2010-2011 University of Washington Application Thread

[QuesoAndFromage]

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haha luckily I just had to do an autobiography for UCSD so I have that cut out for me I think.. Ill get started on the rest ASAP

I hope we both do well!

 

[alow]

How long did it take for you IS students to get a secondary from UW after your AMCAS was verified?

 

[chrisoc13]

Hard to say because I got it the first day they sent it out and was verified mid june.

 

[mtmed]

secondary received... WWAMI applicant

Me too! woohoo from the big MT!

 

[mtmed]

You must submit a brief autobiographical statement. It should describe the origin and development of your motivation to be a physician, your prior experiences in health care, steps taken to explore a career in medicine, your eventual goals as a physician, and other issues of importance. The Personal Comments section of the AMCAS application may be used to satisfy this requirement, or an additional autobiography may be submitted with your supplemental materials. Your AMCAS personal statement will already be on file with our office.


Other Personal Comments or Publications (list abstracts)



How have your experiences prepared you to be a physician? Limit 250 words.


--


and for WA and MT residents (thanks chrisoc13 😳) (250 words each):


Please identify the rural and underserved areas wherein you have lived/worked for more than two months (community name, population, state and dates lived in that community).


How do you imagine your personal and professional lives intersecting ten years from now? (Describe a "day in my life" if you wish.) (Whaaaat? 😱)

I know!! That was crazy. I tried to emphasize work/life balance...

 

[mtmed]

Maybe I'm wrong but I think two of the essays changed places, which makes more sense now. The "where you have lived in rural communities" is only in the trust area now (I swear it was in the statements area earlier). Anyone else notice this or am I going crazy?

Someone's probably addressed this, but I got an email saying that the website messed up...upside: no more underserved areas essay if you're not TRUST. Downside: another essay.

 

[ShameFame]

Someone's probably addressed this, but I got an email saying that the website messed up...upside: no more underserved areas essay if you're not TRUST. Downside: another essay.

Hey MtMed, where you go to undergrad? UofM here!

 

[chrisoc13]

Someone's probably addressed this, but I got an email saying that the website messed up...upside: no more underserved areas essay if you're not TRUST. Downside: another essay.

Yeah that makes sense. You guys send in your certification stuff to Montana yet? I wish they would look at it before August haha

 

[ShameFame]

Yeah that makes sense. You guys send in your certification stuff to Montana yet? I wish they would look at it before August haha

Yeah, my stuff is sent. Don't worry about it, they wont interview til february or so anyway. And if you aren't trust then it'll be later. And as a WWAMI app, if you even have decent stats you'll get an interview.

 

[chrisoc13]

Yeah, my stuff is sent. Don't worry about it, they wont interview til february or so anyway. And if you aren't trust then it'll be later. And as a WWAMI app, if you even have decent stats you'll get an interview.

Yeah I had the opportunity to sit down for an hour or so with a Doctor from Montana who until a few years ago was an interviewer for the WWAMI (two Seattle on Montana person per interview) and he told me if you are a Montana resident with a 3.5+ and a 28+ or something like that you are guaranteed an interview. I would be surprised if that had changed in the last couple of years.

 

[memedimonkey]

Your senior year DOES count. I emailed to ask that last year, did not get a specific formula, but they confirmed that they weight each year. My guess is that either they made Senior x4 or senior x3 and sophomore stayed x1.

But take heart your senior grades count.

 

[memedimonkey]

If you are a WA in-state applicant, you might want to go ahead and submit the form to prove residency. Over the past few years, OOS undergrad seems to trigger the need for that and gathering the info and getting certified can delay the review process.

 

[alow]

If you are a WA in-state applicant, you might want to go ahead and submit the form to prove residency. Over the past few years, OOS undergrad seems to trigger the need for that and gathering the info and getting certified can delay the review process.

When should we submit the residency forms? After we get the secondary invitation?

 

[patientence]

For Idaho students the residence verification can be found here http://www.webs.uidaho.edu/wwami/admissions/process_residency.aspx

 

[mtmed]

Hey MtMed, where you go to undergrad? UofM here!

Im at the University of Oklahoma...never thought I'd end up here but they offered me 70 grand for national merit--what do you know. I couldn't get a warm bed in hell for national merit up north, but I was about to go to U of M anyway. My sister goes there now, as is

 

[chrisoc13]

So for anyone else waiting for their states to certify them what are you putting for the date to consider you application complete? Are you simply leaving it as January? I am all done except waiting for certification but don't really know what to put for that date...

 

[BullDog4Eva]

FML. Today, I got an e-mail from U Wash disputing whether I sent in a committee letter. They said that they received a "packet of letters" rather than a committee letter and that in fact my institution, MIT, does NOT send out committee letters. I was under the impression that we do. WTF?!

It can be rectify easily enough, if I just indicate who each of my letters are coming from... but I am still baffled by an apparent contradiction.

 

[mtmed]

Yeah that makes sense. You guys send in your certification stuff to Montana yet? I wish they would look at it before August haha

Yeah, I sent in my stuff early in June and was in communication with the state certifying officer for a little while..she needed OU's financial records to make sure I was getting a scholarship for non-resident tuition. So, even though they haven't officially started looking through them, take heart in the fact that she's at least glancing at them beforehand. And if you're not sure you have everything you need you can email her--she's very amenable.🙂

State certifying officer, Laurie Tobol: [email protected]

 

[chrisoc13]

Yeah, I sent in my stuff early in June and was in communication with the state certifying officer for a little while..she needed OU's financial records to make sure I was getting a scholarship for non-resident tuition. So, even though they haven't officially started looking through them, take heart in the fact that she's at least glancing at them beforehand. And if you're not sure you have everything you need you can email her--she's very amenable.🙂

State certifying officer, Laurie Tobol: [email protected]

Yeah I have contacted her a few times and she has been great. Quick responses to everything I have asked. I sent her an email about it and she said I could send them in early even if they don't look at it until later.

 

[catswym]

"4-6 weeks" seems grossly exaggerated. I was verified 06/04, received initial e-mail 07/06, and received 2ndary 07/13.

I received initial email 7/01 and still haven't received secondary. Since they have no problem rejecting people I guess sometimes there is an extended review period? I'll probably call sometime next week if I still haven't heard anything.

 

[BullDog4Eva]

I received initial email 7/01 and still haven't received secondary. Since they have no problem rejecting people I guess sometimes there is an extended review period? I'll probably call sometime next week if I still haven't heard anything.

Actually, now that I recall... even though I was verified 06/04, I didn't add U Wash until 07/03, after noticing their rep as NUMBER ONE in primary care. On the one hand, it's good to have not been rejected yet, but I would definitely call and check to see if they didn't accidentally lost your file somehow.

They're actually already evaluating my complete file, since they e-mailed me personally yesterday and disputed that my "committee letter" is not really a committee letter in the conventional sense. I contacted my school and let them duke it out with each other. My point is... they seem to get their ball rolling much faster than most other schools so I would call just to make sure your file wasn't lost somehow.

 

[tomh98]

Your senior year DOES count. I emailed to ask that last year, did not get a specific formula, but they confirmed that they weight each year. My guess is that either they made Senior x4 or senior x3 and sophomore stayed x1.

But take heart your senior grades count.

I should clarify what I said in my original post. The insta-cutoff formula in fact does not include your senior grades because not everyone has received their grades yet, and they want to compare apples to apples. The dean of admissions, Dr. Teitz explicitly says this in town hall meetings they had in May of this year. That formula is posted on their website. Senior year grades will, of course, be considered after you make it through that VERY rough initial screen.

Those very helpful town hall meetings were recorded and are available at this website:

Tips for Success

It's worth watching!

 

[QuesoAndFromage]

quick question-- For the autobiography, I have my UCSD autobiography, which addresses all the points except for "your prior experiences in health care, steps taken to explore a career in medicine" (which to me is a tad redundant since my experiences are steps taken). However, my personal statement already addresses this to some degree. Do you think it is necessary to edit my UCSD autobiography to include this or will they consider BOTH the PS and additional autobiography for this?

i dont want them to be like "cant follow instructions! REJECTED!" haha

 

[BullDog4Eva]

quick question-- For the autobiography, I have my UCSD autobiography, which addresses all the points except for "your prior experiences in health care, steps taken to explore a career in medicine" (which to me is a tad redundant since my experiences are steps taken). However, my personal statement already addresses this to some degree. Do you think it is necessary to edit my UCSD autobiography to include this or will they consider BOTH the PS and additional autobiography for this?

i dont want them to be like "cant follow instructions! REJECTED!" haha

To maintain continuity of ideas, I would mention it but would summarize it to 1-2 sentences. I felt as long as I am not using anything VERBATIM, they should be ok with it.

 

[memedimonkey]

Quote:
Originally Posted by memedimonkey
Your senior year DOES count. I emailed to ask that last year, did not get a specific formula, but they confirmed that they weight each year. My guess is that either they made Senior x4 or senior x3 and sophomore stayed x1.

But take heart your senior grades count.

I should clarify what I said in my original post. The insta-cutoff formula in fact does not include your senior grades because not everyone has received their grades yet, and they want to compare apples to apples. The dean of admissions, Dr. Teitz explicitly says this in town hall meetings they had in May of this year. That formula is posted on their website. Senior year grades will, of course, be considered after you make it through that VERY rough initial screen.

Those very helpful town hall meetings were recorded and are available at this website:

Tips for Success

It's worth watching!

THEY MAY HAVE CHANGED THINGS AGAIN. THERE HAVE BEEN CHANGES IN THE PROCESS. LAST YEAR THEY MENTIONED CHANGES AND DID NOT PUBLISH THE CUT OFF AS THEY HAD IN PRIOR YEARS. I EMAILED WITH PAT FERO AND SHE SAID SENIOR GRADES WOULD COUNT, I DO NOT RECALL HER SAYING WHEN THEY WOULD COUNT

 

[BullDog4Eva]

Was looking at MSAR and saw that last year they interviewed 135 OOS and accepted 11 for MD program (15 if you include MD/PhD as well). Meaning that even if I make it to the interview stage... there's still less than a 10% chance of getting in. Yikes!! It'll be expensive flying from coast to coast. But I've never been to Washington before so it'll be nice to check out the area.

 

[TFS]

.

 

[BullDog4Eva]

anyone know how stringent they are about the 3 letters from faculty? i was out of school for quite a while, but then returned for premed classes. i managed to get 2 letters, but didn't realize they needed 3 from faculty that have taught you. 😱

They personally e-mailed me about my committee letter not meeting the qualification of a conventional committee letter (I had my institute's prehealth office talk to them and it's now settled). My guess is that they are pretty strict about the mininum that they set.

I would call and ask. The lady is really nice and helpful.

 

[TFS]

They personally e-mailed me about my committee letter not meeting the qualification of a conventional committee letter (I had my institute's prehealth office talk to them and it's now settled). My guess is that they are pretty strict about the mininum that they set.

I would call and ask. The lady is really nice and helpful.

oh crap. i feel like such an idiot. thanks though!

 

[mt2010]

Was looking at MSAR and saw that last year they interviewed 135 OOS and accepted 11 for MD program (15 if you include MD/PhD as well). Meaning that even if I make it to the interview stage... there's still less than a 10% chance of getting in. Yikes!! It'll be expensive flying from coast to coast. But I've never been to Washington before so it'll be nice to check out the area.

Well, 11 matriculate each year. There's probably a decent waitlist, as many OOR accepted students I know were accepted at schools like Duke, Harvard, and Hopkins and so had a variety of good options.

 

[BullDog4Eva]

Well, 11 matriculate each year. There's probably a decent waitlist, as many OOR accepted students I know were accepted at schools like Duke, Harvard, and Hopkins and so had a variety of good options.

That's true... 11 matriculated... but who knows the exact number that was accepted. Waitlist, here I come!!!

 

[BullDog4Eva]

Was looking at MSAR and saw that last year they interviewed 135 OOS and accepted 11 for MD program (15 if you include MD/PhD as well). Meaning that even if I make it to the interview stage... there's still less than a 10% chance of getting in. Yikes!! It'll be expensive flying from coast to coast. But I've never been to Washington before so it'll be nice to check out the area.

Just checked MSAR again today. It's actually only 79 interviews!! That's so few!! Many schools accept more students than this school does interviews of OOS!

I would be SOOO excited if I got invited for an interview. I would feel so honored .

 

[BullDog4Eva]

Just received an e-mail today, which made my heart skipped a beat because I thought I was receiving a SECOND rejection e-mail in the same day.

The e-mail was merely to tell me my file is complete... as if I didn't already know that?

"Congratulations! The University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM) has received all secondary materials necessary to complete your admissions file. Your application will now be reviewed to determine your relative competitiveness for an interview. After your application has been evaluated, which may take a month or more, we will notify you in writing of your status. Please be aware that Washington interviews are conducted between October 1 and mid-March and the regional interviews are scheduled as indicated below."

 

[TFS]

fyi, you can replace one faculty LOR with one from a PI. yay!

🙂

 

[planktonelement]

So for non-TRUST in-state students there are just three essays, right? t(he (optional) autobiographical statement, how you're prepared to be a doctor, and balancing the personal and professional sides of medicine.) From the posts here it seems like there was some glitch with the secondary site that caused the TRUST essays to be included as part of the non-TRUST secondary.

 

[chrisoc13]

So for non-TRUST in-state students there are just three essays, right? t(he (optional) autobiographical statement, how you're prepared to be a doctor, and balancing the personal and professional sides of medicine.) From the posts here it seems like there was some glitch with the secondary site that caused the TRUST essays to be included as part of the non-TRUST secondary.

There was but that glitch has since been fixed.

 

[VikingLegacy]

Hi folks. I'm dead set on getting into University of Washington, and I have a quick question for anybody who knows better than me:

How do you get into the TRUST program? My main goal in life is rural medicine, and although I'm currently waist-deep in reading up on this program, I was hoping somebody could give me the short and sweet on how to get into TRUST.

Thanks.

 

[QuesoAndFromage]

does the course requirement thing really matter? can I pick my highest grades to go there or focus on the general premed requirements? Will they use this in any way to calculate a "pre-req" gpa or something?

 

[VikingLegacy]

does the course requirement thing really matter? can I pick my highest grades to go there or focus on the general premed requirements? Will they use this in any way to calculate a "pre-req" gpa or something?

I could be wrong, but I think this is an AMCAS issue moreso than a school issue.

From the AMCAS coursework/transcript page:

"This is the Course Work page. You must enter all of the courses you took at each school. Once you have entered all of your courses, click Done. "

 

[QuesoAndFromage]

I could be wrong, but I think this is an AMCAS issue moreso than a school issue.

From the AMCAS coursework/transcript page:

"This is the Course Work page. You must enter all of the courses you took at each school. Once you have entered all of your courses, click Done. "

but the box they have from AMCAS shows all the work I have taken accurately. also I cannot select all of them since there are not enough slots. should I just fill them up and move on?

 

[chrisoc13]

but the box they have from AMCAS shows all the work I have taken accurately. also I cannot select all of them since there are not enough slots. should I just fill them up and move on?

That is what I did. Picked the classes I felt were best (and those which fit the descriptions) until it was all full and then moved on. Once I had fulfilled the requirements I simply submitted it.

 

[QuesoAndFromage]

ok thanks! and do you guys really think itll take weeks for UWash to get my LORs? I just added them today haha I decided to not wait on my last letter and that I already have enough

 

[BullDog4Eva]

This thread is pretty quiet. Any updates from anyone? Any other OOS-ers complete?

According to their e-mail, I should hear, one way or another, 3 weeks from now. That might be interesting, since even by then, they would not have a lot of completed apps to compare to. I'm sure it'll be a disappointing letter that says "sorry we got your hope up but you must be dreaming if you think you stand a chance as an OOS." 🙁.

 

[ssahjm]

This thread is pretty quiet. Any updates from anyone? Any other OOS-ers complete?

According to their e-mail, I should hear, one way or another, 3 weeks from now. That might be interesting, since even by then, they would not have a lot of completed apps to compare to. I'm sure it'll be a disappointing letter that says "sorry we got your hope up but you must be dreaming if you think you stand a chance as an OOS." 🙁.

I'm OOS, and the only communication I've had is the initial email from UW (on 7/1) saying they received my AMCAS app and would decide on the secondary within 4-6 weeks. Like almost everyone else OOS, I'm shooting for the moon on this one, so we'll see what happens. 🙂

 

[TFS]

i had everything ready to go until i submitted the MT/WA residency section and my status went from optional to required. not sure why they put essays into that section. 😡😡

 

[Engineer2med]

OOS.... 3.9 cGPA, 4.0 sGPA, 32S

Oh well, this much is expected. Good luck everyone else!

 

[catswym]

I'm OOS, and the only communication I've had is the initial email from UW (on 7/1) saying they received my AMCAS app and would decide on the secondary within 4-6 weeks. Like almost everyone else OOS, I'm shooting for the moon on this one, so we'll see what happens. 🙂

glad to know I'm not the only one!

 

[missjuicy]

How long is it taking UW to download letters of recommendation after they've received the AMCAS application? I know that it says because of high volume it could take "several weeks" but how long is that?

 

[VikingLegacy]

This thread is pretty quiet. Any updates from anyone? Any other OOS-ers complete?

According to their e-mail, I should hear, one way or another, 3 weeks from now. That might be interesting, since even by then, they would not have a lot of completed apps to compare to. I'm sure it'll be a disappointing letter that says "sorry we got your hope up but you must be dreaming if you think you stand a chance as an OOS." 🙁.

I'm getting pretty close. I'll have mine fired off by September. Working on all of my junk as we speak. Hopefully the desire to go into rural medicine/Indian health will do something for my application. I don't know if they give a damn, but I do have family up there as well.

 

[chrisoc13]

This thread is pretty quiet. Any updates from anyone? Any other OOS-ers complete?

According to their e-mail, I should hear, one way or another, 3 weeks from now. That might be interesting, since even by then, they would not have a lot of completed apps to compare to. I'm sure it'll be a disappointing letter that says "sorry we got your hope up but you must be dreaming if you think you stand a chance as an OOS." 🙁.

I'm complete and just waiting for my state to certify me. Washington emailed me the other day reminding me I wasn't complete yet with my application due to not being certified by my state yet 🙂.