2010-2011 University of Toledo Application Thread

[transfec]

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Waitlisted... Boo. So it appears they are sending out rejections/waitlists via snail mail only. I'm very disappointed at this because one of my interviewers told me that I was a stellar applicant for Toledo, on paper. I think he didn't like my answers to all of those cheating/integrity questions.


Anyone know how much movement there is off the waitlist?

It differs year to year. I wouldn't expect to hear anything until May or June. So, what you news you hear before then will be a surprise.

As for the cheating/integrity questions- you turn those who cheat in immediately.

I was asked two questions about this. One being "a student hands you an exam key. What do you do?"

Once that test touches your skin or meets your eyes, you have an obligation to go immediately to those in charge. Your future is at stake in this situation. However, there is a trick to this question. It is likely that the student who handed you the test was given it by another student, and has confided in you. You should encourage that student to come with you. For all you know, they may very well want to do the same thing but were afraid to do so.

The second question was, "a student is obviously cheating on an exam, and tells you about it afterwards. What do you do?"

This is a tough question for many people. For this profession, however, the answer is obvious. While there is a shortage of doctors, there are MANY pursuing this career who are willing to do whatever they can, on their own, to provide the best of care to their patients. For that very reason, there are plenty of individuals to get to that point without cheating the system. People who feel the need to cheat shouldn't be welcome in this profession, especially those with the audacity to brag about their acts after they commit them. I wouldn't want a doctor with this philosophy treating me! The patient comes first. Period. During my interviews, I felt my interviewers were relieved to see that I had the guts to give them that answer, sans sugar coating.

That's just some advice for those still yet to interview.

 

[patelnb]

It differs year to year. I wouldn't expect to hear anything until May or June. So, what you news you hear before then will be a surprise.

As for the cheating/integrity questions- you turn those who cheat in immediately.

I was asked two questions about this. One being "a student hands you an exam key. What do you do?"

Once that test touches your skin or meets your eyes, you have an obligation to go immediately to those in charge. Your future is at stake in this situation. However, there is a trick to this question. It is likely that the student who handed you the test was given it by another student, and has confided in you. You should encourage that student to come with you. For all you know, they may very well want to do the same thing.

The second question was, "a student is obviously cheating on an exam, tells you about it afterwards. What do you do?"

This is a tough question for many people. For this profession, however, the answer is obvious. There is a shortage of doctors, all the while MANY pursuing this career who are willing to do whatever they can, on their own, to provide the best of care to their patients. For that very reason, there are plenty of individuals to get to that point without cheating the system. People who feel the need to cheat shouldn't be welcome in this profession, especially those with the audacity to brag about their acts after they commit them. I wouldn't want a doctor with this philosophy treating me. The patient comes first. Period. During my interviews, I felt my interviewers were relieved to see that I had the guts to give them that answer, with no sugar coating.

That's just some advice for those still yet to interview.

I had a different answer. For the student cheating, I said that I would not turn them in. My main reasons were is that I would give them the benefit of the doubt and assume it was their first mistake, since I have no evidence of prior cheating. And secondly, I might ruin their whole future if they get something on their record for one mistake. I then said after one chance and they made that mistake again, I would take action. They seemed to like that answer as well. But then I had a zero tolerance policy for a drunk surgeon because people's lives are directly in their hands. My two cents

 

[transfec]

I had a different answer. For the student cheating, I said that I would not turn them in. My main reasons were is that I would give them the benefit of the doubt and assume it was their first mistake, since I have no evidence of prior cheating. And secondly, I might ruin their whole future if they get something on their record for one mistake. I then said after one chance and they made that mistake again, I would take action. They seemed to like that answer as well. But then I had a zero tolerance policy for a drunk surgeon because people's lives are directly in their hands. My two cents

What you need to remember is that you aren't ruining anything. They did this to themselves. Further, your claims won't harm them directly. The most that would happen is that those in charge would inspect the results of the test and keep an eye on them for future incidents. This way, you remove your own authority of looking for a mistaken second chance and put it on those with power. As a student, it's not your role to grant other students second chances. But that's just transfec's view.

For those yet to interview, remember that we have an obligation to FUTURE patients, not CURRENT prospective physicians. My interviewers appreciated that.

 

[tiedyeddog]

I had a different answer. For the student cheating, I said that I would not turn them in. My main reasons were is that I would give them the benefit of the doubt and assume it was their first mistake, since I have no evidence of prior cheating. And secondly, I might ruin their whole future if they get something on their record for one mistake. I then said after one chance and they made that mistake again, I would take action. They seemed to like that answer as well. But then I had a zero tolerance policy for a drunk surgeon because people's lives are directly in their hands. My two cents

This was basically my response. My interview then proceeded to tell me I was wrong and that we should always turn cheaters in. I won't go into arguing my point here, but I thought the interviewer would like my honesty. It is clear what the "right answer" is, but I bet you hardly anyone would actually turn in a cheater everytime, no matter who the cheater was.

 

[loua0731]

accepted!!!!

 

[OhioDoc]

accepted!!!!

Congratulations!

 

[loua0731]

Congratulations!

Thank you! 😀

 

[doit4themunki]

Haven't heard a peep from this place. Instate....3.5...29Q...a little lower than their averages I guess but I have pretty good EC's. Hoping to hear from them soon!

 

[caligurlMD]

I received an interview invite and have been following the posts about the interview ?s/responses... I am more interested in what people thought about the programs, faculty, area, the current students. The post about housing and areas was very helpful! Any thoughts?

 

[fatladysings]

Hey guys,

Received my interview invite this past week and will probably interview Dec. 20. I was wondering if anyone wanted to recommend hotels? Comfort, Red Roof and Ramada all look good...any suggestions? I'm mostly concerned with whether I'll be able to drive and park on campus. Also, how do I go about attending a coffee talk (or are they pre-scheduled)?

Thanks! 🙂

 

[OhioDoc]

I received an interview invite and have been following the posts about the interview ?s/responses... I am more interested in what people thought about the programs, faculty, area, the current students. The post about housing and areas was very helpful! Any thoughts?

From the perspective of a current M1 @ UTCOM:

the faculty - In general, in terms of their ability to teach the material, all of the faculty members (that I've encountered thus far) have been very good. Of course, like any other school, there are a few faculty members that are less skilled teachers. In addition to being good teachers, I have found all of our faculty members to be excellent scientists or clinicians. An important point is that every couple of weeks, surveys are sent out to the students asking them to rate each faculty member and his/her lectures. More importantly, the results of these surveys are taken quite seriously as they are tied into the promotion and compensation/merit raises of the faculty member and have in the past resulted in changes in who teaches what.

The area - Toledo gets a a bad rap sometimes but it's really a nice area to live. It's certainly got a less compared to the large cities but at the same time, I've found that we have at least a little bit of everything which is enough to sate my needs. It's also conveniently located with respect to several major cities including being ~ 3hrs from Chicago (you can easily drive or take the MegaBus for CHEAP), ~1hr from Ann Arbor, ~2.5 hrs from Columbus, ~2 hrs from Cleveland (MegaBus also goes to Cleveland). One of the biggest benefits (for me) of Toledo is that the cost of living is super cheap - see my housing post and compare it with living in any big city. Also, unlike some other areas of the country, we do get to see each of the four seasons - Winter is too cold and too long, but the fall/spring/and summer are all very nice.

The students - The students here are generally very nice and willing to help. UTCOM still uses a honors/high pass/pass/fail grading system but that doesn't stop people from sharing their work and resources

Hey guys,

Received my interview invite this past week and will probably interview Dec. 20. I was wondering if anyone wanted to recommend hotels? Comfort, Red Roof and Ramada all look good...any suggestions? I'm mostly concerned with whether I'll be able to drive and park on campus. Also, how do I go about attending a coffee talk (or are they pre-scheduled)?

Thanks! 🙂

When I interviewed I stayed at the Hilton. It's definitely more expensive than the other options (i'm not sure what the rate is this year) but it's also very convenient - it's literally located on the campus of the medical school/University of Toledo Medical Center and is less than a 3 minute drive to the library. There is ample parking available on campus and driving to/through the campus is pretty simple.

As for the coffee talk, last year there was an e-mail address for RSVPing - did they not include that this year?

 

[loua0731]

Hey guys,

Received my interview invite this past week and will probably interview Dec. 20. I was wondering if anyone wanted to recommend hotels? Comfort, Red Roof and Ramada all look good...any suggestions? I'm mostly concerned with whether I'll be able to drive and park on campus. Also, how do I go about attending a coffee talk (or are they pre-scheduled)?

Thanks! 🙂

I stayed at the Hilton. It's right on campus, literally a 2 minute drive to the interview location.

 

[gimpsd]

Is parking free on campus?

 

[OhioDoc]

Is parking free on campus?

On your interview day parking is available for free in visitor parking lots.

Students pay $250/year for parking - this cost just gets lumped into our loans.

 

[ABCDE123]

I also recieved an e-mail yesterday saying that I am still under review for an interview. It said to only reply to the e-mail if you wanted to withdraw your application. Anyone know what this means?

 

[doit4themunki]

I also recieved an e-mail yesterday saying that I am still under review for an interview. It said to only reply to the e-mail if you wanted to withdraw your application. Anyone know what this means?

I got this email too. "This is a courtesy email to let you know that your application is still under review for an interview decision and we will notify you as soon as the decision is made."

Pretty sure they're just letting you know that they haven't forgotten about/lost your application or silently rejected you. Just that you're still under review.

And the waiting continues....

 

[rpgdude21]

I also recieved an e-mail yesterday saying that I am still under review for an interview. It said to only reply to the e-mail if you wanted to withdraw your application. Anyone know what this means?

I am wondering the same thing. My gut instinct would tell me that it is a hold/small pool considering I was complete in August but then the sentence saying they have received a record number of applications and the AdCom is working diligently to review these etc makes it sound like they havent gotten to us yet. Or perhaps its a probe to see who still wants to be considered for an interview?

 

[curlytop]

I think it's exactly what it says: they're reassuring us that they haven't forgotten/lost/burned our applications. And so we wait.

 

[newnimproved]

do you think that everyone who has applied received this friendly update or only those individuals they are considering for a possible interview invite?

 

[ba23ball3r]

do you think that everyone who has applied received this friendly update or only those individuals they are considering for a possible interview invite?

Since I got the email, I would assume everyone who has not been accepted, interviewed or rejected got the email.

 

[MediCynical]

I got the same e-mail 🙁

 

[2050vlsb]

I got the same e-mail 🙁

Why the 🙁 ? I mean, is it a bad thing to have gotten the email?

 

[2050vlsb]

Prob. cuz they were hoping it was an invite for interview rather then saying that they still haven't finished reviewing the app. lol. I'd not read much into it. Its just as someone said above, prob. letting us know they haven't forgotten about us.

Ahh true .. maybe I'm thinking about it wrong but "we're still reviewing you" seems better than just waiting and wondering why the heck you haven't heard anything at all .. but yes, definitely not better than an interview invite

 

[MediCynical]

Ahh true .. maybe I'm thinking about it wrong but "we're still reviewing you" seems better than just waiting and wondering why the heck you haven't heard anything at all .. but yes, definitely not better than an interview invite

No, I'm glad they're still reviewing me. Whenever I see an e-mail from a medical school I get excited... this was a let down lol

 

[OhioDoc]

They sent out a similar "Your application for admission is still under review for an interview decision" e-mail last year - I don't think it's anything more than a general status update - I imagine it's probably being sent to everyone who hasn't either been a) accepted b) rejected or c) waitlisted at this point.

 

[obgyny]

I just got a reminder email to fill out the secondary (due Dec 31). I sent my primary to ~30 schools, but I was running low on money so I didn't fill out all the secondaries. So far: 6 pre-interview rejections, 6 pre-interview holds, 2 small pools, 2 interview invites (but one of those resulted in a rejection). Since I only have one interview coming up, I'm a little worried. Would it be too late to apply here? I wanted to apply here, but I've already spent so much money 🙁. Thoughts?

 

[obgyny]

If you are applying because you think you would go here I would apply. But I don't think it would make a big difference between making or breaking you by applying here. You have not heard yet from multiple schools and chances are you still may get spring interviews. There are still quite more interviews invites to be handed out. So I wouldn't apply if the only reason you are doing so is because you think that one app would have made or broken you.

Thanks for the reply 🙂. Well I wanted to apply here so I submitted a primary, but I started maxing out my credit cards so I couldn't fill out the secondary. Plus, by the time I got around to this application, it was already September, so I thought it may be too late. I think I'm just getting anxious...

 

[transfec]

I'm surprised by the little number of SDN members accepted thus far; it doesn't jive with previous years. Good luck guys.

As for the hotels, they are all just fine.

 

[OhioDoc]

I'm surprised by the little number of SDN members accepted thus far; it doesn't jive with previous years. Good luck guys.

As for the hotels, they are all just fine.

You have to take into account that what you're seeing is not only a function of the # of individuals accepted but also a variety of other factors including simply the sheer number of individuals participating in this forum. As far as I know, the class size is not changing at all (we're @ 175 right now) and I don't think any of the alternative ways of gaining admission (i.e. MedStarz/MSBS/etc...) have expanded, so I would imagine that the number is probably similar to the # of individuals accepted @ this time last year.

 

[ba23ball3r]

adcom meeting tomorrow...fyi

 

[curlytop]

Interview invite 12/17. Complete 9/01. IS, above average stats.

 

[OhioDoc]

Interview invite 12/17. Complete 9/01. IS, above average stats.

Congratulations and good luck!

 

[curlytop]

Thanks! I wonder how far out in advance they schedule? I won't "book" my day till Monday...

 

[WuMedic]

Hmmm... Very Quiet on this thread. I'm going up there for my interview on the 3rd. Anyone else coming with me?

 

[doit4themunki]

BTW since this thread is bumped up, should prob. update that I got the rejection letter a couple of days ago.

But so far the rejections I've been getting lately are schools like this with heavy, heavy in state and I have no ties to Toledo unlike the former co volunteer that I knew who is now a med student there. She had family ties to the city where I didn't.


Good luck to those of you remaining applicants and those of you with upcoming interviews. 🙂

Dang sorry to hear that? Stats? I have a feeling I'll be getting one of those soon

 

[ba23ball3r]

They asked me for me Fall 2010 grades yesterday. Common? Just wonder whether or not they ask this of many people or not?

 

[doit4themunki]

29 MCAT. Low ugrad GPA, decent grad GPA. don't really wanna say.

But even with higher numbers, I'm a Fl. resident. The girl I knew who got in there had a tie to toledo when she got in. the other person I knew who got in years ago was a californian guy with a 34 MCAT score even if his ugrad was average and he was Californian and most states love cali people. lol.

So yeah. Not so surprised.

I feel your pain. 29 MCAT as well. Good luck with your other schools though!

 

[Soldatik]

I got the interview in mid- November but didnt schedule until early December which.. to my surprise.. was backed up until February !! 😱

So.. February 24th interviewing at UT woot woot.


Does anyone have any questions I can ponder before that? This will be my second interview and I was totally unprepared for my first one (got wait-listed- NEOUCOM)

 

[Br33zy]

I got the interview in mid- November but didnt schedule until early December which.. to my surprise.. was backed up until February !! 😱

So.. February 24th interviewing at UT woot woot.


Does anyone have any questions I can ponder before that? This will be my second interview and I was totally unprepared for my first one (got wait-listed- NEOUCOM)

I would just try and make sure you know where you stand on some ethical issues, because I got grilled a little bit on those. Be familiar with your application, there wasn't anything to far out of left field for me. Had a question about the health care system in America. Typical interview prep, but definitely one where I was glad I had looked at some ethical dilemmas and the health care system.

 

[transfec]

I would just try and make sure you know where you stand on some ethical issues, because I got grilled a little bit on those. Be familiar with your application, there wasn't anything to far out of left field for me. Had a question about the health care system in America. Typical interview prep, but definitely one where I was glad I had looked at some ethical dilemmas and the health care system.

Have you been accepted?

 

[Br33zy]

Have you been accepted?

I'm still waiting to hear back. I had an interview before Christmas and they said they would be getting back to us early to mid January.

 

[Soldatik]

I would just try and make sure you know where you stand on some ethical issues, because I got grilled a little bit on those. Be familiar with your application, there wasn't anything to far out of left field for me. Had a question about the health care system in America. Typical interview prep, but definitely one where I was glad I had looked at some ethical dilemmas and the health care system.

Thanks Br33zy. I've been thinking about getting some reading material discussing popular ethical issues and maybe a book or 2 about medical school interviews. I have this weird need to convince myself that I am ready before I can actually ace something... I know I could have answered those questions better but doubted what I had to say was good enough and eventually turned into a cluster-F$%k.

Currently in the Middle of the waiting list (NEOUCOM).. sigh I hate waiting and apparently there are lists where people are assigned to wait while they wait 😛

 

[ba23ball3r]

invited for an interview today. pumped. anything else I should look out for besides ethical issues?

thanks in advance.

 

[loua0731]

invited for an interview today. pumped. anything else I should look out for besides ethical issues?

thanks in advance.

Congrats! Other than questions about myself/my application, all of my questions were ethical.

 

[Soldatik]

Have you looked at the U of Washing Bioethics website?? http://depts.washington.edu/bioethx/topics/index.html

Wow thats nice 😱. thanks

 

[ba23ball3r]

Congrats! Other than questions about myself/my application, all of my questions were ethical.

I truly appreciate the response.

Thanks again.

 

[BlameItOnTheOH]

Complete 1 million years ago. Interview offer today! Ethical issues?! oh, this is going to be fun...

 

[OhioDoc]

Complete 1 million years ago. Interview offer today! Ethical issues?! oh, this is going to be fun...

Congratulations! It's always hard to predict what sorts of questions you're going to get asked and it's always going to depend, to a large degree, on who is interviewing you (this will, of course, be the case anywhere you interview). I think the aim for all interviews @ UTCOM is to be more conversational and fairly low-stress. That being said, you would be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't read up on some common ethical issues for ANY interview. The University of Washington website earlier is a great resource to get a solid foundation on medical ethics. Good luck!

 

[BlameItOnTheOH]

thanks for the tips, OhioDoc!

 

[giantswing]

Did your status on Toledo's website change from "complete awaiting decision" after you got your invite? And has anyone gotten a snail mail invite (I got the impression that there were snail and email invites)? Or am I wrong?