2011-2012 Saint Louis University Application Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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ahussani said:
To those worried about crime and such, remember that St.Louis census statistics do not include the surrounding metro area (which most cities include) so it is pretty much useless/misleading.
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But isn't that how it always works? I.e., crime statistics for Washington, D.C. are not going to include the surrounding metro area (the parts in VA and MD), but will only include the city itself.

Likewise, crime statistics for Boston will not include Somerville or any other adjacent towns/cities.

Which brings me to one of my main concerns about moving to St Louis.

The murder rate for St. Louis is second highest in the nation.

40.5 murders per 100k people per year (if you trust Wiki).

This is a HUGE contrast to my home city, where the murder rate is ~3.5.

(the difference is more than an order of magnitude)

How do you feel about going out to a bar at night? What about running to get groceries late in the evening? With statistics like those, I'd be scared (even if I am "being street smart").

In fact, there was a person shot to death right outside SLU hospital this past May.

I don't want to come off as a scared little boy, but the numbers are hard to fathom.

EDIT: This got me thinking. How does St Louis compare to cities in foreign countries that are traditionally considered "dangerous"?

Mexico city (drug war... must be dangerous, right?): ~8 murders / 100k in 2009 (link)
Bogota (well, if not Mexico, then Colombia must be more deadly, no?): ~23 / 100k in 2009 (link)
Moscow (maybe the repressive regime that kills its own journalists is more dangerous to live under?): ~10 / 100k (link)
Johannesburg: ~30 / 100k (link)

Then again, I suppose there are more dangerous places to live (Baghdad, 48; Cape Town; 62). 😱
 
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ModerateMouse said:
But isn't that how it always works? I.e., crime statistics for Washington, D.C. are not going to include the surrounding metro area (the parts in VA and MD), but will only include the city itself.

Likewise, crime statistics for Boston will not include Somerville or any other adjacent towns/cities.

Which brings me to one of my main concerns about moving to St Louis.

The murder rate for St. Louis is second highest in the nation.

40.5 murders per 100k people per year (if you trust Wiki).

This is a HUGE contrast to my home city, where the murder rate is ~3.5.

(the difference is more than an order of magnitude)

How do you feel about going out to a bar at night? What about running to get groceries late in the evening? With statistics like those, I'd be scared (even if I am "being street smart").

In fact, there was a person shot to death right outside SLU hospital this past May.

I don't want to come off as a scared little boy, but the numbers are hard to fathom.

EDIT: This got me thinking. How does St Louis compare to cities in foreign countries that are traditionally considered "dangerous"?

Mexico city (drug war... must be dangerous, right?): ~8 murders / 100k in 2009 (link)
Bogota (well, if not Mexico, then Colombia must be more deadly, no?): ~23 / 100k in 2009 (link)
Moscow (maybe the repressive regime that kills its own journalists is more dangerous to live under?): ~10 / 100k (link)
Johannesburg: ~30 / 100k (link)

Then again, I suppose there are more dangerous places to live (Baghdad, 48; Cape Town; 62). 😱
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Are these murders equally distributed throughout the city? No, they're concentrated in East St. Louis and north county. Not around SLU. Also, I feel fine going out to a bar at night and running to get groceries late. So I don't really see what your point is. You can't just look at some numbers and make your own misguided assumptions about what they mean.
 
Does SLU send acceptance letters in the mail or is it email only?
 
JDOC13 said:
Are these murders equally distributed throughout the city? No, they're concentrated in East St. Louis and north county. Not around SLU.
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Yeah, that's true -- geographic distribution matters. 🙂

But can't average crime rates be used as general indicators of a city's safety? All cities have "good" and "bad" areas, but at the end of the day aren't some cities just more dangerous than others?
 
ModerateMouse said:
Yeah, that's true -- geographic distribution matters. 🙂

But can't average crime rates be used as general indicators of a city's safety? All cities have "good" and "bad" areas, but at the end of the day aren't some cities just more dangerous than others?
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Absolutely, but you have to take that with a grain of salt. I think it's silly to rely on crime statistics alone to gauge a school and surrounding area's safety. Nothing beats exploring on your own. I flew into St. Louis a day before my interview and spent all day walking around. Having lived in three other major cities, I can say that I never felt overtly threatened. In fact, it felt safer than parts of DC. As long as you use your head (e.g., not walking through a dark alley with sketchy people nearby), you'll be fine.
 
EBTrailRunner said:
Absolutely, but you have to take that with a grain of salt. I think it's silly to rely on crime statistics alone to gauge a school and surrounding area's safety. Nothing beats exploring on your own. I flew into St. Louis a day before my interview and spent all day walking around. Having lived in three other major cities, I can say that I never felt overtly threatened. In fact, it felt safer than parts of DC. As long as you use your head (e.g., not walking through a dark alley with sketchy people nearby), you'll be fine.
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Well, that's not entirely true... an acquaintance of my brother's got mugged right outside his dorm on the undergraduate campus at about 7 pm on a Tuesday.
 
BHaus9 said:
Well, that's not entirely true... an acquaintance of my brother's got mugged right outside his dorm on the undergraduate campus at about 7 pm on a Tuesday.
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Hmm, that's unfortunate. I was speaking in general terms. I'd imagine that's the exception, not the rule.
 
ModerateMouse said:
But can't average crime rates be used as general indicators of a city's safety?
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No. At least not necessarily. The crime statistics for East St. Louis say nothing about the safety of West County, for example. Have you even visited St. Louis before?
 
Is St. Louis receptive to pre-interview updates? Sorry if it's already been asked; I searched the thread but didn't find anything.
 
I had my interview here on Nov 29 and am really hoping I hear something this week before they break for the holidays!
 
cwaranch said:
I had my interview here on Nov 29 and am really hoping I hear something this week before they break for the holidays!
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Yeah, that would be a great Christmas present 😛

Alas, I was told with the holidays it would take longer than normal for post-interview review blech 🙁
 
JDOC13 said:
The last committee meeting prior to the holidays was today. We reviewed various applicants who interviewed anywhere from 10/17 to 11/28. Acceptances/waitlists should be emailed out tomorrow or Friday. The next meeting won't be until 1/11/12 I believe. Hope that helps.
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does that mean that 11/29 interviewees won't now anything till next year?
 
Interview invite today! It was a nice surprise since I thought I wouldn't be hearing anything until after the holiday.
 
Hey guys, for interviews, what airport do we fly into? Thanks
 
Just got placed on the alternate list. Anyone got any info on SLU's alternate list, e.g. how many people they take off it, if it's ranked, around when they may start taking people off it, etc. ?
 
Sephiroth said:
Just got placed on the alternate list. Anyone got any info on SLU's alternate list, e.g. how many people they take off it, if it's ranked, around when they may start taking people off it, etc. ?
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No idea. I was on it two years ago and never got in. (I applied late in the cycle and interviewed in March)

Does anyone know if SLU puts reapplicants at the bottom of the pile? I heard that my top choice (UMass) does...
 
mjk2011 said:
Interview invite today! It was a nice surprise since I thought I wouldn't be hearing anything until after the holiday.
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hey congrats! When were you complete? And stats please if you dont mnd
 
i don't understand.

first time alternate :/ favorite school.

i had a 34 and 3.9, lots of volunteering but no research. is it that important? i wasn't a science major and am curious for the future. i suppose i could have messed up my interview, but looking for other flaws in my application too. is research the issue?
 
zahrazahra said:
i don't understand.

first time alternate :/ favorite school.

i had a 34 and 3.9, lots of volunteering but no research. is it that important? i wasn't a science major and am curious for the future. i suppose i could have messed up my interview, but looking for other flaws in my application too. is research the issue?
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I don't think thats the issue. I have similar numbers, but my ECs are more research heavy, and was also waitlisted. It's possible they waitlist candidates they'd take but aren't certain SLU is they're top choice (interviewer asked me what I thought made SLU different from my state school, and I kinda stumbled on that a bit since I didn't wanna say anything bad about my state school while still trying to say I prefer SLU). Who knows, there's a million possible reasons. Just gotta hang around til bout March and send some nice emails to your top choices you are waitlisted at.
 
My friend was placed on the wait list last year and he planned on retaking his MCAT and etc etc in order to reapply. They contacted him near the deadline date (sometime in May...all I remember is he found out JUST before graduation) and now he goes to school there. From what I understand, I think your stats are a bit better than his, but I don't know what the current competition is like.

So, the point is, it's not the end of the world. There is still a great chance that there will be movement from the list.
 
Hi, so when do the interview typically end? I'm trying to book a flight and the latest one that leaves for cali takes off at 6:20pm, not sure that give me enough time.


Thanks!
 
I had a 6:40pm flight that I made in PLENTY of time (I remember watching a couple episodes of a TV show while at the airport).

yogi 0101 said:
Hi, so when do the interview typically end? I'm trying to book a flight and the latest one that leaves for cali takes off at 6:20pm, not sure that give me enough time.


Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
So I was wanting to send an update letter (GPA boost) as well as a letter of interest. I interviewed about 2-3 weeks ago. Is SLU receptive to those post-interview? I figured now would be a good time to send them.
 
yogi 0101 said:
Hi, so when do the interview typically end? I'm trying to book a flight and the latest one that leaves for cali takes off at 6:20pm, not sure that give me enough time.


Thanks!
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My interview ended way before 4 pm. You should have plenty of time!
 
Anyone who stayed with one of the student housing hosts during their interview? How was it like? How would you compare that with staying at a hotel? Did they offer any useful suggestions/tips?

Thanks!🙂
 
howieh said:
Anyone who stayed with one of the student housing hosts during their interview? How was it like? How would you compare that with staying at a hotel? Did they offer any useful suggestions/tips?

Thanks!🙂
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Do it. It's far cheaper and you get a chance to pick an actual medical student's brain about all things SLU.
 
howieh said:
Anyone who stayed with one of the student housing hosts during their interview? How was it like? How would you compare that with staying at a hotel? Did they offer any useful suggestions/tips?

Thanks!🙂
Click to expand...

Second vote for student host program here. My hosts were awesome - once I got there we went out to dinner (so I got to see a little of saint louis), and I got to get honest opinions and advice all night about the school/programs/area/etc.

If you're cool with crashing on a couch, you can't beat the price and the experience is great if you aren't socially awkward penguin. And even if you are, it'll probably be great still.

Also, for a bonus you also don't have to find your own way around on interview morning.
 
Donnie1310 said:
Second vote for student host program here. My hosts were awesome - once I got there we went out to dinner (so I got to see a little of saint louis), and I got to get honest opinions and advice all night about the school/programs/area/etc.

If you're cool with crashing on a couch, you can't beat the price and the experience is great if you aren't socially awkward penguin. And even if you are, it'll probably be great still.

Also, for a bonus you also don't have to find your own way around on interview morning.
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QFT

It's part of their responsibility to give you a ride to campus in the morning, so it takes a bit of stress off trying to find your way there. My host was great, but if you don't sleep well on couches I might give it a second thought. I haven't slept well on any couch that I've had to stay on for student hosting.
 
Sephiroth said:
I don't think thats the issue. I have similar numbers, but my ECs are more research heavy, and was also waitlisted. It's possible they waitlist candidates they'd take but aren't certain SLU is they're top choice (interviewer asked me what I thought made SLU different from my state school, and I kinda stumbled on that a bit since I didn't wanna say anything bad about my state school while still trying to say I prefer SLU). Who knows, there's a million possible reasons. Just gotta hang around til bout March and send some nice emails to your top choices you are waitlisted at.
Click to expand...


Sephiroth, Final Fantasy 7, and One Winged Angel FTW. 👍👍👍👍😎
 
Hey peoples.

I am currently waitlisted. Since my interview in September, I have been attending to what were minor weak points in my ECs (brought up in the interview). I have been updating them with this info, but I am seriously considering sending a letter of continued interest and intent.

I *really* would rather be at SLU than anywhere else. Can any current students (or other persons with relveant information/experience on the topic) comment on whether this is a good idea? Would you be willing to read and offer constructive criticism on my letter?

Thanks!
 
spacmanspif300 said:
Hey peoples.

I am currently waitlisted. Since my interview in September, I have been attending to what were minor weak points in my ECs (brought up in the interview). I have been updating them with this info, but I am seriously considering sending a letter of continued interest and intent.

I *really* would rather be at SLU than anywhere else. Can any current students (or other persons with relveant information/experience on the topic) comment on whether this is a good idea? Would you be willing to read and offer constructive criticism on my letter?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I don't see how doing so could hurt your chances.
 
Hmmm...I haven't received mine yet 😵 Should I be worried?
 
Is it unusual to wait 3 months after submitting secondary to not even hear a word?
 
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