2010-2011 George Washington University Application Thread

Where are all 15,000 of the GWU applicants at? I am reapplying, waitlisted now. I might be able to help with any questions

turkaglew said:

Where are all 15,000 of the GWU applicants at? I am reapplying, waitlisted now. I might be able to help with any questions

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When did your secondary first come? how were the essays?

not sure about when the secondary comes bc i submitted late last year. essays were short and easy ~ 6 lines each. something like accomplishments and interest in GW

Hello all,
Can someone tell me the average GPA and MCAT scores of successful applicants at Washington University. I am a Canadian citizen with a cGPA of ~3.75, MCAT 32P and a Masters degree in Medical Sciences. I want to know if applying to Washington is a long shot.
Thanks,
maadaputtar

did someone already receive the secondary or did they find those questions on the website?

Erosional Seven said:

did someone already receive the secondary or did they find those questions on the website?

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I'm a re-applying I found it from clicking on the link to their secondary from previous cycles: http://www.gwumc.edu/edu/admis/html/admissions/APPLYGWSMHS.html I don't think they are officially inviting people yet -- but considering everyone gets a secondary, it doesn't hurt to take a look at it.

Sweet.. thanks.

Howdy y'all,

I was wondering if a current student could explain the track programs a little bit more. I read the descriptions of these tracks, and I'm pretty interested in three or four of them. Does every student have to select just one track? It seems like it would be ridiculously hard to actually complete more than one, but can students not declare any of them and take electives from multiple tracks? If not, how soon do you have to decide? What happens if you change your mind after you start one track? Is it possible to change tracks?

Thanks in advance!

I just got their secondary today. Interesting, b/c my AMCAS hasn't even been verified yet.

Anyone else?

Just got this one!!

loua0731 said:

I just got their secondary today. Interesting, b/c my AMCAS hasn't even been verified yet.

Anyone else?

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The same thing happened to me. Interesting indeed.

BeeMD said:

The same thing happened to me. Interesting indeed.

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Me too! I got excited for a second that my AMCAS had been verified already (its only been 7 days) .. but alas, no such luck!

"For the 2010-2011 application cycle (Summer 2010 thru Summer 2011), please indicate activities, academics, employment, or other occupations to account for full-time activity (approx. 30-40 hours a week)."

Do you think they mean each individual activity accounting for that much time per week? Or the activities altogether?

Besides academics, I do some extracurriculars which individually don't add up to 30 hrs a week...but combined, they probably would.

Just got my first secondary!!

You don't need to be verified to get the secondary -- AMCAS sends them a list of people who are applying, and then GWU invites you to start the secondary. Some schools wait until you are verified before invite, but now GWU.

Seriously #1? How do you answer that, especially if you don't have gap year plans yet?

Avoidthetiger said:

Just got my first secondary!!

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Just got this secondary too. I'm going to try to send it out by the end of the day.

Keem said:

Seriously #1? How do you answer that, especially if you don't have gap year plans yet?

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I am in the same dilemma.

Also what is everyone writing on why GW?

ownage said:

I am in the same dilemma.

Also what is everyone writing on why GW?

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Me too... I'm working on getting plans together for the next year, but there's no way I'm going to wait until my plans are finalized to send this in. I'm thinking of writing something along the lines of that I'm currently trying to get involved in a research lab, and will provide the admissions office with an update once my plans are more concrete (obviously a bit better-worded than this though). What does anyone think about this idea? Do they accept updates before you've been invited for an interview? I'm currently waitlisted and reapplying.

vas113 said:

Me too... I'm working on getting plans together for the next year, but there's no way I'm going to wait until my plans are finalized to send this in. I'm thinking of writing something along the lines of that I'm currently trying to get involved in a research lab, and will provide the admissions office with an update once my plans are more concrete (obviously a bit better-worded than this though). What does anyone think about this idea? Do they accept updates before you've been invited for an interview? I'm currently waitlisted and reapplying.

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Wait so is that question about full-time activity geared more toward people in their gap year? So if I'm going to be an enrolled senior for the majority of the cycle, i should say full-time student?

ha damn I just applied and summer is just beginning. There are things I have and haven't planned out yet! Not digging that question too much.

I got the secondary too, but I can't open the PDF! I get an error! Anybody else have the same problem?

For the first question should we reply in a bullet format where we list everything or more like a coherent paragraph?

PmDawn said:

For the first question should we reply in a bullet format where we list everything or more like a coherent paragraph?

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I did a paragraph, but I'm sure either is fine. Whichever works best with your activities.

So glad i filled this out 2 weeks ago

In the mail!

Did you all type your answers in the PDF and then print, or did you print and then handwrite in the spaces? I'm having a hard time with the typing - once the cursor gets to the end of the line, it doesn't automatically start on the next!

glasshalfMD said:

Did you all type your answers in the PDF and then print, or did you print and then handwrite in the spaces? I'm having a hard time with the typing - once the cursor gets to the end of the line, it doesn't automatically start on the next!

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Yeah i typed it, and it was incredibly annoying. If a word was too long i had to backspace and start on the next line. Sometimes I had to delete whole lines and re-write them.

Gotta do whatcha gotta do. I got bad handwriting and didn't want to show it off.

So they ask for activities that account for 30-40 hrs/week

did you put a estimated hour count after each of your activities?

I don't want to come off pretentious, is all.

nvm

loua0731 said:

For the non-academic accomplishment, I was thinking of writing about my ongoing commitment/accomplishments in research. I've been working in the same lab for about 2 years, completed a poster which I presented at an undergraduate research symposium at my university as part of a research program my sophomore year. Next year, I will be doing an honors thesis project through the same lab.

My interest in research was first sparked in high school, when I completed an independent project which placed at my region's science fair and advanced me to an international science and engineering fair. I was also given an award for my research efforts by Michigan Governor Granholm.

Would this research count as "non-academic," even though the honors research will be through my concentration department and the research poster was through a university sponsored program?

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When I think of academic, I think of grades. So I guess research would not be academic.

ownage said:

When I think of academic, I think of grades. So I guess research would not be academic.

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ok, thanks! I posted this on the general allopathic forum to get some more feedback.

Applied and interviewed here last year. By non-academic, they don't mean research either. It's more to get to know you and see if you are well rounded. So maybe something like a sport, music, or anything non premedish should work. But I wouldn't use research/grades at all.

alibai3ah said:

Applied and interviewed here last year. By non-academic, they don't mean research either. It's more to get to know you and see if you are well rounded. So maybe something like a sport, music, or anything non premedish should work. But I wouldn't use research/grades at all.

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Oooh, alright. Thanks a lot!

**just decided to go with my secondary idea**

Did yall attach a photo? The app said it was optional but wasn't sure if I should attach one or not...

chucktown said:

Did yall attach a photo? The app said it was optional but wasn't sure if I should attach one or not...

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I'm going to...I figure I have no reason not to.

It seems like everyone's lost on the first one. So if I'm a full-time college student (senior) and doing research and volunteer work as I've been doing so far, how do I write that?

I don't think any of those take up to 30-40hrs/week but it ADDS UP to 30-40hrs...Any ideas? I think I'll prolly call the school tomorrow

SweetRain said:

It seems like everyone's lost on the first one. So if I'm a full-time college student (senior) and doing research and volunteer work as I've been doing so far, how do I write that?

I don't think any of those take up to 30-40hrs/week but it ADDS UP to 30-40hrs...Any ideas? I think I'll prolly call the school tomorrow

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College student is a full 40+ hour job. Each class hour should be approximately 3 hours of your life studying/going to class/ect per week. I don't think that you need to include research or volunteering. Just that you will be a student.

Is anyone able to save what you type into the form or do you have to fill it in and print it out right away? I don't have a printer I can hook my computer up to right now. This is so irritating.

SweetRain said:

It seems like everyone's lost on the first one. So if I'm a full-time college student (senior) and doing research and volunteer work as I've been doing so far, how do I write that?

I don't think any of those take up to 30-40hrs/week but it ADDS UP to 30-40hrs...Any ideas? I think I'll prolly call the school tomorrow

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I was wondering the same. Let us know what they say!

I'm pretty good on the first question (I graduated two years ago so I'm working full time and taking a class) but the second is killing me! It seems pathetic that I can't think of a "greatest accomplishment," but I'm completely stuck. I don't have some incredible athletic, artistic or music story..and everything else I write about sticking through something difficult seems a bit trite and not a true accomplishment. Ugh!

Is anyone else struggling with this one?

jmr86 said:

I'm pretty good on the first question (I graduated two years ago so I'm working full time and taking a class) but the second is killing me! It seems pathetic that I can't think of a "greatest accomplishment," but I'm completely stuck. I don't have some incredible athletic, artistic or music story..and everything else I write about sticking through something difficult seems a bit trite and not a true accomplishment. Ugh!

Is anyone else struggling with this one?

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I thought it was pretty hard too. I ended up talking about how I've witnessed the financial struggles of my parents and because of this, I personally taught myself how to be financially independent and stable from the age of 16. Kind of lame but maybe someone will like it. lol.

metalgirl14 said:

I thought it was pretty hard too. I ended up talking about how I've witnessed the financial struggles of my parents and because of this, I personally taught myself how to be financially independent and stable from the age of 16. Kind of lame but maybe someone will like it. lol.

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I wrote about founding my local sorority.... yay for non-academic achievements It's like the only place I get to use this experience haha

dramaqueen14 said:

Is anyone able to save what you type into the form or do you have to fill it in and print it out right away? I don't have a printer I can hook my computer up to right now. This is so irritating.

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Yeah, you should definitely be able to save it as a .pdf file on your computer and your answers should save with it... I have a Macbook Pro w/ Leopard OSX and it works fine for me.

chucktown said:

Did yall attach a photo? The app said it was optional but wasn't sure if I should attach one or not...

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I didn't, just because I don't have a great "passport-like" photo available at the moment, and I want to get the app out as soon as possible. Waiting a few days for an "optional photo" isn't what I want to do, lol. Plus I'm guessing they would take a photo at the interview if you don't send one with the secondary, and since I plan on looking sharp for any interview, it won't be a problem.

munchymanRX said:

So they ask for activities that account for 30-40 hrs/week

did you put a estimated hour count after each of your activities?

I don't want to come off pretentious, is all.

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I think it means 30-40 hours total, and I don't think its pretentious to put estimated hour count after your activity since AMCAS application asks for that kind of info anyways. I put down my 11 credits of graduate work, volunteering, work, and research.

GOD IM SO PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVED.

I filled out the stupid app via adobe and the stupid POS made my computer crash when I hit print. That's 2 hours down the drain and now I have to start all over. SAVE THE PDF FILE BEFORE YOU HIT PRINT TO AVOID THIS JUST IN CASE!

sedaniel said:

Yeah, you should definitely be able to save it as a .pdf file on your computer and your answers should save with it... I have a Macbook Pro w/ Leopard OSX and it works fine for me.

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How did you save the secondary? Also, what are you opening it with? I can't seem to be able to save the info that I enter whether I'm using Preview or Adobe : \

masterwolfie said:

How did you save the secondary? Also, what are you opening it with? I can't seem to be able to save the info that I enter whether I'm using Preview or Adobe : \

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I don't think you can save it. You just have to finish it and print it out right away. Gosh, I was actually going to save question #3 for tomorrow. I guess I am just going to finish it tonight then..

masterwolfie said:

How did you save the secondary? Also, what are you opening it with? I can't seem to be able to save the info that I enter whether I'm using Preview or Adobe : \

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Yeah, I think it might be a little screwy. I am using Preview. I downloaded last years GW secondary to get a head start filling out the answers. I downloaded this years secondary when I received it and proceeded to copy and paste the answers over. Then, the first time I went to save this years secondary app, it totally didn't save any of my answers when I pressed Ctrl-S. I re-downloaded the app, moved it to a different file, and re-named it just Secondary.pdf and then copied and pasted my answers over again and it worked when I pressed "Save As" from the File menu. I can't explain why or how, but that is exactly what I did lol. Hope that helps, I'm guessing the key is to press Save As, not Ctrl-S, when you first save it b/c I doubt the other stuff I did made a difference haha

Is it just me or does text on a line not carry over to the next line?

Asyouwereatrio said:

Is it just me or does text on a line not carry over to the next line?

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Nope, it doesn't

Okay, as for the question about your biggest non-academic achievement...

Did it have to occur during your college years? My reason for asking is that I'm a retired world-championship level Irish dancer, so arguably my biggest accomplishment would be winning our National Championship competition several times over. However, I don't want to put off the committee, since the last time I won was when I was 13... Of course I've danced a bit in college, but it has mostly been recreational, never competitive...

What do you guys think?