2012-2013 University of Colorado Application Thread

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gettheleadout

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Please PM the essays or lack thereof to me when the secondary is available and I will update this.

Good luck to everyone applying! :luck:

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State school love!

Read some intimidating stuff in last year's thread regarding clinical experience...ie an invisible cutoff for people with <400 or so hours. Anybody have experience with this?
 
State school love!

Read some intimidating stuff in last year's thread regarding clinical experience...ie an invisible cutoff for people with <400 or so hours. Anybody have experience with this?

I think it just goes along with their reputation for being a little more friendly to non-trads than some other places. They like people who have a decent idea of what they are getting into. There are no absolutes for cutoffs in regards to extracurricular activity (as far as I know). Just do what is within your power to make yourself the best applicant (and human being) that you can possibly be!
 
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Another OOS applying here. Let's see how it goes.
 
are OOS acceptances very competitive? MSAR reports the 10% having scored a 29 on the MCAT, but do you think those ppl are most likely to be from Colorado? GPA: 3.83 MCAT: 30, 1 yr research, solid other credentials, but from the east coast.
 
It sounds like they're taking more and more OOS every year, so definitely apply.
 
OOS who applied last cycle with a 3.95 and 12/11/10 and pretty good ECs. Rejected after interview. Colorado accepts about 30% OOS but it is pretty competitive from my experience and others I talked with.
 
I think the same goes for applying OOS anywhere (public), your realistic chances are when you are close to average or above. IS is likely going to pull the averages down, so they tend to be more selective for OOSers. That being said, if you are confident that you bring something else to the table of unique value, apply and play it up! CU is particularly looking for diverse applicants (I believe that this is secondary to AAMC wishes, though I'm not sure if I understand this if a state schools' students happen to be representative of the general population of that state).
 
I think it just goes along with their reputation for being a little more friendly to non-trads than some other places. They like people who have a decent idea of what they are getting into. There are no absolutes for cutoffs in regards to extracurricular activity (as far as I know). Just do what is within your power to make yourself the best applicant (and human being) that you can possibly be!

bassvp, it's awesome you're going to CU next year! I just got an acceptance there recently, so I am deciding whether or not to accept their offer. I thought I'd fill in that at least this last year, Willa confirmed they still generally stick to their 500+ hrs of clinical experience rule. I don't think it's an absolute, though.

Anyway, I was curious if anyone has been in CO lately. I am not in the state right now because of school and such, so I was curious how the fires looked and how that made people feel about Colorado. These are some of the pictures I saw on Facebook... they're insane!

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Those are from the fire in the Springs but that's not really that far from Denver and I know there are like 10+ other major fires in the state.... That place is burning up like a literally HELL!
 
bassvp, it's awesome you're going to CU next year! I just got an acceptance there recently, so I am deciding whether or not to accept their offer. I thought I'd fill in that at least this last year, Willa confirmed they still generally stick to their 500+ hrs of clinical experience rule. I don't think it's an absolute, though.

Anyway, I was curious if anyone has been in CO lately. I am not in the state right now because of school and such, so I was curious how the fires looked and how that made people feel about Colorado. These are some of the pictures I saw on Facebook... they're insane!

561006_3419445690415_1743645278_n.jpg


Waldo_Canyon_Fire_Nate_Zeman_900_WM.jpg


p.php



Those are from the fire in the Springs but that's not really that far from Denver and I know there are like 10+ other major fires in the state.... That place is burning up like a literally HELL!

These are pretty insane, but that fire is still a long ways from Denver as it is creeping on Monument right now. It's been scary, but I doubt anything more than smoke would reach Anschutz. Still, I think it says something about the possibility of fires anywhere in Colorado. Unfortunately, some of the other fires in CO have taught us that significant fires don't always start or stay in the wilderness.... This summer has been one fiery summer.... I am glad it did not reach the heart of the city, though. The community is mourning. It's been a tough 7 days in the Springs.
 
Those are from the fire in the Springs but that's not really that far from Denver and I know there are like 10+ other major fires in the state.... That place is burning up like a literally HELL!

Colorado has wildfires, the Midwest has tornadoes, and the East Coast has hurricanes. Pick your poison, really.

It's pretty smoky and scary for those in Colorado Springs, and I was a bit freaked out when the one in Boulder broke out last week. Regardless, I still love the state and would love to be able to stay here.

These kinds of fires don't happen in major areas that often so it shouldn't be influencing your decision on attending medical school here. And Denver is so far removed from the mountains that the threat of it burning to the ground is slim to none.

Disclaimer: I'm from San Diego where the last major fire season forced the evacuations of over 500,000 people and burned thousands of houses getting as close as 2 miles from my home. So I'm a bit more jaded with regards to the severity of wildfires.

But, it's still scary when they get this close to major cities and my heart goes out to those who lost their homes. It's a terrible loss and the only consolation is that there was very minimal loss of life.
 
Is it possible to get in-state residency for years 2-4? I only now noticed that their expected cost for OOS is nearly $90k per year for everything. I don't want to do that to myself!
 
Is it possible to get in-state residency for years 2-4? I only now noticed that their expected cost for OOS is nearly $90k per year for everything. I don't want to do that to myself!

I don't think it is. From what I have heard in several information sessions and the financial aid interview presentation is that whatever your residency at the time you apply will be considered your residency for all four years of school.
 
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Just a heads up, CU will drag this out as long as possible for everyone involved, so be prepared for the long haul. If you look at last years thread CU's admission staff made everyone insane on SDN. Good luck all :thumbup:
 
Among all the terrible news yesterday, I received some good news. I was accepted off the wait-list as I was working on my application for this cycle. IS 34M 3.6 GPA(engineering). I worked at an orthopaedic research center for 2.5 years and as a patient transporter at Denver Health for a year. For everyone applying this year, get ready for a long wait and a trying process. This past cycle was my second year applying, so it dragged on for a long time. But my advice is: keep your head up and always be looking for opportunities to improve your experience and perspective. Good Luck!
 
Congratulations hja!
That's great news. Sincerely happy for you! Wish I was there to help you celebrate!
Way to hang tough on the long road.
 
That is encouraging, hja, and it is welcome to hear. How far did you make it your first time applying? This is my second go around.
 
Among all the terrible news yesterday, I received some good news. I was accepted off the wait-list as I was working on my application for this cycle. IS 34M 3.6 GPA(engineering). I worked at an orthopaedic research center for 2.5 years and as a patient transporter at Denver Health for a year. For everyone applying this year, get ready for a long wait and a trying process. This past cycle was my second year applying, so it dragged on for a long time. But my advice is: keep your head up and always be looking for opportunities to improve your experience and perspective. Good Luck!

1. Congratulations
2. Why did it take you two cycles to get accepted with those stats? 34, 3.6, 2.5 years of research sounds too good to nto get any acceptances.
 
The first year I applied, I was wait-listed at CU and only CU. One problem was that I didn't apply very broadly and I was really slow returning my secondaries. Additionally, I don't think that I interviewed very well. I felt like I had good experience but I was unable to articulate why it prepared me to be a good physician.

For the second cycle, when I turned in my application, it was more or less the same as the year before. I hadn't had time to add a whole lot. But after submission, I did a handful of things that had to be in an update letter (I would recommend to send in updates before they release the wait-list). When I got an interview invite, I did four mock interviews: one with a MS4, one with an in-law on the interview committee, and the other two were with MDs. The most valuable thing I learned was how to relax in the uncomfortable interview setting.
 
Still waiting.. impatiently!
 
Still waiting.. impatiently!

This will be a common theme applying to CU. This is only the beginning. Don't be surprised when they drag this out until March 31st.
 
This will be a common theme applying to CU. This is only the beginning. Don't be surprised when they drag this out until March 31st.

I won't, but I'll still be posting in here weekly :)
 
They don't release their secondary to anyone until the first week of August, even if you've been verified for a while. So don't worry (yet) if you didn't get one.
 
Anybody know if the secondary will be similar or the same as years past?
 
It will be similar, but they said they might get rid of the option to talk about hardships that other people have overcome instead of your own.
 
Prompt? I have it but am on a train, can't open the app!
 
"People take different (and sometimes difficult) paths on their journey to becoming a doctor. Tell us (a) about hardships you have overcome or challenges that you have faced in arriving at this point in your life, or (b) to the extent that these circumstances don't apply to you, please describe experiences you have had which help you appreciate the challenges faced by individuals in these situations. Your discussion might include such things as family or personal health challenges, being from an economically disadvantaged background, having lived in a very rural or underserved community, being the first in your family to attend college, or speaking English as a second language. Please limit your essay to 2500 characters, including spaces (about 400 words)."
 
Just submitted! I won't be complete for a couple weeks because I'm waiting on my committee letter.

Did anyone who submitted get a confirmation? I just got a payment confirmation, but not a submission confirmation..
 
Just submitted! I won't be complete for a couple weeks because I'm waiting on my committee letter.

Did anyone who submitted get a confirmation? I just got a payment confirmation, but not a submission confirmation..

Also submitted and only received payment confirmation. From the bottom of the secondary app:

You will not receive email verification that we have received your secondary application. However, beginning in early September, we encourage you to regularly check the status of your application through the online "Check My Status" page. The information posted on this site is the most up-to-date information available for all applicants and can be accessed using the ID and password we sent to you in the original request for Secondary Application email.
 
Just received and submitted the secondary! Thank goodness they didn't change their essay from last year so my pre-write worked!
 
Just received and submitted the secondary! Thank goodness they didn't change their essay from last year so my pre-write worked!

I take it you didn't write the optional essay for one of the tracks?
 
Are they very OOS friendly? I don't have any ties to CO either.
 
They're getting more and more OOS friendly each year.

Last year 45 of the 160 person class was OOS
 
Submitted!
I'm not so much interested in the urban or rural tracks as I am the research opportunity.
I'm doing a very extensive master's program in biomedical science for 12 months over in the UK, so I'm hoping they take that into positive light and consider me for the research component of the curriculum.
 
I really liked this secondary quite a bit more than most of the others I've filled out so far. Nice, open essay prompt with lots of potential directions, without a bunch of silly time-wasting questions. Sort of makes up for how much later they've released it. ;)
 
I really liked this secondary quite a bit more than most of the others I've filled out so far. Nice, open essay prompt with lots of potential directions, without a bunch of silly time-wasting questions. Sort of makes up for how much later they've released it. ;)

^This
 
I agree, nice and straightforward. Good luck everyone! :)
 
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