2012-2013 University of Washington Application Thread

Applying to Med School? Get In Or Your Money Back
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The following are required in the Secondary Application:


  1. An autobiographical statement which should include:
    • the origin and development of your motivation to be a physician
    • your prior experiences in health care
    • steps taken to explore a career in medicine
    • your eventual goals as a physician
    • and other issues of importance
    The Personal Comments section of the AMCAS application may be used to satisfy this requirement, or an additional autobiography may be submitted with your secondary materials. Your AMCAS personal statement will already be on file with our office.
  2. 3 additional short essays (250 word limit each)
    • How have your experiences prepared you to be a physician?
    • How do you imagine your personal and professional lives intersecting 10 years from now?
    • What obstacles to your goals have you experienced and how have you dealt with them?
    For re-applicants: From your most recent application until now, how have you strengthened your application?

Good luck to everyone applying! :luck:
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As an incoming MS1, I know how stressful the whole application process can be! I hope that the materials I've attached can be helpful in preparing for your interviews.

"UW Interview Questions" is a list of questions asked at UW interviews over the past several years. I got the questions from SDN, and I then ordered them into categories such as Biographical Medicine, Biographical Personal, Analytical Thinking/Problem Solving, Application-Based, Health Care Policy, and Health Care Observations/Awareness.

"Bioethics" is the information from UW's website. I basically just copied and pasted the text, and then tried to make it more aesthetically-pleasing for printing.
 

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Buttermilk said:
As an incoming MS1, I know how stressful the whole application process can be! I hope that the materials I've attached can be helpful in preparing for your interviews.

"UW Interview Questions" is a list of questions asked at UW interviews over the past several years. I got the questions from SDN, and I then ordered them into categories such as Biographical Medicine, Biographical Personal, Analytical Thinking/Problem Solving, Application-Based, Health Care Policy, and Health Care Observations/Awareness.

"Bioethics" is the information from UW's website. I basically just copied and pasted the text, and then tried to make it more aesthetically-pleasing for printing.
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That is amazing! Thank you so much!
 
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Also an incoming MS1 here. In our secondary, we were asked to provide the following 4 essays:

1: Autobiographical Statement Addendum:
You must submit a brief autobiographical statement. It should describe the origin and development of your motivation to be a physician, your prior experiences in health care, steps taken to explore a career in medicine, your eventual goals as a physician, and other issues of importance. The Personal Comments section of the AMCAS application may be used to satisfy this requirement, or an additional autobiography may be submitted with your supplemental materials. Your AMCAS personal statement will already be on file with our office. (I decided to be brief, using only 188 words for this)


2:
What obstacles to your goals have you experienced and how have you overcome them? Limit 250 words. (I used exactly 250 words)


3:
How have your experiences prepared you to be a physician? Limit 250 words. (I used 249)


and 4:

How do you imagine your personal and professional lives intersecting ten years from now? Limit 250 words. (again I used 250 words)


Don't feel like you have to use the exact limit for these as I did. Give your best effort and show your writing skills. If you are over a limit, get help condensing it. If you are under, but it is well-written, be confident. This is your opportunity to supplement your AMCAS, not repeat the same crap. Any opportunity to stand out is truly valuable. Good luck to you all!
 
Hah! I watched the live webinar and apparently this year they are requesting a photo of applicants. This could get 'ugly'...Did they do that last year?
 
This might be a dumb question, but UW uses a weighted GPA, according to their site, but they don't consider your fourth year grades. I remember reading somewhere that if you're a post-bacc, that means they will not consider your post-bacc grades unless they are notified. Who do I need to notify about this? My undergrad grades are horrible, and I wouldn't want to get screened out because of a technicality.
 
psychkub said:
This might be a dumb question, but UW uses a weighted GPA, according to their site, but they don't consider your fourth year grades. I remember reading somewhere that if you're a post-bacc, that means they will not consider your post-bacc grades unless they are notified. Who do I need to notify about this? My undergrad grades are horrible, and I wouldn't want to get screened out because of a technicality.
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The screen is automated based on their algorithm that produces a "combined score". Grab a transcript, and do the math. For WWAMI residents, you'd need a very low GPA and MCAT combination for automated rejection.

If your combined score is around 5, then you should be concerned and contact their office.

After the automated screening, I believe they [subjectively] give more weight to your most recent coursework.

Happy number crunching:thumbup:
 
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I'm taking the MCAT on August 16, 2012... if studying goes well. I may submit only one application for this whole cycle to UWSOM.

On their website, they mentioned you needed to have MCAT and AMCAS submitted by September. What date is realistically considered too late for this cycle?

Thanks in advance.
 
Try reading this thread: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=919628

Honestly I think if you're confident in your MCAT prep and are receiving good practice scores consistently, send your primary ahead of time so that the moment your scores come back it will be en route to UW.

IMO, its is a huge gamble to just apply to UW. You are putting all your chips in the pot with pocket tens, waiting for the River, while other students already have pocket aces. I would fold and just ante up next round.
 
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Graywolf said:
The screen is automated based on their algorithm that produces a "combined score". Grab a transcript, and do the math. For WWAMI residents, you'd need a very low GPA and MCAT combination for automated rejection.

If your combined score is around 5, then you should be concerned and contact their office.

After the automated screening, I believe they [subjectively] give more weight to your most recent coursework.

Happy number crunching:thumbup:
Click to expand...

So I did the calculation for my weighted GPA. My question is in regards to the MCAT calculation. So the mean is considered a 4, right? Does that mean that if you get a 31, which is what MRSA says the mean is, you add 4 to your wGPA? I got a 30, so does that mean I have to add 3.87 to my wGPA?

If I did this correctly, I definitely exceed the cut off. Can anyone confirm that this is how you do the calculation correctly?
 
If you are a state resident, I wouldn't worry about the cut off line. If you have a pulse you will get a secondary. They are not going to say no to free money.
 
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Any other Alaskan folks applying to WWAMI this cycle?
 
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Graywolf said:
Try reading this thread: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=919628

Honestly I think if you're confident in your MCAT prep and are receiving good practice scores consistently, send your primary ahead of time so that the moment your scores come back it will be en route to UW.

IMO, its is a huge gamble to just apply to UW. You are putting all your chips in the pot with pocket tens, waiting for the River, while other students already have pocket aces. I would fold and just ante up next round.
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Thanks for the info.

My original intent is to not apply at all this cycle and wait until next spring. Putting in a UWSOM application is slipping it in there through an unintended crack, so to speak. It would be nice to go through an interview even if I don't get in this cycle. I do want to go to UWSOM though...
 
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Solitarius, I'm all all or nothing kinda guy, so I'd just go for it if you were confident in your chances for an interview. But....if perhaps you do get turned down, you'll be considered a reapplicant, which means you will have to take leaps and bounds to improve your application.

I could have applied last year, but then decided to take a gap year. In the meantime, I've traveled, gotten 100 more hours shadowing, held a full-time research job, and volunteered for an oncology camp. Looking back, I am a much stronger applicant now and have enjoyed my time off. Just my personal refelction...
 
Hey everyone. I have really been interest in UW and plan on applying there in the future... But is it even worth it if you are not in the 5 state area? I am not sure how open UW is to OOS students.... btw I am from the deep south
 
Graywolf said:
But....if perhaps you do get turned down, you'll be considered a reapplicant, which means you will have to take leaps and bounds to improve your application.
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Are re-applicants to UWSOM at a definitive disadvantage?

I really appreciate your input, but how certain are you of this? I just say that b/c I knew someone who got into UWSOM as a reapplicant. From what he told me, he didn't improve his application by much (he got a job).

vk79, getting into the regular MD program from outside the WHAMMY is close-to-nil odds. From what I've read on SDN over the last couple of years, the best shot is to be a URM or have exceptional rural experience. The MD-PhD program is federally-funded, and thus, does not display in-state preference or bias.
 
Yeah you're right, it's not a disadvantage at all. I know a few people who successfully reapplied and got in. Though regardless of your friend, I think all of them did something cool in the time off or just put much more effort into their application. Or just got lucky the second time. Who knows.
 
Incoming MS1 here also, just wanted to wish everyone applying to UW this cycle luck! Feel free to PM me or post on this thread any questions you guys have about the application cycle, secondary application or interviews.
 
Are there any other Idahoans on here?
 
"How do you imagine your personal and professional lives intersecting 10 years from now?"

I'm slightly unsure how to answer this kind of question. What kind of answer are they looking for? Like, am I going to have a family, children, hobbies? How am I going to have a work-life balance???? How am I supposed to know? :rolleyes:
 
minwoo123 said:
"How do you imagine your personal and professional lives intersecting 10 years from now?"

I'm slightly unsure how to answer this kind of question. What kind of answer are they looking for? Like, am I going to have a family, children, hobbies? How am I going to have a work-life balance???? How am I supposed to know? :rolleyes:
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Yeah I always find those types of questions fiendishly difficult. I mean, 10 years ago I would've had no idea I'm who I am today. I suspect few people are any different. But I think work-life balance might be the best place to start off. That's probably what I will do, anyhow. In one of the webinars, the Dean said that some people prefer to tell it as "A Day in the Life of Dr. Smith" sort of thing. That's not really my style though. I'm curious to see what other people say/think.

Also, good luck to everyone on this cycle! :luck:
 
did people get a secondary from here already?
 
vk79 said:
Hey everyone. I have really been interest in UW and plan on applying there in the future... But is it even worth it if you are not in the 5 state area? I am not sure how open UW is to OOS students.... btw I am from the deep south
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I applied here and I'm OOS. I contacted them today and they told me that they do have a strong preference for those 5 state areas and if we're not in them, they'll review our applications for strong ties to the state and goal of serving underserved populations...
 
Slurrppee21 said:
Which 5 states make up the "five state area"?
Click to expand...

Washington, Montana, Alaska, Wyoming, and Idaho.

For OOS MD applicants, I believe they are looking for students who: (1) have strong commitment for undeserved populations, or (2) have very strong ties to the state. Even if you have strong stats, if you're OOS it's very very hard to get in. That being said, I do have a friend (PA resident) who was accepted, so I know it is possible.
 
Yea I'm from Cali but have done rural medicine work and for this reason am
Excited about the Univ Of Washington program :). Hopefully that helps me. Regardless 33 + secondary bucks is worth it for a shot with the school for me.
 
Idaho legislation 'hopefully' adding 5 more seats for Idaho residents for THIS application cycle. 20 --> 25. Source: News article. Of course, money needs to be appropriated for each seat, so it will take some time to go through, if it does.
 
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For the

"You must submit a brief autobiographical statement. It should describe the origin and development of your motivation to be a physician, your prior experiences in health care, steps taken to explore a career in medicine, your eventual goals as a physician, and other issues of importance. The Personal Comments section of the AMCAS application may be used to satisfy this requirement, or an additional autobiography may be submitted with your supplemental materials. Your AMCAS personal statement will already be on file with our office"

... prompt, I could pretty much copy and paste my personal statement and answer all of the requirements. I know it says that I could do this, but I feel like it is some sort of a trap, or an easy way out of writing something new. Is anyone else having some issues with this question?
 
Has anyone else noticed that while AMCAS gives a clear MD/MPH option for UW, there seems to be no mention on the School of Medicine website about an integrated dual degree program? Am I missing something?

I found a couple of the programs under the school of public health website:

http://depts.washington.edu/hservmph/mdmph/
http://globalhealth.washington.edu/academics/mph-global-health/md-mph-track

They all seem to say that you should apply as a first or second year medical student in good standing, which makes me confused as to why the checkbox is in AMCAS at all. Does anyone have experience with applying MD/MPH to this school?
 
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Does anyone know if there is a word limit to the autobiography portion?
 
mblarkin said:
Does anyone know if there is a word limit to the autobiography portion?
Click to expand...

There is no stated character/word limit for this prompt. The website states that applicants may use the personal comments section of AMCAS to answer this question, although I'm not sure that's recommended.
The other prompts have previously been capped at 250 words.
 
Hey guys, I'm a UWSOM student- in limbo between second year and third year (just took Step 1 today and start third year on Monday). Good luck to everyone applying, UW is an amazing school. If people have any questions, I'm happy to answer them (maybe 1 per person for the first ten people if there's interest). Good luck in the application cycle (!), I look forward to working with you in the future.
 
IMcda said:
Hey guys, I'm a UWSOM student- in limbo between second year and third year (just took Step 1 today and start third year on Monday). Good luck to everyone applying, UW is an amazing school. If people have any questions, I'm happy to answer them (maybe 1 per person for the first ten people if there's interest). Good luck in the application cycle (!), I look forward to working with you in the future.
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I'm going to take a stab and say that judging from your id you're an Idahoan?
 
Hey very perceptive, no I just did a race in CdA. Grew up in western WA and college in eastern WA.
 
IMcda said:
Hey very perceptive, no I just did a race in CdA. Grew up in western WA and college in eastern WA.
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I always enjoy watching the race with a brewski, but would never do it. One of my friends did it two years ago, the first words out of his mouth: "That was the worst f***ing day of my life." Congrats on finishing!

MooCowJoe said:
Did anyone get a secondary here yet?
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Last year's thread had the first secondaries coming out around 7/7, but with the apps being transmitted on 6/29 this year that might change.
 
Are the lectures podcasted or streamed with the slides? Do many ppl use this option?
 
Congrats on finishing!
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Thank you very much (!), yeah the community support and volunteers were mind-blowing. It was an awesome day.

Are the lectures podcasted or streamed with the slides? Do many ppl use this option?
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Podcasting varies by the course (most were, but no one uses them. Instead, people listen to Goljan audio during second year- say while working out or on a run). Each class- unless it has sensitive patient info or images- is videotaped with accompanying slide segments. This is very popular as you can run it at high speed and turn an hour long lecture into a 35min one. At least half the class takes advantage of this during second year as Step 1 approaches.
 
IMcda said:
Thank you very much (!), yeah the community support and volunteers were mind-blowing. It was an awesome day.



Podcasting varies by the course (most were, but no one uses them. Instead, people listen to Goljan audio during second year- say while working out or on a run). Each class- unless it has sensitive patient info or images- is videotaped with accompanying slide segments. This is very popular as you can run it at high speed and turn an hour long lecture into a 35min one. At least half the class takes advantage of this during second year as Step 1 approaches.
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Thanks for the reply! I don't know about listening to The Goljan while running, but maybe a fancy dinner with just me and the iPod...
 
I was just rejected pre-secondary by UDub.

I have a 3.72 cGPA, 3.66 sGPA, and a 35 MCAT. I'm a cali resident.

What went wrong?

Typically more than 95 percent of UW School of Medicine acceptances are applicants from Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana or Idaho (WWAMI).

Non-WWAMI Applicants: Applicants from outside the WWAMI region who come from either economically or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds and/or who have demonstrated a commitment to serving underserved populations will be considered.
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If you're not WWAMI, do you have to be URM to be considered for UDub? I'm stll in the going for the MD/PhD program - they haven't reviewed apps for that yet... but I'm getting a little worried that there might have been something else glaringly wrong with my application.
 
Do you come from an economically or educationally disadvantaged background or have you demonstrated a commitment to serving underserved populations?

If not, looks like your SOL as a non-WWAMI student.
 
First off, I received the secondary today and am filling it out out. They are still a pay by check, so this may take a few extra days to be completely "finished"

skiing said:
I was just rejected pre-secondary by UDub.

I have a 3.72 cGPA, 3.66 sGPA, and a 35 MCAT. I'm a cali resident.

What went wrong?



If you're not WWAMI, do you have to be URM to be considered for UDub? I'm stll in the going for the MD/PhD program - they haven't reviewed apps for that yet... but I'm getting a little worried that there might have been something else glaringly wrong with my application.
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UW probably rejected you because you did not have enough shadowing hours. They have an automatic cutoff if you have under 40 hours.
 
Secondary received this morning! Idaho resident. Time to start writing...
 
SpacemanSpifff said:
Got the secondary invite and residency certification request this morning.
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Residency certification request?

Edit: I just saw that you are from Idaho. As a Washington resident I don't have to fill that out.
 
BABSstudent said:
Residency certification request?

Edit: I just saw that you are from Idaho. As a Washington resident I don't have to fill that out.
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Yes, you do. You have to provide all sorts of information.
"Washington residents should be prepared to prove their residence status at any time. If you are uncertain of your Washington residence status, contact the Residence Classification Office."

http://uwmedicine.washington.edu/Education/MD-Program/Admissions/Applicants/Pages/default.aspx
 
northwestres said:
Yes, you do. You have to provide all sorts of information.
"Washington residents should be prepared to prove their residence status at any time. If you are uncertain of your Washington residence status, contact the Residence Classification Office."

http://uwmedicine.washington.edu/Education/MD-Program/Admissions/Applicants/Pages/default.aspx
Click to expand...

Well it shows up on my secondary as "Not Applicable" and the places I lived has just been one town in Washington my whole life so the portion of the application where I list cities was pretty simple. I am completely submitted and the check is on the way to them now.
 
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