2011-2012 Saint Louis University Application Thread

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could someone read my additional comments? I have poor grammar and synthax 🙁
 
Verified on 6/20. Anyone else not receive a secondary yet?
 
Secondary complete. For the additional comments section, I just talked about how the Jesuit tradition applies to me and about the opportunities the city of St. Louis presents.
 
Hi! just a quick question..I have been stressing over the LORs. Just to be sure, 2 letters from my science professors and one from my clinical research supervisor will suffice?
 
Hi! just a quick question..I have been stressing over the LORs. Just to be sure, 2 letters from my science professors and one from my clinical research supervisor will suffice?

If your school provides committee letters, then you need a letter from that committee. If not, then you need one more letter from a professor (doesn't matter if it's science or non-science).

http://www.slu.edu/x46030.xml

"If your school has a Pre-medical Advisory Committee, a letter from the committee is sufficient. If your school does not have a committee, please request letters of evaluation from three of your college or university teachers. Be sure at least one of these individuals teaches science."
 
Verified on June 29th, still haven't received secondary. If I don't get an email later this week, is it out of line to call them knowing that they send secondaries to everyone?
 
are most ppl writing anything for the "is there anything else" q? I mean, only two ppl said they wrote about "Why SLU" and "how the jesuit tradition applies to me." Do you think they want us to tell them why we like their school (current students/past applicatnts?!) I mean, some school like Boston say specifically not to do that.
 
Verified on June 29th, still haven't received secondary. If I don't get an email later this week, is it out of line to call them knowing that they send secondaries to everyone?

I would way till the end of the week. A lot of schools download the primaries in batches. I doubt they downloaded over the weekend.
 
Hey guys, I just got this email and is contemplating on whether I should apply here or not...

Dear Prospective Applicant, Saint Louis University School of Medicine encourages applications from students who have achieved a high level of academic performance and who manifest in their personal lives those human qualities compatible with a career of service to society. The University's mission statement affirms the value of a diverse educational environment to prepare students for life and work in a global society. Beyond the important objective of training competent physicians who are scholars of human biology, the School strives to graduate physicians who manifest in their personal and professional attitudes that reflect the Jesuit spirit and values, and affect the physician's interactions with patients and colleagues, and with society. For more information about the school, please visit our web site: http://medschool.slu.edu/admissions.


When I looked through the MSAR, the average GPA and MCAT were pretty high for accepted students...

My stats are cGPA: 3.4, sGPA: 3.37, and MCAT: 1st - 29Q, 2nd - 29M

Should I even bother applying here?

Thanks in advance!
 
It's really up to you xpancox. If you like the school and the idea of living in st. louis for med school then you can. Wouldn't apply just because they sent me an email. Your stats aren't over the top, but they aren't so bad that you don't have a chance of getting in. So I say apply if you like the school and would like to attend. If you are only applying because they sent you an email, I would not do that.

If you don't know much about the city of St. Louis I can help you out there, lived here for all my life. Just submitted my secondary today.
 
Verified 6/20 and I still haven't recieved the secondary. What is the deal?
 
is there anyway to format paragraphs for this secondary? i wrote a few paragraphs but when i input it it's just one big blob. helpful hints? or should i just submit it as is?
 
is there anyway to format paragraphs for this secondary? i wrote a few paragraphs but when i input it it's just one big blob. helpful hints? or should i just submit it as is?

The trick, which I've found works for most applications, is to copy and paste from Word to a really simple word processor that your computer should already have, like TextEdit on Mac, and save it as plain text (.txt). Then copy and paste it from there to the on-line interface. Whatever codes for fonts and formatting and stuff in Word, in my past experiences, will not only mess up your formatting, but will add unwanted characters and even a line or two of code once transferred to the applications online. You might also want to try copying and pasting your essays into the application, then deleting the paragraph spaces and reinserting them manually in the fields in your browser.
 
The trick, which I've found works for most applications, is to copy and paste from Word to a really simple word processor that your computer should already have, like TextEdit on Mac, and save it as plain text (.txt). Then copy and paste it from there to the on-line interface. Whatever codes for fonts and formatting and stuff in Word, in my past experiences, will not only mess up your formatting, but will add unwanted characters and even a line or two of code once transferred to the applications online. You might also want to try copying and pasting your essays into the application, then deleting the paragraph spaces and reinserting them manually in the fields in your browser.

hrm i tried all that and it still wouldn't work. i guess i'll just have to turn it in as one big blob. thanks for your help!
 
does anyone have problems trying to log in and check their status? that being said..have there been any status updates?
 
does anyone have problems trying to log in and check their status? that being said..have there been any status updates?

Same. It's not letting me login. Keeps saying my username and/or password is wrong.
 
ok i thought that was just me screwing everything up. good to know haha.
 
Hello everyone. I am a 2nd year med student at SLU. I am coming on to extend my good luck wishes to everyone applying this year. I am also here to answer any questions (as best as I can) that people may have about the application process and questions specifically about SLU. There may be a couple more SLU med students that may come on here occassionally as well and while I cannot specifically speak for them, I believe they will be willing to help out however they can as well. Again good luck! And don't forget to have fun doing something else other than stressin' over the application process!

P.S. I may only check this forum once a week or so, so I'll answer questions when I can. You can also PM me and I'll try to repost the question on the forum with the answer so others can read as well.
 
Hello everyone. I am a 2nd year med student at SLU. I am coming on to extend my good luck wishes to everyone applying this year. I am also here to answer any questions (as best as I can) that people may have about the application process and questions specifically about SLU. There may be a couple more SLU med students that may come on here occassionally as well and while I cannot specifically speak for them, I believe they will be willing to help out however they can as well. Again good luck! And don't forget to have fun doing something else other than stressin' over the application process!

P.S. I may only check this forum once a week or so, so I'll answer questions when I can. You can also PM me and I'll try to repost the question on the forum with the answer so others can read as well.

Awesome, thanks so much for posting here and offering your help! 🙂 No questions so far, but I will have them for sure if 🙂xf🙂 I get an interview. I'm really, really, really hoping I do!!
 
how long were ppl's "Why SLU" essays? That unlimited space is also starting to make me 2nd guess myself...also, what's the turnarond rate for being complete so far? As far as I can see, no one's gotten a status update yet since being complete, correct?
 
A PM question sent to me.

edge of desire said:
HI S&G,

I was wondering if you think it's definitely a good idea to write the optional essay on "Why SLU" -- mine is 2000 characters right now, seems like it could be longer...also, I mainly talked about their clerkship opportunity, research, and collaboration/small groups. I was debating whether to say "I woudln't mind returning to the midwest for med school, as St. Louis offers the diverse patient population I seek for my training" -- sometimes people say not to mention the location though -- what do you think? I am just trying to figure what I could say that wouldn't sound like every other applicant, haha. Thanks for your time!😛

Hi Edge. I think it is a good idea to write something. I think it is a horrible idea to write 10,000 characters or however many characters they allow. Don't repeat anything you have already said in your personal statement and AMCAS application. After all, you already said it, and hopefully you said it well and clearly already. You wouldn't want to bore the admissions committee. Be honest about why you want to go to SLU. It was somewhat easy for me because SLU was a pretty high choice for me for an OOS school. Try to make your essay personal. Talking about their clerkship opportunities, research and the rest of that is pretty boring and everyone says that. Write something about SLU that makes your heart happy and brings a smile to your face. The reader can sense that and see that it is from your heart.

I see nothing wrong with mentioning location. If you were originally from the MidWest and want to come back to serve the population here, all the better and should be mentioned. Med schools like people to hang around where they went to school because they invested a lot of money into you (med schools pretty much always run in the red) and they love it when you give back by serving the community around the school. They also love it if you share the same mindset and mission the school has. Find out that kind of stuff and write about it.

Lastly, keep the essay short. SLU is being generous and kind by giving a 10,000 character limit. Return the kindness by not actually writing that much. They are reading tens of thousands of essays, and honestly most are generic and boring. Unless you are writing something as riviting as the 8th Harry Potter book, keep it simple and sweet.

Good luck!!!
 
Another PM sent to me.

Hi,

As a prospective student for SLU Med school, I am debating to describe my experience of being gay and colored in my secondary. I was just wondering if you could tell me about SLU's LGBT community and if it would be disadvantageous for SLU admission.

Thanks!

Hi. To tell you the truth, I do not think the LGBT community at SLU is that active. That is not to say they aren't active at all, just not very well known, at least not to me. That being said, SLU is quite open to people of all leanings, religion and colors. You aren't going to run into any faculty that are going to treat you differently because you are gay. Probably the one strict policy they have is to not promote abortion...suffice to say, just don't mention that at all on anything officially SLU related.

Now whether or not to write about it, the best I can tell you is that it depends on how you write about it. If it is personal, positive, without unresolved anger or bitterness, I think the essay can really speak of you and your character. What SLU cares about is your life experiences and how they have molded you into the person you are now and the kind of physician you will be in the future. Speak about that and be proud of who you are. That is the best anyone can ask of you.

Good luck!
 
Lastly, keep the essay short. SLU is being generous and kind by giving a 10,000 character limit. Return the kindness by not actually writing that much. They are reading tens of thousands of essays, and honestly most are generic and boring. Unless you are writing something as riviting as the 8th Harry Potter book, keep it simple and sweet.Good luck!!!

I didn't ask the question, but I wanted to say thank you for the answer! I've been wondering the same thing, didn't think it was possible they wanted to read two more PS's worth of essay from everyone. Glad to hear someone else has that logic too, makes me feel better.

Thanks in general for coming on here to answer questions - we the applicants are lucky to have you and all the others who do this!
 
Verified 6/25 and still haven't received a secondary. Anyone else still in this position? Been checking my spam for the record...
 
Verified 6/25 and still haven't received a secondary. Anyone else still in this position? Been checking my spam for the record...

Hmmmm...SLU's was the first secondary I received, and I was verified 7/12. Pretty sure I got the secondary the day I was verified.
 
Verified 6/25 and still haven't received a secondary. Anyone else still in this position? Been checking my spam for the record...
they choose 5 applicants every year for auto rejection, it's like a 10 year tradition
 
That was comforting lol. It's not like I got a rejection email though. Taking more than a month to send out an auto rejection would be kind of strange.
 
That was comforting lol. It's not like I got a rejection email though. Taking more than a month to send out an auto rejection would be kind of strange.
i'm joking, just call em on Monday
 
I had to shrink it. They want a very small size

I'm struggling with this, I keep taking pictures and cropping them and they still end up too big. So shrinking is the way to go?
 
PS, my bonehead move of the weekend... I was tired of writing essays and was looking at SLU's website and filled out my basic info and paid the fee, then went to verify my app thinking it was just a precaution. So I verified, and get the "thank you you can no longer edit your application" message. What do I do? Call them?
 
PS, my bonehead move of the weekend... I was tired of writing essays and was looking at SLU's website and filled out my basic info and paid the fee, then went to verify my app thinking it was just a precaution. So I verified, and get the "thank you you can no longer edit your application" message. What do I do? Call them?
What else you gonna do but call them? I'm not sure if they'll allow you to change but they might so it's better to call then just sit and do nothing
 
I decided on Friday to add SLUMD and still cannot stop grinning whenever I see that acronym. :laugh:

Hoping to submit the secondary tomorrow - have to explain that, while OOS, I do have some ties! Here's hoping that helps.
 
I ended up using IRFANVIEW, its a free tool, it has an option to resize images.
 
Hi. It's late, I've been doing secondaries all day, and I just have a quick question - what on earth are we supposed to do with the Upload Documents tab? There are no instructions for this page, no instructions about it on the instructions page, and I can't figure out what in the hell I'm supposed to upload.

If I Certify my app now, will I forever give up the right to do some important upload I was supposed to have done?
 
Hi. It's late, I've been doing secondaries all day, and I just have a quick question - what on earth are we supposed to do with the Upload Documents tab? There are no instructions for this page, no instructions about it on the instructions page, and I can't figure out what in the hell I'm supposed to upload.

If I Certify my app now, will I forever give up the right to do some important upload I was supposed to have done?

I did the secondary a while back, so I don't remember fully. Could it be for any additional documents that you need to provide to the school? It's separate from the Photo upload tab, right? I don't remember uploading anything besides the photo..
 
I didn't enter anything for the uploaded documents tab and didn't write anything on the optional essay.

Hopefully that's cool...:xf:
 
I don't see anywhere on the status page to make sure my letters were uploaded...am I just missing it? Thanks!
 
Did anyone receive a "secondary complete" email from SLU?
 
Did anyone receive a "secondary complete" email from SLU?

I didn't get a complete email. However, when I sign in and go to the status page it says that my application is complete at the top of the page.

Complete: 7/18
 
I never got a secondary from this school, either. That's strange since my primary was verified in early June.
 
I never got a secondary from this school, either. That's strange since my primary was verified in early June.

You should email or call them. I don't think they screen, and you should have received the secondary very soon after verification.

OT, but did you have any exit interviews last cycle? You have excellent stats so I'm baffled that you didn't have more success.
 
FWIW, SLU's was the first application I received when my primary was verified--it took like an hour or two for them to send it. So I would definitely call if it's been several weeks.
 
How did you get your picture to upload. Everytime I push upload, it deletes the browse box contents. I've tried compability mode and other browsers. C'mon. Secondary application sites are so frustrating.
 
Anyone know how to separate paragraphs for personal comments? When I preview my application, it combines all the paragraphs together into one giant blob.
 
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