2009-2010 University of Kansas Application Thread

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shemarty

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Ignore this thread for now. I'm sorry it's cluttering the forum. :(

I know it's too early for this. but I'm making all the school-specific threads now so I can link them to the main index thread, so everything's ready to go for the 2009-2010 application season :) I'd rather do it all in one sitting than try to spread the work out over the upcoming months.

So bear with me, and I apologize again for the clutter. These threads will move off the front page really soon, so you can really ignore them until the summer.

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Well, I guess I'll be the first real applicant to write on this board. My wife and I moved to Kansas last summer (she grew up here) and I'll be applying this cycle to KUMed.

Just got my MCAT score yesterday: 29Q. PS-9 BS-10 VR-10

About a 3.65 GPA, for both bCPM and overall.

I think my ECs are solid, but I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Anyone else applying to KU EDP?

RockChalk!
 
Hey there fellow Kansan!

I'm applying regular decision and I'm still working on my amcas, but good luck to you... I never thought anyone would actually post on the KU thread :)
 
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Yay for KU Med!

I don't know if my stats are good enough for EDP... but I'm hoping!

Working on my personal statement and waiting for one more transcript to be sent to me so I can remember the courses I took, lol...

Other than that, I'll prolly submit sometime next week and wait for everything to get verified.

It's my understanding that KU sends all Kansas residents automatic secondaries. Secondaries that, from what I've seen, are pretty relentless.

Past that, it's interviews and then a decision!

Ahhhh!

Anyway, good to hear from you. What does your portfolio look like?
 
I am also applying to KUMC through the early admission program. My AMCAS application was just verified earlier this week.

I think I stand a decent chance; 30p (9ps,11vr,10bs) MCAT; 3.97 cum, 4.0 bcmp on my AMCAS GPA section. I have also done 5 semesters + 2 summers (with a third in progress) of research and have one publication, one major national research scholarship, and substantial volunteer and leadership EC's.

Hopefully they start getting back to everyone soon. :)
 
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I also applied EDP - 38 mcat, 3.78 GPA, Kansas resident.

I'm hoping they get back to us soon. I heard the secondary is really long, with 7 or 8 essays.
 
Hey fellow Jayhawks....

I just submitted my EDP application a few minutes ago. :) Now I'm freaking out. :)

I'm a non-trad - I'm 29 and have a BS and MS in engineering from Missouri - Rolla. I spent 3 years as an engineer before going back to school. My husband and I live in Leavenworth - he's a DOD employee on base.

For the past year I have been working as a secretary in the Dept. of Surgery at KUMED while taking classes. I like it a lot -- way more than being an engineer. ;)

I took the MCAT on May 28 and get the scores on Tuesday. My undergrad/grad GPA's were fine, my post-bacc GPA is around a 3.5 --- just because I got A's in Biology and B's in Organic Chem and that's all I took. Hopefully that's not too bad.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL -- hopefully we can all meet up at EDP interviews in September!!!

Tracia
 
How'd you end up doing Engineer?

I just submitted my app and it was processed within a half-hour!

Here's to hoping we all get interviews and a big envelope in the mail in a few months...
 
Hey Engineer2MD, I'm pretty sure we know each other! (I was in the same mcat class as you and took my MCAT on 3/28, if that helps.) Cool!

Question: KU doesn't accept LORs that are directly mailed to the school of medicine itself, does it?

One of my letter writers finished and mailed my LOR directly to KU Med before I got a chance to stop by his office with the "Waiver of Access" form and an envelope addressed to AMCAS.

It's my fault, and I'd bet that I just need to go ahead and have him re-send it to AMCAS itself with the form, but I'm hoping KU Med won't open and read the LOR since I didn't officially waive my rights to read it.
 
So does anyone know when KU usually sends out secondaries?

And, if I remember correctly, it's done via an online application... compared to other schools that send things via mail.

I love getting mail, but I guess I'll have to live with a link or something.
 
marele86, this link (if you scroll down) talks about KU's LOR policy:

http://www.kumc.edu/som/application.html

Might be worth it to just give them a call and ask straight up... They're usually pretty nice about answering questions and dealing with dilemmas and such...
 
I spoke with a friend of mine who will be MS1 at KUMC this year; he did EDP and got a username/password and a link via email to access secondaries.
 
Lovely. Looks like another writeup in Word and then a copy/paste regimen.

Do you know what his stats were when he applied so we can have hope... or despair?

Haha..
 
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Grrrrr. So we're waiting for an e-mail???? I can't stand waiting!!!!

marle86, PM me and tell me who you are! lol.

scoutnj19, I'll e-mail you back soon - busy crazy week.
 
Engineer: Haha, okay, done. :)

Scout: Yeah, you're right, I should probably give them a call. I'll see if they can agree to accept the "No, I didn't read the LOR" sheet, at any rate.

Well, scout got me curious, so I brought up the '08-'09 KU application thread. Looks like the secondary information was added on July 8th (possibly received before then) so we won't have too long to go!

It's probably a fair bet the essays won't change, but yet I still can't bring myself to start writing them until they're official.
 
I've got another question now that you guys pointed me to the LOR waiver thingy. I submitted all my letters via AMCAS and there was no waiver to sign. Am I ok?

marele, I'd just call them. The director of that office is "Sandy" and she was a huge help when I had questions. If worst comes to worst, you could always send in that form after the fact - get your LOR writer to sign it now and pre-date it or something.
 
Oh yeah, and you'd think they'd let us work on those secondary essays over the long weekend instead of writing them while we're supposed to be at work next week. Gah.

;)

kidding!
 
Just got the email from KU Med about secondaries and stuff. The next step awaits...
 
Awesome! So glad the secondary is up; it gives me something productive to do.

For some reason, my courses from AMCAS transferred with the wrong dates on them when I imported them to the Prereq section. No big deal, I just corrected the years listed, but you guys might want to watch out for that.

Their admissions office is very helpful, by the way. The letter of rec situation I had is now all sorted out, so that's fabulous.
 
Yup, got my e-mail too. My courses did the same thing as yours - came in with the wrong dates. Since I've gone to so many schools, I need to print out my AMCAS application and make sure it's identical. Only 1,000 characters to answer those questions. Huh. Just a few sentences I guess.

EXCITING!
 
Okay, so here's a question...

When entering the pre-reqs, do we just enter the courses to fulfill the requirements?

More specifically, I was a communications major, and so I had a number of 'English' courses that I could enter into that slot. Do I just pick and choose? Or do I enter all of them?

Confusing for non-trads... Or liberal arts non-trads... Lol

Think I'm going to take a day or two to write out some responses to the prompts. Only 1000 characters... Fortunately my focus was print media, so I can be concise when need be...
 
Yeah! I had that exact question as well. A lot of my upper-level engineering classes counted for AMCAS as "general chemistry" or "physics" and in a few cases "biology".

So do they want just what meets the requirements or everything? I will call or e-mail tomorrow. I'll post what I find out. If anyone else finds out sooner, let me know! :)
 
I called KU Med today and asked about the pre-reqs question that I and Engineer2Med had...

We are to simply put the courses that fulfill the basic requirement. The adcomm committee will see all the other stuff on the AMCAS application, anyway...

I'm not touching the questions until Friday or Saturday, I think... Sit on my responses for a day or two and then party with friends coming up from Georgia for a week...
 
Does University of Kansas screen out of state students???
 
Short answer: Yes, they screen OOS applicants.

From the KUMC website:

"While we will only accept candidates who are academically qualified to meet the intellectual rigors of a medical career, our focus on out-of-state applicants is to select those who will contribute to the depth and breadth of backgrounds and life experiences of the entering class. We carefully consider those personal characteristics deemed necessary to develop into a highly competent and compassionate physician. We seek applicants who have a sound awareness of issues in medicine and who have demonstrated their commitment to serve others. For the 2009 entering class, KU received more than 2200 applications for a class of 175. Of the 1800 non-resident applicants, approximately 100 were interviewed and 30 accepted."

For a $50 application fee, I have to admit that 30 out of 1800 aren't my kind of odds, but if you have Kansas ties or a cool story, it sounds like you could go for it.
 
Short answer: Yes, they screen OOS applicants.

I know I just wanted to make sure, I got the secondary today and I was super excited (b/c my numbers are anything great). So it's nice to know schools screen by looking at your extracurriculars/ or at least taking a peak at your personal statement......
 
Thought I would join the conversation as a fellow EDP candidate. scoutnj19, you and I are in a very similar position. My wife grew up out in OP and we just moved back out here last summer 2008. Same MCAT but my ECs are not as good as evidenced by my failure to be accepted to KU last year. In my post-interview conversation with the dean, she mentioned that I needed some more health care experiences and possibly a genetics and biochem class. This year I am armed with all the above, some new LORs and hopefully an acceptance!

Do you guys think there's any advantage in getting the secondary app in now versus mid to late August?

In any event, best of luck to you all!
 
Do you guys think there's any advantage in getting the secondary app in now versus mid to late August?

In any event, best of luck to you all!

You definitely have an advantage if you turn it in earlier because they have rolling admissions so through the application cycle the later you get the less spots that are available...
 
Is anyone putting a reason for why there are inconsistencies between mcat and gpa? i have a high gpa but an average mcat score...i got a version of the mcat with basically all chem which was definitely my weakness...as a result i didnt do as well as projected in the PS section. should i say that or does it sound like i am making excuses?
 
Hi, Sleight, I'd just leave it alone and if it came up during the interview I'd have an answer ready. Just my opinion. :)
 
You definitely have an advantage if you turn it in earlier because they have rolling admissions so through the application cycle the later you get the less spots that are available...

I know this is true for regular admission, but for ED it's the first round and everyone who is chosen is interviewed on the same days in September. Je ne sai pas...
 
I know this is true for regular admission, but for ED it's the first round and everyone who is chosen is interviewed on the same days in September. Je ne sai pas...

oh sorry! i didnt read the ED part...i am not quite sure about that...
 
Is anyone putting a reason for why there are inconsistencies between mcat and gpa? i have a high gpa but an average mcat score...i got a version of the mcat with basically all chem which was definitely my weakness...as a result i didnt do as well as projected in the PS section. should i say that or does it sound like i am making excuses?

anybody else have anything to say about this before I hit submit?

PLUS-why do they call it KU and then when they write it out it is "University of Kansas"? Which one have you guys been writing?
 
Is anyone putting a reason for why there are inconsistencies between mcat and gpa? i have a high gpa but an average mcat score...i got a version of the mcat with basically all chem which was definitely my weakness...as a result i didnt do as well as projected in the PS section. should i say that or does it sound like i am making excuses?

I would definitely leave it alone. Since Chem is supposed to be 1/2 the PS, having it as a weak area would be pointing out that you wouldn't have gotten an above average score on PS no matter what. (I can personally emphasize with getting a crazy PS section, don't get me wrong. I'm just saying that I think you're on the right track with your feeling that it would sound like you're 'making excuses'.)

I agree with Engineer2MD, just be prepared to discuss it in your interview if it comes up. It might not! :)
 
Is anyone putting a reason for why there are inconsistencies between mcat and gpa? i have a high gpa but an average mcat score...i got a version of the mcat with basically all chem which was definitely my weakness...as a result i didnt do as well as projected in the PS section. should i say that or does it sound like i am making excuses?

Yea I would not mention that, plus if your MCAT is average for the school, then you are fine...
 
Sleight-

I am in a similar position too. High GPA and average MCAT; when I checked with my adviser and a few others they said not to sweat it for the apps and just be ready to discuss it in an interview if it comes up. I know at least one person who got in for this year who was in that position too, he said it did not come up in the interview. On a side note, I always wondered about the University of Kansas = KU thing too; I go to Kansas State University (KSU), I always assumed those strange people in Lawrence came up with that abbreviation. ;)


Regarding the comments on whether it is advantageous to get secondaries in early for EDP, I have heard that it is not a big deal as long as you get them in a few weeks before the deadline, but I never confirmed this with KU. Does anyone know for sure? (Since everyone who gets an interview does the interview in the same 3-day window, I would guess that it doesn't affect your chances of acceptance at all, but maybe it affects your chances at an interview?)
 
Maybe it is an engineer brain talking here, but the secondary seems annoying!!!!

I'm not "creative"!!! ahhhhh!!!!!
A big "challenge" for me lately is getting my husband to decide: "Applebees or On The Border?"

:)
 
Haha, yeah, that "challenges" question is driving me crazy.

On one hand, I've heard adcoms roll their eyes if people describe their biggest challenge as being something academic or trite - making it seem like the writer has zero real world experience and doesn't exist outside of the pre-med bubble. I get that. Yet most of the real, legitimately challenging things I can think of are too personal to have any place in an admissions essay.

My honest answer would be ridiculous. I can only imagine what they would think if I wrote a 1000 character essay on a previous relationship that became long-distance and how challenging it was. :p

(I have an idea of what I'll write about for real, I just think it's funny that this other experience only sounds much more legitimately difficult.)
 
Yeah, exactly :) How do you convey real world experience - but when you've led a relatively "normal" life? I agree with you, most of my "challenges" are in the "None of Your Business" category. :)

I'd like to say I was a prisoner of war somehwere and escaped by tricking the guards, then I had to run through the jungle barefoot and was bitten by a poisonous snake and almost died if it wasn't for the local medicine man who saved my life and then I built a radio out of bamboo to contact the American Embassy....

.... But, alas, I cannot. Um, I got lost in Tokyo once???? Just doesn't sound as cool.

:)
 
I'd like to say I was a prisoner of war somehwere and escaped by tricking the guards, then I had to run through the jungle barefoot and was bitten by a poisonous snake and almost died if it wasn't for the local medicine man who saved my life and then I built a radio out of bamboo to contact the American Embassy....


:)

Haha you should use this for your display of creativity essay.....
 
PLUS-why do they call it KU and then when they write it out it is "University of Kansas"? Which one have you guys been writing?
If you're writing it out or whatever it's "The University of Kansas (KU)."

If you're saying it, it's just "KU."

OMG, I went here for undergrad, and I never even noticed how weird that is. It probably has something to do with the University of Kentucky (UK). Wow, that's like The Ohio State University...

Now, seriously, anyone have the essays yet? Same as last years?
 
is there a status page for the secondary? am i dumb and not seeing it? lol
 
Hey everyone, just wondering if anyone was having a tough time with the "special interest essay". I actually wanted to talk about learning to snowboard in college, but I get the feeling this essay (like all the others) wants a VERY real life poignant story.....especially the 2nd part of the essay where it says give examples of taking different sides and so on. Is anyone else stuck? Or did you guys just write about a sport/skill you have.
 
Hey everyone, just wondering if anyone was having a tough time with the "special interest essay". I actually wanted to talk about learning to snowboard in college, but I get the feeling this essay (like all the others) wants a VERY real life poignant story.....especially the 2nd part of the essay where it says give examples of taking different sides and so on. Is anyone else stuck? Or did you guys just write about a sport/skill you have.

i wrote about food/cooking etc...haha...seriously though...i think that they just want to see something that you are passionate about and they could care less what it is...
 
i wrote about food/cooking etc...haha...seriously though...i think that they just want to see something that you are passionate about and they could care less what it is...

Ok hopefully....quite arguably one of the toughest secondaries, I've done!
 
Can anyone post the secondary questions or send them to me? I just submitted my application today. Would be nice to get a head start before school begins. Thanks!
 
Here you go!
have fun! some of the questions are very annoying.....=[
and I calculated, the 1000 charac are actually with spaces...so be careful!

Provide relatively brief (1000 character maximum) answers to the following questions. Use Notepad or other non-formatting text editors if you would like to copy-paste your answers from drafts prepared elsewhere. If you copy-paste more than a 1000 characters into a text box, you will lose your answer when you click the <Save> button. Required fields are marked with an asterisk.*

1. Describe examples of leadership experience in which you have significantly influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time.


2. Describe any of your special interests and how you have developed knowledge in these areas. Give examples of your creativity: the ability to see alternatives; to take diverse perspectives; to develop varied or original ideas; or the willingness to try new things.


3. Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to address this challenge.


4. Give an example of what you have done to make your community a better place to live.


5. Describe your experiences facing or witnessing discrimination. Tell how you responded and what you learned from these experiences and how they have prepared you for your future in medicine.


6. As a student, what is unique or special that you would bring to KU School of Medicine?


7. If you are not a Kansas resident, what is your specific interest in applying to the University of Kansas School of Medicine?


8. If necessary, update the information contained in your AMCAS application. Indicate grades earned, alterations in your proposed course work or graduation time, additions to your extracurricular activities, or other pertinent information.


9. If there are discrepancies in your application that have not been explained in your personal statement, use this space to clarify. Examples may include unexplained gaps in time, multiple undergraduate institutions attended, multiple course withdrawals, inconsistent academic performance, inconsistency between academic performance and MCAT scores.


10. If you are currently enrolled, or plan to be enrolled during the next academic year, in a graduate or professional degree program, please describe your status within the program and your intentions to complete the program. You must also request a letter from your graduate program advisor or from the dean of your professional school. This letter must include acknowledgement of your application to medical school and a description of your status in the program.

11. For Repeat Applicants Only: Since your last application, what steps have you taken to strengthen your candidacy? Please note relevant academic, employment and personal experiences.

12. For Combined MD/PhD Program Applicants: Do you also want to be considered as an "MD-only" applicant?

13. Have you ever been convicted for violation of a regulation or law relating to controlled substances (answer YES or NO)? If yes, provide appropriate explanation(s), including the date(s) of conviction, case number(s), and the jurisdictional court(s) involved.

*14. Have you ever been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony (answer YES or NO)? If yes, provide appropriate explanation(s), including the date(s) of conviction, case number(s), and the jurisdictional court(s) involved. *


-ismailidoc
 
Wohoo finally submitted this one, this one took a lot of work
 
Yeah, got mine in yesterday, too.

Good Luck guys!!
 
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