2010-2011 San Juan Bautista School of Medicine Application Thread

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ksmi117

ksmi117

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Please PM the essays or lack thereof to me (ksmi117) when the secondary is available.

:luck: with your application!
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Engr2Doc said:
Cool....Congratulations!

If you don't mind me asking what are your stats? How long has it been since you completed or submitted all your info?
Click to expand...
Not great, not gonna lie. My sci GPA is less than 2.7, my cum. GPA is less than 3.3, and my MCAT is a 31S...

...not that anyone cares about the writing score, but I'm an English major and dammit, I worked hard for that fecking "S!" (In feckt, one might even say I worked my "S" off!)

I got confirmation that they had received my application (and that I was missing credits) on 9/3. The credits thing was a clerical error (cross-listing is glorious, but a royal B*TCH between schools), but after I sorted it all out I didn't hear anything until yesterday, just out of the blue.

Now, the question becomes...how the feck am I going to get there???

"Holy booking fees, Batman!
Quick, to the Travelocity page, Robin!"
 
I just got invited to an interview and wanted to know if anyone knew the cheapest way to get to the school from San Juan. I was reading in last year's thread that some people rented a car but I don't know if it is worth renting a car if I am under 25 and they usually charge more.

Thanks
 
I went to Travelocity.com, and got a car from there for around $52. It was worth it for me, because I might want to drive around Caguas when I get there, to get a feel for the city. That, and it ended up being cheaper than getting the airport shuttle service (which was $75, and just from the airport to the hotel).

By the way, L1zz, when are you going? We might be in the same interview session!
 
I am scheduled for November 17, and you?
Renting a car does not sound so expensive. I was talking to a puertorican lady that was telling me that from San Juan to Caguas was not that far but there is a lot of traffic, so she recommended to take a taxi. So I am looking at all the options first... But for sure I'll look into renting a car.

CrazedNDiffused said:
I went to Travelocity.com, and got a car from there for around $52. It was worth it for me, because I might want to drive around Caguas when I get there, to get a feel for the city. That, and it ended up being cheaper than getting the airport shuttle service (which was $75, and just from the airport to the hotel).

By the way, L1zz, when are you going? We might be in the same interview session!
Click to expand...
 
Ah, my interview is on the 18th. But, I'll be flying in on the 17th, and leaving on the 19th. We'll probably be there around the same time. Are you staying at the hotel in Caguas, or one in San Juan?
 
could someone go over the admissions process into San Juan Bautista? Is there a secondary, how long for interviews, etc. Thanks
 
ilivetosurf said:
could someone go over the admissions process into San Juan Bautista? Is there a secondary, how long for interviews, etc. Thanks
Click to expand...
Basically, you submit your primary, and get an e-mail from the admissions officer, (Sra. Jayme Sanchez Cruz), making sure that you have all the required pre-req's. No supplementals, per se, aside from an application fee, two Letters of Rec. (LOR) which can be from AMCAS, a transcript (which can ALSO be from AMCAS), and a police background check from your local police, signed and notarized by the officer on duty.

Then, you get an e-mail about a month later (or so) offering you an interview (at least in my case). They may take longer, of course, but I don't know if that says anything about your case--I'm guessing not, though, being the insufferable optimist that I am.
 
I received an interview at San Juan Bautista.

The interview at San Juan Bautista was inspirational. The school is amazing and I predict it'll be a school that attracts the top applicants in the future. The school was founded in 1978 (so medicine is nothing new to the school) and was LCME accredited in 2006. I'm not sure why it took so long to be accredited and I wish they said that on their website. They have a LCME review coming up in 2011 like many other med schools.

Positives:
1) 2 years ago 40% of the class entered knowing little to no Spanish at all. It is not a prerequisite although Spanish credits are a prereq. By the end of 4 years of med school everyone is bilingual. 2) They match to residencies amazingly. Of the 9 residency spots at Florida State (I forgot which residency) 4 of those particular spots were filled by San Juan Bautista graduates. 3)There are no residents so med students get to do things first, second, third, and fourth years residents do. For example, our tour guide (a 3rd year) was asked to handle a trauma where a man was shot 8 times. Just him and the doctors. 4) Of the schools I visited in Puerto Rico the SJB campus seemed exquisite. The facilities were beautiful. Advanced technologically, psychiatric ER, and a gym dedicated to exercising kids with diabetes. They even have a free clinic. 5) Students are required to be published by the time they graduate. 6) Location: close to San Juan, beautiful beaches, rain forest called El Yunque. 7) You, unlike any mainland med students, will see diseases rare in the mainland US. Dengue is endemic, ciguatera, leptospirosis, histoplasmosis, cystic fibrosis, malaria, HIV, and a pandemic of diabetes (3rd largest killer on the island). 8) They do a lot of research but are one of the best places to learn community medicine. 9) Their USMLE results are not posted but a 3rd year told me about 70% passed. I asked why not closer to 100% and a reason is that the non-English speaking students (meaning students who's primary language is not English) struggle with the USMLE because the test is in English. Those students coming from the mainland normally all pass with flying colors so not being a Spanish speaker from birth is a plus. 10) The school does not have a residency. Therefore the only residents are visiting or in transitional year. This is actually a HUGE plus for med students because the doctors depend on them to do the residents work. They are right now applying for Internal medicine, Family medicine, and Peds residencies.

The interview was a group interview and the 2 interviewers asked for it to be in all Spanish. It started in all Spanish and ended in all English. Before the interview we were asked "A girl is pregnant and wants an abortion. Do you tell her parents?" and we had to write an essay in ALL Spanish about it to test our grammar and Spanish abilities. (The actual answer didn't matter we were told). During the interview we were asked:
When did you know you wanted to be a doctor?
Why do you want to be a doctor when it's a 24/7 job?
Why do you want to go to school in Puerto Rico?
What research have you done?
What do you know about San Juan Bautista- its accreditation, history, goals?
What do you like to do outside of school?

Negatives: The website does not do the school justice. In fact it's quite terrible. It doesn't talk about where their students match (which are amazing places), it doesn't give enough information about extra curricular activities (which are extensive), and it doesn't do enough to attract people to the school.

Last note: If you interview here and applied to Ponce...Call them! They'll set up an impromptu interview no problem. I called them 4 days before and asked for an interview and they said yes. Universidad Central del Caribe (UCC) will not do any interview until January no matter what.

My source: The interviewers I had who are professors at the school, a 3rd year med student who gave us the tour, a little from the website.
 
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Holy exhaustive detail, Batman!

Wowzers, Imagainstthis, when you give detail you go ALL OUT. That's great info to have!

I'm bilingual, but I haven't actually taken a Spanish writing class since sophomore year of college, so I don't know how great my grammar will be. It'll be legible, without a doubt, but it won't exactly be Shakespeare or similarly awe-inspiring. How "good" does your Spanish need to be? Is conversational vocab and grammar enough? What happens if you don't know technical terms? On that note, what's the Spanish word for "head and neck otorhinolaryngologist?" Do you get penalized for not using the subjunctive tense? (Those last two are kind of facetious...but kinda not. I swear, the subjunctive NEVER made sense to me).

Thanks again for all your info! Just in time, too, since I go to PR next week for my SJB interview. And about that bit about Ponce: did you already get offered an interview, and just asked for a different day, or did you ask for it before they sent a letter offering you the interview?
 
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CrazedNDiffused said:
Ah, my interview is on the 18th. But, I'll be flying in on the 17th, and leaving on the 19th. We'll probably be there around the same time. Are you staying at the hotel in Caguas, or one in San Juan?
Click to expand...

Hi CrazedNDiffused,
I am sorry I took forever to respond. I will be staying with some friends in San Juan, so thank God I will be saving some money there.
I wish you the best in your interview :)
 
Imagainstthis said:
I received an interview at San Juan Bautista.

The interview at San Juan Bautista was inspirational. The school is amazing and I predict it'll be a school that attracts the top applicants in the future. The school was founded in 1978 (so medicine is nothing new to the school) and was LCME accredited in 2006. I'm not sure why it took so long to be accredited and I wish they said that on their website. They have a LCME review coming up in 2011 like many other med schools.

Positives:
1) 2 years ago 40% of the class entered knowing little to no Spanish at all. It is not a prerequisite although Spanish credits are a prereq. By the end of 4 years of med school everyone is bilingual. 2) They match to residencies amazingly. Of the 9 residency spots at Florida State (I forgot which residency) 4 of those particular spots were filled by San Juan Bautista graduates. 3)There are no residents so med students get to do things first, second, third, and fourth years residents do. For example, our tour guide (a 3rd year) was asked to handle a trauma where a man was shot 8 times. Just him and the doctors. 4) Of the schools I visited in Puerto Rico the SJB campus seemed exquisite. The facilities were beautiful. Advanced technologically, psychiatric ER, and a gym dedicated to exercising kids with diabetes. They even have a free clinic. 5) Students are required to be published by the time they graduate. 6) Location: close to San Juan, beautiful beaches, rain forest called El Yunque. 7) You, unlike any mainland med students, will see diseases rare in the mainland US. Dengue is endemic, ciguatera, leptospirosis, histoplasmosis, cystic fibrosis, malaria, HIV, and a pandemic of diabetes (3rd largest killer on the island). 8) They do a lot of research but are one of the best places to learn community medicine. 9) Their USMLE results are not posted but a 3rd year told me about 70% passed. I asked why not closer to 100% and a reason is that the non-English speaking students (meaning students who's primary language is not English) struggle with the USMLE because the test is in English. Those students coming from the mainland normally all pass with flying colors so not being a Spanish speaker from birth is a plus. 10) The school does not have a residency. Therefore the only residents are visiting or in transitional year. This is actually a HUGE plus for med students because the doctors depend on them to do the residents work. They are right now applying for Internal medicine, Family medicine, and Peds residencies.

The interview was a group interview and the 2 interviewers asked for it to be in all Spanish. It started in all Spanish and ended in all English. Before the interview we were asked "A girl is pregnant and wants an abortion. Do you tell her parents?" and we had to write an essay in ALL Spanish about it to test our grammar and Spanish abilities. (The actual answer didn't matter we were told). During the interview we were asked:
When did you know you wanted to be a doctor?
Why do you want to be a doctor when it's a 24/7 job?
Why do you want to go to school in Puerto Rico?
What research have you done?
What do you know about San Juan Bautista- its accreditation, history, goals?
What do you like to do outside of school?

Negatives: The website does not do the school justice. In fact it's quite terrible. It doesn't talk about where their students match (which are amazing places), it doesn't give enough information about extra curricular activities (which are extensive), and it doesn't do enough to attract people to the school.

Last note: If you interview here and applied to Ponce...Call them! They'll set up an impromptu interview no problem. I called them 4 days before and asked for an interview and they said yes. Universidad Central del Caribe (UCC) will not do any interview until January no matter what.

My source: The interviewers I had who are professors at the school, a 3rd year med student who gave us the tour, a little from the website.
Click to expand...

Imagainstthis, so the entire interview was a group interview? How does that work? Do everyone get to another the question, or people just raise their hand to answer it?
How did your interview in Ponce go? I wanted to call them for an interview but I have to be back home quickly because I have an important assignment to do in school. I hope I get the UCC and Ponce interview together.
Thanks so much for all this information
 
has anyone had their interview? how did it go? how is the format of the group interview, do you take turns speaking?


I have my interview December 8th.

thanks
 
the deadline for this school (on their site) says December 15th. It appears that this is when the AMCAS primary is due. Does anyone know when all the documents they require are due? thanks..
 
AdonisRx,

Best of luck. My interview was fairly laid back and informal. The girl I interviewed with (applicant) said she wasn't completely comfortable with Spanish, so we switched back to English regularly (which was fine by me). As to the actual interview, it was pretty relaxed. They asked us a bunch of questions, some medical, some not ("What's your opinion of gay marriage?"), but most were of the ethics/logical reasoning persuasion. I won't tell you my strategy (not because I'm trying to hide it, but because I have no idea if it WORKED or not), but my best advise is to be yourself, and project an aura of calm, confidence, and tranquility.

Make it seem as if you're happy to be there, just chatting with professors. And if you get accepted, great! If not, you at least had a stimulating discussion with esteemed medical faculty.

That's my advise, anyways
 
the interview went like this: the group of three was asked a question and then the interview specifically looked at me to answer. When I felt I had answered sufficiently the person next to me answered in 1/2 spanish 1/2 english. Then when that person felt his/her answer was sufficient the next person ansered in 1/4 spanish 3/4 english. So the interviewer asked another question. I was last to answer this time and the person who answred last became the person to answer first. It was made clear who was suppose to answer. No one raised a hand and randomly said "here's my opinion." But maybe with different interviewers it's different.

as for the ponce thing. I was never invited to an interview before i called them. i emailed to see if it was kosher that I call for an interview if I was in the area. they said no prob. so I called and they said yes.

Crazedndiffused: No Spanish speaking ability is necessary according to the professor i interviewed with. he said there was a 4th year from Ghana and one from Taiwan. Both interviewed with no previous knowledge of Spanish. both obviously accepted. both bilingual by there 4th year. That is to say everyone interviewing knew a decent amount of Spanish. Half of the interviewers were fluent.
 
.Hi Imagainstthis,
Do you mind sharing your stats? I am from Texas, spanish speaking and planning to apply to Puerto Rico schools. Anyone else selected for an interview and from the mainland care to share their stats?
.
 
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AAAAAAAAHHH! ACCEPTED!

Thank you, Jesus! Thank you, Jewish Guy! Thank you, Tom Cruise!

HAHA!!!

XD
 
No, e-mail. They also used a weird file format that made it hard to read unless you resized it
 
does anyone have any idea when I should expect an interview invite if I sent in my "secondary" documents in early January (assuming of course that the admissions office decides to grant me one)?
 
rjr2467 said:
does anyone have any idea when I should expect an interview invite if I sent in my "secondary" documents in early January (assuming of course that the admissions office decides to grant me one)?
Click to expand...
January of 2011?

Hmm...I dunno, that seems pretty late in the game. Not that that will affect your chances or anything! It's just that I sent mine way back in September or something, and I got an invite in Nov.

So...March? Ish? Something like that?
 
crazedndiffused said:
aaaaaaaahhh! Accepted!

Thank you, jesus! Thank you, jewish guy! Thank you, tom cruise!

Haha!!!

Xd
Click to expand...


congrats!! I have my interview (finally!!) on march 2nd and i submitted my secondary (and paperwork) in november...waited for awhile for it was worth the wait...im stoked!! Any random suggestions on anything? The town? The school? Parking? Anything!? Thanks!!!!!!!!
 
Congratulations notorious725!

As for advice, my best advice is to get there a day or two in advance and get the lay of the land.

I sprang for a hotel at the Four Points Caguas (the only hotel in the city), which was SUPER convenient since it's just down the highway from the school. I also got the chance to talk to one of the students (who happened to be from my undergraduate alma mater) and whom I was somewhat acquainted.

Honestly, I learned more from her than I did from the staff (she was nice enough to give us an unofficial tour), and gave us a very frank and honest assessment of the school from a student's perspective--all DESPITE the fact that she wasn't a formal tour guide or anything--she was just a nice girl who felt like showing us around.

My best advice for the INTERVIEW, though? Read up on San Juan Bautista and its accreditation. One of the questions the asked in my interview, for example, was "What are SJB's accreditating bodies?"

(Answer: the Liason Committee for Medical Education, the Middle States Association, and the Puerto Rican health administration, whose formal name escapes me at the moment). I missed the last one, but they were really impressed that I could rattle the first two off (esp. since the girl I was with didn't know. Hopefully, though, that didn't hurt her).

They also asked some fairly tough questions: like, "What is your opinion of gay marriage?" They don't actually care about your politics, mind; rather, they want to know how you arrived at that conclusion. For example, I said "Well, I support it for reasons X, Y, and Z; the only possible exceptions might be A, B, or C, but I don't find those particularly compelling for reasons D, E, and F."

They also ask you to write an essay in your non-native language (e.g. if you speak English as a native, they ask you to write in Spanish, or vice versa), and the conversations of the interview started in Spanish, but flowed freely between the two.

Like most things in Puerto Rico.

The essay itself was similar to the interview; your ANSWER didn't matter as much as your thought process behind it (and, more to the point, your ability to write in your non-native language). For example, my prompt went something like this:

"A 13-year-old girl comes to you, and is very clearly pregnant. She's come to you asking for an abortion. What do you do? Do you tell the parents?"

Oh, but very important! If you rent a car to Caguas, be VERY careful driving. People in PR play kind of fast and loose with traffic laws, and on the way in from the airport I saw three accidents (fender-benders, no injuries, but still). Oh, and be sure to carry plenty of quarters in your car, and have them readily available. There are a bunch of toll roads between Caguas and San Juan City, so that'll save you the embarrassment of running up and down three lanes of traffic trying to get change for a dollar.

Oh, and whatever you do, DO NOT use a GPS in Puerto Rico. Mine told me to "turn left," off of a bridge, so you'd be better off using a map of Middle Earth, for all the good it'll do you.

Either that, or I ROYALLY pissed someone at Garmin off...

But yes, aside from that, just have some fun with it! The staff there are SUPER nice, and Sra. Sanchez (the admissions officer) is almost impossibly nice, sincere, and helpful. If you have any questions, she'll be more than happy to answer them.

Hope that helps!

Oh, and this is a lovely website with more information about Caguas. It's all in Spanish though (but that shouldn't be a problem, yes?):

http://visitacaguas.com/informacion_comollegar.htm
 
Oh, and before I forget, I took the liberty of creating a thread for students accepted to the San Juan Bautista School of Medicine Class of 2015, here:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=10572296#post10572296

If anyone is interested, we can discuss the nitty-gritty of actual matriculation, without unnecessarily trying the patience of people waiting for interviews/acceptances.

(Stay strong guys! Keep the faith!)

Stop by the forum to exchange stories, advice, information, or just to introduce yourself and say hello.

Hopefully, everyone on here will be able to join us there as well.

(We look forward to hearing from you!)
 
CrazedNDiffused said:
Congratulations notorious725!

As for advice, my best advice is to get there a day or two in advance and get the lay of the land.

I sprang for a hotel at the Four Points Caguas (the only hotel in the city), which was SUPER convenient since it's just down the highway from the school. I also got the chance to talk to one of the students (who happened to be from my undergraduate alma mater) and whom I was somewhat acquainted.

Honestly, I learned more from her than I did from the staff (she was nice enough to give us an unofficial tour), and gave us a very frank and honest assessment of the school from a student's perspective--all DESPITE the fact that she wasn't a formal tour guide or anything--she was just a nice girl who felt like showing us around.

My best advice for the INTERVIEW, though? Read up on San Juan Bautista and its accreditation. One of the questions the asked in my interview, for example, was "What are SJB's accreditating bodies?"

(Answer: the Liason Committee for Medical Education, the Middle States Association, and the Puerto Rican health administration, whose formal name escapes me at the moment). I missed the last one, but they were really impressed that I could rattle the first two off (esp. since the girl I was with didn't know. Hopefully, though, that didn't hurt her).

They also asked some fairly tough questions: like, "What is your opinion of gay marriage?" They don't actually care about your politics, mind; rather, they want to know how you arrived at that conclusion. For example, I said "Well, I support it for reasons X, Y, and Z; the only possible exceptions might be A, B, or C, but I don't find those particularly compelling for reasons D, E, and F."

They also ask you to write an essay in your non-native language (e.g. if you speak English as a native, they ask you to write in Spanish, or vice versa), and the conversations of the interview started in Spanish, but flowed freely between the two.

Like most things in Puerto Rico.

The essay itself was similar to the interview; your ANSWER didn't matter as much as your thought process behind it (and, more to the point, your ability to write in your non-native language). For example, my prompt went something like this:

"A 13-year-old girl comes to you, and is very clearly pregnant. She's come to you asking for an abortion. What do you do? Do you tell the parents?"

Oh, but very important! If you rent a car to Caguas, be VERY careful driving. People in PR play kind of fast and loose with traffic laws, and on the way in from the airport I saw three accidents (fender-benders, no injuries, but still). Oh, and be sure to carry plenty of quarters in your car, and have them readily available. There are a bunch of toll roads between Caguas and San Juan City, so that'll save you the embarrassment of running up and down three lanes of traffic trying to get change for a dollar.

Oh, and whatever you do, DO NOT use a GPS in Puerto Rico. Mine told me to "turn left," off of a bridge, so you'd be better off using a map of Middle Earth, for all the good it'll do you.

Either that, or I ROYALLY pissed someone at Garmin off...

But yes, aside from that, just have some fun with it! The staff there are SUPER nice, and Sra. Sanchez (the admissions officer) is almost impossibly nice, sincere, and helpful. If you have any questions, she'll be more than happy to answer them.

Hope that helps!

Oh, and this is a lovely website with more information about Caguas. It's all in Spanish though (but that shouldn't be a problem, yes?):

http://visitacaguas.com/informacion_comollegar.htm
Click to expand...


CrazedNDiffused,

Thank you very much! That was great advice. This will definitely help me out on my journey to La Isla del Encanto. Haha! I will post my experience upon my return, hoping others benefit from it as well. I do have one more question; once the interview process is complete, about how long until you were notified of your acceptance?

Thank you!
 
No worries, notorious 275.

With respect to hearing back, I interviewed in November and heard back in January, I think. So...yeah, that's about three months or so? Hope that helps!
 
I was wondering if anyone could share with me whether their interview at SJB was open folder or not? Thanks! and congrats to those who were accepted!!
 
notorious725 said:
I was wondering if anyone could share with me whether their interview at SJB was open folder or not? Thanks! and congrats to those who were accepted!!
Click to expand...

Hi good luck on your upcoming interview! My interview was closed file. Let me know if you have any other questions.
 
Fluxie said:
Hi good luck on your upcoming interview! My interview was closed file. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Click to expand...


Anything else you would like to share with me and other fellow interviewers would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks and good luck (or congrats if you were accepted) :)
 
Is anyone else out there having a hard time communicating with SJB through phone and email? I have tried numerous times to both call and email Mrs. Sanchez but I never get through when I call and I never get a reply when I write an email. Could it be my gmail address? I doubt it because I get emails from other medical schools just fine...any suggestions? Thanks!!
 
notorious725 said:
Anything else you would like to share with me and other fellow interviewers would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks and good luck (or congrats if you were accepted) :)
Click to expand...

Hi, Sorry for the delay. As mention before the interview was very relax first you write the essay in English or Spanish depending on your primary language. They give me about 15 minutes to finish the essay which in my opinion is adecuate since the important thing they are looking is for your reasoning and your grammatical abilities.

After that basically each candidate introduced themselves. Be prepared to answer questions regarding about your extracurricular, any awards, good or bad experience in a medical setting, what motivated you to study medicine. I would also recommend on reading about the health system in Puerto Rico and the U.S since they will ask you about you knowledge on them. Also they ask us why San Juan Bautista and what we knew about the school. During my interview in different points they would discuss aspects of the school (history, accreditation, diversity of the student body etc). finally at some point during the interview they will ask you questions either in English or Spanish.

The tour was good and i really liked the place. One thing that i really like was that it seems that everyone knew each other and were really friendly with us. I will not be attending since i received my acceptance at the UPR-RCM but personally I think its a GREAT school with a lot of potencial. I wish the best of luck to you and everyone applying there.

notorious725 I also had problems communicating with the admission office via email and phone. I recommend calling another department and have them transfer your call to the admissions office.
 
Fluxie said:
Hi, Sorry for the delay. As mention before the interview was very relax first you write the essay in English or Spanish depending on your primary language. They give me about 15 minutes to finish the essay which in my opinion is adecuate since the important thing they are looking is for your reasoning and your grammatical abilities.

After that basically each candidate introduced themselves. Be prepared to answer questions regarding about your extracurricular, any awards, good or bad experience in a medical setting, what motivated you to study medicine. I would also recommend on reading about the health system in Puerto Rico and the U.S since they will ask you about you knowledge on them. Also they ask us why San Juan Bautista and what we knew about the school. During my interview in different points they would discuss aspects of the school (history, accreditation, diversity of the student body etc). finally at some point during the interview they will ask you questions either in English or Spanish.

The tour was good and i really liked the place. One thing that i really like was that it seems that everyone knew each other and were really friendly with us. I will not be attending since i received my acceptance at the UPR-RCM but personally I think its a GREAT school with a lot of potencial. I wish the best of luck to you and everyone applying there.

notorious725 I also had problems communicating with the admission office via email and phone. I recommend calling another department and have them transfer your call to the admissions office.
Click to expand...



Thanks so much for such detailed help! Good luck in UPR-RCM. I have tried everything to get in touch with anyone out there but I have had zero luck in that matter. Gracias!!!:)
 
notorious725 said:
Is anyone else out there having a hard time communicating with SJB through phone and email? I have tried numerous times to both call and email Mrs. Sanchez but I never get through when I call and I never get a reply when I write an email. Could it be my gmail address? I doubt it because I get emails from other medical schools just fine...any suggestions? Thanks!!
Click to expand...


Oh thank God! I thought it was just me.

No, I don't think its your gmail notorious725; I have a Road Runner account and they still don't get back to me.

But, I DO know they read our e-mails; road runner has a read-receipt function, and I just got one for my most recent e-mail.

So...they know. They're just...playing coy?
 
Had my interview this week and it went great! now im enjoying the beautiful island of puerto rico. I really hope im accepted i loved how welcoming and encouraging everyone was at sjb! congrats to those who were accepted!
 
How long did it take for you to receive an interview? I applied back in Oct-Nov and still haven't received anything! They say my application is still being reviewed! Should I worry?
:confused:
 
RARR said:
How long did it take for you to receive an interview? I applied back in Oct-Nov and still haven't received anything! They say my application is still being reviewed! Should I worry?
:confused:
Click to expand...



I submitted my application to sjb around the same time and I got a call from them to set up the interview in early Feb. Im not sure until when they would be doing interviews, perhaps you should call Mrs. Sanchez? good luck either way!
 
Just wondering, once an interview is given (I am interviewing this month), how much is the final acceptance decision based on the actual interview vs. your stats and application.

If anyone has a concrete idea please let me know. I am also wondering the same thing about Ponce.

I know that this is not the Ponce thread, but before anyone freaks out I am only asking because many of us have/are interviewing in both schools.

Also, does anyone have any idea about the 2010 match for San Juan or Ponce (I know ponce posts old match results on their website)?
 
is anyone willing to share with me some detail about what SJB looks for in their applicants? I am thinking of applying here, but it would mean taking 12 credits of Spanish over the next year and becoming somewhat fluent (I am confident I can do this as my wife is fluent in Spanish, and I was able to become fluent in Cantonese at one point in my life). Feel free to reply, or PM me. Thanks.
 
@gsainz

From what people have told me, if you make it to the interview stage, you're pretty much set, unless you give them some reason in the interview to second-guess your application.

(Don't quote me on that)

@surfdr

From what I understand, they're VERY much into producing practicing clinicians, particularly primary care doctor. They're somewhat less intensive on producing researchers, but they do make research and research methods a big component of their curriculum.

Basically, they want applicants who are driven and passionate, who have a genuine desire to serve their communities and treat their patients, and who want to make a meaningful difference in the lives of their fellow men.

Also, presumably they'd want someone who will help establish and maintain the program's reputation (both in terms of quality practice and published research) since they're a fairly recent addition to the LCME family.

Just my perceptions, though, so take them for what they are!

Best of luck!
 
CrazedNDiffused said:
@gsainz

From what people have told me, if you make it to the interview stage, you're pretty much set, unless you give them some reason in the interview to second-guess your application.

(Don't quote me on that)
Click to expand...

I will quote you haha

This just isn't true. It's becoming quite competitive for mainlanders. I interviewed here last year, got waitlisted, and then rejected. And I wasn't the only one in my group who this happened to.
 
nejadm said:
I will quote you haha

This just isn't true. It's becoming quite competitive for mainlanders. I interviewed here last year, got waitlisted, and then rejected. And I wasn't the only one in my group who this happened to.
Click to expand...

O_O

>_>

<_<

>_<

T_T

I stand corrected.

Sorry to hear that, nejadm. Hopefully, you'll have better luck this time around!

^_^
 
nejadm said:
I will quote you haha

This just isn't true. It's becoming quite competitive for mainlanders. I interviewed here last year, got waitlisted, and then rejected. And I wasn't the only one in my group who this happened to.
Click to expand...



I just interviewed 2 weeks ago from the mainland and I am wondering, how good was your spanish when you interviewed last year? Thx and good luck!:luck:
 
notorious725 said:
I just interviewed 2 weeks ago from the mainland and I am wondering, how good was your spanish when you interviewed last year? Thx and good luck!:luck:
Click to expand...

To be honest, my Spanish wasn't that great, and I felt like it really hurt my chances. My Spanish is a lot better now after living in Argentina, but still I'm not bothering with SJB anymore.
 
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