2009-2010 University of Chicago (Pritzker) Application Thread

Hello Everyone!

Current Pritzker student that just wanted to make a plug for Pritzker.

One thing that you may not know is that Pritzker is now giving $8 million in scholarships per class!

Pritzker is now accepting almost everyone with a half ride or full ride scholarhsip!!! They have been doing this for 2 years now!!

The money is sooo nice but in addition Pritzker is an amazing place. It's P/F. It's got unlimited resources in terms of research, faculty, administration. They are changing the curriculum according to student feedback. Chicago is an amazing city! The south side has an amaing patient population! And our class is so chill, so caring and supportive of each other, is smallerish (now going to be 88 people next year). There are 5 hospitals on the campus (not spread out at all). We can take electives ranging from Emergency Medicine to Neurobio to any class offered in the undergrad, buisness school, law school, grad schoool etc. And no lie, Pritzker has seriously been less stressful than my first two years of undergrad! And I have stilll learned a ton of stuff!!

Sorry to ramble on, but just wanted to encourage you to apply to Pritzker. I would have never imagined coming to a school where I will have no debt when I graduate. But Pritzker is making it possible for their whole class to graduate with minimal debt ... and go to an amazing school! so apply!!

And, no, i am not being put up to this, I just love my school!!

I see.

That was helpful. Are you a Cal Tech student??

Moving to School-Specific Discussions.

Pritzker is good enough school not to need this thread.

Lol, and now we sit back and wait for the bloodbath to begin as premeds destroy each other for one of the tiny number of spots (88?) in the next class...

aloepathic said:

Lol, and now we sit back and wait for the bloodbath to begin as premeds destroy each other for one of the tiny number of spots (88?) in the next class...

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It was even worse this year. The OP neglected to mention it, but Pritzker reduced their 2009 class size from 112 to 88 right in the middle of this year's app cycle. (I didn't apply myself, but read about it on SDN.) A lot of applicants felt--and justly so, IMO--that it was very unfair for the school to drop this. bomb on them AFTER they'd spent a lot of time and money applying to the school. Many would have stayed away if they had known how ridiculously competitive it was going to be.

On top of that, why in the world did they shrink their class size when the AAMC is pressuring schools to ADD spots due to a looming physician shortage? I understand about the full rides, but if they really want to serve the underserved, it would be more helpful to train more doctors, not fewer.

I have no doubt that Pritzker is an amazing med school, but I really think they need to get over themselves.

This is a good article that explains Pritzker's motivations for decreasing the class size: http://www.uchospitals.edu/pdf/uch_018479.pdf

Also, I can't remember for sure, but I'm pretty sure that the news about the change in class size was announced before the application cycle, not in the middle of it.

yallo said:

This is a good article that explains Pritzker's motivations for decreasing the class size: http://www.uchospitals.edu/pdf/uch_018479.pdf

Also, I can't remember for sure, but I'm pretty sure that the news about the change in class size was announced before the application cycle, not in the middle of it.

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These fools think they are going to cure a shortage by shrinking supply. The University of Chicago has been associated with 19 Nobel laureates in economics, either as faculty or students, and these jokers came up with this kind of economic stupidity.

When these two mooks are in the old folks home and need a physician I hope somebody tells them to chew on wood and appreciate the latest research they won't enjoy because the physician shortage is so horrendous.

When these U of C grads that are getting these scholarships are handing out pimple cream in Winnetka, maybe these fools will see what they have done.

Please note that my kid did not apply there and she will be starting med school in August.

This sounds stupid. Why not give everyone half-tuition scholarships and keep the 112?

Obnoxious Dad said:

These fools think they are going to cure a shortage by shrinking supply. The University of Chicago has been associated with 19 Nobel laureates in economics, either as faculty or students, and these jokers came up with this kind of economic stupidity.

When these two mooks are in the old folks home and need a physician I hope somebody tells them to chew on wood and appreciate the latest research they won't enjoy because the physician shortage is so horrendous.

When these U of C grads that are getting these scholarships are handing out pimple cream in Winnetka, maybe these fools will see what they have done.

Please note that my kid did not apply there and she will be starting med school in August.

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Their goal isn't to cure a shortage with fewer people. In that article I posted, they write that they haven't been convinced that there is going to be a serious physician shortage in the future, but that they believe the biggest problems in healthcare lie elsewhere (physicians not distributed equally in all areas and too many in certain specialties). They hope to enable people who would want to practice primary care in a poor urban area, for instance, but would be discouraged because of high medschool debt to be able to pursue that career. They also hope to accomplish this by putting elements in the curriculum that focus on health care disparaties and by instituting other programs such as one that supplements the income of Pritzker students who come back to practice in the South Side. Maybe it's not absolutely necessary to shrink to 88 to accomplish this, but they felt they would be able to do so better with a smaller class size. Some medical schools are just smaller (like Mayo, Yale, etc.)... that's how they do things. You can argue against these points, but I'm sure they're not the height of all stupidity you've ever witnessed.

yallo said:

This is a good article that explains Pritzker's motivations for decreasing the class size: http://www.uchospitals.edu/pdf/uch_018479.pdf

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According to this article Dr. Madara, UCMC's CEO and Dean of the med school, asserts that part of the motivation of keeping the class small is to enable the school and the school's graduates to better serve the under-served populations of on the South Side.

....which I find hugely ironic given his interest in reducing the number of under-served folks who visit his hospital:

http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2008/sep/08/business/chi-mon-uofc-hospital-obama-sep08

Here's a quote from a recent Wall Street Journal story:
"Dr. Madara, the hospital's chief executive, said in an interview last week that the hospital is seeking to admit more patients to its "programs of distinction" such as oncology and advanced surgery, and treat fewer in the ER, and that these moves will mean more privately insured patients at the hospital."

Here's the link to that WSJ article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123681502175301913.html

Health care economics and workforce projections are incredibly complex and I, for one, don't choose to argue with UChicago's belief that there won't be a doc shortage (history is full of instances where the lone voice of opposition is sometimes right). I also think the UChicago has a great med school...

That being said, when the school's leadership argues that cutting seats is an altruistic measure to serve the locals while these same leaders make efforts to steer poor patients out of their health system it makes me want to vomit. Something seems awfully amiss here.

yallo said:

Also, I can't remember for sure, but I'm pretty sure that the news about the change in class size was announced before the application cycle, not in the middle of it.

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I'm afraid your memory is incorrect, because it was announced in mid-July, which certainly fits my definition of "the middle of the app cycle."

If you don't believe me, look at these posts from the "New Pritzker Podcast" thread. You can follow them back to their original source to verify, but they are dated 7/16/08:

mleick said:

Hey Ben,

I'd just like to say the podcasts are an excellent resource, thanks for doing them. I'd like to see the rumors surrounding the Pritzker class downsize addressed and if so why the decrease? Also how will this affect the type of students that Pritzker is seeking (if at all)

thanks

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nosugrefneb said:

Hey mleick,

I can tell you now that this is not a rumor; we discussed this yesterday at length with the dean and it will be available shortly on iTunes.

Thanks!
Ben

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Personally, I think it would have been more considerate for the school to have sent out an email to all applicants than to have had students post a podcast about it on iTunes, but that's just me ...

I am still waiting for my AMCAS to be verified, but have already gotten a seconday from Pritzker. Can I assume they just send this thing to everyone without any review of my AMCAS?

hongry said:

I am still waiting for my AMCAS to be verified, but have already gotten a seconday from Pritzker. Can I assume they just send this thing to everyone without any review of my AMCAS?

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They do. Pritzker is an automatic secondary that is sent to everyone.

Can someone please post the secondary prompts?

I think shemarty will post them once they are sent to her. I just sent the prompts to her, as I'm sure everyone else is doing so as well (sorry!)

SunDevilDoc said:

I think shemarty will post them once they are sent to her. I just sent the prompts to her, as I'm sure everyone else is doing so as well (sorry!)

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Thank you! Also, I noticed that you're probably going to get your MCAT score back soon-- good luck!

So you guys have the prompt already?

amph119 said:

So you guys have the prompt already?

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Yeah I am also wondering the same thing. I have already been processed but haven't been sent an email. Is it possible the person who downloaded it did not downlaod everyone's info? I called pritzker and they said the person who downloaded it is not around so I should wait a couple of days and see what happens.

Amph have you been verified yet?

Ha sorry to mislead you archimedesxx. I'm going there already this August, I was just keeping up with the goings on in this thread to see if I can help out at all

itsalovestory said:

Thank you! Also, I noticed that you're probably going to get your MCAT score back soon-- good luck!

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Haha, thank you. I just want it to be over already, the anticipation is not cool.

itsalovestory said:

Can someone please post the secondary prompts?

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The prompts look to be exactly the same as last year.

archimedesxx said:

Yeah I am also wondering the same thing. I have already been processed but haven't been sent an email. Is it possible the person who downloaded it did not downlaod everyone's info? I called pritzker and they said the person who downloaded it is not around so I should wait a couple of days and see what happens.

Amph have you been verified yet?

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I have not been verified yet, and got the auto secondary. Here are the prompts (2), if you still need them:

3A. At the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, we strive to identify students who will be a great "fit" with our medical school. Our Mission Statement is an expression of our core purpose and educational philosophy. Please reflect on its content and write an essay describing why you see yourself as a great "fit" for Pritzker. Please include examples of past service, community, clinical, educational, and research experiences. Please also discuss your future goals.

"At the University of Chicago, in an atmosphere of interdisciplinary scholarship and discovery, the Pritzker School of Medicine is dedicated to inspiring diverse students of exceptional promise to become leaders and innovators in science and medicine for the betterment of humanity."

3B. Tell us about a difficult or challenging situation that you have encountered and how you dealt with it. In your response, identify both the coping skills that you called upon to resolve the dilemma, and the support person(s) from whom you sought advice.

man i really wanted to apply here...but in the end i figured my mcat would kill me here no matter how much i wanted to come

Elijah05 said:

man i really wanted to apply here...but in the end i figured my mcat would kill me here no matter how much i wanted to come

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Yah, my EC's fit the school perfectly, but my average stats have probably killed my chances here.

Alvarez13 said:

Yah, my EC's fit the school perfectly, but my average stats have probably killed my chances here.

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your gpa and mcat are mirrors of mine lol...I wanted to really come and i love the large amount of aid the give out and smaller class sizes...but their average is what like a 36 mcat...we are like 2 standard devs below the mean lol. Good luck to you though I just decided id be almost wasting money here.

should we all have gotten secondary invites by now?

LAman10 said:

should we all have gotten secondary invites by now?

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Not me!

Me neither...I'm sure they'll be out shortly. Enjoy this period of rest

PinkIvy08 said:

Me neither...I'm sure they'll be out shortly. Enjoy this period of rest

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That is odd, I didn't get a secondary either...hmmm

osumc2014 said:

That is odd, I didn't get a secondary either...hmmm

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I think they figured that since OSU loses every bowl game they're in, that an OSU student doesn't have a chance at winning an acceptance at Chicago. Gotta love sports humor on a doc board

SunDevilDoc said:

I think they figured that since OSU loses every bowl game they're in, that an OSU student doesn't have a chance at winning an acceptance at Chicago. Gotta love sports humor on a doc board

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Wasn't your last bowl win against Rutgers like 5 years ago...?

my school is well-known and I have not received even a secondary yet.

The secondaries will come. Everyone gets one, regardless of school. I'm sure their system was just inundated with AMCAS applications a few days ago and hasn't yet recovered.

This secondary is hard.

I never got a secondary

neuromcdoctor said:

I never got a secondary

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Haha same...considering not doing it even if it comes now...welp there goes 31 bucks

can someone provide me with the link to the secondary

These essay topics are hard... Does anybody know if the character limits include spaces?

Thanks!

In answering this question, are there people who were able to use examples of service, comunity clinical education AND research experiences? I was trying to concentrate on about three of the five. Was anyone able to actually tie all five in!?

And how in depth should your "future goals" be? Like would this be similar to like future profession or what? I don't think I can fit in my medical goals in line with how I will fit with their community which talks more about my leadership etc.
..

bambi girl said:

These essay topics are hard... Does anybody know if the character limits include spaces?

Thanks!

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Yes, the character limits include spaces.

musings said:

In answering this question, are there people who were able to use examples of service, comunity clinical education AND research experiences? I was trying to concentrate on about three of the five. Was anyone able to actually tie all five in!?

And how in depth should your "future goals" be? Like would this be similar to like future profession or what? I don't think I can fit in my medical goals in line with how I will fit with their community which talks more about my leadership etc.

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I think I tied most of them in, but rather than listing experiences, use them to tie together a theme of why you fit at Pritzker. Use them in support of why you feel like your goals fit those of the University of Chicago.

I spent more time revising and reviewing my "fit" essay last year than any other secondary essay (by FAR). I must have had seven or 8 drafts until I got to a final copy, not including drafts that were revised by looking for punctuation or grammar. I think that this was well worth it, as Pritzker puts a lot of weight on these essays. Don't just get them done to get them done.

i STILL haven't received a secondary
did i get screened out or something?

LAman10 said:

i STILL haven't received a secondary
did i get screened out or something?

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Pipe down...they don't screen

I haven't received one either, as I'm sure many other verified people haven't. Perhaps they had a computer glitch or are sending them out in batches...who knows? Really, who cares? I'm sure we'll be receiving ours shortly.

Worry about how you're going to spend the fourth!

Thanks so much for answering my question amph!
It's good to know, since this is such a huge topic to answer... I guess I really need to focus on being concise as possibly possible.

PinkIvy08 said:

Pipe down...they don't screen

I haven't received one either, as I'm sure many other verified people haven't. Perhaps they had a computer glitch or are sending them out in batches...who knows? Really, who cares? I'm sure we'll be receiving ours shortly.

Worry about how you're going to spend the fourth!

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the fourth?


Edit: haha... jk....

i got mine today

I got mine today as well...sent at a rather odd time (5am) lol

Mine was sent to me at 4 as well