2010-2011 University of Cincinnati Application Thread

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hey guys, i was wondering whether you think its appropriate to mention a driving infraction OOS in the disciplinary action question that is part of the interview confirmation?
 
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hey guys, i was wondering whether you think its appropriate to mention my speeding ticket in Ohio in the disciplinary action question that is part of the interview confirmation?

I think it would be a good idea because Cincy stresses this in their secondary. Did you just get the interview offer? Congrats nonetheless!
 
I was only asking because I wasn't sure if they're referring to school-related disciplinary action or state/law-related disciplinary action (or perhaps both)? I did not actually receive any serious punishment aside from having to pay the ticket, but I just was not sure whether they meant school- or state-related disciplinary action (or both). I was not trying to hide anything. But if they are asking about school-related disciplinary action and I mention my speeding ticket, it seems inappropriate and takes away from my application in both my secondary and my additional questionaire. See what I mean?
 
Just declined all of my other waitlists/acceptances. Whew, feels kind of funny to be 90% percent sure where I'll be going to medical school!!

Congrats tiedyeddog! You deserve it--you seem like a kind-hearted person who really deserves this. Hope you celebrate this weekend! 🙂
 
I was only asking because I wasn't sure if they're referring to school-related disciplinary action or state/law-related disciplinary action (or perhaps both)? I did not actually receive any serious punishment aside from having to pay the ticket, but I just was not sure whether they meant school- or state-related disciplinary action (or both). I was not trying to hide anything. But if they are asking about school-related disciplinary action and I mention my speeding ticket, it seems inappropriate and takes away from my application in both my secondary and my additional questionaire. See what I mean?

I am 100% sure that in the part where they ask about disciplinary action, they are only referring to action from SCHOOL. Academic dishonesty, committing a school-related infraction or crime that's on a school record, etc etc. Do not put traffic violations there. BUT, you do need to put down traffic violations where UC specifically asks you to...where they ask if you've been convicted of a crime (it specifically mentions traffic violations must be listed). I had a speeding ticket (OOS, but that doesn't matter). They are mainly looking for a pattern of irresponsible behavior...1 or 2 tix for minor traffic stuff is fine. 9 or 10, not so much...
 
Thank you for the reply! I really appreciate it! Now I know not to add that to that part of the confirmation. And I made sure to mention other infractions in my secondary. 🙂
 
If i haven't received an invitation for an interview yet and my status hasn't changed, should I assume I have been silently rejected?
 
If i haven't received an invitation for an interview yet and my status hasn't changed, should I assume I have been silently rejected?

Nope, they have some interview days in February and March. Not sure about beyond that, but I can't imagine all the invites (or any of them) for March have been sent out.
 
Nope, they have some interview days in February and March. Not sure about beyond that, but I can't imagine all the invites (or any of them) for March have been sent out.

At the interview dr manuel said something along the lines of 250 spots have already been offered so there is still hope. Please don't quote me for the number I'm sure dr Manuel will tell you at the interview
 
Absolutely not. Cincinnati does not do silent rejections. Although there will be people who dont receive a notice (interview/rejection) till the very end (March 10th or so) DONT LOSE HOPE!

I am currently a first year here and this was my experience last year...

Secondary complete: July 8th, 2009
NO NEWS FOR MONTHS
Interview invite: March 8th, 2010
Interview date: March 16th, 2010
Waitlisted: Early April
Waitlist Tier Notice: Late April (Top Tier)
Accepted: May 20th, 2010

My interview invite came out of nowhere and I interviewed on the last day of the year. Us interviewees were told that we were only interviewing for waitlist spots and we would not be accepted until the waitlist moves. We were basically competing for our position on the list. The great thing about how they do the waitlist here is that they dont "rank" you against all other waitlisters until the very end. I put "rank" in quotes because you are put into 3 tiers and not specific ranks. They then pull people off the waitlist depending on what accepted students decline their offer. So if a female OOS person declines their offer, they will accept a female OOS in the 1st tier of the waitlist.



If i haven't received an invitation for an interview yet and my status hasn't changed, should I assume I have been silently rejected?
 
Hey all,

I'm a first year student at UC. If you guys are already interviewing at UC, you're ahead of where I was last year- like the previous poster, I interviewed on the last possible date, supposedly just for a waitlist spot, but was offered a spot on the 1st day they took people off the waitlist. I was living right across the river in northern Kentucky, so I got to find out about an awesome opportunity- Metropolitan Reciprocity Rate ( http://www.uc.edu/registrar/residency_reciprocity_metro/metro_rate_graduate.html ).

I know they mention in the interview that you can get in-state tuition after your 1st year. However, you can get essentially in-state tuition ALL 4 years. I did it, and here are the benefits: while you have to pay less than $2000 over 4 years in reciprocity fees, you save the $15000 that out-of-staters have to pay the 1st year. Again, here's the website: http://www.uc.edu/registrar/residency_reciprocity_metro/metro_rate_graduate.html

I mention this because cost is a significant factor, and saving well over $10000 might make a good student come here. Anyways, I have a test in an hour lol, so that's all for now on this...
 
I got rejected today pre-interview via email. I guess they're rejecting earlier than usual. I was already accepted to the school of my dreams, so Im not completely crushed, but I would have liked to of seen what the school has to offer. Good luck to everyone else! :luck:
 
I got rejected today pre-interview via email. I guess they're rejecting earlier than usual. I was already accepted to the school of my dreams, so Im not completely crushed, but I would have liked to of seen what the school has to offer. Good luck to everyone else! :luck:

Also got the rejection email, but I don't have any acceptances yet 🙁. Been complete since 8/5.

GL to everyone! :luck:
 
Anyone have news on the curriculum changes? They didn't have much to say about it when I interviewed back on Nov 5.
 
I got rejected today pre-interview via email. I guess they're rejecting earlier than usual. I was already accepted to the school of my dreams, so Im not completely crushed, but I would have liked to of seen what the school has to offer. Good luck to everyone else! :luck:

Sorry to hear that, but congrats on your other acceptance! If you don't mind me asking are you in-state or out of state?
 
I interviewed on the 11th and they still haven't given a solid answer on the changes. Something along the lines of learning abnormal pathology along with normal pathology.

On a side note, Dr. Manuel said that we should hear news today:scared:
I was lead to believe that they update the decision live.....


Anyone have news on the curriculum changes? They didn't have much to say about it when I interviewed back on Nov 5.
 
If you do not hear this week, I think he said that you will most likely hear in another 2 weeks. I was in the 11th interview also.
 
Oh wow, I have been checking in vain all day. I guess it's more weeks for me.
 
I just got put onto the alternate list. I interviewed on December 16th.
 
Interviewed 1/11
Accepted 1/27
Thank God


Good luck everyone !!
 
Congratulations to everyone who got accepted to Cincinnati. I'm currently a fourth year there and although I'm probably a bit biased, I think it's one of the best places you can train. I don't know much about the first two years since it's been a while, but it's fairly rigorous and it prepares you for the Step 1 exam. I'll mention some highlights.

Gross Anatomy is 4 people to a cadaver with an electronic laptop per group. Beware of places that have 6 or more to a cadaver where you dissect every other day as a group of 3. The written tests are electronic and the practical test is brutal, in a good way.

Most of the other courses are lecture power points and small-group based with audio-recordings available for most lectures so you don't have to attend class if that's now how you study. They can sometimes become too focused on the details which make the tests pretty difficult, but once again, it prepares you for Step 1.

The people are friendly and frequently e-mail each other study guides and there's usually a social gathering every month after each block. There are definitely people that are cut-throat/gunners and it is a competitive class because it's H/HP/P/F and class rankings. However, don't let anybody tell you that their school is "non-competitive". It is as competitive as you want to make it and in the end, residencies judge you on your ranking relative to your peers locally and nationally so ALL schools are internally competitive, whether they say so or not.

Between 1st and 2nd year, there's usually abundant research opportunities that are funded. Many people end up doing poster presentations or getting published.

My class averaged 230 on Step 1 with the national average being 221. It doesn't get any better than that. The best schools have averages in the 230s. Pay attention to the average, not to what percentage of people pass the test. You only need a 185 to pass, which most people do, so it's nothing to brag about. Your Step 1 is probably the single biggest factor in getting you an interview as a 4th year student.

Most of 3rd and 4th year rotations are at University Hospital, which is Cincinnati's county hospital. This is a huge plus because county hospital means "autonomy". So you are a major contributor to your medical team as a 3rd year (not just shadowing) and you are essentially an intern during your 4th year (really, you put in orders, do discharge summaries, talk to family, etc.). At the same time, it's not a walk in the cake since you're expected to help out and "get in there" so to speak. Most rotations are 2 students per team, rarely 3, which is a plus. Three students on a team gets too crowded, especially on surgery, ob/gyn, or any rotation with procedures/operations.

UC is known for the surgical specialties (neurosurg, gen surg, ortho, urology) so you'll get a good number of interviews from strong residencies just because you're from UC. Yes, you can still get those interviews from a place less known for surgery, but it is historically much harder with all things being equal. Emergency, Peds, and Med-Peds are also among the top of the country. The other specialties I'm not sure so you'd have to ask someone else. Also, UC is a mid-west school so you'll have an easier time getting interviews from mid-west and east coast residencies just purely based on location.

Lastly, the students match fairly well across all specialties and the match list is available for public viewing. Remember to look at the general trend (lots of top tier residencies vs none), not just one or two stellar applicants when looking at a school's match list.

Let me know if you have any questions regarding UC. It's the best! 😀
 
Congratulations to everyone who got accepted to Cincinnati. I'm currently a fourth year there and although I'm probably a bit biased, I think it's one of the best places you can train. I don't know much about the first two years since it's been a while, but it's fairly rigorous and it prepares you for the Step 1 exam. I'll mention some highlights.

Gross Anatomy is 4 people to a cadaver with an electronic laptop per group. Beware of places that have 6 or more to a cadaver where you dissect every other day as a group of 3. The written tests are electronic and the practical test is brutal, in a good way.

Most of the other courses are lecture power points and small-group based with audio-recordings available for most lectures so you don't have to attend class if that's now how you study. They can sometimes become too focused on the details which make the tests pretty difficult, but once again, it prepares you for Step 1.

The people are friendly and frequently e-mail each other study guides and there's usually a social gathering every month after each block. There are definitely people that are cut-throat/gunners and it is a competitive class because it's H/HP/P/F and class rankings. However, don't let anybody tell you that their school is "non-competitive". It is as competitive as you want to make it and in the end, residencies judge you on your ranking relative to your peers locally and nationally so ALL schools are internally competitive, whether they say so or not.

Between 1st and 2nd year, there's usually abundant research opportunities that are funded. Many people end up doing poster presentations or getting published.

My class averaged 230 on Step 1 with the national average being 221. It doesn't get any better than that. The best schools have averages in the 230s. Pay attention to the average, not to what percentage of people pass the test. You only need a 185 to pass, which most people do, so it's nothing to brag about. Your Step 1 is probably the single biggest factor in getting you an interview as a 4th year student.

Most of 3rd and 4th year rotations are at University Hospital, which is Cincinnati's county hospital. This is a huge plus because county hospital means "autonomy". So you are a major contributor to your medical team as a 3rd year (not just shadowing) and you are essentially an intern during your 4th year (really, you put in orders, do discharge summaries, talk to family, etc.). At the same time, it's not a walk in the cake since you're expected to help out and "get in there" so to speak. Most rotations are 2 students per team, rarely 3, which is a plus. Three students on a team gets too crowded, especially on surgery, ob/gyn, or any rotation with procedures/operations.

UC is known for the surgical specialties (neurosurg, gen surg, ortho, urology) so you'll get a good number of interviews from strong residencies just because you're from UC. Yes, you can still get those interviews from a place less known for surgery, but it is historically much harder with all things being equal. Emergency, Peds, and Med-Peds are also among the top of the country. The other specialties I'm not sure so you'd have to ask someone else. Also, UC is a mid-west school so you'll have an easier time getting interviews from mid-west and east coast residencies just purely based on location.

Lastly, the students match fairly well across all specialties and the match list is available for public viewing. Remember to look at the general trend (lots of top tier residencies vs none), not just one or two stellar applicants when looking at a school's match list.

Let me know if you have any questions regarding UC. It's the best! 😀

A quick correction here, and only because it's a recent change this year, so I wouldn't expect a 4th year to know. Dissections in gross anatomy are now 6 to a body, but everyone still shows up at the same time and splits the dissecting duties.

I agree with most everything else regarding the first two years, though while I agree no school is non-competitive, anecdotal evidence suggests UC has a less competitive atmosphere than other schools (there are places where students do NOT help each other out like emailing everyone study guides and sharing information). There's no standard marker, so your own anecdotal evidence may suggest otherwise...that's why it's very important to talk to current students at every school you interview at!

I'm a 2nd year, so I can't speak to the 3rd and 4th years, but what was written certainly matches what I've heard from other upper classmen I know.
 
I got rejected today pre-interview via email. I guess they're rejecting earlier than usual. I was already accepted to the school of my dreams, so Im not completely crushed, but I would have liked to of seen what the school has to offer. Good luck to everyone else! :luck:

Yeah, I haven't actually heard a thing from cincinnati since I submitted my secondary (but have a great acceptance elsewhere). I'm in-state with a mcat above their median...I really want to see what my in-state options would be like! Good luck to everyone too!
 
I was under the impression the school was changing from H/HP/P/F to a P/F system with the new curriculum being implemented for the incoming class. Is this still the case?
 
A quick correction here, and only because it's a recent change this year, so I wouldn't expect a 4th year to know. Dissections in gross anatomy are now 6 to a body, but everyone still shows up at the same time and splits the dissecting duties.

A correction to the correction, it is 6 to a body and you split the time in lab, with peer-teaching for the labs you missed. I'm a tutor for gross, trust me on this one. I'm not sure how other schools are handling gross, but the reason for the change here was something about AAMC rules about how long they can require kids to be in lab a week. I agree it's not great, but there are chances to prosect in second year and do an anatomy elective in 4th year, so there are opportunities. This is all likely to change next year, so don't spend too much time on it.

Honestly, with regards to the curriculum, I don't think anything has been set in stone yet. My advice would be to hang on to your acceptance for now and hopefully they will officially release something soon. I know it's not what you want to hear and I'd be anxious too, but it is the best advice I can offer you. If you need to make your decision before then and UC is high on your list, you could call and ask if there are updates, but until then anything you hear is probably speculation and they are going to be as vague as possible until they fully commit to something. Sorry 🙁
 
I interviewed on the 11th and they still haven't given a solid answer on the changes. Something along the lines of learning abnormal pathology along with normal pathology.

On a side note, Dr. Manuel said that we should hear news today:scared:
I was lead to believe that they update the decision live.....

The M1s will have a day of integrated learning activities next Monday that I understand are a kind of trial run of what the profs want to implement next year. I'll post my impressions and other things I can glean from doing it on here next week.

Also, I personally find that only doing every other dissection and being responsible for teaching your counterparts hasn't negatively affected my ability to learn the material in Gross Anatomy - I actually enjoy the peer teaching as it forces you to prepare in advance. It also frees up a lot of time you can use to concentrate on other things you may need to brush up on. I've heard that they may switch it, so that a team 'peer teaches' the labs they didn't dissect...I think that would make it even better.

Drs. Lowrie and Giffin are the two designing and pushing most of this new curriculum stuff, I think, and they are both excellent teachers, so I don't think you all have anything to worry about.
 
The M1s will have a day of integrated learning activities next Monday that I understand are a kind of trial run of what the profs want to implement next year. I'll post my impressions and other things I can glean from doing it on here next week.

Also, I personally find that only doing every other dissection and being responsible for teaching your counterparts hasn't negatively affected my ability to learn the material in Gross Anatomy - I actually enjoy the peer teaching as it forces you to prepare in advance. It also frees up a lot of time you can use to concentrate on other things you may need to brush up on. I've heard that they may switch it, so that a team 'peer teaches' the labs they didn't dissect...I think that would make it even better.

Drs. Lowrie and Giffin are the two designing and pushing most of this new curriculum stuff, I think, and they are both excellent teachers, so I don't think you all have anything to worry about.

Sounds good. I look forward to your full field report. 🙂
 
Drove down to Cinci two weeks ago for a convention and dropped by campus to get a feel for the neighborhoods. I really, really liked gaslight/clifton. I grew up in a hilly area and miss the slow rolls sometimes, so I'm looking forward to moving down there in the fall! I think I'm going to be looking for roomates on Facebook and here in late spring? PM me if anyone is interested? (I'm a dude)

Also, I called the admissions office this past week to ask how often transcripts are updated on medstopone. I had one of my colleges send a transcript a month ago and cinci still has it unreceived as of now. The super nice lady I spoke with told me that the admissions office has a large backlog of unprocessed transcripts so not to worry about a transcript not showing up on MedStopOne even if you sent it a long time ago. She said that March/April is when those should be all logged in and to resend it then if it is needed.
 
Also, I called the admissions office this past week to ask how often transcripts are updated on medstopone. I had one of my colleges send a transcript a month ago and cinci still has it unreceived as of now. The super nice lady I spoke with told me that the admissions office has a large backlog of unprocessed transcripts so not to worry about a transcript not showing up on MedStopOne even if you sent it a long time ago. She said that March/April is when those should be all logged in and to resend it then if it is needed.

I was getting ready to call the admissions office today to ask the exact same questions. Thanks for saving me the phone call.
 
The email they sent to say the website's getting a facelift totally faked me out, since all I saw in the title line on my phone was "Univ. of Cincinnati" from the admissions email. Funny joke UC, I'm still hoping to get an email about an interview though!
 
The email they sent to say the website's getting a facelift totally faked me out, since all I saw in the title line on my phone was "Univ. of Cincinnati" from the admissions email. Funny joke UC, I'm still hoping to get an email about an interview though!

That's exactly what happened to me. I was like "OH YEAHHHH"...nevermind.
 
Hey everyone I recently joined a group on facebook called "University of Cincinnati College of Medicine Class of 2015." I think a 2nd year created it and there are only a few of us in it, so everyone should join so we can start getting to know each other!
 
The email they sent to say the website's getting a facelift totally faked me out, since all I saw in the title line on my phone was "Univ. of Cincinnati" from the admissions email. Funny joke UC, I'm still hoping to get an email about an interview though!
I was on the phone with my mom when I received this email. Got really excited and nervous...then was like 'Oh man!' ...Agreed, real funny UC. Still looking for an interview!
 
Interviewed 1/11
Accepted 1/27
Thank God


Good luck everyone !!

I interviewed and got accepted on the same days! and I thought some of my MMI's were bad... I wonder what my grades were? So thankful to get in though! Good luck everyone! Hang in there!
 
Does anyone know how late Cincinnati interviews? I know someone said there were dates in March, but just curious if they interview into April. I haven't heard a thing from them yet (except that my update letter was received), and I'm going to be out of the country from Feb 16 - Mar 16, so I'd like to not miss a potential interview...although this does feel like I'm just waiting for a rejection.
 
Sorry, but the last date to interview is March 15
 
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Interview offered today (2/11) for THIS Tuesday! Very excited!

IS
32N
3.69sci/3.76avg
Complete 9/28
 
Hey Everyone,

I just got invited to Cincy's 2nd look on April 29th. Anyone thinking of going? Im really liking Cincy and am very interested in what is going to happen with their curricular changes, so me thinks I'm going.
 
I got the invite too, but not to sure if I'll be able to go because it's pretty costly for me to get there from Wisconsin (have to rent a car or fly). I'm wondering how people handle finding apartments if they can't really make it to town? I'm thinking I'd most likely just want to live at one of those nice places across the street, and find a roomie.
 
Hey Everyone! I'm a first year at UC and I just wanted to address some questions I saw about the new curriculum. A few weeks ago we had a trial run of the new curriculum for a day. They haven't told us many specifics yet, but from what I have experienced, it will be great. Essentially the curriculum will be integrated and there will be a heavier emphasis on team-based learning, which I think really helps solidify concepts. Probably my favorite part of the new curriculum are virtual histology labs put together by Dr. Lowrie. These are essentially power point files that teach you everything you need to know for histology lab and they have little quizzes at the end, which are extremely helpful. We used them for one block and our class average on that exam jumped by almost 10 points (not because the material was easier, but because the virtual labs helped us understand it better).

So basically, although I don't know too much about the new curriculum, Dr Giffin and Dr. Lowrie want everyone to succeed and learn and do well on the boards and the new curriculum is aimed at doing an even better job of that.
 
I meant to get on here and talk a bit about the new curriculum too, but it was exam week last week...you'll all understand soon =)

docdejos summed it up pretty nicely - one of the big things they will be doing next year is working team-based learning stuff into the curriculum regularly. What I garnered from talking to Dr. Lowrie is that you'll be given normal lectures on most of the "normal function" material (which is what we are learning in first year) and then pre-reading type stuff to do for things related to pathology of those same systems - pathology has been second year, but you'll be getting them both simultaneously. The pre-reading type stuff is going to be incomplete information and the gaps will be filled in during the TBL sessions - this is designed to get you to think actively about why things are going wrong and what happens. Then exams will consist of both normal function and pathology.

-------------------------------------------

I'm not quite sure exactly how it is all set out, but this information comes from the Physiology department's page for the SMP (special master's programs...SMP students take classes alongside us to try to improve credentials for admission to medical school) [http://www.med.uc.edu/physiology/MS-curriculum.htm]

Block I - fundamentals block, "essentials of biochemistry, pharmacology, pathology, the autonomic nervous system and cell biology"

Block II - "Endocrinology, Reproduction, development, sexual health and Women's Health"

Block III - "Infections, Immunity, Inflammation and Wound Repair"


There will be more blocks, but this is all the master's program site has listed. But you can see from them that they are integrated, meaning you get normal function and pathology stuff at the same time.

So the take home message is that you'll be getting an integrated curriculum with an emphasis on Team-Based Learning designed to foster critical thinking. If you want to know more about TBL, then there is an article on wikipedia about it to start with (although I'm not sure if they're going to change anything in the implementation here at UC).

Sorry it took me like two weeks to post this =)
 
Wow the new curriculum change sounds like it will make studying more efficient and seamless- I wish we weren't thr guinea pig class- it makes me nervous for some reason.
So with the new changes will there be more class time or less?

Thanks for the updates 😀
 
Wow the new curriculum change sounds like it will make studying more efficient and seamless- I wish we weren't thr guinea pig class- it makes me nervous for some reason.
So with the new changes will there be more class time or less?

Thanks for the updates 😀

Yeah, that's understandable..it'll be new and probably not as polished as it could be, but Drs. Giffin & Lowrie will definitely listen to criticism and feedback from students to improve the process.

In terms of class time...I don't know for sure, that's something to ask about at second look weekend. My inkling is that you'll have less traditional lecture time, because some of that will be replaced by TBLs. However, those TBLs will be required, so you'll probably have more class time that is required in an absolute sense - it just won't be traditional lecture-style. That's my guess, anyway.

Don't think of that increase in required class time as an increase in the amount of work you'll be doing, though - it is just another way to engage the material. The amount of time you spend in class (whether all of the classes or none of them) isn't really relevant to your success, because you're going to need to go over the material outside of class a few times to get it sufficiently. So I wouldn't worry too much about total amount of class time.

And remember everything I say about next year's curriculum is just supposition =)
 
Block III - "Infections, Immunity, Inflammation and Wound Repair"

Ouch. Hopefully they give plenty of time for that block. Bugs and drugs isn't exactly one of the first things I would want to pit a first year against. However, if Drs. Giffin and Lowrie are at the helm, I think it should be managable. I have a lot of faith in them and how they do things.
 
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