2009-2010 University of Connecticut Application Thread

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Wait-list came by e-mail...

Dear Cancer p53,

Your application for admission to the University of Connecticut
School of Medicine has been carefully reviewed by the
Admissions Committee. At this time, we are placing you on our
list of hold/alternate candidates. The Committee will continue
its review of candidates and will reconsider all hold/alternate
status candidates again throughout March and April.

We ask that you update your record with any new grades or
significant accomplishments. Should you decide to commit to
another school, please notify us.

We truly appreciate your patience. Our interview process
continues through the months of March and April. In March
and April, the Committee reconsiders all candidates that
have initially been placed in a hold/alternate status. By the
end of April/midMay, we are able to provide candidates with a
firmer idea of their eventual chances. We will notify you as
soon as any new information becomes available.

Sincerely,

Keat Sanford, Ph.D.
Assistant Dean - Medical Student Affairs & Admissions
University of Connecticut School of Medicine
 
Sorry to hear the news, Cancer p53. ---Just trying to figure out how they're dealing with the November interviewee applications at this point.
 
Doctor 8675309 said:
Sorry to hear the news, Cancer p53. ---Just trying to figure out how they're dealing with the November interviewee applications at this point.
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Hey Doctor 8.........9.


When did you interview in November? From what I understand it usually takes approximately a month or so to find out if you are in the accepted pile. If you have been WL and people on SDN during your interview range have posted they've been accepted and you haven't heard anything, then you can assume you've been WL. A previous poster said that Dr. Sanford was out for awhile, so decisions may be delayed for a bit past a month.

It took me 3 weeks to find out my acceptance. I interviewed the first week in Oct and the letter of acceptance was written Oct. 28. I am guessing the wait is a lot longer now, or at least longer than 3 weeks.
 
just fyi for those who have interviewed and are waiting on decisions, I interviewed at Uconn last week and this is what I was told, the committee meets every other Tuesday, one of them is taking place tonight. But they had the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week off, so that's why there's a backup of two weeks and those who interviewed early-mid November should be discussed tonight and will probably get your letters later this week, that being said, good luck guys!:luck:
 
twostep376 said:
love your name.

Jenny! 8-6-7-5-3-0-9
Click to expand...

Haha, thanks! I thought I should give a little shout-out to this 80's Pop Hit!

Anyway, to answer an earlier question: I interviewed the 2nd week in November so my fingers are crossed.
 
Doctor 8675309 said:
Haha, thanks! I thought I should give a little shout-out to this 80's Pop Hit!

Anyway, to answer an earlier question: I interviewed the 2nd week in November so my fingers are crossed.
Click to expand...


First, I feel stupid I didn't pick up on that haha.

Second, then you should have been decided on yesterday and hopefully a letter is being written via snail mail on your behalf pronto.

Best of luck to all. Also, if you are accepted a facebook group exists for our class and it would be great to meet everyone.
 
Cancer p53 said:
Just received notice that I have been put on the alternates/hold list. WTF! This is the second time they've put my on hold and I am NOT happy about it. At least I received notice that Baylor is inviting me for interview at the same time... makes me less angry than I would have been. Perhaps it was because I'm so interested in research, but that's so stupid if it is the case. Not all of us need to be PCP's.
Click to expand...

:laugh: UConn is not looking specifically for primary care oriented folks, silly. The University is currently attempting to undergo an administrative transition and raise its rankings -- trust me, they want strong researchers.

I, on the other hand, AM interested in PC and I've had a lot of trouble getting much love from any school ranked higher than UConn. It seems like to get to the top you have to be pretty ruthless.
 
JJFoshay said:
:laugh: UConn is not looking specifically for primary care oriented folks, silly. The University is currently attempting to undergo an administrative transition and raise its rankings -- trust me, they want strong researchers.

I, on the other hand, AM interested in PC and I've had a lot of trouble getting much love from any school ranked higher than UConn. It seems like to get to the top you have to be pretty ruthless.
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Agreed. P53 I know how you feel. Last year I too was put on the wait list and did not get in. I have never been a big fan of interviewing because it is very subjective. You could be a perfect candidate for a school, however, you could just get an interviewer who had a bad day/does not like one view you have and basically your chances of getting in are shot. There have been a few times this year where I have interviewed and felt that literally one sentance made my interview experience go positive or negative.

Then again, I also understand why they do interviewing in this manner. In 10 years your life will most likely consist of approx 20-30 interviews with patients a day, each lasting 15 minutes.
 
JJFoshay said:
:laugh: UConn is not looking specifically for primary care oriented folks, silly. The University is currently attempting to undergo an administrative transition and raise its rankings -- trust me, they want strong researchers.

I, on the other hand, AM interested in PC and I've had a lot of trouble getting much love from any school ranked higher than UConn. It seems like to get to the top you have to be pretty ruthless.
Click to expand...


this person is wrong. i am oos and made my preference to practice primary care abundantly clear. i was accepted immediately post-interview with only average stats.

advice a professor game me: never trust anyone who says you can trust them
 
am4yf said:
this person is wrong. i am oos and made my preference to practice primary care abundantly clear. i was accepted immediately post-interview with only average stats.

advice a professor game me: never trust anyone who says you can trust them
Click to expand...


When I interviewed it was made clear to me that they want both (academics and PCP)...and that they are going to be giving research a bigger emphasis than is has received in the past.

Just saying...
 
am4yf said:
this person is wrong. i am oos and made my preference to practice primary care abundantly clear. i was accepted immediately post-interview with only average stats.

advice a professor game me: never trust anyone who says you can trust them
Click to expand...

Advice you should've learned in your classes: anecdotal evidence is worthless, data and larger trends are what matters. I stand by my statements because I've been watching changes and statements at UConn undergrad and the medical school for the last four years, and I have a decent grasp on the atmosphere and the goals of the institution. They are not looking ONLY for researchers, and they are not looking ONLY for PCPs, but it is not correct to say that someone would be rejected for wanting to do research or accepted for wanting to do primary care. p53's perceptions are colored because they've just been passed over, and that's perfectly understandable, but such a statement could discourage a lot of research-oriented people from applying to UConn and I want to make sure people know that is not the case.
 
am4yf said:
this person is wrong. i am oos and made my preference to practice primary care abundantly clear. i was accepted immediately post-interview with only average stats.

advice a professor game me: never trust anyone who says you can trust them
Click to expand...

I think JJFoshay was just trying to say that very high ranked schools want students with a lot of research, not that UConn only wants one or the other. I'd have to agree, they would want a balance. Maybe a slight preference for practicing physicians, but not much.

Remember, UConn is a state school. Their main objective is to recruit doctors to practice in CT, second objective is to recruit doctors to practice in New England. However, UConn Dental is arguably the best Dental school in the United States and I am sure they know they can easily improve their rankings for medicine if they put more of a focus on research. Unfortunately, US News Rankings for research are taken by most people as the "true" rankings of medical schools, so a lot of emphasis is placed on getting the best researchers. In addition, a lot of hospitals (including UConn associated hospitals) have lost a lot of money in the last decade and have been either forced to merge, or go under. Research is an easy way to bring money to a hospital.
 
JJFoshay said:
Advice you should've learned in your classes: anecdotal evidence is worthless, data and larger trends are what matters. I stand by my statements because I've been watching changes and statements at UConn undergrad and the medical school for the last four years, and I have a decent grasp on the atmosphere and the goals of the institution. They are not looking ONLY for researchers, and they are not looking ONLY for PCPs, but it is not correct to say that someone would be rejected for wanting to do research or accepted for wanting to do primary care. p53's perceptions are colored because they've just been passed over, and that's perfectly understandable, but such a statement could discourage a lot of research-oriented people from applying to UConn and I want to make sure people know that is not the case.
Click to expand...


gotcha. that makes sense. i took your earlier statement to mean they wanted only researchers. I also thought it was clear that they are looking for both.
 
Right, no school can possibly say they want only one certain type of student, if they did it would make all our lives so much easier... my first interviewer was very discouraging regarding research though. She said "There is no good translational research going on here. Researchers come to Uconn to retire." This would have been surprising had I not also heard this from my Uconn (storrs) PI. I also collaborate with people from the health center and can say in my experience that it is pretty much true. She also stated verbatim "students who come here tend to be touchy feely and view the first two years of clinical science as a hurdle to get over." She made it VERY clear that my intention to pursue an academic career was NOT the norm at Uconn. My experience is tainted by my recent waitlist I admit, and Keat Sanford did give me a 30min lecture rather than an interview about how Uconn was trying to recruit higher caliber students and become a top notch school blah blah blah.... regardless, Uconn is at the moment, and has always been a primary care school. My guess is that my real problem was a lack of extensive physician shadowing and volunteering. Perhaps if I had done such things I would have fit the normal Uconn profile better than I currently do.
 
Cancer p53 said:
Right, no school can possibly say they want only one certain type of student, if they did it would make all our lives so much easier... my first interviewer was very discouraging regarding research though. She said "There is no good translational research going on here. Researchers come to Uconn to retire." This would have been surprising had I not also heard this from my Uconn (storrs) PI. I also collaborate with people from the health center and can say in my experience that it is pretty much true. She also stated verbatim "students who come here tend to be touchy feely and view the first two years of clinical science as a hurdle to get over." She made it VERY clear that my intention to pursue an academic career was NOT the norm at Uconn. My experience is tainted by my recent waitlist I admit, and Keat Sanford did give me a 30min lecture rather than an interview about how Uconn was trying to recruit higher caliber students and become a top notch school blah blah blah.... regardless, Uconn is at the moment, and has always been a primary care school. My guess is that my real problem was a lack of extensive physician shadowing and volunteering. Perhaps if I had done such things I would have fit the normal Uconn profile better than I currently do.
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Totally sorry about your WL man. That sucks.

I just want to point out one thing...I disagree w/ the bolded. For years UConn has sent at least 50% of its graduates into non-primary care specialties. That is more than the average med school in the US (these numbers are from the materials they gave out on interview day...)
 
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Yeah, I'll believe that... I guess what I was really meaning to say was that the majority tend to go into practice, not teaching, research etc.
 
I am VERY involved in research, and I had no problem getting into Uconn, as for raising their ranking by doing more research, I think this is true. Uconn does want to recruit students that will end up practicing in CT or new england, but they are not just PCP focused at all.
 
Received an email last night with a merit scholarship so I think that they are reviewing people for awards on an ongoing basis.
 
Congrats Zackbot! if you don't mind sharing, can you tell us what proportion of the tuition was the scholarship?
 
Sooo... have any other November Interviewees received any wait-list or acceptance notifications yet?
 
Hey, how long after the interview did you all send in the homework assignment to Dr. Sanford?
 
Same. However, earlier in this forum it was said that one applicant was accepted before the response ever came in. Maybe he was a reapplicant and they had his old response, but my guess is the response resurfaces if you are accepted in your PBL session. Maybe it's our first real PBL.... then again, it would be strange to do a shock lecture in August when we haven't covered Cardiopulmonary that well.
 
archimedesxx said:
I did not send in my PBL homework thingy to Dr. Sanford and was still accepted.
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Same here. The assignment is intended to give applicants an idea of what PBL is like--it is not part of your application.
 
I still say there must be some reason they collect the PBL answers though. Maybe it gives them a good laugh when they read our responses. I am sure if they did give them back to us after our 1st year we'd probably realize how little we actually knew beforehand and we'd laugh about it.
 
Anyone know how long it takes to receive a response after the interview?
 
Accepted today! Small letter in snail mail! 13 days from interview. So happy...So happy....So happy. I live nearby so maybe more will get to everyone tomorrow!
 
👍 accepted!! interviewed 12/04! yay, home state pulling through!
 
I also never sent in my 'homework' but was accepted! Got the letter today! OOS interviewed 11/16! 🙂

congrats to all the others who were accepted!
 
Accepted via mail on 12/18, interviewed 12/7, In-State
Woohoo! Good luck to everyone still waiting!
 
Haha maybe that's the trick. If you don't send the PBL homework in you get accepted. Those who send it in too early are overachievers. (Just kidding).
 
Well, the PBL homework goes to Keat, who does not actually sit on the adcom but does present you to the adcom...in other words, it's never a bad idea to impress Dr. Sanfrod a little. On the other hand, I doubt they would reject a good applicant due to them forgetting the PBL homework; it can probably help you but not hurt you.

BTW, I sent mine in right away and was accepted. 😛
 
Hey everyone! 🙂

Congrats to those of you already accepted! Go spend time doing fun things now.

Hang in there for those of you waiting!

I'm currently a student at Uconn Med and would like to offer any assistance to those of you with specific questions. Feel free to PM me with whatever it is that you'd like to know and I'll give you the lowdown.

Peace out homies😀
uconnmedstudent
 
Has anyone who is on HOLD status heard back yet?
 
Just got an e-mail saying I will be on hold status, and will be compared to other applicants.

Does hold = rejection, technically speaking?

Btw, I'm OOS.
 
surgeonhands said:
Just got an e-mail saying I will be on hold status, and will be compared to other applicants.

Does hold = rejection, technically speaking?

Btw, I'm OOS.
Click to expand...

When did you complete everything? I finished in late Aug and have been on hold since early Sept.
 
peweee17 said:
When did you complete everything? I finished in late Aug and have been on hold since early Sept.
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Well, come to think of it, this is the first ever communication that UConn has sent me. I 'completed' my application when I sent my secondary to them via email on October 5 and then subsequently snail-mailed the hard copy version.

I got this email today:

"This notice confirms receipt of your application materials. We have completed an initial review of your application materials. At this time, we are placing your file in a hold status in order to review and compare your credentials with other applicants over the next few months. Please feel free to update your application with any additional materials you would like to provide.

We appreciate your interest in our program and will be in touch with you as soon as there is any action taken by the Admissions Committee. Most candidates placed in hold status at this point in the process will be reconsidered in February/March."


Does this mean they only recently looked at my application for the first time?
 
surgeonhands said:
Well, come to think of it, this is the first ever communication that UConn has sent me. I 'completed' my application when I sent my secondary to them via email on October 5 and then subsequently snail-mailed the hard copy version.

I got this email today:

"This notice confirms receipt of your application materials. We have completed an initial review of your application materials. At this time, we are placing your file in a hold status in order to review and compare your credentials with other applicants over the next few months. Please feel free to update your application with any additional materials you would like to provide.

We appreciate your interest in our program and will be in touch with you as soon as there is any action taken by the Admissions Committee. Most candidates placed in hold status at this point in the process will be reconsidered in February/March."


Does this mean they only recently looked at my application for the first time?
Click to expand...

From my understanding of "hold status" is that we passed the preliminary GPA and MCAT standards but not well enough to receive an interview invitation straight away (pile A applications). So we have been placed in pile B where they then look at all other material on application to decide whether and interview invitation will be extended to you..after of course they finish with pile A applications,
 
peweee17 said:
From my understanding of "hold status" is that we passed the preliminary GPA and MCAT standards but not well enough to receive an interview invitation straight away (pile A applications). So we have been placed in pile B where they then look at all other material on application to decide whether and interview invitation will be extended to you..after of course they finish with pile A applications,
Click to expand...


There are two hold statuses you can get.

The first is the one receives before an interview. My understanding is the same as what peweee17 said and it's a safeguard for the school to make sure they end the interview application with the best applicants they feel fit the school. I would not get discouraged by being in this list, I would just try to contact the school as much as possible (meaningful contacts of course). AKA don't call the school every day, but enough to show they're a top choice of yours etc. I am sure there are applicants from last year who were in this range who now attend UConn.

The second one is after the interview. They wait until around May (+/- a month) where they put you on a ranked wait list. The wait list has three tiers: High, medium and low priority. Usually most people are moved off the high priority, some are moved off the medium and usually little to no students are moved off the low ranked wait list. I was told last year that not all the high priority students were moved off the wait list last year. Unfortunately, the applicant pool in the last couple of years has been insane and this year is no different. Who knows though, every year is different.
FYI, once you're ranked on that wait list I don't think you can move up or down, or at least that is what I've been told.
 
FutureMDer said:
There are two hold statuses you can get.

The first is the one receives before an interview. My understanding is the same as what peweee17 said and it's a safeguard for the school to make sure they end the interview application with the best applicants they feel fit the school. I would not get discouraged by being in this list, I would just try to contact the school as much as possible (meaningful contacts of course). AKA don't call the school every day, but enough to show they're a top choice of yours etc. I am sure there are applicants from last year who were in this range who now attend UConn.

The second one is after the interview. They wait until around May (+/- a month) where they put you on a ranked wait list. The wait list has three tiers: High, medium and low priority. Usually most people are moved off the high priority, some are moved off the medium and usually little to no students are moved off the low ranked wait list. I was told last year that not all the high priority students were moved off the wait list last year. Unfortunately, the applicant pool in the last couple of years has been insane and this year is no different. Who knows though, every year is different.
FYI, once you're ranked on that wait list I don't think you can move up or down, or at least that is what I've been told.
Click to expand...

^^That should be stickied. Very thorough and insightful explanation about the hold v. waitlist issue.

Thanks FutureMDer
 
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