2012-2013 University of Vermont Application Thread

So excited to apply here! I'm OOS, but have been to VT and loved it (went summer after senior year of high school and one of the admissions ladies showed me around the school even though I was just dropping in to see it since I knew I wanted to go to medical school). People already enrolled saw me walking around aimlessly and offered to show me around. Everyone is so nice and the facilities look nice too, not to mention it's a beautiful state.

Bobby23 said:

So excited to apply here! I'm OOS, but have been to VT and loved it (went summer after senior year of high school and one of the admissions ladies showed me around the school even though I was just dropping in to see it since I knew I wanted to go to medical school). People already enrolled saw me walking around aimlessly and offered to show me around. Everyone is so nice and the facilities look nice too, not to mention it's a beautiful state.

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I'm just here for the skiing.

Bobby23 said:

So excited to apply here! I'm OOS, but have been to VT and loved it (went summer after senior year of high school and one of the admissions ladies showed me around the school even though I was just dropping in to see it since I knew I wanted to go to medical school). People already enrolled saw me walking around aimlessly and offered to show me around. Everyone is so nice and the facilities look nice too, not to mention it's a beautiful state.

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I did the same as well, but after my 2nd year of college. I agree, everyone was so nice and helpful! Someone who worked for the hospital on campus even suggested local places for my family and I to have lunch at. Can't wait to apply here next year!

SH3 said:

I'm just here for the skiing.

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I'm just here for the maple syrup

jshei0625 said:

I'm just here for the maple syrup

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Ahh top choice, I'm OOS but I want to go here so much. I might be willing to change residency and practice in Vermont if they let me in.

Only possible issue is that, I don't know how strong their research focus is compared to places like Einstein and Stony Brook. But the location here >>>>>almost anywhere else for me.

This is defs one of my top choices too. Seems like a great school.

zeppelinpage4 said:

Ahh top choice, I'm OOS but I want to go here so much. I might be willing to change residency and practice in Vermont if they let me in.

Only possible issue is that, I don't know how strong their research focus is compared to places like Einstein and Stony Brook. But the location here >>>>>almost anywhere else for me.

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One thing to be aware of is that it is very difficult to change from OOS to IS for financial aid purposes. When I visited they made a point of stating that if you enter as OOS you will most likely pay OOS prices all 4 years.

Spoiler Alert:

The architect who designed Burlington Airport and the one who designed Fletcher Allen (UVM's teaching hospital) are the same person.

(U mad, bro?)

Chir0nex said:

One thing to be aware of is that it is very difficult to change from OOS to IS for financial aid purposes. When I visited they made a point of stating that if you enter as OOS you will most likely pay OOS prices all 4 years.

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Thanks for the info. that's really good to know. It probably doesn't sound too smart, but I'd be happy to pay OOS if they accepted me.

How OOS friendly are they?

Hey Guys. I was just admitted to UVM this year and will be starting in Aug 2012. Feel free to message me with any questions you may have about UVM.

zeppelinpage4: they are very OOS friendly. Almost 70% of their class is OOS. Not many Vermonters apply to be MDs

DrMarty said:

Hey Guys. I was just admitted to UVM this year and will be starting in Aug 2012. Feel free to message me with any questions you may have about UVM.

zeppelinpage4: they are very OOS friendly. Almost 70% of their class is OOS. Not many Vermonters apply to be MDs

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Awesome! Thanks DrMarty, that is a lot more reassuring to know.

Since you were accepted, do you have any advice or tips for applying to UVM?

LOTS! They love letters of interest. These are letters where you get to show explicitly what you love about UVM's College of Medicine most. This can be done through research you have done, personal experiences (as many have already stated on this thread) and other reasons as well.

I wouldn't worry about these yet though. Submit your primary early (i.e. today lol) and submit your secondary turned in right away (with minutes if possible). The secondary is super short: no essay questions, just answering a couple of questions here and there, including a peculiar question that stood out to me about traffic tickets/moving violations. They are weird like that. After that, wait about a month and send in your letter of interest, then follow up with a call to the admissions office to see if they have received your letter in addition to expressing interest on the phone as well. They love to hear how much their applicants want to go there.

DrMarty said:

LOTS! They love letters of interest. These are letters where you get to show explicitly what you love about UVM's College of Medicine most. This can be done through research you have done, personal experiences (as many have already stated on this thread) and other reasons as well.

I wouldn't worry about these yet though. Submit your primary early (i.e. today lol) and submit your secondary turned in right away (with minutes if possible). The secondary is super short: no essay questions, just answering a couple of questions here and there, including a peculiar question that stood out to me about traffic tickets/moving violations. They are weird like that. After that, wait about a month and send in your letter of interest, then follow up with a call to the admissions office to see if they have received your letter in addition to expressing interest on the phone as well. They love to hear how much their applicants want to go there.

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Haha, sounds like a plan. I'll definitely try to do the letters of interest.
I just submitted, so hopefully the verification goes okay.

Best of luck to all of you!

One thing to be aware of i that they have a very long rolling cycle. Even if you interview early they will wait for a long time before offering an acceptance. On the bright side, this means that many spots are held open even late into the cycle. I interviewed in late March and was still offered an acceptance, so don't panic if you don't get an interview invite right away.

Good luck to everyone applying this year. As Chir0nex stated, UVM does indeed have a very long rolling cycle. In addition, nearly everyone will spend time on the waitlist after interviewing - anywhere from minutes to months. You shouldn't get discouraged if you interview early in the season and do not receive an acceptance following the subsequent AdCom meetings...my interview was on November 1st and I didn't receive the offer of acceptance until May 29th.

I will be starting classes this August along with DrMarty and will do my best to check in here, answer questions that folks might have, and generally try to be helpful. I'm sure he and others in our class will also join in the conversation (as well as students in more advanced years of study).

Cheers!

DrMarty said:

LOTS! They love letters of interest. These are letters where you get to show explicitly what you love about UVM's College of Medicine most. This can be done through research you have done, personal experiences (as many have already stated on this thread) and other reasons as well.

I wouldn't worry about these yet though. Submit your primary early (i.e. today lol) and submit your secondary turned in right away (with minutes if possible). The secondary is super short: no essay questions, just answering a couple of questions here and there, including a peculiar question that stood out to me about traffic tickets/moving violations. They are weird like that. After that, wait about a month and send in your letter of interest, then follow up with a call to the admissions office to see if they have received your letter in addition to expressing interest on the phone as well. They love to hear how much their applicants want to go there.

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What was the Q about traffic violations? That's really strange! How far back do they ask about? I'd hate to have my speeding ticket from 5 years ago influence my application.
Thanks for the info btw, very helpful!

What is the environment like on campus? Are the students pretty supportive and friendly?

Yeah it was definitely out of the norm. I was just honest about it, and the interviewers are required to ask you about it in your interview. I just told her it was a speeding violation and it was three years ago. I still got accepted, so I don't think you have much to worry about Just be honest.

As for the environment on campus, I haven't started there officially as a student yet, but I hear from current students and friends who graduated from here that the students are uber friendly and the environment on campus is very supportive. UVM does a great job of interviewing people that they think will be a good match with the school, and it definitely shows. I was on campus a couple of weeks ago and this one girl in the first year class recognized me (through the Facebook group) and stopped to ask me, "Hey, are you going to be a new student next year?" I said, "YUP!" and she introduced herself to me, proceeded to talk to me about how her first year was, and then offered me her number in case I needed to ask any questions. Just a small little incident that shows how kind the students are there Good luck!

The more I read about this school, the more it's one of my top choices.

Bummer about the speeding ticket questions. I don't exactly have the cleanest of driving records. 4 tickets, 3 of which were in the last 18 months, and I will have a restricted license for 30 days in July (can't drive between 12-5am). Nothing really bad, just speeding tickets. You think this is gonna be a red flag for UVM?

I don't know to be honest. Maybe someone else can comment?

stoutt said:

Bummer about the speeding ticket questions. I don't exactly have the cleanest of driving records. 4 tickets, 3 of which were in the last 18 months, and I will have a restricted license for 30 days in July (can't drive between 12-5am). Nothing really bad, just speeding tickets. You think this is gonna be a red flag for UVM?

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I don't think it will be a total bar to admissions, however, I do think it is something you may want to comment about in the 'additional information' section. To be honest, three speeding tickets and a restriction in 1.5 years is pretty high - would hate for that misstep to be taken as a reflection on your personal responsibility and conduct.

Just be clear in your comments, don't make excuses, and be humble when you address what you have learned as a result of the experience.

HurricaneKatt said:

What was the Q about traffic violations? That's really strange! How far back do they ask about? I'd hate to have my speeding ticket from 5 years ago influence my application.
Thanks for the info btw, very helpful!

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If I remember correctly, they ask about upheld violations going back for five years (i.e. if the ticket was thrown out, it doesn't count). It reality it shouldn't influence your application. Just be clear and honest.

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I wish everyone the best! If you have any questions, please let me know. Rest assured, UVM looks at more than just numbers. They are really interested in gauging your interest in medicine and what you have learned from your experiences! This is a special school.

DrMarty said:

then follow up with a call to the admissions office to see if they have received your letter in addition to expressing interest on the phone as well.

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I have always been intersted in how a phone follow-up is supposed to go. I imagine for me it would be something like this:

"Hi, my name is ruhroh, I am on of the applicants for the class of 2017"
"OK, how can I help you?"
"Well, uh, I just REALLY want to go to the University fo Vermont, so uh, I just wanted to le you know and uh..."
"OK well thank you honey, have a nice day"

Can anyone elaborate what I am supposed to say over the phone that hasn't been said elsewhere in my application?

Make sure they open your file by giving them your name. Ask for the status of your application. Then express your interest and ask them if they can make a note of your interest in your application. They should be willing to. The staff is super friendly!

So I accidentally selected all when assigning letters of recommendation to UVM.. I submitted my primaries so it's too late to change the number of letters. By selecting all, I'm sending 5 letters when the maximum is 4, as stated by their website. Am I in a lot of trouble? :/

Ruhroh said:

I have always been intersted in how a phone follow-up is supposed to go. I imagine for me it would be something like this:

"Hi, my name is ruhroh, I am on of the applicants for the class of 2017"
"OK, how can I help you?"
"Well, uh, I just REALLY want to go to the University fo Vermont, so uh, I just wanted to le you know and uh..."
"OK well thank you honey, have a nice day"

Can anyone elaborate what I am supposed to say over the phone that hasn't been said elsewhere in my application?

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I would probably do something like.

"Hi I wanted to make sure such and such reached the office okay"

"Yes it did you're good to go"

"Thank you very much, is there anything else I can do to supplement the application? I am really interested in this program"

"No, you're good to go"

"Fantastic, have a good day. I hope to hear back"

I never applied before, so I could be completely guessing. xD

BTW is the secondary for UVM out yet?

dnielkng said:

So I accidentally selected all when assigning letters of recommendation to UVM.. I submitted my primaries so it's too late to change the number of letters. By selecting all, I'm sending 5 letters when the maximum is 4, as stated by their website. Am I in a lot of trouble? :/

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Automatic rejection.

No I think you should be okay. Give the admissions office a call and give them a heads up. They'll advise you appropriately.

zeppelinpage4 said:

I would probably do something like.

"Hi I wanted to make sure such and such reached the office okay"

"Yes it did you're good to go"

"Thank you very much, is there anything else I can do to supplement the application? I am really interested in this program"

"No, you're good to go"

"Fantastic, have a good day. I hope to hear back"

I never applied before, so I could be completely guessing. xD

BTW is the secondary for UVM out yet?

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LOL well maybe in the beginning the adcoms will have a nice phone convo like that, just wait till you get to the point of being on a wait list or something. as the season progresses they lose patience with us. I didn't apply to Vermont last year but that was my experience with other schools

DrMarty said:

No I think you should be okay. Give the admissions office a call and give them a heads up. They'll advise you appropriately.

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+1

1289 said:

LOL well maybe in the beginning the adcoms will have a nice phone convo like that, just wait till you get to the point of being on a wait list or something. as the season progresses they lose patience with us. I didn't apply to Vermont last year but that was my experience with other schools

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I found UVM to be an exception to the 'short-tempered admissions office' trend. Each person I spoke with throughout the application and waitlist process was always pleasant, friendly, and very helpful.

I sent five letters and I was admitted. No need to worry!

SH3 said:

I'm just here for the skiing.

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anyone get a secondary yet?

Not yet. Really looking forward to hearing from them!


(P.S. Hi DrMarty!)

HEY BIS!!!! So weird to see you here lol

so no one has gotten the secondary yet?

1289 said:

so no one has gotten the secondary yet?

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i haven't gotten one from here yet

Me either

Does anyone happen to know when the secondary came out last year?

I turned my primary application in on the first day of the application cycle and received their secondary on August 3, 2012. Sooo, you guys are all still in the runnings. It's too early to worry now

DrMarty said:

I turned my primary application in on the first day of the application cycle and received their secondary on August 3, 2012. Sooo, you guys are all still in the runnings. It's too early to worry now

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Thanks!

Oops. August 3, 2011*****

DrMarty said:

Oops. August 3, 2011*****

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Great to know, thanks!

I'm not impatient, I'm just passionate...

Aug 3 is fast approaching.