2009-2010 University of Arizona Application Thread

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Yea it is. You applied to Phoenix only, correct? I'm the same. Scary they're only doing 2 OOS acceptances in December

my interviewer said that actually up to 50% might be OOS
 
my interviewer said that actually up to 50% might be OOS

Who was your interviewer? Dean Flynn? The website and from what I heard from the Dean said that classes could only be up to 25% OOS. I hope there is something you have learned that I haven't yet!
 
So, when they start sending out acceptances in December... how does that work? Are they only sending out like 10% of the acceptances, or will everyone know by December if they were picked in the first round?

I am in-state if that makes a difference.
 
So, when they start sending out acceptances in December... how does that work? Are they only sending out like 10% of the acceptances, or will everyone know by December if they were picked in the first round?

I am in-state if that makes a difference.

not sure if 10% is right. i thought they did 4 rounds of like 25% each. if you are accepted first round (interviewed probably up to the end of november) then yes you should hear back then. if you do not hear back, if you don't hear from them in december....then your acceptance/rejection/waitlist is postponed to the next round of applicants.

IS versus OOS shouldn't matter for this.....OOS just need to have a more competitive app (though still have some relationship to/with arizona per my interviewer.)


Who was your interviewer? Dean Flynn? The website and from what I heard from the Dean said that classes could only be up to 25% OOS. I hope there is something you have learned that I haven't yet!

he may have been on something. Dr. Herman Gordon, Ph.D. in Pharmacology.

I was under the impression originally that it would be UP to 25% max....but when we started talking about the school's economic/financial situation and national reputation.....it got brought up and he said it could be up to 50% (though I think thats off).
 
not sure if 10% is right. i thought they did 4 rounds of like 25% each. if you are accepted first round (interviewed probably up to the end of november) then yes you should hear back then. if you do not hear back, if you don't hear from them in december....then your acceptance/rejection/waitlist is postponed to the next round of applicants.

IS versus OOS shouldn't matter for this.....OOS just need to have a more competitive app (though still have some relationship to/with arizona per my interviewer.)




he may have been on something. Dr. Herman Gordon, Ph.D. in Pharmacology.

I was under the impression originally that it would be UP to 25% max....but when we started talking about the school's economic/financial situation and national reputation.....it got brought up and he said it could be up to 50% (though I think thats off).

Really? I didn't remember hearing that . 🙁 That was from Dean Flynn?

I remember now. It was Dean Flynn and his Assistant Tara who told us that classes are up to 25% OOS. Tara told us OOS students that if we don't hear in December, to not be discouraged (since they will only give out 2 OOS and 8 In State for Phoenix). More will come in later months with the bulk coming by March. All we can do is pray at this point.

I love Phoenix so much I just hope I get accepted, even if that means if I'm waitlisted all the way through June.
 
Phoenix campus and class size is too small....IMO
 
Phoenix campus and class size is too small....IMO

My friend goes to Mayo and her class is about the same size. You do get an advantage in a smaller class size and the Dean is more likely to get to know you on a personal level. There are tradeoffs between Phoenix and Tucson. At the end of the day...Phoenix is a better fit for myself.
 
My friend goes to Mayo and her class is about the same size. You do get an advantage in a smaller class size and the Dean is more likely to get to know you on a personal level. There are tradeoffs between Phoenix and Tucson. At the end of the day...Phoenix is a better fit for myself.

oh i understand. everyone has their own preferences. I wouldn't like Mayo either. i'm sure it is important to get to know the Dean personally, but it can be done at larger schools too......and i really want a lot of people in my class.....i'm really sociable.....about as far from a premed student as one could imagine in that regard.....preferably 80+....which is why of the two campuses, I like Tucson more....not to mention I know people who already go to the med school there, have lived there the last four years, and it is a bigger, more involved campus with more to do in the college scene.
 
i'm really sociable.....

Small class size is good if you're really sociable, I think. The smaller the class size, the better you get to know your peers. You can't really be just another brick in the wall like you are at larger campuses.

UA Phx students are really, really social in my opinion. A bunch of students from our class actually took a Vegas trip together about a month ago. Still, no matter where you go, you can be as social or asocial as you want.
 
Yes. I received a congratulatory email saying that I endured the secondaries and 2 interviews and that my application has been released to the ad comms.
Thanks. I called them up and they just hadn't sent out the email. (In case anyone's in the same situation, I interviewed in mid October.)
 
I finally sent in my secondary and I am very excited. I thought I would share my situation and see if anyone had any advice or any words of wisdom for me.

I only applied to one school, UofA, but I did apply to both campuses. I know that is weird, but it makes sense to me because I do not want to leave Arizona at all. If I can't get in to UA this year, or next year, then I will apply to the other Arizona schools. This is just the place that I want to be! I really, really want to go to the Phoenix campus. It is the perfect fit for me for a thousand reasons, but I don't know what my chances are. It seems like there is such a small class and now with potentially 25-50% of people coming from OOS, my chances just shrink!

Stats:

Classified IN STATE for ASU purposes, lived here for ~5 years, parents here for 6 years. All taxes filed in AZ since 2004.

3.8 ASU GPA
3.67 AMCAS cumGPA
3.8 AMCAS sGPA
31 (N) MCAT

2 years of neuroscience research, one summer neuroscience research internship in Birmingham, Alabama.
Various volunteering/shadowing, 50 hours<time<100 hours
Various academic EC's
Was a standup comedian / actor in LA for a while before I came to back to school


Does anyone have any particular advice or words of wisdom for me while I await my (hopeful) interview spot?
 
Does AZ start admitting people in December? And it's just a few people each month until March?

It feels like it has been quite a while since my interview; do they like LOIs?
 
Last year, they started in early December and sent out acceptances every 2-3 weeks through March. There were roughly 10-20 acceptances sent out each time, but the last acceptance was the biggest.
 
Awesome!

Got my Tucson interview invite today. Scheduled for Monday, November 23rd. It's nice to know that I didn't get rejected outright. No word from PHX though. For those of you that got invites to both places, how much after your first invite did the second one come?

And, anyone feel like helping me out with a place to stay in Tucson for one night? I'd prefer not to have to drive out there on Monday morning.
 
Awesome!

Got my Tucson interview invite today. Scheduled for Monday, November 23rd. It's nice to know that I didn't get rejected outright. No word from PHX though. For those of you that got invites to both places, how much after your first invite did the second one come?

And, anyone feel like helping me out with a place to stay in Tucson for one night? I'd prefer not to have to drive out there on Monday morning.

i got my phoenix interview invite the day after i got my tucson invite.

just drive down in the morning. its not bad. if you're leaving from phoenix, i left at 8 am and arrived in plenty of time. even got breakfast with a friend beforehand.

if i still lived down there, i'd give ya hand.
 
i got my phoenix interview invite the day after i got my tucson invite.

just drive down in the morning. its not bad. if you're leaving from phoenix, i left at 8 am and arrived in plenty of time. even got breakfast with a friend beforehand.

if i still lived down there, i'd give ya hand.

👍 This is exactly what I did (except a little later, since I had an afternoon interview). This process is expensive enough, don't add on any more hotel costs if you don't absolutely have to. Even if you were coming down from NAU I would suggest just driving down the morning of (although a hotel might not be completely outrageous in that case. Regardless, the interview day starts late enough that you don't have to worry about waking up at 4 a.m. to make it on time.
 
I don't know etiquette for this board because I am a new member but I am excited, so I am posting again! I got my PHX interview invite as well today. It is nice to finally be excited about this process again. It's been a grueling one, so it is nice to see something come out of it!

And thanks for the advice on driving. I've actually never been to Tucson so I don't even know how long the drive is.
 
I don't know etiquette for this board because I am a new member but I am excited, so I am posting again! I got my PHX interview invite as well today. It is nice to finally be excited about this process again. It's been a grueling one, so it is nice to see something come out of it!

And thanks for the advice on driving. I've actually never been to Tucson so I don't even know how long the drive is.

Congrats on the interviews!

If you are IS and coming from the Phoenix area, it usually takes about 1 hour 45 minutes with the road constructions and traffic.
 
Was a standup comedian / actor in LA for a while before I came to back to school


Does anyone have any particular advice or words of wisdom for me while I await my (hopeful) interview spot?

I think you're in good shape. Academic wise, you are exactly what U of A typically looks for. Phx campus had an avg 30 MCAT and about 3.75 GPA for my class (class of 2013), so you're right where you should be.

Advice: don't lost your sense humor in the application process. This process can get you down, make you feel inadequate at times, and make you question yourself constantly... just try to stay positive and BE PATIENT!

I didn't get accepted to ANY schools until May, then ended up getting accepted to two great schools within a week of one another. Oh, one final piece of advice... I see that you were an actor so you may have many characters up your sleeve, but the best advice I ever received was just to be yourself during your interviews.

Good luck!
 
Thanks for the support everyone.

It is really a strange feeling I've been having lately, feeling like I can actually see the end of the tunnel approaching. I used to be able to easily focus on the things I was doing without thinking about medical school, but now I think about my interviews/chances every few seconds. I keep imagining how I will feel if I get accepted.

And, just for curiosity's sake, if any of you go to ASU and are in Animal Physiology, Genetics w/Touchman, or OChem2 w/Robinson you should send me a PM.
 
Thanks for the support everyone.

It is really a strange feeling I've been having lately, feeling like I can actually see the end of the tunnel approaching. I used to be able to easily focus on the things I was doing without thinking about medical school, but now I think about my interviews/chances every few seconds. I keep imagining how I will feel if I get accepted.

And, just for curiosity's sake, if any of you go to ASU and are in Animal Physiology, Genetics w/Touchman, or OChem2 w/Robinson you should send me a PM.

I feel sorry for any one taking o chem with Robinson...
 
Thank you for your sympathy! It is absolutely not my favorite class. Shame too, because OChem was fun when I had it with a different lecturer...

Is anyone else going to be interviewing in Tucson next Monday? Or in Phoenix on the monday after next?
 
Thank you for your sympathy! It is absolutely not my favorite class. Shame too, because OChem was fun when I had it with a different lecturer...

Is anyone else going to be interviewing in Tucson next Monday? Or in Phoenix on the monday after next?

O chem can be a very fun class with the right professor, and unfortunately I don't know that he is the right professor for anything. I don't want to bash the man on here, because that is not what this thread it for. I will say though that I strongly encouraged my sister to not take o chem II this semester because he was teaching it.

Anyhow, good luck with your interview on Monday. I had a good time at mine, and I really liked the campus.
 
Had a thought today regarding acceptances I wanted to share; curious to see if I'm being rational here:

I recall one member mention that the "start" day for the ad comm to send out acceptances is Dec. 15 and something like 10% of the of the class gets admitted here. This process continues until March.

Having said that, surely it's reasonable to believe that the most qualified candidates (in the eyes of the adcomm) are accepted first? Thereafter, the probability for one to get accepted diminishes. In other words, if I still don't receive the "A" when it's already Jan or Feb then things are looking grim: I'm probably going to get the "R" or the "W." Anyone familiar with the admission process, am I right?

Compounding my confusion was something else: Worried that one of my LORs hadn't come in yet, I called the admissions office. They reassured me that I have until January for it to be received. How can this be if the application was due on Nov 2? Considering that the 2ndary application deadline isn't until Jan, does this mean that some candidates whom actually get their paperwork in that late have an equal shot? How does this work?

Complicated, paranoid questions...I know. I apologize. Any insights/input is sincerely appreciated.
 
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Had a thought today regarding acceptances I wanted to share; curious to see if I'm being rational here:

I recall one member mention that the "start" day for the ad comm to send out acceptances is Dec. 15 and something like 10% of the of the class gets admitted here. This process continues until March.

Having said that, surely it's reasonable to believe that the most qualified candidates (in the eyes of the adcomm) are accepted first? Thereafter, the probability for one to get accepted diminishes. In other words, if I still don't receive the "A" when it's already Jan or Feb then things are looking grim: I'm probably going to get the "R" or the "W." Anyone familiar with the admission process, am I right?

Compounding my confusion was something else: Worried that one of my LORs hadn't come in yet, I called the admissions office. They reassured me that I have until January for it to be received. How can this be if the application was due on Nov 2? Considering that the 2ndary application deadline isn't until Jan, does this mean that some candidates whom actually get their paperwork in that late have an equal shot? How does this work?

Complicated, paranoid questions...I know. I apologize. Any insights/input is sincerely appreciated.

I don't really know any exact answers to your questions, but I am pretty sure that even if you aren't accepted at the first possible date that your chances do not diminish drastically. They use a rolling admissions process, so I would imagine they will definitely keep you in mind for future acceptances. There is also the waitlist too, which had a lot of movement last year. I don't think now is the time to get too worried.

I don't really no anything about your second question, but I must say that not having all of your LORs by now must really be frustrating. Who is writing the last one that you are waiting on? An old professor?

It's too bad they aren't releasing decisions until Dec. 15th, because for some reason I thought the first round was coming out Dec. 1st. Now instead of less than a week, we have a little over 2 weeks. 🙁
 
I don't really no anything about your second question, but I must say that not having all of your LORs by now must really be frustrating. Who is writing the last one that you are waiting on? An old professor?

Hey thanks for the reply. Fortunately, my last letter came in only a couple of days after Nov 2nd so I think I'm good there. It was from a mentor at TGEN where I did an internship. I hope having 5 letters will bolster my chances, if at all.
 
Had a thought today regarding acceptances I wanted to share; curious to see if I'm being rational here:

I recall one member mention that the "start" day for the ad comm to send out acceptances is Dec. 15 and something like 10% of the of the class gets admitted here. This process continues until March.

Having said that, surely it's reasonable to believe that the most qualified candidates (in the eyes of the adcomm) are accepted first? Thereafter, the probability for one to get accepted diminishes. In other words, if I still don't receive the "A" when it's already Jan or Feb then things are looking grim: I'm probably going to get the "R" or the "W." Anyone familiar with the admission process, am I right?

-All applicants with completed files will be eligible for all acceptances dates after their file has been completed. In other words, you are eligible for all dates until the whole process is over in March.

I interviewed in Phoenix on Wednesday. I will give you all the info that Tara gave us.

-UA Phoenix will interview not more than ~550 applicants, 150 of which will be out of state. Tucson will have a near identical applicant pool.

-The first acceptance date will be December 4th. To be eligible for consideration on that date, you had to interview mid-October or earlier. The next admissions date will be December 18th. More acceptance dates have not been announced yet but will not be until after the winter break.

-Each of those dates will have about 15% of the total seats given out. This includes Tucson and Phoenix, so ~47/158 seats will be offered.

(Keep in mind that since Phoenix and Tucson accept the same people at a 76% rate, those 47 seats will likely represent something closer to 30 actual people.)

-Phoenix back-fills their slots, so if someone opts out of a seat there in between acceptance dates, they get an acceptance immediately. Tara did not know if Tucson does the same thing, but judging by last year's thread, they didn't.

-Following the winter break, there will continue to be acceptance dates about every two weeks until the end of February. They are likely to be about 15% each until the final acceptance date in February, which last year was something slightly less than half the total seats (remember the number of available seats will grow between acceptance dates as candidates choose between Phoenix and Tucson or another school entirely) The waitlist/rejections will be sent out in early March.

By the way, I just found out that UofA Phoenix has a Twitter feed for 2010 applicants. You can view it at:

http://twitter.com/uamedphx_2010
 
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Mathlink, thanks for the comprehensive response. Tara probably informed our group the same info but I forgot, so I feel very grateful to you for remembering! Quite impressive. Your post has more than addressed all my questions/concerns. Sadly though, I can't say I'm any less anxious than I still am.

Thanks for the twitter link too.
 
Have they determined what OOS tuition will be yet?

When I interviewed in early November, the Fin Aid lady at Tuscon said that $39k/yr is the number, but it hadn't yet been approved by the higher-ups. PHX couldn't give me a number at that time.
 
do you know if OOS people find out around the same time as IS?
 
Hey guys! I have my interview tomorrow at 2pm at Tucson, anyone else gonna be down there? And, if anyone has any advice for me I'd love to hear it!
 
Hey guys! I have my interview tomorrow at 2pm at Tucson, anyone else gonna be down there? And, if anyone has any advice for me I'd love to hear it!

Don't stress and enjoy yourself! Ask plenty of questions if you have them. Students will probably be more helpful than your interviewer or the dean/admissions director in terms of answering your questions because we're the ones who are actually experiencing the school from the same perspective that you will have.
 
Hey guys! I have my interview tomorrow at 2pm at Tucson, anyone else gonna be down there? And, if anyone has any advice for me I'd love to hear it!

Relax! The U of A interviewers are very nice and the interview is more of a conversation. Very stress free.
 
Just got the OOS "hold" email. 🙁

Has anyone gotten an interview after getting that email?
 
Relax! The U of A interviewers are very nice and the interview is more of a conversation. Very stress free.
Seconded.

Be sure to be ready for a closed file interview. That is, you walk in and they know nothing about you. Have a good answer to "tell me about yourself".
 
Hello everyone, I am hoping someone might have an answer for me so I don't have to call the admissions office.

I just got an email invite to interview in Phoenix but the email also stated,
"We understand that you requested to be considered on both the Phoenix and Tucson campus. However, at this point in time, your file is not being considered further by our Tucson program."

Is this a rejection? I received a rejection from another school and they made it very obvious that I was rejected while this email makes it sound as though my file might be considered later? Has anyone only gotten an interview to one campus and rejected from the other? I am an in-state student with mediocre stats. I am very excited about the Phoenix interview though, as that is my first choice for any school.
 
Hello everyone, I am hoping someone might have an answer for me so I don't have to call the admissions office.

I just got an email invite to interview in Phoenix but the email also stated,
"We understand that you requested to be considered on both the Phoenix and Tucson campus. However, at this point in time, your file is not being considered further by our Tucson program."

Is this a rejection? I received a rejection from another school and they made it very obvious that I was rejected while this email makes it sound as though my file might be considered later? Has anyone only gotten an interview to one campus and rejected from the other? I am an in-state student with mediocre stats. I am very excited about the Phoenix interview though, as that is my first choice for any school.

Unfortunately, it looks like you have been rejected from Tucson. But this is unusual. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I am a third time applicant and have never heard of an IS applicant who wanted consideration at both campuses getting an interview in Phoenix and not Tucson.
 
Unfortunately, it looks like you have been rejected from Tucson. But this is unusual. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I am a third time applicant and have never heard of an IS applicant who wanted consideration at both campuses getting an interview in Phoenix and not Tucson.

Thanks for the speedy response. Is it inappropriate to send an email and ask why I was rejected at the Tucson campus? Or should I hold off on that kind of thing until after my Phoenix interview (Dec. 11th)? The funny thing is, I considered only applying to Phoenix, but figured my chances were better in Tucson since they have a larger class size. If it is not inappropriate, what exactly do you think I should say? And who should I email? All of my correspondence has come from the Phoenix campus (Tara) ...
 
Also, when I went to schedule my interview, the only time slots were 8AM MWF the week of Dec. 7 - 11. Will my interview actually happen at 8AM or does everyone just sign up for the 8AM time slot and then find out what time their interview is when they arrive? Because the confirmation email I received just told me that the day starts at 8:45AM and I can't imagine that my interview happens before the day even starts? Sorry for so many questions, I am new at this! And UACOM - Phoenix is my first (and only - so far) interview!
 
The person to talk to in Tucson is Tanisha. I've never actually emailed her myself, but I know many other applicants and students that she has been very helpful to. You should probably just tell your story and ask why.

The interview day starts officially at 8:45, but there is a continental breakfast that starts at 8. A bunch of students will be there before you are sent to a conference room. There you will get a curriculum overview and some other random info. Then half of your group will get your interviews at 10 and half at 11. The half not being interviewed will get a presentation about financial aid and loans. Then lunch with more students at noon and then a tour at one.

I suppose this all has something to do with the OOS applicants they are now interviewing, but since Phoenix is so much smaller and more exclusive, it really is a mystery to me why you would get invited to Phoenix and Tucson. Tara and Tanisha are very open and available and can probably answer your questions better than I can.
 
Thanks for the speedy response. Is it inappropriate to send an email and ask why I was rejected at the Tucson campus? Or should I hold off on that kind of thing until after my Phoenix interview (Dec. 11th)? The funny thing is, I considered only applying to Phoenix, but figured my chances were better in Tucson since they have a larger class size. If it is not inappropriate, what exactly do you think I should say? And who should I email? All of my correspondence has come from the Phoenix campus (Tara) ...


Regarding your not being accepted at Tucson, I'm very curious to know why as well (If you don't mind). Was it something about your AMCAS or how the interview went?
 
Thanks for the speedy response. Is it inappropriate to send an email and ask why I was rejected at the Tucson campus? Or should I hold off on that kind of thing until after my Phoenix interview (Dec. 11th)? The funny thing is, I considered only applying to Phoenix, but figured my chances were better in Tucson since they have a larger class size. If it is not inappropriate, what exactly do you think I should say? And who should I email? All of my correspondence has come from the Phoenix campus (Tara) ...

I would absolutely call Tucson and ask what the deal is, especially since they haven't given you a definitive decision. It's not fair for them to make you play a guessing game at this point in the process and they'll probably understand that you want clarification.
 
Welcome to "Hold" territory. Park your butt down and relax because it might be a long stay.

Has anyone received this hold email and received a subsequent interview invite or are we all on a perpetual hold?
 
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