2011-2012 Albany Application Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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Sent in my secondary application for Albany yesterday. We'll see how it goes!!! :luck:
 
been complete for almost three and a half weeks OOS but no reply yet
 
vanquishS said:
Interview Invite today.
33Q 3.7 complete Aug 9th
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Congratulations, vanquish! II as well. I honestly have no idea when I was complete, but I think I turned in my secondary around late July.

"If your check in time is 11:15 AM, your interviews will follow the lunch and tour. All applicants should plan to spend approximately 5-6 hours at the school and arrange their travel plans accordingly."

I'm flying in (OOS). The last flight for me that evening out of Albany would be at 6:20. Does that mean I need to take an AM flight the next day? Or do you think that if I let the admissions office know about my flight time, they would be accommodating about getting me through the afternoon efficiently? My preference would be to stick around and explore a little, plus catch up with friends, but I've already taken off a bit of time from work with the intention of taking more in the near future, so....eek. :scared:
 
vanquishS said:
Interview Invite today.
33Q 3.7 complete Aug 9th
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Via email? or status?

I sent my secondary in Aug 2. I have 3.6 32S. Praying for an interview here soon! I need some mentally uplifting news! Only 1 interview so far L🙁
 
SDapplicant said:
Via email? or status?

I sent my secondary in Aug 2. I have 3.6 32S. Praying for an interview here soon! I need some mentally uplifting news! Only 1 interview so far L🙁
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It was via email. Hang in there, it's only September still. Last year I got an II at a NY med school for very late April!
 
idf27 said:
Congratulations, vanquish! II as well. I honestly have no idea when I was complete, but I think I turned in my secondary around late July.

"If your check in time is 11:15 AM, your interviews will follow the lunch and tour. All applicants should plan to spend approximately 5-6 hours at the school and arrange their travel plans accordingly."

I'm flying in (OOS). The last flight for me that evening out of Albany would be at 6:20. Does that mean I need to take an AM flight the next day? Or do you think that if I let the admissions office know about my flight time, they would be accommodating about getting me through the afternoon efficiently? My preference would be to stick around and explore a little, plus catch up with friends, but I've already taken off a bit of time from work with the intention of taking more in the near future, so....eek. :scared:
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Assuming six hours, that only gives you about an hour to get to the airport. I wouldn't risk it. I would switch to an am interview or switch flights for the next day.
 
vanquishS said:
Assuming six hours, that only gives you about an hour to get to the airport. I wouldn't risk it. I would switch to an am interview or switch flights for the next day.
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Thanks for the sound advice. I agreed with you and called to switch to an AM interview, but the interview coordinator said that a 6:20 flight would be fine. They say that it's 6 hours max on the invite details, but she said that usually people are done by 4 pm at the latest. She also said if I let her know about my flight, it would be fine.

Now that stressing over flight/lodging details are over, I can begin to stress over the interview itself...haha
 
interview invite on 9/19! complete 8/11, called office and they were extremely pleasant regarding rescheduling

congrats to everyone else!
 
centrigeugle said:
Surprisingly small amount of love for what seems like a common "safety" school.

Or is the secondary just so easy that nobody's posting?
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Hi! Iwas just wondering what was meant by "safety" schoool. Does that mean Albany is the school some people apply to just in case they don't get accepted elsewhere?

I am under the impression that it's a good school with a great reputation.

Just to join in on the rest of the dialogue, my AMCAS application was complete a week from yesterday and I have received and completed the secondary on yesterday.
 
SuzeeQue said:
Hi! Iwas just wondering what was meant by "safety" schoool. Does that mean Albany is the school some people apply to just in case they don't get accepted elsewhere?
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It's a "safety" school by SDN standards (read: you are utterly inadequate if you have below a 36 MCAT or do not have a 3.8+ GPA). Remember that nearly half of all applicants do not get into ANY US medical school. No US medical school is really a safety school; keep in mind that Albany's acceptance rate is around 4%.

Awesome education, I have no serious complaints on the clinical and basic science training we receive. Location would be my guess on why people choose elsewhere, if they have the luxury of multiple acceptances.
 
jinobi said:
It's a "safety" school by SDN standards (read: you are utterly inadequate if you have below a 36 MCAT or do not have a 3.8+ GPA). Remember that nearly half of all applicants do not get into ANY US medical school. No US medical school is really a safety school; keep in mind that Albany's acceptance rate is around 4%.

Awesome education, I have no serious complaints on the clinical and basic science training we receive. Location would be my guess on why people choose elsewhere, if they have the luxury of multiple acceptances.
Click to expand...

Thanks, your post was very helpful. I'm in search of a school that would provide me with both a great medical education as well as the opportunity to conduct research.
 
jinobi said:
It's a "safety" school by SDN standards (read: you are utterly inadequate if you have below a 36 MCAT or do not have a 3.8+ GPA). Remember that nearly half of all applicants do not get into ANY US medical school. No US medical school is really a safety school; keep in mind that Albany's acceptance rate is around 4%.

Awesome education, I have no serious complaints on the clinical and basic science training we receive. Location would be my guess on why people choose elsewhere, if they have the luxury of multiple acceptances.
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Can you comment on differences/similarities between New York Medical College and Albany? I may be wrong, but they seem to me to both be in the same "competitive league." From what I rmbr interviewing at NYMC last year, students didn't really seem too happy to be there. Perhaps it's different here? Thanks.
 
vanquishS said:
Can you comment on differences/similarities between New York Medical College and Albany? I may be wrong, but they seem to me to both be in the same "competitive league." From what I rmbr interviewing at NYMC last year, students didn't really seem too happy to be there. Perhaps it's different here? Thanks.
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I interviewed at both.

NYMC really emphasizes their board-geared curriculum, and the students there said they had great prep for USMLE (though I don't know too much about it). Albany is continuing to integrate more NBME shelf exams within the first two years (one near the end of 1st year, at least four during 2nd year) on top of our regular exams.

The vibe you get on an interview day can be starkly different from what actually goes on in daily life there. For example, I felt NYMC was a bit standoffish during my interview - that can be chalked up to an imminent test, whether there was a full moon yesterday, etc. The fourth year that talked to us raved about the preparation he felt towards boards and the cohesiveness of the student body (being one of the older students, he got a walker for his birthday).

Each class has their own dynamic as well. As an AMC 2015er, I've heard that our class can be intense in our studying. That's true, in my opinion, but that may be how all medical schools are like (there is just so much information to synthesize). Our class supports each other very well; we send out study guides on a near-daily basis, we send links to resources that clarify the hard-to-understand embryology lecture we have, and we invite classmates to go bar hopping or paintballing together. 2nd years convene an academic panel where they tell us what to focus on and hold practice anatomy practical exams with questions that they received during their own exams.

Med school classes vary widely in how friendly they are. When you interview, focus on the tangibles (curriculum, resources, facilities, rotations, board prep, etc.).
 
II yesterday! excited! Does anyone know how many are interviewed and then how many are actually accepted?
 
Appreciate it jinobi. Couldn't agree with you more about the tangibles. Got interviews lined up. Thanks for the sound advice!
 
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They have had all my materials for quite some time but still no complete on status page. Do you think they are receptive to a call?
 
Received a hold email today. Best of luck to everyone with interviews and still waiting!

Edit: Dates in my MDapps.
 
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Sorry to hear that 🙁 WHEN WERE YOU COMPLETE?
 
recently received II here! OOS pacific northwestern, flying to the other side. 3.75 31M
 
Where can we learn more about the school so we can answer the "why albany" question in an interview. Also anyone interviewing 10/26?

Does anyone know ~ number of acceptances. I know there are ~600 interviews
 
http://www.amc.edu/Academic/Undergraduate/ClinicalFacilites.html

Note new simulation center with mock OR/ICU, clinical skills exams standard part of curriculum. Curriculum is systems-based, done mostly via lectures. Strong bioethics department. Strong cardiovascular/cell biology research, summer research fellowships avaliable through MDDR track. A crapton of service opportunities, from playing basketball with kids, health screenings for veterans, global medicine outreach, etc.

I'd say keep the "why Albany" question focused on the curriculum and numerous chances to do something outside the classroom. Don't be like me and try to espouse the benefits of having apple orchards around Albany when my California butt hasn't even been to the region at all - they can tell that kind of insincerity really quickly, since most applicants will not have close ties to the upstate NY region anyways.

A bit more than 300 are accepted, but that includes those that got off waitlist eventually. You're only interviewing for about 100 spots in the traditional admissions class, since 40 people are through joint BS/MD programs offered by Siena, Union, and Renasseler Polytechnic.
 
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jinobi said:
http://www.amc.edu/Academic/Undergraduate/ClinicalFacilites.html

Note new simulation center with mock OR/ICU, clinical skills exams standard part of curriculum. Curriculum is systems-based, done mostly via lectures. Strong bioethics department. Strong cardiovascular/cell biology research, summer research fellowships avaliable through MDDR track. A crapton of service opportunities, from playing basketball with kids, health screenings for veterans, global medicine outreach, etc.

I'd say keep the "why Albany" question focused on the curriculum and numerous chances to do something outside the classroom. Don't be like me and try to espouse the benefits of having apple orchards around Albany when my California butt hasn't even been to the region at all - they can tell that kind of insincerity really quickly, since most applicants will not have close ties to the upstate NY region anyways.

A bit more than 300 are accepted, but that includes those that got off waitlist eventually. You're only interviewing for about 100 spots in the traditional admissions class, since 40 people are through joint BS/MD programs offered by Siena, Union, and Renasseler Polytechnic.
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Awesome thanks!! So i can assume its between 1/2-1/3 from this point?
 
Maybe, but I really have no clue how many are outright accepted at first.

After your interview, the admissions committee rates you and assigns you a numerical score. The interview season starts off with a high score needed to gain outright admission (say, 4.5 for example). Anyone below that outright admission score, but within a certain range (say 3.5 - 4.5) will be placed on active consideration for an admission spot. Anyone below that active consideration range will be rejected.

Throughout the interview season, the cutoff score for admissions will be lowered as needed (e.g. from 4.5 to a 4.2) to fill the class. After May 15, most people on the active consideration list will be moved to an official waitlist, while the rest will be rejected.

Hope that makes sense. Note the above information isn't official at all, just stuff I've heard from past classmates.
 
II today for me as well! Who else is interviewing on 11/3? 🙂
 
Anyone else interviewing this week?? Excited for Thursday!
 
My suggestion (I am an MSIer here at AMC) would be not to stay in a hotel and take advantage of the program where you get to stay with other students. You would save yourself some money, and get a feel for the type of students at the school. I don't think this method is unique for Albany, but a good idea for any school you visit. Your best resource for learning about a school is not going to be the information sessions, the website, or the interview, but the candid info you get from other students.

If you have any other questions, I am also happy to answer any questions
 
Update for anyone who is waiting for their secondary. I was AMCAS verified 10/3 and haven't received the secondary yet, so I called the admissions office this AM and they indicated that I'm in the next batch to receive, either today or tomorrow.
 
Interview Invite. Complete late august. I thought my secondary would turn them off, guess I was wrong.
 
Complete early September...looks like they might be getting to me soon!
 
what are Albany's prereqs? like one year of chem with lab, biochemistry, etc. ?

their website sucks, I cant find anything.
 
All medical schools offer undergraduate medical education at the MD candidate level. Graduate medical education is at the intern/residency level (think: ACGME residency = Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education)
 
allstrmvp said:
Does Albany accept in area requests?
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Doesn't hurt, just send one in via e-mail. I don't know how our admissions office views them, but I got an interview invites from Temple and VCU once I mentioned I was in the area for my Albany interview. Haven't tried it the other way around, Albany was my first.
 
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