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2009-2010 University of Maryland Application Thread
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I can assure you that you wont have to worry about either (although legitimate concerns). Although having letter grades is a little obnoxious since almost no one else does them, its actually not that different. Reason being? Almost no one cares about your pre-clinical grades unless you are applying to very competitive specialties, or very competitive programs within a specialty. During my interviews in the specialty that I'm applying, I've had the fortune of going to some highly competitive programs. I didn't do that great during MS1/2, so I got some comments on them, especially in the context of "you did well on step 1/2, whats the discrepancy?" I kind of chuckled because relative to my class, I dont think I did especially well on anything. However, I could tell they didnt care because they would then say stuff like "well, you passed everything the first time, so I dont really care, I was just curious" or "your letter writers have said great things about you, so I'm not really concerned with it". Another thing, if the grading system actually hurt me, I wouldnt have been granted an interview at any of those places!
Also, H/A/B/C/D/F vs H/HP/P/LP/F seem remarkably similar, huh? Even schools with strict P/F still record your grades and put you in a top quartile/third/half of every class at each school and report this to residency programs when you are interviewing. So no matter what school you go to, you'll be measured against everyone else, somehow.
From my class (and im sure for everyone else in the school), I felt NO competition in the pre-clinical years. There are no curves, so you dont get that global sense of "I have to do better than everyone else" because everyone can get an A if they score >89.5%. So I would be far more cautious of schools that run on a curve if you are worried about that.
Oh, and the ghetto of West Baltimore right across MLK? I wouldnt worry about it too much. Immediately across MLK is fine, it only gets bad if you go a few blocks in. That and most of the Baltimore natives are smart enough not to actually hurt any students, since they know the cops will get them before they get back home, wherever that is. Thats not to say classmates havent been mugged, it has happened, just be smart and give up the wallet and they'll keep moving. Just do things that are smart like dont walk alone and night by yourself and make sure you are aware of your surroundings at night (including behind you!), walk in well lit areas, dont venture into bad neighborhoods, be cautious about opening the door for strangers, etc. Oh, and when you get your white coat, Id suggest not walking around with it on. People will assume youre a doctor and dont get that "short coat = medical student = poor". Its easy from our standpoint since we dont think we are anything much, but its taken the greater part of 4 years for me to realize that the low-income Baltimore native thinks we are kind of a big deal with that coat on. Use those street smarts and you'll be fine, most of us have never had a problem in Baltimore.
Best of luck!
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Post interview hold here.
Interviewed 12/14, OOS applicant
An acceptance here would be nice, I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this school when I inerviewed.
Good luck to everybody still playing the waiting game...I'm still with ya!
Interviewed 12/14, OOS applicant
An acceptance here would be nice, I was very pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this school when I inerviewed.
Good luck to everybody still playing the waiting game...I'm still with ya!
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amen, I've become quite proficient at waiting so if any of you all need any tips feel free to ask haha.
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Interviewed mid December, just got my acceptance in the mail! 🙂
I can assure you that you wont have to worry about either (although legitimate concerns). Although having letter grades is a little obnoxious since almost no one else does them, its actually not that different. Reason being? Almost no one cares about your pre-clinical grades unless you are applying to very competitive specialties, or very competitive programs within a specialty. During my interviews in the specialty that I'm applying, I've had the fortune of going to some highly competitive programs. I didn't do that great during MS1/2, so I got some comments on them, especially in the context of "you did well on step 1/2, whats the discrepancy?" I kind of chuckled because relative to my class, I dont think I did especially well on anything. However, I could tell they didnt care because they would then say stuff like "well, you passed everything the first time, so I dont really care, I was just curious" or "your letter writers have said great things about you, so I'm not really concerned with it". Another thing, if the grading system actually hurt me, I wouldnt have been granted an interview at any of those places!
Also, H/A/B/C/D/F vs H/HP/P/LP/F seem remarkably similar, huh? Even schools with strict P/F still record your grades and put you in a top quartile/third/half of every class at each school and report this to residency programs when you are interviewing. So no matter what school you go to, you'll be measured against everyone else, somehow.
From my class (and im sure for everyone else in the school), I felt NO competition in the pre-clinical years. There are no curves, so you dont get that global sense of "I have to do better than everyone else" because everyone can get an A if they score >89.5%. So I would be far more cautious of schools that run on a curve if you are worried about that.
Oh, and the ghetto of West Baltimore right across MLK? I wouldnt worry about it too much. Immediately across MLK is fine, it only gets bad if you go a few blocks in. That and most of the Baltimore natives are smart enough not to actually hurt any students, since they know the cops will get them before they get back home, wherever that is. Thats not to say classmates havent been mugged, it has happened, just be smart and give up the wallet and they'll keep moving. Just do things that are smart like dont walk alone and night by yourself and make sure you are aware of your surroundings at night (including behind you!), walk in well lit areas, dont venture into bad neighborhoods, be cautious about opening the door for strangers, etc. Oh, and when you get your white coat, Id suggest not walking around with it on. People will assume youre a doctor and dont get that "short coat = medical student = poor". Its easy from our standpoint since we dont think we are anything much, but its taken the greater part of 4 years for me to realize that the low-income Baltimore native thinks we are kind of a big deal with that coat on. Use those street smarts and you'll be fine, most of us have never had a problem in Baltimore.
Best of luck!
Hey, thanks so much for the first hand info! I will definitely take everything into consideration when deciding what school to go to. I haven't gotten an acceptance yet so we'll see. If I like the school enough, location, finaid etc. then I won't let the grades hold me back. All of the schools I interviewed at have iffy areas around them so it doesn't matter too much which one I go to based on that I guess. Hope you don't mind if I message you if I have any questions? 🙂
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So has anyone who was put on a pre-interview hold actually heard back from them? I don't know if I should call to check my status/send updates or what. I've been on hold for monthes now and I know they said hearing a final decision about getting an interview or getting rejected could take a while, but don't they get done interviewing in the near future?
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some schools let you know about scholarships before the financial aid stuff is done. I think this is separate from financial aid packages they are going to calculate.(btw, sent by mail from the Dean)
Does anyone know how long interviews go until? Is it February or do they interview in March too? My interview got postponed because of the weather and I'm really concerned that most acceptances may have already been given out. It looks like I'll be interviewing mid to late Feb. I'm IS.
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Hey Guys,
I was complete mid october and literally two weeks later I was put on "pre-interview hold"
As an instate applicant with my heart SET on maryland, I was CRUSHED cuz I loved the programs and really wanted to go there. I asked my pre-med advisor what to do, his motto is to keep lines of open communication, when a med school gives you a status update, you reply back to them with something so I did send an update letter (pretty much pouring my heart out about why I wanted to go to UMD)
Eventually I got an interview somewhere else and slowly coped with the fact that i might not have a chance at UMD... having applied late (b/c of a family emergency) I felt that I needed to face the facts.
BUT - after a lot of praying - I received an interview invite a week ago for March!! I was ecstatic and obviously am going to attend the interview, I've heard awesome things about UMD and i've met Foxwell when he spoke at my school and he seems like a really involved Dean which I really liked so I'm so excited to interview and at least have had a CHANCE.
so don't give up hope, talk to your advisor about whether you should contact them or not, if you've already contacted them a few times i wouldn't bother them but if you haven't shown interest other than your application perhaps now is the time to send them something?
anyways, for anyone in the same situation as me (I applied sorta late and sent in most secondaries in October so I haven't heard from many places yet...)
Hope for the Best, but Prepare for the Worst! You don't want history to repeat itself... be prepared now for the next cycle so that you can be one of the early applicants thats in before October 15... thats gotta be the best feeling ever!! 😉
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Interviews are held through the end of March.
If its any consolation, I was accepted after a late Feb/early March interview. Of course that was 4 years ago, but my impression is that things have not changed much. Maryland is still interviewing with acceptances to hand out, not just waitlist spots.
Thanks so much for replying! That makes me feel much better!
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Has the blizzard of 2010 been stalling the admissions committee? I interviewed roughly a month ago and I am still waiting to hear back... Any other folks from January interviews heard anything?
Students at UMB- is it bad to call their admissions office, whenever the school opens back up?
Thanks!
Students at UMB- is it bad to call their admissions office, whenever the school opens back up?
Thanks!
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I have no first-hand knowledge of the operations of the admissions operating during the blizzard. However, applying some logic and common sense and the following information should pretty much tell you if the blizzard has "stalled" the admissions committee:
1) The campus has been closed all week. Thus, all non-patient related activities have basically ceased.
2) Hospital staff have been LIVING in the hospital and nearby hotels because under Baltimore City's Phase III Snow Emergency, it is ILLEGAL for non-emergency vehicles to be on the streets. Literally people were not able to get to work and those at work were not able to leave, both because it wasn't safe and because patients still need care despite the weather. Thus, anyone on the admissions committee was either stuck at home or stuck in the hospital providing patient care. We're back to Phase II now, which just means you can be cited by police for driving without chains, all-weathers, or snow tires. So things should start to get back to normal, but this was a serious event that will cause some ripples in regularly scheduled activities for awhile.
3) When campus DOES open back up, you can safely assume nothing will have been accomplished while it was closed.
Therefore, IMHO, you CAN call the Admissions Office once campus reopens, but it is HIGHLY unlikely you'll get any new information because no one has been around for a week. I'm sure there will be people calling but after being only 1 month out from your interview, I strongly suggest you just continue to wait patiently. The city basically ground to a halt for the past week. You should definitely assume this will put the Admissions Office back a week or more, especially since they had to reschedule at least 2 days of interviews.
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Congrats! Hopefully I will be joining you in the not too distant future. When did you interview?
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Woohoo! Found out I got an interview invite for 3/8. IS on hold since Nov or Dec...
And then my kitten diarrhea'ed on my bed... I'm not sure if this is a good or bad day.
And then my kitten diarrhea'ed on my bed... I'm not sure if this is a good or bad day.
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anyone know the last day for an interview invite? and the last day to interview?
Thanks and Best of Luck!
Thanks and Best of Luck!
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Late to the party here, but had a question for the rest of you. I received my interview invite sometime in the first week of December for March 1st. Does this strike anyone else as odd? I mean... offering an interview 3 months away???
Also, I have lived in Maryland for a few years now (working, not school) and they do not want to consider me a resident. Has anyone else tried to appeal the residency decision? The paperwork they gave me seemed very long and daunting....
Also, I have lived in Maryland for a few years now (working, not school) and they do not want to consider me a resident. Has anyone else tried to appeal the residency decision? The paperwork they gave me seemed very long and daunting....
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Great post.If you have laundry in your house/apartment, it's a good day. If you have to bring it elsewhere, maybe not so much.
Congrats on the interview!
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No. This is typical of the later interview dates.
Also, I have lived in Maryland for a few years now (working, not school) and they do not want to consider me a resident. Has anyone else tried to appeal the residency decision? The paperwork they gave me seemed very long and daunting....[/QUOTE]
I have a few (very few) classmates who have managed to get their residency switched to MD after starting school. Typically this meant buying a house (obviously with help from family).
If you've been working here, there must be something else that kept them from declaring you in-state. Do you have a MD driver's license, have your car registered here, have you paid taxes here? These are some big things they look at.
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My car is registered in another state, but I have only paid taxes here. I left my car registered with my permanent address because car insurance/registration here is soooo expensive! Maybe that is the problem?
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Definitely part of it. If you're living here and working here, I don't know why here isn't your permanent address. Get EVERYTHING (registration, license, etc) changed to MD and you'll have a better chance. Having a permanent address in another state says "hey, I'm not here permanently."
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just received a 15,000 dollar a year scholarship from the school. Kinda weird, felt like they weren't really that into me compared to some other schools I interviewed at.
Boy was I wrong.
Is maryland very competitive with scholarships? What does it take to get one? Are they looking for anything special?
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Well, it's a little more complicated than that. Apparently my car has a catalytic converter than the state of Maryland doesn't approve of, therefore I cannot register it here without replacing a perfectly good (and expensive) part on my car, or getting a different car. That seemed a little silly, knowing that there is only a small chance I would be staying here. Guess I'll just be applying as OOS for now and hope that I can change it later if this is where I end up. Just kind of frustrating that my car is standing in the way of my residency standing though.
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Ah. Well unfortunately, it does seem like you're stuck. The Maryland inspection IS a huge pain in the rear for residents - more strict than any other state I've lived in. On the plus side, you only have to do it once. There are no yearly renewals. I'm guessing maybe you have an older car without a converter or one that has been modified from stock? AFAIK, the inspection just consists of a visual inspection of the catalytic converter to confirm its presence and also confirm it is hooked up properly. http://www.mdstateinspectionstation.com/what's_inspected_on_your_car.htm
Unfortunately, as one of the missions of UMB is to train doctors for the state of Maryland, they want to be sure that people who are applying as IS actually consider themselves residents and thus they have a lot of requirements to prove residency. I think you have a good shot at getting switched to IS if you matriculate. Your problem before then is going to be the fact that it is harder to get accepted OOS. But you've received an interview so that's the first hurdle cleared. Good luck!
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Do you mind sharing when you interviewed? I am anxiously waiting to hear back post-interview
1/13
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Just got an accepptance letter today postmarked Feb 23. I'm out of state and interviewed on 1/25.
Congrats!! I'm out of state and interviewed the same day! Maybe I saw you? I guess I'll hear soon! *fingers crossed* Will you be going to maryland this fall?
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Thanks!! Were you the person from California? I think there were only three of us out of state applicants that day. I'm still not sure where I'll end up at this point...depends a lot on financial aid. Hope you get really good news soon from maryland!
Yup, I'm from Cali. 🙂 Where are you from?
-Got the mail today- on hold. 🙁 They said I can send update letters but I'm not sure I want to beg for an acceptance. I already have on at a good school and if maryland doesn't really want me...
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Just got accepted 🙂 I'm Out of State, Interviewed on 1/20. Letter was dated 2/23 and came in the mail on 2/25.
Good luck to everyone. Go Terps!
Good luck to everyone. Go Terps!
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Unfortunately for our soon to be alma mater I will be giving them 0 dollars and 0 cents for the rest of my natural born life when I get calls for donations because of their ridiculous rules for IS tuition considerations, despite living here, working here, paying Maryland state taxes and following all the rules they wanted you to follow to before paying IS tuition rates for the past 8 years. The first call soliciting money from me will likely follow requests that UMB proper to some pretty nasty things to me of a sexual nature, if you catch my drift. No, I'm not bitter about still taking loans out at OOS rates
It is definitely possible to get converted from IS to OOS, and I think most people have managed to, probably everyone except me. So I would try to get into UMD first, then worry about tuition, since although not ideal, you could just pay OOS tuition for a semester, then get it changed the 2nd semester your 1st year
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is post interview hold the same thing as a waitlist?
just wondering cuz i'm interviewing soon, just want to know if there are 3 outcomes or 4 (accept, reject, waitlist, hold or is hold the same as waitlist?)
"Those applicants invited to interview will receive, in writing, one of three decisions from the Committee on Admissions: Accept, Reject or Hold. Applicants who are offered an acceptance will have three weeks to respond to that offer. An individual wishing to hold a seat in the next incoming freshman class must return a non-binding contract to the Office of Admissions. A deposit to hold a seat in the class is not required. Individuals who are placed on hold will have their application reviewed at a future date, either to be accepted, rejected or wait listed. Students may write to the Associate Dean of Admissions at any time during the application process if there are significant concerns or questions to be answered. Those students who have been rejected are urged to follow-up with their pre-medical advisor." -http://medschool.umaryland.edu/Admissions/AppProcess.asp
Wait list is just a second-round version of Hold, I think.
Wait list is just a second-round version of Hold, I think.
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2 questions up for grabs:
1. Does MD have a second look day?
2. Does MD have a simulation center?
1. Does MD have a second look day?
2. Does MD have a simulation center?
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