2011-2012 Saint Louis University Application Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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cwaranch said:
Ok thanks for all of the help. My interviewer is Michael Railey if anyone has any experience with him? Also does anyone roughly know the percentage of people they accept that they interview.
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Dr. Railey is their Assoc. Dean of Multicultural Affairs. He is a family practice physician who was at SLU as a clinical professor a number of years ago, went into private practice for a time, and then came back as an administrator. He's a great guy. Expect a pretty relaxed, conversational interview. It seems like he frequently interviews people of URM backgrounds and/or those who express an interest in underserved populations. Good luck!
 
is it too late to turn in this secondary...?
 
cwaranch said:
Ok thanks for all of the help. My interviewer is Michael Railey if anyone has any experience with him? Also does anyone roughly know the percentage of people they accept that they interview.
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I Interviewed with him...he is really friendly and the interview was more conversational. I thought it was definitely relaxed so don't worry 🙂
 
Just withdrew from my interview...Good Luck everyone!!
 
Ok awesome. A couple random questions regarding the school that Im sure have been asked sorry! How is the security and crime in the area though? I know St Louis can have some rough areas. Also for any students that go there is it a friendly atmosphere and do the students get pretty close? I am wanting the family atmosphere and not just a bunch of people playing cut throat and not making friends. Thanks for all the help and good luck to everyone!
 
cwaranch said:
Ok awesome. A couple random questions regarding the school that Im sure have been asked sorry! How is the security and crime in the area though? I know St Louis can have some rough areas. Also for any students that go there is it a friendly atmosphere and do the students get pretty close? I am wanting the family atmosphere and not just a bunch of people playing cut throat and not making friends. Thanks for all the help and good luck to everyone!
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From my stay there it seemed pretty nice. Well, at least the area around the school is. From what the students have told me, most of the crime comes from the Illinois side of St. Louis across the river.
 
TheGloaming said:
~980 interviewed ~570 accepted
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Say wha?

I see 1059 interviewed, 177 matriculate for last year. Remove the international folks, and the numbers are 981/168.

Of course acceptance is higher than matriculation, and despite my sincerest efforts, I have been unsuccessful in obtaining that ratio, but 570?? Tell me that's a typo.

And what was your source?
 
cwaranch said:
Ok awesome. A couple random questions regarding the school that Im sure have been asked sorry! How is the security and crime in the area though? I know St Louis can have some rough areas. Also for any students that go there is it a friendly atmosphere and do the students get pretty close? I am wanting the family atmosphere and not just a bunch of people playing cut throat and not making friends. Thanks for all the help and good luck to everyone!
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The first part has been addressed a lot before in the thread, but I'll recap. Honestly, I've had no problems with security. Really, if you stay out of sketchy areas (read: north Saint Louis or in East Saint Louis that is technically in Illinois across the river) and don't walk down the street alone at 3 AM, it's not much of a problem. The only thing that may be a problem is cars getting broken into if you don't park in secured parking (at the school or at apartments in certain areas... that said though, my roommate has a nice car and never uses the school parking garage and hasn't had a problem with break-ins).

I'm a second year at SLU, and I would say our class is definitely close. For a class of ~175, I know nearly every body's name (other than the few people who make it a point not to come to class or hang out with med students) and feel comfortable hanging out with most everyone. I think it says a lot that there are very few people I don't genuinely enjoy being around. Everyone helps one another out. People will stay after anatomy dissections first year to teach others the material, they'll send out their charts/mnemonics/etc. the week before a test, etc. There's always class social events (med school prom, laser tag, sky zone, bar nights, karaoke, sporting events, etc), and a good portion of the class ends up going out together post-test. I have more of a social life now than I did in high school or undergrad and have made some of the best friends of my life.
 
His source is US News. Last year, 981 interviewed, 569 were accepted. Breaking it down further:

In-state: 119 interviewed, 97 (82%) accepted
Out-of-state: 862 interviewed, 472 (55%) accepted
 
spacmanspif300 said:
And what was your source?
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The Dean's Newsletter (as of 5/10/11): Admissions: To date, the School of Medicine admissions office has received 6,383 applications for the class of 2015. Of these applicants, 926 applicants have been interviewed; 469 have been accepted; 254 are holding positions. Of the 254 holding positions, 48.8 percent are women and 10.4 percent are underrepresented minorities.
 
girlofgrace7 said:
The first part has been addressed a lot before in the thread, but I'll recap. Honestly, I've had no problems with security. Really, if you stay out of sketchy areas (read: north Saint Louis or in East Saint Louis that is technically in Illinois across the river) and don't walk down the street alone at 3 AM, it's not much of a problem. The only thing that may be a problem is cars getting broken into if you don't park in secured parking (at the school or at apartments in certain areas... that said though, my roommate has a nice car and never uses the school parking garage and hasn't had a problem with break-ins).

I'm a second year at SLU, and I would say our class is definitely close. For a class of ~175, I know nearly every body's name (other than the few people who make it a point not to come to class or hang out with med students) and feel comfortable hanging out with most everyone. I think it says a lot that there are very few people I don't genuinely enjoy being around. Everyone helps one another out. People will stay after anatomy dissections first year to teach others the material, they'll send out their charts/mnemonics/etc. the week before a test, etc. There's always class social events (med school prom, laser tag, sky zone, bar nights, karaoke, sporting events, etc), and a good portion of the class ends up going out together post-test. I have more of a social life now than I did in high school or undergrad and have made some of the best friends of my life.
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Totally agree, I grew up in the area and NEVER enter the East St. Louis area. I suggest taking the long way around via the several interstates. I know two people that have gotten held up when coming to a stop sign in their cars, it's just best to avoid the area entirely.

On a side note, the actual city area is a typical city. I second the parking, and I'd never walk alone late at night; that's just standard practice in cities however. When you interview, and if you have free time, I'd definitely recommend the Hill. AWESOME Italian restaurants and bakeries. The city museum is also pretty cool to check out, but I wouldn't recommend going by yourself, find someone adventurous to come 😛
 
spacmanspif300 said:
Say wha?

I see 1059 interviewed, 177 matriculate for last year. Remove the international folks, and the numbers are 981/168.

Of course acceptance is higher than matriculation, and despite my sincerest efforts, I have been unsuccessful in obtaining that ratio, but 570?? Tell me that's a typo.

And what was your source?
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Ummm U.S. News. The better question: What was your source? Really though I'm sure our numbers were just form different years.
 
Last edited:
Heading there in one week. My interviewer is Akihiko Noguchi, and I am wondering if anyone has any experience with him.
 
II today by e-mail! OOS. Anyone have suggestions for traveling arrangements? (Hotel, transportation, etc.) Also, do they have a student hosting program?
 
SUHperbowl said:
II today by e-mail! OOS. Anyone have suggestions for traveling arrangements? (Hotel, transportation, etc.) Also, do they have a student hosting program?
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Yes, they have an overnight stay program. There should be a document with further information when you go to schedule your interview.
 
II today. Complete 9/1.
Interviewing 11/29. Any of you who snatched up the 11/28 slots during the 5 minutes while I was setting things up are on notice in my book 😡😛.

cysky said:
Heading there in one week. My interviewer is Akihiko Noguchi, and I am wondering if anyone has any experience with him.
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I have the same interviewer. Please let me know how it goes and if there is anything I should know, and I will love you forever.
 
OOS, Interview invite this morning!! Chose the 12/12 date since i'll be out of the country!

How do you check who you're interviewing with?
 
Hey guys, has any one had an interview with Dr. James Shoemaker? Mine is coming up on the 14th and I was wondering if y'all had any advice...

Hope to see some of you guys there!
 
RRondo said:
Hey guys, has any one had an interview with Dr. James Shoemaker? Mine is coming up on the 14th and I was wondering if y'all had any advice...

Hope to see some of you guys there!
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I interviewed with him. Nice guy, pretty standard questions. Took me to the 9th floor of the research building and gave me a visual tour of the campus and surroundings. The only advice I have is to re-read all your activities, because most (if not all) of the questions are from there. He asked a handfull of ethical questions, none too difficult, all related to my previous experiences. Good luck!!!
 
Undergrad: University of Connecticut (Go Huskies!)
BS: Pharmaceutical Sciences
Doctorate: Pharmacy

AMCAS Submitted 6/1/11
AMCAS Processed Complete 6/12/11
Secondary Invite 7/12/11
Secondary Confirmed 7/31/11
Interview Invite 8/22/11
Interviewed (Dr. Mchael Railey) 9/27/11
Sent a Thank You Letter via Snail Mail 9/28/11
Accepted 10/17/11 :soexcited:

Love St. Louis, Love SLU. See you all in August.

Feel Free to PM me about anything! I want to meet my fellow classmates and start a Facebook group!
 
Can you tell me how Michael Railey was if you dont mind?
 
cwaranch said:
Can you tell me how Michael Railey was if you dont mind?
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I had Dr. Railey. Honestly, there's no need to stress. He's as great an interviewer as you could hope for. Charismatic, friendly, and inspiring to be honest. As soon as I walked into my interview, he told me that he would me my advocate before the Admissions Committee and that my interview was all about getting to know who I am and what I'm all about. Know why you want to enter medicine, why you want to attend SLU, and be sincere. You'll be fine.
 
cwaranch said:
Can you tell me how Michael Railey was if you dont mind?
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He's awesome. He was by far the best interviewer I've had all season. He's down to earth, sociable and makes you feel very welcome. (He's also got that swag! You'll know what I'm talking about when you meet him.)

Also, you can tell he cares deeply about the area, SLU, and his students. When I sat down with him, it was evident that he really took the time to read my file because he asked very thoughtful questions based on my experiences. If you have him as an interviewer, don't be nervous. He isn't there to belittle or intimidate you. Just be honest in your answers, interests, motivations...ect. If you get an interview your grades check out fine. Trust me, I'm far from the perfect candidate. They want to know you as a person at this point.

Lastly, I got a personal phone call from Dr. Railey a few days after getting the acceptance e-mail. I still have the voice mail on my phone. I played it over and over because I still couldn't believe I got in. He congratulated me and told me he was happy that the admissions committee agreed with him in selecting me and hopes that I choose SLU. It was a very nice gesture. He's a class act.

Oh and I almost forgot, his office has free coffee for students!
 
cwaranch said:
Ok awesome. A couple random questions regarding the school that Im sure have been asked sorry! How is the security and crime in the area though? I know St Louis can have some rough areas. Also for any students that go there is it a friendly atmosphere and do the students get pretty close? I am wanting the family atmosphere and not just a bunch of people playing cut throat and not making friends. Thanks for all the help and good luck to everyone!
Click to expand...

As far as crime, I don't know because I'm from New England, but its a city man. Crime is everywhere, but that stuff is pretty isolated. You'll be in the library most of the time anyway right? Criminals hate books.

As far as atmosphere goes, let me tell you a story. When I was there a few weeks ago, I stayed with a 1st year. As we were walking back to his car after my interview, he got pelted with water balloons by two fellow classmates hiding in the bushes. My suit got kinda wet, but it was hilarious so it's cool. The whole class was playing "Assassins." He was assassinated. If you don't know about that game, Google it. Its crazy fun. I played it in high school. So just based off that, I'm sure it is a friendly place. If it isn't, vote me social chair and I will single handedly turn that around right quick.
 
I was talking to a nurse who went to SLU (I think nursing may be on the main campus a couple miles away). She said that even though some of the neighborhoods around (north) of SLU are pretty rough, the thugs around there are smart. SLU does a ton for the surrounding communities, and it was her understanding that they pretty much left the campuses alone because of that.
 
fizzjazz said:
As far as crime, I don't know because I'm from New England, but its a city man. Crime is everywhere, but that stuff is pretty isolated. You'll be in the library most of the time anyway right? Criminals hate books.
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I am a criminal and I love books.
 
Johnny Knox said:
I interviewed with him. Nice guy, pretty standard questions. Took me to the 9th floor of the research building and gave me a visual tour of the campus and surroundings. The only advice I have is to re-read all your activities, because most (if not all) of the questions are from there. He asked a handfull of ethical questions, none too difficult, all related to my previous experiences. Good luck!!!
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Awesome, thank you so much!
 
alyssa0892 said:
Has anyone interviewed with Michael Graham? How did it go?
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He was pretty awesome. The interview was very relaxed and mostly conversational. Just know your app, why medicine, why SLU. We ended up talking about music for about 20 minutes, and at the end, we actually listened to a few tracks of a CD :laugh:
 
cnfz said:
He was pretty awesome. The interview was very relaxed and mostly conversational. Just know your app, why medicine, why SLU. We ended up talking about music for about 20 minutes, and at the end, we actually listened to a few tracks of a CD :laugh:
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Great to hear, thanks so much! I'm interviewing there this Monday & am getting super excited!
 
I'm sure this is somewhere in earlier posts, but could somebody let me know if SLU is receptive to "in the area" emails?
 
Congratulations everybody on the acceptances! This school's high acceptance rate is very comforting. I interviewed with Dr. Shoemaker on Oct. 31st (my costume was of course my awesome new suit I bought). The interview, I believe, went extremely well. Dr. Shoemaker is a great man and a great researcher. Very conversational and friendly. We even laughed a few times. It was the Monday after the Card's won the World Series on a Friday I believe, so I bet all the faculty were in a great mood. This wait is much worse than the 30 days after the MCAT! Anybody who has been accepted care to share their numbers? Thanks!
 
Accepted this morning! Interviewed 10/4
Not many out there that will trump SLU for me. . .
Beautiful campus, awesome city, good people.
 
Anyone have any pointers about interviewing with Dr. Perman? Thanks in advance.
 
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