA students do not receive two diplomas. They are only affiliated with UCLA. The only other way to benefit from this distinction is if you are accepted into one of the four seats in the Drew-Prime program at DGSOM.
* MASTER'S YEAR: Is there any difference between where UCLA PRIME vs. UCLA PRIME-DREW students end up doing their Master's?
No, sir that isn't a darn thing different between the two. Like many Drew/UCLA students, I had already attained my Masters' degree (MBA) prior to applying to medical school, so the Prime/UCLA program was not in my purview. However, I am close friends with many Prime/UCLA students, and they have to go through the exact same process and have access to the same programs as Drew/UCLA students. There is absolutely no difference. If someone accidentally misinformed you, let me know, and I'll put you on a conference call with a student from each program.
* PROGRAM LOCATION: I understand the difference between UCLA vs. UCLA Drew with two years spent at DGSOM and then second two year at CDU. However, the
UCLA PRIME FAQ say that " Students that have been accepted to PRIME UCLA/CDU will take classes associated with that program their final year." What does that look like? Is that less time spent at CDU, it's kind of confusing.
Another unique feature about the Drew program is that in our 4th year, we are "enrolled" in the Urban Underserved College. This is a tract that is specially crafted to aid students in intimately understanding how the health care system works for (and against) underserved populations. It will help you navigate the socio-political (and of course, economic) waters that accompany underserved communities. It will polish your advocacy skills, so that you are prepared to carry out our mission statement. In the past few years, Geffen and Prime students have requested to join the college. I'm not sure where administration will go with those requests.
* PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT: differences professional support (is too much support/advisors a thing?), would it be an additional set of advisors or would I have to defer only to UCLAPrime-Drew mentors
One thing I've done since matriculating into medical school is that I've dropped out of the "I can do it on my own" PhD program and am getting a second Masters in "Hey Dean Calmes (or Joe) can you help me with this.." Haha. As a Drew/UCLA student, you would receive professional support from both Drew and Geffen. As Prime/UCLA student, you receive professional support from Prime and Geffen. And as a Drew-Prime student you receive professional support from Drew, Prime and Geffen. I'll let you do the math! I am 100% happy with the support I receive being in Drew/UCLA. An advantage of being in Drew/UCLA and/or Drew-Prime that is not afforded to other programs is that when you begin your preceptorship in the spring of your first year (preceptorship = being paired with a physician in LA to gain valuable clinical experience), you can shoot Dean Calmes an email saying, these are the specialties that I'm interested in. She will then put foot to pavement and match you with a preceptor in one of those fields. Furthermore, that preceptor will be located in an underserved area. Conversely, the general admits and Prime/UCLA students are randomly matched to a preceptor in one of the more wealthy/over-served communities. This is because DGSOM has to place almost 150 students. So naturally Drew/UCLA and Drew-Prime students will have a selective advantage. Now you can certainly complain to Prime and Geffen SAO about the location of your West LA preceptor (one Prime first year student did this because she was passionate about working in an underserved area), but it isn't guaranteed that anything will change. Should you choose Prime/UCLA, PLEASE big SAO until they switch you to an underserved area because we need all of the help we can get from passionate and socially conscious students!
* ACADEMIC SUPPORT: pre-matriculation, study skills, retention and graduation support? (Does just UCLA Prime provide any type of additional programming, etc? Also, any difference between program policies for emergency medical leaves? -> do they have policies in place)
As a Drew/UCLA and Drew-Prime student, you have access to the same academic support that Prime/UCLA and general admits receive. DGSOM offers group tutoring, one-on-one tutors and a Sunday content weekly review that is well established. What's awesome about Drew/UCLA and Drew-Prime is that we have an additional layer of academic support because 1) we have a 2 week medical school crash course (pre-orientation) that not only educates us about health disparities but also has academic sessions led by 2nd year students that give us study tips that they wish they knew when they were first years; and 2) Drew/UCLA and Drew-Prime students have exclusive access to our very own learning specialist, Kay Lynn Cejas, who teaches us how to be more efficient (you'll see why this is paramount once you begin medical school), how to reorganize concepts and works with students to build a question bank throughout each block (if students send her Q's), so that you have a set of prep questions exclusively offered to Drew and Drew-Prime students.
Regarding medical leaves (let's hope this will remain inapplicable to you), Drew and Drew-Prime students are under the same auspices as Prime and general admits. Policies regarding medical leaves, personal days and sick days are determined by DGSOM.
* SOCIAL LIFE: integration with the rest of the UCLA campus (i.e. other Drew, Prime[ucla&drew], DGSOM students), and BGLTQ, race, gender etc...
Social life in medical school is no different than social life out in the "real" world. Psychologists assert the observation that "likes attract likes." That is, the types of people you "vibe" with and with whom you hold common interests with will be the people that you choose to study, spend time and socialize with (and at times, the people you study with may be completely different than your close friends). And while Drew students are my chosen family, my CLOSEST friends/social companions are actually a general admit and a Prime student. And we've created an amazing queer group that includes queer (and queer allies) womyn from all of the programs and across classes (1st-4th year). We actually just had a brunch in Weho for one of the amazing 4th years (a general admit) who had just completed Match the day before. You can also participate in Geffen-sponsored social events put on by MSC, and attend Drew social events put on by your elected Drew Executive Board. You also can hang with your Drew big sib/grand sib, your Geffen big sub and/or the friends you'll make who aren't in medical school. It all depends on YOU!
* UNDERSERVED FOCUS: does just UCLA prime vs UclaPrime-drew really prioritze this?
The program with the hands down number one focus on underserved populations is by and large DREW (which includes the 4 Drew-Prime students). I can't imagine a soul who would refute that. Serving the underserved is literally our only mission. Consequently, we have access to key community members and unique connections that the other programs simply don't have access to. Not because they're any less or because we're "better;" it's simply because of what Drew chiefly and officially represent, the location of the University and the historical relationship that Drew holds with the citizens of South LA. Drew was there during the Watts uprising; it was there when the hospital opened it's doors; it loyally stood in the gap when the hospital closed its doors; it stayed when the new MLK hospital was built; and it remains there, as a pillar and a beacon of light in the community. There is absolutely no denying the contribution that the Charles R. Drew has made to underserved communities; there isn't a soul who can question the passion and ingenuity of the 24 Drew and 4 Drew-Prime students who occupy these seats. Heavy are the heads that adorn these crowns. But, thankfully, we go to bed at night and rest on the broad shoulders of giants. We awake each morning with a sense of purpose. Tired and dreary or not, our greatest achievement will not be the two diplomas we receive or the prestige hat comes with being a Geffen student or a physician. Our greatest achievement will be serving a population of people who have been left out, cut out and historically marginalized. A group of people who are often misunderstood and counted out. We will not be heroes. We will be simply be human beings cloaked in a white coat with fancy degrees on our walls: we will be physicians with an "S" on our undershirts because social justice is Drew.
There are definitely Prime students and general admits who also want to work in underserved communities. For example, there are some general admission students whose first choice was Drew (and/or Drew-Prime), but, unfortunately, did not get a coveted seat but who have still made it their mission to advocate for underserved communities and even head the White Coats for Black Lives chapter. And there are some general admits who, to my knowledge, did not apply to Drew or Prime who are also doing work with homeless populations.
But net-net: if working with the underserved is your primary goal, Drew (and Drew-Prime is King) and requires no extra effort on your part to build that into your experience because it is automatic when you chose those programs. Prime = Masters Degree/MD; Geffen = MD or MD/PhD. But again, should you choose those programs. Be not dismayed. You can make a concerted effort to layer in social justice work in your free time.
* ROTATIONS: hospital rotations (MLK vs. Ronald Reagan) (what are the other affiliated hospitals? how to compare the difference) [Pro: increased patient interaction with underserved, Con: fewer resources/tech/expensive surgeries&transplants?] [and vice versa for just UCLA Prime]
As a Drew and Drew-Prime student, you will do the exact same hospital rotations as your counterparts. But in addition, Drew and Drew-Prime students rotate at hospitals in underserved areas as well (MLK, Harbor, Olive View, etc). This is extremely important because hospitals such as UCLA's powerhouse, Ronald Reagan Hospital, does NOT accept Managed Care MediCal. Yea, I know. I was gravely disappointed too, especially when you consider that 1/3 of all Black people living in LA county are on MediCal.
* COMMUTE: commute time (w/ and w/o traffic) from UCLA to CDU ~45 mins w/o traffic (would need to get a car, right?)
Commute time in LA is hellish no matter what. In traffic, UCLA to CDU is about 45 minutes. Without traffic, it's about 25 minutes. In your first two years, your time is 95% spent on UCLA's campus in Westwood. And once you begin preceptorship during the first year, you'll travel to and around South LA (where Drew's campus is located) once every two weeks. You'll also travel there should you choose (I hope you would) to participate in interview days on Saturdays and/or when the Drew staff holds a mental health/social event for us. And Dr. Calmes and staff hold the Drew Selective that begins in Block 3 (it focuses on health care disparities) at UCLA, so that students don't have to travel. Dr. Calmes also comes to Westwood and takes us out for a "family" meal each block to check in with us as a group. And if the Drew Executive Board (elected students) senses that our class needs a pick me up, we let Joe know and he and Dean Calmes order pizza to campus for us and have impromptu/laid back lunches. And if you're needing some 1-on-1 time, they hold office hours at Geffen's campus, so that you don't have to travel.
Having a car is technically a mandatory DGSOM policy (like owning a laptop). But because Drew and Drew-Prime students are a tight knit bunch, most of us carpool to our preceptors and to Drew because not everyone has a car/can afford a car yet. Considering that, you probably wouldn't have to get a car until second or third year, if you're living in Weyburn.
* ELECTIVES: additional electives and requirements from the programs (PRIME come with an elective, and so does Drew and both would be required?)
I'm actually not well versed in their mandatory selective, so I can't speak on it. Drew has a mandatory selective in Block 3, which I've referenced above. The end goal is to get students thinking about the scope of the longitudinal research project that is required as a Drew and/or Drew-Prime student. And in 4th year, Drew and Drew-Prime students participate in the urban underserved college. Outside of that, selectives are entirely up to you. I know some Drew folks also participated in a surgery selective offered by Geffen and sit on Geffen committee and sub-committees. You would have access to Geffen-"owned" and Drew-"owned" selectives, committees, boards, interest groups, etc. As a Drew-Prime student, the same is true. And as a general admit and/or Prime student, you have access to Geffen-"owned" opportunities. Note: The mandatory first year selective for Drew and Drew-Prime students also allows 3-4 non-Drew students to join. To date, Geffen hasn't expanded or created a health care disparities selective. I'm not sure if it's due to a lack of demand by students or if they haven't had time to add it or don't have the manpower to staff it. But should you choose Prime and there are no slots left in the Drew selective, you can personally go around school and build traction among first year general admits, Prime and MSTP, organize a presentation, and then petition MSC (Medical Student Committee) to consider the idea. And if they agree, they would petition DGSOM on your behalf to expand its selectives offered to include one on health care disparities, especially considering how important the issue is.
