2010-2011 University of Illinois Application Thread

Started by ksmi117
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gujuDoc said:
Two things:

1. While what u say is true that we need more doctors regardless of race, etc. the fact is you would be lying to yourself if you believe that most whites, asians, etc. will live in the ghetto poor neighborhoods that have more poor blacks. More likely a black american will do that. Or that an Indian will more likely go into rural white america where there's nothing for them.

2. its also about cultural issues. There will be patients of all sorts of beliefs. a woman will more likely feel more comfortable with a woman doctor. Conservative women especially. A black american may feel more comfort sharing information with another african american with similar upbringing to them. A hindu may feel more comfortable with another hindu who knows their cultural beliefs. A muslim more comfortable with a muslim doctor. A latino with another latino that can speak their language. Etc. etc. etc.

Point is medicine is more complex then people on these forums make it out to be. If a patient is not comfortable with you they will not share pertinent information with you that may be important to help treat them. they will not consent to procedures that they may need to save them. etc. etc. etc.

Keep this in mind before judging the reasons why medical schools are trying to even out the playing field.
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...Agreed!
 
accepted! wahoooo 🙂

interviewed 1/14. but I am OOS and so...looking for some financial aid options heheh (psst...any current students know anything about options to reduce tuition to IS levels?)
 
I didn't know that UHP had special educational resources. Interesting. Unfortunately, there are plenty of rumors about the UHP kids "struggling" and I hope it doesn't create too much of a chasm between students.

Anyway, I am so excited about my interview. Are they open or closed file? Should I be prepared to talk about my academics?
 
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Rayne said:
accepted! wahoooo 🙂

interviewed 1/14. but I am OOS and so...looking for some financial aid options heheh (psst...any current students know anything about options to reduce tuition to IS levels?)
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Congrats!

startswithb said:
I didn't know that UHP had special educational resources. Interesting. Unfortunately, there are plenty of rumors about the UHP kids "struggling" and I hope it doesn't create too much of a chasm between students.

Anyway, I am so excited about my interview. Are they open or closed file? Should I be prepared to talk about my academics?
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I'm sure we'll all be struggling and won't have much time to worry about others. I believe the interview is partial blind. They can see everything but your GPA and MCAT. Does anyone know if that means they can see the courses you've taken but not the actual grades? Or can they just not see your transcript?
 
It seems like they have at least the essays, one had a folder open in front of them and would actively refer to specific statements within the essays but I don't think they have your GPA or MCAT they didn't make it obivous tho.
 
Open regarding PS/extra-curriculars/secondary essays. It is closed file in regards to gpa, mcat, and any other grades. I was mainly asked to elaborate + explain certain ECs that influenced my decision towards medicine + etc.
 
I just got my placement for Chicago (first choice). I interviewed in mid-January and got my acceptance at the end of January, so it seems that there are still some spots open...
 
startswithb said:
I didn't know that UHP had special educational resources. Interesting. Unfortunately, there are plenty of rumors about the UHP kids "struggling" and I hope it doesn't create too much of a chasm between students.

Anyway, I am so excited about my interview. Are they open or closed file? Should I be prepared to talk about my academics?
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They didn't ask me anything about my academics. The questions were the ones you can find on "interview feedback", nothing crazy:

- What are some ways we can cut costs in healthcare?
- Tell me about a time you helped someone.
- If someone needed a blood transfusion but they didn't want to receive one, would you do it anyway?
- What is a patient advocate?
- Tell me about yourself.
 
startswithb said:
I didn't know that UHP had special educational resources. Interesting. Unfortunately, there are plenty of rumors about the UHP kids "struggling" and I hope it doesn't create too much of a chasm between students.
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There are plenty of UHP students that succeed. Out of those in my class and the class ahead of me that have failed/repeat years, almost all (very disproportionate) of them were UHPers. So, I don't think it's fair to say that a UHP student is going to struggle, but I think based on these statistics, the admissions bar is clearly set a little lower for students that will place in UHP.

startswithb said:
Anyway, I am so excited about my interview. Are they open or closed file? Should I be prepared to talk about my academics?
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As you may know, at all UIC sites, every applicant has two interviews which last 20 minutes each. One interview is 2-on-1 with two faculty members (at least one of whom is an MD), and the other interview is 1-on-1 with an M3 or M4 student. Both interviews count equally, but since the student interview is graded by one person, the impression you make on that person will have 2x the impact as each of the faculty interviewers. Having conducted the student interviews multiple times in the past, I can tell you that the only thing we get to see is your personal statement and the questions you answered in your secondary. Your MCAT and GPA are not divulged to us. The premise is, if you are invited to an interview, you have a good enough GPA and MCAT to be accepted.

A nickle's worth of free advice: Personally, I only give applicants real-life scenario-type questions. I do a little quizzing on the health care system, make sure that the applicant has a firm knowledge of the politics involved, the bureaucracy, etc. I make sure that the applicant has sound ethics. And lastly, I judge the applicant on confidence. If the applicant sounds scripted, I mark that down, big time. Real, down-to-earth, savvy, confident applicants get good reviews from me. I don't care about your research experience, the fact you speak Spanish, or want to help the underprivileged. Not that those things are unimportant, but everyone touts that stuff, so I have no reason to believe anyone. I can, however, believe what I can see.

Good luck :luck:
 
Does anyone know how influential a letter of interest/intent will be if sent in? Also, can we just e-mail it to them or does it need to be snail mailed?
 
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kai35 said:
As you may know, at all UIC sites, every applicant has two interviews which last 20 minutes each. One interview is 2-on-1 with two faculty members (at least one of whom is an MD), and the other interview is 1-on-1 with an M3 or M4 student. Both interviews count equally, but since the student interview is graded by one person, the impression you make on that person will have 2x the impact as each of the faculty interviewers. Having conducted the student interviews multiple times in the past, I can tell you that the only thing we get to see is your personal statement and the questions you answered in your secondary. Your MCAT and GPA are not divulged to us. The premise is, if you are invited to an interview, you have a good enough GPA and MCAT to be accepted.
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We had 3 interviews at Chicago. I had one with a plastic surgeon, one with an internist, and one with an M2 (not a clinical year med student). I'm not entirely sure, but I don't think we had any M3/M4 interviewers on my interview day (at least, in the morning session). I think the 2-on-1/3-on-1 type interviews are Peoria-only.

With that being said, all 3 of my interviews were pretty relaxed I thought. They were all pretty conversational. All they knew about me was what I wrote in my PS and my secondary essays. That's it. Nothing asked about academics (except for research, which I brought up myself).
 
Kaushik said:
We had 3 interviews at Chicago. I had one with a plastic surgeon, one with an internist, and one with an M2 (not a clinical year med student). I'm not entirely sure, but I don't think we had any M3/M4 interviewers on my interview day (at least, in the morning session). I think the 2-on-1/3-on-1 type interviews are Peoria-only.

With that being said, all 3 of my interviews were pretty relaxed I thought. They were all pretty conversational. All they knew about me was what I wrote in my PS and my secondary essays. That's it. Nothing asked about academics (except for research, which I brought up myself).
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Hmm... I had heard they were moving towards a uniform interviewing protocol, since all applicants are reviewed by the same admission committee. I guess they haven't gotten there yet...
 
Dunno whats the holdup. I submitted secondary in early September and I still haven't heard back bout an interview. Still says "Application is in Process". Is anyone else in my boat? Let me know cuz i'm freakin' out man!!! :scared:
 
ok i don't want to fan the flames but i must address the whole UHP thing. YES, it is geared towards retention of minority medical students but this does not mean they meet in a locked room and you need some kind of special password or something to come in. plenty of non-minority students attend the tutoring session and get their questions answered. no one is ever turned away, PERIOD. and i'm not on the admissions committee but i do happen to know that if they do not think you can succeed academically in medical school then you will not be accepted, end of story. it's not like they will accept someone with a 20 MCAT just because they are a URM. everyone who is accepted deserves to be there and has worked hard to get there.

also, the OSA office provides tutoring services to medical students regardless of race. so there are resources for everyone if you bother to seek them out. UIC does not hold your hand as they consider us "adult learners." if you feel you need a tutor, ask for one and unless there is a shortage, you will be given one.
 
Thank you for that Sweetpea, as that was the impression that I had from speaking with UHP directors last year.

For those who have been accepted, has anyone sent in their transcripts yet? I ordered mine to be sent a while ago but it has not registered as being received on my status page. I could always just call I guess, but I wanted an idea first. Thanks!
 
tnmarabal said:
Thank you for that Sweetpea, as that was the impression that I had from speaking with UHP directors last year.

For those who have been accepted, has anyone sent in their transcripts yet? I ordered mine to be sent a while ago but it has not registered as being received on my status page. I could always just call I guess, but I wanted an idea first. Thanks!
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I was under the impression that they wanted our transcripts after we graduated college. I mean, why send one for fall semester then send another in the spring if you can just send one at the end of the year?
 
IrishCalini said:
I was under the impression that they wanted our transcripts after we graduated college. I mean, why send one for fall semester then send another in the spring if you can just send one at the end of the year?
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Oh I've graduated already, so I'm able to send mine now. I definitely agree waiting until the end of the year if you're still in school 🙂.
 
CoolMikeyMike said:
Dunno whats the holdup. I submitted secondary in early September and I still haven't heard back bout an interview. Still says "Application is in Process". Is anyone else in my boat? Let me know cuz i'm freakin' out man!!! :scared:
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I was complete in September and haven't heard back. Apparently they just started reviewing my app about 3 weeks ago and I've been "applicant in process" since then.
 
CoolMikeyMike said:
Dunno whats the holdup. I submitted secondary in early September and I still haven't heard back bout an interview. Still says "Application is in Process". Is anyone else in my boat? Let me know cuz i'm freakin' out man!!! :scared:
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I'm in the boat! I submitted my secondary in August... and have had the "Application is in Process" status for ages and ages. I've never gotten the "applicant in process" status.
 
This place doesn't seem to have any order for reviewing apps, I was complete on 11/3, called last week and they stated had not yet been marked ready for review, then sent an update letter. Last Friday, my status changed to 'Applicant in Process'. A friend who submitted after me went under review weeks before myself.

I'm fairly disappointed I haven't received an interview invite as it is my state school. We can all hope there are still spots open and or others drop, hang in there all of you in the same boat and good luck!
 
bpost137 said:
I'm in the boat! I submitted my secondary in August... and have had the "Application is in Process" status for ages and ages. I've never gotten the "applicant in process" status.
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I was in the same boat until early this week when my status changed to "applicant in process" .... so maybe they are just getting to our batch? it makes no sense why it took so long... I thought the whole point of being complete early was to have your app reviewed early...blegghhh!
 
DrSmday said:
I was in the same boat until early this week when my status changed to "applicant in process" .... so maybe they are just getting to our batch? it makes no sense why it took so long... I thought the whole point of being complete early was to have your app reviewed early...blegghhh!
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ya it took them forever to get to my app too. i was complete in early august and my app wasnt reviewed until january. i was invited to interview about 3-4 weeks after that, and had an interview scheduled for the end of march, which was the earliest date for the chicago campus (wasnt willing to travel for this one). by that point however, i had totally lost interest in this school. they claim to have rolling admissions and yet there were many people who submitted months after me that were reviewed before me. not that i really care, but its just strange. not to mention how expensive IS tuition is... oh illinois, you suck. im leaving you for wisconsin.
 
pullupthepeople said:
ya it took them forever to get to my app too. i was complete in early august and my app wasnt reviewed until january. i was invited to interview about 3-4 weeks after that, and had an interview scheduled for the end of march, which was the earliest date for the chicago campus (wasnt willing to travel for this one). by that point however, i had totally lost interest in this school. they claim to have rolling admissions and yet there were many people who submitted months after me that were reviewed before me. not that i really care, but its just strange. not to mention how expensive IS tuition is... oh illinois, you suck. im leaving you for wisconsin.
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I don't get why your is complaining this is the same as any other merit based system... its rolling-admission not first come first serve they are going to cherry pick applications to build a class that fits their mission whether its reviewing an applicant with a 4.0 complete in oct first or the person who was in the army for ten years

They might take forever but if you look at the stats the interview has a very high probability of acceptance which is more than I can say for many other schools
 
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fishbait63 said:
I don't get why your is complaining this is the same as any other merit based system... its rolling-admission not first come first serve they are going to cherry pick applications to build a class that fits their mission whether its reviewing an applicant with a 4.0 complete in oct first or the person who was in the army for ten years

They might take forever but if you look at the stats the interview has a very high probability of acceptance which is more than I can say for many other schools
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Dude im not complaining, lol. My point was I didnt care. I probably wouldnt have cared if they had offered me an interview a week after I submitted. I just found it strange how long it took them to finally look at my app. of course its for them to decide whether or not to interview me, but they literally did not look my app until january... or at least thats what they told me. anyways, i withdrew so someone else can have it who is a better fit for UIC than i am.
 
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tnmarabal said:
Oh I've graduated already, so I'm able to send mine now. I definitely agree waiting until the end of the year if you're still in school 🙂.
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to answer your earlier question...it takes them a very long time to update to "transcripts received". I sent mine in January and I don't believe it updated for a few months. If you're really concerned about whether they received it you could always call and ask.
 
EL Javelina said:
Does anyone know if the adcom is meeting this Thursday 2/17 or next Thursday 2/24?
:help:
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I interviewed this past Monday and during his presentation, the Director of Admissions mentioned that we should expect to have a decision by 2/28 ... so I'm assuming 2/24?
 
2050vlsb said:
I interviewed this past Monday and during his presentation, the Director of Admissions mentioned that we should expect to have a decision by 2/28 ... so I'm assuming 2/24?
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I was hoping for this Thursday, I interviewed back in November and they still haven't made a decision on me yet 🙁

I guess I can wait another week...sigh
 
So, I was accepted earlier this month, submitted my forms On Friday the 4th (though according to the website they weren't processed until Monday the 7th), and still haven't heard about campus placement...

When should I expect to hear?
 
anyone wanna call and ask when our financial aid award letters/emails will come? Submitted fafsa a few weeks back.
they just tell me to wait lol.
 
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2050vlsb said:
I interviewed this past Monday and during his presentation, the Director of Admissions mentioned that we should expect to have a decision by 2/28 ... so I'm assuming 2/24?
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Thanks for the update. Well at least I know now I have to hold on to my job for at least one more week....lol
 
So...I'm interviewing at UIC on 2/28. When I scheduled the interview on the phone, the lady I spoke to said that I would get a letter in the mail or an email with further information about interview day. I haven't heard a peep and I'm starting to get a little nervous since the interview is now 9 days away. Just wondering when others heard from admissions again before the interview.
 
mdmphhopeful said:
So...I'm interviewing at UIC on 2/28. When I scheduled the interview on the phone, the lady I spoke to said that I would get a letter in the mail or an email with further information about interview day. I haven't heard a peep and I'm starting to get a little nervous since the interview is now 9 days away. Just wondering when others heard from admissions again before the interview.
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Hey! I have my letter in front of me. It just states the date your interview is scheduled for and at which campus, and what time. Then just a bit about how they are looking forward to meeting you, etc. Then, the number you can call if you have questions (312) 996-5635. Hope this helps.
 
For accepted students that have submitted their FAFSA SAR report to UIC:

Don't expect an award letter until around early April. I just called to make sure they received mine and even though it says everywhere that new students get their award letter in March, they're saying that they are still waiting on tuition info etc. and so they prob won't be out until April.
 
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startswithb said:
Hey! I have my letter in front of me. It just states the date your interview is scheduled for and at which campus, and what time. Then just a bit about how they are looking forward to meeting you, etc. Then, the number you can call if you have questions (312) 996-5635. Hope this helps.
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Thanks! Are you interviewing on the same day and did you just get the letter? If so, see you in a week!
 
mdmphhopeful said:
Thanks! Are you interviewing on the same day and did you just get the letter? If so, see you in a week!
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I'm interviewing in early March but received my letter shortly after the invite in January. Yours must have gotten lost in the mail! I would just call them to make sure you have to right time and place to show up. Good luck!
 
startswithb said:
I'm interviewing in early March but received my letter shortly after the invite in January. Yours must have gotten lost in the mail! I would just call them to make sure you have to right time and place to show up. Good luck!
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Good luck to you too! I'm sure it got lost between Chicago's snow storm and Atlanta's 'crippling' ice storm. :laugh:
 
kai35 said:
I'm confused. How do accepted students plan on paying for the cost? You don't pay until after you're out of residency training. All your loans are in deferment until then. After which you pay on your loans like everyone else. A higher cost of tuition just means it's either going to take you longer to pay back your loans or you will make a higher monthly payment.

If you're recently accepted into medical school, paying back your loans is not something you should consume yourself worrying with at the moment. For real.

And no, there is no feasible way to change your residency status.... well.. no.. actually, there is... marry someone from Illinois. Then, I believe you can become a resident for tuition purposes. That may be feasible.. LOL
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Hi, I don't know if anyone already replied to your statement, but recent legislation has changed and we will not be able to defer out loans until after residency anymore. It has something to do with the amount of $/hour we will be making (which is very low since we will be working lots of hours as a resident).
 
sleepy12 said:
Hi, I don't know if anyone already replied to your statement, but recent legislation has changed and we will not be able to defer out loans until after residency anymore. It has something to do with the amount of $/hour we will be making (which is very low since we will be working lots of hours as a resident).
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You may not be able to "defer", but you can put your loans into forbearance (although you have to petition for this; it's not automatic). The difference is when you are in forbearance as opposed to deferment, your loans are accruing interest (which, being an educational loan, is generally a smaller interest rate).

I realize I used the term deferment interchangeably with forbearance. My mistake. But the point I was trying to make is that you do not actually have to make payments on your student loans during residency. There's no way they're gonna come knocking on the door for $2000+/month when you are only making $3000/month salary tops.
 
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