2010-2011 University of Alabama Thread

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SJL, bhamjd, nola and others that got in quickly... how do you classify your stats?

MCAT/GPA/ECs/IS or OOS

Strong/strong/strong/IS? Is it just the superstars getting in this early?

I am Average+/strong/strong/IS, interviewed well(I think) and really hoped I would be one of the lucky ones to hear before the holidays. Even worse, I have heard nothing from South. I guess I'm settling in for that very long, painful, wait.


Well it's hard to classify my stats being that I'm a non-traditional applicant, but I'd say I have an average MCAT, very strong grades and ECs, and IS. However, even being IS, I've heard nothing from South....not that it matters at this point though....

I was admitted on 11/15 after my 10/28 interview, but I just received my official letter and campus assignment. Birmingham was my 1st choice for sure!

I wish you lots of luck....my guess is that some of this round of "offiical" acceptance letters won't produce deposits for the seats thus freeing them to send more acceptances in about 3 weeks....
 
Happy New Year! Maybe we will hear something soon. I'm still Campus Choices Received!
 
Any reapplicants heard anything about interviewing?
 
does anyone know where i can find uab's match list for recent classes and the average usmle score?
 
hey ditto have you heard anything about interviewing, or do you know any reapplicant who has?
 
hey ditto have you heard anything about interviewing, or do you know any reapplicant who has?

My status still says "Secondary Received and Under Review" 🙁

I haven't heard of any reapplicants getting interviews yet. I'm getting very antsy.
 
My status still says "Secondary Received and Under Review" 🙁

I haven't heard of any reapplicants getting interviews yet. I'm getting very antsy.


Yeah my status says the same, i wonder if reapplicants are going to be their last block of interviews
 
Just wanted to stop by and say good luck to everyone. I was on this forum every day last year and know the feeling a lot of you are going through. I recognize a lot of your names and have a lot of respect for the re-applicants. It's not an easy process to endure. I ended up getting in off the 3rd tier of the waitlist 3 days before classes started in July and school is going great now. I know the waitlist won't come out until April or May, but if you get put on the bottom of the waitlist, definitely don't give up hope. Most people on it will get in. Just so y'all have something to compare to, my stats were 3.5/34/IS. Good luck to all.
 
Does anyone know if South and UAB have a non-compete? I heard from a friend who interviewed at South that last year there were 10 dual-acceptances and 8 chose South. That part doesn't bother me except that there were ONLY 10 double acceptances?

South accepted me by snail mail on October 19 and the letter was dated the day after my interview (interviewed 10/6, letter dated 10/7). I interviewed at UAB on 9/29 and haven't heard anything from them.

Has anyone been accepted to both? Were any of you current med students accepted to both places? My friend who is a first year at South was accepted to South and Wake Forest and left on the hook at UAB until two days before the final decision day. I really do not want to wait that long, especially since my interview was more than a month ago already!

Any thoughts?

The part about the 8 of 10 dual acceptances is definitely not true. I have at least 5 friends that I can think of right now in my class (UASOM) that were accepted to both. I know there were some people that chose USACOM over UASOM but I know it's not 8/10. I feel pretty confident in saying that there were way more than 10 dual acceptances also.
 
Just wanted to stop by and say good luck to everyone. I was on this forum every day last year and know the feeling a lot of you are going through. I recognize a lot of your names and have a lot of respect for the re-applicants. It's not an easy process to endure. I ended up getting in off the 3rd tier of the waitlist 3 days before classes started in July and school is going great now. I know the waitlist won't come out until April or May, but if you get put on the bottom of the waitlist, definitely don't give up hope. Most people on it will get in. Just so y'all have something to compare to, my stats were 3.5/34/IS. Good luck to all.

You have such great scores and were placed on wait list. I dont get it. If candidates like you have to wait then is there hope for more human type students. I dont think UAB has more than 20 IS kids with MCAT scores like yours.
 
You have such great scores and were placed on wait list. I dont get it. If candidates like you have to wait then is there hope for more human type students. I dont think UAB has more than 20 IS kids with MCAT scores like yours.

don't be discouraged by that. there were people accepted outright and higher on the waitlist than me with much worse scores. my interviews didnt go as well as i wouldve liked...not terrible, but not great. i'm not exactly what you would call a "bubbly, extroverted guy" and i think that was detrimental to me in one of my interviews. i can carry on a conversation with anybody and talk about whatever, but i just dont use a lot of inflection or voice tone. if any of you are like me in that regard, i would advise working on forcing yourself to sound enthusiastic before your interview. i did post-interview feedback before i was accepted and they said they weren't sure if i was passionate about medicine based on my interview. it's bs to judge that on a 10-min interview if you ask me, but just thought i would let yall know that they do pay attention to that.

also, my science gpa was lower than my overall so that couldve been a reason i was lower on the list. there's a lot of time left. again, i didnt get in until july.
 
Just wanted to stop by and say good luck to everyone. I was on this forum every day last year and know the feeling a lot of you are going through. I recognize a lot of your names and have a lot of respect for the re-applicants. It's not an easy process to endure. I ended up getting in off the 3rd tier of the waitlist 3 days before classes started in July and school is going great now. I know the waitlist won't come out until April or May, but if you get put on the bottom of the waitlist, definitely don't give up hope. Most people on it will get in. Just so y'all have something to compare to, my stats were 3.5/34/IS. Good luck to all.

I'm glad classes are going well Tully! How are you liking the curriculum?
 
I'm glad classes are going well Tully! How are you liking the curriculum?

i like it a lot. fundamentals 1 and 2 were pretty tough because it was just such a huge variety of material but it's gotten a little easier and a lot more interesting now that we've started cardiovascular. there's a lot more overlap and reinforcement between different lecturers. i really think i'm going to like the systems based setup more than i would have the old curriculum. i also really like that we get a lot of patient interaction in the first two years. i know that will help me feel much more prepared going into my third year.
 
Hi,

I'm not trying to troll or anything, but I am considering UAB I am from out of state and interviewed in December. I'm an MD/PhD applicant and should hear next week, this was/is my top choice but I am starting to have some slight concerns after some comments your new governor made concerning religion. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_alabama_governor_christians

I'm from the northeast and don't get me wrong we have discrimination and bigotry up here, I was just wondering what you all felt about your experiences and if you think its actually an issue or is your governor just an unrepresentative idiot? I'd be committing to living there for 7-8 years so any comments would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
Hi,

I'm not trying to troll or anything, but I am considering UAB I am from out of state and interviewed in December. I'm an MD/PhD applicant and should hear next week, this was/is my top choice but I am starting to have some slight concerns after some comments your new governor made concerning religion. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_alabama_governor_christians

I'm from the northeast and don't get me wrong we have discrimination and bigotry up here, I was just wondering what you all felt about your experiences and if you think its actually an issue or is your governor just an unrepresentative idiot? I'd be committing to living there for 7-8 years so any comments would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hi. I can't speak for all of the students at the UAB medical school, much less every Alabama resident, but I can speak as a resident of Alabama for 23 years. Alabama is basically in the heart of the "BIBLE Belt." I know several students in the UAB first-year class, and all of the individuals that I am speaking of are very devout Christians. Governor Robert Bentley is a very fine representative of this state and of the UAB medical program. He graduated from UAB with his M.D. in 1968 and is a very highly respected individual in the state. To speak of him as an "unrepresentative idiot" is a very uninformed speculation. He obviously represents the views of the majority of us Alabama residents; this is why he is our new elected governor. I think that if you are bothered by these things I would consider one of the other schools that you have been accepted to attend. I am sure that they are fine programs as well. I do not mean to offend you. I pray for you that you will soon come to know, understand, and love our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I can't imagine trying to live my life without His guidance. :xf:
 
Hi. I can't speak for all of the students at the UAB medical school, much less every Alabama resident, but I can speak as a resident of Alabama for 23 years. Alabama is basically in the heart of the "BIBLE Belt." I know several students in the UAB first-year class, and all of the individuals that I am speaking of are very devout Christians. Governor Robert Bentley is a very fine representative of this state and of the UAB medical program. He graduated from UAB with his M.D. in 1968 and is a very highly respected individual in the state. To speak of him as an "unrepresentative idiot" is a very uninformed speculation. He obviously represents the views of the majority of us Alabama residents; this is why he is our new elected governor. I think that if you are bothered by these things I would consider one of the other schools that you have been accepted to attend. I am sure that they are fine programs as well. I do not mean to offend you. I pray for you that you will soon come to know, understand, and love our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I can't imagine trying to live my life without His guidance. :xf:

Thanks for the response. I guess it looks like I should worry about tolerance and acceptance. As someone who grew up Jewish and is now atheist it is a little bothersome to hear that people want to pray for me to come to know their faith. With that said I absolutely do not want to turn this board into a theological argument, but would still appreciate hearing any additional insight especially from those who would identify as non-chrisitians. I really did love my visit to Birmingham and think UAB has a great program so these are all things I'll be thinking about (unless of course I get rejected then this will all be moot I guess ha hoping thats not the case:xf:)
 
Thanks for the response. I guess it looks like I should worry about tolerance and acceptance. As someone who grew up Jewish and is now atheist it is a little bothersome to hear that people want to pray for me to come to know their faith. With that said I absolutely do not want to turn this board into a theological argument, but would still appreciate hearing any additional insight especially from those who would identify as non-chrisitians. I really did love my visit to Birmingham and think UAB has a great program so these are all things I'll be thinking about (unless of course I get rejected then this will all be moot I guess ha hoping thats not the case:xf:)

I agree that we shouldn't turn this board into a theological argument, but I wanted to respond to your question because, like you, I consider myself an atheist. I moved to Alabama three years ago from Chicago to be closer to my family. First, I must admit that what RTR said about Alabama is, in my opinion, correct. It is the "bible belt" and most people probably do agree with the Governor. However, even my extremely conservative, Tea Party loving, devout Christian brother (all said with love and jest) called me to apologize for what the Governor said because as a public official he should not of used his office to spread his religious beliefs and alienate some of his constituents. With that said, I have to say I am pleasantly surprised with Birmingham. This city is not like the rest of Alabama, and I think that's because of UAB. I worked there for two years, and know that this school prides itself on the diversity of it's employees and students, and goes out of it's way to make everyone feel comfortable. Yes, some people do make christianity a priority here. You will probably be asked about your faith, but I have never been harassed about my lack of faith and have had many very interesting conversations that while living in the midwest would've never had. Last year, one of the local colleges even brought in Christopher Hitchens (if you're familiar with him) to openly debate Christianity/Atheism and I was surprised at the turnout and the constructive conversations. In the end, I think it will only be an issue if you make it into an issue. I love living here, the weather is beautiful, the people are friendly, and the cost of living is very low. It's up to you. I wish you nothing but the best! :luck:
 
Thanks for the response. I guess it looks like I should worry about tolerance and acceptance. As someone who grew up Jewish and is now atheist it is a little bothersome to hear that people want to pray for me to come to know their faith. With that said I absolutely do not want to turn this board into a theological argument, but would still appreciate hearing any additional insight especially from those who would identify as non-chrisitians. I really did love my visit to Birmingham and think UAB has a great program so these are all things I'll be thinking about (unless of course I get rejected then this will all be moot I guess ha hoping thats not the case:xf:)

As someone who currently lives in Birmingham and is an open (described as passionate by some) atheist, I must say that I share your concern when it comes to planning my training/life. In my experience, what you heard from Governor Bentley and your responder represents a hefty portion of the population. (People who probably mean no harm to anyone, but genuinely believe people like us need to be prayed for, showed the way...etc) To avoid making this a theological discussion, in short, this is a religious place and specifically a Christian place.

That being said, the scientific and medical community at UAB is probably like most and represents a specific sliver of the population where you are statistically more likely to find like-minded individuals. Though the kind of stuff you read about does happen and is the reason the bible-belt stereotype exists, I don’t see it affecting your day to day life. I also don’t think that sort of thing is present or influential in the institutions intellectual efficacy. T (For lack of a better way to put it) This is a good school cranking out real and genuinely significant to society science. I tend to be careful with whom I express my concerns to with this sort of thing (i.e. people with a say in my opportunities) as this subject has the tendency of being a bit more potent at offending people’s sensibilities than others, but it seems a perfectly legitimate and reasonable thing to talk to people about if you do get the invite. (students, faculty, etc.)

I guess my short opinion is that you will probably have no trouble finding plenty of people (religious or not) that you can relate to, work well with, respect the intellect of, make good friends with, etc, but I certainly won’t downplay the pervading religious tone in the culture of the city/state/region. Depending on how that sounds to you is how I would rank this on my criteria list for making a final decision.

Hopefully my commentary proves at least a little bit ‘on base’. Best of luck.
 
Hi,

I'm not trying to troll or anything, but I am considering UAB I am from out of state and interviewed in December. I'm an MD/PhD applicant and should hear next week, this was/is my top choice but I am starting to have some slight concerns after some comments your new governor made concerning religion. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_alabama_governor_christians

I'm from the northeast and don't get me wrong we have discrimination and bigotry up here, I was just wondering what you all felt about your experiences and if you think its actually an issue or is your governor just an unrepresentative idiot? I'd be committing to living there for 7-8 years so any comments would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hello, I've been reading the boards for a while and thought I'd comment on this. I'm applying to UAB, and was a student at Auburn from 2000-2007. Otherwise I've been OOS. I would be surprised if any religious issues interfered with your enjoyment of your time there. The people in Alabama are as friendly as anywhere.
 
Thanks Ditto, MDME, and McScoots for sharing your experiences. I am glad to hear that you all enjoy Birmingham, this is what I hoped/wanted to hear in response to my post. This definitely reaffirms my decision to consider UAB my top choice (again still hoping for that acceptance ha), I totally agree with MDME that there is great science going on here and I would be really excited to get to be a part of it. Ditto and McScoots good luck with your applications!
 
I went to UAB for undergrad and grad school (7 years), and was accepted there for med school.

UAB and Birmingham, for the most part, are more open minded than the rest of Alabama. The majority of people are still Christian, though. My hometown is ~600 people, with 99.9% of those people having the mindset of the new Gov'nah. Because UAB is a state school there will be students who are like the general population of the state: backwards like the governor. I know a few in the class of 2014.

UAB is a wonderful school with a great reputation and fantastic research. It's an awesome place to pursue an MD/PhD. I really wouldn't let students like RTR dissuade you from choosing UAB. You will interact with some pretty racist/ignorant patients, though, that use some choice language, but that happens all over the country to some extent (I've come across it already down here in Florida).
 
I totally agree with zaius. Birmingham is definitely one of the more progressive cities in this area in terms of openness. If you like everything else about the city/state, but are hesitant in this aspect, I wouldn't let it influence you too much. Someone said Alabama was the "heart" of the bible belt, but I have witnessed a higher concentration of fanatics in states such as MS and LA.
 
Really guys, you must have alot of other acceptances is you can afford to worry about this. I just want to go to UAB medical school and learn, serve, and become the best physician possible! Having said that, has anyone heard anything lately?
 
the waiting -- the waiting -- the waiting -- who set up this system???
 
OOS Interview invite received yesterday, Interview on Feb 10th!

32R/3.9 Science GPA/alot of campus involvement.

Thanks for whoever recommended the update letter! I sent one out two weeks ago and had an interview within two weeks.
 
Congrats. I'm personally waiting for the reapplicant segment to start.
 
Thanks Tinsley - Its good to hear that there is some activity in B'ham.
Based on last years thread, it sounds like the first acceptances of the new year are in mid-February.

When did reapplicants get called last year?
 
yeah i had a friend who was a reapplicant last year and he didnt interview till march...so i guess its not time to start getting nervous just yet👍
 
One of my friends used to work in the admissions office, and he confirmed the timeline conjectures. I certainly hope that the committee is stingy with seats until they hear from us reapps who've bent over backwards to improve. Rather strange that I got OOS invites quicker than instate...

However, I disagree with Piper: I've been nervous for approx 4 months.
 
I think I just saw a tumbleweed roll by Volker.
 
Hey guys,
I just got the interview invite at UAB! I am a reapplicant. I just went to check the status page and it said "interview requested"! Never got an email about it. Interviewing next week! Maybe you other reapplicants have a status change and no email yet.
 
Hey guys,
I just got the interview invite at UAB! I am a reapplicant. I just went to check the status page and it said "interview requested"! Never got an email about it. Interviewing next week! Maybe you other reapplicants have a status change and no email yet.

A second after I read this I got an interview invite! 😀 I'll be there next week too! Good Luck BamaMed!
 
I am a re-applicant and just received an interview invite. I have the option to choose an interview date in February or early March. I have so much going on in February, so I'm thinking I might go for the March interview.

I have always heard the earlier, the better. What do you guys think? Will a later interview affect my chances?
 
also got an interview invite. looking forward to meeting you guys next week!
 
I am a re-applicant and just received an interview invite. I have the option to choose an interview date in February or early March. I have so much going on in February, so I'm thinking I might go for the March interview.

I have always heard the earlier, the better. What do you guys think? Will a later interview affect my chances?

Hey, I am a MS1 at UAB

It does not really matter when you interview, they set a certain standard and accept people over that standard. I'm sure there are people that interviewed in like Sept still waiting while some in Jan and already accepted. If you rock they accept you regardless of when you interview. 👍
 
I am one of those applicants. I was interviewed in September and haven't heard ANYTHING since then. I sent an update letter but don't really know if they will read it. Do they return to old files? I think UAB does the same thing as South where they give you a score based on your application and interview and let you in when the bar is lowered to your score, but I don't know if they will go back and change a score after the interview. Any thoughts?
 
I am one of those applicants. I was interviewed in September and haven't heard ANYTHING since then. I sent an update letter but don't really know if they will read it. Do they return to old files? I think UAB does the same thing as South where they give you a score based on your application and interview and let you in when the bar is lowered to your score, but I don't know if they will go back and change a score after the interview. Any thoughts?


I can't be sure but after going through the process last year and this year, I can say that I don't think that uab and usa do the samething when evaluating applicants (I could be wrong). Most people I knew that applied last year (including myself) did not hear anything from uab after interviewing until April unless they were accepted the day after interviewing. Hope this helps!

Does anybody know any stats on acceptance rates of reapplicants?
 
"Your Current Status is Remain Under Consideration for Interview." How long should I be waiting for them to re-review my app. This has been my status for about two months now. Has anyone else been through this, and what are my chances, realistically, to still be invited for an interview if they didn't invite my after the first review of my app?
 
Just wanted to kind of say the same thing as Tully. I checked this every day last year like many of you. I didn't get an interview until February and I was put on the waitlist (middle third). I didn't hear anything until mid-May, but I know several people in my class didn't get in until the week before class started. So don't give up hope yet, still a long way to go 🙂
 
Does anybody know any stats on acceptance rates of reapplicants?

So, I've been rather bored at work today so I went through the thread from last year and it doesn't look good for us reapps. About 2/3 of the reapps were flat out rejected. The rest were waitlisted, but did eventually get in off the waitlist. Also of note, it looks like you had a higher chance of being waitlisted again if you were waitlisted the previous year. I'm sure it depends a lot on how much you've improved your app so take that with a grain of salt.
 
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