2010-2011 Hofstra University Application Thread

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The problem with this school is 10 seats of 64 are allotted for OOS applicants; if the chances are slim at Hofstra, then FAU are near non-existent if you are not a FL resident. 🙁 my two cents. But I still wish everyone much success! I may be out of the Hof game but I still encourage you all to keep the faith!!:luck:

They also have much fewer applicants. And since they opened really late, I assume the quality of their applicants is not as good either. Probably people applying are those w/o acceptances for OOS at least.
 
I checked my online status~ I'm on the alternate list...

Prob not a good thing considering the class size
=(

Are you guys all being put on the "preferred alternate list" what is the exact wording of your email? Mine says: " At this time, we are placing your application on our preferred alternate list, so that you may remain an active applicant while we continue our rolling admissions process. "
 
Are you guys all being put on the "preferred alternate list" what is the exact wording of your email? Mine says: " At this time, we are placing your application on our preferred alternate list, so that you may remain an active applicant while we continue our rolling admissions process. "

No there are two different waitlists.
 
Are you guys all being put on the "preferred alternate list" what is the exact wording of your email? Mine says: " At this time, we are placing your application on our preferred alternate list, so that you may remain an active applicant while we continue our rolling admissions process. "

We would like to thank you for interviewing with us at the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine and appreciate the patience you have shown during this process.



We have had the challenging task of selecting 40 candidates from an applicant pool of over 4,000 for our inaugural class. You present strong credentials in your application, and although we cannot offer you a position in the class at this time, we have placed your completed application on our alternate list. This will allow the continued consideration of your application for a future acceptance. Our list will remain active through our first day of class, August 1, 2011, and we will notify you of your status via email and postal mail if you are accepted. In addition, you may log into your Hofstra Portal at http://my.hofstra.edu to view your status at any time.


If you have any questions, you can contact us at (516) 463-7519 or via e-mail at [email protected].
 
Wow, two different waitlists for 40 spots in total...
 
Well looks like we all our had our thrill for a while...talk to you guys in August!
 
regular alternate list....
im very disappointed with the way Hofstra has conducted their admissions process ( this is not coming from a disgruntled student since I have been accepted and will be attending a different medical school)... They say they are going to make it a very quick process and instead they make it a long drawn out process which i somehwat understand. THEN they go ahead and make two alternate lists and put what seems like a million people on them! they are just teasing people by putting them on these lists when they are only giving out 40 spots and many people will not turn them down due to great scholarships
 
I am posting this article because there has been quite a bit of discussion on this forum about going to Caribbean schools:

http://www.mededits.com/2011/04/caribbean-medical-schools-2/

This advisor is a regular poster here on SDN and knows quite a bit about the admissions process. I'm not advertising her services by any means, but thought this provided a good summary of things to think about when choosing Caribbean schools.

I interviewed at Hofstra in December and was placed on the "regular" alternate list. I hope that everyone in my same situation has other plans/options, just in case!
 
i would imagine the class ends up w/ avg. mcats that are ~32, gpa > 3.5/6. ppl at the 2d look weekend looked impressive. lots of fancy named schools. many seemed keen on the 1-on-1 attention.
 
Second look day was very cool! Nearly all of the 40 came, it was like 30+. Besides the boring research presentation everyone was very into it and the total "hands-on" feel was great. We got to practice cutting and stitching body parts (relatively fresh, no preservatives!) We also got to tour NS Hospital and try out a mini structures lab. People said the baseball game was great too.

I definitely agree the accepted students were all very friendly (a few quiet ones I couldn't read), from all walks of life/majors, and some said outright that they were almost certainly attending. Name brand schools were definitely the majority (Harvard, Tufts, MIT, Hopkins, Brown, etc) and a few Hofstra and state schools. Most were a year or two out of school, a few were older (late 20's mid 30's), I also counted 2-3 married/engaged. I think some people are still sitting on the FA packet or waiting for word from a top 20 school before making final decisions. No way to know, but I'd guess 10 or so will pull out, they calmed the fears of a new school pretty well, but by no means quashed them.

The dorms were a bit small, but its super close to the school, plus you get a parking spot at the med school. (SHOTGUN THE BEST SPOT!) They claim we can't move/modify the tiny twin beds...

My suspicion is that for each of the 40 seats (4 of which are MDPHD) there is a preferred waitlist spot and a regular waitlist spot. So 120 kids lined up. That's just a suspicion though.

There's a facebook group too, so people can start hunting down roomies.
 
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Second look day was very cool! Nearly all of the 40 came, it was like 30+. Besides the boring research presentation everyone was very into it and the total "hands-on" feel was great. We got to practice cutting and stitching body parts (relatively fresh, no preservatives!) We also got to tour NS Hospital and try out a mini structures lab. People said the baseball game was great too.

I definitely agree the accepted students were all very friendly (a few quiet ones I couldn't read), from all walks of life/majors, and some said outright that they were almost certainly attending. Name brand schools were definitely the majority (Harvard, Tufts, MIT, Hopkins, Brown, etc) and a few Hofstra and state schools. Most were a year or two out of school, a few were older (late 20's mid 30's), I also counted 2-3 married/engaged. I think some people are still sitting on the FA packet or waiting for word from a top 20 school before making final decisions. No way to know, but I'd guess 10 or so will pull out, they calmed the fears of a new school pretty well, but by no means quashed them.

The dorms were a bit small, but its super close to the school, plus you get a parking spot at the med school. (SHOTGUN THE BEST SPOT!) They claim we can't move/modify the tiny twin beds...

My suspicion is that for each of the 40 seats (4 of which are MDPHD) there is a preferred waitlist spot and a regular waitlist spot. So 120 kids lined up. That's just a suspicion though.

There's a facebook group too, so people can start hunting down roomies.

Thanks for the great info!
 
Just accepted off the (preferred) alternate list.

Don't give up hope yet guys!!!
 
Congrats! Thanks for letting us know there is some movement going on. Seems like they're trying to fill any open spots right away rather than waiting.
 
Just accepted off the (preferred) alternate list.

Don't give up hope yet guys!!!


Congrats!!!! I know you're being bombarded with questions, but I thought I'd add another to the fodder:

Did you send a letter of intent / updates? If so, when? Thanks and congrats again.
 
matterotime, I was notified via email, with an attachment. Apparently they're not doing anything special for folks off the alternate list. As to whether I'll attend, I'm still deciding between this and another school. I'd basically identified these two as tied for #1 after interviews, and I'm lucky enough that I got into both.

My biggest concern with Hofstra is less that I'll love it there - because I know I would - but that going to an untested medical school will have negative repercussions in terms of residency selections and opportunities further down the line (as opposed to a better established school with more history and better connections).

Dennisdamenace, I didn't send anything in! I was so shocked to get the email...

Good luck to everyone still waiting!!! I know we are all going to be amazing doctors, whether at the Hof or elsewhere.

Med school 😍
 
I think you should pick the other school, so that someone who really wants to go to Hofstra and isn't still hung up on residency possibilities (like me) can.
 
matterotime, I was notified via email, with an attachment. Apparently they're not doing anything special for folks off the alternate list. As to whether I'll attend, I'm still deciding between this and another school. I'd basically identified these two as tied for #1 after interviews, and I'm lucky enough that I got into both.

My biggest concern with Hofstra is less that I'll love it there - because I know I would - but that going to an untested medical school will have negative repercussions in terms of residency selections and opportunities further down the line (as opposed to a better established school with more history and better connections).

Dennisdamenace, I didn't send anything in! I was so shocked to get the email...

Good luck to everyone still waiting!!! I know we are all going to be amazing doctors, whether at the Hof or elsewhere.

Med school 😍


Thanks! Guess the LOI's really don't matter after all.
 
Did anyone call and ask how many people are on each waitlist cause even if you are on preferred if there are 100 other preferred kids with you, the chance that you will be offered a spot become non-existent...
 
Did anyone call and ask how many people are on each waitlist cause even if you are on preferred if there are 100 other preferred kids with you, the chance that you will be offered a spot become non-existent...

Hey guys - long time lurker, first time poster. I am also on the preferred alternate list. Personally, I think that regardless of the size of either waitlist, we may see a significant amount of movement (particularly off the preferred waitlist). The May 15th deadline is still a long way away, and we have already seen one come off the preferred list. It is very possible that more than one has come off, as SDN is not entirely representative of reality. Someone I know well in an admissions department (not Hofstra's) indicated that early movement (defined as movement before the May 15th deadline) often indicates that a given list may experience a good deal of movement. I realize that with only 40 spots, this may be subject to change, but anytime I see the words "non-existent" I feel like we need to take a step away from the cliff...
 
Just a quick tidbit of info...at the accepted students day admissions made it clear that once they deemed you had good enough gpa/MCAT to handle medical school, those numbers became invisible to the admissions committee. So, decisions after interview were solely based on essays and how you performed on the interview and your stats were never seen again. So don't worry about numbers if you interviewed! They had no bearing on the final decision post interview!
 
so i guess nothing can change where you are right now? (ie additional letters of rec etc)
 
so i guess nothing can change where you are right now? (ie additional letters of rec etc)

in terms of grades/coursework updates i guess not. i would think if you write a loe/loi make sure you make a case for why you still want to go to hofstra over your other acceptances. they are really looking for people who understand the program's goals and want to be there.
 
in terms of grades/coursework updates i guess not. i would think if you write a loe/loi make sure you make a case for why you still want to go to hofstra over your other acceptances. they are really looking for people who understand the program's goals and want to be there.

i have asked the dean about that. he said letters of intent/interest does not play a role in any decision. everything is set now and is just waiting for people to reject acceptance.
 
i have asked the dean about that. he said letters of intent/interest does not play a role in any decision. everything is set now and is just waiting for people to reject acceptance.

I largely agree with this statement, though it seems somewhat contradictory with what the e-mails "we welcome updates, etc." seem to imply. Pinkynotthebrain was accepted off the waitlist without sending in ANY additional material, so it seems that doing so would have very little impact, if any.
 
Just a quick tidbit of info...at the accepted students day admissions made it clear that once they deemed you had good enough gpa/MCAT to handle medical school, those numbers became invisible to the admissions committee. So, decisions after interview were solely based on essays and how you performed on the interview and your stats were never seen again. So don't worry about numbers if you interviewed! They had no bearing on the final decision post interview!

That's a rather interesting approach to selection. Thanks for the info.
 
That's a rather interesting approach to selection. Thanks for the info.

This means that the school most likely will not be a top ranked school (based on the ranking systems out there today) since their student's average MCAT and GPA most likely wont be that high compared to top ranked schools. Before decisions came out I thought the school would focus largely on stats but it seems like they have invited many people with ~30 MCAT score or even lower for interviews.
 
This means that the school most likely will not be a top ranked school (based on the ranking systems out there today) since their student's average MCAT and GPA most likely wont be that high compared to top ranked schools. Before decisions came out I thought the school would focus largely on stats but it seems like they have invited many people with ~30 MCAT score or even lower for interviews.

Read the methodology for ranking. The scores and grades of students, along with selectivity are a tiny factor. Peer review dominates the ranking along with $$$, which keeps the "top ranked" in the top rankings (and keeps the money there). Performance evaluations are non-existent - board scores & residency matching are not used - and not all schools provide uniform/complete information. It's a bad joke really. A medical school's rank can only be calculated after it's been around long enough to have experience with residency directors & hospitals anyhow.

Mean MCAT Score (.13 in the research medical school model, .0975 in the primary-care medical school model)
Mean Undergraduate GPA (.06 in the research medical school model, .045 in the primary-care medical school model)
Acceptance Rate (.01 in the research medical school model, .0075 in the primary-care medical school model)


Believing that either ranking system (research/primary care) is an accurate measure of the medical school is a poor decision. You can value (and judge) intelligence without solely weighing the MCAT/GPA. Of course there will be some correlation, but they want to produce great physicians (not "shiny" medical students). I have a really high MCAT, and "meh" GPA; but neither one demonstrates my intelligence or drive, I took more/harder/random classes and then studied hardcore for what is obviously a highly valued test. My real world experiences solving problems and interactions with people describe both far better, and I think that's what they're placing value on here.


Find a brilliant doctor who has survived medical school, residency, and still came out still completely normal/human...and ask them where they went and how they feel about the ranking system. I guarantee you'll be surprised. There's no denying the value of a brand name, and it will always help with residency (but then again so will working hard, and doing great things!), but if you buy into the system that reinforces the valuation of grades/scores/$$$ over other key factors then it just gets worse. Once you're a doctor, no one cares where you went to school, and only you will truly understand how your medical school has changed you, for better or worse.
 
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Is anyone able to log into their Hofstra portal? I keep getting error messages.

I was taken off of the preferred alternate list, and now I can't log in.😕
 
Is anyone able to log into their Hofstra portal? I keep getting error messages.

I was taken off of the preferred alternate list, and now I can't log in.😕

I am able to log in no problem. Congrats! Your portal is probably changing due to recent acceptance...maybe that is causing your problem.
 
Is anyone able to log into their Hofstra portal? I keep getting error messages.

I was taken off of the preferred alternate list, and now I can't log in.😕

Were you accepted? Or have you heard any news yet?
 
did anybody else request the pre-lim fin aid package after the recent e-mail?
 
"Good Evening,

I hope this email finds you well.

We would like to apologize that the original target date to receive your financial aid award package has passed. Unforeseen administrative challenges led to delays but the final phases of implementation are currently underway and you can anticipate receiving your award via email no later than Tuesday, May 3rd.

In respect to the fact that the May 16th decision deadline is fast approaching, we would like to offer you the option of requesting a preliminary package through the Office of Financial Aid. Please note that a preliminary package is not an official financial aid award offer; however, it will closely mirror the official award that you will receive by May 3rd.

Once again, we apologize for any inconvenience these delays may have caused you and please know we have been working diligently to ensure that you receive your award package in an appropriate timeframe."


sent on april 28
 
Were you accepted already? or are you on the preferred list?
 
Sooooooooo, FA packets anyone? I asked for a prelim, and the regular packet is due today...um....what?
 
i asked for a prelim and got one, but the official email should be sent out later today, probably in the evening.
 
Would be a crime if I don't get in here when I apply next year. It's only 15 minutes from my house!
 
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