2009-2010 University of Arizona Application Thread

[Salt and Lime]

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I got the OOS hold email and was invited to interview about 2 weeks later.

 

[melissaliss]

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?

I was not even invited to interview in Tucson and I can only imagine it has to do with my test scores and/or GPA but I was not aware that there are differences in requirements between the two campuses. And as for all the people claiming that ALL in-state students get interviews, that is clearly wrong because I have lived in Arizona my entire life and did not get asked to interview in Tucson. My Phoenix interview is Dec. 11th. I am going to email Tanisha in Tucson and ask why I was not offered an interview and then I will post back on this thread.

 

[jturkel]

I was not even invited to interview in Tucson and I can only imagine it has to do with my test scores and/or GPA but I was not aware that there are differences in requirements between the two campuses. And as for all the people claiming that ALL in-state students get interviews, that is clearly wrong because I have lived in Arizona my entire life and did not get asked to interview in Tucson. My Phoenix interview is Dec. 11th. I am going to email Tanisha in Tucson and ask why I was not offered an interview and then I will post back on this thread.

i believe all IS applicants get an interview who have a minimum of a 25 MCAT (read this somewhere). not sure what the gpa requirement is.

definitely odd. with a significantly smaller class size at the Phoenix campus, you would think it is more selective. However, perhaps the Tucson campus has seen greater interest than the Phoenix campus from both IS and OOS applicants, leading to it being more competitive than the Phoenix campus this year. to be honest, I would much rather prefer to go to the Tucson campus and considered not actually interviewing at the Phoenix campus. perhaps others thought similarly, but actually acted on it.

send an email to tanisha. she is good at responding to emails and will give you feedback about your application/status.

 

[melissaliss]

i believe all IS applicants get an interview who have a minimum of a 25 MCAT (read this somewhere). not sure what the gpa requirement is.

definitely odd. with a significantly smaller class size at the Phoenix campus, you would think it is more selective. However, perhaps the Tucson campus has seen greater interest than the Phoenix campus from both IS and OOS applicants, leading to it being more competitive than the Phoenix campus this year. to be honest, I would much rather prefer to go to the Tucson campus and considered not actually interviewing at the Phoenix campus. perhaps others thought similarly, but actually acted on it.

send an email to tanisha. she is good at responding to emails and will give you feedback about your application/status.

So I emailed Tanisha and got this reply "Thank you for your feedback. We will provide feedback to you regarding your application after the admissions cycle is completed in early March." What does this mean exactly?

And that stat about the 25 MCAT is WRONG. The Phoenix campus is awesome! Their labs are brand new and the staff are great. I already know a few professors because I interviewed for research jobs there last year.


On another note, anyone else interviewing in Phoenix on Dec. 11th?

 

[mathlink]

Really strange. My stats are very close to yours. I don't know why you wouldn't get an interview in Tucson. How are your LOR's? Do you think maybe one of your writers undercut you a little to the point where Tucson got skeptical of you? That's about the only thing I can think of at this point. Or maybe you applied a little late and now their interview capacity in Tucson is filling up so they have to be super selective with who they interview? But again, it seems like Phoenix would start doing that before Tucson. I do know my research director keeps getting asked to interview people all the time. They are apparently desperate for faculty who are willing to do so.

I'm totally with you about Phoenix. I love the campus up there and will take any ticket out of Tucson at this point. I don't want to raise my daughter in a town where people throw full water bottles at visiting cheerleaders and give them concussions.

 

[melissaliss]

Really strange. My stats are very close to yours. I don't know why you wouldn't get an interview in Tucson. How are your LOR's? Do you think maybe one of your writers undercut you a little to the point where Tucson got skeptical of you? That's about the only thing I can think of at this point. Or maybe you applied a little late and now their interview capacity in Tucson is filling up so they have to be super selective with who they interview? But again, it seems like Phoenix would start doing that before Tucson. I do know my research director keeps getting asked to interview people all the time. They are apparently desperate for faculty who are willing to do so.

I'm totally with you about Phoenix. I love the campus up there and will take any ticket out of Tucson at this point. I don't want to raise my daughter in a town where people throw full water bottles at visiting cheerleaders and give them concussions.

Sorry for stalking this thread. I think my LORs were very good if not great.

I did apply late, but I agree with you that it seems Phoenix would fill up more quickly. I'm not a big fan of Tucson and I'm from Tempe, which is why I'd prefer to stay in town. Ultimately, I will go wherever I get in.

I am confused though. In addition to my stats, I have volunteered, as well as several other community service organizations, graduated from ASU's honors college, did research, can speak Spanish fluently (degree in bio with minor in Spanish), involved in musical extracurriculars (choir, etc.) and I have been working as a teacher since graduating in May '08.

The only explanation I can come up with is that my MCAT scores were skewed. But that still doesn't answer why Phoenix and not Tucson. I guess I should just be happy to have an interview at all and just wait until March to hear why I wasn't offered one.

On another note, have you interviewed yet? How did it go? Did they tell you the last 2 years why you did not get in? Good luck to you this year. =)

 

[jturkel]

So I emailed Tanisha and got this reply "Thank you for your feedback. We will provide feedback to you regarding your application after the admissions cycle is completed in early March." WHAT DOES THIS EVEN MEAN????

And that stat about the 25 MCAT is WRONG. I have a 28R/3.5 and am an in-state student. Have you been to either campus? The Phoenix campus is awesome! Their labs are brand new and the staff are great. I already know several of the professors because I interviewed for research jobs there last year.


On another note, anyone else interviewing in Phoenix on Dec. 11th?

i am a re-applicant and got that response in an email from her last year post-interview when i asked why i got rejected. she later sent me an evaluation of each aspect of my application telling me which aspects needed improvement.

as far as the 25 MCAT, i'm telling you what i read in several books. and yes, i have been to both campuses twice as I have interviewed at both campuses, twice. not to mention i just graduated from U of A.....i practically lived on the campus in Tucson.

The Phoenix campus and class size is much too small for me, but they do have nice research facilities.

 

[mathlink]

For some reason, I guess they just like to not tell students why they have been rejected until all is over with. You sound like a the kind of applicant UofA loves, especially in Tucson where they seem to accept a lot of average MCATs with robust clinical and reasearch experience. It'll be interesting to find out their reasoning.

I have now interviewed at each campus three times. I had decent GPA/MCAT scores, but absolutely nothing else in my application. This year, I have tons of research and volunteering experience in addition to being an EMT. My interviews went a lot better because I was able to talk about my experiences and how they've helped me etc...

Interviewers will recuse themselves from interviewing any student they know.

 

[derArzt]

-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

Just wondering about these conflicting statements (not your fault, could just be what they told you), but I interviewed in early November and just got the "you've been released to the ADCOM" email.
Do you think I'll be eligible for the first date? (VERY wishful thinking here on an acceptance though, haha)

 

[EmeanFD]

Hello all. I'm a re-applicant this year, and got the same email about not being considered for Phoenix, although I interviewed at both last year. The feedback I got was to be more descriptive in my AMCAS app, and increase MCAT 1-2 points. Did it, but only got the Tucson interview. Since I'm only interviewing for one campus, I had to do a community physician interview, as well as an interview on campus.

Question: Is there any way to give feedback for the interviewer to the school? I had great interview feedback from both interviews last year, but the individual I interviewed with this year seemed like she needed to be somewhere, and I think I even caught her look at her watch once. WTF? The interview lasted 20-30 minutes; last year both ran over an hour. I'm confused and discouraged.

 

[Ilovewater]

Hello all. I'm a re-applicant this year, and got the same email about not being considered for Phoenix, although I interviewed at both last year. The feedback I got was to be more descriptive in my AMCAS app, and increase MCAT 1-2 points. Did it, but only got the Tucson interview. Since I'm only interviewing for one campus, I had to do a community physician interview, as well as an interview on campus.

Question: Is there any way to give feedback for the interviewer to the school? I had great interview feedback from both interviews last year, but the individual I interviewed with this year seemed like she needed to be somewhere, and I think I even caught her look at her watch once. WTF? The interview lasted 20-30 minutes; last year both ran over an hour. I'm confused and discouraged.

Don't be discouraged! I had an interviewer (at a different school) who answered the phone twice, and the interview lasted only 15 minutes. I got accepted, so no worries! And if you really feel that you got gypped, you might be able to contact the admissions office and tell them of your situation. Maybe they'll arrange something for you.

 

[mrlucky0]

Question: Is there any way to give feedback for the interviewer to the school? I had great interview feedback from both interviews last year, but the individual I interviewed with this year seemed like she needed to be somewhere, and I think I even caught her look at her watch once. WTF? The interview lasted 20-30 minutes; last year both ran over an hour. I'm confused and discouraged.

That reminds me of my Tucson interview. As I approached, she beckoned me in while speaking on the phone. Then the cellphone vibrated several times and she greeted several people at the door during the talk. Being a bit nervous at this first interview, I was somewhat distracted. Ironically though, the casualness and informal approach might have put me at ease.

To answer your feedback question, you should receive an email invitation to take an anonymous online survey regarding your complete campus visitation experience. There is a space where you can add textual comments.

 

[EmeanFD]

To answer your feedback question, you should receive an email invitation to take an anonymous online survey regarding your complete campus visitation experience. There is a space where you can add textual comments.

Cool, that sounds like a good route. I've got another interview in Tucson this coming Tuesday, so that should help balance things out I hope. Even though I feel like I learned a lot about the process of applying from last year, I still hate it with a passion. For me, it's reinforcing the fact that for med schools, it is all about your numbers, and the only grade that eluded me as an undergrad was a C. Other than that, first year sucked, but I redid the courses and improved all my bad grades, but AMCAS is a bitch. I just hope my EC's are enough to make up for that. 😀

 

[mathlink]

Just wondering about these conflicting statements (not your fault, could just be what they told you), but I interviewed in early November and just got the "you've been released to the ADCOM" email.
Do you think I'll be eligible for the first date? (VERY wishful thinking here on an acceptance though, haha)

Sorry, I didn't mean for those two to sound conflicting...what I meant by the first statement was that an applicant who has interviewed does not get rejected outright until all acceptances and waitlist spots have been mailed out, and their file will be reviewed for every acceptance date until the end.

Tara told us that we wouldn't be eligible for the first date (I interviewed last Wednesday), because they were only considering applicants whose files were completed by mid-October. It could be that they have already decided who they will accept next week and your file has been released to the ADCOM in preparation for December 18th and beyond. That's my guess, anyway. Remember that I got my info from Tara and Tucson and Phoenix, while they have the same acceptance dates, do things slightly differently. Tucson may be considering everybody who interviews before December 4th.

 

[ehandber]

I finished both of my interviews this past Monday, and overall they felt pretty good. It is a strange feeling being done with the process. I feel powerless, I'm just waiting! They assured us at my interview that if we send a LOI or letters that "update" our AMCAS they do not show them to the committee, so it sounds like that's not worth it. I will write about my interview experience if anyone is interested in reading an anecdote about how the process feels.


TUCSON-

My first interview was in Tucson. Mine took place on a Monday, and I intentionally selected the one at 2pm to make sure I would have plenty of time to get down there. As it turns out, those who are scheduled for an interview at 11:00am must arrive at 10:30, half an hour early. Those who are scheduled for an interview at 2:00pm must arrive at 11:45am. This was a bit surprising, but I still managed to make it down there in time. I was a little annoyed that I wasn't told that before-hand because I would obviously have chosen to simply arrive 30 minutes earlier!

The Tucson campus was very nice, and the students went out of their way to walk up and offer to answer questions or just talk about life there. It was easy for them to guess what I was doing because I was wearing a suit and reading the posters on the wall that they all walk by everyday. While standing in the hallway prior to check-in I, personally, had 3 students walk up and congratulate me and wish me luck. One told me not to worry and said he remembered standing and waiting just like I was doing.

I found my way to the admissions office around 11:30am and went to check in. When I told the woman behind the desk my name she seemed very confused that I wasn't on her list. After about a minute that all got sorted out (I don't know what happened...) and she handed me a folder with some information about the school as well as a name tag, and instructed me to wait down the hall with the other students there to interview. I was relieved I had not arrived on the wrong day, but it worried me that the very first thing that happened was a problem.

I met down the hall with 6 or 8 other hopefuls (some having already interviewed in the morning) and we waited until around 12:00pm when one first-year and one second-year student arrived and said they were going to take us to lunch. We headed through the campus and up to lunch, (sandwiches in bags, which were actually pretty good. I had the chicken salad on a croissant), we ate lunch and had an informal conversation about who we were, what life was like on campus, and what we all thought of the whole process. We then did a tour of the campus and heard a bit about the curriculum and financial aid. They assured us they had no connection whatsoever to the admissions process and were only there to make us feel more comfortable. I hope they were serious because I took that as an invitation to loosen my tie and take off my jacket, which was already becoming a nuisance.

The tour was modest but interesting. They didn't go out of their way to point out anything as being extremely cool, but offered realistic assessments of the usefulness of certain things. We were shown the pathology classroom where students use giant plasma screens to examine tissue, a few classrooms which seemed nice, and a very lived-in student lounge. In fact, there were ~15 students in the lounge as we walked through, and 4 of them were playing mario-kart on a big screen in the back room of the lounge while the rest chatted in the main room. They spent some time describing their first experiences in the simulated-patient exam rooms, and noted the cameras that link to "big brother," so that you can get feedback on your progress. That was unnerving, but it did make me think they were trying innovative things to enhance the learning experience during the first 2 years.

After all of this was done it was time for me to do my interview. We said goodbye to those students who had done the 11:00am interviews and headed back to the admissions office for our interviewer-assignment. I received my assignment, listed simply in the John Doe, Ph.D. (Discipline) format. My assignment was to a Ph.D. in one of the biological sciences, two others interviewed with MDs, and one hopeful interviewed with an MD, PhD. We were then either given directions, or ushered to our faculty member's office. Luckily I was personally guided, and knocked on the door. I was not particularly excited when I saw my assignment because I worried that the interviewer and I would have very little in common, but luckily again, I was wrong.

The interview was "closed," meaning that he had never seen any of my information aside from my name. We met, and he asked me to simply tell him about myself. As do most people, I stumbled a bit when I tried to explain "myself," but I felt that I got into the swing-of-things pretty quickly. With no desk between us and such open questions it felt very much like a conversation with a friend. As luck would have it, we had a lot in common! We talked a bit about medicine, a bit about life, a bit about education, and the interview ended when I said I didn't want to take up any further of his time (we had already surpassed our hour) and we shook hands and I thanked him.

Walking out of his office was the official "end" to the interview process in Tucson for me, and I was able to go straight home.

Overall the experience in Tucson was very friendly and I felt very welcomed by the students, and put at ease by the tone of the interview. The only time I felt out-of-place was driving away from the campus when two young students in an SUV that was *blasting* music hung out of their windows and insulted me about my car. I laughed it off as I reflected on how happy I was about the way the interview felt.

 

[ehandber]

Phoenix-

My second interview was in Phoenix. I felt a bit more confident about this interview when I was going there, based simply on the fact that I had already had an interview in Tucson and felt it went well. I knew before I went in that I had a bias toward Phoenix as that is where I was from so that added enough nervousness to keep me from getting a particularly good night's rest, despite my the confidence from Tucson.

I knew this interview process was scheduled to start at 8-something, and we were told to arrive by 8am. Having ridden the light rail from Tempe the previous weekend I knew that it took 50minutes on the rail, so I figured it would take around 40 minutes by car in morning traffic. It ended up taking 12 minutes, placing my arrival time right around 7:15am. When I got to the campus I realized that there were no signs directing us where to go, and none of the buildings were open to the public. After ringing the buzzer at building-1 I realized that nobody was even in the building yet. With it too early for the local businesses to be open I decided to simply wait there. In about 15 minutes one of the custodians opened the door to let me in. I feel like there is (or should be) an old saying that "When you wear suit and act like you belong somewhere people will let you in just about anywhere!"

I waited in the main waiting room for about 15 minutes when finally another student hopeful came and sat in the chair next to me. The custodian had let him in as well. It was a few minutes more until the receptionist arrived and suggested we go to the conference room in the back where they had set up breakfast for us. She didn't tell us that we could eat, but by that point I was quite bored and figured they wouldn't be too upset if I started!

I was immediately struck by the incredible design and feel of the building we were in. I noted the amazing decorations (student/faculty art, beautiful photography, and classical medical equipment) and the wonderfully comfortable seating. Everything was clearly new, and looked as though it had been purchased at an IKEA, with lots of glass and steel. The walls were also painted colors surprisingly more vibrant than the usual tope, eggshell, off-white, or white. Later, on the tour, I noticed an entire wall painted neon green with a bright orange modern-design couch. The feeling of the buildings was a lot like the feeling of being in a new car, clean while remaining comfortable.

Two first-year students and one second-year student joined us for breakfast and we chatted about everything that we expected and what they liked and disliked about the medical school process. At precisely the time told to us, we were escorted to a conference room upstairs where we were met by folders with nametags, an itinerary for the day, a sheet with the name and a short biography of the faculty chosen to interview each of us, and a rather suggestive piece of paper with "NOTES" printed in its header. A pleasant woman with a surprisingly confident and concise manner greeted us and quickly introduced us to the associate Dean who would give us our orientation. I was impressed by how well-prepared the school was to truly "present" their campus to us. With a powerpoint and what appeared to be a well thought-out orientation we all were introduced to the campus. The incredible organization of this orientation gave it the distinct feeling of a business pitch, aided by the conference room and the powerpoint. This portion of the interview process felt much more formal than it did in Tucson.

We were split into two groups, one to receive the "talks" prior to the interviews and the other (which I was placed in) was to interview first. The fact that they had taken the time to put us on different (pre-assigned) sides of the conference table made me feel- well, if you've ever been to a time-share presentation you'd know. It leaves you with an incredibly positive view, and I enjoyed it very much... but the organization and timeliness was perfect to the point where it was a bit weird.

At the end of the meeting we all were relieved when someone asked for the bathroom, which were all escorted to. Upon leaving the restroom we were greeted by a new faculty member that walked us to our respective interviewer's offices. We were told that our interviewer was selected for us by the admissions faculty after a review of our AMCAS and secondary in order to place us with someone that we'd have something in common with. That was reassuring because I felt as though I'd done well in my first interview because I got along well with the interviewer.

My interviewer was great. He informed me that while they were allowed to choose to do "open" or "closed" interviews, he had opted to simply look at my name and numerical stats. He asked me a few more pointed questions than what I had in Tucson, but still each felt very open and the overall tone was conversational. At one point I even told him that I had hoped he would have asked me a certain question I had a prepared answer to, and he obliged and asked me that question. We focused primarily on medical topics, and after about an hour he thanked me and sent me on my way back to the conference room where i had breakfast. I was relieved that the "hard" part of the day was over, and now (according to my itinerary) I simply had a financial aid (15min) talk, lunch, a goodbye speech, and a tour (optional).

Lunch was fantastic. They let us select from a list of ~15 sandwiches and salads and went and purchased it from Crave, located across the street. There were four med students, two M1 and two M2, that came to eat with us. I removed my jacket, loosened my tie, rolled up my sleeves and truly enjoyed my delicious sandwich. We chatted, very informally, with the students. We discussed everything from medicine, to having a family, to our distaste for admissions essays! And, we were greeted by a familiar faculty face at precisely the time our itinerary said we would be.

The goodbye speech was essentially telling us what the remainder of the process would be like, explaining what to expect, dispelling some myths about the process, and we got a DVD! (Short, sweet commercial for the school). We then were walked to our final leg of the trip, a tour of the campus.

I have only positive things to say about the Phoenix campus, the majority of which relate to the new and modern buildings. Everything was absolutely spotless, the spaces appeared to be well thought out and designed for comfort and convenience. Overall, the campus felt welcoming. Coincidentally, one of the hopefuls I interviewed with at Tucson was also in my interview group in Phoenix and we held back a bit during the tour to discuss how it compared. While Tucson and Phoenix had a lot of the same amenities, there was no question that Phoenix was newer/cleaner. So much so that it felt almost deserted. While we were in the student lounge area there were video games, TV's and even a ping-pong table - but not a student to be seen.

At the end of the tour our guide walked us to the parking lot, thanked us again and assured us that we could contact her with any questions. Having made a new friend in the guy that interviewed with me at both campuses, I caught a ride back to Tempe and we spent the next few hours comparing how we felt about interviewing at both campuses.

Each had their own unique character, but both had a tremendous welcoming and friendly atmospheres. If you do end up interviewing I hope you have the same experiences I did. They were great.

I never thought I would say it but the interview process actually made me much more excited than I already was to have a shot at going to medical school and eventually becoming a doctor.

 

[melissaliss]

@EHANDBER:

Thanks for all that useful info! Would you be willing to go into a little more depth about the actual interview itself? What questions were asked, how long it was, etc?

I am interviewing in Phoenix next week and it will be my very first med school interview. Not sure what to expect!

 

[gila]

Ok. It is officially December now. I want to know my status!

 

[San Marzano]

Ok. It is officially December now. I want to know my status!

The vast majority of applicants are not going to hear a peep from UofA until January or February.

 

[rbnsafsadgf]

Ok. It is officially December now. I want to know my status!

It isn't yet Dec 4th! That is the first day!

ahh. Just let us all in!

 

[Ilovewater]

It isn't yet Dec 4th! That is the first day!

ahh. Just let us all in!

Is it really Dec 4th?!?! I thought it was Dec 15th. Wow...so this Friday.

 

[MadEvans]

Later, on the tour, I noticed an entire wall painted neon green with a bright orange modern-design couch. The feeling of the buildings was a lot like the feeling of being in a new car, clean while remaining comfortable.

I love the new car feeling, but I can't stand that green wall. A couple of the students with a better sense of design than I do were elected to help design the new education building. Please, please, please no more neon.

Thanks for posting this Ehandber. It brought back some bittersweet nostalgia from last year, and I can say that I had a really similar experience.

The overwhelming sense to "sell" the Phoenix curriculum was positive for me as well. I didn't really understand why it was necessary at first, but it's because they've got to... Since we have such little data to back our school (thank God we've finally got a bit, since the M3's did really well on STEP 1 and are now getting great feedback from their attendings), it's like we're trying to sell a brand-new-never-been-tested-before product. It requires applicants to put a lot of confidence in the framers of our curriculum, so luckily our salesmen (deans) have pretty awesome credentials.

As we get more data and start going forward in expanding the campus I'm sure this will diminish. In the meantime, however, don't our deans and that 'pleasant woman with a surprisingly confident and concise manner' do a pretty good job? That phrase cracked me up.

And, to reinforce what MerryJ said above. Don't everyone get too excited about hearing something too soon. You may, but odds are you probably won't. I interviewed the very first week and I didn't hear anything myself until March (a waitlist and another waitlist) then wasn't finally accepted until May, so be veeeeerrrrryyyyy patient and try not to stress.

 

[mathlink]

Is it really Dec 4th?!?! I thought it was Dec 15th. Wow...so this Friday.

Yup. December 4th is the first day and December 18th is the second. Again, you are only eligible for December 4th if you interviewed mid-October or earlier (according to Tara, the 'pleasant woman with a surprisingly confident and concise manner'). Whether that is only Phoenix or both campuses, I have no idea.

Knowing that I am not eligible for this Friday is actually amazingly calming. I remember last year what it was like in the days leading up to the release dates. As MadEvans said, it is a very long process and there is no point in getting too anxious now. Many of us may have to wait until May or even June. But I do know how all of you feel. Go do something harmlessly violent. For me, that was and will probably again be going to a softball cage.

 

[Ilovewater]

Yup. December 4th is the first day and December 18th is the second. Again, you are only eligible for December 4th if you interviewed mid-October or earlier (according to Tara, the 'pleasant woman with a surprisingly confident and concise manner'). Whether that is only Phoenix or both campuses, I have no idea.

Knowing that I am not eligible for this Friday is actually amazingly calming. I remember last year what it was like in the days leading up to the release dates. As MadEvans said, it is a very long process and there is no point in getting too anxious now. Many of us may have to wait until May or even June. But I do know how all of you feel. Go do something harmlessly violent. For me, that was and will probably again be going to a softball cage.

Cool. I interviewed in early September so .

 

[lrkoehle]

Yup. December 4th is the first day and December 18th is the second. Again, you are only eligible for December 4th if you interviewed mid-October or earlier (according to Tara, the 'pleasant woman with a surprisingly confident and concise manner'). Whether that is only Phoenix or both campuses, I have no idea.

Dang, looks like I pushed back my Tucson interview a little to far. Oh well, I am in no hurry to find out that I was not selected for a December acceptance and have to wait even longer before I hear a final decision. Whether or not I find out on the 4th or on the 18th that I have to keep waiting, it doesn't matter because in the end I will just have to keep waiting.

 

[ehandber]

I hope those stories made those of you who are soon-to-interview know a little bit more about what to expect. I intentionally didn't go into details like what was asked, things to say/not say, because I don't think that will help anyone! None of us know the "right" answers, and with this school there doesn't seem to be specific questions they ask anyway. Most of it is very general!

I don't mind telling you what questions *I* was asked, but I know that the others who interviewed the same day as I did were asked very different questions. It is all dependent on your interviewer, and their mood, and what they know/want to know about you. Just for the sake of my interviewers, I think it is fair I don't tell you who I interviewed with. But, I don't mind telling you what I was asked-


The first/only question in Tucson (that was not follow-up to something specific I said about my life) was "So, tell me about yourself."

The first question in Phoenix was "Why bother? Just wanting to help people can't be it, because there are tons of ways to help people. Why go through all of this?" The next question was "Do you have any other specific experiences you want to talk about?" Then finally "Did you have any questions you had hoped I would ask?"

That's it! Like I said before, they were very nice. Everything was very friendly. Unfortunately, I doubt my telling you those questions will help you very much. But, good luck on your interview. Don't stress, you're going to do very well!

 

[EmeanFD]

Finished my interview on Tuesday afternoon. Very pleasant experience, and my interviewer was very personable and made me very comfortable right from the start. Some interview questions I got were:
-Tell me about yourself.
-What leadership experience have you had?
-What have you been up to since graduating?
-What are your hobbies?
-What about medicine do you not like?
-How do you feel about the current healthcare debate?
-Is there a specialty you have in mind already?
-What field of medicine looks the most promising as far as advancements in the next 5-10 years?

And that is all I can remember. Interview ended with my interviewer telling me it was a pleasure to get to know me and that she hopes I get in. This interview was a stark contrast to my community physician interview, where the lady seemed very disinterested. I just got the notice from U of A that my file is now complete, so here's hoping for the best.

 

[lrkoehle]

Accepted to UA-Phoenix!!!

I really liked the Tucson campus too, so I would love to hear from them today as well. I don't think I will though, since I made the mistake of scheduling that interview in late October.

I hope some more of you out there get the good news today too!!!

 

[lrkoehle]

AHHHHH!!!! When it rains, it pours!!! Accepted to Tucson too!!! What a great morning!

C'mon people, I know I'm not the only one out there with an acceptance! I want some more people to join in the excitement.

Here's a few of these guys for good luck vibes:

 

[Coug42]

Accepted to Tucson & Phoenix!!!

 

[derArzt]

congrats!! when did you guys interview? and are they calling/emailing?

 

[mathlink]

Congratulations to everyone who made it in this morning. It seems like Phoenix and Tucson are excepting the same people. That's good for us who weren't eligible for today.

 

[lrkoehle]

Accepted to Tucson & Phoenix!!!

Congrats!!! Where you gunna go?

congrats!! when did you guys interview? and are they calling/emailing?

I interviewed at Phoenix on September 14th and Tucson October 27th. They are sending out emails (Phoenix at 7:48 a.m. and Tucson at like 8:30ish).

 

[Ilovewater]

Guess I missed it this time. =[ No home state love.

Congrats to those who got accepted!!!!

 

[mathlink]

I interviewed at Phoenix on September 14th and Tucson October 27th. They are sending out emails (Phoenix at 7:48 a.m. and Tucson at like 8:30ish).

This is a bit of a departure from last year. Both campuses seemed to send out their emails right at 9.

 

[ehandber]

That's awesome! I can only imagine how wonderful that feels! You're going to be a doctor! 🙂

Congrats!

 

[lrkoehle]

Thanks to those giving congratulations. I hope all of you waiting get in during the next round!

I think I am leaning towards the Tucson campus right now, but I don't know. This is too big of a decision to have to make in two weeks.

 

[utah3219]

.

 

[Coug42]

IS or OOS?

Thanks to everyone for the congratulations. Acceptances were by email. I applied as an Arizona Resident, but I got some letter shortly before my interviews in September saying that they were not sure of my residency status because I went to college out of state. Either way I was surprisingly more impressed with the Phoenix campus, and I am from Tempe so I am leaning more towards Phoenix. It's going to be a tough decision.

 

[lrkoehle]

I definitely did not see the simulation facilities at Tucson on the tour, but they look awesome: http://astec.arizona.edu/ This is a huge selling point for me and almost seals the deal for me to go to Tucson. I should be focusing on all the papers, projects, and finals I have coming up next week, but I can't now...dang it (not that I am complaining).

 

[MadEvans]

I should be focusing on all the papers, projects, and finals I have coming up next week, but I can't now...dang it (not that I am complaining).

- I was the same way, accepted or not I just couldn't focus on school my last year while waiting for an acceptance. Congrats! 😎 To both you and Coug.

To all the rest who didn't get in yet, don't despair. There is still TONS of time left.

 

[ronweasley]

didn't get in!! maybe because I haven't intervied? who knows! may be a host of reasons!

 

[mrlucky0]

If I was completed on Nov. 6th, am I eligible to be accepted starting from the next date? Or what would that date be?

 

[lrkoehle]

- I was the same way, accepted or not I just couldn't focus on school my last year while waiting for an acceptance. Congrats! 😎 To both you and Coug.

To all the rest who didn't get in yet, don't despair. There is still TONS of time left.

Yeah, this entire semester has been harder than any other semester because I can't seem to focus. Thanks for the congrats.

I know you are a UA-Phoenix (ie UACOMPIPWASU), so I was wondering why you chose to go there over Tucson? I am having a difficult time choosing, but I am leaning towards Tucson. I figure a current Phoenix student would be one of the best people to sell Phoenix to me.

 

[Brrooother]

Yeah, this entire semester has been harder than any other semester because I can't seem to focus. Thanks for the congrats.

I know you are a UA-Phoenix (ie UACOMPIPWASU), so I was wondering why you chose to go there over Tucson? I am having a difficult time choosing, but I am leaning towards Tucson. I figure a current Phoenix student would be one of the best people to sell Phoenix to me.

Hey, Irkoehle and Coug, congrats!

I just wanted to respond to your last question, Irk, although MadEvans is a good UACOM-Phx cheerleader as well. I was accepted to both campuses last year, and it was incredibly hard for me to decide - I had to re-visit both and ask for extra time to make the decision. Anyway, both are great and you'll be happy and successful either way! I was asked a few months ago about what I liked about Phoenix, so I drafted up a pretty lengthy response to that question and have sent it out a few times to others when requested to. I'll PM you with that, so it won't take up too much space on this thread!

Congratulations again, and good luck to the rest of you. Hang in there!

 

[lrkoehle]

Hey, Irkoehle and Coug, congrats!

I just wanted to respond to your last question, Irk, although MadEvans is a good UACOM-Phx cheerleader as well. I was accepted to both campuses last year, and it was incredibly hard for me to decide - I had to re-visit both and ask for extra time to make the decision. Anyway, both are great and you'll be happy and successful either way! I was asked a few months ago about what I liked about Phoenix, so I drafted up a pretty lengthy response to that question and have sent it out a few times to others when requested to. I'll PM you with that, so it won't take up too much space on this thread!

Congratulations again, and good luck to the rest of you. Hang in there!

Thank you so much. I didn't realize we can ask for more time on deciding between campuses. I am pretty darn sure I will end up at UA next year, so I want to make sure I choose the right campus. I was thinking of driving back down to Tucson to take a look around. I have also been looking at the website, and it seems most of the electives are offered at the Tucson campus only, especially for ortho which is my main interest. I do know a student or two at Phoenix, so I will probably call them later today and ask their opinions. Again, Thanks Brooother.

 

[MadEvans]

I was wondering why you chose to go there over Tucson? I am having a difficult time choosing, but I am leaning towards Tucson. I figure a current Phoenix student would be one of the best people to sell Phoenix to me.

I wasn't accepted to Tucson, so you'll probably get some more specific direction from Brrooother than me on this one. I was on the waitlist though, so the thought of course crossed my mind. I could state a hundred different small, minor differences between the two and why I gravitated toward UA - Phx... but, I'll spare you and just say this. Go to whichever campus you gravitate toward. And make sure the reasons why you're leaning to one over the other are reasons that you will be able to take advantage of as a medical student. There is a medical researcher down in Tucson whose work I was totally amazed by, but I didn't let that affect my decision since there was such a slight chance I'd be able to gain anything from him as an MD student.

The clinical skills simulator you posted earlier seems like a great factor to choose one school over another. Look back over the respective curriculums, the feel you got at each school, and all the rest of the intangibles... and make a decision based on which campus/city you feel "fits" best with your style of learning/living/etc.

Hope that helps. Probably not, since I'm speaking in obvious generalities. Just make sure the choice is yours (ie don't let sig others/parents/friends/etc tell you where to go/where is best), because when the choice is your own... you'll have no regrets.

 

[Brrooother]

Thank you so much. I didn't realize we can ask for more time on deciding between campuses. I am pretty darn sure I will end up at UA next year, so I want to make sure I choose the right campus. I was thinking of driving back down to Tucson to take a look around. I have also been looking at the website, and it seems most of the electives are offered at the Tucson campus only, especially for ortho which is my main interest. I do know a student or two at Phoenix, so I will probably call them later today and ask their opinions. Again, Thanks Brooother.

Ha, I hope they don't get mad at me for saying that! Really, I just called them and begged for extra time, and by "extra time", I mean that I took a week or less beyond the deadline to decide - not too much extra! Besides, the longer you hold on to an acceptance you won't use that will end up going to someone else, the longer you'll need to sleep with one eye open for fear of hungry-for-an-acceptance pre-meds!!

 

[lrkoehle]

Ha, I hope they don't get mad at me for saying that! Really, I just called them and begged for extra time, and by "extra time", I mean that I took a week or less beyond the deadline to decide - not too much extra! Besides, the longer you hold on to an acceptance you won't use that will end up going to someone else, the longer you'll need to sleep with one eye open for fear of hungry-for-an-acceptance pre-meds!!

That's great. I don't want to hold on to both acceptances too long anyways, but I am currently having a hard time deciding. Plus, I have a crap load things due next week plus finals, then I am going out of town right after my last final until the 15th, which puts me at close to two weeks.

Thanks for all your help!

 

[ehandber]

As a first-time applier I am genuinely surprised at the amount this whole application/interview/wait process is affecting me! I was pretty sure that I would feel better after the interview but now I am anxious everyday for the next acceptance cycle, even though I know I may not even get in during that one! The idea of waiting like this for another few months is terrible!

Yes, I know- be patient. But, what can I say? I am just very hopeful!

Any other post-interviewers in Tempe feel free to give me a PM and we'll meet up and chat about how much work actually goes into this "waiting" business!