2009-2010 University of Illinois (UIC) Application Thread

[wahoo2010]

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Ok. Cool. Hey mybubbles, when you got the acceptance letter, were there other forms with it? How do we pick a specific track (Chicago, Urbana, Rockford, etc.)?

 

[mybubbles14]

Ok. Cool. Hey mybubbles, when you got the acceptance letter, were there other forms with it? How do we pick a specific track (Chicago, Urbana, Rockford, etc.)?

yeah there a few forms and other paperwork for you to read...you have to return the site preference card and some other acceptance forms immediately w/ a refundable deposit for $100. Your immunization forms are in there too but those aren't due right away. On the site preference card you rank your campus choice and you will probably receive confirmation of which campus you have been assigned w/n 2 weeks or so.

 

[Fuzz]

Does anyone happen to know the name of the Dean or head of Medical admissions for uic? I can't seem to find it on the website

 

[QuinnWatson]

Dean Flaherty, I believe.

 

[Fuzz]

Dean Flaherty, I believe.

I think he is the dean of the college of medicine. i was looking for the dean or head of medical admissions, if there is one

 

[ruiner]

Still applicant in process, 3+ months 🙂

 

[amine2086]

Does anyone happen to know the name of the Dean or head of Medical admissions for uic? I can't seem to find it on the website

I believe Dr. Jeorge Girotti is the Director of Medical Admissions.

 

[drseuss13]

Man still "application in process" after 2.5 months. I seriously think my status page is broken.

What is the link to the status page? I keep checking my secondary page but they don't have any status updates there

 

[calimed214]

What is the link to the status page? I keep checking my secondary page but they don't have any status updates there

Click "Next" at the bottom of ur secondary page. That's ur status page.

 

[docdocgooose]

does anyone have a date next to "additional correspondence"? should there be? does this mean nothing has actually been sent yet?

 

[womp]

Dude I got the exact same message (pre-interview, too). This doesn't make any ****ing sense- I'm 3.9, 31S, in-state, and we've got similar ec's.

Surely we can't be rejected. I thought we were over-qualified for our state school?!

Um, 31 is average for UIC, hardly over-qualified.

 

[mybubbles14]

Docdocgoose...a date should show up soon I don't think it is always there right away (I feel like I read that in last year's thread). You should all receive something in the mail this week!

I believe Dr. Jeorge Girotti is the Director of Medical Admissions.

+1 👍 Associate Dean for Admissions it says..

Um, 31 is average for UIC, hardly over-qualified.

touche womp...this isn't like applying to undergrad where I'm sure we all felt pretty confident we knew which schools we'd get in.

 

[hawaii]

I just wanted to let the people who received the "Final Decision Made" screen pre-interview know that I know of two people who got an acceptance form U of I without an interview last year. If you are an Illinois resident and participated in the Rural Illinois Medical Student Assistance Program (RIMSAP), U of I may have used the interview from this program as your school interview.

 

[elizalandry]

does anyone have a date next to "additional correspondence"? should there be? does this mean nothing has actually been sent yet?

i dont have a date either. i hope that's ok.

 

[MacBookMD]

got this on my applicant status page:
A final decision was made on your application on 11-23-09. Please allow two-weeks to receive the correspondence in the mail. If you do not receive this correspondence in two-weeks, please contact the Admissions Office. No decision will be given over the telephone.

I am guessing that is a solid rejection seeing as how i have not interviewed.

o well...did always want to be in downtown chicago. still have rush

 

[Caesar]

Yeah I got this too. Really UIC? You rejected me?! This is an error right?

 

[red10]

Who knows what is up with UIC this year. Maybe they've shifted what they're looking for or something? I've been rejected or put on hold at plenty of schools and normally I'm like "o ok, well i guess they look for something different" but with UIC I actually thought I knew what I was doing and thought my essays were baller. Even my adviser told me I was exactly where i needed to be so who knows.

I spoke with a family friend who said UIC is horribly unorganized with this whole process. When she went through a couple years ago she got a letter saying she was accepted to RMED and then a week later got a letter saying she was rejected from RMED. Both were addressed to her. She said that she had to keep calling them and really keep on top of them to get anything answered regarding her file.

 

[housefish26]

Would either of you mind posting when you went to "Applicant in Progress"?

 

[momotea]

Um, 31 is average for UIC, hardly over-qualified.

The average is lower than that. You should refer to ZipMedic's post at the beginning of the thread. Dr. Girotti gave the profile for the incoming class at last summer's white coat ceremony...the average MCAT score was a 9.8 and 3.6 cumulative gpa.....

With that said, I'm incredibly disappointed with my pre-interview decision. I thought I'd at least get an interview 🙁 I'm OOS but did my undergrad here and loved it. But it could always be worse...at least I know about their decision right away rather than dragging the suspense until the end of May

Good luck to those who are still pending a decision! hope you all have better luck than me 🙂

 

[deleted273248]

For those of you guys with pre-interview rejections, did you have the "Additional Correspondence" tab at the top of the page? That said, best of luck with the rest of the app process.

 

[red10]

Would either of you mind posting when you went to "Applicant in Progress"?

I was complete in July I think, went to "Applicant" for about 2 weeks in September maybe? And then back to application where I stayed until "final decision made."

I have no additional correspondences tab.

 

[womp]

The average is lower than that. You should refer to ZipMedic's post at the beginning of the thread. Dr. Girotti gave the profile for the incoming class at last summer's white coat ceremony...the average MCAT score was a 9.8 and 3.6 cumulative gpa.....

With that said, I'm incredibly disappointed with my pre-interview decision. I thought I'd at least get an interview 🙁 I'm OOS but did my undergrad here and loved it. But it could always be worse...at least I know about their decision right away rather than dragging the suspense until the end of May

Good luck to those who are still pending a decision! hope you all have better luck than me 🙂

I'm pretty sure the MSAR this year had UIC with a 31 MCAT median for accepted students. The actual matriculated numbers are probably a little bit lower.

Each year is different, it's possible this year was more competitive than the last. When I interviewed at UIC in October, three of us in the lounge were talking about our MCAT scores, and we all had a 34 or higher. Obviously small sample, but it just goes to show how competitive the interviewees can be. It's like college, just because your SAT hits the average of admitted students, doesn't mean you will necessarily get in. Although no interview with a 31 and 3.9 is pretty harsh and I'm a little surprised too.

Best of luck on the rest of your schools. Maybe UIC had a computer glitch.

 

[determined1985]

Maybe UIC had a computer glitch.

Hahahahah although I am way under the avg gpa and under the avg MCAT, I was totally hoping the Pre-Interview "Final Decision Made" message was a computer glitch!! Hahahahah Goodluck everyone!!

 

[MaryLennox]

Each year is different, it's possible this year was more competitive than the last. When I interviewed at UIC in October, three of us in the lounge were talking about our MCAT scores, and we all had a 34 or higher. Obviously small sample, but it just goes to show how competitive the interviewees can be. It's like college, just because your SAT hits the average of admitted students, doesn't mean you will necessarily get in. Although no interview with a 31 and 3.9 is pretty harsh and I'm a little surprised too.

Did you interview the same day as me?? 🙂

I think you're right . . . and I forgot who said it, probably Zip, but about how even after the interview they re-assess your numbers. Because I felt like my interviews went really well and now I think I am about to get one of those "we haven't made a decision yet" emails. i think my MCAT is getting my foot in the door, but my GPA is keeping the other foot out. it's frustrating, and i think that's also why i am still in limbo at more than half the schools i applied to.

at least i have one though, so i can continue to breathe. ::sigh::

 

[womp]

Did you interview the same day as me?? 🙂

I think you're right . . . and I forgot who said it, probably Zip, but about how even after the interview they re-assess your numbers. Because I felt like my interviews went really well and now I think I am about to get one of those "we haven't made a decision yet" emails. i think my MCAT is getting my foot in the door, but my GPA is keeping the other foot out. it's frustrating, and i think that's also why i am still in limbo at more than half the schools i applied to.

at least i have one though, so i can continue to breathe. ::sigh::

I'm sorry about your decision.🙁 I interviewed 1-2 weeks before you, and my group had a 34, 35 and 38. Hope you'll hear good news from them again after the new year. You have a 36 MCAT! That should count for something...

 

[kaalu1987]

So I received a Pre-interview rejection from UIC with the Final Decision made on 11-23-09 deal without a additional correspondence tab. My MCAT was 35N and 3.67cGPA. I have also done volunteering and clinical research for more than 100 hrs each. I said it before and I'll say it again.... After looking at that message, I'm completely dumbfounded.

If it weren't for getting accepted at CCOM already, I would be going nuts since I haven't received an interview at Rush or Loyola either.

Oh well, Good luck to the rest of you guys.

 

[womp]

So I received a Pre-interview rejection from UIC with the Final Decision made on 11-23-09 deal without a additional correspondence tab. My MCAT was 35N and 3.67cGPA. I have also done volunteering and clinical research for more than 100 hrs each. I said it before and I'll say it again.... After looking at that message, I'm completely dumbfounded.

If it weren't for getting accepted at CCOM already, I would be going nuts since I haven't received an interview at Rush or Loyola either.

Oh well, Good luck to the rest of you guys.

Wow. Was your MCAT score balanced? Did you have any section under 10?

 

[kaalu1987]

Nope. I had B:12, P:12 and V:11. God knows what happened. I guess UIC is not in my future

 

[mybubbles14]

So I received a Pre-interview rejection from UIC with the Final Decision made on 11-23-09 deal without a additional correspondence tab. My MCAT was 35N and 3.67cGPA. I have also done volunteering and clinical research for more than 100 hrs each. I said it before and I'll say it again.... After looking at that message, I'm completely dumbfounded.

If it weren't for getting accepted at CCOM already, I would be going nuts since I haven't received an interview at Rush or Loyola either.

Oh well, Good luck to the rest of you guys.

Wow...sorry to hear about that, but congrats on your other acceptance and good luck to you with the rest of the application cycle. This just goes to show you never REALLY know what a school is looking for (or thinking) sometimes. There are a couple of schools that I was complete at REALLY early that I am surprised to not have heard a word from good or bad, but I guess that is just the nature of the beast. 🙁 Applicants get more competitive every year, I wonder what the applicant pool will be like by the time we graduate...

 

[womp]

Applicants get more competitive every year, I wonder what the applicant pool will be like by the time we graduate...

Depends on how health care reform goes. I think during the HMO boom, applications dropped sharply, and only started picking back up in the mid-90s.

 

[mybubbles14]

Depends on how health care reform goes. I think during the HMO boom, applications dropped sharply, and only started picking back up in the mid-90s.

good point.

Have you submitted your transcripts yet? I requested that mine be sent awhile ago and I'm not sure if my school just hasn't done it or if UIC hasn't updated my status page yet.

 

[taciturngirl]

.

 

[mybubbles14]

Hmm, interesting how people are noticing the high MCAT scores at the interviews here. I interviewed recently with a small group in Peoria, and I can assure you that at least three of the interviewees had MCAT scores of 36+. So there does seem to be some discrepancy between people's expectations and the stats of the interviewees.

I don't know if this makes things clearer, but the Dean said UIC is trying to increase its proportion of in-state to out-of-state applicants for this cycle - meaning that it's now harder for out-of-staters to get in. I don't know if this will be borne out in the final admissions data for this cycle, but this is what they're saying.

That could explain why it seems most people w/ acceptances so far are IS. From recent numbers it looked like both IS and OOS had similar chances of acceptances once they got to the interview. I know there were a few OOS on my interview day (at least 3 that I spoke with but could've been more) It doesn't seem like many OOS have decisions yet. My best friend (OOS) interviewed early and is still "decision pending". Although if that is true you would think they would interview more IS...but it seems like a lot of decent IS applicants are getting pre-interview rejections. 😕

Did they say why they were looking to increase the proportion of IS to OOS?

 

[MaryLennox]

That could explain why it seems most people w/ acceptances so far are IS. From recent numbers it looked like both IS and OOS had similar chances of acceptances once they got to the interview. I know there were a few OOS on my interview day (at least 3 that I spoke with but could've been more) It doesn't seem like many OOS have decisions yet. My best friend (OOS) interviewed early and is still "decision pending". Although if that is true you would think they would interview more IS...but it seems like a lot of decent IS applicants are getting pre-interview rejections. 😕

Did they say why they were looking to increase the proportion of IS to OOS?

well i have a 36 and i am instate. 🙁

oh well. forget it. my Rush interview is coming up and i am going to kick its ass for all it's worth.

 

[taciturngirl]

That could explain why it seems most people w/ acceptances so far are IS. From recent numbers it looked like both IS and OOS had similar chances of acceptances once they got to the interview. I know there were a few OOS on my interview day (at least 3 that I spoke with but could've been more) It doesn't seem like many OOS have decisions yet. My best friend (OOS) interviewed early and is still "decision pending". Although if that is true you would think they would interview more IS...but it seems like a lot of decent IS applicants are getting pre-interview rejections. 😕

Did they say why they were looking to increase the proportion of IS to OOS?

I'm definitely not sure, but I would imagine it's a state funding issue. I don't know too much about it, but I think I read that the amount of financial support offered by any state to a public medical school within that state is dependent on the school's # of IS matriculants. It's also interesting that she also said, very closely preceding or following her statement about IS vs OS proportions, that UIC gets a very small fraction of its financial support from the state of Illinois.

 

[calimed214]

I was really hoping to get an interview here but after reading how many of you IS people with fabulous stats have been rejected, I really have no shot. 🙂

 

[mybubbles14]

I'm definitely not sure, but I would imagine it's a state funding issue. I don't know too much about it, but I think I read that the amount of financial support offered by any state to a public medical school within that state is dependent on the school's # of IS matriculants. It's also interesting that she also said, very closely preceding or following her statement about IS vs OS proportions, that UIC gets a very small fraction of its financial support from the state of Illinois.

yeah i remember being told it was so expensive because they get the same state funding as SIU and obviously have waaaaay more students...

So much for having two state schools when one is known for not accepting many IS from the north 🙄

 

[hawaii]

I was really hoping to get an interview here but after reading how many of you IS people with fabulous stats have been rejected, I really have no shot. 🙂

Not everyone who has gotten interviews (and what I hope is an acceptance) has amazing MCAT scores and very high GPAs. My GPA is above their average, but my MCAT is way below their average. It is not all based on scores. I am definitely a testament to that.

 

[wahoo2010]

Not everyone who has gotten interviews (and what I hope is an acceptance) has amazing MCAT scores and very high GPAs. My GPA is above their average, but my MCAT is way below their average. It is not all based on scores. I am definitely a testament to that.

Same here.

Plus, I can't imagine you guys sharing your MCAT scores on interview day! How did you bring that up in your conversation? I'm so glad I wasn't in your group. 👍

 

[taciturngirl]

Same here.

Plus, I can't imagine you guys sharing your MCAT scores on interview day! How did you bring that up in your conversation? I'm so glad I wasn't in your group. 👍

Yeah, I tried really hard to stay away from all of that. I'm not sure how it came up for those who discussed it, but it did.

 

[He2]

all it takes is for that one dude.....

and usually 3-4 ppl with high scores to talk about it

 

[imcanadaian]

i've been "applicant in process" since forever--at least 2, 3 months with no change.

OOS, what's going onnnn i hate waiting 🙁

 

[QuinnWatson]

I was really hoping to get an interview here but after reading how many of you IS people with fabulous stats have been rejected, I really have no shot. 🙂

Seriously, though. I know someone who just got accepted to UIC. She scored a 7, then a 5 on the VR section of the MCAT. Granted, she managed to do fairly well on the other sections, but it just goes to show that MCAT scores aren't everything (thank God acceptances aren't based on one test)!

 

[QuinnWatson]

Also, mybubbles, I noticed that you were trying to send your transcripts over. Hmm ... I am kinda confused. Have you graduated already? I thought we were only supposed to send those over after we graduated so that they can cofirm that we got our degree at scored at least a C grade in each class ... right?

 

[ruiner]

i've been "applicant in process" since forever--at least 2, 3 months with no change.

OOS, what's going onnnn i hate waiting 🙁

I'm right there with you. For sure applicant...not application. At least now I know there's someone else in the same boat.

 

[mybubbles14]

Also, mybubbles, I noticed that you were trying to send your transcripts over. Hmm ... I am kinda confused. Have you graduated already? I thought we were only supposed to send those over after we graduated so that they can cofirm that we got our degree at scored at least a C grade in each class ... right?

Yeah, I graduated this past May. I'm not sure what my school's policy is on submitting transcripts so I'm trying to get my free allotment in while I still can. 😀 I requested that they send it through our online system, but I'm not sure if I have to do something more formal since I have graduated and perhaps it isn't that simple/free anymore.

 

[womp]

Did UIC reject this many people pre-interview so early last year? I don't remember reading about it from last year's thread. Seems harsh on people with 30s and 3.5+. I always thought UIC was one of those schools that dragged people along until May.

 

[mybubbles14]

Did UIC reject this many people pre-interview so early last year? I don't remember reading about it from last year's thread. Seems harsh on people with 30s and 3.5+. I always thought UIC was one of those schools that dragged people along until May.

I don't remember seeing this many...I thought they just kept you in limbo forever until your fate was obvious.

 

[LittleBun]

I'm right there with you. For sure applicant...not application. At least now I know there's someone else in the same boat.

Yep, same here. "ApplicaNT in process." I called about 3 weeks ago, and the woman at the admissions office said that it was still with the admissions committee, being reviewed. She couldn't give me more information than that. So...yay for waiting. 👍

Hopefully, we'll hear soon. I read somewhere on this thread that they review applications every 3rd Thursday of the month? Seems like people heard something on the 23rd? But since my status hasn't changed, maybe my app is just stuck....🙄

 

[calimed214]

Yep, same here. "ApplicaNT in process." I called about 3 weeks ago, and the woman at the admissions office said that it was still with the admissions committee, being reviewed. She couldn't give me more information than that. So...yay for waiting. 👍

Hopefully, we'll hear soon. I read somewhere on this thread that they review applications every 3rd Thursday of the month? Seems like people heard something on the 23rd? But since my status hasn't changed, maybe my app is just stuck....🙄

Does it help to call? The person answering will actually tell u if ur file has been reviewed? Cuz I've been "ApplicaTION in process" for FOREVER.