Great class! Got me into medical school :).
I don't normally write Yelp reviews, but I saw the post from Vi T, so I felt like I had to respond. Even when I was there, they had issues with companies writing fake reviews. John would laugh about how the reviews and "spies" would never get it right and make up names and teachers who didn't exist at Swartwood. I thought it was funny then, but I'm amazed they are still at it.
Anyway, saw Swartwood come up and noticed Vi T., so I wanted to let John and everyone know that I have their back. I'm going to let them know about that review. Hopefully, they can do something. Clearly this person has not been a student at Swartwood.
Here is some prospective from an actual student who took the course, went to medial school, and is now a resident, pediatrics, just started this past year!!! If you feel that is a long way off, don't worry. I was just like you, probably worse.
True, the classes are packed, but there's a reason for that :). The energy was great. The class was fun. When I took it, there were about 80 or so of us. This is correct. So if you are looking for a small class, then you do want a different company.
You can repeat the course for a small fee, 100 when I took it, but it might be different now. From what I remember, there were only a handful of repeating students. But I know that they do honor the repeating student policy they have since my cousin took the class twice: once during the fall and once in the spring before her MCAT.
Classes, at least when I took them, did not run until 2am. However, we did have some late night sessions because we wanted to get through the material and we would get a second wind. Things might be different now. Classes might run late, but I am sure that students love it just like I did. Something about the way John runs it keeps you engaged.
My father's friend, Jacob, is actually an investor. He's the one that introduced me to Swartwood since his son went there and ended up going to Stanford Med. So they actually do have a board. What difference does that make? Well, it means that even if the staff likes you, they cannot do you any favors. I've seen that myself. A friend of mine wanted to join the class with me but could not because of a policy they had about late joins. John, Lauren, and Sheila tried to help her out, but she had to wait until the next class.
Slander just makes me upset since Swartwood and John, in particular, helped me so much and I have a lot of good memories there. I still keep in touch with two other students from back then- one of which went to the same med school (SC) I did. I thought the office staff was half-joking when they talked about how other companies would try to attack them. Lauren, my favorite office person, used to tell me how other companies would do all sorts of things. It's really sad.
The funny thing is, although the staff complained about being stalked by other companies, I never saw John really complain. I guess he was too busy teaching, which is what these other places should do.
Enough ranting. If you are a serious pre-med, do not just come to yelp for help. Ask someone you trust. Still, here is my take:
1. Classes are BIG. But they are GOOD.
2. John is incredible in lecture, the best instructor I had in all my time at UCLA. For me, the pace was perfect. Back then I was a good student but not the best. 3.4 from UCLA.
3. Take the Swartwood Only where John teaches everything. The other instructors I met, Val and Ryan, seemed very capable but my vote is a class with John. One of my friends who could not join the summer cycle I took ended up taking a July session with other instructors. She liked the class. The sections where the other instructors taught were very regimented. The Swartwood Only with John follows a more organic approach.
4. Get there early if you want a seat upfront.
5. Avoid the chalk!
If you want an incredible learning experience go to Swartwood.
If you want lots of practice go to a place like Princeton- my roommate [in med school] took them and said they had a lot of practice material.
If you like small classes take the Swartwood Intensive, too rich for my blood, but my friend, Ann, liked it. Or go to places like Princeton/TBR/Kaplan they have smaller classes that cost less.
Find some place that fits your needs. For me, the large class and atmosphere made the class fun and I made good friends there. For others, people might be scary so less is more. Good luck whatever you do and keep working. You will get there too if you do not let stuff get you down. I had a GPA below 3.0 after my first two years of undergrad. I took the MCAT twice: once before Swartwood, once after. I had to bust my bu** to get a good residency. But I made it and so can you! read more
