2008-2009 University of Michigan Secondary Application Thread

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shemarty

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A. NON-ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES. List up to six of your most valued recent non-academic activities (such as research, clinical experiences, community service, employment). Include information about hours per week and duration of involvement for each.

B.1 ESSAY.
Select one experience from your list in part B (Non-Academic Activities) and describe in a brief essay how it impacted on your decision to go into medicine. Do not exceed 1500 characters (about 250 words).

MSTP applicants: Instead of the above, briefly describe why you decided to apply to the U of Michigan MSTP. If you are interested in a specific department, program, or area of research for your Ph.D., briefly explain (we recognize that your interests may change).

B.2 ESSAY.
At the University of Michigan Medical School, we are committed to building a superb educational community with students of diverse talents, experiences, opinions, and backgrounds. What would you as an individual bring to our medical school community? Do not exceed 1500 characters (about 250 words).
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We require three letters, one from a science faculty member, one from a nonscience faculty member, and one from another recommender of your choice. You may send an additional 1 or 2 letters if you want.
 
For those of you who got an e-mail about an interview invite, but don't see the link on your status page to actually schedule that interview...

I called the office, they said they're currently fixing the website so we should be able to schedule that interview soon.

The woman on the phone told me not to wait until after I've submitted all my secondary materials, because the interview slots will fill up. We just have to submit everything 2 weeks before the actual interview date.
 
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shemarty said:
For those of you who got an e-mail about an interview invite, but don't see the link on your status page to actually schedule that interview...

I called the office, they said they're currently fixing the website so we should be able to schedule that interview soon.

The woman on the phone told me not to wait until after I've submitted all my secondary materials, because the interview slots will fill up. We just have to submit everything 2 weeks before the actual interview date.
Click to expand...

Wait, you got an interview invite already without submitting the secondary? Or did you already submit the secondary and then got an interview invite? Sorry, I'm kind of a noob about this stuff. Just seems kinda early. I just received the secondary app stuff in an email, but I didn't see anything about an interview. I appreciate your help :)
 
My other noob question is..does U of Mich not screen before sending out the secondary invites? (Since I read in other threads that AMCAS sends out the first batch of primaries on June 24th..so my assumption was that any emails I received recently for secondaries are from schools that don't screen).
 
I don't want to discourage any applicants, but I applied to Michigan in the '07-'08 cylce, and I was offered an interview based on my AMCAS and primary application. I think interviews are mostly decided on a point scale. However, I did have to complete a secondary application, but as soon as I submitted it, I was offered an interview. I was shocked, especially since it was the first interview I was offered, and I called the Admissions Office to make sure it wasn't an error message and it wasn't :)

'm sure further down the admissions process they looked over the essays, but it did not have an effect on receiving an interview. Unfortunately I wasn't accepted but good luck to all! It was my top choice!
 
Thanks for your help dog0. Where do you go to school now? Univ of Virginia maybe? (saw the Charlottesville in your location..but can't remember if Univ. or Viriginia is there)
 
Yessir, I'll start in the Fall.

PS. If there is one thing Michigan hangs their hat on, it's diversity. Make yourself sound unqiue.
 
If you didn't receive an automatic interview invite, does that mean you have no chance at being invited later on ??
 
gah1 said:
If you didn't receive an automatic interview invite, does that mean you have no chance at being invited later on ??
Click to expand...

I just called and asked the admissions office this question and they were pretty forceful in saying that this is no way an indicator if you will be offered an interview. They said they offer interviews up until January, so to get your secondaries in.
 
Hmm...they reused the exact same essay questions as last year, and the year before. Actually, the entire application has not changed, although, it seems they added the feature to submit updated material through the web portal instead of emailing.
 
I had heard last year that University of Michigan invites some applicants to interview based off of only their primary. GPA and MCAT score, maybe?

Anyway, at that point, you still have to submit the secondary and send the LORs. You just find out much earlier that you've been invited to interview.
 
University of Michigan offers automatic interviews to applicants who have GPA and MCAT scores above a certain cutoff. The applicants also need to be from highly prestigious schools (i.e. Ivy League and other comparable institutions).
 
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seraph524 said:
University of Michigan offers automatic interviews to applicants who have GPA and MCAT scores above a certain cutoff. The applicants also need to be from highly prestigious schools (i.e. Ivy League and other comparable institutions).
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Yeah, if you google some of those chats with the admissions directors, they're usually pretty open about it. I think the cutoffs are normally 3.8/38. In-state applicants get a slightly lower cutoff. Also, like you said, you need to go to a prestigious university.

It is only based on numbers and school, they haven't even looked at your AMCAS yet. You need to complete everything before your interview though.

Smart on their part, since they know those people they would have most likely interviewed anyway, so saves some time. Plus, they get to be the first interview for most people, getting their name out first and having the best pickings.
 
shemarty said:
I had heard last year that University of Michigan invites some applicants to interview based off of only their primary. GPA and MCAT score, maybe?
Click to expand...

And undergrad school attended I believe.

Only people who meet the GPA and MCAT cutoffs that went to certain schools (some of the more prestigious ones) get the automatic interview. :(
 
Ooh, I see. Thanks for clarifying, everyone.

Well, if anybody else gets an interview invite soon, sign up for Sept 5th!!!

:D
 
seraph524 said:
University of Michigan offers automatic interviews to applicants who have GPA and MCAT scores above a certain cutoff. The applicants also need to be from highly prestigious schools (i.e. Ivy League and other comparable institutions).
Click to expand...

False. I went to the University of Florida.
 
copingmethods said:
And undergrad school attended I believe.

Only people who meet the GPA and MCAT cutoffs that went to certain schools (some of the more prestigious ones) get the automatic interview. :(
Click to expand...

I am so doomed. XD
 
Liars. I don't think there is a particular cut-off. I think they assign points based on GPA and MCAT. My GPA was a 4.0 and my MCAT a 30 I received an interview before submitting my secondary. I'm sure you're given points for research experience and etc too.

Don't listen to these tools with 38s and 3.999s asking if they have a chance. Ehhhhhhh, soooooooooo annoying.
 
dog0 said:
Liars. I don't think there is a particular cut-off. I think they assign points based on GPA and MCAT. My GPA was a 4.0 and my MCAT a 30 and they I received an interview before submitting my secondary.

Don't listen to these tools with 38s and 3.999s asking if they have a chance. Ehhhhhhh, soooooooooo annoying.
Click to expand...

There's hope for (an early interview for) me yet!

Edit: Numerically, anyway. My university probably doesn't have the prestige factor they're looking for...
 
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Michigan is a very reputable school, not only academically. It attracts numerous of students because of it's football tradition, and Ann Arbor is a very nice town; it's city-like with plenty of school spirit. Hence, the reason I applied :). It had nothing to do with it's prestige. It has a strong football program, and I wanted to continue living in a college town. I met many other applicants who applied for similar reasons. And the reason I liked Michigan so much was because of the student body. They were very social and down-to-earth. One would think the students would be strictly nerds, but that wasn't necessarely the case. Michigan isn't like Harvard or JHU; there is more to the school than academics. Thus, they do a good job at choosing individuals that qualify not only academically but socially. Everyone was real cool; they weren't socially inept or weirdos. They do a good job at sensing weirdos, who can excel in the classroom, but have no social abilities what-so-ever. And personally, that's what made the school really attractive. They leave all the weirdos to Yale and all those other stuck-up, Ivy-League schools :p
 
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dog0 said:
Liars. I don't think there is a particular cut-off. I think they assign points based on GPA and MCAT. My GPA was a 4.0 and my MCAT a 30 I received an interview before submitting my secondary. I'm sure you're given points for research experience and etc too.
Click to expand...

54321 (Jun 13, 2007 7:09:37 PM)
Will there be automatic interview invites again this year and what are the cutoffs for in-state and out of state?

RobertRuizMichigan (Jun 13, 2007 7:11:04 PM)
54321-yes, Not sure on the numbers-so don't quote me as they are going up since our applicant pool was up 20% last year and we anticipate another 20% jump this year. ...so I'm thinking 3.8/ 38 for non-residents and 3.75/36 for Michigan Residents. While the auto interview is nice it only applies to about 15% of all our interview offers
 
Maybe they were on crack when they reviewed my application.
 
Kind of a dull question, but wondering about.. "If you worked to finance your undergraduate education, on average, how many hours per week did you work?"

So.. if I worked a couple of hours a week on and off, didn't earn a whole lot of money, didn't necessarily use it to "finance my education" (as my parents generally fork that over), does it still count?

:confused:
 
bel said:
Kind of a dull question, but wondering about.. "If you worked to finance your undergraduate education, on average, how many hours per week did you work?"

So.. if I worked a couple of hours a week on and off, didn't earn a whole lot of money, didn't necessarily use it to "finance my education" (as my parents generally fork that over), does it still count?

:confused:
Click to expand...

I'm in the same situation as you, having worked only the latter two years and not out of necessity for money. I just left it blank, and had it listed on the AMCAS primary application. I think the spot is for people who were hard-pressed for time, due to having to work to finance themselves through college.
 
Shemarty, thanks for the thread!

OOooOO. My first post on SDN forums :)

Anyway, to the point, I'm living in MI (Grand Rapids), and am currently attending a private college in-state as well. I suppose this isn't a secondary application question, but rather an interview question. Let me give you some background first though. I am a biochemistry & spanish double major, I spent one semester abroad in South America, and I am more or less fluent in Spanish (and I am not hispanic). Now, I put Spanish as a second language on my AMCAS application, and I heard that U of M specfically (and other schools) will give you at least one interview (of the 3 on interview day) in one of your secondary languages. Can anyone shed some light on this? True? Not true? In some cases?

I'm not so much worried about being able to give an interview in Spanish, but I would like to know if this is a real possiblity so that I can have it on my mind a few days before the interview. Thanks for any input everyone.

AB
 
Seems like seraph is right. I looked at my email this morning and to my surprise, I received an interview invite from U. Michigan (w/o filling out secondaries). I have a 3.96 and a 38. I go to Georgia Tech (not exactly Ivy, but good enough apparently).
 
In-state 3.78, 36 with no interview invite. Guess we know where the cutoff point is...

(this is my top choice school too :confused:)

*edit*

RobertRuizMichigan (Jun 13, 2007 7:11:04 PM)
54321-yes, Not sure on the numbers-so don't quote me as they are going up since our applicant pool was up 20% last year and we anticipate another 20% jump this year. ...so I'm thinking 3.8/ 38 for non-residents and 3.75/36 for Michigan Residents. While the auto interview is nice it only applies to about 15% of all our interview offers
Click to expand...

I just got an e-mail confirming my application was complete. Maybe they changed their cutoff numbers for this year.
 
When are you all getting these automatic invites? Are they shortly after submitting to AMCAS, or after your verification @ AMCAS is complete?

I know students last year that got automatic interviews with 3.7s and 33s on their MCAT.

I'm in-state and submitted my app to ACMAS yesteday. I've got a 3.89 and a 34 MCAT. We'll see what happens.

AB
 
Essay 1 is essentially my AMCAS PS. Anyone else in the same boat? Are you writing about the same activity, or choosing another to talk about?

FYI, 3.7/41S from Yale = no automatic interview
 
Alex0128 said:
Shemarty, thanks for the thread!

OOooOO. My first post on SDN forums :)

Anyway, to the point, I'm living in MI (Grand Rapids), and am currently attending a private college in-state as well. I suppose this isn't a secondary application question, but rather an interview question. Let me give you some background first though. I am a biochemistry & spanish double major, I spent one semester abroad in South America, and I am more or less fluent in Spanish (and I am not hispanic). Now, I put Spanish as a second language on my AMCAS application, and I heard that U of M specfically (and other schools) will give you at least one interview (of the 3 on interview day) in one of your secondary languages. Can anyone shed some light on this? True? Not true? In some cases?

I'm not so much worried about being able to give an interview in Spanish, but I would like to know if this is a real possiblity so that I can have it on my mind a few days before the interview. Thanks for any input everyone.

AB
Click to expand...

They do?! Med school interview in Japanese should be pretty interesting...
 
Well, it's just what I heard! I'm sure I can give an interview in Spanish, but it's still not my 1st language--I'd probably interview better in English!

We'll see I guess! If I get an interview!

AB
 
Hey everybody, I have a few questions about filling out the secondary... How did you all list your six activities, did you just number them or were they in paragraph form?
Also, did you all put leadership experience/positions held, and different hours per week if they changed for each year you did the activity?
Sorry if the questions were already answered!
 
Has anyone made accommodations for the interview yet? Any suggestions for flights/hotels, etc.? I am completely lost, haha.
 
Ashman52 said:
Hey everybody, I have a few questions about filling out the secondary... How did you all list your six activities, did you just number them or were they in paragraph form?
Also, did you all put leadership experience/positions held, and different hours per week if they changed for each year you did the activity?
Sorry if the questions were already answered!
Click to expand...

Michigan has 6 boxes into which to enter your activities. The character limit is pretty short though, so if you've done something with variable hours there isn't a whole lot of room to expand.
 
you'd fly into dtw (detroit's airport) its only 30min from ann arbor. I recommend catching a shuttle to ann arbor or rent a car (a taxi/private ride was 50$ each way when i took it) . There are some hotels right off the ann arbor exit that are perfect for one or two night stay (Sheridan is good)
 
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wolvbb said:
you'd fly into dtw (detroit's airport) its only 30min from ann arbor. I recommend catching a shuttle to ann arbor or rent a car (a taxi/private ride was 50$ each way when i took it) . There are some hotels right off the ann arbor exit that are perfect for one or two night stay (Sheridan is good)
Click to expand...

Apparently, you can take the Amtrak from San Francisco to Detroit. It'll take about 3 days and cost you nearly as much as a plane ticket. :laugh:

I was exploring alternate modes of transportation. Clearly Amtrak is not a viable option :thumbdown:
 
did anyone else attend the umichigan chat today?
 
I actually met Dr. Ruiz last week and asked him about the automatic invite. He said it was 38/3.8. His argument was that the candidate with such score would be stellar anyway and get interview down the road. They would the screen those candidates early, so they can expedite the process and focus on the other candidates (like myself)....the argument made sense the way he phrased it, but only thing I wished was I got the invite....LOL!

Good luck to you all!
 
CoolSpot7Up said:
Hmm...they reused the exact same essay questions as last year, and the year before. Actually, the entire application has not changed, although, it seems they added the feature to submit updated material through the web portal instead of emailing.
Click to expand...

Where is this option?? I want to send in some grade updates...
 
I got verified yesterday and today I got an email titled "Michigan Medical School-Status Update for (AMCAS #)", but there was no text in the email and no attachments. What's up with this?
 
Son of a gun, I threw away my diversity essay when I applied to LSA... Nuts

Good luck to all!!
 
For the coursework section, are you supposed to only list one lab for each subject (i.e. only listing ONE organic lab for the "chemistry Lab" requirement.)
Also, what if your course included a lab component? Did you just leave the section designated "LAB" blank and put lab in parentheses next to the actual courses? Any insight would be much appreciated.
 
Did anyone catch the part in the interview where the UM Dean states that your picture from the MCAT is actually transmitted to them?

I never heard that before.
 
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