2011-2012 University of Chicago (Pritzker) Application Thread

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Hi all,

I wanted to let you know about a great opportunity to (virtually) interact with a few of Pritzker's admissions folks. For anyone who's interested in participating, we'll be hosting a Twitter chat to answer any questions you may have about Pritzker (or you can follow along with others' questions).

It will be tomorrow 12/19 6-8pm CST. @UCPritzker (the main Pritzker Twitter account) and @pritzkerpodcast will be answering questions, and we'll be using the #AskPritzker hashtag.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about or have never used Twitter but would still like to join in, Pritzker has put together a nice primer on how to use Twitter (attached below). At the very least, you can go to http://twitter.com/#!/search/realtime/%23AskPritzker and follow along that way.

Cheers,
Ben
 

Attachments

If anybody is using the twitter chat tomorrow...would someone mind asking if the admissions committee plans on meeting this week or if I should give up hope on hearing until January? I am going to be flying during that time and won't be able to ask it myself.
 
indonacious said:
If anybody is using the twitter chat tomorrow...would someone mind asking if the admissions committee plans on meeting this week or if I should give up hope on hearing until January? I am going to be flying during that time and won't be able to ask it myself.
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I will make sure this is addressed, but you could ask it now if you want (make sure you include the hashtag) and it will show up tomorrow when we start tweeting.

That goes for any questions, really. Ask away! No need to wait.
 
Unexpected interview invitation this afternoon!

Complete 9/26
Hold 10/2
Sent pub Update 11/29
II 12/18
Interviewing late January

Spots available Jan 19, 23, 24, and 26.

:luck: to those still waiting!
 
indonacious said:
If anybody is using the twitter chat tomorrow...would someone mind asking if the admissions committee plans on meeting this week or if I should give up hope on hearing until January? I am going to be flying during that time and won't be able to ask it myself.
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According to the "official" Twitter, another round of calls is going out today.
 
Has it been established if your online status changes if you are continued or accepted -or if contact is phone and snail mail only? I couldn't seem to find a consensus about this and now that I am not where my mail is going...I figured I should try to figure this out.
 
percy said:
According to the "official" Twitter, another round of calls is going out today.
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i need to stop reading the pritzker twitter. every time they say more calls are going out my blood pressure rises. and i interviewed late oct so i probably still have awhile to wait.
 
imymemine said:
i need to stop reading the pritzker twitter. every time they say more calls are going out my blood pressure rises. and i interviewed late oct so i probably still have awhile to wait.
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Eh, you get used to it. I've officially waited longer than NickNaylor did for his decision. *tip of the hat*
 
imymemine said:
i need to stop reading the pritzker twitter. every time they say more calls are going out my blood pressure rises. and i interviewed late oct so i probably still have awhile to wait.
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percy said:
Eh, you get used to it. I've officially waited longer than NickNaylor did for his decision. *tip of the hat*
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Stay strong, I assure you decisions will come eventually. As I've mentioned before, I would recommend a weekly call to the admissions office if you've been waiting for more than eight weeks (assuming you haven't been doing so already).
 
i was reading the twitter. what was the chaos at regent park about?
 
MilkIsGood said:
i was reading the twitter. what was the chaos at regent park about?
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Regents Park is a large twin tower apartment complex that a majority of our class (and most classes before us, at least for their first year) lives in. In the past it was recommended by the medical school as a preferred housing option, but I'm not sure if that's the case anymore. It's usually the "default" living arrangement because it's well-known and a decent place to live (though pricey); though there's a ton of private and university-owned housing options in Hyde Park, most people don't want to make those arrangements without seeing places first and visiting specifically to check out housing isn't always possible. With Regents, you know what you're getting and can rest-assured that you'll be living in a respectable place without ever having to visit (compared to, for example, one of the MANY walk-ups and other smaller apartment buildings that are available, which are extremely variable and, unless you look at a particular apartment beforehand, you don't really know what you're getting).

The buildings were recently purchased by a new company that is somewhat infamous in Hyde Park (Mac Property Management) due to the fact that it alone owns about a third of the real estate in the neighborhood. In the course of the transition, they fired all of the contracted, unionized staff with no advance notice and, consequently, pissed off a fair majority of the residents. The unions the workers were members of demonstrated outside of the building for a solid month or two which included, among other things, a comical large inflatable rat posted outside of the complex's main driveway. As of last week all of the staff had been rehired, but IMO the damage has already been done. This is probably the "chaos" you're referring to.

Does this mean anything to you as a potential future student? No, not really. I'm sure there will be PLENTY of information on housing later (both at revisit and probably from people the post here), so this isn't something to worry about now.

If you're curious, here's a link to the Regents website (http://www.regentsparkchicago.com/) and a link about part of the firing and rehiring that occurred (http://www.chicagoteamsters.org/news/2011/121211_L727_RegentsParkStrike.html).
 
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As luck would have it, it appears you can be taken off the hold list for interview. So for those this year or even in future applications, there is always hope!

I am super excited 😀
 
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i second coming off hold to get an interview. got on a few days ago and it was a pleasant surprise 🙂 i thought my ship mighta sailed on this one. don't lose hope, folks!
 
darkjedi said:
Thanks for all your words of support Nick! I'm sure it has kept more of us than we care to admit sane, haha.
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I'm glad it's helpful for you. I remember being immensely thankful last year for the students that posted regularly on their school's SDN thread so I wanted to be sure and pay it forward as a current student.

Happy holidays, and enjoy your early Christmas present!
 
I have a question. I interviewed at Pritzker in early December. I just randomly logged in to my secondary page and saw that my application status has changed from "Interview Complete" to "Application Process Complete". Is there any special significance to this? I know that a lot of people get a similar message when they are rejected pre-interview, but is it the same post-interview?
 
HeKilledKennedy said:
I have a question. I interviewed at Pritzker in early December. I just randomly logged in to my secondary page and saw that my application status has changed from "Interview Complete" to "Application Process Complete". Is there any special significance to this? I know that a lot of people get a similar message when they are rejected pre-interview, but is it the same post-interview?
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+1. Hoping this isn't a rejection...

Edit: At least on mine, it looks like absolutely nothing else on the page has changed -- including the history tab. Not sure of the significance. . .
 
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HeKilledKennedy said:
I have a question. I interviewed at Pritzker in early December. I just randomly logged in to my secondary page and saw that my application status has changed from "Interview Complete" to "Application Process Complete". Is there any special significance to this? I know that a lot of people get a similar message when they are rejected pre-interview, but is it the same post-interview?
Click to expand...

same situation for me
 
HeKilledKennedy said:
I have a question. I interviewed at Pritzker in early December. I just randomly logged in to my secondary page and saw that my application status has changed from "Interview Complete" to "Application Process Complete". Is there any special significance to this? I know that a lot of people get a similar message when they are rejected pre-interview, but is it the same post-interview?
Click to expand...

virelangue said:
+1. Hoping this isn't a rejection...

Edit: At least on mine, it looks like absolutely nothing else on the page has changed -- including the history tab. Not sure of the significance. . .
Click to expand...

imymemine said:
same situation for me
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Rejections generally aren't given out post-interview, so I doubt that's the case. At the worst, you've been continued. I think you're probably overanalyzing it, though. Don't assume anything until you hear directly from the school.
 
Hey guys,

I just received clarification about the "application process complete" status from someone at the admissions office. This status is "benign" and means nothing; it's not indicative of a pending decision or anything like that. Your status will remain that until a final decision is made.

Have a very merry Christmas!
 
NickNaylor said:
Hey guys,

I just received clarification about the "application process complete" status from someone at the admissions office. This status is "benign" and means nothing; it's not indicative of a pending decision or anything like that. Your status will remain that until a final decision is made.

Have a very merry Christmas!
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Thank you! Enjoy yours as well 🙂
 
For anyone who has sent updates via email, do they typically respond telling you that they've received your update or will some sort of notification appear on the status page?
 
For me, the change to "Application process complete" on my status page did correspond with me getting continued. This could just be a coincidence, however.

I was expecting this after waiting so long to hear back after my interview (end of sept.), but it's still a bummer.
 
indonacious said:
For me, the change to "Application process complete" on my status page did correspond with me getting continued. This could just be a coincidence, however.

I was expecting this after waiting so long to hear back after my interview (end of sept.), but it's still a bummer.
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It's just coincidence. Someone high up in the admissions office assured me that the "application process complete" status has nothing to do with your final decision.

I would encourage you to keep the office updated with what you're doing if Pritzker is one of your top choices. The office looks very favorably on updates: grades, research, ECs, etc.. Those sorts of things become very important as the committee begins to offer acceptances to people that were initially continued.
 
Anyone off the continued list get accepted yet? Or does this happen later?

Happy New Year everyone 🙂
 
I've been incognito, but was accepted early last month! Withdrew my other acceptances. If I attend the same school as NickNaylor, did I vicariously score a 15 verbal? If so, I need to update my MDApps...
 
LeoGer said:
I've been incognito, but was accepted early last month! Withdrew my other acceptances. If I attend the same school as NickNaylor, did I vicariously score a 15 verbal? If so, I need to update my MDApps...
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Awesome - congratulations! So does that mean you've committed (or still holding out love for Mayo? I remember you were in pretty deep on that thread...)?
 
Hey everyone! Can anyone tell me about the simulation facilities available at Pritzker? I don't remember hearing about them during my interview tour. Happy new year!
 
drdeezy said:
Hey everyone! Can anyone tell me about the simulation facilities available at Pritzker? I don't remember hearing about them during my interview tour. Happy new year!
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The sim center isn't something that's used in the pre-clinical years. All of our patient interactions happen at our "Clinical Performance Centers," which are essentially mock up clinics.

Some of the third and fourth years that I've talked to have said that, depending on the rotation, they'll do some work in the centers. I don't know much beyond that.
 
Thanks NickNaylor! Any 3rd or 4th years here that can give some information about the sim center?
 
Dude, its a sim center. It has some machines and mannequins you can practice with. Some are adults, some are children, maybe even pregnant women. What else is there to know?
 
ok chicago. tell it to the southerner. i will be interviewing fairly soon. i had considered renting a car, but i of course don't do snow. is there typically snow on the streets in jan?
 
fizzgig said:
ok chicago. tell it to the southerner. i will be interviewing fairly soon. i had considered renting a car, but i of course don't do snow. is there typically snow on the streets in jan?
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My understanding is that TYPICALLY there's snow by now. However, this winter has been far from typical: I think we've had maybe one inch of snow and, for the most part, it's been pretty mild temperature-wise. Depending on when you're interviewing (i.e., next week vs. the end of the month), you may be snow free. I don't think we're forcasted to get any snow in the next week or so.

Unless you're going to be staying at a hotel far away and/or are averse to using mass transit, a rental car really isn't necessary. If you want more info shoot me a PM and I can try and help you out.

By the way, I'm from the south (Texas) and have had no problem driving on ice/snow (in Wisconsin). I've also heard that the city does an excellent job of clearing the roads and making sure they're drivable.
 
drdeezy said:
Thanks NickNaylor! Any 3rd or 4th years here that can give some information about the sim center?
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I agree with Wongo above. In my personal opinion, a sim center really shouldn't be something that sways your decision. I know most of the top medical schools make it a point to show you their fancy multi-million dollar sim centers, but, in reality, I doubt you'll be using them to any significant degree as a pre-clinical student no matter where you go. Even on rotations their use will probably be limited: those resources tend to be restricted to residents, fellows, etc.. I know everyone's looking for certain things in their school, but as a tidbit of personal advice, I'd suggest to you to focus on the larger things that will actually impact your education and future (curriculum, grading, location, cost, etc.) rather than minor details that really won't make much of a difference for you.

There's a third year that posts occasionally that might be able to provide more info, but he goes long stretches without coming on so you may not hear anything.
 
Re: sim center: There is a two-site Clinical Performance Center here that is used mostly for simulated patient encounters and objective structured clinical exams (OSCEs) associated with some clerkships during the third year, but there is also a mannequin that I think is used for some BCLS training as well as more advanced scenarios. I've never used it. There is also one in the hospital; I've never used that one either. Most of the training here is "on-the-job" with real patients; workshops are sprinkled in here and there during some clerkships for specific scenarios. Apparently NorthShore has a ridiculous sim center that is used to train surgeons, intensivists, etc. They say it's one of the most advanced in the midwest, if not the country; again, haven't used it so can't really say, but we got a tour during third-year orientation and it looked ridiculously badass.

Re: snow: It should have snowed much more by now. The weather we're getting in Chicago is very unusual for this time of year. The city does handle snow removal surprisingly well, but for some reason they tend not to hit Hyde Park as much, so the streets can get pretty crappy (hopefully not anytime soon). I'm with NickNaylor: stick with mass transit. You don't want to be worrying about driving directions and weather and parking and tow zones and rental returns when you're interviewing.
 
NickNaylor said:
Awesome - congratulations! So does that mean you've committed (or still holding out love for Mayo? I remember you were in pretty deep on that thread...)?
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Thank you. I'm waiting on Yale (top choice) and Mayo.
 
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