2010-2011 University of Illinois Application Thread

[NHBPFA5]

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^^ yeah... I'm hoping they don't... hopefully it's a deterrent for lying about hours spent or something. If they called the president of AMSA and asked about me, they'd be like.... wat? Who is that?

 

[Tippyboat]

Ugh why am I having such trouble with the second question? I already wrote about my major non academic EC in the other ones, so I can only think of silly hobbies to write about for the second one.

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

Ugh why am I having such trouble with the second question? I already wrote about my major non academic EC in the other ones, so I can only think of silly hobbies to write about for the second one.

Hey I did photography..and if it makes you feel any better, I'm very bad at expressing myself creatively on paper...so 🙁
to you!

 

[Tippyboat]

Haha dude photography sounds legit, all artsy and stuff. Haha don't you wish our hobby was writing ingeniously about ourselves in response to vague prompts

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

Haha dude photography sounds legit, all artsy and stuff. Haha don't you wish our hobby was writing ingeniously about ourselves in response to vague prompts

👍 thanks! Unfortunately, the way i've conveyed the hobby..it comes acorss as "wtf? okay so you like taking pictures of children...*shifty eyes*"

Totes kidding! Kinda...muahaha..KIDDING for reals!

 

[Run4fun6]

So I have a question about the letters of rec...

I have a letter packet ( 5 total letters)...UIC wants either three from professors, or just 1 that is a composite letter from the school. Should I just write down 3 out of the 5 professors that I have letters from in my packet? The entire packet will be sent to UIC.

Thanks!

 

[NHBPFA5]

I put composite letter....
since it is technically a composite of letters.

but mine is not like a pre medical committee letter so I never know what to do.

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

So I have a question about the letters of rec...

I have a letter packet ( 5 total letters)...UIC wants either three from professors, or just 1 that is a composite letter from the school. Should I just write down 3 out of the 5 professors that I have letters from in my packet? The entire packet will be sent to UIC.

Thanks!

From the UIC website (emphasis mine):

Candidates must also submit a minimum of three letters of academic recommendation or one composite letter from a preprofessional committee.

http://www.medicine.uic.edu/admissions

Sounds like you should be okay if your letter packet has 5 letters.

 

[DoctaFuture]

when filling out UIC's pre req courses. For bio, can you list for example physiology or neurobio instead of the basic beginning bio courses? The reason being is I did well in upper division biology courses and not so much the lower core bio classes.

 

[obgyny]

From the UIC website (emphasis mine):

Candidates must also submit a minimum of three letters of academic recommendation or one composite letter from a preprofessional committee.

http://www.medicine.uic.edu/admissions

Sounds like you should be okay if your letter packet has 5 letters.

If the letter packet has 5 letters, do you list out the professors who wrote the LORs or do you just write the advisor's name? It is not a composite letter (ie the advisor didn't write anything), it's 5 LORs written by 5 different people. My school just requires us to use the advisor's name for the letters as a contact.

 

[mybubbles14]

when filling out UIC's pre req courses. For bio, can you list for example physiology or neurobio instead of the basic beginning bio courses? The reason being is I did well in upper division biology courses and not so much the lower core bio classes.

My school counts our anatomy and neurbio courses (even some other psych courses cross list) as bio so I used those to fulfill the bio requirement. I didn't have any issues.

 

[Tippyboat]

Website's been down for a while now 🙁

I want to submit!

 

[sedaniel]

Website's been down for a while now 🙁

I want to submit!

It's back up now.

I am having serious trouble with this stress question... I mean, the usual stuff stresses me out, like classes and applying to med school, but I feel like that is not the best topic for a med school application haha.

 

[Avoidthetiger]

Founding a sorority didn't stress you out ever?

I live in a house with 20 other people and there are times when I just scream at them. I wrote about one of those times (minus the screaming part -- and trying to make it more about working with diverse people to come up with a solution to something, ect)

 

[sedaniel]

Founding a sorority didn't stress you out ever?

I live in a house with 20 other people and there are times when I just scream at them. I wrote about one of those times (minus the screaming part -- and trying to make it more about working with diverse people to come up with a solution to something, ect)

Definitely... I guess I try to block out all the hard problems and issues we had getting started because I like to focus on the fact that we actually suceeded haha.

Or I guess I could write about the living situation thing... I lived in our sorority house my last two years and I found it soooo much more difficult than I thought it would be to live with that many girls haha, even in a single room! I guess I'd forgotten about it because it's been over a year since I lived there. Thanks for the brainstorming!

 

[Avoidthetiger]

Definitely... I guess I try to block out all the hard problems and issues we had getting started because I like to focus on the fact that we actually suceeded haha.

Or I guess I could write about the living situation thing... I lived in our sorority house my last two years and I found it soooo much more difficult than I thought it would be to live with that many girls haha, even in a single room! I guess I'd forgotten about it because it's been over a year since I lived there. Thanks for the brainstorming!

Either talking about founding it or living with the sorority girls will work (as long as it was actually like an important issue stressing you out... not trying to discover who stole your dress right before formal or something, haha... and then that, they could make for a good mystery novel )

Also -- glad to be of help 😀

 

[turkaglew]

anyone else still not received a secondary? I am getting pretty worried that I was screened out... I was hoping to apply to rural assistance too, so it would suck to be rejected from uic before i get a chance to go rimsap

 

[NHBPFA5]

I wrote about deciding to put my dog down. I hope it didn't come out pro-euthanasia. lol....

 

[Tippyboat]

I wrote about deciding to put my dog down. I hope it didn't come out pro-euthanasia. lol....

Haha I don't think that debate extends to animals. Which is weird...how come we think it's so straightforward to relieve an animal of suffering but so controversial to do the same for humans?

In any case, sorry to hear about your dog. Is that your stressed essay? I guess it could be an obstacle in your education too?

 

[NHBPFA5]

yea that thought was definitely crossing my mind.

And thanks for the sentiments. It was my stressed essay. While it wasn't a single instance, but more a gradual thing, it was still really stressful. The situation was weird in that he had a constricted airway, so when he was calm, he was the happiest dog and didn't seem uncomfortable at all. It got to the point though that eating and walking around got too hard for him to do, but he still seemed so happy, so It was just a terrible decision to make. I think i said something like, "If it were a human life, the situation would be entirely different, but if presented with this decision again, I'd do the same thing." Making absolutely clear I wasn't going to be pulling plugs on my patients.... eek

It was one of the stranger topics I wrote about in a secondary, but i'm hoping it's at least different and gets a look.

 

[spartan89]

Haven't gotten my secondary yet, either, and submitted my primary very early. I remember reading somewhere that they sound out secondaries to people they are "seriously considering".

 

[metalgirl14]

So for this stressed essay, I want to mention something that happened in high school. Would that be ok to write about or should I try to figure out something from college?

For the hobby essay, I was also thinking of talking about the same kind of thing I focused on in my PS. Maybe I can talk about it from a different angle?

 

[Avoidthetiger]

It was one of the stranger topics I wrote about in a secondary, but i'm hoping it's at least different and gets a look.

NHB -- sorry about your dog. We had to put my 13-year German shepherd down the day I my (first official) MCAT exam. Needless to say I still feel like a horrible owner because I wasn't there with her then -- instead i was taking that damn MCAT.

So for this stressed essay, I want to mention something that happened in high school. Would that be ok to write about or should I try to figure out something from college?

For the hobby essay, I was also thinking of talking about the same kind of thing I focused on in my PS. Maybe I can talk about it from a different angle?

I think you should be fine with a high school experience -- if it's a good one, and one were you were stressed out yet managed to come to a good solution.

Is it bad that last September I lived through the most stressful situation in my life... and the entire time I was thinking, this is going to be great for medical school applications (oi vey).

 

[metalgirl14]

I think you should be fine with a high school experience -- if it's a good one, and one were you were stressed out yet managed to come to a good solution.

Is it bad that last September I lived through the most stressful situation in my life... and the entire time I was thinking, this is going to be great for medical school applications (oi vey).

I would probably be thinking about the same thing. 😛

I haven't really had any recent non-academic stressful situations though (no one in my family died, I didn't found anything in college, etc). Lol. I try to avoid any additional non-academic stress.

The HS one I want to write about is how I witnessed some of my friends committing a crime and how it was tough to decide whether or not to turn them in (which I ultimately did).

 

[Sweetpea MD]

i would avoid writing about something that stressed you in high school since that was presumably a long time ago. the only way that might work is if it significantly impacted your college career in some way. while it's hard to know what to write, i would for sure try to stay as current as possible.

 

[metalgirl14]

i would avoid writing about something that stressed you in high school since that was presumably a long time ago. the only way that might work is if it significantly impacted your college career in some way. while it's hard to know what to write, i would for sure try to stay as current as possible.

Thanks for the advice. I had a feeling I should write about something more recent. I'll probably go with my computer crashing or my car getting towed in college. 😛

 

[QuinnWatson]

I think the major issue here is that they are really more interested in HOW you dealt with the situation, what your emotional response was, and what you learned from it etc. so that they can get an understanding of your CURRENT emotional intelligence/ability to handle problems. Hopefully, you have matured a lot since high school and the way in which you deal with problems should also be improved. It is important to shed some light into your current level of maturity. After all, you are almost done with college now, about to enter medical school. Hope this helps! And, as always, take my input with a grain of salt.

 

[Midwestern Blot]

Is it really necessary for you to take three behavioral/social science classes?

 

[metalgirl14]

Hmm...looks like I have a tough decision here. Thanks for the advice everyone! 🙂

 

[Avoidthetiger]

Is it really necessary for you to take three behavioral/social science classes?

Yes -- and it sounds like they have to be complete by the time you apply. You can also send in courses that are "behavioral/social science" like -- but they had me send in a syllabus -- for a french history class i took.

From the UIC website:
Candidates must complete three (3) courses in the Behavioral/Social Sciences (for example, psychology, anthropology, or sociology). Two of the three courses must be in the same field of study. Other behavioral or social science courses will be considered to fulfill this requirement. Applicants must provide documentation on the content of such courses to be given consideration.

edit: at the same time they mention elsewhere that they need to be completed by the time you matriculate (on the page were you fill out the courses you took). But I feel like you will be at a disadvantage if you atleast haven't completed the behavioral/social science part already... but I might be wrong.

 

[Midwestern Blot]

Yes -- and it sounds like they have to be complete by the time you apply. You can also send in courses that are "behavioral/social science" like -- but they had me send in a syllabus -- for a french history class i took.

From the UIC website:
Candidates must complete three (3) courses in the Behavioral/Social Sciences (for example, psychology, anthropology, or sociology). Two of the three courses must be in the same field of study. Other behavioral or social science courses will be considered to fulfill this requirement. Applicants must provide documentation on the content of such courses to be given consideration.

edit: at the same time they mention elsewhere that they need to be completed by the time you matriculate (on the page were you fill out the courses you took). But I feel like you will be at a disadvantage if you atleast haven't completed the behavioral/social science part already... but I might be wrong.

Two of the three need to be in the same field? That's really dumb, I wonder why they do that. I have taken two social science classes: psychology and an aging class. I am taking an anthropology/history class this fall. I wish I had known this prior to applying.

 

[Avoidthetiger]

Two of the three need to be in the same field? That's really dumb, I wonder why they do that. I have taken two social science classes: psychology and an aging class. I am taking an anthropology/history class this fall. I wish I had known this prior to applying.

My psych course is actually on my AMCAS as a bio because it was all neuroscience related. I definitely would feel weird listing it as a behavioral/social science course. Luckily though my school offers medical anthropology and I took two of them... plus alot of current history classes if UIC tries to give me a hard time.

But yea... it's a weird requirement that they have that schools should be informing their pre-med students of.

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

For those that submitted already, what does your status say? Mine says "recommendations: __ received from AMCAS, expecting a total of ___, awaiting Admission Officer letter review"

My LOR section is blank....but it does show the dates of when I submitted my app, etc.

 

[mybubbles14]

Yes -- and it sounds like they have to be complete by the time you apply. You can also send in courses that are "behavioral/social science" like -- but they had me send in a syllabus -- for a french history class i took.

From the UIC website:
Candidates must complete three (3) courses in the Behavioral/Social Sciences (for example, psychology, anthropology, or sociology). Two of the three courses must be in the same field of study. Other behavioral or social science courses will be considered to fulfill this requirement. Applicants must provide documentation on the content of such courses to be given consideration.

edit: at the same time they mention elsewhere that they need to be completed by the time you matriculate (on the page were you fill out the courses you took). But I feel like you will be at a disadvantage if you atleast haven't completed the behavioral/social science part already... but I might be wrong.

They just need to be completed by the time you matriculate. Some individuals in the incoming class with me were notified a month or two ago that they had not "successfully completed" this requirement ie. they weren't accepting the courses that they listed. We have to submit an additional transcript at the end of the year (or summer if you're taking summer courses) as one of the admission requirements. I don't see why you would be at a disadvantage to take a behavioral/social science course in the spring.

 

[QuinnWatson]

Hi everyone! I decided to post this time line (posted on past years' threads) that was of great service to me this past cycle. I hope that it finds you well. 🙂

START

I. Submit Primary.

II. Wait for the email from UIC giving you your login information for the Applicant Status Check site (usually arrives within 2 weeks of submitting your primary): https://mercury.comd.uic.edu/appstat

III. Login, and check your status in the second page.

---

A. "Application Not Complete" = Secondary not yet complete.

B. "Application in Process" = You are complete. --> Goto C.

C. "Applicant in Process" = Your file is being reviewed, 3 Possible Status Changes:

1. "Select Interview Date" = You are good enough for an interview. --> Goto D.
2. "Application in Process" = You are not good enough to grant an interview yet, but might be later on in the cycle. Check back periodically. --> Go back to B.
3. "Final Decision Made ..." = You are not good enough. --> Goto X.​

D. "Select Interview Date" (A grid of dates shows up) = Call and schedule an interview date, after which "Interview Scheduled on ... " shows up. After the interview, Goto F.

F. "Decision Pending" = File pending review at the next adcom meeting (every 3rd Thursday of the month). There are 2 options from here, depending on the month:

1. Before May. --> Goto M.
2. On or After May. --> Goto N.​

M. Before May, 2 Possible Status Changes:

1. "Final Decision Made ... " --> Goto S.
2. "Decision Pending" (No Status Change) + "We'll keep reviewing you" Email (a few days later) = You are a good candidate, but not good enough to grant an acceptance yet. UIC will keep reviewing you at every adcom meeting. --> Go back to F.​

N. On or After May, 2 Possible Status Changes:

1. "Final Decision Made ... " You are (very likely) rejected. --> Goto X.
2. "Applicant is Waitlisted" = Waitlisted. --> Goto Y.​

S. There are 2 additional conditions from here:

1. There is an "Additional Correspondences" Tab in the upper-right corner on your status page AND you get a CBC Email (a few days later) = You are (very likely) accepted. --> Goto Z.
2. There is no "Additional Correspondences" Tab and/or you don't get the CBC Email = Rejection. [Note: This is tricky. The CBC email usually comes a few days after (1-4 is the consensus) the status change. Be patient. Sometimes, the email never comes, which might be because you already had a CBC done due to an acceptance at another school. In some instances, the CBC Email even comes after the snail-mail. If after a week, neither the tab nor the CBC email shows up, it's very likely a rejection. You've probably already received snail-mail by now alerting you to it.] --> Goto X.​

X. "Final Decision Made ..." = Rejection 🙁 ... Wait for a "Thin Letter" via snail-mail.

Y. "Applicant is Waitlisted" = Waitlisted. ... The CBC Email no longer acts as an indicator of an acceptance. If you get accepted off of the waitlist, then Goto Z, else Goto X.

Z. "Final Decision Made ..." + "Additional Correspondences" Tab + CBC Email = (very likely) Acceptance 😀 ... Wait for a "Fat Packet" via snail-mail. [Note: Sometimes CBC emails come after the packet. CBC emails also might never arrive if you got an acceptance to another school that also does CBC through AMCAS.]

FINISH

---

*** PLEASE BEAR IN MIND that this info came from last year's thread! Therefore, the whole process may have changed since then, and there is no guarantee to this information. But it worked for me (even though I was given the same warning) and the time line was accurate.

Good look to all of you class of 2015 applicants!! 😀

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

Hi everyone! I decided to post this time line (posted on past years' threads) that was of great service to me this past cycle. I hope that it finds you well. 🙂

START

I. Submit Primary.

II. Wait for the email from UIC giving you your login information for the Applicant Status Check site (usually arrives within 2 weeks of submitting your primary): https://mercury.comd.uic.edu/appstat

III. Login, and check your status in the second page.

---

A. "Application Not Complete" = Secondary not yet complete.

B. "Application in Process" = You are complete. --> Goto C.

C. "Applicant in Process" = Your file is being reviewed, 3 Possible Status Changes:

1. "Select Interview Date" = You are good enough for an interview. --> Goto D.
2. "Application in Process" = You are not good enough to grant an interview yet, but might be later on in the cycle. Check back periodically. --> Go back to B.
3. "Final Decision Made ..." = You are not good enough. --> Goto X.​

D. "Select Interview Date" (A grid of dates shows up) = Call and schedule an interview date, after which "Interview Scheduled on ... " shows up. After the interview, Goto F.

F. "Decision Pending" = File pending review at the next adcom meeting (every 3rd Thursday of the month). There are 2 options from here, depending on the month:

1. Before May. --> Goto M.
2. On or After May. --> Goto N.​

M. Before May, 2 Possible Status Changes:

1. "Final Decision Made ... " --> Goto S.
2. "Decision Pending" (No Status Change) + "We'll keep reviewing you" Email (a few days later) = You are a good candidate, but not good enough to grant an acceptance yet. UIC will keep reviewing you at every adcom meeting. --> Go back to F.​

N. On or After May, 2 Possible Status Changes:

1. "Final Decision Made ... " You are (very likely) rejected. --> Goto X.
2. "Applicant is Waitlisted" = Waitlisted. --> Goto Y.​

S. There are 2 additional conditions from here:

1. There is an "Additional Correspondences" Tab in the upper-right corner on your status page AND you get a CBC Email (a few days later) = You are (very likely) accepted. --> Goto Z.
2. There is no "Additional Correspondences" Tab and/or you don't get the CBC Email = Rejection. [Note: This is tricky. The CBC email usually comes a few days after (1-4 is the consensus) the status change. Be patient. Sometimes, the email never comes, which might be because you already had a CBC done due to an acceptance at another school. In some instances, the CBC Email even comes after the snail-mail. If after a week, neither the tab nor the CBC email shows up, it's very likely a rejection. You've probably already received snail-mail by now alerting you to it.] --> Goto X.​

X. "Final Decision Made ..." = Rejection 🙁 ... Wait for a "Thin Letter" via snail-mail.

Y. "Applicant is Waitlisted" = Waitlisted. ... The CBC Email no longer acts as an indicator of an acceptance. If you get accepted off of the waitlist, then Goto Z, else Goto X.

Z. "Final Decision Made ..." + "Additional Correspondences" Tab + CBC Email = (very likely) Acceptance 😀 ... Wait for a "Fat Packet" via snail-mail. [Note: Sometimes CBC emails come after the packet. CBC emails also might never arrive if you got an acceptance to another school that also does CBC through AMCAS.]

FINISH

---

*** PLEASE BEAR IN MIND that this info came from last year's thread! Therefore, the whole process may have changed since then, and there is no guarantee to this information. But it worked for me (even though I was given the same warning) and the time line was accurate.

Good look to all of you class of 2015 applicants!! 😀

Thanks for this bit of information! So does taht mean I'm the odd-one-out with my earlier post...the "funky status" that doesn't appear in the above list lol..

 

[marshmallow]

ook, maybe a stupid question- but where are you guys seeing status updates?

Is it the same website as the secondary?

Thank you 🙂

 

[chrisoc13]

UIC sent an email before the secondary with a link to check on the status. At least that's where I've been looking.

 

[marshmallow]

UIC sent an email before the secondary with a link to check on the status. At least that's where I've been looking.

youre awesome, thanks!

 

[mybubbles14]

youre awesome, thanks!

https://s443-messieruic-comd-uic-edu.proxauto.comd.uic.edu/appstat/index.jsp

Thanks for this bit of information! So does taht mean I'm the odd-one-out with my earlier post...the "funky status" that doesn't appear in the above list lol..

I think it's too early to worry...but I remember a few other individuals have a status like this last year. You might want to check towards the beginning of last year's thread...but I believe some of them had this situation resolved with a phone call. It's still the beginning of july though...


Check out post 990...
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/sho...ighlight=letter+of+recommendation#post8846502

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

Thanks for the information! I didn't see that post when I was last perusing it...

 

[Tippyboat]

Status changed to Application is in process!!!

Which....doesn't mean much 😛. But still!

 

[emawhat]

anyone else still not received a secondary? I am getting pretty worried that I was screened out... I was hoping to apply to rural assistance too, so it would suck to be rejected from uic before i get a chance to go rimsap

have you heard back yet? I haven't heard either and I was in the first wave of AMCAS also

 

[turkaglew]

have you heard back yet? I haven't heard either and I was in the first wave of AMCAS also

not a word...

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

Also what about shadowing? Is anyone including it here?

I put down shadowing but since you can only enter the number of hours as hours/week, I was a little unsure of what to do. I called the admissions office and was told to put down the lowest number of hrs/week possible (1 hr/week) and it should be fine as long as you broke down the hours and stuff on your primary.

 

[locationsuit]

I recently finished up this secondary and noticed that there was a Next button at the bottom of the status page screen. Currently I am Applicant in Progress. What's everyone's status?

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

I recently finished up this secondary and noticed that there was a Next button at the bottom of the status page screen. Currently I am Applicant in Progress. What's everyone's status?

I am "application in progress" but I'm OOS...so maybe that is why you're ahead (assuming the thread above with a few definitions of statuses are true)

 

[ejw5075]

I recently finished up this secondary and noticed that there was a Next button at the bottom of the status page screen. Currently I am Applicant in Progress. What's everyone's status?

Same and I'm OOS too

 

[chrisoc13]

So wait, there is "application in process" and "applicant in process" or was that simply a typo? It seems to go back and forth according to what was written above which makes me think typo. Mine says "application in process" but not applicant.

 

[Avoidthetiger]

please refer above to the helpful list posted about how UIC statuses work.

Most likely you will return back to application is in process (if you are currently applicant in process) because UIC won't send out interview invites until early Sept.