2010-2011 University of Alabama Thread

I have to apply here because of my internship, but I don't know if I want to spend another four years in Birmingham. Great city, but it may be time for a change.

I'll never apply here again.

ddroukas said:

I'll never apply here again.

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Can you elaborate please?

PeachyPhd said:

Can you elaborate please?

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I'm going here in the fall.

EDIT: Come on, no one thought this was an old-fashioned knee-slapper!?

Does anyone know if UAB will send you your secondary application without an MCAT score? I know some schools "screen" applicants, but those screenings could be for a variety of things. Thanks in advance.

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Applying - not early decision. Good luck everyone!

ddroukas said:

I'm going here in the fall.

EDIT: Come on, no one thought this was an old-fashioned knee-slapper!?

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I did!

ddroukas said:

I'll never apply here again.

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Nice one! Good Luck! I really wish I could be there with you, but it looks like I'll be reapplying.

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rrroddy said:

Did anybody ever figure out an answer to this? I'm taking a fairly late MCAT and was kind of wondering the same thing....

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Per the UASOM website...

"Secondary Applications are requested from all verified AMCAS applicants who apply to our school."

If I remember correctly from last year, they'll send you a secondary but they won't look at it until it's complete and that includes an MCAT score.

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rrroddy said:

Well, the "tentative" release date of my scores per AAMC is something like August 31st.... bummer, but at least if I have everything else in prior to that it will just be the last thing required to complete my application. Hopefully it'll be a stellar score to make all this waiting worthwhile!

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I wouldn't worry. Last year they didn't even get the secondary out to everyone until late August.

Anyone else get an email from UAB today asking them to apply to the MSTP program? I probably won't but I hadn't really considered them before the email. Maybe I will now.

chrisoc13 said:

Anyone else get an email from UAB today asking them to apply to the MSTP program? I probably won't but I hadn't really considered them before the email. Maybe I will now.

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Yep, I received the e-mail today too

KickedOut said:

Yep, I received the e-mail today too

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Are you considering applying? I have not applied to any MD/PhD programs yet but I have considered adding one or two in.

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chrisoc13 said:

Are you considering applying? I have not applied to any MD/PhD programs yet but I have considered adding one or two in.

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I haven't applied to any MD/PhD programs, but not because I am not interested. Rather it is due some extenuating circumstances with my application, basically I did not really think I would get accepted to a program.

They have definitely peaked my interest. I think I am going to call one of the individuals at the bottom of e-mail tomorrow just to chat. I'll probably decide whether or not to apply after that.

I got the same email. We all probably did. But please post up what you find out. Its definetely got me considering it also. Its a pretty top school(within top 30), and they offer to pay your entire tuition, books and 25k a year? I mean. Sounds like an awesome deal.

I didn't get that email o.0

KickedOut said:

I haven't applied to any MD/PhD programs, but not because I am not interested. Rather it is due some extenuating circumstances with my application, basically I did not really think I would get accepted to a program.

They have definitely peaked my interest. I think I am going to call one of the individuals at the bottom of e-mail tomorrow just to chat. I'll probably decide whether or not to apply after that.

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Dr. Lorenz is super nice. I'd call her if you do it. I think they send that e-mail to everyone who gets above a certain score (maybe 30) on the MCAT. It's a nice program. UAB has a lot of great research opportunities. It's very intense though! I think it's pretty competitive too. I would suggest that if you don't have a lot of experience with research you'd be better off just applying to the MD program. They still have a lot of research opportunities during summer vacations and such. You can also do a scholarly activity involving research. Just my 2 cents. I used to work in the Department of Pathology and I have a lot of friends in the program in case you are wondering. Good Luck though if you do apply!

I realized that some of you might not know what I meant by scholarly activity... so check out this link:

http://medicine.uab.edu/education/55581/

I interviewed here last cycle (on the waitlist) and if you have done research you are given a time slot to talk to a research advisor during your interview day. The guy I talked to (can't remember his name but he was really awesome) said that you can enter the MD/PhD program after you matriculate. So if you are considering it but not sure, I would say wait until you are granted an interview and ask about it. They may even let you apply to the PhD portion on interview day, he made it seem like the program was flexible to get into as long as you had the credentials.

Hey everyone, first time SDN poster here. I have been trying to find the character limits for UASOM's secondary application last year, and have been unsuccessful. I found one post saying the limit was 1000 characters and another saying it was 2500. I have been trying to draft statements, but it would be much easier knowing the actual limits. If anyone knows I would really appreciate the information. Thanks!

D8O8C8T8O8R said:

Hey everyone, first time SDN poster here. I have been trying to find the character limits for UASOM's secondary application last year, and have been unsuccessful. I found one post saying the limit was 1000 characters and another saying it was 2500. I have been trying to draft statements, but it would be much easier knowing the actual limits. If anyone knows I would really appreciate the information. Thanks!

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Last year it was 2500 characters.

Edit: Welcome to SDN!!

Thanks Ditto! I really wish I would have found this before submitting my primary and taking the MCAT, it would have been a great help. Is that character limit from personal experience with the secondary last year or word of mouth? Thanks =).

D8O8C8T8O8R said:

Thanks Ditto! I really wish I would have found this before submitting my primary and taking the MCAT, it would have been a great help. Is that character limit from personal experience with the secondary last year or word of mouth? Thanks =).

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I know from personal experience. I'm currently waitlisted, but about to reapply considering classes start next week. SDN is very helpful! I'm so glad there's a place to talk to other applicants because I think I would've went crazy last year without everyone's support. Are you from Alabama?

Ditto1114 said:

I know from personal experience. I'm currently waitlisted, but about to reapply considering classes start next week. SDN is very helpful! I'm so glad there's a place to talk to other applicants because I think I would've went crazy last year without everyone's support. Are you from Alabama?

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Thank you so much, I have been trying to find that information for a week now. I'm OOS. I saw that it's extremely difficult to get in OOS, but I have a 3.94 33Q MCAT, so hopefully I might be able to get an interview? I would much rather go to UAB as opposed to Memphis or ETSU

D8O8C8T8O8R said:

Thank you so much, I have been trying to find that information for a week now. I'm OOS. I saw that it's extremely difficult to get in OOS, but I have a 3.94 33Q MCAT, so hopefully I might be able to get an interview? I would much rather go to UAB as opposed to Memphis or ETSU

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Last year they actually accepted a lot more OOS students. I'd say you have a good chance. There was a lot of talk on last years thread about it. One of UAB's goals is to become a world renowned institution so they're trying to get students from all over the country. The tuition is pretty expensive though for OOS.

Do you have the prompts for the essays last year? It was rather intense.

Ditto1114 said:

Last year they actually accepted a lot more OOS students. I'd say you have a good chance. There was a lot of talk on last years thread about it. One of UAB's goals is to become a world renowned institution so they're trying to get students from all over the country. The tuition is pretty expensive though for OOS.

Do you have the prompts for the essays last year? It was rather intense.

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That's really good to hear. Yeah I saw how high the tuition is, but I figure it's worth having to get more loans if you love where you are going. I have the prompts and I've been trying to write some drafts so I can get the secondary in quickly, but it is a monster for sure. Longest secondary I've seen so far.

D8O8C8T8O8R said:

That's really good to hear. Yeah I saw how high the tuition is, but I figure it's worth having to get more loans if you love where you are going. I have the prompts and I've been trying to write some drafts so I can get the secondary in quickly, but it is a monster for sure. Longest secondary I've seen so far.

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They also ask for your SAT/ACT scores. It took me forever to find those last year. So, just a heads up. Good Luck with everything! I really like the school so hopefully this is the year for both of us!

Ditto1114 said:

They also ask for your SAT/ACT scores. It took me forever to find those last year. So, just a heads up. Good Luck with everything! I really like the school so hopefully this is the year for both of us!

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The college I am attending didn't require an SAT score, would I be able to just put my ACT? Good luck to you too! Thanks for all the help, hope everything works out for you this time around.

Guys just some information about UAB's admission process in case you didn't know:

-As of June 28th they hadn't started to review primaries (Dawson)
-Review MANY applications (primaries as I understood) even in September (Dawson)
-New interview process where the interviewers do not know/have access to your academic profile (Smith)
-Depending on your IS school, your GPA may be given a bonus weight when considered. Not sure about OOS. (Smith)
-Secondary will be different than that of previous year (Smith)

Also I have heard from friends and board members that if you lack primary care shadowing, this is a strong grounds for rejection. Obviously very primary care oriented. I heard these while participating in a UAB summer program.

Thanks Gnocchi,

Is the secondary going to be completely different? Or are they planning on keeping some questions and switching others?

D8O8C8T8O8R said:

Thanks Gnocchi,

Is the secondary going to be completely different? Or are they planning on keeping some questions and switching others?

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I wish I knew The man likes to speak in generalities. I'm not sure about how early they usually start sending out secondaries, but it doesn't seem like they are too rushed.. probably still focusing on early decision.

Gnocchi Monster said:

Also I have heard from friends and board members that if you lack primary care shadowing, this is a strong grounds for rejection. Obviously very primary care oriented. I heard these while participating in a UAB summer program.

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This is definitely true.

Gnocchi Monster said:

-Secondary will be different than that of previous year (Smith)

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Bummer! I was hoping to have a head start!

YH5 - Did this past application cycle not work out for you either? I can't remember...

D8O8C8T8O8R said:

The college I am attending didn't require an SAT score, would I be able to just put my ACT? Good luck to you too! Thanks for all the help, hope everything works out for you this time around.

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I think they asked for either SAT or ACT. So you'll be good if they ask for that again.

Ditto1114 said:

YH5 - Did this past application cycle not work out for you either? I can't remember...

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I was rejected flat out. I finally got feedback this week (waited from April to July).

YH5 said:

I was rejected flat out. I finally got feedback this week (waited from April to July).

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Sorry...

I haven't gotten my feedback yet. I've been waiting since May. They told me that they were going to review my file last week, but I still haven't heard anything.

Hopefully this year will be better for us all!!

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Hi guys, I'm new here.

I really want to get into UAB. I went to a school in Alabama, but I am a resident of Maryland. Does anyone have any tips?

LaydeeDoc said:

Hi guys, I'm new here.

I really want to get into UAB. I went to a school in Alabama, but I am a resident of Maryland. Does anyone have any tips?

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Be prepared to wait. hehe I didn't get an interview invite until February last year. I really like the way they did interviews as Gnocchi said earlier they only see your activities and personal statement. Good Luck!

Well since we are waiting..where else are you IS guys applying to? So far I have USA, Wake, Louisville, Oregon, Vermont, and Rush.

Gnocchi Monster said:

Well since we are waiting..where else are you IS guys applying to? So far I have USA, Wake, Louisville, Oregon, Vermont, and Rush.

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That's an interesting list.

I'm applying to USA, UF, USF, UCF, Emory, Vanderbilt, LECOM-B, NSUCOM, PCOM-GA, William Carey, DMU-LCOM, VCOM-CC, ATSU-SOMA, AZCOM, Touro-CA, Touro-NV, Western, and RVUCOM.

Mixing it up.

Any news on secondaries?

I am OOS unfortunately, but really like the school. Hoping to make it through the first screeening.

ericflem4286 said:

Any news on secondaries?

I am OOS unfortunately, but really like the school. Hoping to make it through the first screeening.

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Last year, I think the secondary came out in mid to late August.

My buddy got in through the Rural Health program.. lucky SOB

I saw this on UASOM website and thought I'd share it.

"We apologize for the delay in opening our Secondary Application; however, a new and improved version will be available soon. Verified applicants will be invited to begin our Secondary Application process when we send an email indicating we have received their AMCAS application. Applicants are expected to complete the Secondary Application process within two weeks of receiving the request."

Got an email inviting me to complete a secondary. Except the link seems to not be working. Anybody else having trouble?!?

Peaches

UPDATE NVM: The problem has been repaired and the secondary works properly.