2011-2012 Florida State University Application Thread

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Originally Posted by DaMobolin

+1

You have great stats. You really should get a positive response.

This is rather frustrating. At this point I would really like to know if my application has been denied or not. Purgatory is just getting so damn annoying.

Waiting for anything ad infinitum!

Originally Posted by midevilrabbi

This is rather frustrating. At this point I would really like to know if my application has been denied or not. Purgatory is just getting so damn annoying.

Waiting for anything ad infinitum!

I totally agree. This is the only school that has not sent a rejection notification. Yes it gives me hope but it also frustrates me. Why? Because when you reapply they asked what have you done to improve your application and by the time you hear back it is too late to do anything.

The application was submitted very late and was not complete until the middle of December.
Hopefully we will hear something soon and not you have been rejected.

Originally Posted by OldBat

I totally agree. This is the only school that has not sent a rejection notification. Yes it gives me hope but it also frustrates me. Why? Because when you reapply they asked what have you done to improve your application and by the time you hear back it is too late to do anything.

The application was submitted very late and was not complete until the middle of December.
Hopefully we will hear something soon and not you have been rejected.

Have you interviewed? Or are you waiting for an invite? My life is upside down waiting like this.

Hang in there guys! I'm still waiting for an II, too. But like UCF31 said, there are 12 remaining interview dates. That is a heck of a lot better news than for the other schools I am waiting to hear back from... and I'm sure you all feel the same too! (<---- one for each set of phalanges )

Originally Posted by Biograd29

Have you interviewed? Or are you waiting for an invite? My life is upside down waiting like this.

An invite.

Hi,

I was looking through the FSU curriculum outline (http://med.fsu.edu/index.cfm?page=me...cation.outline) and saw that MS2's get a 3 week (review) time after the Spring semester. What is this 3 week review time all about? Is it a measure to help students prepare for Step 1?

Thanks!

Originally Posted by tranquilo

Hi,

I was looking through the FSU curriculum outline (http://med.fsu.edu/index.cfm?page=me...cation.outline) and saw that MS2's get a 3 week (review) time after the Spring semester. What is this 3 week review time all about? Is it a measure to help students prepare for Step 1?

Thanks!

Step 1, yes.

It is for step 1 as noted before.

I remember hearing how other schools had so much more time and was really concerned, but that schedule is somewhat deceiving. Really, you get 5+ weeks for step 1, which is MORE than enough time. (I think I burned out a week early and hurt my score)

They give you 2ish weeks for these cumulative finals, which are worth a little of your grade but nothing serious, not that it matters with P/F now. I used that day as a practice Step 1 day to gauge what I needed to work on. The weeks before, I followed my planned study schedule with focus on the oldest stuff to refresh memory.

A few classmates spent only 1 week afterwards and then used the rest of the time for cool trips. I had a week off to recharge and move to my new place.

Whatever time you take off there is the last vacation till winter break and then who knows depending on interviews and all that. Time goes a lot faster during third year, so you hardly notice the lack of breaks.

Originally Posted by tranquilo

Hi,

I was looking through the FSU curriculum outline (http://med.fsu.edu/index.cfm?page=me...cation.outline) and saw that MS2's get a 3 week (review) time after the Spring semester. What is this 3 week review time all about? Is it a measure to help students prepare for Step 1?

Thanks!

I have under 90 days until my Step 1 test, stressed yes but I think there is plenty of time (asked me again in June). TOO much time is a bad thing after my MCAT experience

Thank you all for the responses! I'm a non-trad currently kicking cans around in Pensacola. I like FSU because of its cost, friendlier student atmosphere, relative proximity to Jacksonville and Pensacola and decent matching in IM. The more I hear about this school, the more I like it.

Anyways, I need to get cracking on housing. I'd like to live in a quiet community either an apartment or a house. I don't care much about proximity to the school as long as it's less than 20 mins away. I'd prefer a quiet environment for my fiancee and I to live in. Do you have any suggestions on what parts of town to start looking in?

Thanks again!

Originally Posted by tranquilo

Thank you all for the responses! I'm a non-trad currently kicking cans around in Pensacola. I like FSU because of its cost, friendlier student atmosphere, relative proximity to Jacksonville and Pensacola and decent matching in IM. The more I hear about this school, the more I like it.

Anyways, I need to get cracking on housing. I'd like to live in a quiet community either an apartment or a house. I don't care much about proximity to the school as long as it's less than 20 mins away. I'd prefer a quiet environment for my fiancee and I to live in. Do you have any suggestions on what parts of town to start looking in?

Thanks again!

OMG I'm from the P-cola too!!! And somewhat non-trad but I don't know if that's how they're counting it. Have you already had an interview, or gotten accepted? Something I heard that was comforting was that if you are from this area of Florida, there is a good chance you might be put into the Bridge Program, which focuses on rural medicine....that's actually what I am really hoping for! But the downside is that those decisions for the Bridge program are the last ones that the admissions committee makes so it might not be until May before you hear anything :/

Originally Posted by locus000

I have under 90 days until my Step 1 test, stressed yes but I think there is plenty of time (asked me again in June). TOO much time is a bad thing after my MCAT experience

Trust me, you will be ready to get it over with by then. The test itself is nothing like the MCAT. I scored below national matriculating MCAT averages and got more than 1SD over national average on step 1.

As far as housing, don't associate distance with noise levels. One my loudest apartments was the one furthest away. Your best bet is to look at house rentals.

Is the Ft. Pierce campus pretty popular for rotations? My family lives in the area and I want to be close to them for 3rd and 4th years.

My source at FSU leads me to believe that...
Orlando is the most popular
Ft. Pierce and Pensacola might be a tie for second

Originally Posted by Gas Rules

Is the Ft. Pierce campus pretty popular for rotations? My family lives in the area and I want to be close to them for 3rd and 4th years.

Originally Posted by OldBat

I totally agree. This is the only school that has not sent a rejection notification. Yes it gives me hope but it also frustrates me. Why? Because when you reapply they asked what have you done to improve your application and by the time you hear back it is too late to do anything.

The application was submitted very late and was not complete until the middle of December.
Hopefully we will hear something soon and not you have been rejected.

Assuming you are not accepted anywhere else and are hoping FSU will offer you an interview, you should start cultivating your other options now if you plan to reapply. This is a big mistake premeds make in the app process. You cannot wait until you are rejected from everywhere or waitlist everywhere to start planning ahead and finding research, 1 year master programs or other activities that will strengthen your app for next year. Remember that the app process starts all over again in June, if you have not started preparing a stronger application and racking up more experiences, publications or degrees you are soon to be behind the eight ball. I know how difficult the process is and I know it sucks to start looking into other options before knowing the final ye or nay from schools, but if you want to improve your chances for next year now is the time to start looking into it. Don't get me wrong, you still have a shot at FSU if you haven't been rejected, but don't put all your ducks in one basket so to speak.

Originally Posted by MossPoh

As far as housing, don't associate distance with noise levels. One my loudest apartments was the one furthest away. Your best bet is to look at house rentals.

Housing is hit or miss in my opinion. I live in an apartment that is nice, cheap and quiet right now. Renting out a house is hit or miss just like finding an apartment. It might be noisy or not. You might have a good landlord that fixes issues or not. You never know. Best bet is to talk to current students and get a feel for different areas if you are not a native or current FSU student and pick an area you like, is known to be quiet (or at least quietish) and is relatively cheap in my opinion.

Originally Posted by Leader813

My source at FSU leads me to believe that...
Orlando is the most popular
Ft. Pierce and Pensacola might be a tie for second

Orlando is traditionally the most popular, I would say demand for campuses is a toss up between Talley (depending on how many married/engaged people you have in your class), Sarasota, Daytona and Pensacola. Traditionally, Ft. Pierce and the rural sites are less popular than the others. Not due to a disparity in educational experience, but due to personal preference. Students like to return to areas they are comfortable, namely ones they grew up in or have been around a lot.

Really hoping to get an interview here.... I already own an apartment in Tallahassee; think that might help my chances? LOL j/k.

Originally Posted by Butler

Orlando is traditionally the most popular, I would say demand for campuses is a toss up between Talley (depending on how many married/engaged people you have in your class), Sarasota, Daytona and Pensacola. Traditionally, Ft. Pierce and the rural sites are less popular than the others. Not due to a disparity in educational experience, but due to personal preference. Students like to return to areas they are comfortable, namely ones they grew up in or have been around a lot.

Thanks for the clarification

Originally Posted by Butler

Orlando is traditionally the most popular, I would say demand for campuses is a toss up between Talley (depending on how many married/engaged people you have in your class), Sarasota, Daytona and Pensacola. Traditionally, Ft. Pierce and the rural sites are less popular than the others. Not due to a disparity in educational experience, but due to personal preference. Students like to return to areas they are comfortable, namely ones they grew up in or have been around a lot.

Thanks Butler, this is good news.

Originally Posted by MossPoh

Trust me, you will be ready to get it over with by then. The test itself is nothing like the MCAT. I scored below national matriculating MCAT averages and got more than 1SD over national average on step 1.

Thanks and great news for me!! I still read the long word doc you send out to our class
good stuff and tips

Originally Posted by Butler

Orlando is traditionally the most popular, I would say demand for campuses is a toss up between Talley (depending on how many married/engaged people you have in your class), Sarasota, Daytona and Pensacola. Traditionally, Ft. Pierce and the rural sites are less popular than the others. Not due to a disparity in educational experience, but due to personal preference. Students like to return to areas they are comfortable, namely ones they grew up in or have been around a lot.

I agree. It is ALL on your personal preference and family situation. Don't let what other classes tell you what is popular and what is not. I know for C/O 2013 Tallahassee was extremely popular but for our class C/O 2014 it was not popular at all. I know people that wanted to go Ft. Pierce from the very beginning in our class. Pensacola still has an open spot. So it is not the desired location for our class unlike past classes.

I am going to Daytona Beach and I am happy because I am going with all my good friends even though I am from Tampa. Plus we have a good group going there unlike a certain campus.

The world won't end if you didn't get the campus you want, you can trade with other people or be placed on a waiting list.

Originally Posted by MossPoh

As far as housing, don't associate distance with noise levels. One my loudest apartments was the one furthest away. Your best bet is to look at house rentals.

Yep, Housing in Tallahassee is pretty depends on luck. I live within walking distance in a 1/1 on the third floor and it is absolutely quiet. But I have friends that live in the same complex and they have loud neighbor. That is the same with any apartment complex, Tally is a college town so you CAN"T ESCAPE IT. I just got lucky!

Renting a house would be the best. And Follow previous medical students. if they lived there and liked it, why shouldnt you.

I had such a great interview experience at FSU!!! i'm was so surprised at how laid back it was!

Congrats to those accepted!!! FSU COM is so incredible!

If you are looking for a place for the summer, my friend is looking for someone to live in their apt and finish out their lease till August. I lived their before and it is a pretty nice place for the price you pay. I never had any issues with noise there. It is RIGHT by GrandMarc for those that have looked there and know the area. So that means you can walk to the med school in 5 minutes or less. They are nice townhomes that are privately owned (personal landlady). It's a 4/3. They split rent by the two rooms with their own bathroom pay 325/mo and the two rooms that share pay 275/mo. His other roommates are looking too so if a couple students want to live together this would be perfect for you all I think. If you want to keep living there next year you should be able to renew and keep the same rent price if you work it out with the landlady over the summer.

It was recently re-tiled downstairs and landlady is re-carpeting all the bedrooms for next year (so if all 4 rooms are new people for summer then she can re-carpet it before people move in)

It's not Grand Mark but it is really great for the price.

PM me if anyone wants contact information.

The campus popularity tends to have Orlando as number one with most others flip flopping, as mentioned. The problem with the more popular places is that they tend to have a more random group of people, so not necessarily who you are friends with. Every campus every year has a different personality. My class at Pensacola does a lot of activities together and goes to quiz nights and other things. Many of the other campuses never hang out.

The all campus equal thing is somewhat true, but not completely. Your rotation experiences are different by your preceptors. If at Daytona campus, you may have half of your ob rotation with a midwife, but would get more inpatient psych. I got 2 weeks of sub specialty internal medicine because of the difficulty with scheduling inpatient stuff. I'd say the overwhelming majority of my attendings have been awesome. It is hard to find schools where your attending will invite you for coffee, play tennis, give you rides or a thank you card at the end of your rotation.

Originally Posted by MossPoh

The campus popularity tends to have Orlando as number one with most others flip flopping, as mentioned. The problem with the more popular places is that they tend to have a more random group of people, so not necessarily who you are friends with. Every campus every year has a different personality. My class at Pensacola does a lot of activities together and goes to quiz nights and other things. Many of the other campuses never hang out.

The all campus equal thing is somewhat true, but not completely. Your rotation experiences are different by your preceptors. If at Daytona campus, you may have half of your ob rotation with a midwife, but would get more inpatient psych. I got 2 weeks of sub specialty internal medicine because of the difficulty with scheduling inpatient stuff. I'd say the overwhelming majority of my attendings have been awesome. It is hard to find schools where your attending will invite you for coffee, play tennis, give you rides or a thank you card at the end of your rotation.

My attending gave me a nice cuban cohiba and a $50 gift card to outback, just to say thank you for being such an awesome student.......tell me that happens at schools other than FSU COM. I didn't really know how to react!

Originally Posted by locus000

I say look up Dr.Ouimet, maybe Dr. Valenstein email on the FSUCOM directory and contact them about clinical research opp and do mention that you are accepted into c/o 2016, they may response back. Dr. Maitland does not response to his email address (unfortunately). He was my preceptor in the Fall so I learned a lot from him

Isn't it a little early to do this? I assume it's not really feasible to do research until the summer after M1 (or am I wrong?), so should we wait until maybe Fall or Spring semester to e-mail people? Do spots in certain areas fill up quickly?

Thanks!

No, there is plenty of time to find a research spot......FSU isn't filled with students rushing into research. Is it possible to do some research while in first year? Absolutely. I did. Even still, it's a little dicey....you don't know how you're going to handle medical school. Plus, I was working in the same lab that I worked in during undergrad so it wasn't much of a transition.

Originally Posted by freyyja

Isn't it a little early to do this? I assume it's not really feasible to do research until the summer after M1 (or am I wrong?), so should we wait until maybe Fall or Spring semester to e-mail people? Do spots in certain areas fill up quickly?

Thanks!

Well if I remembered correctly you or the OP wanted info on Neurology research. So I told who to contact.

Originally Posted by FSU2013

No, there is plenty of time to find a research spot......FSU isn't filled with students rushing into research. Is it possible to do some research while in first year? Absolutely. I did. Even still, it's a little dicey....you don't know how you're going to handle medical school. Plus, I was working in the same lab that I worked in during undergrad so it wasn't much of a transition.

Yes, but you're speshul. It depends on the individual. If I had to learn all the basics of the lab, I probably wouldn't be able to do the basic science side of research. I think it is better to focus on classes and get adusted at first. Afterwards, when you know you are handling the work, start investigating research.

Has anyone received an interview invitation ?

Originally Posted by OldBat

Has anyone received an interview invitation ?

You mean lately, right? I've seen several individuals interviewing the last few Mondays & Fridays.

Originally Posted by MossPoh

Yes, but you're speshul. It depends on the individual. If I had to learn all the basics of the lab, I probably wouldn't be able to do the basic science side of research. I think it is better to focus on classes and get adusted at first. Afterwards, when you know you are handling the work, start investigating research.

This. I strongly recommend against research until you have your med school feet set firmly under you. What I do recommend is start searching for research as soon as December rolls around. Find a lab or clinician doing something you're interested in and start making connections for a summer project. I am working on a project this summer with one of our clinical faculty and I have already started gearing up for it by writing the proposal, shadowing in his clinic, and learning various components of the clinical exam we will need for the project. Even though its only been a few hours every week, it is still a burden on my other responsibilities, school and otherwise.

I recommend following my advice, even if you are a very strong student. I considered myself a strong student coming into medical school with high GPA, high MCAT..etc, and I have already changed my study strategies 3 times since medical school started to maximize my efficiency. And that's not even because I have been doing poorly.

Originally Posted by FSUseminoleEM1

You mean lately, right? I've seen several individuals interviewing the last few Mondays & Fridays.

Yes a recent invitation.
The last time anyone mentioned being invited to interview was March 1.

Originally Posted by OldBat

Yes a recent invitation.
The last time anyone mentioned being invited to interview was March 1.

Just called and was told they are going through and sending out rejections and invites still. Interviews go through April so they said we should hear by about the 2nd week in April one way or the other.

Originally Posted by drapron

Just called and was told they are going through and sending out rejections and invites still. Interviews go through April so they said we should hear by about the 2nd week in April one way or the other.

For those yet to interview, good luck! If things are looking bleak, PLEASE do yourself a favor and start strategizing for the next application cycle. I believe we're only a month-ish away from the next AMCAS opening up. Be honest with yourself and plan accordingly!! If you really love FSU, apply EDP!!! Can't stress enough the importance of being early here.

For those already interviewed, open house in two weeks! Can't wait to meet you guys!

Originally Posted by FSUseminoleEM1

For those yet to interview, good luck! If things are looking bleak, PLEASE do yourself a favor and start strategizing for the next application cycle. I believe we're only a month-ish away from the next AMCAS opening up. Be honest with yourself and plan accordingly!! If you really love FSU, apply EDP!!! Can't stress enough the importance of being early here.

For those already interviewed, open house in two weeks! Can't wait to meet you guys!

Same to you!

Hello, I was Complete on 11/7 and have not received neither and Interview nor a rejection. I am thinking of writing an update letter, what should I include?
thanks

Accepted 3/28!! Good luck everyone, don't give up.

Originally Posted by Gator Engineer

Accepted 3/28!! Good luck everyone, don't give up.

Congrats!

Originally Posted by Butler

This. I strongly recommend against research until you have your med school feet set firmly under you. What I do recommend is start searching for research as soon as December rolls around. Find a lab or clinician doing something you're interested in and start making connections for a summer project. I am working on a project this summer with one of our clinical faculty and I have already started gearing up for it by writing the proposal, shadowing in his clinic, and learning various components of the clinical exam we will need for the project. Even though its only been a few hours every week, it is still a burden on my other responsibilities, school and otherwise.

I recommend following my advice, even if you are a very strong student. I considered myself a strong student coming into medical school with high GPA, high MCAT..etc, and I have already changed my study strategies 3 times since medical school started to maximize my efficiency. And that's not even because I have been doing poorly.

So I guess December is a good time then... Thank you (and everyone else) for the advice!

My friend received an interview invite today, in case y'all are interested.

Thanks for the info...

Originally Posted by Cinclus

My friend received an interview invite today, in case y'all are interested.

Could you please ask him when he/she was complete? Thank you very much

hi guys,

does anyone know if FSU is receptive to letters of intent for those placed on "hold" or do they not consider them much? Thanks!

Originally Posted by jdudemed

Could you please ask him when he/she was complete? Thank you very much

I remember him saying he was done with his apps in September.

Interview invite today!!!! I am SO excited! This is my TOP TOP TOP choice! I also know someone else who was invited this week as well! They are on a roll this week!

Originally Posted by Biograd29

Interview invite today!!!! I am SO excited! This is my TOP TOP TOP choice! I also know someone else who was invited this week as well! They are on a roll this week!

Would you mind telling us when you were complete?

I was super late (financial issues). Secondary submitted in December, but my application was not actually "complete" until early February because of a misunderstanding with my course requirements. I did send a few update letters though, and kept in constant contact with admissions since that time.