2009-2010 University of South Florida Application Thread

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shemarty

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PROMPT

What do you see as the most likely practice scenario for your future medical career?

A. Please choose the single answer the best describes your career goals.
Private Practice
Health Policy
Academic Medicine
Public Health
Health Care Administration
B. Why do you feel you are particularly suited for this practice scenario? What knowledge, skills and attitudes have you developed that have prepared you for this career path?
Please limit your answer to 1,000 characters, including spaces.

USF College of Medicine’s Scholarly Concentration program (http://www.scholarlyconcentrations.com/) aims to support the educational development of medical students by providing opportunities for academic endeavors in areas of special interest. This program will facilitate self-directed learning; enhance interactions between students and foster relationships between students and faculty. Scholarly concentrations provide a forum where diversity of ideas and perspectives are valued. Each concentration includes elements of course work, practical application, and scholarly presentation.
How will the USF College of Medicine’s curriculum and specifically the scholarly concentration program help your personal career goals?
Please limit your answer to 1,000 characters, including spaces.

Since the submission of your primary AMCAS Application, have you participated in any new activities such as volunteering, shadowing, community service, research, or publication? If so, please provide a detailed narrative of the activity, duration of involvement, and how it has impacted your future plan of becoming a physician.
Enter one to one and half pages for the following Essay question. There is no character limit for the essay.
 HINT: Create your essay in a separate word processing product. Use the copy and paste feature to move your final essay into this question.

As you review your application portfolio, please identify and describe one area of your accomplishments that you feel best reflects your potential as a future physician.

The Committee on Admissions regards the diversity of an entering class as an important factor in serving the educational mission of the school. The Committee strongly encourages all applicants to share unique, personally important, and / or challenging factors in your background, such as the quality of your early educational environment, socioeconomic status, culture, race, ethnicity, or life work experiences. Please discuss how such factors have influenced your goals and preparation for a career in medicine.

Please select one of the following choices to write about:
-Please describe how your past experiences have prepared you to serve a diverse population.
 -Please describe how your interests outside of medicine helped to prepare you to be a 21st century physician.
 -Please describe your ideas about how the medical profession can best respond to disparities in healthcare.
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Last edited:
No love yet? I'm currently attending USF's undergraduate program on the Sarasota-Manatee campus. Will probably be one of the schools I'll look to apply.
 
I'm from Tampa, graduated from UF, and will definitely be applying to this school :D...I'm doomed to be in FL forever, so I might as well get used to it.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
I'm a second year at USF, so if you have any questions, feel free to post/PM me. Good luck!
 
Krisss17 said:
No love yet? I'm currently attending USF's undergraduate program on the Sarasota-Manatee campus. Will probably be one of the schools I'll look to apply.
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I'm from sarasota too, and hope to do some classes from the SRQ campus
 
I was wondering how many REC's are too many cuz I have a committee/composite recommendation made up of 4 rec's, a rec from a PI and then just to USF I was gonna send a rec from someone who is associated w/ usf, is that too many and should I just cut out the rec from the PI?
 
stayclassy said:
I'm from sarasota too, and hope to do some classes from the SRQ campus
Click to expand...

What degree are you pursuing? My major is actually the Interdisciplinary Social Sciences BA, but I'm hoping to head over to the Tampa campus to take 3 advanced sciences to use as my electives (biochemistry, physiology and genetics).
 
emrygrad said:
I was wondering how many REC's are too many cuz I have a committee/composite recommendation made up of 4 rec's, a rec from a PI and then just to USF I was gonna send a rec from someone who is associated w/ usf, is that too many and should I just cut out the rec from the PI?
Click to expand...

If you are applying for the MD/pHD, then you should certainly include the letter from the PI. If you are applying straight MD, I would still suggest sending all the letters. A composite plus two others is not overkill.
 
Has anyone received the secondary app for USF yet? Is it sent via e-mail? Thank you.
 
MadScientist48 said:
Has anyone received the secondary app for USF yet? Is it sent via e-mail? Thank you.
Click to expand...

Dude you're asking this on the 24th? I still haven't gotten one and it's July 4th now.... anyone?
 
abarabas said:
Dude you're asking this on the 24th? I still haven't gotten one and it's July 4th now.... anyone?
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There is a new Director of Admissions, so it may be a little later this year since they are reviewing all the old policies and such.

Interviews do not start until the end of September (with EDP being around mid-September) so hopefully they will have the secondaries out by the end of July.

In the past, you were e-mailed a link to get to a site to fill out the secondary on-line.
 
i just got an email from them today saying they'll be sending out the secondary in mid-July
 
ziggy...Same here, go the secondary a few minutes ago and it says thanks for the application we will be sending our secondary application out mid-july...at least I have time to complete my others now! lol
 
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USF disappointed me last cycle. I'll send a secondary this cycle too, let's see if I can convince them to interview me this time. I did my best to try to get an interview from them last cycle, short of begging them at a medical college forum at my school.
 
Food said:
USF disappointed me last cycle. I'll send a secondary this cycle too, let's see if I can convince them to interview me this time. I did my best to try to get an interview from them last cycle, short of begging them at a medical college forum at my school.
Click to expand...

your mcat score and activities are excellent! you will no doubt get an interview and win usf over... now as for me i am keeping my toes and fingers crossed!!
 
abarabas said:
Where's the secondary!?
Click to expand...
I got an email from them on 7/17 saying thanks for applying and we're sending out the sec next week. If it's not here today, it should be tomorrow.
 
Just received the secondary by email! TONS of essays.
 
Got my secondary today (Friday at 4:30 at work...geeze). Here's the prompts:

What do you see as the most likely practice scenario for your future medical career?
A. Please choose the single answer the best describes your career goals.
Private Practice
Health Policy
Academic Medicine
Public Health
Health Care Administration
B. Why do you feel you are particularly suited for this practice scenario? What knowledge, skills and attitudes have you developed that have prepared you for this career path?
Please limit your answer to 1,000 characters, including spaces.

USF College of Medicine’s Scholarly Concentration program (http://www.scholarlyconcentrations.com/) aims to support the educational development of medical students by providing opportunities for academic endeavors in areas of special interest. This program will facilitate self-directed learning; enhance interactions between students and foster relationships between students and faculty. Scholarly concentrations provide a forum where diversity of ideas and perspectives are valued. Each concentration includes elements of course work, practical application, and scholarly presentation.
How will the USF College of Medicine’s curriculum and specifically the scholarly concentration program help your personal career goals?
Please limit your answer to 1,000 characters, including spaces.

Since the submission of your primary AMCAS Application, have you participated in any new activities such as volunteering, shadowing, community service, research, or publication? If so, please provide a detailed narrative of the activity, duration of involvement, and how it has impacted your future plan of becoming a physician.
Enter one to one and half pages for the following Essay question. There is no character limit for the essay.
HINT: Create your essay in a separate word processing product. Use the copy and paste feature to move your final essay into this question.

As you review your application portfolio, please identify and describe one area of your accomplishments that you feel best reflects your potential as a future physician.

The Committee on Admissions regards the diversity of an entering class as an important factor in serving the educational mission of the school. The Committee strongly encourages all applicants to share unique, personally important, and / or challenging factors in your background, such as the quality of your early educational environment, socioeconomic status, culture, race, ethnicity, or life work experiences. Please discuss how such factors have influenced your goals and preparation for a career in medicine.
Please select one of the following choices to write about:
-Please describe how your past experiences have prepared you to serve a diverse population.
-Please describe how your interests outside of medicine helped to prepare you to be a 21st century physician.
-Please describe your ideas about how the medical profession can best respond to disparities in healthcare.
 
GRADES: Another question in the secondary asks you to explain all grades below a "B" on your transcript. Does this include "B-" grades??? What kind of explanations are they looking for here???

ESSAYS: Also, the instructions part way through the app state " Enter one to one and half pages for the following Essay question. There is no character limit for the essay." ... Is this referring to the question about "one area of accomplishments"... or to the question about activities since the AMCAS application? (I'm finding it confusing because the instructions are in the same box as the latter question, but seem appropriate for the next question.) Since there is no character limit for the last 2 essays, does the "1-1.5 pages" apply to them as well?
 
TammyTrojan said:
GRADES: Another question in the secondary asks you to explain all grades below a "B" on your transcript. Does this include "B-" grades??? What kind of explanations are they looking for here???

ESSAYS: Also, the instructions part way through the app state " Enter one to one and half pages for the following Essay question. There is no character limit for the essay." ... Is this referring to the question about "one area of accomplishments"... or to the question about activities since the AMCAS application? (I'm finding it confusing because the instructions are in the same box as the latter question, but seem appropriate for the next question.) Since there is no character limit for the last 2 essays, does the "1-1.5 pages" apply to them as well?
Click to expand...

Probably. I think they would be annoyed with anything over than 1.5 pages. My friend wrote over 3 pages for one of them and yea... he had to go to the Caribbean :laugh:
 
Anyone else notice how usf's secondary this year is eerily similar to stanford's 2008-2009 secondary? how can they plagiarize like that???
 
CanHasNaps says they have a new Director of Admissions.... maybe this new Director has some connection with Stanford and decided to use it at USF?
 
jxc said:
Probably. I think they would be annoyed with anything over than 1.5 pages. My friend wrote over 3 pages for one of them and yea... he had to go to the Caribbean :laugh:
Click to expand...

Are most people writing essays that are significantly shorter than the 1.5 page limit for each?
 
Is anyone else having problems accessing the secondary website? I was able to open the secondary yesterday, but today when I click on the secondary link I am redirected to an error page with a long list of error messages...
 
I'm having the same problem with the secondary.
 
Is emergency medicine done out of the ER at a hospital considered public health or private practice?
 
i am having problems with secondary today as well. odd, because it was working last night
 
Are these two separate essays or is it only one?

The Committee on Admissions regards the diversity of an entering class as an important factor in serving the educational mission of the school. The Committee strongly encourages all applicants to share unique, personally important, and / or challenging factors in your background, such as the quality of your early educational environment, socioeconomic status, culture, race, ethnicity, or life work experiences. Please discuss how such factors have influenced your goals and preparation for a career in medicine.

AND/OR????
Please select one of the following choices to write about:
-Please describe how your past experiences have prepared you to serve a diverse population.
-Please describe how your interests outside of medicine helped to prepare you to be a 21st century physician.
-Please describe your ideas about how the medical profession can best respond to disparities in healthcare.
 
jla314 said:
Anyone else notice how usf's secondary this year is eerily similar to stanford's 2008-2009 secondary? how can they plagiarize like that???
Click to expand...

Because the new Director of Admissions was an assistant director of admissions at Stanford last year...
 
abarabas said:
Is emergency medicine done out of the ER at a hospital considered public health or private practice?
Click to expand...

Could be either. Some EM physicians are part of private practice groups, while others work directly for the hospitals. I suppose it would really depend on if you were serving in a area that was underserved, and if you were going to perhaps donate your time to community clinics?

EM is not considered a primary care specialty, however.
 
TammyTrojan said:
GRADES: Another question in the secondary asks you to explain all grades below a "B" on your transcript. Does this include "B-" grades??? What kind of explanations are they looking for here???
Click to expand...


Yes, B- must be explained. And I would suggest being honest. Personal Examples: I had a rough semester because I was working 3 jobs at the time, and my grades suffered as a result. I also decided to take Calc II 4 years after taking Calc I - and that was about the extent of my explanation for that grade as well.
 
TammyTrojan said:
Are most people writing essays that are significantly shorter than the 1.5 page limit for each?
Click to expand...

If you can say it well in less than the limit, don't feel like you have to add in material to get to 1.5 pages.
 
reidmike said:
Are these two separate essays or is it only one?

The Committee on Admissions regards the diversity of an entering class as an important factor in serving the educational mission of the school. The Committee strongly encourages all applicants to share unique, personally important, and / or challenging factors in your background, such as the quality of your early educational environment, socioeconomic status, culture, race, ethnicity, or life work experiences. Please discuss how such factors have influenced your goals and preparation for a career in medicine.

AND/OR????
Please select one of the following choices to write about:
-Please describe how your past experiences have prepared you to serve a diverse population.
-Please describe how your interests outside of medicine helped to prepare you to be a 21st century physician.
-Please describe your ideas about how the medical profession can best respond to disparities in healthcare.
Click to expand...

I would read it as being just one essay, with the three options to chose from for the prompt. I would suggest calling the office Monday morning for clarification, however.
 
jeez. not all secondaries are this horribly long right?
 
CanHasNaps said:
I would read it as being just one essay, with the three options to chose from for the prompt. I would suggest calling the office Monday morning for clarification, however.
Click to expand...

I believe the answer to the question that was asked is that there are indeed two separate essays they want - one about challenging background, and one where you get to choose out of the three options...plus there is another 1.5 page essay that was not asked about, bringing the total to 3 long essays.
 
jla314 said:
I believe the answer to the question that was asked is that there are indeed two separate essays they want - one about challenging background, and one where you get to choose out of the three options...plus there is another 1.5 page essay that was not asked about, bringing the total to 3 long essays.
Click to expand...

I was responding to the question about the last question of the application. Regardless, since we have several different interpretations, it would be best to contact the admissions office for clarification.
 
TammyTrojan said:
GRADES: Another question in the secondary asks you to explain all grades below a "B" on your transcript. Does this include "B-" grades??? What kind of explanations are they looking for here???

ESSAYS: Also, the instructions part way through the app state " Enter one to one and half pages for the following Essay question. There is no character limit for the essay." ... Is this referring to the question about "one area of accomplishments"... or to the question about activities since the AMCAS application? (I'm finding it confusing because the instructions are in the same box as the latter question, but seem appropriate for the next question.) Since there is no character limit for the last 2 essays, does the "1-1.5 pages" apply to them as well?
Click to expand...

hmm it's possible that the last 2 essays fall under the '2000 character limit' they mention at the very top of the secondary (it says any question that does not explicitly have a character limit by it should be assumed to have a 2000 char limit). i concur with the post above, we should call them tomorrow and clarify...
 
This secondary is Ridiculous. Definitely has to do with the new admission director though. Should be interesting to see how that plays into everything. Hopefully the long secondary will detract some of the lesser motivated applicants
 
yuck, this is by far my least favorite secondary
 
I'm reading it as 1-1.5 page essays for 3 topics (there are 3 text boxes to fill)...so, 3 horribly long essays.

-As you review your application portfolio, please identify and describe one area of your accomplishments that you feel best reflects your potential as a future physician.

-The Committee on Admissions regards the diversity of an entering class as an important factor in serving the educational mission of the school. The Committee strongly encourages all applicants to share unique, personally important, and / or challenging factors in your background, such as the quality of your early educational environment, socioeconomic status, culture, race, ethnicity, or life work experiences. Please discuss how such factors have influenced your goals and preparation for a career in medicine.

-Please select one of the following choices to write about:
1)Please describe how your past experiences have prepared you to serve a diverse population.
2)Please describe how your interests outside of medicine helped to prepare you to be a 21st century physician.
3)Please describe your ideas about how the medical profession can best respond to disparities in healthcare.

Ugh...gonna be a looooong night. At least I have one of em done from another essay I did yesterday :D
 
drwham said:
yuck, this is by far my least favorite secondary
Click to expand...

Loyola's is longer... but I don't understand why people are complaining - you don't have to fill up the character limit. You just have to BRIEFLY explain each thing. Getting wordy and overthinking is like digging your own grave.
 
abarabas said:
Loyola's is longer... but I don't understand why people are complaining - you don't have to fill up the character limit. You just have to BRIEFLY explain each thing. Getting wordy and overthinking is like digging your own grave.
Click to expand...

Alvarez13 said:
I'm reading it as 1-1.5 page essays for 3 topics (there are 3 text boxes to fill)...so, 3 horribly long essays.

-As you review your application portfolio, please identify and describe one area of your accomplishments that you feel best reflects your potential as a future physician.

-The Committee on Admissions regards the diversity of an entering class as an important factor in serving the educational mission of the school. The Committee strongly encourages all applicants to share unique, personally important, and / or challenging factors in your background, such as the quality of your early educational environment, socioeconomic status, culture, race, ethnicity, or life work experiences. Please discuss how such factors have influenced your goals and preparation for a career in medicine.

-Please select one of the following choices to write about:
1)Please describe how your past experiences have prepared you to serve a diverse population.
2)Please describe how your interests outside of medicine helped to prepare you to be a 21st century physician.
3)Please describe your ideas about how the medical profession can best respond to disparities in healthcare.

Ugh...gonna be a looooong night. At least I have one of em done from another essay I did yesterday :D
Click to expand...

It says " Enter one to one and half pages for the following Essay question (NOT questions). There is no character limit for the essay (NOT essays)" right above the area of accomplishment essay prompt. Essay and question as in singular, not plural. The last two essays both have a 2000 character limit. If you think about it, it makes sense. Abarabas is right, just keep it concise because the ADCOM people are very busy and they don't want to read too much.
 
MadScientist48 said:
It says " Enter one to one and half pages for the following Essay question (NOT questions). There is no character limit for the essay (NOT essays)" right above the area of accomplishment essay prompt. Essay and question as in singular, not plural. The last two essays both have a 2000 character limit. If you think about it, it makes sense. Abarabas is right, just keep it concise because the ADCOM people are very busy and they don't want to read too much.
Click to expand...

We probably all have the tendency to try to overanalyze this stuff and write a lot so they get a full understanding of what we're trying to express. Some of the best writing though is to the point... I always write something long and cut out stuff that's redundant or doesn't add to the main effect I'm trying to convey.
 
abarabas said:
We probably all have the tendency to try to overanalyze this stuff and write a lot so they get a full understanding of what we're trying to express. Some of the best writing though is to the point... I always write something long and cut out stuff that's redundant or doesn't add to the main effect I'm trying to convey.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree anymore. If it doesn't add anything new, don't say it. If USF is interested in something you said, they'll ask you to elaborate on it at the interview.
 
TammyTrojan said:
GRADES: Another question in the secondary asks you to explain all grades below a "B" on your transcript. Does this include "B-" grades??? What kind of explanations are they looking for here???

ESSAYS: Also, the instructions part way through the app state " Enter one to one and half pages for the following Essay question. There is no character limit for the essay." ... Is this referring to the question about "one area of accomplishments"... or to the question about activities since the AMCAS application? (I'm finding it confusing because the instructions are in the same box as the latter question, but seem appropriate for the next question.) Since there is no character limit for the last 2 essays, does the "1-1.5 pages" apply to them as well?
Click to expand...

I had the same question about the "B" grades. I have 3 B-'s and 1 C+ on my transcript. I think I can explain the C+, but the B-'s were honestly sheer laziness. I'm just going to act like they are only asking for C+'s and below and explain the C+ and pray that the B-'s slip by them.
 
2 interesting things I though I'd share:

The essay about anything you've done since submitting AMCAS app now has a 2,000 character limit...despite what it said before about "Enter one to one and half pages for the following Essay question. There is no character limit for the essay."

And for some odd reason, when I copied and pasted out of a Word document, all my apostrophes turned into this odd symbol and all my quotation marks were simply gone. So just made sure you proof-read for that before you hit submit.
 
HateTheMCAT said:
I had the same question about the "B" grades. I have 3 B-'s and 1 C+ on my transcript. I think I can explain the C+, but the B-'s were honestly sheer laziness. I'm just going to act like they are only asking for C+'s and below and explain the C+ and pray that the B-'s slip by them.
Click to expand...

They won't. Check the FAQs on the admissions website. I strongly encourage you to find a very appropriate way to work "sheer laziness" into something....well, appropriate.
 
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