2010-2011 University of Arizona Application Thread

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I haven't been able to find calendar for the Tucson campus. Anyone know when classes begin?
 
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so what is the deal over at Tucson with years 3/4? Can we complete these years at Phoenix?

I am pretty sure that my year (Class of 2014) is the last class that can do years 3 and 4 in Phoenix. Now that Phoenix has its own campus (and it will be expanding in the coming years), they have to save hospital spots for those students. Tucson still has a lot of hospitals too though, so it would be a great place for 3rd and 4th year 🙂
 
I had a hard time finding it too. Take advantage of my pain. I cannot speak for its accuracy.
http://www.omse.medicine.arizona.edu/academic-calendar

20July-27July is "medical student bridge" (not sure what that is)
28July-29July is orientation
1Aug is start of classes

Bridge is a program that the Tucson campus offers and is held the week before actual classes start. It is for students who want to experience a week of medical school before grading actually begins. You sit in on pseudo-lectures, do group activities and take a fake exam at the end to see how you do. I believe they also give you a nice little stipend for materials that are used during the week. You get access to the application once you are accepted.
 
Bridge is a program that the Tucson campus offers and is held the week before actual classes start. It is for students who want to experience a week of medical school before grading actually begins. You sit in on pseudo-lectures, do group activities and take a fake exam at the end to see how you do. I believe they also give you a nice little stipend for materials that are used during the week. You get access to the application once you are accepted.

Do you recommend the bridge program?

Is there any knowledge gained or is it just for the experience?
 
Do you recommend the bridge program?

Is there any knowledge gained or is it just for the experience?

I actually did not do the program because I didn't hear about it in time (they only allow so many people to do it). From what I have heard from other students though is that it is a lot of fun, both information wise and experience. They pick a topic and focus mostly on that, this year's was HIV. You definitely will not learn anything crucial for boards during bridge that you wouldn't learn in the rest of medical school though. The biggest advantages are that you get to experience med school test taking before it is graded and you get to meet a portion of your class before orientation day.
 
Sooooo, will Tucson release waitlist / rejections this week? Anyone know anything about whats occurring at Tucson??? Please don't make us wait till April.
 
I noticed on some other forums of other schools that people had created facebook group for the incoming class. I think it would be fun for those going to the tucson campus to start getting to know each other. Search for "The University of Arizona College of Medicine- Tucson Class of 2015" on facebook and join if you so desire.
 
Sooooo, will Tucson release waitlist / rejections this week? Anyone know anything about whats occurring at Tucson??? Please don't make us wait till April.

Hi there,

Tucson will release its waitlist during the first week of April according to Ann at the admissions office. I don't know why it is taking so long (maybe they are actually re-reviewing our applications before making the waitlist).
 
Does anyone know how large UofA Phoenix's waitlist is? Also, how many people were accepted of of Phoenix's waitlist last year?
 
That's okay! I'll probably just call down there and ask... Thanks though!

I recently called and asked Ann about this matter and she indicated that it is too late to send any letters of intent or other additional materials. 🙁
 
Hi there,

Tucson will release its waitlist during the first week of April according to Ann at the admissions office. I don't know why it is taking so long (maybe they are actually re-reviewing our applications before making the waitlist).

Tucson starts on July 28th, but Phoenix starts in early July sometime, so their waitlist goes out almost a month earlier. This is also why their final decision day is in April and Tucson's is in May. My roommate who is applying also said that she heard the Tucson waitlist should be coming out the first week of April, so keep your fingers crossed :xf:
 
Anyone else hear of the potential for another wave of releases (as previously indicated a page or two ago)? 😕😕
 
Tucson starts on July 28th, but Phoenix starts in early July sometime, so their waitlist goes out almost a month earlier. This is also why their final decision day is in April and Tucson's is in May. My roommate who is applying also said that she heard the Tucson waitlist should be coming out the first week of April, so keep your fingers crossed :xf:

Orientation for PHX starts the week of July 18th and the first day of class is set for July 25th. White coat ceremony is tentatively scheduled for July 29.

I would think Tucson's waitlist takes a little longer because 1) It might have more names and 2) they rank it so it is important to get the ranking the way they want it - once they tell someone they are "given #" on the waitlist that is pretty set. PHX maintains a lot more freedom when selecting from the waitlist, so it is not as concrete.
 
I noticed on some other forums of other schools that people had created facebook group for the incoming class. I think it would be fun for those going to the tucson campus to start getting to know each other. Search for "The University of Arizona College of Medicine- Tucson Class of 2015" on facebook and join if you so desire.


Just joined.
 
Did Ann mention if they were still considering giving out acceptances if some of the already accepted students decide not to go to UA-Tucson....before the waitlist/rejections come out?
 
April?!! What a load of ****. It doesn't take ****ing 7 months to make this decision. 😡
Yeah I'm with you on this one. The way they are treating us this year is completely disrespectful. In or out, major decisions in our lives depend on their adcom. Making us wait until April just to find out if we have a shot or not (and then likely more waiting) does not give many of us adequate time to responsibly plan our lives. The UA-Tucson adcom has only a fraction of the apps to deal with relative to many campuses, there is no reason for this. Frankly I think it reflects poorly on their medical school, and if they treat us like this now, then what are the chances they will treat us any better when we are students there? Personally, I have an acceptance elsewhere, and I think I am going to commit to it. UA-Tucson, I'm over it. 😴 If I end up high on the waitlist, then hopefully someone else in here who needs the seat will get it. Physio84 signing off...see you in residency hopefully!
 
Yeah I'm with you on this one. The way they are treating us this year is completely disrespectful. In or out, major decisions in our lives depend on their adcom. Making us wait until April just to find out if we have a shot or not (and then likely more waiting) does not give many of us adequate time to responsibly plan our lives. The UA-Tucson adcom has only a fraction of the apps to deal with relative to many campuses, there is no reason for this. Frankly I think it reflects poorly on their medical school, and if they treat us like this now, then what are the chances they will treat us any better when we are students there? Personally, I have an acceptance elsewhere, and I think I am going to commit to it. UA-Tucson, I'm over it. 😴 If I end up high on the waitlist, then hopefully someone else in here who needs the seat will get it. Physio84 signing off...see you in residency hopefully!

This is exactly how I feel. I have an acceptance somewhere else and will probably commit to it as well. On the other hand, if they released their waitlist at a reasonable time I might reconsider.
 
Frankly I think it reflects poorly on their medical school, and if they treat us like this now, then what are the chances they will treat us any better when we are students there? Personally, I have an acceptance elsewhere, and I think I am going to commit to it. UA-Tucson, I'm over it. 😴 If I end up high on the waitlist, then hopefully someone else in here who needs the seat will get it. Physio84 signing off...see you in residency hopefully!

They actually treat the students very well and majority have no regrets. If you're disgruntled already, go to another school.
 
Schools I interviewed at and when they will inform me about my status:

Oregon: May 15th
Temple: Late March
West Virginia: May 15th

So while UofA-Tucson is usually March 12-15, but this year is April, isn't the dead worst comparing to some other schools (May 15th). On the other hand, I do wish they would reject and waitlist candidates as they interview them, instead of doing a huge block at the end. I'm sure there are some candidates they know will be rejected the second they interview them.
 
I understand the frustration of the wait and how it plays havoc on planning for your life. I even agree with some of the criticisms. However, I am unsure if I could call it disrespectful. In my experience most other medical school admissions are not any better. I have heard speculation and rumor at some adcom's indicating they take their time to weed out those lesser committed to their school. Early acceptances have a very high turnover rate unless it is truly your first choice. That is where a letter of intent may be beneficial early on at "some" schools. Categorically, I think the process could be more efficient but who knows how things actually are on the other side of the fence.
 
I understand the frustration of the wait and how it plays havoc on planning for your life. I even agree with some of the criticisms. However, I am unsure if I could call it disrespectful. In my experience most other medical school admissions are not any better. I have heard speculation and rumor at some adcom's indicating they take their time to weed out those lesser committed to their school. Early acceptances have a very high turnover rate unless it is truly your first choice. That is where a letter of intent may be beneficial early on at "some" schools. Categorically, I think the process could be more efficient but who knows how things actually are on the other side of the fence.

This is a possibility, but part of the reason early acceptances have a high turnover rate is they usually will hold multiple acceptances, whereas later acceptances may not. Still, I see your point.

In any case, I do not claim to have ever been on an adcom, so I do not know what it is like from their view - but I have been a TA/lab instructor, written my own exams, and also been an employer. I can tell you that despite your best intentions, it is all to easy to become desensitized to the consequences of your judgments (i.e. semester grades, hiring/firing decisions, etc). Seeing as the adcoms are in a similar position of authority, they may have a similar view. Disrespectful was the wrong word, but somewhat inconsiderate I think would be accurate...even that is not their intention. They are, of course, acting in what they believe is the best interest of their school, which is not necessarily our own individual best interests.

Yeah, I was a bit tee'd last night when I read that it could be until April, when they gave us their word during interview it would be no later than mid-March. But I stand by what I said, I am most likely going to withdraw my app. Everyone has to make their own decisions based on their circumstances, and mine are not too compatible with waiting until the last minute to figure out where I am going to go. My girlfriend needs to arrange to stay or transfer. I have a lease coming up on my condo. Etc. etc. Many of us are just in limbo because of this, and that is why we have expressed frustration. It was not my intent to offend.
 
. Everyone has to make their own decisions based on their circumstances, and mine are not too compatible with waiting until the last minute to figure out where I am going to go. My girlfriend needs to arrange to stay or transfer. I have a lease coming up on my condo. Etc. etc. Many of us are just in limbo because of this, and that is why we have expressed frustration. It was not my intent to offend.

Not to mention the possibility of having to reapply, get LOR's, transcripts, rewrite/update a PS, and find money to pay for the business that is the AMCAS.

THE HORROR!
 
BearDown, does your name have anything at all to do with the complete email UA Tucson sends to all its applicants? 😀
 
BearDown, does your name have anything at all to do with the complete email UA Tucson sends to all its applicants? 😀

Bear Down is the rally call for UA athletics. It comes from a former football star and team captain at UA who died during the season. His last words to, I believe the coach, was "tell the team to bear down".

It's similar to USC's "fight on", Michigan's "go big blue", Alabama's "roll tide" slogans.
 
I'm back! I had to take a vacation from SDN to get over the heartbreak that was my empty e-mail inbox. At the moment, I'm holding multiple DO acceptances and a waitlist spot from Phoenix. Looking at last year's thread, though, it seems that they pull few people from that list.

My hope now is for a high waitlist spot in Tucson, otherwise I'll have to look down the barrel of my plan B. (and by "look down the barrel of.." I just mean "face the reality of...". My plan B in no way involves actual firearms)

Congrats to everyone that has recieved an acceptance, a minor pox on Tucson for not releasing the waitlist till April and good luck to all of us who are still in limbo!
 
Bear Down is the rally call for UA athletics. It comes from a former football star and team captain at UA who died during the season. His last words to, I believe the coach, was "tell the team to bear down".

It's similar to USC's "fight on", Michigan's "go big blue", Alabama's "roll tide" slogans.

This is it. UofA Alumni.
 
anyone accepted on Feb 25 at UA Phx still waiting to receive the acceptance packet? i think mine is lost in the great land of unionized inefficiency. lol
 
anyone accepted on Feb 25 at UA Phx still waiting to receive the acceptance packet? i think mine is lost in the great land of unionized inefficiency. lol

Mine took a few weeks to arrive and it's certified mail, so if no one is there to sign for it, you have to go pick it up at the post office! Its not really a "packet" but 4 letters of congratulation. Hope that helps!
 
For those that have already been accepted, what is the protocol for Tucson? After sending in the specified (from the email) paper work, what happens next? Do they inform you that they have received it and give you more to information (i.e. when school starts, login to access the school website, etc.)?
 
between now and the waitlist, does anyone think that UA-Tucson might consider sending out more acceptances depending on how many students decline their offers from Tucson? I thought i read a post mentioning that before
 
April?!! What a load of ****. It doesn't take ****ing 7 months to make this decision. 😡

Interviews didn't finish up 7 months ago, even though your interview may have been 7 months ago. They're not going to make the waitlist until after interviews end, so you have to be patient.

Yeah I'm with you on this one. The way they are treating us this year is completely disrespectful. In or out, major decisions in our lives depend on their adcom. Making us wait until April just to find out if we have a shot or not (and then likely more waiting) does not give many of us adequate time to responsibly plan our lives. The UA-Tucson adcom has only a fraction of the apps to deal with relative to many campuses, there is no reason for this. Frankly I think it reflects poorly on their medical school, and if they treat us like this now, then what are the chances they will treat us any better when we are students there? Personally, I have an acceptance elsewhere, and I think I am going to commit to it. UA-Tucson, I'm over it. 😴 If I end up high on the waitlist, then hopefully someone else in here who needs the seat will get it. Physio84 signing off...see you in residency hopefully!

I remember how stressful last year was when I was applying, so I'll assume most of this is just frustration spilling out in the one place where people actually understand what you're going through. Still, do your best to stay calm; you could be accepted up to the first week of class. Luckily, you have an acceptance elsewhere so you won't have to wait that long, but some people do end up waiting for their first acceptance well into summer so it could be worse.

I know you sort of rescinded some of your statements in a later post, but how have they disrespected you? Because the waitlist is coming out a little later than expected? These sorts of things happen at every school. Honestly, they could have just left you in the dark and let the waitlist come out whenever they got around to doing it. Instead they gave an estimated time and had to push it back. Keep in mind the people on the ADCOM do not do that as their main job. They are faculty who teach (med students, residents, fellows, etc.), do research, serve on various committees, etc. and students who are also busy. Regardless, unless you're really high up on the waitlist you would have to wait until at least April to get pulled off of it, so its not like this adds any wait time. If you were high up (ranked <15), then you'll still be accepted right away. If anything, this extra time for the waitlist will give more people time to withdraw resulting in quicker initial movement.

As for how they treat us here, I can tell you as a student that it has been absolutely amazing. The faculty are incredibly dedicated to teaching. As a quick example, one of the docs was in the ER for kidney stones one morning and walked to the anatomy lab that afternoon to lead anatomy reviews when he should have been resting. This is just one example, but I can assure you that everyone from the deans on down has been great. Again, I'll just assume that this comment was made out of frustration.

They actually treat the students very well and majority have no regrets. If you're disgruntled already, go to another school.

I have absolutely no regrets. After 3/4 of a year here, I feel like this was the best school for me of any of the schools I interviewed at (yes, even better than Mayo; although free tuition would be a difference maker).

Does Tucson post a private list of accepted students like Phoenix?

They didn't last year, and I'm pretty sure that's still the case. I don't know how much I would want a list of acceptance students. It seems kind of useless; you'll make friends with plenty of people regardless of who is going there. If there is some one you don't like on the list, you can avoid them anyways. Plus, a lot of people accepted will withdraw, so that list will change a lot. I don't know, I guess it could be a fun thing to have to be a little distraction while waiting for the start of school to roll around...

For those that have already been accepted, what is the protocol for Tucson? After sending in the specified (from the email) paper work, what happens next? Do they inform you that they have received it and give you more to information (i.e. when school starts, login to access the school website, etc.)?

I don't recall them giving a confirmation that they received it. They'll send out information probably in the couple of weeks regarding second look and some other stuff. As for other info, you can get most of it already just by surfing around the med school website (stuff you need to be able to login for won't be needed until school starts). I post a bunch of links in last year's acceptance thread. I seem to remember some one posting a link to the OMSE page with the academic calendar, which I found interesting. They should have the start date and dates of all the blocks for next year for the first and second years already posted there.
 
between now and the waitlist, does anyone think that UA-Tucson might consider sending out more acceptances depending on how many students decline their offers from Tucson? I thought i read a post mentioning that before

I believe what they did last year was create the waitlist, and then spots that opened up while they were doing that were automatically filled when the waitlist was finalized and distributed. I believe the waitlist jumped to like number 14 the first day it came out. This is why the slight delay on its release is not that big of a deal in my mind, because those who are high on it will be accepted right away and those who are lower on it would still be waiting either way. Although, I understand that any extra wait at this point in the cycle can be very stressful. Dealing with that extra stress will make you that much more ready to deal with the stress of medical school. 🙄
 
is anyone familiar with the tuition reduction program? I'd love for my wife to find a job at the university in order to get reduced/free tuition. any tips?
 
A fried of mine was accepted to Tucson earlier today. Sounds like they're trying to stay afloat and admit people before announcing waitlist. I can understand the frustration of being led on, so good luck.
 
is anyone familiar with the tuition reduction program? I'd love for my wife to find a job at the university in order to get reduced/free tuition. any tips?

Pretty sure as long as you're full time you and immediate family get something like 90% off.
 
is anyone familiar with the tuition reduction program? I'd love for my wife to find a job at the university in order to get reduced/free tuition. any tips?

I cannot speak for UofA specifically but at other universities I know only offer tuition reduction to faculty positions not staff. Even within that there are certain limitations. Also, at other universities I have encountered if you do qualify for tuition reduction, it can be limited on which program it can apply. For example, a friend of mine here qualifies for the reduction, and receives PT grad school tuition free. However, cannot use the benefit for the medical college.

Here is UofA HR website. Clicky benefits for more specific details to UofA or give them a call and ask specifics.
http://www.hr.arizona.edu/
 
A rejection could have been sent 6 months ago, though.

I know a few schools do this, but many don't send rejections immediately post-interview, including both UA campuses. If they invite you for an interview, you can be sure they have enough interest in you that they want to at the very least wait until they've seen all interviewees before they let you go. It's stupid of schools to reject people before they see the full interview pool, and it would be especially stupid of a school like UA with such a small group of interviewees to start rejecting people prematurely.

Pretty sure as long as you're full time you and immediate family get something like 90% off.

I have a friend at UA-Phoenix, and his dad is a professor at ASU. He gets super cheap tuition (something like $2-3k/yr, IIRC). Also, my sister-in-law in the nursing program at ASU gets tuition reduction because her husband is a full time employee at ASU. I think he is doing something crappy like parking and transit, so they can get the reduction. For the money med school costs, its totally worth it to look into.
 
I remember how stressful last year was when I was applying, so I'll assume most of this is just frustration spilling out in the one place where people actually understand what you're going through. Still, do your best to stay calm; you could be accepted up to the first week of class. Luckily, you have an acceptance elsewhere so you won't have to wait that long, but some people do end up waiting for their first acceptance well into summer so it could be worse.

I know you sort of rescinded some of your statements in a later post, but how have they disrespected you? Because the waitlist is coming out a little later than expected? These sorts of things happen at every school. Honestly, they could have just left you in the dark and let the waitlist come out whenever they got around to doing it. Instead they gave an estimated time and had to push it back. Keep in mind the people on the ADCOM do not do that as their main job. They are faculty who teach (med students, residents, fellows, etc.), do research, serve on various committees, etc. and students who are also busy. Regardless, unless you're really high up on the waitlist you would have to wait until at least April to get pulled off of it, so its not like this adds any wait time. If you were high up (ranked <15), then you'll still be accepted right away. If anything, this extra time for the waitlist will give more people time to withdraw resulting in quicker initial movement.

My problem is not so much with the waitlist coming out in April as it is with the fact they could not keep their word on its slated release date. As another poster has mentioned, keeping someone in the dark for seven months is frustrating enough, but then missing what was promised on interview day to be a pretty firm deadline just adds insult to injury. People planned to be able to have a better picture of how to organize their lives by mid-March. I do not feel personally disrespected anymore than the next person. Rather, I find it generally disrespectful (or as I amended in a later post, inconsiderate) to miss a deadline that is so important to so many people. With my students and clients alike, I do not promise deadlines I cannot keep, and I do not miss deadlines without a *very* compelling and well-documented reason.

Yes, I realize that if waitlisted that still does not guarantee an acceptance. However, because Tucson's waitlist is ranked, and the historical figures indicate 45-75 usually are pulled, then you can be pretty confident of your pending acceptance if you are in the top 45...or that you're out if you are below 75. Also, if you are outright rejected, at least you know so you can plan your future accordingly. It should go without saying that people's lives ride on this decision, regardless of their acceptance status elsewhere.
 
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I have a friend at UA-Phoenix, and his dad is a professor at ASU. He gets super cheap tuition (something like $2-3k/yr, IIRC). Also, my sister-in-law in the nursing program at ASU gets tuition reduction because her husband is a full time employee at ASU. I think he is doing something crappy like parking and transit, so they can get the reduction. For the money med school costs, its totally worth it to look into.

I work at UA-Tucson, and I was looking into taking some graduate courses last year. The tuition waiver brought the course cost down to ~$80 per credit hour...which is cheaper than Pima, if that says anything.
 
My problem is not so much with the waitlist coming out in April as it is with the fact they could not keep their word on its slated release date. As another poster has mentioned, keeping someone in the dark for seven months is frustrating enough, but then missing what was promised on interview day to be a pretty firm deadline just adds insult to injury. People planned to be able to have a better picture of how to organize their lives by mid-March. I do not feel personally disrespected anymore than the next person. Rather, I find it generally disrespectful (or as I amended in a later post, inconsiderate) to miss a deadline that is so important to so many people. With my students and clients alike, I do not promise deadlines I cannot keep, and I do not miss deadlines without a *very* compelling and well-documented reason.

Yes, I realize that if waitlisted that still does not guarantee an acceptance. However, because Tucson's waitlist is ranked, and the historical figures indicate 45-75 usually are pulled, then you can be pretty confident of your pending acceptance if you are in the top 45...or that you're out if you are below 75. Also, if you are outright rejected, at least you know so you can plan your future accordingly. It should go without saying that people's lives ride on this decision, regardless of their acceptance status elsewhere.

I don't know what to tell you then, other than welcome to the med school application process. It's incredibly frustrating and stressful, and the direction of the rest of your life depends on getting accepted. Believe me, I know what its like having just gone through it myself. I know waiting around for months on end without any news and things getting pushed back sucks, but its not unique to UA and to act like it is so disrespectful/inconsiderate that it reflects poorly on the school and how they treat us as students is just asinine (that's why I replied to your original post). Pitt put me on the wait list in like October ('09) and didn't reject me until this past August (~2 weeks after med school down here had started). During that time I didn't hear jack from them. While I was waiting to hear back from Mayo, stuff consistently got pushed back. Its all part of this awful process. This year UA-Tucson had to push the waitlist back from when they expected do it. I'm sorry that it has affected you guys, but it happens everywhere.

As for delaying expected release date, you are acting like they couldn't care less about moving it back. Trust me though, they want to get the waitlist out as quickly as they can just as much as you want them to get it out as quickly as they can. With a ranked waitlist, the release of the waitlist brings to an end the ADCOMs work for this cycle, so they can focus more attention on their many other duties. Also, I don't remember them ever promising when I interviewed that the waitlist would absolutely 100% be out by a certain time. UA, like the other schools i interviewed at, gave an estimated time, subject to change based on the ADCOM's workload that cycle.

Anyways, the waitlist will still be out by the first week of April, which should give most people plenty of time to decide what they want to do. I know sooner is better, but it's only like 2 extra weeks and when it comes out you'll know far more about where you stand in terms of an acceptance than you ever would on an unranked waitlist.
 
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