2011-2012 University of Minnesota Application Thread

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Is anyone here interviewing on Feb 20th? I wanted to ask what you were doing to prepare for the interview? Also, what is the best cheap place to stay at?

Originally Posted by jdudemed

Is anyone here interviewing on Feb 20th? I wanted to ask what you were doing to prepare for the interview? Also, what is the best cheap place to stay at?

I stayed with a student. It was awesome!

Originally Posted by jdudemed

Is anyone here interviewing on Feb 20th? I wanted to ask what you were doing to prepare for the interview? Also, what is the best cheap place to stay at?

I would check out the SDN interview feedback forum for the U. It's a great tool. I felt that both of my interviews (both the faculty and the M4) were very conversational and nothing to be worried about. Just be yourself and enjoy the interview day! to you!

Originally Posted by BunnyInTheBox

I stayed with a student. It was awesome!

How did you find a med student? I'm trying to find a student host but I had no luck

Originally Posted by jdudemed

How did you find a med student? I'm trying to find a student host but I had no luck

You can just email Lola

Anybody know how the waitlist works here? It sounds like come spring, the waitlist turns into acceptances, rejections, and the ranked alternate list. Correct?

Got a call from a 612 number and missed it, googled it to find it was the U of M med school system.

I'm afraid to call back. I have such a f*ed up emotional relationship with this school right now.

They only call to accept you, right? Because if they call to waitlist, I am going to be so mad.

Unless they are calling because there's a problem with my application, but given that I interviewed in mid-December, I would have known by now if there was a problem.

Originally Posted by lockian

Got a call from a 612 number and missed it, googled it to find it was the U of M med school system.

I'm afraid to call back. I have such a f*ed up emotional relationship with this school right now.

They only call to accept you, right? Because if they call to waitlist, I am going to be so mad.

Unless they are calling because there's a problem with my application, but given that I interviewed in mid-December, I would have known by now if there was a problem.

From the letter and lack of phone call I received, they do NOT call for waitlist.

Originally Posted by lockian

Got a call from a 612 number and missed it, googled it to find it was the U of M med school system.

I'm afraid to call back. I have such a f*ed up emotional relationship with this school right now.

They only call to accept you, right? Because if they call to waitlist, I am going to be so mad.

Unless they are calling because there's a problem with my application, but given that I interviewed in mid-December, I would have known by now if there was a problem.

Haha yeah, they only call to accept. You shouldn't need to call back. Did you check your voice mail?

Originally Posted by lockian

Got a call from a 612 number and missed it, googled it to find it was the U of M med school system.

I'm afraid to call back. I have such a f*ed up emotional relationship with this school right now.

They only call to accept you, right? Because if they call to waitlist, I am going to be so mad.

Unless they are calling because there's a problem with my application, but given that I interviewed in mid-December, I would have known by now if there was a problem.

Congrats then! BTW, when did you interview?

I interviewed on 12/15.

Originally Posted by lockian

I interviewed on 12/15.

+1. Got an acceptance call yesterday. interviewed on 12/16.

Did Dean White leave a voicemail? I interviewed in mid December but didn't receive a missed call or a voicemail. I was also in a room with no signal the whole day yesterday. So I am wondering if I received a call but it didn't show up on my phone. Or probably I was waitlisted or rejected

Originally Posted by angelgirl

Did Dean White leave a voicemail? I interviewed in mid December but didn't receive a missed call or a voicemail. I was also in a room with no signal the whole day yesterday. So I am wondering if I received a call but it didn't show up on my phone. Or probably I was waitlisted or rejected

I interviewed in mid-December as well and haven't heard anything yet either. I wouldn't be worried - it seems that they are still processing the November and earlier December interviewees. All that said, this process certainly demands a lot of patience!!

Originally Posted by MadTia

I interviewed in mid-December as well and haven't heard anything yet either. I wouldn't be worried - it seems that they are still processing the November and earlier December interviewees. All that said, this process certainly demands a lot of patience!!

How do you know that they are still processing the November and early December interviewees?

I don't know for certain, but we were told on interview day that it would take 6-8 weeks (and the M2s said closer to 10, and not to be worried). Based on people who are getting called this week, Dec and Nov interviewees, I'm speculating that is what is happening.

Some acceptances that recently went out (mid-late January) were for interviews in November. At least one person mentioned getting past the 10 week mark before they got the call. I wouldn't guarantee to yourself that you're rejected/wait-listed until you have a letter in hand.

Good luck!

Are the lectures at the twin cities audio or video recorded or both? Or the audio recorded and shown with the presentation slides? Or any type of the lectures available online?

Originally Posted by TheGloaming

Are the lectures at the twin cities audio or video recorded or both? Or the audio recorded and shown with the presentation slides? Or any type of the lectures available online?

1. Definitely available online. Sounds like on an avg. day ~ 1/2 students actually attend lecture. ~ 3/4 if it's a guest lecturer. Can be streamed real time, and they're recorded and accessible later too.

2. I believe it's audio with presentation materials (slides). I think I remember that ad-hoc chalk talk parts of the lectures might leave you SOL, but those are pretty infrequent.

Hope that helps!

where my duluth people at?

Originally Posted by mndr

where my duluth people at?

what's up?

Originally Posted by Dartmouth2005

what's up?

Ditto

Originally Posted by blkshrtdynasty

1. Definitely available online. Sounds like on an avg. day ~ 1/2 students actually attend lecture. ~ 3/4 if it's a guest lecturer. Can be streamed real time, and they're recorded and accessible later too.

2. I believe it's audio with presentation materials (slides). I think I remember that ad-hoc chalk talk parts of the lectures might leave you SOL, but those are pretty infrequent.

Hope that helps!

Thanks much.

any word on when the meet up is this spring?

Can any current students help me out with these questions? (i interviewed a while back and can't rememeber some pertinent info)

1) What is the lecture schedule like, i.e. approx how many hours of lectue per day?
2) Is time blocked off for Step 1 prep?
3) when's the first day of class?

Thanks!

So... Nobody heard anything throughout this past week?

Originally Posted by BunnyInTheBox

So... Nobody heard anything throughout this past week?

I have yet to hear back. Interviewed TC 12 weeks ago.

Originally Posted by OHF

I have yet to hear back. Interviewed TC 12 weeks ago.

I quit counting the weeks already...

Originally Posted by jdudemed

Is anyone here interviewing on Feb 20th? I wanted to ask what you were doing to prepare for the interview? Also, what is the best cheap place to stay at?

Hey everyone. I'm in the same boat - preparing to interview next week. I have a few specific questions:

-I've heard that the interview is 'conversational and pretty laid back', but what sorts of questions are asked? Should I expect questions about my research, my work experiences, favorite books, or is it more related to issues in medicine, such as health care reform?

-Were they asking questions about medical ethics? This is something that I'm not too familiar on and wondering if I should invest the time in before my interview.

-Was the interview a behavioral interview? By that, I mean were they questions like: describe a time when you had a conflict with a team member?

-Lastly, what are your general words of advice for preparing for this interview?

THANKS!!!

Originally Posted by PCIRISH52

I interviewed at TC campus last week and can give a quick summary of the day. First of all, my interview group was very small which was nice because it made everything more personal. There were two interviews, one with a faculty member in the morning and another with a med student in the afternoon. The faculty member interview is open file save the stats. Mine had questions prepared beforehand and tailored to my app and essays. So, make sure to know your AMCAS and essays well. It was very laid back and enjoyable overall. The length of my interview approached one hour. Don't know if that is normal or not. I didn't get any ethical questions but one of the other interviewees said that they did.

The second interview with the med student has no bearing on your admission. The student told me that at the beginning of the interview. So, I don't know what the purpose of the med student interview is other than for you as an applicant to ask any further questions you might have about the school. Because the interview had no admissions implications it was once again very relaxing. This interview was shorter and closer to 30 minutes in length.

Overall, the entire day was enjoyable and I was very impressed by the U. All the students that I met seemed friendly and happy to be there which was a positive sign.

Question for all those of you who have interviewed:
-Was your interview also open file where the interviewer knew your application? Or did some of you have a closed file interview? I'd assume they would all be the same, but not sure.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by BunnyInTheBox

So... Nobody heard anything throughout this past week?

Maybe some calls will go out this week, since it looks like they're calling every other week. Good luck, guys!

Also to the post above, the faculty one is open file and the student one is closed file. Good luck with your interview

i hadn't noticed it was every other week. maybe the adcom has to wait the two weeks to see if those accepted put down deposits and then the adcom knows how many acceptances they have left to give out. and if that is the case they should know how many acceptances they have left since their last calls that people posted about went out on Monday 2/6 as i recall. i guess ill have to wait a little longer and keep hoping for the best!

Well it seemed like it was every two weeks, anyways xD I dunno if that's a definite thing and I didn't mean to imply that it was.

On another note - does UMN do post-interview rejections? And how are rejections and waitlists sent out (snail mail vs. e-mail)?

if you get a phone call you're in (or i guess he adcom could have a question for you in rare cases). if you get a piece of snail mail you need to read it to find out if you've been waitlisted or rejected. so yes, they do post-interview rejections (there are schools that don't reject after interview?!?).

^Thanks! And yeah, there are schools who just waitlist everyone who interviews lol

Thanks so much!

Got the acceptance call last night!!! Interviewed Jan 6.
Jeremiah 29:11 indeed Hoping for the best for everyone still waiting!

I got the admissions call on 2/7, but so far no piece of mail that would allow me to officially accept the offer. Should I be worried?

Originally Posted by lockian

I got the admissions call on 2/7, but so far no piece of mail that would allow me to officially accept the offer. Should I be worried?

I would call just to make sure they know you are taking the spot. Otherwise, they may give it away to someone else.

Also, for anyone who's already gotten their admissions packet, how much the enrollment deposit?

Called! They sent out the packets Feb 15 for those admitted Feb 7; they're aware of my situation and say that if I've not gotten it within the next couple of days, I should let them know and they'll email me facsimiles of the important parts.

Also, I asked to make sure and they said they don't give away spots if they've not heard from an admitted candidate within two weeks of the admissions packet going out. They will, however, make additional, reasonable efforts to find you.

Has anyone who was admitted heard anything about a second look event yet?

just got a post interview rejection after being wait listed.

OOS so i guess i wasn't too surprised. kinda really bummed about this one, but i do have one acceptance already so i guess i shouldn't complain too much

Originally Posted by citrusguy2010

just got a post interview rejection after being wait listed.

OOS so i guess i wasn't too surprised. kinda really bummed about this one, but i do have one acceptance already so i guess i shouldn't complain too much

When did you get put on the waiting list? and was it a letter or email?

When did you interview? and can you share some stats? I'm OOS and I interviewed recently.

Originally Posted by citrusguy2010

just got a post interview rejection after being wait listed.

OOS so i guess i wasn't too surprised. kinda really bummed about this one, but i do have one acceptance already so i guess i shouldn't complain too much

When did you interview? and can you share some stats? I'm OOS and I interviewed recently.

Originally Posted by jdudemed

When did you interview? and can you share some stats? I'm OOS and I interviewed recently.

secondary complete: 8/12
interview invite: 9/26
interview day: 10/14
waitlist day: 11/14 (dated)
rejection day: 2/24 (dated)

stats: 3.39 ugpa/32S MCAT from UCLA, currently in second year of MPH program where ggpa > 3.8

EC's and LOR's: very strong EC's (including pubs) and LOR's (i had 8 strong LOR's)

Look back impressions: I thought I had a very strong interview with the faculty and the student. The only area of weakness are definitely my numbers, but my faculty interviewer told me that I didn't need to explain my poor numbers to him/her because I had been invited for an interview and that meant the Adcom thought I could handle it. The only part of the interview that I think cost me is that I didn't demonstrate enough ties to Minnesota...which is partially true - all I have is a very close friend that lives in Minneapolis and no family ties (hence OOS). I also think that when I was asked a hypothetical question about whether I would choose UCSD versus UM Duluth and I answered UCSD that that wasn't the answer they were looking for. Looking back, I loved the school, the atmosphere, the facilities, and it was definitely my number 2 choice of the schools I interviewed at the time, but I didn't demonstrate enough connection to Minnesota and working in Minnesota long term.

Then again, that's just my impression. Hope this helps someone at least.

Just got my acceptance call on Wednesday! Not sure why it was so quick, but it was less than 3 weeks after my interview.

A few FYIs for people who are still interviewing or waiting to hear:
- the MS4 interview DOES count, the med students fill out an evaluation that is presented to the Admissions committee
- Paul White has left his position as Dean...so if you get an acceptance call, it won't be from him!

Can anyone chime in on what the internal environment at the U is doing to send all these high level staffers packing. I heard some grumblings about the Med School from an SDNer on the Iowa site saying a high ranking professor had recently left the U for Iowa. Now Dean White has left from what brob0045 states. I'm happy I got in to Carver especially if they are leaking good teaching talent from the U, but anyone know what is going on to cause these most recent high level defections/departures?

Originally Posted by ResIpsaLoquitur

Can anyone chime in on what the internal environment at the U is doing to send all these high level staffers packing. I heard some grumblings about the Med School from an SDNer on the Iowa site saying a high ranking professor had recently left the U for Iowa. Now Dean White has left from what brob0045 states. I'm happy I got in to Carver especially if they are leaking good teaching talent from the U, but anyone know what is going on to cause these most recent high level defections/departures?

I don't have very much info for you, but I picked up on some frustration that may be occurring with new curriculum structure. Whether that's relevant or not- I don't know.

And I don't think Paul White was teaching faculty really.

Hopefully someone who knows more can chime in.

On another note, one more Duluth seat is now open. Good luck to those still waiting on good news.