2010-2011 University of Utah Application Thread

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Yeah, I guess perhaps one benefit to interviewing late is that you don't have to wait all that long to hear your final fate...perhaps the ONLY benefit to interviewing late lol. Although apparently not that many Idaho applicants had interviewed even in February so...I guess you never know!
 
Best of luck to you OOS applicant's hopin for the U of U. I'm wrapping up my undergrad there, have worked with the HSC for quite a while, and know a ton of the current med students. It's a great program. I'd recommend shoreline ridge for housing for those of you who are single, it's on campus and less than than a 5 minutes walk from the SOM and Hospital. Lived there for 3 years durig undergrad and loved it!

Also, make sure you get involved in Saturday Clinic at the Fourth Street Clinic. It's an awesome place and you'll learn a lot. I volunteered there for 3 years and they got me into Med-School.
 
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SLC said:
Best of luck to you OOS applicant's hopin for the U of U. I'm wrapping up my undergrad there, have worked with the HSC for quite a while, and know a ton of the current med students. It's a great program. I'd recommend shoreline ridge for housing for those of you who are single, it's on campus and less than than a 5 minutes walk from the SOM and Hospital. Lived there for 3 years durig undergrad and loved it!

Also, make sure you get involved in Saturday Clinic at the Fourth Street Clinic. It's an awesome place and you'll learn a lot. I volunteered there for 3 years and they got me into Med-School.
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wow thanks for the advice SLC you sound like you are well on your way to becoming a med student at the U as well🙂
 
jydeguzm said:
wow thanks for the advice SLC you sound like you are well on your way to becoming a med student at the U as well🙂
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No, not quite. I'm one of those weirdo's who really believes in Osteopathic medicine. I didn't even apply to Allopathic programs at all. I'm on my way to DO school in July, but if I was trying to go MD then the U of U would be my top choice.

I am an undergrad student at the U of U though, and the entire University is awesome. And they really get behind the SOM and all the research/work that's coming out of there.

I am serious when I say to do the Saturday clinic. It's at the local homeless clinic and it'll give you some nice early clinical exposure. Like I said, I've spent a lot of time there as an undergrad, and the Fourth Street Clinic really helped me make my application shine. A lot of your future professors volunteer there regularly as well. In fact, the Medical Director can be your preceptor for your outpatient IM rotation if you like.

I'm sad to leave the area, can you tell?
 
SLC said:
No, not quite. I'm one of those weirdo's who really believes in Osteopathic medicine. I didn't even apply to Allopathic programs at all. I'm on my way to DO school in July, but if I was trying to go MD then the U of U would be my top choice.

I am an undergrad student at the U of U though, and the entire University is awesome. And they really get behind the SOM and all the research/work that's coming out of there.

I am serious when I say to do the Saturday clinic. It's at the local homeless clinic and it'll give you some nice early clinical exposure. Like I said, I've spent a lot of time there as an undergrad, and the Fourth Street Clinic really helped me make my application shine. A lot of your future professors volunteer there regularly as well. In fact, the Medical Director can be your preceptor for your outpatient IM rotation if you like.

I'm sad to leave the area, can you tell?
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Definitely sounds like you are! Thanks for the info on the Saturday clinic, hope you find something similar wherever you go to school!
 
I'm a current medical student at the U. I'm not sure what you all have been told in interviews w respect to attendance, but up to this point it has been strongly encouraged but not required (occasional interactive lectures/PBL are required). The lectures are recorded and are usually available less than an hour after the days lectures have concluded.

A recent falling out between the administration and the first and second year classes has resulted in a mandatory attendance policy that is effective starting tomorrow, and threats have been made to discontinue the recording of lectures.

If this development doesn't bother you (i.e. you like being stripped of all learning autonomy and having one single learning style mandated for you and your 81 classmates), the U might be the right school for you. For all others, if you have other options,I would strongly consider them before committing to 4 years at the U.

Everyone who is applying to med school knows that time is gold. In addition to your out of class responsibilities (there are a lot), you can subtract 4 more hours from your schedule every day, whether it's useful to you or not. You will get out of class in your 2nd year 1 month before 3rd year starts. This gives you a maximum of one month out of class to prepare for step 1. If you want to do anything competitive like ortho, derm, rad onc or plastics, good luck with 1 month to study for step 1.

Obviously I'm biased. I like to listen to the lectures and push pause when I'm confused or need to reference something. This was a very important factor for me when choosing a school. I wanted to go somewhere where I would be able to learn at my own pace and be allowed to use whatever method was most effective for me. Here you will have only one option, and it will be strictly enforced. If your sibling is getting married, too bad. If your father dies you better bring the death certificate or you will be dismissed. They are serious about this. There are almost no exceptions. I thought you all deserve to know. Be warned.
 
mdbjork said:
I'm a current medical student at the U. I'm not sure what you all have been told in interviews w respect to attendance, but up to this point it has been strongly encouraged but not required (occasional interactive lectures/PBL are required). The lectures are recorded and are usually available less than an hour after the days lectures have concluded.

A recent falling out between the administration and the first and second year classes has resulted in a mandatory attendance policy that is effective starting tomorrow, and threats have been made to discontinue the recording of lectures.

If this development doesn't bother you (i.e. you like being stripped of all learning autonomy and having one single learning style mandated for you and your 81 classmates), the U might be the right school for you. For all others, if you have other options,I would strongly consider them before committing to 4 years at the U.

Everyone who is applying to med school knows that time is gold. In addition to your out of class responsibilities (there are a lot), you can subtract 4 more hours from your schedule every day, whether it's useful to you or not. You will get out of class in your 2nd year 1 month before 3rd year starts. This gives you a maximum of one month out of class to prepare for step 1. If you want to do anything competitive like ortho, derm, rad onc or plastics, good luck with 1 month to study for step 1.

Obviously I'm biased. I like to listen to the lectures and push pause when I'm confused or need to reference something. This was a very important factor for me when choosing a school. I wanted to go somewhere where I would be able to learn at my own pace and be allowed to use whatever method was most effective for me. Here you will have only one option, and it will be strictly enforced. If your sibling is getting married, too bad. If your father dies you better bring the death certificate or you will be dismissed. They are serious about this. There are almost no exceptions. I thought you all deserve to know. Be warned.
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When I interviewed (early Nov) I think everyone I talked to was displeased with the administration. Are they going to make everyday class attendance part of your grade or just continue to strongly encourage it by doing things like not making the lecutres available?
 
It sounds like High School, although I would probably attend class everyday anyways.
 
The attendance will not be part of your grade, but if you miss they will dismiss you from school. It can't help you, only hurt you. They are threatening to remove the podcasts in addition to the newly mandated attendance. I don't understand why, they have not offered any explanation.

As far as it being like high school? At least in high school you can have a handful of unexcused absences before you are expelled. It's not all bad here but mandatory attendance would have been a deal breaker for me had this rule been in effect before I enrolled, so I figured you'd all wanna know.
 
GoZags said:
Yeah, I guess perhaps one benefit to interviewing late is that you don't have to wait all that long to hear your final fate...perhaps the ONLY benefit to interviewing late lol. Although apparently not that many Idaho applicants had interviewed even in February so...I guess you never know!
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I was surpirsed that over half of my interview group in January were Idaho applicants.
 
Does anyone know when they are notifying us about decisions? I know last year it was the second half of march, but I haven't heard anything yet for this year.
 
sirdoug said:
Does anyone know when they are notifying us about decisions? I know last year it was the second half of march, but I haven't heard anything yet for this year.
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They said March 15th, but it appears as though they send out letters, so I'm not sure if that means they'll be dated the 15th and we'll get them a few days later or if the 15th is just an estimate.
 
Brinkley said:
They said March 15th, but it appears as though they send out letters, so I'm not sure if that means they'll be dated the 15th and we'll get them a few days later or if the 15th is just an estimate.
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Let's hope for the 15th! Even if they do send a letter, it sounds like we'll be able to check our status online....

Sounds like the politics are a bit weird, but it IS Utah, land of strange politics, and if I do get in, I'd still happily go here!
 
Got a snail mail acceptance letter last thursday. It was a tiny envelope, so I thought it was a rejection(!!!). Got an email letter today. Interviewed in late January. Good luck to the rest of you guys!
 
NAFPEHDUA said:
Got a snail mail acceptance letter last thursday. It was a tiny envelope, so I thought it was a rejection(!!!). Got an email letter today. Interviewed in late January. Good luck to the rest of you guys!
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Congrats in stae or oos?
 
refugiofrey said:
Let's hope for the 15th! Even if they do send a letter, it sounds like we'll be able to check our status online....

Sounds like the politics are a bit weird, but it IS Utah, land of strange politics, and if I do get in, I'd still happily go here!
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Any updates from anyone on the board regarding Utah? Haven't been back to the apartment to check the mail, but my online profile shows no change.
 
I have been obsessively checking my page and theres nothing...but I think that March 15 date is a myth. The admissions office never said that on my interview day. They just said March 31 is the deadline, so I'm not so sure I agree with March 15 - unless someone has some inside info, or was told something else that we weren't during their interview day.
 
GoZags said:
I have been obsessively checking my page and theres nothing...but I think that March 15 date is a myth. The admissions office never said that on my interview day. They just said March 31 is the deadline, so I'm not so sure I agree with March 15 - unless someone has some inside info, or was told something else that we weren't during their interview day.
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I was so sure that I was told March 15th in my interview. I even had it written down in my planner with red exclamation marks...
 
I just called admissions, they said that the decisions will be sent out by March 31, so I wouldn't expect to hear anything for the next two weeks.
 
GoZags said:
I have been obsessively checking my page and theres nothing...but I think that March 15 date is a myth. The admissions office never said that on my interview day. They just said March 31 is the deadline, so I'm not so sure I agree with March 15 - unless someone has some inside info, or was told something else that we weren't during their interview day.
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Our group (interviewed January 15th) was also told decisions would be made by "the end of March" (i.e. March 31st).

I was assuming the previous poster may have spoken with the admissions office who stated the 15th would be the day when the majority notices were sent. Either way, my adrenaline has been up today so . . . . at least I'm not tired.

Keep this thread posted if anyone has news. Best of luck ladies and gentleman.
 
sirdoug said:
I just called admissions, they said that the decisions will be sent out by March 31, so I wouldn't expect to hear anything for the next two weeks.
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Thanks for calling! Hopefully it will be sooner than the end of the month! Knowing it may not be today will at least help a bit in trying to suppress my anxiety!
 
Brinkley said:
When I interviewed (early Nov) I think everyone I talked to was displeased with the administration.
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I think it would be hard to find a medical school with lower morale anywhere in the nation than at the University of Utah. The administration doesn't like the students and the students don't like the administration.

If Utah is your only acceptance or your absolutely in love with the school and the new curriculum, then don't sweat what any says because you can come to this school, get a decent education, and if you work hard enough be competitive for any specialty. However, if you're considering coming here because you want to be close to family or the mountains then do yourself a favor and go somewhere else because you'll probably regret not going somewhere else for the 4 years you're here and with the way things work out here you're probably not going to see your family or the mountains much anyways.
 
Ute2013 said:
I think it would be hard to find a medical school with lower morale anywhere in the nation than at the University of Utah. The administration doesn't like the students and the students don't like the administration.

If Utah is your only acceptance or your absolutely in love with the school and the new curriculum, then don't sweat what any says because you can come to this school, get a decent education, and if you work hard enough be competitive for any specialty. However, if you're considering coming here because you want to be close to family or the mountains then do yourself a favor and go somewhere else because you'll probably regret not going somewhere else for the 4 years you're here and with the way things work out here you're probably not going to see your family or the mountains much anyways.
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grim...
 
Brinkley said:
When I interviewed (early Nov) I think everyone I talked to was displeased with the administration. Are they going to make everyday class attendance part of your grade or just continue to strongly encourage it by doing things like not making the lecutres available?
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refugiofrey said:
grim...
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grim indeed. When I interviewed, all the students seemed really happy...
 
jydeguzm said:
same here when i interviewed i never got that vibe that students and admin had any animosity
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I had the same experience, and actually felt that the students seemed happier than other schools I went to....and they DID mention some skiing.

But I suppose things can change, and I haven't spent a lot of time at the U...and of course, as I said earlier, I'd still be really happy to go here!
 
:scared: ah I just found out my friend (IS) got accepted, but I still haven't heard anything!!! I am so jealous right now
 
At lunch, on the day of my interview a couple of the students said that they were annoyed with the administration and the new curriculum, but that if they had an option to do it over again at another school they wouldn’t. They stated that being close to family and cost of tuition for in-state students outweighed the many negative aspects. It’s sad that the students are so displeased with the administration and it seems to be going in the wrong direction. At this point, I hope I have the option to go to Utah. It would be awfully hard to pay $20,000 more a year at another school.
 
My friend (IS) found out with a small letter, it's frustrating because I interviewed early December and she interviewed late January...I hope that's not a bad sign for me, I can't tell how chronological the admissions office is.
 
homer21 said:
At lunch, on the day of my interview a couple of the students said that they were annoyed with the administration and the new curriculum, but that if they had an option to do it over again at another school they wouldn’t. They stated that being close to family and cost of tuition for in-state students outweighed the many negative aspects. It’s sad that the students are so displeased with the administration and it seems to be going in the wrong direction. At this point, I hope I have the option to go to Utah. It would be awfully hard to pay $20,000 more a year at another school.
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With all the problems that people seem to be touching on in this thread.. it makes 0 sense to go here as an out of stater =T
 
Thanks to the current med students that are giving us helpful information on the U. A couple of questions:

1. What is the source of the falling out between the students and administration?

2. I can see students getting annoyed with an attendance policy but is it possible that the administration is requiring attendance for a reason? Are the overall scores of the students lower than they would like? A different reason?

3. Students seem to be unhappy with the curriculum. The curriculum was not mentioned much to me on my interview day. The only information I can find is on the website that discusses a "themed" curriculum. Can a current med student please explain what exactly the curriculum is in comparison with other curriculums (PBL, traditional lecture, systems based, etc.)?

Thanks so much!
 
@afrycl

The problems w/ administrators could take pages to explain. The short of it: we are variables in a large study (i.e. the new curriculum) and we are blinded to its protocol. The ins and outs are decided as we go along. How our grades are calculated are explained to us AFTER our performance has already been measured, if the methodology is explained at all. The main problem is communication. Everything is a big secret here. They don't understand how frustrating it is to walk blindly and then told how we were supposed to avoid an obstacle after we have already collided with it. When we express concern, the issue is trivialized and we are treated like children. They demand professionalism with an iron fist but fail to demonstrate much professionalism in return. Hence the enmity.

One small example: Dr. Junkins, who writes the students MSPEs for residency application, has yet to reveal whether or not our class rank or any type of histogram or objective grading scale from the first two years will be included in the MSPE. In other words, we don't know whether any program director will ever know how we performed in our first two years. In fact, WE don't even know cause they won't even tell US. That seems like something that students deserve to know before they start school. But here we are 2 months before the end of 2nd year and the jury's still out with what will "count" towards our final grade. He has told us several times that he will inform us shortly, but that day never comes. He doesn't want to make any decisions until he has all the data. But by then it's too late to modify any behavior.

The attendance policy stems from the professionalism issue. Many students feel that their learning is more efficient when listening to professor's podcasts. This has led to a reduction in attendance. One particular professor refused to podcast his lectures. When questioned about this, said professor insisted that students would twist his words. When further pressed, he told the whole class that he mistrusted medical students and that he didn't care if it helped us learn, he would not podcast his lectures. One student that was randomly selected to evaluate this professor called him a "jerk," under the impression that the evaluation was anonymous. This infuriated the professor and he flatly refused to return and teach 10-20 students. His colleague added that one day he got 8 random evaluations but only 7 students were present. This displeased him since he believed that he was being evaluated by students who were not even listening to his lectures (most of the class DOES listen to the podcasts).

These professors are frustrated that class attendance is low and feel like students are not paying them the respect they feel is their due. While the exact problem is debatable, everyone agrees that the attendance policy has absolutely NOTHING to do with grades or performance. It has a lot to do with "professionalism" (i.e. doctor's egos).

The new curriculum: this part is easy. It is almost the same as before. The one big thing that changed is that you are required to go to clinic 3 times a month. Twice you go to a family practice type clinic where you work with the same doctor for the entire 2 years, for better or worse. Some students enjoy clinic, most feel like they would rather have that time to study for class and boards. Many students have expressed concern that their role has been no different than that of an MA - take blood pressure, pulse, and RR and go tell the doctor. Other students do much more. It is very luck-of-the-draw. The third afternoon you go shadow a random, preassigned specialized physician (e.g. ENT, PM&R, Geriatrics, Neurology, Cards, Pulm, Urology, etc.).

In addition to the clinic requirements, you are required to do 32 hours of volunteering per year. This is equivalent to one afternoon in your 4th, clinic-free week every month; however, this volunteering must be one of a handful of activities approved by some committee. Nearly all such activities involve promoting the University of Utah healthcare.

You are also required to do 6 months of research. They have been very vague about this. The requirements have yet to be elucidated (see first paragraph).

In the classroom, not much has changed from previous years. 4 hrs of lecture per day, occasional PBL and small group activities. Exams once a week. The exams recently changed for both years to every-other week. The amount of PBL has varied depending on who is the unit director and how they feel their time is best allotted. But like I mentioned before, most of the innovation in the curriculum is built around family clinic responsibilities twice a month.

As I said before, it is not all bad here, but it might not be your first choice if you have more than one. At least you'll know what you're getting yourself into, which is more than can be said for the current students.
 
mdbjork said:
@afrycl

The problems w/ administrators could take pages to explain....QUOTE]

Thank you for taking the time to write that! As you said, I appreciate having an idea of what I may be getting into. It sounds like there is grounds for frustration and I hope that things improve for you in the rest of your time at the U!
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Hey everyone, another Idaho applicant from my school got accepted today by checking her status page. That leaves 6 spots out there still. Hope you Idaho applicants (and everyone else) hear something soon!
 
cofidoc said:
Hey everyone, another Idaho applicant from my school got accepted today by checking her status page. That leaves 6 spots out there still. Hope you Idaho applicants (and everyone else) hear something soon!
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Any idea on when she interviewed??
 
GoZags said:
Any idea on when she interviewed??
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Pretty late like February 5th. In fact I had been accepted before she had even interviewed. So it makes me wonder if all Idaho applicants will find out from the U today. She probably will give up her spot though cause essentially all of us at my school that applied got into UW. I'll definitely be going to the U though! I hope you hear something soon we've all been on this crazy roller coaster ride!
 
cofidoc said:
Pretty late like February 5th. In fact I had been accepted before she had even interviewed. So it makes me wonder if all Idaho applicants will find out from the U today. She probably will give up her spot though cause essentially all of us at my school that applied got into UW. I'll definitely be going to the U though! I hope you hear something soon we've all been on this crazy roller coaster ride!
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Yeah definitely. I interviewed on February 7th and there was one other Idaho applicant there with me. I really hope I hear soon because the wait is killing me! I also find out from another school that I applied to today via telephone, so I am a nervous wreck already!
 
GoZags said:
Yeah definitely. I interviewed on February 7th and there was one other Idaho applicant there with me. I really hope I hear soon because the wait is killing me! I also find out from another school that I applied to today via telephone, so I am a nervous wreck already!
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Where do you hear from today? You'll have to let us know the good news!
 
cofidoc said:
Where do you hear from today? You'll have to let us know the good news!
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The Ohio State College of Medicine! The Dean actually gives you a phone call if you're accepted on monday (today!) and if he doesn't call it means that you have either been deferred or rejected, and will find out via an online status update tomorrow....
:xf: for a phone call!
 
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