2011-2012 University of Arkansas Application Thread

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i do not know, but that is a good question.
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appreciated

Thanks for your time...
 
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Arkstudent said:
Heys guys I have an application question that hopefully you all can help me with. I am a Junior at UCA at the moment looking to take the MCAT and apply for medical school in the coming cycle (Fall 2012). I have two questions:

first when is the best time to take the MCAT for applying to UAMS? I am currently enrolled in classes and don't have allot of time to study so I was thinking study over the summer and take a late July or early August date? Is that too late to get my application in for the first round of interviews, or is that just really late in general?

Also I have applied for the Summer Science Program at Arkansas Children's Hospital. I should have a competitive application. If I get accepted into the summer science program is it reasonable to do that and study for the MCAT at the same time? I have good research experience but besides some shadowing not a whole lot of clinical experience... Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated,

Thanks for your time...
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July is late, August is too late. You won't get your scores back for a few weeks and you need to be ready to submit your applications as early as possible for rolling admissions schools. What may be an acceptable date for UAMS due to the way their cycle's schedule works may (probably) not be early enough for other schools you'll want to apply to. Since UAMS doesn't start interviews until way later than most places, in October, an August date would technically work, but it can really limit your options elsewhere. June or earlier is when most premed advisers will tell you to take it and that's pretty good advice. I don't know about the demands of the summer science program, but I'd prioritize doing well on the MCAT and taking it at a time that lets you hit any priority deadlines you're interested in and the opening week of rolling admissions schools you're interested in applying to.
Good luck!
-Matt
 
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Just registered for June 21st. I don't think I could be ready by May... Any idea when UAMS will finalize the roster for the current class and release the class stats? Just curious
 
Probably not until matriculation. A couple of my friends got their acceptances in August when classes started August 10.

For what it's worth, I second what Matt said about applying, but I'd add that you should have the rest of your app complete in advance. Submit it to all the schools you want to apply to so that your app is processed fully when your score comes in. Even though you won't actually be complete until late July, that's the smart way to do things to maximize your chances.
 
I took my MACT in September and was admitted... so, no, a july/aug MCAT would not be too late, you just might have to hustle a little more.

Arkstudent said:
Heys guys I have an application question that hopefully you all can help me with. I am a Junior at UCA at the moment looking to take the MCAT and apply for medical school in the coming cycle (Fall 2012). I have two questions:

first when is the best time to take the MCAT for applying to UAMS? I am currently enrolled in classes and don't have allot of time to study so I was thinking study over the summer and take a late July or early August date? Is that too late to get my application in for the first round of interviews, or is that just really late in general?

Also I have applied for the Summer Science Program at Arkansas Children's Hospital. I should have a competitive application. If I get accepted into the summer science program is it reasonable to do that and study for the MCAT at the same time? I have good research experience but besides some shadowing not a whole lot of clinical experience... Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated,

Thanks for your time...
Click to expand...
 
I took my MACT in September and was admitted... so, no, a july/aug MCAT would not be too late, you just might have to hustle a little more.
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This is poor advice, honestly. A September MCAT (for the year you're applying) is crazy late. You won't even have a score until many programs have stopped accpeting applications and the first (and by far the largest) round of acceptances has gone out. Even UAMS, with it's antiquated non-rolling admissions scheme, starts interviewing in early September. Do you want to automatically exclude yourself from 1/3 of the interview spots offered here? I forgot the exact numbers, but I believe over half of med school applications are submitted (and complete) in June. Your June MCAT is fine since your score will be back around the time schools start offering interviews, but pushing it to August or even July is going to seriously handicap your chances at getting an acceptance somewhere. In short, a late MCAT means that while you'll likely have your automatic interview at UAMS (assuming you're in-state, that is), you'll be totally screwed just about everywhere else.
 
The first round of interviews this year was October 15th. I took my MCAT in late July after moving it back from mid-June because I wasn't ready. I was complete by September 13th and still made it into the first round of interviews when I called to schedule it. I got my acceptance in January.

I have another friend who took her MCAT in September and got her acceptance in February after a November interview. It's possible at UAMS to run that late, but other schools not so much.
 
MilkmanAl said:
This is poor advice, honestly. A September MCAT (for the year you're applying) is crazy late. You won't even have a score until many programs have stopped accpeting applications and the first (and by far the largest) round of acceptances has gone out. Even UAMS, with it's antiquated non-rolling admissions scheme, starts interviewing in early September. Do you want to automatically exclude yourself from 1/3 of the interview spots offered here? I forgot the exact numbers, but I believe over half of med school applications are submitted (and complete) in June. Your June MCAT is fine since your score will be back around the time schools start offering interviews, but pushing it to August or even July is going to seriously handicap your chances at getting an acceptance somewhere. In short, a late MCAT means that while you'll likely have your automatic interview at UAMS (assuming you're in-state, that is), you'll be totally screwed just about everywhere else.
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Agree with this totally. No offense to Raptor, but having "to hustle" to get things done for UAMS means you've drastically limited your other options, handicapping yourself in the overall process, and it's not a wise move. The poster asked if it was "just really late in general" when referring to the potential MCAT test in August, and it is. No premed adviser earning their salary will suggest or go along with that plan since the goal is to make your application competitive at as many programs you're interested as possible and have multiple acceptances so you only have to go through the cycle once. With that in mind, having as early a test date as you can possibly be prepared for is a huge advantage since you can have your scores back before any early deadlines and the rolling cycles and plan your apps based off where you're likely to be most competitive. (Applying is expensive, having those scores back helps to ensure you're not wasting money applying to some schools that are no longer a good fit.) I'm very happy that the later test dates worked out for you guys, and if UAMS is absolutely the only place you want to apply (also not a good idea) then the strategy can be a bit different, but the general rule of thumb is always to test as early as you can possibly be ready.
-Matt
 
Thanks for all the help I really appreciate it as our premed adviser here are... delinquent to say the least. I am really interested in UAMS because of price and proximity so its really the main school I am applying to. I would also like to apply to Baylor. What other school are commonly applied to by Arkansas residents?
 
Arkstudent said:
Thanks for all the help I really appreciate it as our premed adviser here are... delinquent to say the least. I am really interested in UAMS because of price and proximity so its really the main school I am applying to. I would also like to apply to Baylor. What other school are commonly applied to by Arkansas residents?
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You should go through the MSAR and AMCAS list of schools and read a little about the public schools near you and private schools in general. The national average for medical schools applied to is up to 15 (seems like it goes up each year) so shop around and see where you might be interested in. A lot of competitiveness is of course based off numbers (Baylor is a pretty by-the-numbers school overall) so it helps to make some lists of schools you'd like to apply to based off a few different score options. A lot of people will make a list with schools they'd apply to with a 28, another for 32, another for 36+.... you get the idea. For Arkansas, a lot of people apply to regional OOS public schools that actually accept OOS students (some essentially don't, but the MSAR will help with that), or OOS public schools where you have family and can claim strong ties, and then private schools all over. A lot of it really depends on your scores so it's hard to give you a list of places to consider before you know how realistic the odds are.
-Matt
 
I'd say that getting a good score trumps an early test date. It will do the applicant no good to take an early test if he/she is not ready. Better for him/her to take the extra time and knock the test out of the park, than take it early and get a noncompetitive score. If an applicant is ready earlier, all the better, but that was not the sense i got from the original poster. BTW, I was in a similar situation, took the test in Sept and am now sitting on 4 acceptances.
 
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I'm just saying there is no cookie cutter hard and fast rule. An early-good score is best. But id rather have a good-late score than an early mediocre score.

Also, the insinuation that "nobody looks at" a late score simply isn't true.
 
RaptorECO said:
I'd say that getting a good score trumps an early test date. It will do the applicant no good to take an early test if he/she is not ready. Better for him/her to take the extra time and knock the test out of the park, than take it early and get a noncompetitive score. If an applicant is ready earlier, all the better, but that was not the sense i got from the original poster. BTW, I was in a similar situation, took the test in Sept and am now sitting on 4 acceptances.
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I'm very glad it worked out well for you (quite well), but statistically speaking it isn't a good approach. What you're omitting is that the amount higher your score has to be to catch attention after initial round offerings have already been made most places is considerably more than most students will gain from an extra few weeks of prep. What may have been an admitted 30-34 initially may go up several points to even be considered second or third round. Plus, the majority of schools have plenty of high score applicants coming in early, so taking the test late without some extenuating circumstance is usually viewed as the schools by being a procrastinator/unprepared. Once again, I'm not trying to attack your approach, it worked very well for you, but they used to pay me to know these things (those were the good days) and it's just not good advice overall. I would consider it more of an inspiring story of what can happen if you need to take the test late.
-Matt
 
If studying for an extra 2 months gets a guy from a 24 to a 30, its worth it. Otherwise I agree earlier is better. No further comment requested or required.
 
RaptorECO said:
If studying for an extra 2 months gets a guy from a 24 to a 30, its worth it. Otherwise I agree earlier is better. No further comment requested or required.
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Oh, that's certainly true. It's all about competitiveness overall and a 24 probably isn't going to cut it regardless of timing.

To Arkstudent: This is a good point. Make sure you take practice tests and such to gauge your progress, and if it's getting down to the wire and the score is low, Raptor's scenario in this post becomes your best option. The advice Milkman and I provided isn't as helpful if you're looking at a mid 20s score outcome, in which case it really isn't going to matter much how early you obtained that score since most schools won't like it. Push the test date back a little (you may be able to gauge how far based off the progress you've made score-estimate wise) if necessary to bring it up to competitive range. Ideally it won't come to that for you. Set at study schedule and stick to it the next couple months, take practice tests, and try not to freak out, it'll all go by faster than you think. :D
-Matt
 
I have a completely unrelated question. For those currently at UAMS, what is the atmosphere like for LGBT students? I plan on applying to UAMS this coming cycle. Would it be detrimental to "Come Out" on my application or during the interview? I don't explicitly mention my sexuality anywhere on my personal statement or activities, but I do want to talk about LGBT health issues in Arkansas. However, I wouldn't if it would be detrimental to an acceptance.
 
what is the atmosphere like for LGBT students?
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It's poor. Probably my least favorite thing about being in Arkansas is that even amongst the extremely educated, there is a much larger percentage of bigots than you'd find elsewhere. I'd keep your preferences to yourself, if I were you.
 
TipToad said:
I have a completely unrelated question. For those currently at UAMS, what is the atmosphere like for LGBT students? I plan on applying to UAMS this coming cycle. Would it be detrimental to "Come Out" on my application or during the interview? I don't explicitly mention my sexuality anywhere on my personal statement or activities, but I do want to talk about LGBT health issues in Arkansas. However, I wouldn't if it would be detrimental to an acceptance.
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That's a good, but tricky question. I believe the atmosphere overall is welcoming from a student to student perspective, and the LGBT alliance/interest group here sends out emails frequently enough I know they have quite a few meetings, but I don't know much about them specifically. I know less about the faculty atmosphere, but someone with that group would be better at answering that question. There are a couple people in our class that are pretty involved with it that would be more helpful than I am about overall atmosphere and how to get involved. If you'd like, I can reach out to them and see if they'd be interested in talking to you about their application process and what information they offered.

As far as the application/interview, I'll tell you what a premed adviser told me once: "Most medical school interviewers are old, white, and conservative. Plan accordingly." That's going to vary a lot from school to school but mostly from interviewer to interviewer. I can think of several interviewers here that would probably love the story and be interested in the insights, but I don't know them all. The only things that I've been told about statements and interviewing that I think are relatively universal truths and should be applied to your statement and interview: Don't try to pick a fight, don't try to make a political statement, and dress conservatively. These people are trying to picture you as a future physician representing their institution and the thought of political activists and preachers tend not to thrill them when it comes to working with patients. Passion is good, desire to improve things is excellent, and enthusiasm is always good. I think (hope) that as long as your statement and interview are about telling them who you are and why you want to go into medicine it will go just fine, but beyond that I'm not sure how to advise you on that. Some of the others might have better ideas.
-Matt
 
I don't plan on deliberately coming out or being an activist by any means. However, one of my major time commitments and activity throughout college has been work with the LGBT community, and I feel that if asked about my activities, leaving out this major component would be a huge disservice. For instance, there's so many LGBT health-related issues that I would love to discuss with them (starting with the fact that LGBT healthcare is pretty much nonexistent in Arkansas, with the only LGBT-friendly registered doctor being a pathologist, not necessarily someone who interacts with patients regularly.)

I really couldn't lie about it if asked because that's essentially hiding a factor of myself, and I wouldn't feel right about it because promoting LGBT healthcare IS one of the reasons I want to become a doctor. I mean, I know one of UAMS's professors has a gay son, so it can't be all that terrible, right?

Best case scenario: It doesn't matter, and adcoms see that I have something to offer that others may not.
Worst case scenario: I get told to go to Hell and a rejection.
 
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TipToad said:
I don't plan on deliberately coming out or being an activist by any means. However, one of my major time commitments and activity throughout college has been work with the LGBT community, and I feel that if asked about my activities, leaving out this major component would be a huge disservice. For instance, there's so many LGBT health-related issues that I would love to discuss with them (starting with the fact that LGBT healthcare is pretty much nonexistent in Arkansas, with the only LGBT-friendly registered doctor being a pathologist, not necessarily someone who interacts with patients regularly.)

I really couldn't lie about it if asked because that's essentially hiding a factor of myself, and I wouldn't feel right about it because promoting LGBT healthcare IS one of the reasons I want to become a doctor. I mean, I know one of UAMS's professors has a gay son, so it can't be all that terrible, right?

Best case scenario: It doesn't matter, and adcoms see that I have something to offer that others may not.
Worst case scenario: I get told to go to Hell and a rejection.
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Oh, I wouldn't deliberately hide things you have done and should be proud of, I was just trying to provide context for what has been provided as advice in general. I'm not aware of how the registry works, but I will let you know that we've had a few lectures now specifically about dealing with LGBT patients and stressing the differences and sensitivities involved in their care, and the ICM clinical curriculum definitely highlights nonjudgemental ways to ask your patients about things they may not necessarily have told anyone else yet (aimed primarily at LGBT patients). With that lens put on things and considering the faculty that put together these lectures and work with the curriculum to set up panels to introduce us to LGBT care, etc. I don't think only having a pathologist "registered" necessarily means that is all the LGBT friendly staff Little Rock has to offer, and I do think UAMS, at least curriculum wise, is sensitive to many of the issues you may be concerned about. With the relatively recent creation of the LGBT Healthcare Alliance and the Center for Diversity Affairs running some research to stress the need for better benefits and understanding of the healthcare issues in that community, I do think there is progress being made beyond what is currently available that you may enjoy being involved with.

I have a friend involved in the LGBT Health Alliance (program for students, faculty, etc.) that may be helpful for you to talk to and get a better understanding of what is going on at UAMS on that front and what they would recommend for interview and so on. I'm sure they'd be happy to talk to you, but let me know (send me a message or something) if you want me to ask them for their thoughts.
-Matt
 
Has anyone heard about scholarships (besides rural practice)? When are they awarded?
 
I think I got notified of mine in june or so. The scholarship committee meets from time to time and they sort of trickle out.
 
Who is the best person to talk to at UAMS to discuss specific questions about our application, what we can do to strengthen our application, what UAMS considers a good date for the MCAT? Or is that not something I should ask them about? Like I said before UCA has a terrible premed committee apparently and I'm kind of flying blind beyond what I have researched.
 
Tom South is the one you want to talk to. It's a good idea to get in touch with him to get your name "out there," but we can tell you just about anything you could want or need to know.

For strengthening your app, you want the typical activities which include volunteering, clinical experience, maybe a clinical job, etc. If you have some sort of club leadership, that's a nice bonus but certainly is not required. Research is always a plus but not as big here as it is at some places. You want a score back for your MCAT by late July, at the latest, so that other schools that don't have our weird application scheme will have your completed app available when they start offering interviews. That means you should take the MCAT by mid-June or so.
 
Finally got registered on here. I got accepted at UAMS and excited:)!!

My stats were 3.76 GPA and a 27 MCAT.
 
I feel I'm kinda weak in this area and I'm not sure exactly how to improve it. I have looked into a medical related job but as just a college student I don't seem to be qualified for any really.
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I agree that your clinical experience is weak. Shadowing is in a grey area and sort of counts, but you'd be much better off having some clinical volunteering and/or job experience. As employment goes, pharmacy tech is a decent-paying job that'll get you lots of useful experience and is easily accessible as a college student. Other tech jobs would be good choices, too, but some require more training than others and also present varying degrees of flexibility. Assuming a workable MCAT score, that appears to be the only weakness in your application, so fix it as soon as you can.
 
mrmatt said:
Has anyone heard about scholarships (besides rural practice)? When are they awarded?
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I found out by mail a couple days ago that I received one. I will most likely be attending somewhere else, though, so that one should be up for grabs once I make that official.
 
Arkstudent said:
Related to that, here is a little about me, I will prob have about a 3.81 gpa, major in biology, I'm in the honors college so I will have a minor in interdisciplinary studies (not sure if that helps at all). I'm in a fraternity and have been the philanthropy chair for 3 semester working with lots of local organisations but not plugged in much outside of that. Last summer I went to Africa for a little over month to help put in a well. Clinically experience wise I have shadowed a family practice doctor and I'm currently shadowing an ER doctor. I have also been doing research for two years and have recieved a NASA space grant and a university research grant.

Does shadowing really count as clinical experience or anything useful on the application or is that just for me to get a better feel for medicine? I feel I'm kinda weak in this area and I'm not sure exactly how to improve it. I have looked into a medical related job but as just a college student I don't seem to be qualified for any really.

As far as philanthropic work, I have helped organize several events but I don't have say one organization I can show that I have worked with consistently with for a long time, is that a problem?

Also if I was only really interested in going to UAMS (I know that sounds kinda bad) would it hurt me with their application schedule to wait and take the MCAT in early august after a summer of only studying and hopefully some medical related job or volunteering?

Thanks for all your help and time this has been a great resource!
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One thing I would say about studying for the MCAT over the summer is that you have to have some kind of support system/ accountability to make sure you study as well as to let you have something to compare your progress to.

If you can afford/have the time to take a class I would highly recommend it because it forces you to study and they do teach you good test taking methods. Otherwise, I would try to find some friends to study with and meet up once a week or something like that.

Obviously its whatever works for you but I just know way too many friends who planned on cramming all summer and then either didn't do it or were inefficient and ended up disappointed after they took the test.
 
I took the mcat at the end if summer. I bought several practice test and the Kaplan book used. I took a test before studying anything to see my weaknesses. I studied like it was a full time job and every two weeks took another practice test. Turned out well but I was in my sophomore year and not junior so I wasn't on some big application time crunch.
 
I am concerned that the new curriculum change will significantly affect board scores. What is everyone's thought? I am not sure that I want to be the guinea pig, only to see my step scores be drastically affected. Anyone that has insight into this, specifically, when they changed the curriculum a few years back, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
doctorjtg said:
I am concerned that the new curriculum change will significantly affect board scores. What is everyone's thought? I am not sure that I want to be the guinea pig, only to see my step scores be drastically affected. Anyone that has insight into this, specifically, when they changed the curriculum a few years back, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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To be honest, I don't really see how it could have a drastic negative effect. The vast (vast) majority of students teach themselves all of the material right now as it is, so the faculty's primary role right now is just writing test questions and providing material for you to teach yourself. Some classes have better material than others when it comes to preparing for NBMEs (and Step, I've been told) of course, but at the end of the day students aren't using lecture material to prep for boards, they're using review books, courses, and First Aid, things UAMS isn't in control of. In reality, none of that will change, you will still need to teach yourself most things (a simple truth in med school) and you will still be the one that determines how you prepare for Step. I posted a chart on page 6 showing average step scores over the past few years (including the range through the last curriculum change) compared to another med school with very similar stats that went to an "active learning" format. All these changes really do is cut out things students aren't going to anyway. Less lecture (almost no one attends lecture this year, and it was dropping pretty quickly as the year went on last year), and more time with TBLs and interactive labs and such (which in my opinion are a lot more helpful for reviewing what I've learned and applying it when they're well run). They're not re-inventing the wheel, this has been done elsewhere and they already do all the elements of it in some courses, they're just changing the proportions, eliminating some redundancy by doing fully integrated blocks, and trimming the fat for the most part. They've been testing out elements of it with us and more so with the M1 class, and they will be the group that are actually the guinea pigs in the sense that it's the M2 year being totally gutted while the M1 year is getting a mild remodel. I understand being a bit anxious about it, but I really don't think there's any risk for things getting worse score-wise and the newly accepted class won't really be the guinea pigs.
-Matt
 
MJM09 said:
To be honest, I don't really see how it could have a drastic negative effect. The vast (vast) majority of students teach themselves all of the material right now as it is, so the faculty's primary role right now is just writing test questions and providing material for you to teach yourself. Some classes have better material than others when it comes to preparing for NBMEs (and Step, I've been told) of course, but at the end of the day students aren't using lecture material to prep for boards, they're using review books, courses, and First Aid, things UAMS isn't in control of. In reality, none of that will change, you will still need to teach yourself most things (a simple truth in med school) and you will still be the one that determines how you prepare for Step. I posted a chart on page 6 showing average step scores over the past few years (including the range through the last curriculum change) compared to another med school with very similar stats that went to an "active learning" format. All these changes really do is cut out things students aren't going to anyway. Less lecture (almost no one attends lecture this year, and it was dropping pretty quickly as the year went on last year), and more time with TBLs and interactive labs and such (which in my opinion are a lot more helpful for reviewing what I've learned and applying it when they're well run). They're not re-inventing the wheel, this has been done elsewhere and they already do all the elements of it in some courses, they're just changing the proportions, eliminating some redundancy by doing fully integrated blocks, and trimming the fat for the most part. They've been testing out elements of it with us and more so with the M1 class, and they will be the group that are actually the guinea pigs in the sense that it's the M2 year being totally gutted while the M1 year is getting a mild remodel. I understand being a bit anxious about it, but I really don't think there's any risk for things getting worse score-wise and the newly accepted class won't really be the guinea pigs.
-Matt
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Thank you for the wonderful input. However, I read your posts on page 6 and didn't see any actual numbers regarding average step scores?
 
doctorjtg said:
Thank you for the wonderful input. However, I read your posts on page 6 and didn't see any actual numbers regarding average step scores?
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It was a chart, I never said the exact numbers, but they're plotted against UTMB, which went to a similar "active learning" curriculum about 10 years ago.
MJM09 said:
Here is the average step score compared to the national average and another medical school that switched to a similar "active learning" curriculum in 2001.
uamsstepscore.jpg
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Has anyone on the waitlist been admitted yet? Barring those who signed up for rural practice.
 
Does anyone know when scholarships go out? Have they already been handed out?
 
Scholarships, to my knowledge, have already been handed out. However, if those offered scholarships decide to attend another medical school, then the scholarships will be given to an incoming student.
 
Dear Alternates:

This is an important reminder to make sure your AMCAS contact information remains current throughout the summer. We use the database to generate emails and letters, and to contact you directly by phone when necessary.

There has been minimal movement on the Alternate until recently when we had a small flurry of activity. We expect a few more changes as we approach the May 15th AMCAS traffic rule. AMCAS instructs accepted applicants with the following:

In fairness to other applicants, when an applicant has made a decision, prior to May 15, April 30 for MD-PhD applicants, not to attend a medical school or program that has made an offer of acceptance, the applicant promptly withdraw his or her application from that (those) other school(s) or program(s) by written correspondence delivered by regular or electronic methods.
 
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