Is anyone familiar with the U of Hawaii program (rank, quality, etc)?
I see it's not in the US News top fifty or anything. The overview of the curriculum on the their website makes it sound rather progressive. They're doing away with the standard "learn by lecture" format.
See if you can talk to students there to find out what they think of it. You should remember that lectures are still important - you've gotta get that information through and sometimes the problem-based learning leaves things out or unclear. Just about all US medical schools will give you what you need to be a doctor.
I've heard similar things about the school but haven't looked into it. If you like the program and it fits your needs, don't worry about the rankings. Study medicine in the tropics and earn a USA MD!
I got to agree with Brandon about fit. If you like the school and if you want to live in HI and avoid cold weather, go for it. Don't be a slave to the rankings!
What residency programs will think of your school can be important, but what is most important is the experience you have in your clinical years in the areas related to the residency you want to get into. For that you should check into how good the hospital associated with your medical school is in the areas you are interested in (both the experiences people have with it and the national reputation).
The University of Hawaii is heavily affected by an ongoing "brain drain". The smartest and brightest students are usually eager, after finishing their undergraduate work, to head for medical schools on the mainland. It's very understandable that this would be the case and probably does have an effect on the school.
I thought you had to have a tie with Hawaii (parents from there or something) or they wouldn't even look at you. Does anyone know if this is true? If not I'm all about applying there.
u of hawaii
Posted - 10/22/2004 : 14:46:05
