2009-2010 University of Virginia Application Thread

[flip26]

Crap, this probably doesn't bode well for us getting ready to apply, a bunch of seats in the class will already be taken

Additionally, they will probably way overcompensate and just originally accept the number they can actually hold and then just wait-list everyone else

You may be correct.

But not everyone who defers comes back the next year to enroll...there will be attrition among the "deferees" and UVA is counting on that, too...

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[onb2014]

I think they'll be fine -- a lot of people will get accepted off waitlists and leave. To be honest, I'm not sure why they had to alert the acceptees like this -- makes you want to go to UVA even more!

 

[chloe88]

Yes, I'm currently holding an acceptance at UVA and considering a wait list offer- can't decide if this reaffirms my desire to go to UVA or makes me worried about how they will handle the larger-than-anticipated number of students.

 

[Steeler7588]

But ultimately, like an airline that overbooks, they will have to offer financial inducements to people who are willing to defer,

This. In the 2007-2008 cycle, Pitt over-enrolled and ended up offering full-tuition scholarships to some students to get them to defer (an expensive process that resulted in their super cautious approach of the past two cycles). UVa might have to do the same thing.

If there's any comfort for UVa, it's that they can expect their overage to drop significantly because a) today is going to be the first legit day for waitlist movement (since May 15th was over the weekend) and b) I bet there's actually a pretty decent amount of people who want to take a year off, but didn't have anything concrete enough that would have satisfied UVa's normal deferment policy.

 

[surftheiop]

This. In the 2007-2008 cycle, Pitt over-enrolled and ended up offering full-tuition scholarships to some students to get them to defer (an expensive process that resulted in their super cautious approach of the past two cycles). UVa might have to do the same thing.

If there's any comfort for UVa, it's that they can expect their overage to drop significantly because a) today is going to be the first legit day for waitlist movement (since May 15th was over the weekend) and b) I bet there's actually a pretty decent amount of people who want to take a year off, but didn't have anything concrete enough that would have satisfied UVa's normal deferment policy.

This, If i were in this situation I would just live with my parents for a year then go fishing or surfing everyday

 

[IDoIt4Love]

this is crazy! i didn't know over-enrollment was ever something that really happened (though i'm sure we've all entertained the "what if"s) now, i'm not going to UVA or anything, but I would think twice about choosing it over another top-tier school you've gotten into if they have any plans to ghetto-ly accommodate all the extra people into their new class. i imagine if they did, the quality of everyone's education would go down. yikes.

 

[justinbaily]

Thank you for your input. I don't think that the situation is that bad.

 

[flip26]

Thank you for your input. I don't think that the situation is that bad.

I think you are right, and it may present an opportunity to defer with some $$$ attached, too.

But if they can't get people to defer, or can't get authorization from the BOV to make sweet deferral deals, it could be over crowded. I think that people who plan to matriculate deserve to be kept notified by UVA, and they seem to have taken the correct step by emailing everybody.

UVA also has to manage the balance between IS and OOS...more IS is probably OK, but is there any indication if the overage is more IS or OOS?

 

[specter]

Thank you for your input. I don't think that the situation is that bad.

lol I agree. I have faith that our professional school will stop short of treating us "ghetto-ly" in their accommodations, despite the above poster's well-researched fear-mongering.

 

[IDoIt4Love]

lol I agree. I have faith that our professional school will stop short of treating us "ghetto-ly" in their accommodations, despite the above poster's well-researched fear-mongering.

chill; i'm not "fear-mongering." like i said, i'm not even going to UVA. just stating the fact that if they end up unable to scrounge up the additional space or resources to accommodate the extra people, and end up having no other choice but to do accomodate them, things could get over-crowded.

 

[Jph2008]

I am surprised UVA is so popular. Their "Next Gen" curriculum has tremendous deficiencies. Over 10% of this year's class did not match. The school has even declined in US News &WR rankings over the past few years- justly leapfrogged by several schools like Case and Mount Sinai.

 

[flip26]

I am surprised UVA is so popular. Their "Next Gen" curriculum has tremendous deficiencies. Over 10% of this year's class did not match. The school has even declined in US News &WR rankings over the past few years- justly leapfrogged by several schools like Case and Mount Sinai.

Since you know so much, please tell us these deficiencies, in detail.

And was it a case of "did not match" or "had to scramble?" Back this up with something more than your hot troll breath, please.

 

[justinbaily]

~10 people scrambled because they aimed too high in hyper-competitive specialties or did something that wasn't recommended like rank a single program. One of them ended up at Columbia, so I find your post a little misleading as it implies that there was some major issue associated with their training, when that's simply not the case. And who care? Little things like that happen. Obviously UVa kicks ass in the match

As for US News, 25 is pretty great and it looks like the school is positioning itself to increase in the rankings with its attractive new teaching and research facilities and its yet-to-be-implemented curriculum. Also with regard to the rankings, if you look at the point-score that each school is given, nobodys really changed that much and UVa is three "points" from being tied for 20. A better way to show the rankings would be in a "time-line" style with the schools spaced proportionally to their score.

Either way, you're clearly a troll. I'm proud of the school and not the least bit surprised that it's really popular. Everyone there is incredibly happy, and it looks like they've made some serious strides with all of their new stuff.

 

[Jph2008]

Didn't know my first post was so incendiary. Apologies to those I've offended. I'll try to separate fact from conjecture. Please know that expressing differences of opinion is not trolling.

FACT: more than 10 did not match. It was AT LEAST 14; this is right around 10% as I stated previously. At least 5 scrambled into positions (a couple prelims, a couple specialty changes); at least 5 are doing research, getting MPH or taking year off; not sure about other 4-5 people. At my school in NY 162/165 matched including 7/7 ortho 2/2 plastics 3/3 neurosurg. Conjecture: This is not a little thing. I spoke with multiple UVA 4th yrs and residents- this was a disaster. The administration met over the issue. I know some 2nd and 3rd years concerned too. One bright side is that better mentoring should come out of this. I'd guess for UVA, scrambling/non matching is not a product of poor training but poor mentoring.

FACT: OB/GYN, Internal Med, and Neurology ARE NOT generally considered hyper-competitive. About half of nonmatchers/scramblers applied to these specialties.

FACT: Half your clinical training MAY be outside UVA hospital. 1/2 your 3rd year may be in rural VA and/or Roanoke. Clinical experiences here range from good to very poor. Hearsay: with increasing enrollment over the next few years UVA clerkships will be tested. There is simply not enough volume on some of the services and more med students will dilute the experience. UVA lost out big time years ago when they (except the peds dept) turned down clerkship opportunities at some outstanding Northern Virginia hospitals.

FACT: 10% of this year's class did not match in spite of record high average Step 1 scores (around 235- see web site). Hearsay: best board scores ever but worst match ever- makes me wonder if UVA students interview poorly or didn't get good mentoring.

FACT: the school has had 5 different curricula over the past 6 years. Hearsay neither good nor bad just a fact.

FACT: UVA students overwhelming rejected calls for increased enrollment- and enrollment is/has increased nonetheless. Hearsay: students loved to say administration listens to them but not on this important issue. Clinical experience will suffer.

FACT: New med ed building is very impressive. Hearsay: building is awesome- no doubt about it. Unclear if this makes up for diminished clinic experience.

FACT: UVA students have had numerous professional transgressions. Mostly notably med students laughing during a code while patient's family present and med students joking about lax murder in front of patients. Hearsay: this stuff probable happens at most schools to some degree.

FACT: While no absolute ranking exists, residency programs see your percentile for each class. You are not privy to this info. I'm told to sucks to go to an interview and, not having any idea your relative rank, be asked to explain why you were in the bottom 25% of the class when you got a B+ in a rotation.

FACT: UVA has declined in US news over the past few years despite a concerted effort by admin and admissions to target an improved ranking. Hearsay: I agree new building MIGHT help a little hear.

Summary: UVA is a very good school. No question it has a solid reputation. They prepare the class well for the boards. Clinical training is good to average- can depend on a roll of the dice during your 3rd yr schedule making. Most people- not all seem happy there. I'll hold comments on the shortcomings of next gen curriculum if you all really want to hear it otherwise I won't bother.

My sources include multiple 3rd and 4yr students.

 

[flip26]

Didn't know my first post was so incendiary. Apologies to those I've offended. I'll try to separate fact from conjecture. Please know that expressing differences of opinion is not trolling.

FACT: more than 10 did not match. It was AT LEAST 14; this is right around 10% as I stated previously. At least 5 scrambled into positions (a couple prelims, a couple specialty changes); at least 5 are doing research, getting MPH or taking year off; not sure about other 4-5 people. At my school in NY 162/165 matched including 7/7 ortho 2/2 plastics 3/3 neurosurg. Conjecture: This is not a little thing. I spoke with multiple UVA 4th yrs and residents- this was a disaster. The administration met over the issue. I know some 2nd and 3rd years concerned too. One bright side is that better mentoring should come out of this. I'd guess for UVA, scrambling/non matching is not a product of poor training but poor mentoring.

FACT: OB/GYN, Internal Med, and Neurology ARE NOT generally considered hyper-competitive. About half of nonmatchers/scramblers applied to these specialties.

FACT: Half your clinical training MAY be outside UVA hospital. 1/2 your 3rd year may be in rural VA and/or Roanoke. Clinical experiences here range from good to very poor. Hearsay: with increasing enrollment over the next few years UVA clerkships will be tested. There is simply not enough volume on some of the services and more med students will dilute the experience. UVA lost out big time years ago when they (except the peds dept) turned down clerkship opportunities at some outstanding Northern Virginia hospitals.

FACT: 10% of this year's class did not match in spite of record high average Step 1 scores (around 235- see web site). Hearsay: best board scores ever but worst match ever- makes me wonder if UVA students interview poorly or didn't get good mentoring.

FACT: the school has had 5 different curricula over the past 6 years. Hearsay neither good nor bad just a fact.

FACT: UVA students overwhelming rejected calls for increased enrollment- and enrollment is/has increased nonetheless. Hearsay: students loved to say administration listens to them but not on this important issue. Clinical experience will suffer.

FACT: New med ed building is very impressive. Hearsay: building is awesome- no doubt about it. Unclear if this makes up for diminished clinic experience.

FACT: UVA students have had numerous professional transgressions. Mostly notably med students laughing during a code while patient's family present and med students joking about lax murder in front of patients. Hearsay: this stuff probable happens at most schools to some degree.

FACT: While no absolute ranking exists, residency programs see your percentile for each class. You are not privy to this info. I'm told to sucks to go to an interview and, not having any idea your relative rank, be asked to explain why you were in the bottom 25% of the class when you got a B+ in a rotation.

FACT: UVA has declined in US news over the past few years despite a concerted effort by admin and admissions to target an improved ranking. Hearsay: I agree new building MIGHT help a little hear.

Summary: UVA is a very good school. No question it has a solid reputation. They prepare the class well for the boards. Clinical training is good to average- can depend on a roll of the dice during your 3rd yr schedule making. Most people- not all seem happy there. I'll hold comments on the shortcomings of next gen curriculum if you all really want to hear it otherwise I won't bother.

My sources include multiple 3rd and 4yr students.

Much ado about nothing...the "many professional transgressions" is a joke, right?

People accepted to UVA are aware of the away rotations. Nothing new here.

The rankings? Pfft...

And if there was a problem with this year's match, it sounds like they are on top of it.

 

[justinbaily]

Okay, I basically agree with what you've posted, although I think that the manner in which you've posted it is a little bit over-dramatic--I don't know if you needed three separate "FACT" things to expand on the people who had to scramble. Anyways, it seems like a bit of an anomaly and I'm personally not concerned. Every now and then it seems like great schools will have a group of students who have to scramble. I think I remember hearing that Baylor had ~24-27. I also don't think that last year qualifies as "the worst match ever" just because that group didn't match into their choice-programs. Other students did very well.

As far as rank, I still think that you're exaggerating. From 2005-1995 UVa was ranked 26 25 27 28 30 at various times according to an old thread. I apoligize for the missing years, but I just couldn't find them. If you look at the way that rank has fluctuated in that period, its basically the same group of schools between 15 and 30 with minor shifts every now and then. I'm also not sure which New York school you attend, but residency directors gave UVa students a 3.9 based on their collective clinical skills and 3.7's to both NYU and Sinai students. Based on that, you would assume that their clinical training is pretty good. I have also spoken--through email and SDN PM's--with a number of 3rd and 4th year students who loved everything about their away rotations except for the fact that they had to relocate for their 22 weeks.

Everything else we already knew and doesn't seem like a big deal. The school is very popular this year because it has a lot of great qualities and offers a strong medical education. I'm sorry that you feel like we've all bet on the wrong horse.

 

[UF2099]

Didn’t know my first post was so incendiary. Apologies to those I’ve offended. I’ll try to separate fact from conjecture. Please know that expressing differences of opinion is not trolling.

FACT: more than 10 did not match. It was AT LEAST 14; this is right around 10% as I stated previously. At least 5 scrambled into positions (a couple prelims, a couple specialty changes); at least 5 are doing research, getting MPH or taking year off; not sure about other 4-5 people. At my school in NY 162/165 matched including 7/7 ortho 2/2 plastics 3/3 neurosurg. Conjecture: This is not a little thing. I spoke with multiple UVA 4th yrs and residents- this was a disaster. The administration met over the issue. I know some 2nd and 3rd years concerned too. One bright side is that better mentoring should come out of this. I’d guess for UVA, scrambling/non matching is not a product of poor training but poor mentoring.

FACT: OB/GYN, Internal Med, and Neurology ARE NOT generally considered hyper-competitive. About half of nonmatchers/scramblers applied to these specialties.

FACT: Half your clinical training MAY be outside UVA hospital. 1/2 your 3rd year may be in rural VA and/or Roanoke. Clinical experiences here range from good to very poor. Hearsay: with increasing enrollment over the next few years UVA clerkships will be tested. There is simply not enough volume on some of the services and more med students will dilute the experience. UVA lost out big time years ago when they (except the peds dept) turned down clerkship opportunities at some outstanding Northern Virginia hospitals.

FACT: 10% of this year’s class did not match in spite of record high average Step 1 scores (around 235- see web site). Hearsay: best board scores ever but worst match ever- makes me wonder if UVA students interview poorly or didn’t get good mentoring.

FACT: the school has had 5 different curricula over the past 6 years. Hearsay neither good nor bad just a fact.

FACT: UVA students overwhelming rejected calls for increased enrollment- and enrollment is/has increased nonetheless. Hearsay: students loved to say administration listens to them but not on this important issue. Clinical experience will suffer.

FACT: New med ed building is very impressive. Hearsay: building is awesome- no doubt about it. Unclear if this makes up for diminished clinic experience.

FACT: UVA students have had numerous professional transgressions. Mostly notably med students laughing during a code while patient’s family present and med students joking about lax murder in front of patients. Hearsay: this stuff probable happens at most schools to some degree.

FACT: While no absolute ranking exists, residency programs see your percentile for each class. You are not privy to this info. I’m told to sucks to go to an interview and, not having any idea your relative rank, be asked to explain why you were in the bottom 25% of the class when you got a B+ in a rotation.

FACT: UVA has declined in US news over the past few years despite a concerted effort by admin and admissions to target an improved ranking. Hearsay: I agree new building MIGHT help a little hear.

Summary: UVA is a very good school. No question it has a solid reputation. They prepare the class well for the boards. Clinical training is good to average- can depend on a roll of the dice during your 3rd yr schedule making. Most people- not all seem happy there. I’ll hold comments on the shortcomings of next gen curriculum if you all really want to hear it otherwise I won’t bother.

My sources include multiple 3rd and 4yr students.

I am trying to decide between UVA and WashU by this Friday so some of these points you raise are a concern for me.

Could you PM me contact info for the students at UVA you spoke with about these issues? Also, you mentioned increasing enrollment at UVA. Where did you find that out? That seems like it would be a problem as UVAHealth is already a small health system.

I have been leaning towards UVA just because I really like the 1.5/2.5 year curriculum because I want to do international work (doctors w/o borders or something similar) after an int. medicine residency and I want the extra clinical time to learn skills I will need in the field like OB/GYN, Peds, and Surgery.

 

[UF2099]

Didn’t know my first post was so incendiary. Apologies to those I’ve offended. I’ll try to separate fact from conjecture. Please know that expressing differences of opinion is not trolling.

FACT: more than 10 did not match. It was AT LEAST 14; this is right around 10% as I stated previously. At least 5 scrambled into positions (a couple prelims, a couple specialty changes); at least 5 are doing research, getting MPH or taking year off; not sure about other 4-5 people. At my school in NY 162/165 matched including 7/7 ortho 2/2 plastics 3/3 neurosurg. Conjecture: This is not a little thing. I spoke with multiple UVA 4th yrs and residents- this was a disaster. The administration met over the issue. I know some 2nd and 3rd years concerned too. One bright side is that better mentoring should come out of this. I’d guess for UVA, scrambling/non matching is not a product of poor training but poor mentoring.

FACT: OB/GYN, Internal Med, and Neurology ARE NOT generally considered hyper-competitive. About half of nonmatchers/scramblers applied to these specialties.

FACT: Half your clinical training MAY be outside UVA hospital. 1/2 your 3rd year may be in rural VA and/or Roanoke. Clinical experiences here range from good to very poor. Hearsay: with increasing enrollment over the next few years UVA clerkships will be tested. There is simply not enough volume on some of the services and more med students will dilute the experience. UVA lost out big time years ago when they (except the peds dept) turned down clerkship opportunities at some outstanding Northern Virginia hospitals.

FACT: 10% of this year’s class did not match in spite of record high average Step 1 scores (around 235- see web site). Hearsay: best board scores ever but worst match ever- makes me wonder if UVA students interview poorly or didn’t get good mentoring.

FACT: the school has had 5 different curricula over the past 6 years. Hearsay neither good nor bad just a fact.

FACT: UVA students overwhelming rejected calls for increased enrollment- and enrollment is/has increased nonetheless. Hearsay: students loved to say administration listens to them but not on this important issue. Clinical experience will suffer.

FACT: New med ed building is very impressive. Hearsay: building is awesome- no doubt about it. Unclear if this makes up for diminished clinic experience.

FACT: UVA students have had numerous professional transgressions. Mostly notably med students laughing during a code while patient’s family present and med students joking about lax murder in front of patients. Hearsay: this stuff probable happens at most schools to some degree.

FACT: While no absolute ranking exists, residency programs see your percentile for each class. You are not privy to this info. I’m told to sucks to go to an interview and, not having any idea your relative rank, be asked to explain why you were in the bottom 25% of the class when you got a B+ in a rotation.

FACT: UVA has declined in US news over the past few years despite a concerted effort by admin and admissions to target an improved ranking. Hearsay: I agree new building MIGHT help a little hear.

Summary: UVA is a very good school. No question it has a solid reputation. They prepare the class well for the boards. Clinical training is good to average- can depend on a roll of the dice during your 3rd yr schedule making. Most people- not all seem happy there. I’ll hold comments on the shortcomings of next gen curriculum if you all really want to hear it otherwise I won’t bother.

My sources include multiple 3rd and 4yr students.

I would like to hear your comments on the next gen curriculum. Please.

 

[mvenus929]

I am trying to decide between UVA and WashU by this Friday so some of these points you raise are a concern for me.

Could you PM me contact info for the students at UVA you spoke with about these issues? Also, you mentioned increasing enrollment at UVA. Where did you find that out? That seems like it would be a problem as UVAHealth is already a small health system.

I have been leaning towards UVA just because I really like the 1.5/2.5 year curriculum because I want to do international work (doctors w/o borders or something similar) after an int. medicine residency and I want the extra clinical time to learn skills I will need in the field like OB/GYN, Peds, and Surgery.

In your acceptance packet is a list of current UVA students who might have some input on some of the concerns you have. They may be biased, since they were chosen by the admissions staff, but it's still worth a shot to hear what they have to say if you're so concerned about it.

 

[justinbaily]

I think that they're increasing enrollment from 142 to 148, but they've also expanded the number of beds in the medical center and partnered with new clinical sites. I'm not sure how he can comment on the new curriculum before it has been implemented.

I'm not even sure what substantive points he raised to be honest. He just made a number of statements in a long, scary bullet-point form.

In a less dramatic format, all he did was expand on the people who scrambled and point out that we do, in fact, have away rotations. Like Flip said, it sounds like the administration is on top of it and considered it a disaster, so it was out of the ordinary. And you're right that it was exactly 14--I checked with someone--but they still say that they were mostly advised correctly, but did stupid things like rank too few programs, etc. Everything else is trivial or wrong.

 

[flip26]

I think that they're increasing enrollment from 142 to 148, but they've also expanded the number of beds in the medical center and partnered with new clinical sites. I'm not sure how he can comment on the new curriculum before it has been implemented.

I'm not even sure what substantive points he raised to be honest. He just made a number of statements in a long, scary bullet-point form.

In a less dramatic format, all he did was expand on the people who scrambled and point out that we do, in fact, have away rotations. Like Flip said, it sounds like the administration is on top of it and considered it a disaster, so it was out of the ordinary. And you're right that it was exactly 14--I checked with someone--but they still say that they were mostly advised correctly, but did stupid things like rank too few programs, etc. Everything else is trivial or wrong.

This poster has some sort of hard on for UVA - sounds like a sour grapes rationalization to justify his attending a more expensive school in NYC over his home state school UVA (or maybe he got rejected by UVA?). Funny, but that is exactly what I am doing (turned down instate UVA for a more expensive NYC school), yet here I am more or less defending UVA against overblown if not baseless charges. I guess I don't understand people who pursue these vendettas.

If he posts something on the new curric in the same vein as his first diatribe, it will be just as useless...don't buy into this guy's vitriol. No matter how you slice it, he is a troll with an axe to grind. For all we know, this guy is sitting on the UVA waitlist and is trying to stir up trouble in the hopes that people will start withdrawing...

 

[TheBigValbowski]

Too much whining... If you think UVA sucks then don't go there. I'm not sure you can blame the administrators and mentors for people not matching. At some point you need to be responsible for yourself and you can't expect to be spoon fed the entire time. Those people that didn’t match probably sucked at interviewing and didn’t have enough backups. If you’re too stupid to realize that you need some backup schools, you deserve not to match... And yes I will be going to UVA this fall...

 

[Jph2008]

I thought my last post was pretty even-handed- vetted by my big sis who is graduating from UVA and yes she did match. We've enjoyed your responses. I'll repeat that UVA is a very good school. As for increased enrollment the plan is to add 6 students per year until class size is about 160. Mulholland expressed serious concerns over the impact on the clerkships back in '08. That's all I'll say. Enjoy C'ville and the school- you'll have a great time.
I promise I won't reply to this thread anymore.
Best

 

[surftheiop]

I thought my last post was pretty even-handed- vetted by my big sis who is graduating from UVA and yes she did match. We've enjoyed your responses. I'll repeat that UVA is a very good school. As for increased enrollment the plan is to add 6 students per year until class size is about 160. Mulholland expressed serious concerns over the impact on the clerkships back in '08. That's all I'll say. Enjoy C'ville and the school- you'll have a great time.
I promise I won't reply to this thread anymore.
Best

As someone getting ready to apply, I found your post pretty helpful. Its hard to find anyone to say anything bad about programs to compare/contrast with the folks whose life goal it has been to attend med-school and therefore would be in love with wherever they go.

 

[UF2099]

In your acceptance packet is a list of current UVA students who might have some input on some of the concerns you have. They may be biased, since they were chosen by the admissions staff, but it's still worth a shot to hear what they have to say if you're so concerned about it.

Thanks. I emailed a few of them last night...here is what they said:

I have really loved my time
here in Virginia. If I had to choose a medical school again, I would
definitely choose to come here. I also feel like I've received great
basic science and clinical training here. The first year and a half
is definitely demanding, but it feels great to get Step 1 done 3 to 4
months before the rest of the country and get out on the wards. The
students, residents, faculty, and attendings here I think are the
greatest things about UVA.

That said, your concerns are legitimate. We do at least 3 months or
so of away rotations in third year. Some of the placements are
actually better than UVA. For example, the surgery rotation at the
Salem Veterans Hospital is great because students get tons more
autonomy than they would at UVA. Family medicine and general
outpatient internal medicine rotations that are done outside UVA,
which are both one month long, are also fun because you get so see a
totally different patient base and region of the state. I did away
rotations for surgery in Salem, family med, outpatient medicine, and
psychiatry. I enjoyed each of them. The pscyh rotation was at the
Salem Veterans hospital, which was a really interesting experience. I
don't feel like I missed out in any of these areas.

We had a few students who had to scramble this year. I think one of
them applied to only Boston area programs and one applied to ENT
without applying to general surgery prelim programs. I'm not sure
about the other one. You seem like an excellent candidate. An
acceptance at WashU is awesome. I doubt you need to worry about not
matching. The advising here is great, and I want to alleviate any
fears that UVA isn't advising it's students properly. I feel like
cases of people not matching from UVA are due to strategic errors,
such as failing to adequately cast a large net in applying for
residency.

-----------------

I just finished with third year, and the away rotations are a bit different than other places. There are trade offs. The didactic teaching isn't as good at Roanoke or Salem, however you get to do a lot more stuff. For example, surgery in Salem you function pretty much like an intern, so you learn a ton of things that way. Learning medicine during third year isn't so much about having attendings teaching you, but you seeing something and asking about it or reading about it yourself.

Professors here are absolutely fantastic. They definitely go out of their way to teach you especially if you appear interested and ask questions.

---------------------

Yes, I think that the new curriculum will be something that will set UVA apart from other medical schools. That said, you do bring up a very valid and concerning point with the away rotations in 3rd year. It’s mostly luck-of-the-draw/lottery system for which rotations you get away, so there’s not a whole lot of planning going on there. Frankly, most of the away rotations just don’t have the same level of clinical education that UVA provides. There are exceptions, like the general surgery month at the VA hospital in Salem, but that experience is excellent because UVA surgery residents are out there as well, and they let you have a lot more responsibility both on the floor and in the OR. However, that specific rotation, and maybe one other one (peds in Fairfax), are the only really solid away rotations. I would agree that UVA does make an effort to give you a solid clinical education, but the problem is that we aren’t always at UVA for our 3rd year.

Now, the Match. So, I will say that this year’s match was a bit of an aberration for us. We did have quite a few scramblers and non-matchers, but from what I’ve heard on the grapevine, we also had a lot of people be pretty dumb and arrogant about ranking schools and whatnot. The class of 2010 had great grades and pretty impressive boards scores, so a lot of them thought that they could only rank a few schools and they’d get in. Yeah, you’ll learn that’s just inviting disaster, no matter what medical school you go to, no matter what grades and test scores you have.

 

[flip26]

I thought my last post was pretty even-handed- vetted by my big sis who is graduating from UVA and yes she did match. We've enjoyed your responses. I'll repeat that UVA is a very good school. As for increased enrollment the plan is to add 6 students per year until class size is about 160. Mulholland expressed serious concerns over the impact on the clerkships back in '08. That's all I'll say. Enjoy C'ville and the school- you'll have a great time.
I promise I won't reply to this thread anymore.
Best

Don't let the door smack you on the butt on the way out!

Buh bye!

 

[flip26]

As someone getting ready to apply, I found your post pretty helpful. Its hard to find anyone to say anything bad about programs to compare/contrast with the folks whose life goal it has been to attend med-school and therefore would be in love with wherever they go.

Here is the problem: he is not a student at UVA. Everything he has posted is second hand.

Furthermore, this guy has no post history to check - he simply dropped in from nowhere and dropped a huge stink bomb, and 3 posts and he is now gone, POOF.

Better to speak to current students than to mystery posters who don't even attend the school in question.

 

[surftheiop]

Here is the problem: he is not a student at UVA. Everything he has posted is second hand.

Furthermore, this guy has no post history to check - he simply dropped in from nowhere and dropped a huge stink bomb, and 3 posts and he is now gone, POOF.

Better to speak to current students than to mystery posters who don't even attend the school in question.

But most of what he said didn't require inside knowledge. And I'm obviously not using this information in a vacuum to make decisions, its just really helpful to hear someone's perspective who doesn't have a vested interest in protecting a school's image.

 

[flip26]

But most of what he said didn't require inside knowledge. And I'm obviously not using this information in a vacuum to make decisions, its just really helpful to hear someone's perspective who doesn't have a vested interest in protecting a school's image.

Please take this in the right way, but I must have more confidence in developing my own opinions than you or most of the people here on SDN. I am surprised how easily "shaken" people are based on a post like that. You are giving that poster, and his post, far too much credence than it deserves.

Here is what I do: I ask questions - I talk to actual students - I talk to recent grads, current residents - and I also take into consideration both public and insider information, anything I can get my hands on. Then I form my own opinion, and I make my own decision.

Here is what I NEVER do: I never ask for opinions on SDN. I do not need any reassurance from anonymous posters. I don't need to have my opinions or choices vetted, or supported, by what anybody on this forum has to say.

For example, I have picked a more expensive school than UVA to attend. I did not send it up the SDN flagpole, or ask what anybody thought. I don't care what anybody else thinks, particularly on an anonymous forum where you never know the full story or motivation of the posters. Believe me, I have caught a lot of flack for the decision I made from posters here, and I could not care less what they think.

If you have concerns about UVA, or any school, do your own research. Don't depend on posts from anybody to form the basis of your opinion.

 

[surftheiop]

Please take this in the right way, but I must have more confidence in developing my own opinions than you or most of the people here on SDN. I am surprised how easily "shaken" people are based on a post like that.

Here is what I do: I ask questions - I talk to actual students - I talk to recent grads, current residents - and I also take into consideration both public and insider information, anything I can get my hands on. Then I form my own opinion, and I make my own decision.

Here is what I NEVER do: I never ask for opinions on SDN. I do not need any reassurance from anonymous posters. I don't need to have my opinions or choices vetted, or supported, by what anybody on this forum has to say.

For example, I have picked a more expensive school than UVA to attend. I did not send it up the SDN flagpole, or ask what anybody thought. I don't care what anybody else thinks, particularly on an anonymous forum where you never know the full story or motivation of the posters. Believe me, I have caught a lot of flack for the decision I made from posters here, and I could not care less what they think.

If you have concerns about UVA, or any school, do your own research. Don't depend on posts from anybody to form the basis of your opinion.

In the words of a man who has been dead and in the ground for quite some time

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."

This is why I have no qualms gaining information from any source available: be it massively biased against a school, biased towards the school, completely indifferent to the school, etc.

By comparing/contrasting what the people on the two extremes have to say, you can start to get a feeling for the "lay of the land" of a school.

 

[flip26]

In the words of a man who has been dead and in the ground for quite some time

"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."

This is why I have no qualms gaining information from any source available: be it massively biased against a school, biased towards the school, completely indifferent to the school, etc.

By comparing/contrasting what the people on the two extremes have to say, you can start to get a feeling for the "lay of the land" of a school.

I trust my own eyes, and ears. I like to look someone in the eye when I ask them questions about their school.

And that is the problem with the internet, and with SDN in particular. There is an abundance of opinions here, and they are all from anonymous posters. The number of truly reliable regular posters on SDN can be counted on one or maybe 2 hands.

In a related matter, the number of people who pose as attendings and adcoms here is mind blowing, and the mods do nothing about it, even when it is obvious the poster is not who they claim to be. There is some high schooler posing as an attending radiologist, having been driven from pre-allo, he is now dispensing total horse **** to unsuspecting med students and residents in the radiology forum...

Someone with a post history count of 3, making it impossible to gauge the reliability of his posts over time, is absolutely worthless to me. If you find it useful, good for you.

 

[uvamed]

Funny stuff guys.
I'm at UVA med walking the lawn on Sunday. I know the previous poster- he's a good cat. What he wrote is entirely accurate. I'd have probably mentioned more of the good stuff like atmosphere, etc. but then again that's been beaten to death. I too think it's a very good school. I've been happy and it's been a good fit for me. Flip26 I'm glad you've gotten absolutely nothing out of these sdn threads with 4000 posts no less!

 

[flip26]

Funny stuff guys.
I'm at UVA med walking the lawn on Sunday. I know the previous poster- he's a good cat. What he wrote is entirely accurate. I'd have probably mentioned more of the good stuff like atmosphere, etc. but then again that's been beaten to death. I too think it's a very good school. I've been happy and it's been a good fit for me. Flip26 I'm glad you've gotten absolutely nothing out of these sdn threads with 4000 posts no less!

SDN is invaluable for learning about dates, deadlines, when people hear about interviews, offers, when the secondaries are available, what to expect on secondaries in terms of prompts, etc.

Note that NONE of that is opinion. It is fact. The problem on SDN is separating the fact from the fiction, umm err, opinion.

 

[VOP]

Sounds like waitlist fear mongering to me

 

[medmonet84]

So uvamed is jph2008's sister. Or maybe it's jph2008 himself! Maybe I'M jph2008. Or uvamed.

Anyway, just by going to some websites I was able to address (for myself) recent concerns here:

http://www.med-ed.virginia.edu/handbook/residency/Match/10/matchsum10.cfm
(Residency Deferred and Research are near the bottom - keep in mind that occasionally people defer residency on purpose, i.e., don't enter the match. 2010 does appear to be an anomaly.)

http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/med-curriculum/curriculum.cfm
(See Current Curriculum Schematic Overview - last curriculum change was 2005)

http://oscar.virginia.edu/researchnews/x10317.xml
http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/news/archives08/somrankings.cfm
http://grad-schools.usnews.rankings...schools/top-medical-schools/research-rankings(Recent rankings: 23rd, 23rd, 25th?, 25th. Not exactly what I'd call a meaningful decline, since 23rd was their highest ever, but I guess that's debatable if you actually have 100% faith in those rankings.)

http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/financial-aid/parentcontribution.cfm
(Just for fun...parent contribution info)

 

[flip26]

Sounds like waitlist fear mongering to me

That, or sour grapes, or who knows what.

I say ignore it. If something is said and it concerns you, do your own research, or ask an actual identifiable person such as a current med student for clarification.

 

[ThatQuestionGuy]

Sounds like waitlist fear mongering to me

Yeah, it makes no sense to make that post AFTER people have to have decided on schools. I mean, match day was 2 months ago, so why wait till now to point that out?

 

[justinbaily]

Did anyone receive an email from Dr. Canterbury this morning?

 

[ThatQuestionGuy]

Did anyone receive an email from Dr. Canterbury this morning?

Yup

 

[Steeler7588]

Did anyone receive an email from Dr. Canterbury this morning?

Yeah, I guess they must have sent it out to everyone. That's enough money to make you think. Intriguing...

 

[futuredoctor10]

What email did they send out??

 

[WahooBME]

It is tempting, but then I'd have to find a job and I've already signed a lease. I would consider the MPH option, but I don't want any additional debt.

 

[jasmine112]

I emailed to ask about details, and it's 10K per year for 4 years, not 40K per year like the email made it sound...
for me, that's not enough to make me defer, I'd rather start this fall and have an additional year in the future to practice as a physician

 

[jasmine112]

What email did they send out??

they sent an email offering two options for people willing to defer. The first option is to enter in 2011 and receive 10K/year for 4 years along with any adjustments for tuition increases during med school. The second option is for the MD/MPH dual degree program. Individuals interested in pursuing both degrees are asked to do their MPH courses during the first year rather than during a fifth year and then enter as MD students in 2011. I'm not sure if those who enroll in the second option get 10K per year for 5 years or only get the assistance during the MD program.

Anyway, their goal is to get the class size down to 162. We'll see what happens!

 

[futuredoctor10]

^Wow!! Thanks for the info. That's crazy, and I hope they get the numbers down to the range they need/are looking for!

 

[justinbaily]

I agree with you Jasmine--it isn't enough money to defer, although if I were really interested in taking some time off to relax and work before school started, then it would be intriguing. It never occurred to me to think that the scholarship could be per year, although the email does seem a little ambiguous now that I read it again. If they made it a full-tuition scholarship to defer, then I would probably take them up on it.

I entertained the idea of doing research for a year, but it sounds like that would be sort of worthless, so I'm going to wait until after second or third year to take advantage of their MSc program. The MPH option sounds very interesting, but I wasn't considering it before this morning and I don't want to do anything rash.

 

[Steeler7588]

...if I were really interested in taking some time off to relax and work before school started, then it would be intriguing.

Indeed. I think a number of people will take them up on the offer, for this reason. $40k to take it easy for a year will resonate with some people, I think.

If they made it a full-tuition scholarship to defer, then I would probably take them up on it.

Me, too. I'm all for taking a year off to chill, probably would go abroad somewhere cheap, but my summer schedule is already going to be an excellent break, so only a ton of money would change my plans for next year.

By the way, that they're doing this a week into the waitlist period, with at least 18 people needed to defer, it's pretty much a certainty there won't be any waitlist movement and a significant number of spots in next year's class will be filled.

 

[jasmine112]

it's pretty much a certainty there won't be any waitlist movement

sorry guys :cry: when i applied in 2008, all i had were waitlist spots, so i know it really sucks to hear this...

 

[squiddy]

Indeed. I think a number of people will take them up on the offer, for this reason. $40k to take it easy for a year will resonate with some people, I think.

Interesting, but since they apparently couldn't tempt anyone with the earlier deferral offer, I think most people are emotionally ready to start, have signed leases, and certainly haven't lined up any jobs or research postings.

Taking it easy for a year sounds great, until you realize you don't have any money and face the prospect of working some hellish minimum wage job while getting another year older ...

I think they'll either need to sweeten the offer, or find some reasons to revoke some admissions offers - might be a good time to make sure all your i's are dotted ...

 

[mvenus929]

Taking it easy for a year sounds great, until you realize you don't have any money and face the prospect of working some hellish minimum wage job while getting another year older ...

Indeed. I'm working now, and have been for the past year and a half (graduated in 2008). If I liked my job now, I wouldn't mind deferring another year, but I'm counting down the days to get out of there. 40K certainly isn't enough to make me rethink my decision.