Word Limit: 350 words for each.

Why are you interested in attending the University of Virginia School of Medicine? What factors will be most important to you in choosing a medical school?

How will you contribute to the diversity of your medical school class and the University of Virginia School of Medicine?

What do you think will be your greatest personal challenge as a physician, and how will you address this?

Good luck to everyone applying! :luck:

Love the area of UVA

would love to spend another 4 years here

Hey guys. I'm a rising third year at UVA, and just wanted to make myself available to answer any questions you had about UVA, including rotations, the 'new' curriculum, student life, etc.

How was the shortened preclinical years?

Hey guys. I'm a rising third year at UVA, and just wanted to make myself available to answer any questions you had about UVA, including rotations, the 'new' curriculum, student life, etc.

How's student life?

How was the shortened preclinical years?

It was hard, but med school in general is hard. I don't think it was any worse for us than it was for SMD12 or SMD13 in terms of difficulty. We did have a lot of logistical problems in my class (having a very shortened summer), but we were the first class to make the switch, and the vast majority of those problems have been ironed out and will be non-issues for future classes.

I don't know the exact stats for my class' Step 1 scores, but from what I've heard, they're on par with previous classes.

The best part is that we start clerkships about 4 months before other schools across the nation (one of my friends just finished with second year and is studying for boards; I've been on the wards for almost 12 weeks), which is also helpful because not everyone new is starting at the same time in July (the med students will have a fairly good feel for the wards, the computers, etc, when the interns start). We also get a bunch of extra time for electives during fourth year, the most important of which are prior to residency applications.

How's student life?

My class is awesome. We have many class-wide events throughout the year, mostly pot lucks or bar nights. There are social chairs for every class that puts on class-wide events, and there are also social chairs for the whole school who put on the same events each year (orientation, Fall Bonfire, Prom, Foxfield Horse Races, Talent Show, Faux New Years, etc). We have a weekly bar night with the whole med school (whoever wants to go out, anyway) that the first year chairs are responsible for organizing.

Many people in first, second, and fourth year play in intramural sports. In first year, you can get a little more involved (one of the current first years was in marching band in the fall with the undergrads, several people in my class had jobs, etc).

The courses are all P/F except during third year (when it's the usual A-F scale), which I feel lowers stress a lot. People get out and do things, and are, for the most part, happy people.

hey guys.

quick question: does UVA provide a pre medical committee letter to pre med students? I know that they used to, but saw on their website that they no longer do this. can anyone confirm this change?

hey guys.

quick question: does UVA provide a pre medical committee letter to pre med students? I know that they used to, but saw on their website that they no longer do this. can anyone confirm this change?

this is correct. they no longer do.

what sort of research opportunities are there in the new curriculum? Can the second half of year 2 be used for research or is it just for clerkships? from the looks of the website (which is terrible btw and just loops back to a generic description of nx gen) it seems the only opportunity to do any official, mentored research without setting it up on your own is during 4th year selectives?

what sort of research opportunities are there in the new curriculum? Can the second half of year 2 be used for research or is it just for clerkships? from the looks of the website (which is terrible btw and just loops back to a generic description of nx gen) it seems the only opportunity to do any official, mentored research without setting it up on your own is during 4th year selectives?

There's a program during the summer between first and second year to do research at the med school. But no, you can't use the second half of second year for research, because you're assigned a track for clerkships when you start. Yes, you can get research time during fourth year, but you set it up on your own anyway and just get credit for it. One of my friends got on with an Ophtho project that she's working on during her free time during third year, so it's possible to do research during clerkship year, you just have to set it up on your own.

Secondary received!

Received my secondary this morning. Anyone know if they screen before giving out secondaries and, if so, to what extent?

UVA does not screen before sending out secondaries.

could you post the secondary please? :)

could you post the secondary please? :)

Word Limit: 350 words for each.

Why are you interested in attending the University of Virginia School of Medicine? What factors will be most important to you in choosing a medical school?

How will you contribute to the diversity of your medical school class and the University of Virginia School of Medicine?

What do you think will be your greatest personal challenge as a physician, and how will you address this?

Word Limit: 350 words for each.

Why are you interested in attending the University of Virginia School of Medicine? What factors will be most important to you in choosing a medical school?

How will you contribute to the diversity of your medical school class and the University of Virginia School of Medicine?

What do you think will be your greatest personal challenge as a physician, and how will you address this?

Thanks Tates!

Sent from my iPhone using SDN Mobile

Word Limit: 350 words for each.

Why are you interested in attending the University of Virginia School of Medicine? What factors will be most important to you in choosing a medical school?

How will you contribute to the diversity of your medical school class and the University of Virginia School of Medicine?

What do you think will be your greatest personal challenge as a physician, and how will you address this?

Quick question, is "Why are you interested in attending the University of Virginia School of Medicine? What factors will be most important to you in choosing a medical school?" two separate questions as in 350 words for each question, or is it 350 words to answer that entire thing. Just confused a little by the formatting.

Thanks

Quick question, is "Why are you interested in attending the University of Virginia School of Medicine? What factors will be most important to you in choosing a medical school?" two separate questions as in 350 words for each question, or is it 350 words to answer that entire thing. Just confused a little by the formatting.

Thanks

That's just 1 question. 350 words

Interview Invite OOS! Yay! So Excited! Just submitted last night...

Interview Invite OOS! Yay! So Excited! Just submitted last night...

Congrats! You got an interview invite the day after you submitted your secondary?

Also, just submitted my secondary today. Hoping to at least get an interview :xf:

Congrats! You got an interview invite the day after you submitted your secondary?

Also, just submitted my secondary today. Hoping to at least get an interview :xf:

Yup. Submitted my app at 10 PM and got the II at 11ish AM. Good luck!

Yup. Submitted my app at 10 PM and got the II at 11ish AM. Good luck!

awesome dude, best of luck in your interview :)

Yup. Submitted my app at 10 PM and got the II at 11ish AM. Good luck!

stats? md apps is down :(

stats? md apps is down :(

IIRC in another thread he said he has >36/3.9. so pretty much the cream of the crop lol

IIRC in another thread he said he has >36/3.9. so pretty much the cream of the crop lol

IIRC, he has a 40 or 41 mcat.

...so make that creme de la creme. :p

IIRC, he has a 40 or 41 mcat.

...so make that creme de la creme. :p

Hell, I'd accept him to MY medical school :P

Hell, I'd accept him to MY medical school :P

Typicalindian College of Medicine, TICOM maybe?

Edit: Oh and 4/28/2012 MCAT ftw. :D

Hell, I'd accept him to MY medical school :P

I want to go to TICOM!

And yes Blais was right on. Hopefully I will see some of you at the interview!

Interview Invite OOS! Yay! So Excited! Just submitted last night...

+1. (Interview invite OOS). I feel like I'm having the exact same application cycle as you so far +2 or 3 days.

+1. (Interview invite OOS). I feel like I'm having the exact same application cycle as you so far +2 or 3 days.

nice! congrats.

I was complete on 7/14 so I'm guessing they put my app on the bottom of the pile -_-

+1. (Interview invite OOS). I feel like I'm having the exact same application cycle as you so far +2 or 3 days.

Carramrod06, what are your stats if you don't mind me asking?

+1 Woohoo!

For those of you who received secondaries, did you get your secondary prior to AMCAS verification, or not until afterwards?

For those of you who received secondaries, did you get your secondary prior to AMCAS verification, or not until afterwards?

I received mine afterwards.

Yup. Submitted my app at 10 PM and got the II at 11ish AM. Good luck!

Tatertots, would you be able to give a little background about your GPA, MCAT, etc.? Thanks ;)

Tatertots, would you be able to give a little background about your GPA, MCAT, etc.? Thanks ;)

click on his mdapps profile...that is, unless they are offline again.

Tatertots, would you be able to give a little background about your GPA, MCAT, etc.? Thanks ;)


Not Tatertots, but I also received an interview invite (on July 12th). My stats are on my MDapps profile.

Interview invite today! Submitted secondary 7/20.

has anyone who's gotten interviews so far been IS?

has anyone who's gotten interviews so far been IS?

i too would like to know the answer to this question

Looks like every II has gone to someone with an mcat of 36+...

Anyone know of any exceptions to this?

Looks like every II has gone to someone with an mcat of 36+...

Anyone know of any exceptions to this?


I'm not surprised, UVA is known to be a stat whore

Looks like every II has gone to someone with an mcat of 36+...

Anyone know of any exceptions to this?

You realize SDN is but a small sampling of a large ocean, yes? Of course you do.

I'm not surprised, UVA is known to be a stat whore

i get hos

You realize SDN is but a small sampling of a large ocean, yes? Of course you do.

Of course I do. Nevertheless, it is still somewhat representative...

For example, per Oakland's portal, of the first 5 interview invites they granted, 3 of those people were SDN members. Coincidence? Maybe. Or perhaps those 3 SDN people were a good indication of what oakland is seeking in applicants at this point in time.

We don't know how many II's UVA has offered to date. Maybe the 4-5 people that posted here are ALL of them... or maybe they are merely 4-5 out of 100. Who knows? UVA doesn't have the same transparency as some other schools.

But as it stands, it's not like SDN only represents 1% of applicants with II's. There is no reason to believe that UVA has given an II to anyone with a sub-36 mcat yet... hence I asked if anyone knew otherwise. :meanie:

So what kind of responses are typical for the diversity question? I'm about as un-diverse as an applicant can possibly be and I'm really only able to think of stuff like 'I'm very open to different opinions' or 'I've had so many diverse experiences'

Of course I do. Nevertheless, it is still somewhat representative...

For example, per Oakland's portal, of the first 5 interview invites they granted, 3 of those people were SDN members. Coincidence? Maybe. Or perhaps those 3 SDN people were a good indication of what oakland is seeking in applicants at this point in time.

We don't know how many II's UVA has offered to date. Maybe the 4-5 people that posted here are ALL of them... or maybe they are merely 4-5 out of 100. Who knows? UVA doesn't have the same transparency as some other schools.

But as it stands, it's not like SDN only represents 1% of applicants with II's. There is no reason to believe that UVA has given an II to anyone with a sub-36 mcat yet... hence I asked if anyone knew otherwise. :meanie:

Maybe if you were open to PMs and the like I wouldn't have to call out in the open.

Maybe if you were open to PMs and the like I wouldn't have to call out in the open.

Well, if you got one with a sub-36 mcat, then...

Myth: Busted.

Well, if you got one with a sub-36 mcat, then...

Myth: Busted.



:laugh::laugh:

Well played.

So what kind of responses are typical for the diversity question? I'm about as un-diverse as an applicant can possibly be and I'm really only able to think of stuff like 'I'm very open to different opinions' or 'I've had so many diverse experiences'

Are you a cookie cutter applicant? If not, what makes you different?

Some of the interesting things in my class include Americorps, Teach For America, prior careers as computer people, someone biked across America, some are parents, some are dancers, artists, musicians, etc. What makes you different as an applicant?

I think one thing to remember is that UVA selects very carefully for interviews (as in it'll be you and 4 other people on interview day) so don't fret if it seems they're giving invites slowly.

I think one thing to remember is that UVA selects very carefully for interviews (as in it'll be you and 4 other people on interview day) so don't fret if it seems they're giving invites slowly.

Not sure if that is terrifying or awesome....guess we will find out!

I think one thing to remember is that UVA selects very carefully for interviews (as in it'll be you and 4 other people on interview day) so don't fret if it seems they're giving invites slowly.

It's actually 6-8 people per interview day (and the interview Mon-Thurs). But same idea.

That means I had 6, including me. It's a much better feeling than looking around the interview waiting room, counting 10 people and knowing only 3 of you will get an acceptance....alas I ended up on the alternate list.

Anyone know the secondary app fee?

Anyone know the secondary app fee?

80 bones

I'm new to this site. I received an interview invite on July 12th. OOS, 4.0, 37

interview invite today :)
IS 3.73 35P
went here for undergrad
complete on 7/16

Got my interview invite today!!! :D
3.87c/3.81s/37R

SO EXCITED!

Also, OOS and submitted secondary 7/21

i just thought to check this today because we talked about the new application cycle over breakfast... good luck, everyone!! i'm currently a m1 going through orientation so i might not be too helpful talking about the school, but i thought i'd pop by and say hello. hope to meet some of you guys at interviews, and don't stress! :)

also to answer a few questions -- yes, uva takes sub-36 mcat (like me). yes, they are very selective for interview slots but that's because that's the biggest bottleneck (everyone at my interview group got in, and this seems to be a common trend). so if you're getting an II you have great hope!

yes, they are very selective for interview slots but that's because that's the biggest bottleneck (everyone at my interview group got in, and this seems to be a common trend). so if you're getting an II you have great hope!

Also, they don't issue IIs or conduct interviews if there aren't still spots in the class. So even if you don't get an interview til January, you still have a shot at getting in.

New to SDN, but got an interview invite last week and I am so excited! I love the UVA campus, honor code, and just about everything else!!! OOS

OOS, no II yet. Completed on 07/23/12...

OOS interview invite!

secondary submitted 7/30/12
interview invite 8/7/12 :love:

OOS interview invite!

secondary submitted 7/30/12
interview invite 8/7/12 :love:
nice! what day did you get your complete email? and was the II given by email or status update?

Anyone not get a secondary yet? I was verified in early June but I haven't heard a thing...

does uva reject pre-interview or just put you on eternal hold until the end of the cycle?

does uva reject pre-interview or just put you on eternal hold until the end of the cycle?

probably eternal hold... don't give up yet, it's still very early in the app cycle:xf:

Anyone know the numbers of II's, accepted, matriculated, etc, or where I can find that?

Anyone know the numbers of II's, accepted, matriculated, etc, or where I can find that?

http://www.medicine.virginia.edu/education/medical-students/admissions/the-uva-som/quick-stats.html

Also, out of the 600 they interview, ~300 get acceptances for a class of 156.

Interview. OOS 3.2 GPA 35 mcat. They can't be as stat heavy as everyone's been saying if they sent me an II with a 3.2 gpa...

Interview. OOS 3.2 GPA 35 mcat. They can't be as stat heavy as everyone's been saying if they sent me an II with a 3.2 gpa...

When were you complete? If you don't mind me asking.

I don't mind at all. I was complete 7/24. I'm also a non-trad applicant. my uGPA was 2.9 but my postbac GPA was a 3.9 so maybe they place on emphasis on most recent coursework. This is of course just speculation. I'm also a re-app here from last year. Last year I was rejected outright but with a late application. If I can give you anymore info, just let me know. Best of luck everyone.

-cj8

I don't mind at all. I was complete 7/24. I'm also a non-trad applicant. my uGPA was 2.9 but my postbac GPA was a 3.9 so maybe they place on emphasis on most recent coursework. This is of course just speculation. I'm also a re-app here from last year. Last year I was rejected outright but with a late application. If I can give you anymore info, just let me know. Best of luck everyone.

-cj8

Thanks! Best of luck to you as well.

I'm a 3rd year at UVa so I'll try to remember to check in every once in a while to answer any questions y'all might have. Good luck with your applications!

I'm a 3rd year at UVa so I'll try to remember to check in every once in a while to answer any questions y'all might have. Good luck with your applications!

How about questions not directly related to UVA, but focused more on a gem in your mdapps?

Interview. OOS 3.2 GPA 35 mcat. They can't be as stat heavy as everyone's been saying if they sent me an II with a 3.2 gpa...

I've heard they're not as nice on their MCAT stats compared to everything else.

Just submitted my secondary. Here's hoping!

I like UVA. Only complaint is the cost. Ouch.

Interview
OOS 32O, 3.7

Complete 8-15-2012

When were you complete? If you don't mind me asking.

Just wanted to say that I love your avatar and that i think wed make good friends. Goats are my favorite animals.

Just wanted to say that I love your avatar and that i think wed make good friends. Goats are my favorite animals.

Haha, glad to hear it. Goats are my favorite animals too. We need to both get interviews and matriculate at UVA.

How are people travelling to their interviews? I'm coming from Boston and the cheapest flights into Charlolottesville are $440+ and I would need to miss another full day of classes for travel time. Even though my MSTP interview will cover $300, that's still a lot. Coming into Richmond is much cheaper and there are direct flights, but would I just take a cab to and from the airport? (It's 1.5 hours according to Google Maps)

How are people travelling to their interviews? I'm coming from Boston and the cheapest flights into Charlolottesville are $440+ and I would need to miss another full day of classes for travel time. Even though my MSTP interview will cover $300, that's still a lot. Coming into Richmond is much cheaper and there are direct flights, but would I just take a cab to and from the airport? (It's 1.5 hours according to Google Maps)

I am flying into DC, renting a car and driving...probably not any cheaper. My brother lives in Virginia though so I'm also renting the car so I can drive and go visit him.

How are people travelling to their interviews? I'm coming from Boston and the cheapest flights into Charlolottesville are $440+ and I would need to miss another full day of classes for travel time. Even though my MSTP interview will cover $300, that's still a lot. Coming into Richmond is much cheaper and there are direct flights, but would I just take a cab to and from the airport? (It's 1.5 hours according to Google Maps)

You can fly into DC and take the train or the bus, or you can rent a car from Richmond. Not sure which the cheapest option is. I flew into Cville and out of DC, but I had a friend to stay with in DC, so it made it a little easier to manage.

I am flying into DC, renting a car and driving...probably not any cheaper. My brother lives in Virginia though so I'm also renting the car so I can drive and go visit him.
Thanks! I'll do the math and see what's cheaper, because I'd be paying an "under 25 fee" for the car rental.

Thanks! I'll do the math and see what's cheaper, because I'd be paying an "under 25 fee" for the car rental.

When I was reserving my car Hertz had the promotion where they waived the under 25 fee if you were over 20 or 21. Saved me 40$.

I'm flying into and out of Charlottesville-- didn't want to bother with the hassle of extra travel since the airport is ~10 miles from campus.

So excited to interview here-- definitely one of my top choices!

going to uva was the worst decision i have ever made in my life. the curriculum does not prepare well towards the boards. it is full of useless fluff. administration is rude and not interested in students best interest. interactions with attendings and residents are just unprofessional.
as for Step 1 for my class, everyone I know is very displeased with their score. So idk what this is about it being the same. sounds like half did well and half did not.
i wish i had been warned before applying here

going to uva was the worst decision i have ever made in my life. the curriculum does not prepare well towards the boards. it is full of useless fluff. administration is rude and not interested in students best interest. interactions with attendings and residents are just unprofessional.
as for Step 1 for my class, everyone I know is very displeased with their score. So idk what this is about it being the same. sounds like half did well and half did not.
i wish i had been warned before applying here
Sorry to hear that you hate UVA. I'm a second year and can say that I have truly enjoyed my experience thus far. As for your class not doing well on boards, the avg Step 1 score from the 2013 (old curriculum) to 2014 class was identical at 233. Your class sent us a spreadsheet with Step 1 study strategies (along with their respective board scores) and plenty of people scored WELL over 240 (at least >30 people who posted on the spreadsheet...which obviously doesn't include everyone). So clearly the curriculum worked and/or students are smart enough to do well on step anyway.

Secondly, the curriculum changed a TON from the 2014 to the 2015 class (and I'm sure has been changed for the 2016ers). Each rendition of it results in a stronger curriculum.

For example, we just finished our cardio block which was AMAZING...it followed First Aid almost identically with a few more clinical things thrown in (more EKG reading than First Aid, etc). It's actually been one of my favorite systems (along with GI). And I distinctly remember that this system was a nightmare for the 2014 class - very disorganized and lacked appropriate level reading material.

In any case, I just wanted to shed light on an alternative viewpoint from the poster above. Don't be discouraged from applying to UVA based on a comment like this.

UVA is awesome and if you have any questions/concerns about the NexGen curriculum, feel free to post here/message me.

Thanks! I'll do the math and see what's cheaper, because I'd be paying an "under 25 fee" for the car rental.

When I was reserving my car Hertz had the promotion where they waived the under 25 fee if you were over 20 or 21. Saved me 40$.

You can also join the Hertz gold membership for free for a year (normally $60) and they will waive the under 25 fee. If you anticipate needing to rent a car for multiple interviews, this is a nice way to go.

going to uva was the worst decision i have ever made in my life. the curriculum does not prepare well towards the boards. it is full of useless fluff. administration is rude and not interested in students best interest. interactions with attendings and residents are just unprofessional.
as for Step 1 for my class, everyone I know is very displeased with their score. So idk what this is about it being the same. sounds like half did well and half did not.
i wish i had been warned before applying here

It is for this reason, I think you should take everything people in my class (including myself and Steeler) say about the pre-clerkship curriculum with a grain of salt. It was extremely rough for us, and there have been more than a few times I wish I had deferred so I didn't have to deal with the growing pains of the new curriculum. And now SMD15 gets a taste of it by being the first to go through a new clerkship curriculum as well (I'm still trying to decide whether or not I like their structure better).

Bottom line, there are a few people (I'm not going to take a stab at how many) in my class who hate the new curriculum, but I honestly don't think we had it much worse than other medical school classes. I followed along with review books as we were going through most of our blocks, and there were few subjects that weren't taught well. I place some of that at the feet of our cardio section, which was awful (though even that system, there are several of my classmates who loved it). But talking to SMD15, that has clearly been addressed and is now a non-issue.

One of the things I don't think anyone could deny is that UVA responds to feedback. It might not be in the timeline we want (many of the issues my class had going through weren't addressed until SMD15 started, and thus too late for it to benefit us at all), but they do respond. Every course director is responsive to feedback, and wants to provide the best education they can.

I'll stop rambling now, but just remember to talk to as many students on interview day as you can to see if UVA is a good fit for you. It's not the place for everyone.

following up from an even later perspective (SMD16). i, and many of my classmates, love the curriculum. it's definitely effective for what it's attempting to do. sure, there are kinks (we just had our first "town hall" meeting today with the dean to voice our feedback), but like mvenus said, they are sooooooooo receptive to feedback, something i don't think many other schools would take so seriously.

a good example is that we had a new pathology leader teach us a few lectures ago, and people in my class were in an uproar over how, to put it bluntly, awful it was. but the path leader taught us again by the end of the week, and she had received numerous comments, etc. we were very prepared for another bad lecture but i think all of us were blown away by how quickly she adjusted and changed her teaching style.

gist: it's new, they're still working out some stuff, but it's pretty great so far, and it'll only get better!

My app has been complete (with a green check mark next to this category via status check) since 8/7. Today there is a red exclamation next to "App Complete" and it says "Your application is missing one or more of the required items." All of my items are definitely in and have been for awhile.

Has this happened to anyone else? Just noticed the change today.

How long are the class days for 1st and 2nd years?

I ask because I am planning on using the student housing program for my interview and don't want to show up at the campus at an inopportune time for my host

How long are the class days for 1st and 2nd years?

I ask because I am planning on using the student housing program for my interview and don't want to show up at the campus at an inopportune time for my host

Generally 8 til noon, with one day a week til 4-5. It's best to ask your specific host where and when to meet them, because schedules can vary greatly, especially in first year (they have an additional class in the afternoon in either the fall or the spring).

Hey guys, just a quick question

What are my possibilities of getting into UVA at this point,

GPA 3.68
sGPA 3.58
33S 11,11,11

a lot of clinical experience and EC's

very diverse

complete 8/7/12

Hey guys, just a quick question

What are my possibilities of getting into UVA at this point,

GPA 3.68
sGPA 3.58
33S 11,11,11

a lot of clinical experience and EC's

very diverse

complete 8/7/12

Accepted Data:
Medians:
GPA: 3.86
sGPA: 3.85
MCAT:35

10th percentile
GPA: 3.55
sGPA: 3.48
MCAT:31

You're at least above the 10th percentile so I'd say your stats wouldn't rule you out. However, this all depends on the perceived rigor of your academic institution. With this in mind, if you weaved a compelling story with your personal statement / secondary essays / work & activities I think you'd have a shot.

Edit: There is a "What are my chances" thread on sdn. Here's the link: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=418

.

Interview here Wednesday, can't wait to be back in Charlottesville (went here undergrad). Not too nervous since I heard it's pretty laid-back but any advice from anyone who interviewed here already?

Be yourself.

Be yourself.
lol ok. Is it conversational or more like a... light interrogation?

lol ok. Is it conversational or more like a... light interrogation?

It's a lot more conversational than a security clearance interview... how about that?

Seriously man.. don't worry... Have an opinion on healthcare (because you should anyway) and solutions. Know your app (you should because it's you and you wrote it). Be yourself, be happy, and enjoy your time.

.

Accepted Data:
Medians:
GPA: 3.86
sGPA: 3.85
MCAT:35

UVA has a MCAT of 35 average?! Wow.

lol ok. Is it conversational or more like a... light interrogation?

Both of my interviews last year were extremely relaxed and conversational. The UVa interview day is pretty fantastic and relaxed, overall.

UVA has a MCAT of 35 average?! Wow.

Median.

Interview invite September 13th.
Interview date: November 5th.
I believe I was complete the day before my interview invite.
Instate

Got my II invite yesterday!! November 14 OOS.
Complete about 2 weeks ago

I really loved this school when I interviewed a while back. However, there was a paucity of students to talk to that day. Have any others experienced this same thing? Made me wonder with all the controversy toward the beginning of this thread. I'd like to hear more about how the students are adjusting to and liking the new curriculum. Also, I'd like to know how many students volunteer at the free clinic run by the school. Anyone?

I really loved this school when I interviewed a while back. However, there was a paucity of students to talk to that day. Have any others experienced this same thing?

I imagine that's because the times that we can come visit aren't exactly convenient... we can either come before 10, but the first and second years generally have class until 10, or after like 1:30, but most people have either gone home or are in CPD and thus can't come. And, of course, upper level students are in the hospital or away, so don't have time to come during those hours either.

Also, I'd like to know how many students volunteer at the free clinic run by the school. Anyone?

A number. Several of my friends do it. I don't because I didn't feel like I had time, but I may pick it up during fourth year.

Thanks mvenus. How is it going with the new curriculum now that the new year isn't so new anymore? Are the students adjusting better and liking it or have things changed for the better? Just wondering.

Thanks mvenus. How is it going with the new curriculum now that the new year isn't so new anymore? Are the students adjusting better and liking it or have things changed for the better? Just wondering.

The second years seem to be doing pretty well. I've been on away rotations every other month for the past few months, so the only first year I really know is my friend's girlfriend, and I haven't even really seen her since school started. I think she mentioned at one point that it seems a lot more smooth than when we went through, but other than that, I can't really speak to their experiences.

MVenus, thanks for your replies. One more question. How have you liked your away rotations? What are they like? Also, how many weeks of away rotations will you have in total? I'm asking all these questions because I am very serious about UVA. Thanks again!

I really loved this school when I interviewed a while back. However, there was a paucity of students to talk to that day. Have any others experienced this same thing? Made me wonder with all the controversy toward the beginning of this thread. I'd like to hear more about how the students are adjusting to and liking the new curriculum. Also, I'd like to know how many students volunteer at the free clinic run by the school. Anyone?

The first and second years have had some vacation time recently, so that might account for the lack of students to talk to. When I was we got to speak to second, third, and fourth years (but no first years unfortunately) - seems like they are improving the curriculum every year. Made me feel really bad for the 3rd years though... sounds like the new curriculum was really rough the first year. Overall, my impression was that it seems like it is improving and people are liking it generally.

MVenus, thanks for your replies. One more question. How have you liked your away rotations? What are they like? Also, how many weeks of away rotations will you have in total? I'm asking all these questions because I am very serious about UVA. Thanks again!

No problem, I like answering questions.

I've enjoyed my away rotations. I was in Williamsburg for outpatient medicine, and really enjoyed getting to see another part of the state. I'm in Fairfax for Peds, and have also enjoyed it. I'm an out-of-state student and don't know many people outside of UVA in the state, so it can be a bit lonely at times, but third year in general is kinda tough because everyone in the class is scattered to the four winds. There are some people I haven't seen at all since February.

They're changing around rotations a little starting next year. The lengths of many of the rotations is the biggest thing that's going to change (OB is getting longer, general surgery and peds are getting shorter, Medicine is getting longer, etc), so I'm not entirely sure how that will affect the away weeks. As of right now, the average away weeks in my class is around 12-16, I believe, which works out to three away rotations. Most people will spend Family Medicine and outpatient Medicine away from UVA (which currently accounts for 8 weeks).

\Made me feel really bad for the 3rd years though... sounds like the new curriculum was really rough the first year.

Yeah, it was bumpy. The worst systems we had have been improved dramatically, to the point that the current second years have loved those systems. So, like I said before, you should take everything anyone in my class says about the pre-clerkship curriculum with a grain of salt. Not that our comments aren't valid, just that things have changed a lot since we went through.

Thanks cheezhead and mvenus! Three rotations away doesn't sound bad. Sorry to ask one more, mvenus. When you are on an away rotation are there others in your class there with you? For example, how many were on the Family Practice rotation? Or are each of you scattered in different practices? Are you in the same city? Thanks again.

Thanks cheezhead and mvenus! Three rotations away doesn't sound bad. Sorry to ask one more, mvenus. When you are on an away rotation are there others in your class there with you? For example, how many were on the Family Practice rotation? Or are each of you scattered in different practices? Are you in the same city? Thanks again.

For outpatient medicine and family, you are one on one with a preceptor and are often sent to more rural locations, so mostly, you are alone. In Fairfax, there are generally four students on the rotation. In Roanoke, there are a few in many different specialties, so there are a fair number of students there at any given time. Same with Salem. For Richmond, OB and Peds are both there (though they have different housing), so there are 6-7 people there at any given time.

any instaters get interviews with MCAT<34 yet? From what I have heard in the past, they like to wait until january or so before seriously tackling the IS applicants.

any instaters get interviews with MCAT<34 yet? From what I have heard in the past, they like to wait until january or so before seriously tackling the IS applicants.

I have. They sent me my interview invite Sept. 13 and my application was officially complete around then since I sent the instate form in a couple days earlier.

Thanks, Mvenus!

Hooray!
Interview invite: 10/1 Complete: 9/26
OOS 4.0cum 37M

Thanks mvenus. How is it going with the new curriculum now that the new year isn't so new anymore? Are the students adjusting better and liking it or have things changed for the better? Just wondering.

Hi No Beans,

I'm a current second year and can shed some light on what your day-to-day schedule will be like in the NxGen curriculum.

I copied this from one of my old posts:

"I've attached a copy of our current GI system overview (4 week system). You can see the specifics of the types of classes we've had during this system. Basically, we learn normal histology, physiology, anatomy, etc. early on - then shortly after, we learn the abnormal pathology/histology, etc. We also have patient presentations where a physician will interview an actual patient that has a disease that we are studying in front of the class in order to get us to understand how a patient would actually present in real life (and we get to ask questions, etc).

Take a glance at the various types of learning activities we have (last slide of powerpoint)...case presentations, large group discussions, small group discussions, patient presentations, TBL, etc. They really vary the learning style here to try to accommodate everyone's different learning styles. However, some students prefer ONLY traditional lectures = you can see where the frustration would come from.

My only complaint is that the workload is really heavy during the beginning of systems because the system leaders need us to understand all of the normal physiology before they can teach us the abnormal/pathology. This means that we struggle to keep up early on, but then we gradually learn the normal/abnormal by working with and applying the material during the subsequent weeks."

Hope that helps!

Hi No Beans,

I'm a current second year and can shed some light on what your day-to-day schedule will be like in the NxGen curriculum.

I copied this from one of my old posts:

"I've attached a copy of our current GI system overview (4 week system). You can see the specifics of the types of classes we've had during this system. Basically, we learn normal histology, physiology, anatomy, etc. early on - then shortly after, we learn the abnormal pathology/histology, etc. We also have patient presentations where a physician will interview an actual patient that has a disease that we are studying in front of the class in order to get us to understand how a patient would actually present in real life (and we get to ask questions, etc).

Take a glance at the various types of learning activities we have (last slide of powerpoint)...case presentations, large group discussions, small group discussions, patient presentations, TBL, etc. They really vary the learning style here to try to accommodate everyone's different learning styles. However, some students prefer ONLY traditional lectures = you can see where the frustration would come from.

My only complaint is that the workload is really heavy during the beginning of systems because the system leaders need us to understand all of the normal physiology before they can teach us the abnormal/pathology. This means that we struggle to keep up early on, but then we gradually learn the normal/abnormal by working with and applying the material during the subsequent weeks."

Hope that helps!

Thanks afob! That was very helpful. Looks like they make an effort to please everyone:love:. Really enjoyed looking at the schedule. How have you liked the new curriculum?

I have to be in Virginia next Saturday, and I'm wondering if I should send an "in the area" letter. Are interviews Monday-Thursday? I'd like not to take another 8 hour trip later on in the year, but if UVA isn't receptive to this kind of thing I'd rather not risk it.

I have to be in Virginia next Saturday, and I'm wondering if I should send an "in the area" letter. Are interviews Monday-Thursday? I'd like not to take another 8 hour trip later on in the year, but if UVA isn't receptive to this kind of thing I'd rather not risk it.

I don't know how much success you will have, but it doesn't hurt to try. Yes, interviews are Monday through Thursday.

I don't know how much success you will have, but it doesn't hurt to try. Yes, interviews are Monday through Thursday.

I just found out I actually have to be there both next week and in another month (not for interviews, unfortunately :( ). Would it be better to only mention the later date or to include both in the email?

Thanks afob! That was very helpful. Looks like they make an effort to please everyone:love:. Really enjoyed looking at the schedule. How have you liked the new curriculum?

I've enjoyed the new curriculum. It seems to make the most sense to learn the basic sciences in the systems-based approach - especially since you basically study for boards in the same (systems-based) way. I really enjoy the clinical cases (usually at the end of the week depending on the system) where you get together in a group of 20 or so with a resident/attending physician and work through real-life clinical cases based on diseases we studied that week. It really helps to reinforce the material.

Also, during our CPD course (clinical skills course), we get a chance to examine and get a history from 3-4 patients with the diseases we are studying that week. For example, during our rheumatology week, we saw patients (with our CPD groups of 6 students) who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, gout, osteoarthritis, etc. It was an amazing experience...and one that I'll never forget. When trying to remember the difference between RA and OA, I just picture the 2 different patients we examined and it becomes obvious.

Hope that helps! If you have any other questions, feel free to message me.

hi, i'm a first year here so if you have questions, please throw them at me!

to address some things above: there are people here with mcats < 36 (myself as one of them). yeah, a few of us were gone the past few weeks (2nd yrs had fall break two weeks ago, we had ours last week) so that might explain why we weren't around. also, in general, we end classes at 12, and i think most people either evacuate the building or locate elsewhere around that time, so it may be difficult to find us.

in our 3rd year of the new curriculum, i'd say it's pretty smooth. we still have a few complaints (for example, we've not been fond of this teach each other with powerpoints activity) but i think for the most part people are pretty happy here!

hi, i'm a first year here so if you have questions, please throw them at me!
in our 3rd year of the new curriculum, i'd say it's pretty smooth. we still have a few complaints (for example, we've not been fond of this teach each other with powerpoints activity) but i think for the most part people are pretty happy here!

Thanks, velleityx. Glad to know most of the kinks have been worked out and that students are happy.

I've enjoyed the new curriculum. It seems to make the most sense to learn the basic sciences in the systems-based approach - especially since you basically study for boards in the same (systems-based) way. I really enjoy the clinical cases (usually at the end of the week depending on the system) where you get together in a group of 20 or so with a resident/attending physician and work through real-life clinical cases based on diseases we studied that week. It really helps to reinforce the material.

Also, during our CPD course (clinical skills course), we get a chance to examine and get a history from 3-4 patients with the diseases we are studying that week. For example, during our rheumatology week, we saw patients (with our CPD groups of 6 students) who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, gout, osteoarthritis, etc. It was an amazing experience...and one that I'll never forget. When trying to remember the difference between RA and OA, I just picture the 2 different patients we examined and it becomes obvious.

Hope that helps! If you have any other questions, feel free to message me.

It all sounds great and very exciting afob! Especially the CPD course. Thanks for your descriptions, you two.:D

CPD is the best!!! you really bond with your small group, and it's so helpful to have both a physician and non-physician mentor. the physicians just know so much to teach you, and the non-physicians give really good insight on what a "lay" person thinks (like ours will tell us stuff like "maybe you shouldn't say that so technically... i don't even know what that is"). i think they also do a great job of helping us look at diseases from all angles. we've had to deal with pts w/o insurance, pts who are angry, pts who have biases about medicine, and we've learned clinical skills along with working through patients.

like afob said, it's great how because we're on a systems curric, you get to see certain things from multiple perspectives that really helps ingrain them in you. we'll take one disease and see it from a molecular bio standpoint, a radiology standpoint, a path standpoint, anatomy (well, we're not quite there yet :P), histology, physiology, pharm, and then a real patient (or a simulated patient case).

OH also to the above poster about "in the area" notices -- uva was definitely one of the few schools that seemed to accept unlimited update letters and in the area notices from me very graciously, so i'd definitely suggest you shoot em an email!

How about questions not directly related to UVA, but focused more on a gem in your mdapps?
Haha I'm curious/intrigued now, so sure! If you'd rather PM me, that's cool too. Sorry for the delay in responding!
I really loved this school when I interviewed a while back. However, there was a paucity of students to talk to that day.

Also, I'd like to know how many students volunteer at the free clinic run by the school. Anyone?
Like others have said, Fall Break was on different weeks for the 1st and 2nd years, so that might explain why there weren't people around.

This is going to sound really bad, but what free clinic? Maybe I know it by another name. Mvenus, is this RAM or something different?
going to uva was the worst decision i have ever made in my life. the curriculum does not prepare well towards the boards. it is full of useless fluff. administration is rude and not interested in students best interest. interactions with attendings and residents are just unprofessional.
as for Step 1 for my class, everyone I know is very displeased with their score. So idk what this is about it being the same. sounds like half did well and half did not.
i wish i had been warned before applying here
It wouldn't be a UVa thread without a random post from my class, haha! My favorite.

I obviously disagree and have enjoyed UVa a lot, but I think I'm also one of the biggest defenders of NxGen's preclinical curriculum. Yes, there was much room for improvement - it seems like they're made it better each year - but I felt the same way about the structure of the old curriculum. There were a lot of things about the old format that would've made me miserable, so I'm not sure how much I believe being "guinea pigs" was to our detriment. I learned a lot and felt mostly prepared for Step 1 - obviously had to study some things on my own, but that's what 6-7 weeks off is for, right?

I'd say the one area I felt under-prepared by the preclinical curriculum was patient presentation skills. After 1-2 months on the wards you catch up, but it was still a little struggle at first. They quickly realized it needed to be a bigger focus and has been more than addressed in changes to the CPD curriculum for SMD15. The administration is also pretty great and attendings/residents have been pretty cool. Attendings and residents certainly didn't change with NxGen...

As far as Step 1 goes - like others have said, our average was the same as SMD13. And yes, our distribution was different but so was the distribution for the 3 classes before us. If they all had the SAME curriculum yet still performed differently (in terms of average + skew), then how can you interpret any curriculum negativity from our scores?

This is going to sound really bad, but what free clinic? Maybe I know it by another name. Mvenus, is this RAM or something different?

I assume they're referring to Charlottesville Free Clinic. RAM hadn't even crossed my mind.

Got an II this morning! Going 12/04 (though I was offered as early as 10/18). Completed 09/29. 3.9/36S OOS

Does anyone know if UVA might be sending out decisions today? I vaguely remember them saying at my interview that at least for those who interviewed mid-September that they would be aiming to send an email update about decisions today. Does anyone else remember this?

vaguely, but I think they might be snail-mailed.

Yes! During my interview in early September they definitely said oct 16. The lady said midnight actually. Maybe none of us got accepted

I remember hearing today as well. I don't remember midnight though. And I think she said we'd get an email regardless of the decision.

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vaguely, but I think they might be snail-mailed.

I definitely remember someone in the admissions office saying they would be doing an email that would send you to a status page for your decision but wasn't completely sure about the time. They were hoping to let us know a little quicker this year. Not sure how that panned out.

Just got the email at 2:13 (was so scared to open it), and accepted!!!
IS, first one!
:D

Accepted!!!! OOS

Accepted!!!! OOS

:thumbup:

Accepted OOS. Gem of a school!

Accepted :d !!!

I got out on the alternate list.

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I got put*

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alternate list.... :(

...anyone know how active the alternate list is?

alternate list.... :(

...anyone know how active the alternate list is?

People will get pulled off the alternate list. After my class, they became more conservative with how many acceptances they sent out.

Accepted OOS! Really excited about this school and Charlottesville.

Accepted!!! OOS and so so so so excited about this school. Getting in here has made this entire process worth it for me.

:soexcited: :biglove: :soexcited:

Accepted OOS!!!! So pumped UVA is my first choice!!

Got accepted yesterday! IS & love this school!

Got accepted this afternoon. One of my top school choices

congrats to everyone who's been accepted so far!! and to the people who get waitlisted, never fear... my class (currently m1s) had a ton of students come off waitlist, so there's movement for sure!

does UVA have student hosts? I can't seem to find the link on my application :/

congrats to everyone who's been accepted so far!! and to the people who get waitlisted, never fear... my class (currently m1s) had a ton of students come off waitlist, so there's movement for sure!

Hello Velleityx. From stalking your MDApps profile, it seems that you interviewed somewhat late (by SDN standards) at UVA, and still got accepted. Have you noticed this as a trend at UVA. To be honest, UVA is in one of my top 3 choices (which is saying something since I applied to like 30 odd schools).

So I was wondering if lots of people with more average stats like you and me have to wait until later for their interviews, and if there are tons of people with later interviews who are in your class?

Thanks for the info throughout the thread btw.

Hi! My app was complete late August. Was thinking about sending out a letter of interest/update. Anyone know if Virginia is receptive to either of these?

Thanks!

Hi! My app was complete late August. Was thinking about sending out a letter of interest/update. Anyone know if Virginia is receptive to either of these?

Thanks!

I was also wondering about this. UVA is my #1 choice but I haven't heard anything since I was complete in late july.

Does UVA send out rejection letters if they don't like your application? I havent heard anything back since I applied mid July.

Does UVA send out rejection letters if they don't like your application? I havent heard anything back since I applied mid July.

I know last year people got rejected around Thanksgiving time.

hi everyone! just met some interviewees this week... hehe

1) yes we have student hosts!!! i don't know where it is on their site but when you got your interview, i think they sent out an email about it. or it might be on the secondary website. you need to contact someone who will match you up with one of us (we gave them preferences like hobbies we enjoy, etc.) please stay with a host if you can! it completely changed my interview experience, getting to talk to as many students as possible. and i can assure you that a bunch of us are eager to host. if you can't find the instructions, email the admissions office or call them. someone will help you out. if WORST comes to worse, PM me and i will see what i can do! (you can either stay with me or i can find you a classmate)

2) yes, i interviewed "later" in the cycle, although not as late as some people. so to answer some of your questions... i was complete early in aug and didn't hear back until mid-november or so (and then i scheduled my interview around times i'd be in the area, so that also pushed me back a bit on the calendar). just hang tight. i think generally uva interviews higher numbers in the beginning but i'm not really sure. as long as you keep showing uva some interest (and they are receptive to update and interest letters and in-the area notices; just email it to the office!!!), you should be fine. just remember that even though the average mcat/gpa is like 35/3.7 or so (forgot), it's only the AVERAGE meaning there are people above *AND* people below!

we had many people in our class come in off the waitlist, probably because uva's been cautious with admitting (since you guys may have heard that in a previous year, they overadmitted and had to have some students postpone entry). DON'T take the waitlist as a death sentence. also uva interviews almost everyday, and they definitely interview into february, so there's quite a few spots left. finally, it may be that at some schools, you are "interviewing for a waitlist" spot when you're later, but that's NOT! TRUE! at uva at all. quite a few people interviewed later and got in (not even waitlisted) immediately.

Does UVA send out rejection letters if they don't like your application? I havent heard anything back since I applied mid July.

I wouldn't freak out...

I submitted my app pretty much as soon as anyone could and heard NOTHING until December, interviewed in January and got accepted.

They do send pre-interview rejection letters also, so if you don't get one of those for a long time that's a good sigh.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE

hi everyone! just met some interviewees this week... hehe

1) yes we have student hosts!!! i don't know where it is on their site but when you got your interview, i think they sent out an email about it. or it might be on the secondary website. you need to contact someone who will match you up with one of us (we gave them preferences like hobbies we enjoy, etc.) please stay with a host if you can! it completely changed my interview experience, getting to talk to as many students as possible. and i can assure you that a bunch of us are eager to host. if you can't find the instructions, email the admissions office or call them. someone will help you out. if WORST comes to worse, PM me and i will see what i can do! (you can either stay with me or i can find you a classmate)

2) yes, i interviewed "later" in the cycle, although not as late as some people. so to answer some of your questions... i was complete early in aug and didn't hear back until mid-november or so (and then i scheduled my interview around times i'd be in the area, so that also pushed me back a bit on the calendar). just hang tight. i think generally uva interviews higher numbers in the beginning but i'm not really sure. as long as you keep showing uva some interest (and they are receptive to update and interest letters and in-the area notices; just email it to the office!!!), you should be fine. just remember that even though the average mcat/gpa is like 35/3.7 or so (forgot), it's only the AVERAGE meaning there are people above *AND* people below!

we had many people in our class come in off the waitlist, probably because uva's been cautious with admitting (since you guys may have heard that in a previous year, they overadmitted and had to have some students postpone entry). DON'T take the waitlist as a death sentence. also uva interviews almost everyday, and they definitely interview into february, so there's quite a few spots left. finally, it may be that at some schools, you are "interviewing for a waitlist" spot when you're later, but that's NOT! TRUE! at uva at all. quite a few people interviewed later and got in (not even waitlisted) immediately.

Hey, can you let me know more abou the letters of interests?
You said email them?
How often should I send?
What is in the area notice, like you'll be at campus?

II this morning. Pretty stoked for this one. Complete 8/21 37 4.0 OOS

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Just got an II here! Complete August 20th, so there's still hope for people who haven't heard back yet.

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IS or OOS?

For those that have already had their interview, how was it? I go in next wednesday and I'm pretty excited. I've heard nothing but good things about UVA

For those that have already had their interview, how was it? I go in next wednesday and I'm pretty excited. I've heard nothing but good things about UVA

My interviews were laid-back and conversational. It seemed to me that UVA's primary goal on interview day is to learn more about their applicants.

Also, they bring in 6-8 candidates on each interview day and meet every Friday to discuss that week's interviewees. You'll wait at most 3-4 days post-interview for a decision (accept/reject/waitlist), which will arrive via email. :)

My interviews were laid-back and conversational. It seemed to me that UVA's primary goal on interview day is to learn more about their applicants.

Also, they bring in 6-8 candidates on each interview day and meet every Friday to discuss that week's interviewees. You'll wait at most 3-4 days post-interview for a decision (accept/reject/waitlist), which will arrive via email. :)

Thanks and wow, that's fast!

Hey, can you let me know more abou the letters of interests?
You said email them?
How often should I send?
What is in the area notice, like you'll be at campus?

hi, yes! i emailed it to the admissions office email. i'd do it often enough that you stay on their radar OR as you have new developments in your app, but not often enough that it's annoying. so for example, i think i sent them something about every 1.5 months or so.

in the area is if you happen to be far away and will be around the area. you let them know because if they're interested in interviewing you, it'll save you cost to fly there again, and sometimes they'll schedule you an earlier interview. for example, i was flying from california, so if i ever came to the east coast, i'd send out a notice to all my east coast schools.

hi everyone! just met some interviewees this week... hehe

1) yes we have student hosts!!! i don't know where it is on their site but when you got your interview, i think they sent out an email about it. or it might be on the secondary website. you need to contact someone who will match you up with one of us (we gave them preferences like hobbies we enjoy, etc.) please stay with a host if you can! it completely changed my interview experience, getting to talk to as many students as possible. and i can assure you that a bunch of us are eager to host. if you can't find the instructions, email the admissions office or call them. someone will help you out. if WORST comes to worse, PM me and i will see what i can do! (you can either stay with me or i can find you a classmate)

2) yes, i interviewed "later" in the cycle, although not as late as some people. so to answer some of your questions... i was complete early in aug and didn't hear back until mid-november or so (and then i scheduled my interview around times i'd be in the area, so that also pushed me back a bit on the calendar). just hang tight. i think generally uva interviews higher numbers in the beginning but i'm not really sure. as long as you keep showing uva some interest (and they are receptive to update and interest letters and in-the area notices; just email it to the office!!!), you should be fine. just remember that even though the average mcat/gpa is like 35/3.7 or so (forgot), it's only the AVERAGE meaning there are people above *AND* people below!

we had many people in our class come in off the waitlist, probably because uva's been cautious with admitting (since you guys may have heard that in a previous year, they overadmitted and had to have some students postpone entry). DON'T take the waitlist as a death sentence. also uva interviews almost everyday, and they definitely interview into february, so there's quite a few spots left. finally, it may be that at some schools, you are "interviewing for a waitlist" spot when you're later, but that's NOT! TRUE! at uva at all. quite a few people interviewed later and got in (not even waitlisted) immediately.

Thanks so much! That's great to hear :)

is there a facebook group?

does UVA have student hosts? I can't seem to find the link on my application :/

Yes, UVA has student hosts. They're generally first years after October, and are arranged by a volunteer in the class. There should be an e-mail address in your interview invite with who you should contact to get placed with a host. If you e-mail and don't hear back from anyone within a week, e-mail again. We can get busy and forget sometimes.

Hello Velleityx. From stalking your MDApps profile, it seems that you interviewed somewhat late (by SDN standards) at UVA, and still got accepted. Have you noticed this as a trend at UVA. To be honest, UVA is in one of my top 3 choices (which is saying something since I applied to like 30 odd schools).

There are multiple people in my class who interviewed in January and February who were accepted. In fact, I think I'm one of the few people who was accepted in October who ended up coming.

finally, it may be that at some schools, you are "interviewing for a waitlist" spot when you're later, but that's NOT! TRUE! at uva at all. quite a few people interviewed later and got in (not even waitlisted) immediately.

I want to emphasize this. They do not send out interview invites unless there are still places open in the class. So you are always interviewing for a position, not just hoping for a waitlist position.

Also, be aware that while anyone who talks to you or hosts you doesn't necessarily have a direct say in your admission, the admissions committee does welcome feedback. This can work both for you (for instance, if you stay with a host and really hit it off) or against you (if you're a jerk during lunch). Also keep in mind that there are students on the adcom who have just as much power as the faculty members... they have friends who may talk to them in an informal setting.

is there a facebook group?

^^

Too late/ worth it to turn in secondary??

I have a 3.74 34 MCAT

Complete since 8/24. Haven't heard anything :(

OOS 35/3.9

Too late/ worth it to turn in secondary??

I have a 3.74 34 MCAT

Do it bro. Do it. You still have a shot and there are still a lot of students who get in on late interviews.

Too late/ worth it to turn in secondary??

I have a 3.74 34 MCAT

It's definitely not worth it bro. It's wayyy to late in the game. Translation: your stats are better than mine and I really want to go here.

II today, there is hope! Complete on 9/9. 3.95, 33Q, IS.

Interview Invite!!!!! OOS complete 10/17

I got the app complete e-mail 9/27. Does anyone know how long they usually take to review? I'm in-state, and I know they received my in-state tuition app the following week. Does UVA tend to reject post-secondary in a timely manner? Or would this be more of a silent rejection until March? I'm hoping at this point no news is good news? Well.. as good of news as could be next to an interview invite of course.

Can any current student or anyone who's applying here shed any light? Thank you.

**EDIT: Wow I obviously skimmed this thread too fast. If they do rejection letters around Thanksgiving then hopefully I make it past next week haha.

II this morning! Had almost forgotten that I had applied here because it had been so long! Haha.

Complete 8/17

OOS; 34 MCAT; 3.95 GPA

Accepted by email yesterday!!!! OOS, this is such an amazing school!

Does UVA have a second look weekend?

Does UVA have a second look weekend?

Yes. It's in March.

I have been complete Since July 12, and I still haven't heard anything yet. I'm OOS with a 3.71 and 35. Should I be worried?

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II today, complete sometime MID-JULY. Wow, I had totally forgotten about this school. I've already kind of set my heart on one school, but I suppose that money is still playing a role in my decision. Does anyone know if A) people who interview at UVA late in the season are interviewing for waitlist positions of B) if UVA tends to be generous with OOS scholarships?

II today, complete sometime MID-JULY. Wow, I had totally forgotten about this school. I've already kind of set my heart on one school, but I suppose that money is still playing a role in my decision. Does anyone know if A) people who interview at UVA late in the season are interviewing for waitlist positions of B) if UVA tends to be generous with OOS scholarships?

Someone said further up that they only offer II's if they still have seats available. So no, you're not interviewing for the waitlist. I have no idea about B.

Would you mind sharing stats?

II today, complete sometime MID-JULY. Wow, I had totally forgotten about this school. I've already kind of set my heart on one school, but I suppose that money is still playing a role in my decision. Does anyone know if A) people who interview at UVA late in the season are interviewing for waitlist positions of B) if UVA tends to be generous with OOS scholarships?

As I said before, UVA only interviews if they still have seats open. Even so, a significant part of the class comes from the wait list.

As for scholarships, I think they are generous as far as state schools go... But they are on the more expensive side as well. I have 17K in grants and 10k in low interest loans as an oos student, but I'm still paying more than I would have going to my own state school.

This made my Friday, invite! Excited to visit UVA again. Completemid July.

II this morning, 3.9 35 OOS

Complete Mid-July

This made my Friday, invite! Excited to visit UVA again. Completemid July.

Congrats! Good to know that they are still looking at July applicants.

Congrats! Good to know that they are still looking at July applicants.

Alas! One of our meetings turns fruitful. That's one step closer to a Goat brotherhood at UVA. Here's to good news on your end!

Alas! One of our meetings turns fruitful. That's one step closer to a Goat brotherhood at UVA. Here's to good news on your end!

Thank you! I'm hoping my letter of interest garnered some favor.

Hi No Beans,

I'm a current second year and can shed some light on what your day-to-day schedule will be like in the NxGen curriculum.

I copied this from one of my old posts:

"I've attached a copy of our current GI system overview (4 week system). You can see the specifics of the types of classes we've had during this system. Basically, we learn normal histology, physiology, anatomy, etc. early on - then shortly after, we learn the abnormal pathology/histology, etc. We also have patient presentations where a physician will interview an actual patient that has a disease that we are studying in front of the class in order to get us to understand how a patient would actually present in real life (and we get to ask questions, etc).

Take a glance at the various types of learning activities we have (last slide of powerpoint)...case presentations, large group discussions, small group discussions, patient presentations, TBL, etc. They really vary the learning style here to try to accommodate everyone's different learning styles. However, some students prefer ONLY traditional lectures = you can see where the frustration would come from.

My only complaint is that the workload is really heavy during the beginning of systems because the system leaders need us to understand all of the normal physiology before they can teach us the abnormal/pathology. This means that we struggle to keep up early on, but then we gradually learn the normal/abnormal by working with and applying the material during the subsequent weeks."

Hope that helps!


I'm having trouble opening the attachment. Anyone have any suggestions?

I'm having trouble opening the attachment. Anyone have any suggestions?

Would a pdf work better? If not, I can host it on GoogleDocs(and it looks fine), I would just need to create a new gmail account for that...

Would a pdf work better? If not, I can host it on GoogleDocs(and it looks fine), I would just need to create a new gmail account for that...

Yup the pdf worked perfectly fine. Thank you!

Well I've been complete since 7/8 and haven't heard a peep from admissions. Hmmm. Does UVA accept letters of interest/update?

Well I've been complete since 7/8 and haven't heard a peep from admissions. Hmmm. Does UVA accept letters of interest/update?

yes, just email them :)

Does anyone know how long it usually takes to hear back from UVA regarding the availability of a student host?

And how far in advance should you contact them to set it up? The letter just says a minimum of two weeks notice.

Does anyone know how long it usually takes to hear back from UVA regarding the availability of a student host?

And how far in advance should you contact them to set it up? The letter just says a minimum of two weeks notice.

Since this is run by students, it is best to ask as soon as you know, especially if its for a day during or just after break.

If you don't hear back within a week, email again. If they're doing it right, you should've gotten an email as soon as they assigned you a coordinator. From there, it usually takes a couple days to get a host who is both available and agrees to take an applicant.

if anyone's having a really hard time getting a student host, you can PM me some information about you and your II date and i can see if someone in my class (first yrs) can hook you up!

Don't lose hope for interview invites! (I'm saying this for schools in general for this season)

Complete: 8/2!
~3.7/35 non-traditional applicant with an MS (3.95) in Human Nutrition, IS

I would like some advice from current students: I am a reapplicant, which is why I am a non-traditional applicant. My previous application cycle, I received one interview and it was in fact from UVA.

I interviewed in December that season and was waitlisted immediately (it was the year they were wary with their acceptances because the previous year they had over admitted and had to defer some of their students' acceptances)

I'm hoping their decision to reinterview illustrates how I've tried to improve my experience since the previous cycle. Do current students have advice on how I should "re-interview" commenting on my previous experiences and emphasizing growth? Do current students know of admitted students who interviewed at UVA twice?

For people still waiting for invites, specifically from UVA, the first date available was Feb 6 with about 8 days open in February (I would say approx 30-40 more invites?)

Don't lose hope for interview invites! (I'm saying this for schools in general for this season)
--

For people still waiting for invites, specifically from UVA, the first date available was Feb 6 with about 8 days open in February (I would say approx 30-40 more invites?)

1st part - Hope!

2nd part - Less hope! Haha.

yes, just email them :)

Would it be best to send the letter of interest/update directly to the dean of admissions, or just the general admissions contact email?

I would like some advice from current students: I am a reapplicant, which is why I am a non-traditional applicant. My previous application cycle, I received one interview and it was in fact from UVA.

I interviewed in December that season and was waitlisted immediately (it was the year they were wary with their acceptances because the previous year they had over admitted and had to defer some of their students' acceptances)

I'm hoping their decision to reinterview illustrates how I've tried to improve my experience since the previous cycle. Do current students have advice on how I should "re-interview" commenting on my previous experiences and emphasizing growth? Do current students know of admitted students who interviewed at UVA twice?)

I know of one girl who interviewed at UVA twice, as I hosted her first yer, but she is not going o UVA as far as I know. Whether that's because she was not admitted or chose to go somewhere else, I don't know.

I was a reapplicant, but only applied to UVA during my second cycle, so I can't comment directly on UVA, but I did heavily emphasize that I was a reapplicant on my application. I spoke about how I considered other careers, and ultimately felt like being a physician was the best position for me, but how if I hadn't gotten in that second time, I would have sought other careers because I didn't know how much more I could've improved my application.

My interviewers at UVA actually focused kindly heavily on the unique experiences I had on my application, such as being a direct salesperson, so I ended talking about personal growth a fair amount.

But, the bottom line is that you should be yourself. Good luck!

Would it be best to send the letter of interest/update directly to the dean of admissions, or just the general admissions contact email?

Dr. Densmore has a lot going on... Not only is he Dean of Admissions, he's also a dean of student affairs and an attending on service. Good as he is with responding to emails in a timely manner, I wouldn't want your update to get lost. Send it to the admissions email, and they'll be sure it gets to the right person.

Quickly losing hope I'll be getting an interview invite at UVA. Obviously most students don't share stats with each other, but could any current students say if anyone with a lower GPA and higher MCAT was offered an acceptance at UVA.

I have a 3.56/3.57/39R and am in state.

I need to be at the greyhound station in charlottesville by 5, do interviews generally end before 4pm?
see you guys there on monday!

Accepted! OOS, interviewed this week

Would it be best to send the letter of interest/update directly to the dean of admissions, or just the general admissions contact email?

send to the general admissions contact email

Quickly losing hope I'll be getting an interview invite at UVA. Obviously most students don't share stats with each other, but could any current students say if anyone with a lower GPA and higher MCAT was offered an acceptance at UVA.

I have a 3.56/3.57/39R and am in state.

my gpa was ~.1 higher but my mcat was also wayyyy lower than yours

I need to be at the greyhound station in charlottesville by 5, do interviews generally end before 4pm?
see you guys there on monday!

you should be able to make it! if anything, i'd try calling or emailing the admissions office and ask them for the earlier interview block. you kind of go through interview rotations, so if you ask for the earlier one due to travel constraints, i'm sure they'll move you there. i think most ppl get out by 3:30-4 if you don't go to the financial aid talk.

Accepted! OOS, interviewed this week

CONGRATS!

I need to be at the greyhound station in charlottesville by 5, do interviews generally end before 4pm?
see you guys there on monday!

You'll be fine. Even if you have the late interview schedule. The bus station is a five minute drive from the med school.

Does anyone know how long it usually takes to hear back from UVA regarding the availability of a student host?

And how far in advance should you contact them to set it up? The letter just says a minimum of two weeks notice.
The student hosting program is pretty responsive, depending on when you have your interview I would just send in a request as soon as possible and you will most likely be matched with someone. I did this and had a blast it was a great experience.

Can anyone comment on the financial aid/scholarship situation for OOSers at this school? I have an interview, but I've been accepted to schools I rank higher, so I'm unsure of whether to attend.

Just got an II OOS!

I was complete 9/23, GPA ~3.8, MCAT ~34-38

Just got an II OOS!

I was complete 9/23, GPA ~3.8, MCAT ~34-38

could you comment on what interview days are still open? Trying to gauge how many interview spots are left.

Sure. I only see dates in February. There's one in the beginning of the month and then a cluster in the middle.

Can anyone comment on the financial aid/scholarship situation for OOSers at this school? I have an interview, but I've been accepted to schools I rank higher, so I'm unsure of whether to attend.


UVa is one of the more generous schools in terms of financial aid/scholarship. Although tuition is high at 53k OOS, the need-based scholarship covers up to $18.5k OOS + potential subsidized loan with no interest in med school. They do consider parental information in determining eligibility.

In addition, I know a handful of classmates with merit-based scholarships of around $10k a year.

http://www.medicine.virginia.edu/education/medical-students/financial-aid/medical-school-costs

Hope that helps!

I would say to give UVa a shot....if you've heard anything about our interview day, you should know that it is truly one of the best out there!

(PS there is more to a school than rankings - I know classmates who have turned down Pitt, Hopkins, Vandy, etc to come to UVa for one reason or another. Come check us out to find out why!)

II invite today!

Complete end of September. Does anyone know the interview invite to acceptance ratio for both IS and OOS?

II, complete mid July. Only mid feb interviews available.

II invite today!

Complete end of September. Does anyone know the interview invite to acceptance ratio for both IS and OOS?

2011 stats, according to USNWR:
IS: 151 interviewed, 127 accepted, 84 enrolled
OOS: 435 interviewed, 245 accepted, 72 enrolled

2012 stats, according to UVA's website (they don't specify the total # of students accepted):
IS: 154 interviewed, 75 enrolled
OOS: 446 interviewed, 81 enrolled

Really excited about this interview.

I wonder why this thread is so quite this year. Last year by this time this thread already had 10 pages.

Really excited about this interview.

I wonder why this thread is so quite this year. Last year by this time this thread already had 10 pages.

Good luck with the interview :thumbup:

Maybe we can get things going...so, who's thinking there's a good chance they may be going to UVA next fall? :p

I just submitted my student host request email for my January 14th interview! UVA is my top choice and I'd jump at the opportunity to attend UVA SOM in the fall :)

Maybe we can get things going...so, who's thinking there's a good chance they may be going to UVA next fall? :p

Oh, I am definitely going...provided that I get one of the February interviews and they accept me.

Really excited about this interview.

I wonder why this thread is so quite this year. Last year by this time this thread already had 10 pages.



Dunno.. I prefer this to the loads of clutter in all the other school specific threads.

Anyone know if there's a facebook group?

Complete mid-October and still haven't heard back. Anyone know if UVA is still giving out iis? Also, are they receptive to pre-interview updates or interest letters?

I just submitted my student host request email for my January 14th interview! UVA is my top choice and I'd jump at the opportunity to attend UVA SOM in the fall :)

Oh, I am definitely going...provided that I get one of the February interviews and they accept me.

haha good luck with the interviews fellas! :luck: let us know how it goes

Complete mid-October and still haven't heard back. Anyone know if UVA is still giving out iis? Also, are they receptive to pre-interview updates or interest letters?

Based on other people's responses I think there are still some spots left in February. Also, sending a letter of interest won't hurt so it may be a good idea to do so.

+1

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The facebook group for the class of 2017 isn't up yet. I think it is set up by the UVA Medical Alumni Association sometime in early spring.

Source: facebook stalking

Anyone know if there's a facebook group?

The facebook group for the class of 2017 isn't up yet. I think it is set up by the UVA Medical Alumni Association sometime in early spring.

Source: facebook stalking

Well, it's been created, but none of the acceptees have been added to it yet. Not sure if anyone has tried to request yet.... https://www.facebook.com/groups/469136966466273/

Well, it's been created, but none of the acceptees have been added to it yet. Not sure if anyone has tried to request yet.... https://www.facebook.com/groups/469136966466273/



Nice. Going to have to keep my eye out and wait for more people to join though... to not draw attention to myself.

Well, it's been created, but none of the acceptees have been added to it yet. Not sure if anyone has tried to request yet.... https://www.facebook.com/groups/469136966466273/

Nice..thanks for the correction!

II today and totally surprised! Does UVA interview into March? I have a feeling that I picked the last day possible...

II today and totally surprised! Does UVA interview into March? I have a feeling that I picked the last day possible...

congrats!!! would you mind sharing your stats?

They interview in march???. UVA looks like it will be my last interview and it's in feb. can't wait, this is still one of my top choices.

II today and totally surprised! Does UVA interview into March? I have a feeling that I picked the last day possible...

They haven't the past couple year, and I don't see any reason for them to do so now. Second look is usually the same week as match week (in years past, also the same week as end of second year, but that's been pushed back).

They haven't the past couple year, and I don't see any reason for them to do so now. Second look is usually the same week as match week (in years past, also the same week as end of second year, but that's been pushed back).

Second look is the weekend before Easter this year.. March 22nd-24th? I'm currently in a state of too lazy to look at a calendar. Well that is of course unless they plan to change it.

congrats!!! would you mind sharing your stats?

3.75/36Q Canadian. And thanks!

Interviewed today! It was a fun day, despite the gloomy weather. Everyone there made you feel welcomed and tried to de-stress you as much as possible. I'd recommend all ladies to bring flats for the tour as to not get your heels caught between all the bricks. Admissions makes their decisions each Friday, I hope to get good news soon :)

I will be interviewing in Mid-Feb. I am looking for a hotel to stay for the weekend. I am not using the student host program since my wife will be coming with me. We plan to make a weekend of it. I have been looking through the list of hotels given in the interview packet, but I was wondering if anyone could comment on the quality/cost of any of these hotels. Which hotels would you recommend?

Also, what are a few of the things someone should do while visiting in Charlottesville for the weekend, besides going to the historical sites and the nice downtown mall? Any awesome eating spots?

I will be interviewing in Mid-Feb. I am looking for a hotel to stay for the weekend. I am not using the student host program since my wife will be coming with me. We plan to make a weekend of it. I have been looking through the list of hotels given in the interview packet, but I was wondering if anyone could comment on the quality/cost of any of these hotels. Which hotels would you recommend?

Also, what are a few of the things someone should do while visiting in Charlottesville for the weekend, besides going to the historical sites and the nice downtown mall? Any awesome eating spots?

I'm a fan of the Hampton Inn off Main Street. My mom stayed there while she was in town and its right around the corner from the hospital complex. Look at hotels through something like hotels.com if you want to compare prices.

In Feb, there aren't going to be quite as many things to do. There's a nice orchard nearby, but that's more of a fall thing. If you like hiking, there's a number of trails nearby that I can recommend. Other than that, there's not a whole lot I can recommend.

A for food, you have a plethora of choices. I personally love Revolutionary Soup on the Corner, and Bodos is a staple if you like Bagels. Basil is pretty good Mediterranean fare. I've heard Eppies on the Mall is pretty good too. There are more restaurants than you'll be able to experience, so just explore and pick a couple that sound interesting to you.

Cool. I will check those eating spots out. Thanks for the suggestions.

Interviewed this week, heard some great news today!

Interviewed this week, heard some great news today!

Good for you!

Interviewed this week, heard some great news today!

congrats! it looks like it's safe for us to join the Facebook group now since there are over 20 members! :)

congrats! it looks like it's safe for us to join the Facebook group now since there are over 20 members! :)

Lol... going to wait until after 2nd look at least...

Can anyone post the link for the Facebook group? Thanks!

Can anyone post the link for the Facebook group? Thanks!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/469136966466273/

II just now! Complete mid-October. Am I essentially interviewing for a waitlist at this point?

II just now! Complete mid-October. Am I essentially interviewing for a waitlist at this point?

I've said this multiple times. UVA does not offer interviews unless they still have slots in the class.

Got my rejection from UVA last week! Good luck to everyone still waiting!

Do they hold off on IS rejections for a while?

Got my rejection from UVA last week! Good luck to everyone still waiting!

Sorry to hear, was it via email or snail mail?

Didn't see it mentioned in this thread... Is lecture attendance optional and are lectures streamed online?

Also, grading is P/F... Ranked? What is the "pass" cut-off?

Thanks.

II today, complete late August... what a wait.

Do they hold off on IS rejections for a while?

Maybe? I haven't received any form of communication since early august.

Didn't see it mentioned in this thread... Is lecture attendance optional and are lectures streamed online?

Also, grading is P/F... Ranked? What is the "pass" cut-off?

Thanks.

Grading is P/F Unranked. I forgot the cut-off but it is not bad def lower than some of the schools as I keep going around.

Yes on the lecture online part but i'll wait for mvenus to talk about lecture attendance.. as I still don't have the breakdown on the normal lecture hall vs the table style...


Edit: I doubt lectures are mandatory because my student host was skipping a lot unless a patient was coming that day.

Rejection pre-interview this morning. Good luck to everyone going forward!!

...

Thanks!

Rejection pre-interview this morning. Good luck to everyone going forward!!

IS or OOS?

Sorry to hear, was it via email or snail mail?

Via a very lovely email.

Didn't see it mentioned in this thread... Is lecture attendance optional and are lectures streamed online?

Also, grading is P/F... Ranked? What is the "pass" cut-off?

Thanks.

There are some lectures that are required. I'm not sure the percentage in the current class, and it'll vary by block (virtually everything in MSI is required, while you can get away with hardly coming at all in Heme). Lectures aren't streamed online in real time, but they are recorded and are available for download and streaming immediately after the lecture finishes. Some lectures, however, are not recorded.

Yes, grading is P/F during years 1, 2, and 4. We have the standard A-F scale during third year. The cut-off for P is 70% overall, with a minimum of 60% on exams, I believe.

And Student Affairs keeps a record of class rankings, but it's only used for AOA purposes (because you need to be in the top 25% to be eligible for AOA).

lectures with patients usually aren't recorded out of privacy. i think on average, we get about 130/156 people showing up for classes, although it fluctuates a lot depending on subject matter, what the week looks like, etc.

Got the email of acceptance today! (Interviewed on Monday 1/28...loved the fast turn-around!) OOS; 3.89GPA; 34Q

Got the email of acceptance today! (Interviewed on Monday 1/28...loved the fast turn-around!) OOS; 3.89GPA; 34Q

Nice, congrats. And, can anyone speak on whether the UVA is usually pretty quick at making post-interview decisions? I am interviewing on the 18th. Also, I am curious as to what exactly is the school looking for in terms of fit in regards to its students? I want to know whether I am a good fit for this school, besides for academic reasons.

BTW anyone looking for interview invites, I called the admissions office today, and they said that they were still handing out interview invites. So maybe next week...

Nice, congrats. And, can anyone speak on whether the UVA is usually pretty quick at making post-interview decisions? I am interviewing on the 18th. Also, I am curious as to what exactly is the school looking for in terms of fit in regards to its students? I want to know whether I am a good fit for this school, besides for academic reasons.

I interviewed on a Monday and I really appreciated hearing back that Friday. In regards to fit, their Next Generation curriculum supports a great deal of group work and collaboration so being able to demonstrate that you work well with peers is beneficial. I was accepted in January so feel free to PM if you have any specific questions.

BTW anyone looking for interview invites, I called the admissions office today, and they said that they were still handing out interview invites. So maybe next week...

Good to know!

UVA interviews Monday through Thursday and emails decisions from that week's worth of interviews on Friday. Easily the quickest turnaround of any school where I interviewed.

That's nice to know I will be receiving a decision quickly. I hope everything goes well (knocks on wood). I would really love an acceptance.

that's nice to know i will be receiving a decision quickly. I hope everything goes well (knocks on wood). I would really love an acceptance.

+1

That's nice to know I will be receiving a decision quickly. I hope everything goes well (knocks on wood). I would really love an acceptance.
As would I!

Interviewed last tuesday- still have yet to hear back. Anyone not hear back by the friday after like they say? Hoping it means I'm still under consideration as I really felt the the school was a good fit for me, and I for the school.

I will be contacting the office on monday to see if the message simply failed to be sent, and will update the thread then. Congrats to all who have received acceptances!

As would I!

Interviewed last tuesday- still have yet to hear back. Anyone not hear back by the friday after like they say? Hoping it means I'm still under consideration as I really felt the the school was a good fit for me, and I for the school.

I will be contacting the office on monday to see if the message simply failed to be sent, and will update the thread then. Congrats to all who have received acceptances!

Actually UVA changed their admissions policies this year...basically they interview Mon-Thur for 2 weeks, then send out the decisions at the end of those 2 weeks on Friday. So I'm guessing you interviewed during the "1st week" of their 2 week cycles.

They were on 1-week admission cycles as of December. Did they end up changing back?

My apologies if this was already discussed. As far as "decisions" go, if you don't hear good news on one of those Fridays, do you just assume waitlist or rejection? Or do they actually tell you? Thanks in advance.

Just got the rejection email. I'm pre-interview. Congrats and good luck to the rest of you that made it farther than I did!

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just got the rejection email. I'm pre-interview. Congrats and good luck to the rest of you that made it farther than i did!

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+1

Just got the rejection email. I'm pre-interview. Congrats and good luck to the rest of you that made it farther than I did!

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Same, and I had just sent an update letter earlier this morning...

I too just received a pre-interview rejection. Was complete in July. See MDApps for stats. Good luck to the rest of you!

Got rejected today as well. Oh well. What can you do.

Correction from my earlier post- I did receive communication Friday after my interview: alternate list.

Would have much preferred an in, but I'll take i! My work email sometimes delays messages by 2-3 days for no apparent reason. My email was timestamped Friday morning though. Sorry to spread confusion, they are 100% what they said: 1-week cycles, decisions out every friday

Just withdrew from my interview. Good luck to the rest of you.

My apologies if this was already discussed. As far as "decisions" go, if you don't hear good news on one of those Fridays, do you just assume waitlist or rejection? Or do they actually tell you? Thanks in advance.

It was mentioned during the pre-interview presentation that they send out e-mails regardless of decision.

Are there any current students that can comment on what kind of personal computer is required with the new curriculum?

I found this page http://www.medicine.virginia.edu/education/medical-students/ome/edtech/buying-page but my current computer falls just short of the "Bare Minimum" standards (Mid 2010 MacBook Pro, the screen isn't 15" and the CPU is a little slow)

I'll probably get a new computer anyway, I'm just wondering if I would need a newer computer from the beginning or if I could afford to wait a few months or so after school starts.

Are there any current students that can comment on what kind of personal computer is required with the new curriculum?

I found this page http://www.medicine.virginia.edu/education/medical-students/ome/edtech/buying-page but my current computer falls just short of the "Bare Minimum" standards (Mid 2010 MacBook Pro, the screen isn't 15" and the CPU is a little slow)

I'll probably get a new computer anyway, I'm just wondering if I would need a newer computer from the beginning or if I could afford to wait a few months or so after school starts.

Crap. I just got a new 13in MacBook last year :(

Just got the second look email with preliminary info! (March 22-23 btw) :soexcited:

Are there any current students that can comment on what kind of personal computer is required with the new curriculum?

I found this page http://www.medicine.virginia.edu/education/medical-students/ome/edtech/buying-page but my current computer falls just short of the "Bare Minimum" standards (Mid 2010 MacBook Pro, the screen isn't 15" and the CPU is a little slow)

I'll probably get a new computer anyway, I'm just wondering if I would need a newer computer from the beginning or if I could afford to wait a few months or so after school starts.

Crap. I just got a new 13in MacBook last year :(

to both of the above: we had a few people with their computers who were "just meeting minimum" crashing earlier in the year, so just be warned of that. however, these were in the huge minority ( less than 5 i can think of) whereas everyone else was fine. the main thing is you need to be able to run powerpoints, some kind of video player, and open PDF/word docs. also it's very helpful to get a good note-taking software. this is one of those weird moments in which we've found that windows is superior to macs in that on windows, you can use microsoft onenote, which is basically this fabulous version of taking notes. macs have similar versions like growlynotes but nothing with the same tools as onenote, which several of the mac students in my class have complained about.

tbh your comps sound fine.

Just got the second look email with preliminary info! (March 22-23 btw) :soexcited:

+1

Very excited! It will be my first second look!

congrats guys!! ^_^ if what is on FB is accurate (mar23), it seems like your guys's second look weekend is on our last weekend of spring break, which makes no sense because no one will be around... =\ well i'm sure they'll make a few of us stay behind but yah, how sad! :(

I interviewed on a Monday and I really appreciated hearing back that Friday. In regards to fit, their Next Generation curriculum supports a great deal of group work and collaboration so being able to demonstrate that you work well with peers is beneficial. I was accepted in January so feel free to PM if you have any specific questions.

i really want to emphasize this post -- there is a lot of group work and a lot of active learning sessions that even to this day are hitting ppl in my class hard, including myself sometimes. please be warned that like they said on interview day, if you are truly someone who learns best from lectures and does not think you can change your learning style, this is NOT THE SCHOOL FOR YOU. it's been a tough learning curve for a bunch of us but you can tell some people have adapted faster. i LOVE uva but there are definitely a few people who are frustrated week to week by how little lecture we have sometimes. (and of course there are variations in systems too but we just happen to be in a very lecture-free system right now so this is why these complaints may be coming up more now)

i really want to emphasize this post -- there is a lot of group work and a lot of active learning sessions that even to this day are hitting ppl in my class hard, including myself sometimes. please be warned that like they said on interview day, if you are truly someone who learns best from lectures and does not think you can change your learning style, this is NOT THE SCHOOL FOR YOU. it's been a tough learning curve for a bunch of us but you can tell some people have adapted faster. i LOVE uva but there are definitely a few people who are frustrated week to week by how little lecture we have sometimes. (and of course there are variations in systems too but we just happen to be in a very lecture-free system right now so this is why these complaints may be coming up more now)

The administration could be more responsive to our concerns too. It is quite obvious when Dean Canterbury (who is one of the nicest people you will ever meet here, btw) agrees or disagrees with our concerns during our town hall sessions, the CPD representatives were not exactly open to change, and the whole exam question review process is a muddy nightmare (take test --> miss X questions --> wake up a couple days later and find out you got Y points back --> celebrate --> wonder how in the world you got those points back). Also, I feel the resources provided for most of our work are either superfluous or missing key details. Success here (and it is definitely possible to succeed here) depends on your motivation to acquire the whole picture. MIS had huge gaps in material needed for the USMLE - I needed to study that information on my own. MCM seemed to cover ~95% of the biochem material on the boards = awesome. MSI... well, the whole block seems really disorganized. Why are we learning about muscle contraction in the penultimate week of the course?

My advice to incoming students? Use review books (Goljin, First Aid, Katzung, BRS, Lippincott, Pathoma, whatever you like best) as soon as possible. They will fill in the holes in the curriculum so you can avoid the lower peak in that USMLE bimodal distribution mentioned earlier (not sure if it really exists, guess we will find out soon).

MIS had huge gaps in material needed for the USMLE - I needed to study that information on my own. MCM seemed to cover ~95% of the biochem material on the boards = awesome. MSI... well, the whole block seems really disorganized. Why are we learning about muscle contraction in the penultimate week of the course?

My advice to incoming students? Use review books (Goljin, First Aid, Katzung, BRS, Lippincott, Pathoma, whatever you like best) as soon as possible. They will fill in the holes in the curriculum so you can avoid the lower peak in that USMLE bimodal distribution mentioned earlier (not sure if it really exists, guess we will find out soon).
As I'm two iterations removed from the current basic science systems, can't comment on how they're organized - definitely agree that the structure will vary based on the course directors' goals.

However, I'd just like to caution y'all against focusing too much on what's covered by the USMLE for the following reasons:

1) Anything you're learning now will likely long be forgotten by the time you start dedicated studying for Step 1. Concepts I knew cold just a few months prior to our time off had to be relearned.
2) While it is important that UVa continuously tries to refine their units so that their value increases and they cover the core concepts, what's considered clinically important and what's important for Step 1 is sometimes unfortunately mutually exclusive. There are things listed in First Aid that are frankly bull**** for us to learn. It's not like medicine is a field lacking in information to test students on, so I'd rather UVa skip some of that stuff (who cares what agar I need to grow a certain bacteria?) to focus on things I'll actually use and learn that stuff on my own later. Blocks should still deliver info efficiently and effectively - I'm not excusing any deficiencies current first years might find in the current versions of systems - I just wouldn't measure their effectiveness by what's covered in Step 1 prep books.
3) This is somewhat a recap of point #1, but the value in using Step 1 resources during these units is in any annotations you make, not in anything you're retaining for the future (which will be next to nothing). Reading First Aid during GI, for instance, will give you an outline of what's important, allow you to write down some notes to flesh out concepts more than review books will themselves, show you some mnemonics to help you on the exam, etc. Will you remember any of that in the January before you take Step 1? No, but you'll have your notes to make re-learning it a little easier. I scored somewhere in the top 15% of our class for Step 1 and had pretty much forgotten most of what I'd studied a month after I took it - how much do you think is going to stick with you from a year before?

It sounds like my class (SMD14) did have a bimodal distribution for scores (while our average is up, the graph of scores comes up months later). Every class before us had a different breakdown in their ranges despite going through the same "old Gen" curriculum, so I'm not sure how much value there is in trying to interpret our distribution - especially as how it pertains to studying strategies...

As I'm two iterations removed from the current basic science systems, can't comment on how they're organized - definitely agree that the structure will vary based on the course directors' goals.

However, I'd just like to caution y'all against focusing too much on what's covered by the USMLE for the following reasons:

1) Anything you're learning now will likely long be forgotten by the time you start dedicated studying for Step 1. Concepts I knew cold just a few months prior to our time off had to be relearned.

I do not think it is wise to focus on the First Aid material, and I would never endorse it. I would, however, recommend reviewing that material so it is familiar later. Do not sacrifice one for the other, in other words. A lot of people have no problem focusing on both the material covered in class plus the information that is not covered (and retaining it for months). I suppose it depends on ability/memory and your style of learning.

2) While it is important that UVa continuously tries to refine their units so that their value increases and they cover the core concepts, what's considered clinically important and what's important for Step 1 is sometimes unfortunately mutually exclusive. There are things listed in First Aid that are frankly bull**** for us to learn. It's not like medicine is a field lacking in information to test students on, so I'd rather UVa skip some of that stuff (who cares what agar I need to grow a certain bacteria?) to focus on things I'll actually use and learn that stuff on my own later. Blocks should still deliver info efficiently and effectively - I'm not excusing any deficiencies current first years might find in the current versions of systems - I just wouldn't measure their effectiveness by what's covered in Step 1 prep books.

Why should covering the clinically relevant material and covering the board-relevant material be mutually exclusive? Why sacrifice one for the other? Just do both. We essentially teach ourselves - why not just give us the information and not cover it in class? Also, it is rather obvious when a book launches into a basic science description of a disease that should be beyond the scope of a clinician's concerns - or the opposite: a lack of basic science information with excessive generalities.

On the other hand, I completely agree: the minute lab details, etc. in First Aid and elsewhere are not terribly useful... Unfortunately, the boards are changing more slowly than medical education is, and we suffer for it. I know this curriculum will make us great clinicians, but at some point, whether you agree with it in principle or not, we have to accept that the boards are important - something you obviously did at some point to score so well. I would just like to have that information earlier rather than later.

3) This is somewhat a recap of point #1, but the value in using Step 1 resources during these units is in any annotations you make, not in anything you're retaining for the future (which will be next to nothing). Reading First Aid during GI, for instance, will give you an outline of what's important, allow you to write down some notes to flesh out concepts more than review books will themselves, show you some mnemonics to help you on the exam, etc. Will you remember any of that in the January before you take Step 1? No, but you'll have your notes to make re-learning it a little easier. I scored somewhere in the top 15% of our class for Step 1 and had pretty much forgotten most of what I'd studied a month after I took it - how much do you think is going to stick with you from a year before?

It sounds like my class (SMD14) did have a bimodal distribution for scores (while our average is up, the graph of scores comes up months later). Every class before us had a different breakdown in their ranges despite going through the same "old Gen" curriculum, so I'm not sure how much value there is in trying to interpret our distribution - especially as how it pertains to studying strategies...

You are correct about the annotations. "how much do you think is going to stick with you from a year before?" I guess it depends on your ability to retain information. Studying material now works for me - my history says I will retain much of it, but a few people in SMD2016 have given exactly the justification you mentioned: why study now if I won't remember it? I can't argue with it - each person studies differently.

Are there any current students that can comment on what kind of personal computer is required with the new curriculum?

I found this page http://www.medicine.virginia.edu/education/medical-students/ome/edtech/buying-page but my current computer falls just short of the "Bare Minimum" standards (Mid 2010 MacBook Pro, the screen isn't 15" and the CPU is a little slow)

I'll probably get a new computer anyway, I'm just wondering if I would need a newer computer from the beginning or if I could afford to wait a few months or so after school starts.

Crap. I just got a new 13in MacBook last year :(

You don't need a computer with a 15" screen. That really should not be on the minimum requirements list... as long as it is a comfortably sized screen for you, it's fine. And the library has several sets of monitors that you can use in the event that you do need a larger screen.

You do, however, need a computer with a decent memory and hard drive size. Don't skimp on those.

3) This is somewhat a recap of point #1, but the value in using Step 1 resources during these units is in any annotations you make, not in anything you're retaining for the future (which will be next to nothing). Reading First Aid during GI, for instance, will give you an outline of what's important, allow you to write down some notes to flesh out concepts more than review books will themselves, show you some mnemonics to help you on the exam, etc. Will you remember any of that in the January before you take Step 1? No, but you'll have your notes to make re-learning it a little easier. I scored somewhere in the top 15% of our class for Step 1 and had pretty much forgotten most of what I'd studied a month after I took it - how much do you think is going to stick with you from a year before?

I second this. I highly recommend getting First Aid as soon as the new edition comes out during your year (sometime during MSI), but only because it makes annotating so much easier to do it as you're learning the material, rather than months later after you're trying to cram all that information back into your head.

But, this is advice for first years, not for the pre-meds thinking about coming to UVA.

As far as the person above that said the administration isn't open to feedback... For our OSCE during the end of second year, we had one of our classmates organize a review session for our physical exam skills. The following year, it was integrated into CPD. Our cardio system was a mess, and they got a new course director as a result for SMD15. MSI is a week longer now than it was for us. Immunology and micro are now taught in the same system.

Certainly, there are problems with the curriculum, as there likely are everywhere you go. But it is changing. Perhaps not at the pace you want it to change, but it is changing. Half of our recommendations weren't implemented until SMD15 came through... it's hard to change things in the middle of the system, and a whole lot easier to change policies with a fresh class who isn't going to complain about how things used to be (as much).

Does anyone know what the last date of interview at UVA this year is?

I have a few questions based on what has been said above:

1) You guys are saying we need computers that can run powerpoint, PDFs, word docs, video player, etc. Don't mean to sound harsh but those sound like very basic functions, why would they be a problem for anyone? Am I missing something?

2) If students at UVa don't spend a lot of time in lecture, what do they do throughout the week? I know UVa is very big on "group work" but what does that actually mean? Are we assigned group projects based on the material? Do we form groups to study the material ourselves?

Would really appreciate some feedback on this. Thanks in advance.

I have a few questions based on what has been said above:

1) You guys are saying we need computers that can run powerpoint, PDFs, word docs, video player, etc. Don't mean to sound harsh but those sound like very basic functions, why would they be a problem for anyone? Am I missing something?

2) If students at UVa don't spend a lot of time in lecture, what do they do throughout the week? I know UVa is very big on "group work" but what does that actually mean? Are we assigned group projects based on the material? Do we form groups to study the material ourselves?

Would really appreciate some feedback on this. Thanks in advance.

1) Exactly. Our IT person is a little... Shall we say, set in his beliefs. The 'requirements' on the website are mostly things that will be in every computer. You do not, however, need an external hard drive, an external monitor, or a 15" screen. You should get a computer with a decent amount of memory and hard drive space, one with a cd-rom, and one with a VGa adapter. Few computers on the market will not have these things.

2) a good portion of class time is spent working in groups, and one afternoon per week is based in groups. You can form study groups if you want, or study solo...whatever works best for you. The rest of the time is spent studying... Mostly prepping for the next days classes... and time to do whatever you want. For some, this is sports, others art, and others choose to spend more time studying. It's pretty flexible.

As far as the person above that said the administration isn't open to feedback... For our OSCE during the end of second year, we had one of our classmates organize a review session for our physical exam skills. The following year, it was integrated into CPD. Our cardio system was a mess, and they got a new course director as a result for SMD15. MSI is a week longer now than it was for us. Immunology and micro are now taught in the same system.

Certainly, there are problems with the curriculum, as there likely are everywhere you go. But it is changing. Perhaps not at the pace you want it to change, but it is changing. Half of our recommendations weren't implemented until SMD15 came through... it's hard to change things in the middle of the system, and a whole lot easier to change policies with a fresh class who isn't going to complain about how things used to be (as much).

From what I have heard, the Cardio debacle was a shining example of the curriculum's ability to change.

Your post actually brings up another problem. There seem to be several points on which SMD15 and SMD 16 disagree. SMD15 wanted more pre-recorded lectures (the auditory learners maybe?). SMD16 has mentioned in the town halls (and to current system leaders) that we want fewer PRLs and more handouts. Poor Dean Canterbury didn't know what to say when he heard that a few months ago.

Recommendations from the previous class sometimes cause headaches for the next class because the changes may be a matter of preference. There is nothing the admins can do about it right now, but that slow response time has repercussions. Granted, it is more of an annoyance than anything else. However, if they want to respond to student complaints, they have to be able to recognize the recommendations that should be implemented with limited delay and those that must wait (the complete remodeling of a block).

As for responses to CPD criticisms, it is pretty clear that SMD2016 has no love for the new electronic student learning portfolio. Unfortunately, the response we have received (even regarding what should be minor changes) is basically, "This is the system we decided to implement: get used to it." Not even the mentors can figure it out sometimes :eek:. This isn't a curriculum-breaking problem... sometimes I just wish they would say, "Yeah we know it sucks, and we'll do what we can."

As for responses to CPD criticisms, it is pretty clear that SMD2016 has no love for the new electronic student learning portfolio. Unfortunately, the response we have received (even regarding what should be minor changes) is basically, "This is the system we decided to implement: get used to it." Not even the mentors can figure it out sometimes :eek:. This isn't a curriculum-breaking problem... sometimes I just wish they would say, "Yeah we know it sucks, and we'll do what we can."

Eh... they changed our passports on the wards from a paper system to something on OASIS. No one likes it. Not even the faculty. It was supposed to be easier, because we would have an app on our phones where we could get them signed off right as we did them. That app was supposed to be out in time for us to start clerkships. Almost a year later, it's still in development.

They've basically given us the 'tough luck' talk too, despite our efforts to make it more user-friendly. Thankfully, I only need to use it for another 3 weeks and I'm done with it for good. Unless I end up at UVA for residency...

Your post actually brings up another problem. There seem to be several points on which SMD15 and SMD 16 disagree. SMD15 wanted more pre-recorded lectures (the auditory learners maybe?). SMD16 has mentioned in the town halls (and to current system leaders) that we want fewer PRLs and more handouts. Poor Dean Canterbury didn't know what to say when he heard that a few months ago.

I remember a similar difference of opinion between SMD14 and SMD15 about the delivery of LOs (Learning Objectives). If I recall correctly, SMD14 had them in .doc format, and requested .pdf. When SMD15 came along, we made them change it back to .doc. A few months later, they started posting LOs directly Student Source, and all the complaining stopped.

I think the obvious solution (that SMD15 has already brought up) to the PRL/handout debate is to provide both, or at least PRLs + quality readings in lieu of handouts, so everyone can learn how they choose. I recall MAM saying several times that her PRLs are completely optional if you feel you can learn the material better elsewhere, but certainly this is not yet true of all lecturers and their PRLs. My recollection is that SMD15 complained less about PRLs as we moved on through the systems, and I do think it was a combination of improvement by the school and adjustment by the students.

As for responses to CPD criticisms, it is pretty clear that SMD2016 has no love for the new electronic student learning portfolio. Unfortunately, the response we have received (even regarding what should be minor changes) is basically, "This is the system we decided to implement: get used to it." Not even the mentors can figure it out sometimes :eek:. This isn't a curriculum-breaking problem... sometimes I just wish they would say, "Yeah we know it sucks, and we'll do what we can."

The CPD binders weren't that great either. I guess I'm in the minority, but I'm totally fine with the E-SLPs now. The fact that they made a (wholly unnecessary) 15 min instructional video was daunting at first, but the process seemed to make sense once I figured it out. To be fair, procrastinated long enough for them to install document uploading functionality; I can see how having to copy and paste a write-up from Word would be really lame.

I think it is the first week of march. Mine is the end of February but when I signed up, the dates were still available for the first week of march.

just got the acceptance letter! OOS, and loved the interview experience here.

Accepted today!
Interviewed on Monday it was great :)

Also this was my second interview at UVA as a re-applicant :)

dang waitlisted! :P was really hoping for this one, but congrats to you both! :)

Anyone from Richmond VA area who is planning to go to second look day?:)

When is the second look weekend?

When is the second look weekend?

March 23rd