2010-2011 University of Michigan Application Thread

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rjmn said:
5 more invites remain? Yet they claim it will take them another three weeks to finish file reviews? This is ridiculous. They bilked a lot of people out of their application fees.
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I don't think this is the case at all. UMich is by far the most transparent of all med schools when it comes to the entire admissions process. Go through their twitter feed or website, there is a lot of info (admission tips and how they review files) -- so really very few, if any, surprises. I don't think UMich is one of those schools that takes your money and runs...

A sampling:

"Letters of recommendation are very important in our review process. These letters sometimes determine who we interview and admit." -- Twitter

"Last 5 Years: Nearly 75% of our admission offers went to applicants who applied in June, July or August! It pays to apply early!" -- Twitter 10/19

"Last 5 Years: Nearly 60% of our admission offers went to applicants who applied in June or July. More proof of aggressive rolling admission!" -- Twitter 10/19

"Last 5 years: Only 13% of those applicants offered admission submitted applications in September or October. Rolling admission!" -- Twitter 10/19

"Wondering, based on that data, if next year we should move our deadline to an earlier date??--Admission team will review/discuss." -- Twitter 10/19
 
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REOTBGBT said:
I don't think this is the case at all. UMich is by far the most transparent of all med schools when it comes to the entire admissions process. Go through their twitter feed or website, there is a lot of info (admin tips and how they review files) -- so really very few, if any, surprises. I don't think UMich is one of those schools that takes your money and runs...

A sampling:

"Letters of recommendation are very important in our review process. These letters sometimes determine who we interview and admit." -- Twitter

"Last 5 Years: Nearly 75% of our admission offers went to applicants who applied in June, July or August! It pays to apply early!" -- Twitter 10/19

"Last 5 Years: Nearly 60% of our admission offers went to applicants who applied in June or July. More proof of aggressive rolling admission!" -- Twitter 10/19

"Last 5 years: Only 13% of those applicants offered admission submitted applications in September or October. Rolling admission!" -- Twitter 10/19

"Wondering, based on that data, if next year we should move our deadline to an earlier date??--Admission team will review/discuss." -- Twitter 10/19
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But the kicker is that Michigan does not review in order. Some who submitted early are still "under review".

These tweets came out in October. Telling people AFTER they've submitted their secondary that they have little chance of being accepted isn't good enough. They ought to either tell people before or screen secondaries.

In fact, Michigan retroactively reduced the number of interviews it said it would offer. If you want to say that an applicants should have made an informed decision using the admissions office's info, that's bunk, because the info changed.

Taking people's money without giving their applications serious review is loathsome. They are completely capable of refunding a handful of applicants their secondary fees.
 
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rjmn said:
But the kicker is that Michigan does not review in order. Some who submitted early are still "under review".

These tweets came out in October. Telling people AFTER they've submitted their secondary that they have little chance of being accepted isn't good enough. They ought to either tell people before or screen secondaries.

In fact, Michigan retroactively reduced the number of interviews it said it would offer. If you want to say that an applicants should have made an informed decision using the admissions office's info, that's bunk, because the info changed.

Taking people's money without giving their applications serious review is loathsome. They are completely capable of refunding a handful of applicants their secondary fees.
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You must be new to medical school admissions.
 
ColeOnTheRoll said:
You must be new to medical school admissions.
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Some users on this board will serve on admissions committees in a decade, or eventually be deans of admissions. They'll have an opportunity to fix BS like this, and I hope they make good on it.

The sheer number of med school admissions offices that have needlessly obnoxious policies (e.g. silent rejections) isn't an excuse for their behavior.
 
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rjmn said:
Some users on this board will serve on admissions committees in a decade, or eventually be deans of admissions. They'll have an opportunity to fix BS like this, and I hope they make good on it.

The sheer number of med school admissions offices that have needlessly obnoxious policies (e.g. silent rejections) isn't an excuse for their behavior.
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Totally agree. But the competitive nature of medical school admissions makes it easy for applicants to be treated poorly. Contrast medical admissions with graduate school admissions or even business recruiting. Those are whole other worlds.
 
ColeOnTheRoll said:
Totally agree. But the competitive nature of medical school admissions makes it easy for applicants to be treated poorly. Contrast medical admissions with graduate school admissions or even business recruiting. Those are whole other worlds.
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And I agree with you there.
 
ColeOnTheRoll said:
Totally agree. But the competitive nature of medical school admissions makes it easy for applicants to be treated poorly. Contrast medical admissions with graduate school admissions or even business recruiting. Those are whole other worlds.
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Cole, I must finally ask: how do you have a 3.99 sGPA and a 4.00 cGPA? A 4.00 cumulative seems mutually exclusive of a 3.99 science GPA.
 
ColeOnTheRoll said:
Totally agree. But the competitive nature of medical school admissions makes it easy for applicants to be treated poorly. Contrast medical admissions with graduate school admissions or even business recruiting. Those are whole other worlds.
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This is true. A lot of med school admissions departments are disorganized, amateurish, unhelpful, and rude. They have web sites that would get a failing grade in a web design class for computer science juniors. They repeatedly ask the same questions over and over in their applications, as though no one actually proof-read the things. They lose paperwork, they don't confirm receipt of anything, or let anyone know their status. They generally get away with it, because of the competitiveness. I'd have to say, however, that Michigan's admissions department is absolutely the best of the bunch that I've had any interaction with. They are well organized, efficient, professional, transparent, polite, and treat people with some modicum personal attention and respect despite receiving a tremendous number of applications. There are some schools that I initially thought I liked, until I saw what a ****-show their admissions departments were. Michigan is the exact opposite - interacting with their admissions department has considerably strengthened my interest in the school.
 
phltz said:
Sig figs - how do they work?
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A 4.00 is usually reserved for a perfect record, not a rounded 3.99. It's not an issue of significant figures, buddy.
 
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rjmn, I think your question of why Feb 3rd was addressed on UMich twitter 🙂
 
REOTBGBT said:
rjmn, I think your question of why Feb 3rd was addressed on UMich twitter 🙂
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Thanks for the heads-up! 🙂
=====

'UMichMedAdmiss: I've been in admissions for 20 years and still don't know what a "silent rejection" is?? It takes time to reach decisions on 5k+ applicants!'

I don't understand this tweet, and perhaps the admissions office doesn't understand me.

My point is that with only 5 interview slots left and 3 weeks' worth of initial file reviews still to go, lots of files are not getting serious review. And Michigan does not review in order of submission date, so it's not simply a matter of applicants submitting late.
 
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rjmn said:
UMichMedAdmiss: I've been in admissions for 20 years and still don't know what a "silent rejection" is?? It takes time to reach decisions on 5k+ applicants!

I don't understand this tweet, and perhaps the admissions office doesn't understand me.

My point is that with only 5 interview slots left and 3 weeks' worth of initial file reviews still to go, lots of files are not getting serious review. And Michigan does not review in order of submission date, so it's not simply a matter of applicants submitting late.
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I have no idea about this, but my understanding was that they've done an initial review on all apps submitted (perhaps finishing this review before the new year) and now they're just figuring out which of the ~4650 apps that were initially passed over to give the last 5-10 interview spots to.

I could be making this up though, b/c I know NYU stops reading apps that were complete after October and don't really publicize that you're completely wasting your time, money and hope by being a late-submitter...
 
etherpentane said:
I have no idea about this, but my understanding was that they've done an initial review on all apps submitted (perhaps finishing this review before the new year) and now they're just figuring out which of the ~4650 apps that were initially passed over to give the last 5-10 interview spots to.

I could be making this up though, b/c I know NYU stops reading apps that were complete after October and don't really publicize that you're completely wasting your time, money and hope by being a late-submitter...
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How do you "know" that? If that's the case, that's ridiculous.
 
ColeOnTheRoll said:
How do you "know" that? If that's the case, that's ridiculous.
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Past couple of years on SDN that seems to be the point of near-zero yield. Also from NYU's website it seems that they're almost non-rolling so I could see why the way NYU does things can be annoying.
 
wanderer100 said:
Past couple of years on SDN that seems to be the point of near-zero yield. Also from NYU's website it seems that they're almost non-rolling so I could see why the way NYU does things can be annoying.
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(at the point of interview invites). In the 09-10 thread, someone [claimed they] called the admissions office and had this confirmed.

On the bright side, if you are one of the early birds, NYU gives out 530 acceptances, which is a decent amount...

Speaking of which, does anyone think it's weird that the Mich ticker shows "percent of acceptances offered" instead of raw data? I don't know what to make of that.
 
etherpentane said:
(at the point of interview invites). In the 09-10 thread, someone [claimed they] called the admissions office and had this confirmed.

On the bright side, if you are one of the early birds, NYU gives out 530 acceptances, which is a decent amount...

Speaking of which, does anyone think it's weird that the Mich ticker shows "percent of acceptances offered" instead of raw data? I don't know what to make of that.
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The only thing I can think of for not releasing the hard acceptance numbers is that they don't want people to know how much they over-admit.
 
etherpentane said:
(at the point of interview invites). In the 09-10 thread, someone [claimed they] called the admissions office and had this confirmed.

On the bright side, if you are one of the early birds, NYU gives out 530 acceptances, which is a decent amount...

Speaking of which, does anyone think it's weird that the Mich ticker shows "percent of acceptances offered" instead of raw data? I don't know what to make of that.
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They said they are going to admit 350 applicants this year at the interview... so about 263 people.
 
Just a heads up regarding those 5 remaining interview spots. At the interviews today Dr. Ruiz stated that he/the committee are reviewing 1,200 applications to determine who earns those 5 spots.
 
Holy Smokes! 1200 spots for 5 people.

I think they should give the last 5 interviews to the most attractive people applying (I mean after all that's why medical schools ask for our pictures, right?)

jk

but I really do hope I get an interview (heck I'd trek through the snow for one)!
 
I feel like I'm just waiting for my rejection to become (facebook) official.
 
Application Screening Completed
Your application has been reviewed. At this point we are not able to offer you an interview. Final decisions for all candidates will be made the first week in February. Thank you for your patience.

Complete since mid-July, just got this message today. Does this mean they just now read my file? With 5 spots and 1,200 applications left (LOL, did they just forget about most of us while giving out initial spots?) I'm pretty much figuring this is it for me at UMich. Just wish it didn't take them 5 months to get around to it... good luck to everyone else still waiting!
 
Wiingy said:
Application Screening Completed
Your application has been reviewed. At this point we are not able to offer you an interview. Final decisions for all candidates will be made the first week in February. Thank you for your patience.
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Same here- seems like I won't be one of the remaining 5. Oh well, I'm going broke from this process anyway. 1 less flight to buy.

Good luck to those with files still open!
 
From the twitter feed today:

UMichMedAdmiss Preliminary screening is not a rejection status--many reviewed files are still open and eligible for the remaining interview slots.

Looks like the "Screening Complete" status isn't a polite rejection - as much as I hate how long the process takes I have to admit that the admissions at UMich is responsive and probably the most transparent in the country.
 
Wiingy said:
From the twitter feed today:

UMichMedAdmiss Preliminary screening is not a rejection status--many reviewed files are still open and eligible for the remaining interview slots.

Looks like the "Screening Complete" status isn't a polite rejection - as much as I hate how long the process takes I have to admit that the admissions at UMich is responsive and probably the most transparent in the country.
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Yes, Director Ruiz and the rest of the admissions gang are incredible. They sent me an animated birthday card which I ended up showing my parents. I also received a personalized letter from Dr. Gay; it just doesn't stop with Michigan-- they are truly amazing.

They are the best admissions office I have seen in the country and I am confident that they give all of their applicants a fair shake. Don't ever give up hope on Michigan, it's certainly worth the wait!
 
Wiingy said:
From the twitter feed today:

UMichMedAdmiss Preliminary screening is not a rejection status--many reviewed files are still open and eligible for the remaining interview slots.

Looks like the "Screening Complete" status isn't a polite rejection - as much as I hate how long the process takes I have to admit that the admissions at UMich is responsive and probably the most transparent in the country.
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Hmm, interesting. Ok, time to restore that glimmer of hope. One of my friends is at U Mich now and has nothing but incredible things to say, and has said their interview day was the best one he went to hands-down. *Sigh* The waiting continues...
 
Wiingy said:
From the twitter feed today:

UMichMedAdmiss Preliminary screening is not a rejection status--many reviewed files are still open and eligible for the remaining interview slots.

Looks like the "Screening Complete" status isn't a polite rejection - as much as I hate how long the process takes I have to admit that the admissions at UMich is responsive and probably the most transparent in the country.
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Seems they have taken down that tweet. Interesting...
 
amandaeleven said:
I still see it...
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Their twitter behaves oddly - often people have posted their updates on this thread that I haven't been able to see on twitter for up to a day. But then again I've never used twitter before this cycle and don't follow them, or whatever it's called lol
 
Acoustic said:
Their twitter behaves oddly - often people have posted their updates on this thread that I haven't been able to see on twitter for up to a day. But then again I've never used twitter before this cycle and don't follow them, or whatever it's called lol
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It's all about the cookies. Clear your cookies and refresh the page when you notice people are seeing things on a website that you aren't.
 
Hello friends,

Quick question! For accepted applicants, is there a way to let the admissions committee know of any other scholarship offers that an applicant may have received from other medical schools? I love this school and I want to go, but financially I may not be able to afford it compared to another option I have. I'm not sure if Michigan even wants to know, but if anyone has any advice regarding this matter I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks! 🙂
 
haloisfun2000 said:
Hello friends,

Quick question! For accepted applicants, is there a way to let the admissions committee know of any other scholarship offers that an applicant may have received from other medical schools? I love this school and I want to go, but financially I may not be able to afford it compared to another option I have. I'm not sure if Michigan even wants to know, but if anyone has any advice regarding this matter I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks! 🙂
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At the interview Ruiz that in certain special circumstances, if the other school is competitive with Michigan and you received much more aid there, they may be able to help you attend Mich, but he said its on a very case by case basis.
 
haloisfun2000 said:
Hello friends,

Quick question! For accepted applicants, is there a way to let the admissions committee know of any other scholarship offers that an applicant may have received from other medical schools? I love this school and I want to go, but financially I may not be able to afford it compared to another option I have. I'm not sure if Michigan even wants to know, but if anyone has any advice regarding this matter I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks! 🙂
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My interview host said that he had more aid at other schools and that he called Michigan and told them. Not only did they match the other school's package, they exceeded it. I would either call or write the admissions office when the time comes.
 
Does anyone know if the revisit weekend for Michigan is going to work like last year's? If I remember correctly, Michigan only invited a subset of the accepted applicant population.
 
Beta Cell said:
Does anyone know if the revisit weekend for Michigan is going to work like last year's? If I remember correctly, Michigan only invited a subset of the accepted applicant population.
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That's what I thought too. And that's what Ruiz said at the interview day.
 
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