Look guys, everyone is always trying to figure out UofU admissions process when in reality there is not much to figure out.
Here is the bottom line (from a medical student's perspective)- UofU will let you know as soon as they know. Think of the applicant pool as 3 parts.
#1- The Gotta Have 'Em - They offer admission to these students after a single look at their application. Naturally, these are the applicants that they see as being the most well rounded and apt to succeed in their medical school. These applicants are likely to have great GPA, MCAT, excelled in all the other 6 areas of ECs and interviewed well. These applicants will often receive correspondence between Nov - Jan.
#2- The Thanks for Applying Group - These are the students that get the rejection after a single look. This is a mixed batch of applicants. These students may be stellar in one or more of the 8 required areas, but were deficient in the rest or did not interview well. The 40+ MCAT scores that end up with rejections typically fall into this arena. Great scores, but can't talk themselves out of a wet paper bag during the interview, arrogant, etc. Interviewers have likely done this many times and recognize the odor of s*** when they smell it, so they get the rejection. Unfortunately though, there are some pretty stellar applicants in this pool, but because of the way the admissions process is set up with the 8 separate areas of focus they don't gain admission due to some deficiencies in those areas. These applicants will likely receive rejection letters between Nov - Feb, depending on when they interviewed.They will likely gain acceptance into another school however. Also, from this group are the applicants who are all around less qualified but met the minimum requirements for an interview. Again, as soon as the admissions committee knows they won't be offering a position to the applicant the letter goes out.
#3- The Prayers, Waiters, Hopefuls - Probably the larger of the three groups. These are the applicants who are strong --> above avg. in the majority of the 8 areas. From experience, looking and speaking with classmates, etc, it seems as though these are the probably strong in ~5-6 of the 8 areas of focus during the admissions process and avg in ~2-3 of the 8. These are the students that could essentially go either way, but in order for the committee to make a decision between all these applicants they want to see them all first, so they can make a proper comparison between this group and come up with their final list. From this group come the applicants that make up the average students in the group (i.e. 30 MCAT, 3.6GPA, etc), from this group also come the mind bogglers (i.e. 25-26 MCAT, or <3.5GPA, etc). Although, it does seem however that these students are few, and have excelled in all other areas considered by the committe. This group will likely receive correspondence (acceptance, rejection, or waitlist) in March-April.
So, in summary. You will find out as soon as they know. Whether accepted or rejected they send out the letters once they have decided. The question is; which group are you? If you haven't heard yet then statistically your chances of acceptance are increasing. By far the vast majority of acceptances will not be given until March-April. If you get a letter between now and then.....well, 9:1 odds that it will be a rejection.
Idaho students, it seems as though almost all, 90-95% (i.e. all but 1 or 2) will receive correspondence in March - Apr, due to the fact that there are so few Idaho positions and they will want to see all applicants before they make any final decisions.
Good Luck to you all. Hang in there for those who are still waiting. For those holding the coveted acceptance. Strong work. You will love it!
sCoOtDoC, mS3