2009-2010 University of Pittsburgh Application Thread

Steelers win the Super Bowl, Panthers get to the Elite Eight, Penguins contending for the Stanley Cup. Epic year in Pittsburgh sports, to possibly rival '79?

Oh, and this school is amazing.

I am applying to Pitt this year, already submitted my primary. This is my first choice school. Top 20, great research opportunities, great clinical exposure. I am so excited to be applying this year!

I applied to Pittsburgh as well. Great school.

one of my top choices also. good luck everyone

Lukkie said:

one of my top choices also. good luck everyone

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I was accepted to Pitt last year. Please feel free to ask any questions about the application.

DNAbaby said:

I was accepted to Pitt last year. Please feel free to ask any questions about the application.

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Ok! Do they screen secondaries? Relatively how long did it take them to send out interview invites after we are complete?

osumc2014 said:

Ok! Do they screen secondaries? Relatively how long did it take them to send out interview invites after we are complete?

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I am not sure if they screen secondaries. I thought so. I submitted my secondary on Friday night in October. On Saturday morning I had an interview invitation... That does sound like a bot. Perhaps they have some MCAT and GPA that gets you an automatic interview.

DNAbaby said:

I am not sure if they screen secondaries. I thought so. I submitted my secondary on Friday night in October. On Saturday morning I had an interview invitation... That does sound like a bot. Perhaps they have some MCAT and GPA that gets you an automatic interview.

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I think I've heard this before too.... hopefully if they do do this, they also look at the whole app for the ones that don't make that cutoff, like me

DNAbaby said:

I am not sure if they screen secondaries. I thought so. I submitted my secondary on Friday night in October. On Saturday morning I had an interview invitation... That does sound like a bot. Perhaps they have some MCAT and GPA that gets you an automatic interview.

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What is this magic MCAT GPA combination that you had (if you don't mind my asking)?

FML said:

I think I've heard this before too.... hopefully if they do do this, they also look at the whole app for the ones that don't make that cutoff, like me

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Your profile reminds me of mine. Kick ass ECs with a fair GPA/MCAT. Best of luck to ya! I think you'll get in somewhere good though.

Alvarez13 said:

Your profile reminds me of mine. Kick ass ECs with a fair GPA/MCAT. Best of luck to ya! I think you'll get in somewhere good though.

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thanks but your EC's are way more kick-ass than mine!

but yea both our MCAT and GPA are just middle of the pack, but I def think you will get in somewhere great as well. Good luck!

Just got the email for the secondary. a couple questions, a couple prompts, but all under 250 words. good luck to all.

Just got the email too.

Describe a personal experience which resulted in a substantial moral or ethical dilemma. What was the outcome? We are reluctant to accept assertions that you have never encountered such a situation. Please do not address cheating in an academic setting.
(Limit your response to 250 words or less.)

The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine welcomes applicants with a variety of view points, backgrounds, and experiences. Describe some aspect(s) of your life that would contribute to our diverse community.
(Limit your response to 250 words or less.)

DNAbaby said:

I am not sure if they screen secondaries. I thought so. I submitted my secondary on Friday night in October. On Saturday morning I had an interview invitation... That does sound like a bot. Perhaps they have some MCAT and GPA that gets you an automatic interview.

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got the secondary this morning. there is a FAQ on the app that says:

• How many supplemental applications are sent out?

Jolt21 said:

Just got the email for the secondary. a couple questions, a couple prompts, but all under 250 words. good luck to all.

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I got the email too! Glad to see it shouldn't be too long.

short expected response lengths, but i think the questions themselves are quite difficult. thankfully it's the same prompts as last year b/c i already started thinking about what to write.

Working on mine right now. It's hard answering these in so few words...

Got the email.

Got the email this morning, too. I was hoping they would change that darn ethical dilemma question. That one is tough. Although being an, ahem, older nontrad the diversity question is not too hard.

derArzt said:

Working on mine right now. It's hard answering these in so few words...

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I haven't started on mine yet, but 250 words seemed like a good number. Are others finding that to not be sufficient?

I just read the tuition section, $62,000/yr is quite hefty, whew...

Should the ethical Q be best replied with a professional not so significant incident or can one go personal but significant. What do you guys think?

housemd? said:

Should the ethical Q be best replied with a professional not so significant incident or can one go personal but significant. What do you guys think?

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I'm going personal because I think professional may be a bit too risky, that and I can't think of a professional one atm lol

osumc2014 said:

I just read the tuition section, $62,000/yr is quite hefty, whew...

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That includes 20,000 for living expenses, but yes that is a lot. Around a quarter million by the time you graduate...Damn.

Isn't that around average though for private/OOS?

osumc2014 said:

I just read the tuition section, $62,000/yr is quite hefty, whew...

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That's really pricey. But still, it's Pitt.

housemd? said:

Should the ethical Q be best replied with a professional not so significant incident or can one go personal but significant. What do you guys think?

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Personal experiences typically tell a better story. Professional experiences are safer.

For this ethical question, can we talk about something in high school? or is it better to limit it to college?

LAman10 said:

For this ethical question, can we talk about something in high school? or is it better to limit it to college?

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I'm sure high school is fine. They don't ask for ethical dilemma from college years exclusively.

DNAbaby said:

I was accepted to Pitt last year. Please feel free to ask any questions about the application.

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I've been working on the moral and ethical dilemma essay.. and I'm debating if I should submit it because it might be too controversial. Basically, one of my best friends had gotten raped but confided in me not to tell her parents or go to the police. I accepted her decision (patient-confidentiality), but also made sure she received counseling and eventually, she put this behind her. Now I'm debating whether or not to write about this, because I know that as a doctor you're mandated to report all rapes. Should I forego on this story?

IMO definitely forgo. Regardless of what's appropriate for a doctor, with something so controversial, all it takes is ONE adcom member to be adamantly opposed to your approach, which you admit, is controversial.

Steer clear and play it safe, again, IMO

yummieyimmie said:

I've been working on the moral and ethical dilemma essay.. and I'm debating if I should submit it because it might be too controversial. Basically, one of my best friends had gotten raped but confided in me not to tell her parents or go to the police. I accepted her decision (patient-confidentiality), but also made sure she received counseling and eventually, she put this behind her. Now I'm debating whether or not to write about this, because I know that as a doctor you're mandated to report all rapes. Should I forego on this story?

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Wow do we have to come up with something as intense as this? I know that Pitt is reluctant to believe we've never encountered moral/ethical dilemmas, but I've never encountered something like this. For those that applied last year, can you give us examples of what you did?

yummieyimmie said:

I've been working on the moral and ethical dilemma essay.. and I'm debating if I should submit it because it might be too controversial. Basically, one of my best friends had gotten raped but confided in me not to tell her parents or go to the police. I accepted her decision (patient-confidentiality), but also made sure she received counseling and eventually, she put this behind her. Now I'm debating whether or not to write about this, because I know that as a doctor you're mandated to report all rapes. Should I forego on this story?

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This seems risky to me too, but big risks can sometimes yield big rewards. This may make you really stick out in their minds, but as others have said it may turn out to be a major turn-off. You have to decide if the risk is worth the potential reward.

I can't think of any examples of a moral or ethical dilemma that isn't controversial. That's what makes it a dilemma. If the choice was easy and everyone agreed with it, you wrote the wrong essay.

yummieyimmie said:

I've been working on the moral and ethical dilemma essay.. and I'm debating if I should submit it because it might be too controversial. Basically, one of my best friends had gotten raped but confided in me not to tell her parents or go to the police. I accepted her decision (patient-confidentiality), but also made sure she received counseling and eventually, she put this behind her. Now I'm debating whether or not to write about this, because I know that as a doctor you're mandated to report all rapes. Should I forego on this story?

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It sounds like a remarkable story. I would definitely write on it. You are not a doctor yet, so the mandate does not apply to you. However, this would be an interesting twist if you would have made a different decision as an MD. Good luck.

Urg, I hate this secondary. Having so much trouble.

BlueElmo said:

Urg, I hate this secondary. Having so much trouble.

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I hate it so much I am punting it.

I overapplied to 27 schools. Just as easy to make the cut now on a bad secondary. Pitt was not even close to my "dream school" list anyway.

here's an ethical dilemma:

i don't know whether to make up an exciting ethical dilemma on my pitt secondary or just write some lame, unexciting dilemma that i've actually been involved in

my ethical dilemma involves me getting in some trouble (no felonies or anything) and then deciding whether or not I wanted to tell my parents

blah.... I feel like it's too 6th grade, but I literally cannot think of anything else

i finally thought of one. i witnessed a fellow employee doing something that we're REALLY not supposed to do at work, but i was still a new employee so i was hesitant to tell our supervisors because i was scared of getting into some messy HR fiasco. i ended up reporting it and my relationship with that employee actually became better afterwards.

opinions? is this a good one?

ziggyd0c said:

here's an ethical dilemma:

i don't know whether to make up an exciting ethical dilemma on my pitt secondary or just write some lame, unexciting dilemma that i've actually been involved in

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You could write about this dilemma.

And say you resolved it by making up your own dilemma.

BlueElmo said:

You could write about this dilemma.

And say you resolved it by making up your own dilemma.

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the adcom would probably have a hearty LOL and then throw my app in the trash

ziggyd0c said:

the adcom would probably have a hearty LOL and then throw my app in the trash

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Does this fall under academic cheating: as a TA I had a grade grubbing premed come asking me to regrade and increase the number of points she got on some assignments, but the dilema lies in the fact that I knew her from high school (not really friends, but more than acquaintances)? I mean I had known her in high school and had mutual friends, but as a TA I obviously couldn't just regrade and give her extra points. It isn't traditional academic cheating (seeing some one cheating on an exam), right?

lrkoehle said:

Does this fall under academic cheating: as a TA I had a grade grubbing premed come asking me to regrade and increase the number of points she got on some assignments, but the dilema lies in the fact that I knew her from high school (not really friends, but more than acquaintances)? I mean I had known her in high school and had mutual friends, but as a TA I obviously couldn't just regrade and give her extra points. It isn't traditional academic cheating (seeing some one cheating on an exam), right?

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Sounds legit to me.

For those who have gotten the invite for the secondary, has your application already been verified by AMCAS?

AGLAIA said:

For those who have gotten the invite for the secondary, has your application already been verified by AMCAS?

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Mine was.

BlueElmo said:

Sounds legit to me.

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So you think that would be an ok topic to write about then?

I have a rough draft of the diversity essay finished! 249 words doesn't exactly leave me with much room to edit without subtracting.

lrkoehle said:

So you think that would be an ok topic to write about then?

I have a rough draft of the diversity essay finished! 249 words doesn't exactly leave me with much room to edit without subtracting.

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I think it's okay.

Hey everyone! I am drafting the ethical essay, and I have two possible scenarios to write about:

1. My old roommate had pretty serious hypochondria, but didn't want to go to counseling or tell her family about it although it was affecting her pretty badly. My other roommate (the non-hypochondriac) and I tried our best to help her out, but she clearly needed more than what we could do. We kept urging her to get help, and finally we ended up calling her mom to talk about the issue...as a result, our roommate did end up opening up to her family about her situation and started seeing a counselor.

2. Another TA situation...I was a TA, and one student was really struggling, and I saw how hard she worked- she always emailed me with questions, came to class prepared, came to office hours, etc, but still was not doing well at all in the class. She ended up asking for extra help, which I wasn't allowed to give to students one-on-one, although I really wanted to help her out.

What do you guys think? #1 is a little personal, and I feel sort of funny talking about my roommate's personal issues on my application, even if I use a different name, etc, etc. However, I feel like scenario #2 is pretty common- a lot of people seem to write about TA ethical issues.

Thoughts as to which one is better?

Also, are you guys including first names in the essays (possibly changed, though)?