<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"></figure>

Show Summary

In this episode, Linda Abraham interviews Christian Essman, Senior Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at Case Western Reserve University Medical School. They discuss the unique aspects of Case Western’s three MD programs, the significance of research in the application process, and what makes an applicant stand out. Christian emphasizes the importance of quality experiences and reflections in the application essays and advises applicants to submit their applications when they are in tip-top shape, rather than rushing to submit on the first day. He also discusses the culture at Case Western, describing it as laid-back, balanced, and invested in the success of its students.

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"></figure>

Show Notes

Thanks for tuning into the 571st episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Are you ready to apply to your dream medical schools? Are you competitive at your target programs? Accepted’s med school admissions quiz can give you a quick reality check. Just go to accepted.com/medquiz, complete the quiz and you’ll not only get an assessment but tips on how to improve your chances of acceptance. Plus, it’s all free. 

I’m delighted to introduce today’s guest, Christian Essman, senior director of admissions and financial aid and fellow podcaster and host of the All Access Med School Admissions Podcast. 

Christian, thank you so much for joining me today on Admissions Straight Talk. [1:31 ]

Hi, Linda. Delighted to be here. Thank you for having me.

Let’s start with some just really basic information about Case Western University’s medical school programs. Can you give a 30,000-foot perspective or view of the three MD programs that it offers? [1:39 ]

Certainly. We’re a bit unique in that we have not one, not two, but three different pathways to an MD/MD-PhD. The first one is the university program, which is our four-year MD, which is a traditional four-year degree. Then we have our MD-PhD program, which is a medical scientist training program, and that’s about eight or nine years. MSTP actually started at Case Western back in the 1950s, by the way. It’s the longest NIH-funded program ever in the history of the universe. And then the one in the middle is unique. I don’t know if the word boutiquey is a word, but it’s boutiquey. Our Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. So these are all three Case Western programs. They’re under the umbrella of the university and they’re all Case Western students, but we have three tracks.

So the one in the middle, the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, is a five-year MD and it’s for students who really like research. Really, really, really like research. But maybe advancing to an MD-PhD is not an educational goal to be in school for eight or nine years and getting a PhD, but they really like research. And so the reason why it’s five years is because they thread research throughout the entire five years that you’re there. And at one point students will step away usually after the second year to do 12 months of research with the results of hopefully having some publishable results. And so it’s for students who might be considering MD-PhD, maybe they’re also applying to MD-PhD. So it’s one in the middle there and so that’s why we have three different tracks. It’s a bit unique.

It is unique. I don’t know of any other school that has that three structured program. [3:36 ]

When people apply to us in AMCAS, they apply to Case Western and then in the secondary application, they can indicate which program or programs plural that they want to apply to. And so you could apply to the university program and the Cleveland Clinic program and then you get separate admissions decisions. We review them separately. So it’s two for one or three for one if you want to think of it that way. But I will say this. Very few students apply to all three. Usually, if you’re interested in MD-PhD, that’s what you’re applying to, and then maybe add in Cleveland Clinic, but very few applicants apply to all three.

We evaluate everybody separately. So I don’t call to my colleagues down the hallway and say, “Hey, Cleveland Clinic friends, what are you guys doing with this applicant?” We don’t have those conversations. So it’s possible to get interviews at two programs and then be accepted to both and then you decide, or you could be interviewed at one and not the other or interview both and be accepted and waitlisted at the other. So there are all kinds of permutations that can happen after that.

Let’s dive into the biggest program, the four-year MD program. Can you provide an overview of that program focusing on its more distinctive elements, how is it structured, what is the focus, et cetera? [4:58 ]

The university program is our largest program. The class size is 170. And a couple of the cornerstones of this program would be a lot of small-group. team-based learning. Problem-based learning that in the first two years that is likely the main vehicle for medical education delivery in the first two years. We talk to students when they matriculate. We do some fun little focus groups with first years after they come here and sit down with them and ask them things about the interview process that they went through the year prior. And oftentimes, those new first years will tell us one thing that stuck out about this university program is that you guys say you do small-group learning and you mean it. It’s three, sometimes four days a week for two years. Whereas some other schools, “Oh yeah, we do small group learning.” But it’s like once every six weeks. For students that like to work in small-group, intimate, collaborative learning environments this is something really to think about very carefully because that’s where a majority of the learning takes place. There are lectures that occur afterward, framing bigger picture topics, but really the main vehicle where students roll up their sleeves and get into the material and learn how to unpack the basic sciences with the clinical sciences, that’s where it happens.

Another cornerstone of the university program would be the research piece. I mentioned a few moments ago we have three tracks. All three tracks have research embedded within it. The difference is the intensity level. So I mentioned the Cleveland Clinic program has a 12-month research focus. The PhD clearly has a PhD embedded within it. The university program has a scholarly project. We call it a thesis, but it’s not a master’s level thesis. Secretly in our office … I’m going to let the secret out. We call it a “diet thesis” or a “thesis lite” if you will. So it’s experiential research that every student gets involved in. So they choose a project, it’s a mentored thesis, and so they can dip their toe into what medical research can look like. It’s not about churning out physicians and scientists out of the university program. We have two other programs that that’s their philosophy. This is about exposing all of our students to medical research so they gain an appreciation for the time and effort and sometimes the blood, sweat and tears that go into one manuscript because we know that after t