2009-2010 University of Illinois (UIC) Application Thread

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The thing is, my hobbies are singing and basketball, neither of which I was able to participate in in terms of organized activities. However I still sang and what not in my FREE time...I use singing as a way of stress relief. If that doesn't work....i don't really have any activities I was apart of in college except for research, volunteering, shadowing etc...

If you still sing at church or w/e or have a weekly game of bball with friends you could probably write about it.
I'm writing about my pottery class and how I use it as a stress reliever and a creative outlet. I think they're just looking to make sure that people aren't crazy premeds with no interests other than studying for the MCAT and obsessing over whether we'll be admitted.
 
submitted this one today 🙂

for the "advantages/disadvantages" section i wrote about having a dad who is a physician, and i also wrote about having a job all through college.
 
I never realized how short 250 words is until I tried to write one of my "essays" last night. Even after editting I'm still slightly over 250 words and even so I feel like I gave the "spark notes" version.

I guess its better to have too much to write than having a 3000 word essay and having nothing to say
 
What was your status before the button appeared?

Everything of mine is "in" but the status only reads "sufficient recommendations received"

it doesnt say anything about being complete or anything. if anyone could chime in about their status, that would be much appreciated 🙂

hey medicalkid, that is my status as well. does anyone know if the application status ever says "complete" or "under review"?
 
What was your status before the button appeared?

Everything of mine is "in" but the status only reads "sufficient recommendations received"

it doesnt say anything about being complete or anything. if anyone could chime in about their status, that would be much appreciated 🙂

The "sufficient recommendations received" appeared at the bottom of my status page; however, the new button takes my browser to a different page where it says "applicant in process"
 
Courtesy of Hal09...

Posted on the first page but that is 200 posts ago.

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I posted this comprehensive summary of UIC's status messages in last years thread to remove the ambiguity, so hopefully it will help out anyone applying to UIC this year as well.

START

I. Submit Primary.

II. Wait for the email from UIC giving you your login information for the Applicant Status Check site (usually arrives within 2 weeks of submitting your primary): https://mercury.comd.uic.edu/appstat

III. Login, and check your status in the second page. [At the bottom of this post I link to a program I made that makes checking your status as easy as double clicking your mouse.]

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A. "Application Not Complete" = Secondary not yet complete.

B. "Application in Process" = You are complete. --> Goto C.

C. "Applicant in Process" = Your file is being reviewed, 3 Possible Status Changes:
1. "Select Interview Date" = You are good enough for an interview. --> Goto D.
2. "Application in Process" = You are not good enough to grant an interview yet, but might be later on in the cycle. Check back periodically. --> Go back to B.
3. "Final Decision Made ..." = You are not good enough. --> Goto X.​
D. "Select Interview Date" (A grid of dates shows up) = Call and schedule an interview date, after which "Interview Scheduled on ... " shows up. After the interview, Goto F.

F. "Decision Pending" = File pending review at the next adcom meeting (every 3rd Thursday of the month). There are 2 options from here, depending on the month:
1. Before May. --> Goto M.
2. On or After May. --> Goto N.​
M. Before May, 2 Possible Status Changes:
1. "Final Decision Made ... " --> Goto S.
2. "Decision Pending" (No Status Change) + "We'll keep reviewing you" Email (a few days later) = You are a good candidate, but not good enough to grant an acceptance yet. UIC will keep reviewing you at every adcom meeting. --> Go back to F.​
N. On or After May, 2 Possible Status Changes:
1. "Final Decision Made ... " You are (very likely) rejected. --> Goto X.
2. "Applicant is Waitlisted" = Waitlisted. --> Goto Y.​
S. There are 2 additional conditions from here:
1. There is an "Additional Correspondences" Tab in the upper-right corner on your status page AND you get a CBC Email (a few days later) = You are (very likely) accepted. --> Goto Z.
2. There is no "Additional Correspondences" Tab and/or you don't get the CBC Email = Rejection. [Note: This is tricky. The CBC email usually comes a few days after (1-4 is the consensus) the status change. Be patient. Sometimes, the email never comes, which might be because you already had a CBC done due to an acceptance at another school. In some instances, the CBC Email even comes after the snail-mail. If after a week, neither the tab nor the CBC email shows up, it's very likely a rejection. You've probably already received snail-mail by now alerting you to it.] --> Goto X.​
X. "Final Decision Made ..." = Rejection 🙁 ... Wait for a "Thin Letter" via snail-mail.

Y. "Applicant is Waitlisted" = Waitlisted. :xf: ... The CBC Email no longer acts as an indicator of an acceptance. If you get accepted off of the waitlist, then Goto Z, else Goto X.

Z. "Final Decision Made ..." + "Additional Correspondences" Tab + CBC Email = (very likely) Acceptance 😀 ... Wait for a "Fat Packet" via snail-mail. [Note: Sometimes CBC emails come after the packet. CBC emails also might never arrive if you got an acceptance to another school that also does CBC through AMCAS.]

FINISH

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Here's the program to help check your status (ONLY WORKS ON PC): http://www.fileden.com/files/2009/4/...6/checkuic.zip

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*** NOTE: There are no guarantees in the above information, since there is always the chance that UIC changes things up. Just always keep in mind that the above is of what has happened, and not what will happen. Good Luck to you 2014'ers.
__________________
Applying to Medical School? Use my spreadsheet! School Selection Spreadsheet

- UIC College of Medicine c/o 2013 -

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The "sufficient recommendations received" appeared at the bottom of my status page; however, the new button takes my browser to a different page where it says "applicant in process"

yay, same here!
 
Courtesy of Hal09...

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Here's the program to help check your status (ONLY WORKS ON PC): http://www.fileden.com/files/2009/4/...6/checkuic.zip

Just an FYI, that program won't work. The new online system is different. I'd rewrite the program for you guys, but I have no way of testing it without a secondary. They unfortunately don't send secondaries to people who are already admitted. 🙁
 
use the website thye gave you in the first email, it works fine for me i just checked my status.

oh ok, duh i didn't even look in that email.

how long does it take them to get my letters? i submitted the secondary on 7/15 and AMCAS has received all my letters.
 
oh ok, duh i didn't even look in that email.

how long does it take them to get my letters? i submitted the secondary on 7/15 and AMCAS has received all my letters.
took me 1 week after submission of 2ndary
 
does anyone's say complete specifically anywhere? i know they got my letters but i cant find a complete message on the page
 
Also, how many letters could we have sent? i only sent three for some reason...
 
Where the heck is my secondary?! I got their e-mail with the status page on 7/7. Anyone else without a secondary?
 
Also, how many letters could we have sent? i only sent three for some reason...

They only ask for 3 but on the status page there's space for 5 letters received i think
 
does anyone's say complete specifically anywhere? i know they got my letters but i cant find a complete message on the page
i dont see one either, but if they have you fee, 2ndary, and letters, which it says they do for me (and u?), then you can assume you are complete. Or you can be the annoying pre med who calls the office asking STATUS PLZZZZZZZ. They love that 😛
 
Where the heck is my secondary?! I got their e-mail with the status page on 7/7. Anyone else without a secondary?

me, status page with no secondary, but also no mcat score yet. i thought maybe that was why.
 
me, status page with no secondary, but also no mcat score yet. i thought maybe that was why.

That probably is why. The secondary email says "We have reviewed your American Medical College Application Services (AMCAS) application. We would like to invite you to submit additional information about yourself..."
and I'm assuming they look at your MCAT scores so if you don't have any in yet, thats probably whats stopping you from getting one.

Does your status page say anything like "waiting for mcat scores" or something?
 
That probably is why. The secondary email says "We have reviewed your American Medical College Application Services (AMCAS) application. We would like to invite you to submit additional information about yourself..."
and I'm assuming they look at your MCAT scores so if you don't have any in yet, thats probably whats stopping you from getting one.

Does your status page say anything like "waiting for mcat scores" or something?
Mine says "process complete" which I hope has nothing to do with my previous app and the system glitched and assumed I already got a secondary.
 
That probably is why. The secondary email says "We have reviewed your American Medical College Application Services (AMCAS) application. We would like to invite you to submit additional information about yourself..."
and I'm assuming they look at your MCAT scores so if you don't have any in yet, thats probably whats stopping you from getting one.

Does your status page say anything like "waiting for mcat scores" or something?


it just has the info from amcas, and then "Contact Medical College Admissions at 312-996-5635 for Further Information"... I'm not too concerned yet.
 
question...

for the question concerning "describe a situation where you were stressed". is it ok if i mention schoolwork? I don't want them to think that I can't handle med school. or should I mention something else? I have a lot of stress but don't know what to focus on. any suggestions?
 
Mine says "process complete" which I hope has nothing to do with my previous app and the system glitched and assumed I already got a secondary.
you could always call and ask. just be really nice so they aren't like "o god pre med psycho"
 
question...

for the question concerning "describe a situation where you were stressed". is it ok if i mention schoolwork? I don't want them to think that I can't handle med school. or should I mention something else? I have a lot of stress but don't know what to focus on. any suggestions?
I wouldn't be like "I had a lot of hw one night cause I was out drinking the night before" but maybe if you had 5 final exams in 24 hours and your g-ma just died that would work. I'd say if your going to write about class work you better make sure it was a really stressful situation and that you make it clear that you learned from it and it was never that bad again because you learned to cope
 
We don't really want to read stories about how you took hard classes or had a bunch of exams on the same day or overslept through an exam. If you have some extracurricular situation that was stressful, it'd be better.
 
We don't really want to read stories about how you took hard classes or had a bunch of exams on the same day or overslept through an exam. If you have some extracurricular situation that was stressful, it'd be better.

Thanks. That is what I was worried about. you're the best zipmedic. 👍
 
ok i took my third MCAT on 17th, does that mean I won't be getting a secondary from them until they get my MCAT scores... my AMCAS should be verified within a week now (applied on July 4th)
 
Just submitted. My disadvantages/advantages essay I wrote about leaving a small town in California (where the schools were awful) and moving outside DC where I went to this high school that really brought me to reality. TJHSST if anyone has heard of it. I don't know if this is a disadvantage but it really did change my life and made me more mature... hopefully adcoms don't think this is BS =/
 
Just submitted this bad boy. Hoping for the best. :xf::xf::xf:
 
Just submitted. My disadvantages/advantages essay I wrote about leaving a small town in California (where the schools were awful) and moving outside DC where I went to this high school that really brought me to reality. TJHSST if anyone has heard of it. I don't know if this is a disadvantage but it really did change my life and made me more mature... hopefully adcoms don't think this is BS =/

If this is a central focus of and shines through in your writing, you'll be fine.
 
Man finally sent this secondary in. I got so swamped, hopefully I'm not totally on the bottom of the pile for submitting this late in the game... err, is this late in the game? I honestly can't tell.
 
Man finally sent this secondary in. I got so swamped, hopefully I'm not totally on the bottom of the pile for submitting this late in the game... err, is this late in the game? I honestly can't tell.

only on SDN
 
only on SDN
lol seriously, i know like 10 people applying this year, all of them either havnt even submitted their amcas or are waiting for mcat scores which wont be out till august. Not one is even verified yet. Remember normal people arent like those on sdn :laugh:
 
lol seriously, i know like 10 people applying this year, all of them either havnt even submitted their amcas or are waiting for mcat scores which wont be out till august. Not one is even verified yet. Remember normal people arent like those on sdn :laugh:

You laugh, but timing certainly has an impact. Not submitting until August isn't going to give them an advantage, that's for sure.
 
zip - do you see any point at all (ie any advantage incurred) to submitting my secondary now, if I know my LORs won't be sent until after Aug 4th, when I get my mcat results?
 
lol seriously, i know like 10 people applying this year, all of them either havnt even submitted their amcas or are waiting for mcat scores which wont be out till august. Not one is even verified yet. Remember normal people arent like those on sdn :laugh:

I submitted my AMCAS like a week after it opened for submissions and I was feelin behind. Then I talked to a guy friend who said he hadn't started his essay nor had he gotten any rec letters yet.
Whenever SDN makes me feel all:scared:, I just go talk to that guy about his progress and feel much better. haha
 
Just to follow up, there was a glitch in the system but I'm getting my secondary.
 
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zip - do you see any point at all (ie any advantage incurred) to submitting my secondary now, if I know my LORs won't be sent until after Aug 4th, when I get my mcat results?

Not really, no. You can take some extra time to hone your responses. 🙂
 
now that koko got the ap (or will, rather), has anyone else gotten just the status check page and not the secondary? i'm hoping it's still because no mcat scores. gosh, that mcat thing is killing me... (metaphorically speaking, of course)
 
amcas officially has my LORs and of course now I'm obsessively checking the status page waiting for that wonderful "complete" status
 
they got mine today. Status is "Sufficient Recommendations Received"... what does that mean? complete?

It means they have your letters, and if that is all that was outstanding, then, yes, you are complete.

Next, a new link will appear at the bottom that will take you to a new status page. This happened several days after receiving the "sufficient" notice on my application.
 
It means they have your letters, and if that is all that was outstanding, then, yes, you are complete.

Next, a new link will appear at the bottom that will take you to a new status page. This happened several days after receiving the "sufficient" notice on my application.
Thanks. You are a big help to me at the moment.
 
Current Status: APPLICANT IN PROCESS

Anyone else get this? What does it mean?
 
Also, there is a status check phone number that lists only Thursdays as open. But I'm impatient and want to know now, so would it be a good idea to call the general number? Argh. My nerves!
 
Current Status: APPLICANT IN PROCESS

Anyone else get this? What does it mean?
I have it, no idea what it means though, zip any idea? Does this mean we are complete? Or they are reviewing us to make sure we are complete?
 
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