An inside look at the NYMC MD program and how to get accepted [Show Summary]

New York Medical College’s MD program offers students robust clinical experiences and ongoing academic and career mentoring. Dr. Karen Murray, Associate Dean of Admissions, gives an inside scoop on how students can get accepted to this competitive program.

Interview with Dr. Karen Murray, Associate Dean of Admissions for the SOM at NYMC [Show Notes]

Welcome to the 474th episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for tuning in. Calculating your GPA for med school can be difficult, especially if you are applying via AMCAS, AACOMAS and/or TMDSAS. However, Accepted has a free tool that can really help you. Using our brand new and free GPA calculator, just enter your classes and credits to calculate your GPA. If you are a couple of years away from applying, you can download the GPA calculator spreadsheet and assess the impact of your grades as you earn them. Or you can calculate the impact of different anticipated grades and see what your GPA will be if you ace that course, or if you take a hit. Just download the spreadsheet template at accepted.com/medgpa, and you can use and update it as needed. Plus it’s free.

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Our guest today is Dr. Karen Murray, Associate Dean of Admissions for the School of Medicine at New York Medical College. Dr. Murray graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor's in Biology and Biological Sciences. She immediately started medical school at NYMC and graduated in 1991. She then did her residency in OB/GYN also at NYMC and has been an attending physician and Associate Professor at NYMC since 2003. She became the Associate Dean for Admissions for the School of Medicine at NYMC in 2018. 

Can you give us an overview of NYMC's approach to medical education focusing on its more distinctive elements? [2:23]

New York Medical College has recently undergone a revamping of its curriculum. This was geared toward the changes that are happening with the USMLE. Unlike the traditional medical school where you had two years of full, straight lecture courses followed by two years of clinical, we are actually starting our clinicals early. 

They start out during the first year with the fundamentals, which go from August to March. Then, starting in March of your first year, you start your systems. Your systems-based learning goes from April of your first year and continues through to February of your second year. Usually somewhere between the end of February and March, you take the Step 1, and immediately after that, you start your clinicals. Your clinicals start in April of your second year and run through into your fourth year and graduation. We've put a little bit more clinical in there and start the clinical a little earlier.

A lot of students go to medical school because they really want to put that white coat on and get out and start seeing patients. You do see some of that in your first year durin...