2010-2011 Rush Application Thread

[sedaniel]

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👍 👍 Love Tony Bourdain!

I don't want to be too revealing, so I'll try to keep this general. I talked to an admissions person about this once, and the person said your choices often indicate the area of medicine where you might be a good fit. (The person's example: a job with lots of problem-solving and puzzles might indicate you would be a good fit for neurology.) Of course, things vary from school to school, but I thought that was an interesting perspective.

Hm, I wonder what food critic would indicate. lol

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

I think this is the first supplemental that asks if I've been involved in non-healthcare-related community service. Feels weird leaving it blank. Hopefully, that's not a bad thing!

 

[ssahjm]

Oh, does anybody know where is the residency status form? Do we not get that if we're not Illinois residents?

I'm not from Illinois, and the only residency form I saw was the signature form where you have to prove your US citizenship. Or is there something else that I'm missing?

Hm, I wonder what food critic would indicate. lol

Now I'm wondering too... I can't say the smells and tastes that doctors regularly encounter are as fun as the ones that food critics do. 🙂

 

[sedaniel]

Submitted 🙂 Yay. Just have to mail out the sig page tomorrow. Man those 1000 char limits were tough. 🙁

 

[DocBell]

Submitted 🙂 Yay. Just have to mail out the sig page tomorrow. Man those 1000 char limits were tough. 🙁

I have been complaining about them all day. Question #2. has over 400 characters yet they expect us to answer the question in a little over double that? grrrrr. I just have to edit though and then I'll be done too.

 

[Avoidthetiger]

I haven't even started Rush yet and it's a top choice. ahh!

i need to get my act together -- I'm so behind on all my secondaries

 

[DocBell]

Just submitted. I thought that was the worst secondary yet mainly because of the character limits.

Avoidthetiger: This is the first time I haven't been behind on my secondaries.

 

[PmDawn]

My school sends letter packets they are neither committee letters nor individual letters. Anyone know what to pick?

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

My school sends letter packets they are neither committee letters nor individual letters. Anyone know what to pick?

I already submitted mine, and I listed it as a individual. Buried deep within the paragraph of instructions, it says that packets of leetters can still be listed individually.

I listed the author of my packet as on line..and I wrote sent via AMCAS on another line...just to fill up the two spaces

 

[sedaniel]

I already submitted mine, and I listed it as a individual. Buried deep within the paragraph of instructions, it says that packets of leetters can still be listed individually.

I listed the author of my packet as on line..and I wrote sent via AMCAS on another line...just to fill up the two spaces

You might want to email/call admissions and clarify with them. I called them to see if they will still read all 5 of my letters if I send them but only list two authors, and they said no, they will only read the 2 that you specify (but they can be whoever you want so I picked my two doc letters because they know me way better than any professor ever did lol).

I am still sending my whole letter packet because 1) it's easier than having my school re-send individual letters to AMCAS and 2) on the off chance that they might read some of the other ones 😀

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

You might want to email/call admissions and clarify with them. I called them to see if they will still read all 5 of my letters if I send them but only list two authors, and they said no, they will only read the 2 that you specify (but they can be whoever you want so I picked my two doc letters because they know me way better than any professor ever did lol).

I am still sending my whole letter packet because 1) it's easier than having my school re-send individual letters to AMCAS and 2) on the off chance that they might read some of the other ones 😀

Thanks for your information! My school sends one identical packet to AMCAS...so I only have one "author" who is the person that compiled the packet. I listed that name so they could "find" my packet. We'll see what happens...

 

[chrisoc13]

I need to get really going on this one, I am way behind. Oddly I got an email from them today saying they are glad I a applying and all that jazz, which was funny since I have already begun my secondary.

 

[HW51Revisited]

I need to get really going on this one, I am way behind. Oddly I got an email from them today saying they are glad I a applying and all that jazz, which was funny since I have already begun my secondary.

I got that email too. I still really need some motivation to finish this.

 

[cho15]

I'm confused about this question: .. ......

"Separate from the previous 2 questions, have you had any experiences in which you were responsible for the care of others? If yes, please describe (1000 characters max)"

Does that mean experiences other than medical/health related where we were responsible for the care of others? Because the section before this is "healthcare related experiences" and I was responsible for care of others in those experiences and I feel like it's redundant to say them again. Would teaching a class count as caring for others, ie. the students?

 

[Kalu123]

I'm confused about this question: .. ......

"Separate from the previous 2 questions, have you had any experiences in which you were responsible for the care of others? If yes, please describe (1000 characters max)"

Does that mean experiences other than medical/health related where we were responsible for the care of others? Because the section before this is "healthcare related experiences" and I was responsible for care of others in those experiences and I feel like it's redundant to say them again. Would teaching a class count as caring for others, ie. the students?

I'm a little confused about that question as well. I think they're asking if there was ever a time when you were the primary caregiver for someone, or had the main responsibility for taking care of someone. For instance, if you had a relative that was ill and you were the main person to watch them/ assist them. Or in other words, if you weren't around, there would have been a crisis of some sort.

How old were the students in your class? If you taught children, then maybe that would work. But if it was college, I would think that wouldn't count.

 

[cho15]

I'm a little confused about that question as well. I think they're asking if there was ever a time when you were the primary caregiver for someone, or had the main responsibility for taking care of someone. For instance, if you had a relative that was ill and you were the main person to watch them/ assist them. Or in other words, if you weren't around, there would have been a crisis of some sort.

How old were the students in your class? If you taught children, then maybe that would work. But if it was college, I would think that wouldn't count.

That's what I thought it might have been referring to. This application is so vague sometimes, it's frustrating! lol. Anyway, the students are in high school, it's an ACT prep class. I've babysat before as well, though I don't know if such a mundane experience counts.

 

[frescoengano]

holy **** this one is long

 

[kachan0]

Does being a pharmacy technician or ancillary count as a healthcare-related job?

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

Does being a pharmacy technician or ancillary count as a healthcare-related job?

I don't think it would hurt to put either down--P Tech is definitely healthcare....and i assume you meant pharmacy ancillary, which I've never heard of..so I can't realy chime in, but I'd say put it down!

 

[obgyny]

For the question asking you to write about the most meaningful research project you have worked on... below where it asks you to indicate if you have a publication/presentation/poster... are they just asking if this one specific project resulted in a pub/presentation/poster or if you have any of those things in general.

I have two big projects I thought about discussing:

1. As undergrad, resulted in poster, presentation, and co-author of paper accepted for publication in undergrad journal

2. As lab tech, resulted in abstract pub, second author of paper being submitted to scientific journal

I wrote about project #2, but I wasn't sure whether or not to indicate if I have done poster or presentation. I have done the poster/presentation, just not on project #2.

I really want to submit this tomorrow, so I would appreciate any advice 🙂.

 

[hiplikeahippo]

For the question asking you to write about the most meaningful research project you have worked on... below where it asks you to indicate if you have a publication/presentation/poster... are they just asking if this one specific project resulted in a pub/presentation/poster or if you have any of those things in general.

That's a good question. I also have two big projects, but I approached the boxes as if they meant "in general". Who knows if that's right, but at least you won't be alone if you do 🙂

 

[MediCynical]

I have been complaining about them all day. Question #2. has over 400 characters yet they expect us to answer the question in a little over double that? grrrrr. I just have to edit though and then I'll be done too.

Arggghhh! This is literally the reason I just came to this thread. I haven't even gotten half way through what I wanted to write and I'm at 1100 charaters 😡

 

[obgyny]

For the photo that you must include with the signature form, is it okay if I just attach the photo digitally (on the computer, paste the photo on the form), so it prints out as one page? This will prevent my photo from getting lost, and also save me time and money from having to go get the photo printed.

 

[obgyny]

For the photo that you must include with the signature form, is it okay if I just attach the photo digitally (on the computer, paste the photo on the form), so it prints out as one page? This will prevent my photo from getting lost, and also save me time and money from having to go get the photo printed.

bump 🙂. I want to mail this tomorrow morning before I go to work. Thanks!

 

[sedaniel]

bump 🙂. I want to mail this tomorrow morning before I go to work. Thanks!

I wouldn't, you don't know for sure what they do with each part of the app after receiving it. They might detach the photo from it and scan it separately or something. You can go to Staples or Office Max and get photo paper and print them on your own printer if you want, or Costco does wallet size photos for pretty cheap.

 

[DocBell]

bump 🙂. I want to mail this tomorrow morning before I go to work. Thanks!

It says on the form to tape securely so I would guess that means they want an actual photo.

 

[obgyny]

I wouldn't, you don't know for sure what they do with each part of the app after receiving it. They might detach the photo from it and scan it separately or something. You can go to Staples or Office Max and get photo paper and print them on your own printer if you want, or Costco does wallet size photos for pretty cheap.

It says on the form to tape securely so I would guess that means they want an actual photo.

Really? I interpreted the "tape securely" as "we don't want to lose the photo, so make sure it stays on there" lol.

But thanks for responding, you might be right. So I guess I'll go get some photo paper. All the photo places I looked at charge $8 or $9 for a 2x2 photo (because they assume it's for a passport), which is silly considering I'm sure more schools will ask me to send in a photo.

 

[taylormade2006]

Really? I interpreted the "tape securely" as "we don't want to lose the photo, so make sure it stays on there" lol.

But thanks for responding, you might be right. So I guess I'll go get some photo paper. All the photo places I looked at charge $8 or $9 for a 2x2 photo (because they assume it's for a passport), which is silly considering I'm sure more schools will ask me to send in a photo.

You can print "wallets" at Walmart or Walgreens for less than $0.50.

They charge $8 for passport photos because they're actually taking the photo themselves.

 

[greenhat06]

Quick questions for you guys who have already submitted electronically. I am going off the sample application because I don't want to "waste" my 30 days, so I can't see my actual character count yet on their real application. But does the 1000character limit mean with or without spaces? I don't want to feel "done" and then make my account on their application only to see I have more editing! Haha, thanks, any help is great.

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

Quick questions for you guys who have already submitted electronically. I am going off the sample application because I don't want to "waste" my 30 days, so I can't see my actual character count yet on their real application. But does the 1000character limit mean with or without spaces? I don't want to feel "done" and then make my account on their application only to see I have more editing! Haha, thanks, any help is great.

with spaces! Good luck!

 

[greenhat06]

with spaces! Good luck!

Appreciate the quick response! Thanks for the help

 

[hitop810]

i couldn't get to the signature page and now, after submitting, I can't get back to that page. Would someone mind PMing me the signature page??

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

i couldn't get to the signature page and now, after submitting, I can't get back to that page. Would someone mind PMing me the signature page??

on rushsupp.com, there is a link to it on the left hand side.


Woot--> Update: my paperwork was received after sending it out on Monday...only issue now is waiting for the complicated letters of recommendation! This schoool is pretty fast at updating!

 

[obgyny]

You can print "wallets" at Walmart or Walgreens for less than $0.50.

They charge $8 for passport photos because they're actually taking the photo themselves.

I used to be a photo tech at Walgreens, and let's say you order a wallet size photo of a picture that is 2x2 on your flashdrive, then the machine automatically blow up the picture to fit the wallet size dimensions and the picture would be disproportional. At least that's how it was with the store I worked at.

At other photo places, do you just save a 2x2 pic of yourself, print it as a wallet, and it will print out proportionally? Or do you print out a wallet-size photo, then just trim/crop with a pair of scissors until it fits 2x2?

This is why I was planning to just print it out at home with photo paper lol.

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

I used to be a photo tech at Walgreens, and let's say you order a wallet size photo of a picture that is 2x2 on your flashdrive, then the machine automatically blow up the picture to fit the wallet size dimensions and the picture would be disproportional. At least that's how it was with the store I worked at.

At other photo places, do you just save a 2x2 pic of yourself, print it as a wallet, and it will print out proportionally? Or do you print out a wallet-size photo, then just trim/crop with a pair of scissors until it fits 2x2?

This is why I was planning to just print it out at home with photo paper lol.

This may or may not help you, but I have photoshop at home which I can make image size 2x2" and then...I just print it out as is on my sheets of 4x6 photo paper. Only problem is, some of them are disproportionate...(when resized to the school's specific dimensions)

 

[Kalu123]

I've just been submitting photos with secondaries that are wallet size (about 2" x 2.5"). I had my boyfriend take some professional looking photos and I printed them out at Costco. I couldn't find a way to get my photo down to 2" x 2" without it being distorted or stretched. I don't see it being a huge issue if the photo size is a bit off. I'd rather have the size be a little off and have a photo that looks normal.

I don't know why so many schools refer to 2" x 2" photos as "passport-style". The photo in my passport is not 2" x 2"...and my photo looks like a mug-shot! I don't see why they would want that 😛

 

[DocBell]

I don't know why so many schools refer to 2" x 2" photos as "passport-style". The photo in my passport is not 2" x 2"...and my photo looks like a mug-shot! I don't see why they would want that 😛

I have been wondering that this whole cycle. I measured my passport photo and everything lol 🙂

 

[taylormade2006]

I used to be a photo tech at Walgreens, and let's say you order a wallet size photo of a picture that is 2x2 on your flashdrive, then the machine automatically blow up the picture to fit the wallet size dimensions and the picture would be disproportional. At least that's how it was with the store I worked at.

At other photo places, do you just save a 2x2 pic of yourself, print it as a wallet, and it will print out proportionally? Or do you print out a wallet-size photo, then just trim/crop with a pair of scissors until it fits 2x2?

This is why I was planning to just print it out at home with photo paper lol.

Most cameras automatically shoot with a 4x6 aspect ratio. I just take these and select "wallet" when ordering the prints online. You usually have to use the online software to crop it, but that only takes about 2 seconds. When you order wallets you always get two pictures, too. So 50 cents for two pictures is a great deal and they're ready in 1 hour. Then just cut them into a square with a scissors.

 

[MediCynical]

for questions like the one asking if we've ever held any health care-related jobs and if yes, describe our duties.. if we already described that job in the activities section of the AMCAS, should we just copy and paste that into the Rush secondary?

I'm currently finishing the app and that's pretty much what I'm doing... all of the other essays are new, though

 

[MediCynical]

"Have you participated in community service activities during or following your undergraduate years that were not healthcare-related?"

Gosh, I honestly have talked about this stuff SOO much. My personal statement, work/activities section of AMCAS, and the Leadership question earlier in the application. What the heck else am I supposed to say??? 😡 😕

Not really a question any of you can answer, just expressing my frustration with this app (again )

 

[DaisyBuchanan]

It. Never. Ends.

I'm trying to stay positive here and think of all the non-SDN pre-meds who would look at the secondary and say "They want me to fill all that out? Heck no, I'm gonna go watch Jersey Shore 2."

Nothing against the Shore, btw.

 

[DocBell]

It. Never. Ends.

I'm trying to stay positive here and think of all the non-SDN pre-meds who would look at the secondary and say "They want me to fill all that out? Heck no, I'm gonna go watch Jersey Shore 2."

Nothing against the Shore, btw.

Haha if only.

 

[PinkNoise]

Anyone care to list the secondary questions, please?

 

[deleted248403]

Ugh IE8 won't download the signature form properly for me despite adjusting the stupud security settings. This might have to wait until Monday and back to work unfortunately. Gah

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

Anyone care to list the secondary questions, please?

Everything, sample secondary and signature form can all be accessed via www.rushsupp.com

 

[dewgong]

For the question, "Separate from the previous 2 questions, have you had any experiences in which you
were responsible for the care of others?: If yes, please describe."

Do they mean an experience that you weren't able to fit in above? Or can you elaborate on one of the experiences you listed?

 

[baileybrown]

For the question, "Separate from the previous 2 questions, have you had any experiences in which you
were responsible for the care of others?: If yes, please describe."

Do they mean an experience that you weren't able to fit in above? Or can you elaborate on one of the experiences you listed?

i interpreted it to mean an experience that you weren't able to fit in above

 

[baileybrown]

for the second question ("... Describe your personal and academic preparation for a career as a physician...") are you guys literally writing things like "I took this class and learned this.. through having to balance all of my classes, I became better at time management... etc."?

Right now I've described my "journey" toward my career in medicine in terms of the jobs I held/shadowing and what I learned from them/ how they confirmed for me that I wanted to go into medicine.. any suggestions as to how to tie in my "academic preparation"?

 

[turkaglew]

for the second question ("... Describe your personal and academic preparation for a career as a physician...") are you guys literally writing things like "I took this class and learned this.. through having to balance all of my classes, I became better at time management... etc."?

Right now I've described my "journey" toward my career in medicine in terms of the jobs I held/shadowing and what I learned from them/ how they confirmed for me that I wanted to go into medicine.. any suggestions as to how to tie in my "academic preparation"?

I'm just talkin about a couple classes I enjoyed-one of which was my cadaver lab

 

[NateM]

for the second question ("... Describe your personal and academic preparation for a career as a physician...") are you guys literally writing things like "I took this class and learned this.. through having to balance all of my classes, I became better at time management... etc."?

Right now I've described my "journey" toward my career in medicine in terms of the jobs I held/shadowing and what I learned from them/ how they confirmed for me that I wanted to go into medicine.. any suggestions as to how to tie in my "academic preparation"?

When it says "reflect from the perspective of an observer" do they want us to talk about ourselves in the third person?