Creighton University School Of Medicine: Acceptance Rate, Tuition, Class Profile, GPA and MCAT Scores

Creighton University (est. 1878) is one of twenty eight Jesuit operated colleges and universities in the United States and one of four Jesuit colleges/universities that have medical schools. The Jesuit tradition places a strong emphasis on service to humanity as well as education.

A new curriculum has been incorporated that places less emphasis on the traditional lecture format and focuses on organ and disease based learning. More emphasis is being placed on clinical problem solving and clinical experience earlier in the curriculum. In addition, the grading system has been changed from a strict percentile/class ranking to an honors/pass/fail system. The change in grading policy was meant to further decrease competition between students, although frankly, the environment was not hostile or overly competitive under the previous system. Creighton University School Of Medicine predominantly emphasizes clinical training and provides solid clinical preparation for an internship/residency and a career. Research has generally not been a major priority for most students, although opportunities are available. 

Class Profile

The majority of students are from Nebraska and California, with large numbers from predominantly Midwestern and Western states. Data covering the last five years show students coming from nearly every state, with the Southeast being the least represented. The high number of Western applicants likely reflects the relative paucity of medical schools in the West. Applicants from Western states who aren't accepted into their state school frequently also apply to private schools, of which Creighton University Med Center is closer to home than East Coast alternatives. The difference between in-state tuition at a public school and private tuition is the reason why some might prefer a state school as a first option. 

Admissions/Financial Aid 

Tuition is $87,000-$92,000 per year at Creighton Medical School, which is near the lower end of the range for private schools. The education at most places is likely comparable, but the disparity in tuition is large. However, the vast majority of students (96 percent) obtain financial aid packages to cover the cost of tuition and living expenses. The medical school has its own helpful financial aid adviser. 

GPA and MCAT Scores and Acceptance Rate

Avg Mcat 510

Avg GPA 3.91

Acceptance Rate %6.2

Preclinical Years 

Four years ago, the didactic curriculum was changed from the traditional two years of core science courses to an organ and disease based approach. The new approach was designed to allow the integration of more clinical information into the basic science years. The goal is to transition from passive learning and rote recall to problem solving and analrtical skills. The new design is based on case discussions in small group sessions as well as computer assisted instruction. First year students take a physical diagnosis course and are assigned to work in a clinic, which they continue one half day per week for the entire four years. Some students would rather have the time to study for exams than spend time in the clinic practicing physical diagnosis. However, the early clinical knowledge and patient interaction is probably worthwhile; it provides at least a basic clinical introduction that eases the transition into clinical clerkships. The strongest, most organized preclinical courses have traditionally been Gross Anatomy, Pathology, Microbiology, and Pharmacology. The weakest have been Biochemistry and Genetics. The first year ends in May, with the second not beginning until mid August. This allows for a nice long break. This new curriculum is starting to emphasize more research during this time, but most students have used it as vacation/personal time. The second year ends in mid to late May, which leaves about three weeks to prepare for USMLE Step 1, which is required before moving on to the clinical years. 

Clinical Years 

St. Joseph Hospital, a 400 bed facihty located in downtown Omaha across the street from the medical school, is the primary hospital affiliated with Creighton University. St. Joseph Hospital is one of two trauma centers in the Omaha area. As part of certain clerkships, students may also rotate through the Omaha Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center, Bergan Mercy Medical Center, Omaha Children's Hospital, St. Joseph Center for Mental Health, and Clarkson Medical Center. Clerkships begin on July 1, which allows for a couple of weeks of vacation between the USMLE Step I and starting clinical rotations. The third year clerkships are all eightweek rotations, which include inpatient internal medicine, surgery, ob/gyn, pediatrics, psychiatry, and primary care. The fourth year allows significant time for electives but requires clerkships in critical care and surgery and a subinternship. 
The most organized, best taught, and most wellliked rotations have been ob/gyn, internal medicine, and surgery. Pediatrics and psychiatry are spread among several hospitals and can be either very good or suboptimal, depending on location. For the most part, students receive very good clinical experience during the clerkships. Creighton Medical School strikes a nice balance between having enough patients and enough heterogeneity to learn how to manage a variety of illnesses without being so busy that the residents and attendings have no time to teach. Interaction between the attendings, residents, and students has traditionally been superb. The atmosphere for clinical training is very good, and there is less scut work for the students than there is at many other teaching hospitals. 

One drawback is that students don't perform a lot of procedures. The popular emergency room rotation, however, provides the opportunity to develop some procedural skills. 

Matching for residency becomes important in the fourth year. According to Creighton's published data over the past five years, 93 percent of Creighton graduates were matched with their first choice specialty in one of their top four choices of location; 55 percent were matched with their first choice in both specialty and location. As with many other schools, there has been a trend toward primary care as a specialty choice. In 1997, 61 percent of Creighton graduates went into primary care. This partially explains the high rate of students matching at one of their top choices, as primary care positions are, realistically, not as competitive as some other specialties. Nonetheless, Creighton students have done very well in obtaining residency positions. 
One caveat here is that high profile academic centers across the country tend to take students from other big name programs. Each year, a handfril of Creighton students match at such programs, but the reality is that a student must be extremely competitive, both in class performance (i.e., honors) and USMLE Step 1 score, to vie for positions at the elite programs. This is true for any smaller, regionally oriented school, not just Creighton University Medical Center

Social Life 

Omaha is a city of 350,000, with a surrounding total population of about 500,000. Some folks say that it's a great place to attend medical school because there's nothing else to do besides study. You won't confuse it with New York City, Los Angeles, or Chicago, to be sure, but that's what a lot of people like about Omaha. It's big enough to provide some extracurricular activities but has no traffic/transportation problems, relatively little crime, and a reasonable cost of living (many students and residents buy homes in Omaha). 
Omaha has the world class Henry Doorly Zoo, AAA minor league baseball (Omaha Royals), the College World Series, minor league hockey, plenty of nice and reasonably priced public golf courses, a lot of great restaurants for a city its size, and the Omaha Community Playhouse. Those who like to play the odds can cross the state line into Iowa (which is about 5 minutes away) and visit the casinos and/or the greyhound races. Sites for outdoor activities (e.g., mountains, lakes, and beaches) are slim in the vicinity. Another negative is the cold Midwestern winters, which last from about the end of October through March. 

Creighton University Campus Video


Is Creighton University a good medical school?

Creighton University School of Medicine provides a strong clinical education that serves graduates well in both residency and practice, but at a private tuition cost. Most Creighton students are happy with their training and with life in general during medical school. But bundle up for some cold winters.

Web https://medschool.creighton.edu/



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