2009-2010 Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Application Thread

[Sleight]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I do not believe this is a binding agreement. Especially because the vast majority of students put two of the campuses as either 3rd or 4th. Obviously, this wouldn't work.

This is what it says underneath

If more than 24 students indicate choice #1, a lottery will be held to select only 24 students at the end of your 2nd year in medical school. If fewer than 24 students indicate choice #1 or #2, a lottery will be held among the other students at the end of your 2nd year in medical school to assign students to Fairfax. Once you check off your choice you are committed to that choice and will be assigned as space allows.

 

[camaras2480]

This is what it says underneath

If more than 24 students indicate choice #1, a lottery will be held to select only 24 students at the end of your 2nd year in medical school. If fewer than 24 students indicate choice #1 or #2, a lottery will be held among the other students at the end of your 2nd year in medical school to assign students to Fairfax. Once you check off your choice you are committed to that choice and will be assigned as space allows.

Yeah, so it is not binding, because as far as I have heard, there is a lottery like every year. Hence, although it is "binding," it sort of isn't.

 

[Sleight]

Are you guys only checking off classes that meet the requirements or other classes in each of those subjects?

 

[Appless]

are you guys saying you are willing to participate at both campuses? I feel like this is a binding agreement like they use this information in the future so i want to make it right...any ups and downs to each campus that you guys know about?

im going to choose both campuses, i mean i dont really know which id like better , I think id like the fairfax one more but meh..

 

[camaras2480]

im going to choose both campuses, i mean i dont really know which id like better , I think id like the fairfax one more but meh..

From what I have heard, they are both nice campuses. So no sweat!

 

[Sleight]

I am not really worried about how nice the campuses are I am worried about my husband's job...

Anybody read my question about whether to submit just the courses the fulfill the pre-reqs or to do more in those same subject areas?

 

[Appless]

I am not really worried about how nice the campuses are I am worried about my husband's job...

Anybody read my question about whether to submit just the courses the fulfill the pre-reqs or to do more in those same subject areas?

I just did the pre reqs...i dont see a reason to do more? They have your entire transcripts to see all the classes you took...just my opinion though. I had no idea you were married sleight, excited to get out of alaska? lol ive never been there but i think it would be exciting to leave.

 

[Sleight]

haha well i am not quite married yet...next june...and i actually go to school in arizona so i don't spend too much time in alaska anymore...i am back for the summer because it is so georgeous here in the summer and i like to go fishing 🙂 and my fiance is commercial fishing out in bristol bay right now (no not deadliest catch but he sees a lot of them out there haha). i love it here for 3 months of the year and cant stand the other 9 months of winter...

 

[camaras2480]

haha well i am not quite married yet...next june...and i actually go to school in arizona so i don't spend too much time in alaska anymore...i am back for the summer because it is so georgeous here in the summer and i like to go fishing 🙂 and my fiance is commercial fishing out in bristol bay right now (no not deadliest catch but he sees a lot of them out there haha). i love it here for 3 months of the year and cant stand the other 9 months of winter...

At least Alaska gets more air time now. Albeit, only thru Palin's activities. And her daughters. haha

 

[Sleight]

At least Alaska gets more air time now. Albeit, only thru Palin's activities. And her daughters. haha

yeah....that was bad...it makes alaska look so horrible...speaking of palin though...the other day they showed her out fishing in Nushagak AK which is where my fiance is right now...haha i havent talked to him in like 2 weeks (because there is no cell phone service out there and he cant get to a pay phone) but next time im going to ask him if he saw her and all of the camera crews out there! haha

 

[kazza2ud]

is there a max for the number of letters here?! i know 3 is required but i couldnt find any info about additional letters..

I'd like to know this too. I emailed them. I wonder if additional letters would help or hurt.

 

[camaras2480]

because there is no cell phone service out there

lol sorry, i found this amusing

 

[Sleight]

lol sorry, i found this amusing

haha you and me both...they have wifi but no cell phone reception...lame...its one of those places in alaska that you can't drive to...like half of the state

 

[camaras2480]

its one of those places in alaska that you can't drive to...like half of the state

 

[mvenus929]

Thanks for the heads up about the application page. I probably wouldn't have checked that for a while..🙄

 

[Sleight]

seriously though...lol

 

[camaras2480]

seriously though...lol

lol serious is what makes it so funny 😀

this deserves a

🤣

since i havent used one in a while 😀

 

[Appless]

Did anyones VCU essay show up as one big blog of text in the preview application? When i typed it out on the 2ndary it was in paragraph form but when i went to preview it, its not...is this just a glitch? I just submitted anyways but I was curious. Mines only 300 words so i guess if my paragraphs dont show up its not a big deal?

 

[Bryson17]

Did anyones VCU essay show up as one big blog of text in the preview application? When i typed it out on the 2ndary it was in paragraph form but when i went to preview it, its not...is this just a glitch? I just submitted anyways but I was curious. Mines only 300 words so i guess if my paragraphs dont show up its not a big deal?

It seems like this is a problem on a lot of apps. It's annoying, but you have to figure that each school knows this if it happens on their secondary, and they probably read it looking for paragraph separations.

 

[RecyclingBinh]

Bryson,

did you know that when I click on your mdapp, it directs me to a female's page from CSU?

 

[Sleight]

Did anyones VCU essay show up as one big blog of text in the preview application? When i typed it out on the 2ndary it was in paragraph form but when i went to preview it, its not...is this just a glitch? I just submitted anyways but I was curious. Mines only 300 words so i guess if my paragraphs dont show up its not a big deal?

it says on the preview thing that the essays will not look like they are formatted correctly but that they will be the way you want them when the school gets it so no worries!

 

[Bryson17]

Bryson,

did you know that when I click on your mdapp, it directs me to a female's page from CSU?

Weird, fixed.

It was taking you to profile number 000033 (my MCAT score).

 

[RecyclingBinh]

Weird, fixed.

It was taking you to profile number 000033 (my MCAT score).

dude...I don't understand why you didn't get any interviews last year. you seem like a strong applicant. did you talk to adcoms about why? I'm afraid i might become a reapplicant too.

 

[camaras2480]

Weird, fixed.

It was taking you to profile number 000033 (my MCAT score).

Just FYI, now it links to nowhere, at least for me... lol ?

 

[Bryson17]

dude...I don't understand why you didn't get any interviews last year. you seem like a strong applicant. did you talk to adcoms about why? I'm afraid i might become a reapplicant too.

Well in four of the cases, it was me applying to ridiculously hard schools (MD/PhD no less). The other three, I'm not really sure about. It could have been because I had a time crunch for my master's degree (I'm going to finish next month).

Just FYI, now it links to nowhere, at least for me... lol ?

That's what I wanted. I just wanted to have it post my basic stats. I'll re-link it when I think anonymity is less of an issue.

 

[RecyclingBinh]

Well in four of the cases, it was me applying to ridiculously hard schools (MD/PhD no less). The other three, I'm not really sure about. It could have been because I had a time crunch for my master's degree (I'm going to finish next month).
.

MD/PhD is ridiculous. It's insane to combine these two. you're crazy. 😀 I want MD/JD but they require me to take LSAT as well. Only a few schools offer this though. I might wait to finish med school then apply for law school. too much schooling for me. 😳

 

[Bryson17]

MD/PhD is ridiculous. It's insane to combine these two. you're crazy. 😀 I want MD/JD but they require me to take LSAT as well. Only a few schools offer this though. I might wait to finish med school then apply for law school. too much schooling for me. 😳

Well, I've decided not to do MD/PhD now. I figure my master's degree should be enough research. I'd like to do research during med school though, and I think VCU is a good place for that. Have you watched the videos on their website?

 

[camaras2480]

That's what I wanted. I just wanted to have it post my basic stats. I'll re-link it when I think anonymity is less of an issue.

But I already know who you are, your Bryson17!

 

[Bryson17]

Did anyones VCU essay show up as one big blog of text in the preview application? When i typed it out on the 2ndary it was in paragraph form but when i went to preview it, its not...is this just a glitch? I just submitted anyways but I was curious. Mines only 300 words so i guess if my paragraphs dont show up its not a big deal?

Email from VCU, sent to me this morning. I asked them about this yesterday:

There is no paragraph separation in this section. When we get it on our end, the spaces and indentations and such return. You can submit it and it will be fine.

I'm assuming when he says "in this section" he means the "Verify Application" section.

 

[Sleight]

Email from VCU, sent to me this morning. I asked them about this yesterday:

I'm assuming when he says "in this section" he means the "Verify Application" section.

I think they mean the preview section while you are verifying. it says at the top not to worry about the formatting of your essay because it won't look right...

 

[Bryson17]

I think they mean the preview section while you are verifying. it says at the top not to worry about the formatting of your essay because it won't look right...

There's no way that was there yesterday. I know I would have noticed that.

And, yeah, I was talking about the preview section before verifying, but you have to click on "Verify Application" to get there.

 

[derArzt]

For some reason this essay is kind of fun to write... maybe due to my 2 day break from secondaries.

How many more do you all have to write after this in total? I'll have about 6-7... seems like it's finally winding down a little.

 

[Appless]

For some reason this essay is kind of fun to write... maybe due to my 2 day break from secondaries.

How many more do you all have to write after this in total? I'll have about 6-7... seems like it's finally winding down a little.

like 19 left....🙁

 

[Sleight]

There's no way that was there yesterday. I know I would have noticed that.

And, yeah, I was talking about the preview section before verifying, but you have to click on "Verify Application" to get there.

I submitted mine on Saturday morning and it was there when I did it. Maybe things have changed idk...

 

[flip26]

VCU tech support says it is OK to use Firefox on a Mac.

They said to avoid Safari - has caused problems in the past.

 

[Sleight]

9 left for me...if I receive them all that is...

 

[Sleight]

This is not in regards to this school but I am just curious...when you guys have paper applications do you fold them to fit in an envelope or put them in a big envelope so you don't have to fold them? I have been folding them but I called a school today and said that they never get folded applications...uh oh...

 

[Appless]

This is not in regards to this school but I am just curious...when you guys have paper applications do you fold them to fit in an envelope or put them in a big envelope so you don't have to fold them? I have been folding them but I called a school today and said that they never get folded applications...uh oh...

I remember a thread like this and it seemed people did both. LizzyM commented saying she doesnt care or thinks it matters. Personally, i just think its unprofessional to send something this important folded and crumbled up. I send in a big envelope. If you dont want to pay 5 bucks for the prioirty mail ones, you can just buy the cheap ones from target or something and itll be like 2 dollars to ship instead of 5.

In the end i doubt it matters, its just if i was reading apps, i would like it to not be folded so i dont send it that way, maybe thats the tiny little ocd part of me though lol.

 

[metallica81788]

I'm about halfway finished with this essay and have found it to be a lot easier and fun to write than I initially thought. Their website makes it a lot easier than UVA's was.

 

[BrokenDisco]

no secondary yet! do you think they send them out in batches? should I call?

 

[ourse]

no secondary yet! do you think they send them out in batches? should I call?

did you check your status on their site? i never got an email about getting the secondary, but my status on their site changed from "app received" to allowing me to complete the secondary.

 

[sdguy2008]

i know this school has screened in the past, but im wondering if they are giving everyone secondaries this year

 

[utah3219]

.

 

[camaras2480]

No they are screening. They are waiting for my MCAT score...I got notified last Weds.

They definitely are.

 

[OMSTR]

about LORs

if we have a pre-med adviser but not a pre-med committee, do we just have to send in the pre-med adviser's LOR? Will just this one LOR satisfy their requirement? Or do I need to send the pre-med adviser LOR and the 3 faculty letters? If the latter is the case, the three faculty letters are supposed to be 2 from science prof. who have have taught us and then one non-science, do you think the pre-med adviser LOR would count as one of the 2 science LORs? Thanks

 

[camaras2480]

about LORs

if we have a pre-med adviser but not a pre-med committee, do we just have to send in the pre-med adviser's LOR? Will just this one LOR satisfy their requirement? Or do I need to send the pre-med adviser LOR and the 3 faculty letters? If the latter is the case, the three faculty letters are supposed to be 2 from science prof. who have have taught us and then one non-science, do you think the pre-med adviser LOR would count as one of the 2 science LORs? Thanks

I believe you need the additional letters, and the adviser would not count as science, unless they also taught you in class.

 

[murdoc9]

have people's letters been posted on the status page yet?

 

[ruiner]

Got the secondary, didn't even know because they didn't send an e-mail. Am pretty excited, my bro is at the Pentagon so would be nice to be closer to him and his family.

 

[alibai3ah]

Does anyone have the link to the status page, I can't find it on their website??? I was verified July 2nd and haven't received it....yikes have I been screened out?

 

[ruiner]

They will e-mail you with the status page when they start screening you. You wouldn't get screened out before that (not that I know your stats or that you would get screened out)