2011-2012 University of Chicago (Pritzker) Application Thread

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cyanide said:
I agree with what's been said so far about not repeating info that's already on your primary.

In my response, I mentioned three different aspects of my file that corresponded to three parts of the mission statement. I described my research interests (scholarship), my family background (diversity), and my service work (betterment of humanity). Even though my research and service experiences are listed on the primary, I wrote about them in different ways. For example, for research, I didn't talk about past projects I had participated in (since I already did so in the primary) - I talked about what I had learned from my minor and threw out some ideas I wanted to explore when doing research at Pritzker. (It probably helps if you mention how you'd like to take advantage of the potential for interdisciplinary work 😉 ) For volunteering, I focused less on what I actually DID (again, since this is described in the primary) and focused more on what I learned and what it made me hope to do in the future.

I used the second essay to talk about a hobby that I didn't describe in much detail in my primary. Actually, I more or less copy-pasted my Michigan "what are you passionate about" essay, haha.

Hope that helps a bit. Good luck everyone!
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Listen to her, she's a genius. 😉
 
rxnfiend said:
I submitted my primary 6/2 and was verified 6/7. I've gotten like 12 other secondaries already so I think I am just going to call them tomorrow and ask.
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I was verified 6/7 as well but I haven't received the secondary =(
 
Just as another data point, I submitted AMCAS on Friday 6/24 (so offices were closed) and received UChicago's email for the secondary on Monday 6/27.

I would suggest adding [email protected] to your contact list since that is the automated email address that sends out the secondary (so it doesn't get lost in Spam or Junk Email folders).
 
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I called again this afternoon, then received the secondary shortly after. They are still staggering the release of the secondary, so many people haven't been e-mailed yet. I was verified very early, so I don't think they're doing it by date of verification. Maybe it's alphabetical? For those who haven't gotten it yet -- don't worry! It should come soon.
 
Anybody else get this email?:

Hello,

We have attached some information to this email to help you get started in the process of exploring and seeking admission to the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. If you are considering admission in 2012, please read the attached information carefully. Also, please review the information in the link below regarding our efforts in community-based medical education....
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Came with a pdf with info about the school and a link to their Urban Health Initiative site. I haven't gotten the secondary yet, and I've been checking my spam folder, but I'm afraid I missed it or something.
 
i got that email yesterday. i have no idea how they sent it to my an email address not listed anywhere in my app. not sure if i signed up for a mailing list or something.
 
I got the community health email yesterday too. I haven't gotten the secondary either (I was verified on 6/8) and I'm also a little afraid it got deleted from my spam before I started actively checking there. I called yesterday though and they said they still haven't sent out all the secondary invites and that it could be as much as another week.

Not sure what was going on with that email though. They didn't bcc it which I thought was weird. At least the one I got didn't look like it was sent to that many people. I did a week-long volunteer thing with the AHEC in my state - that's the only thing I can think of that might have clued them into my interest in community health...
 
So guess I was the first one rejected. Got an email last night saying they decided not to pursue my application further. That was a quick eval by the committee on admissions. Good Luck to all those still involved.
 
acherymd said:
So guess I was the first one rejected. Got an email last night saying they decided not to pursue my application further. That was a quick eval by the committee on admissions. Good Luck to all those still involved.
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Bummer - sorry to hear that. Best of luck. Since I'm sure others will be curious, when were you complete?

Hold on to your butts - apparently application reviewing has begun. You'll probably hear back relatively quickly if you're complete.
 
My primary was sumbitted 6/1 verified the 3rd or 4th I believe.
Just completed my secondary on Saturday morning and recieved my last email Tuesday night at 7:41 central time. Was suprised they had reviewed it so fast. I'll just chalk it up as them not liking St. Louis Cardinal fans, not really but you never know who will think you will fit.
 
acherymd said:
My primary was sumbitted 6/1 verified the 3rd or 4th I believe.
Just completed my secondary on Saturday morning and recieved my last email Tuesday night at 7:41 central time. Was suprised they had reviewed it so fast. I'll just chalk it up as them not liking St. Louis Cardinal fans, not really but you never know who will think you will fit.
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Definitely don't worry about it. Take a look at MDApps - there are people that don't interview or aren't accepted to Pritzker but will interview/get accepted at Harvard, Yale, Hopkins, etc..

Good luck.
 
Yeah I'm not worried about it at all. Spent a year and a half trying to get a job as high school science teacher, so not worried about a rejection from a very good school. Like I tell others you only need one yes to start living your dream. Like many application processes everything is so variable, so just have to be patient and hope for the best.
 
I got my secondaries e-mail literally 3 hours after I submitted my primaries. I was a bit freaked out by the auto-bounce. I found it strange to find other people having problems getting the e-mail because a friend of mine also received the e-mail very fast.

Should I still try to get in the secondaries within 2 weeks even though my primaries are still being verified? I was hoping that I could take a bit of a break. =_=
 
Fanforever said:
Should I still try to get in the secondaries within 2 weeks even though my primaries are still being verified? I was hoping that I could take a bit of a break. =_=
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The 2-week rule is a good one to follow, but it's not a necessity. I was VERY slow with writing my secondary essays. I received the Pritzker secondary 6/30 but didn't submit until 8/19...then got the interview invite four days later, so I don't think it hurt my chances at all.

As with all rolling admissions schools, getting your stuff in early helps, but it's more important to have quality essays. 🙂
 
I was offered an interview at Pritzker yesterday. I submitted my secondary late last week on Thursday I think.
 
IndianaResident said:
I was offered an interview at Pritzker yesterday. I submitted my secondary late last week on Thursday I think.
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Hope to be able to meet you when you come to Chicago 🙂 Let us know what date you pick to interview.
 
IndianaResident said:
I was offered an interview at Pritzker yesterday. I submitted my secondary late last week on Thursday I think.
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Congrats! 🙂

My status just changed to: Applicant moved to MD screen. Keeping my fingers crossed!! :xf:I would LOVE to go to Pritzker!
 
Congrats on the interviews guys! I'm still waiting for my letters to be marked as received. AMCAS received them yesterday, and several schools that I have submitted secondaries to have received them as well. Hoping Pritzker gets them soon too!
 
IndianaResident.
congratuts again.
Did the school receive all your LORs and is your application complete
to get the interview invite ?
 
How strict is the 550-word rule on the first essay? It says "about" so is there a "margin of error" that's given?

I just wrote a rough draft and it came out to 570 words -- and my final versions are always longer than my drafts, so I'm trying to see how to cut this down.
 
daemon14 said:
How strict is the 550-word rule on the first essay? It says "about" so is there a "margin of error" that's given?

I just wrote a rough draft and it came out to 570 words -- and my final versions are always longer than my drafts, so I'm trying to see how to cut this down.
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Read Nick's post earlier in the thread. It isn't very strict from what we know.
 
they dont count your words, so doesnt really matter. just dont go too over
 
SteveJMarist said:
Read Nick's post earlier in the thread. It isn't very strict from what we know.
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Whoops, must have glanced over it. Thanks for the info! I actually pasted my 570 words into the web application and it seemed to take it, but I'll try to keep it around 550 in the end.
 
when i click on finalize on essay 1, it doesn't bring up the yellow text section to indicate it was finalized. then when I audit the application, it says it wasn't finalized. is there a bug? I'm using a mac. same thing on the "additional info" and "premedical advisor" sections.
 
Hey it worked for me, but I was using a PC. Did you check finalize and then save? I forgot to do this initially and it didn't work
 
diddy237 said:
Hey it worked for me, but I was using a PC. Did you check finalize and then save? I forgot to do this initially and it didn't work
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ya you're right. clicking save after selecting finalized made it give an error that you can't save after it is finalized, which forced it into realizing it was finalized. now the audit is all green. thanks!
 
congrats indianaresident!! i guess pritzker is insanely fast at evaluating apps. i submitted my secondary on sunday and got an invite to interview on tuesday! (first school, woohoo!)

p.s.: they only interview on mondays, tuesdays, and thursdays, and last i checked, the first available dates are the last 2 of those days in august.

p.p.s.: my "difficult situation" was nothing too dramatic or life-altering - it was literally just a day-to-day mishap type thing. i think they just want to see that you have strong character/decision-making skills and that you aren't ashamed to ask for help.
 
My letters are still marked as incomplete for some reason. I'm going to call them at some point in the day.

AddisonShepherd said:
congrats indianaresident!! i guess pritzker is insanely fast at evaluating apps. i submitted my secondary on sunday and got an invite to interview on tuesday! (first school, woohoo!)

p.s.: they only interview on mondays, tuesdays, and thursdays, and last i checked, the first available dates are the last 2 of those days in august.

p.p.s.: my "difficult situation" was nothing too dramatic or life-altering - it was literally just a day-to-day mishap type thing. i think they just want to see that you have strong character/decision-making skills and that you aren't ashamed to ask for help.
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Congrats!
 
I'm really excited about Chicago! I hope they review lots of complete files next week and let us know as quickly as the people above. :xf:
 
Anyone else still waiting on the secondary? I'd rather not bother the admissions office with a phone call if others are still in a similar situation.

(Primary processed on 6/3)
 
ZooeyGlass said:
Anyone else still waiting on the secondary? I'd rather not bother the admissions office with a phone call if others are still in a similar situation.

(Primary processed on 6/3)
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I'm still waiting, but my primary wasn't processed until 6/16.
 
SteveJMarist said:
My letters are still marked as incomplete for some reason. I'm going to call them at some point in the day.
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Yeah mine are marked as incomplete as well. It has only been a couple days though, so I figure it's just talking time to process everything.
 
SteveJMarist said:
My letters are still marked as incomplete for some reason. I'm going to call them at some point in the day.



Congrats!
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diddy237 said:
Yeah mine are marked as incomplete as well. It has only been a couple days though, so I figure it's just talking time to process everything.
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Keep in mind that LORs are processed manually. If they still haven't been marked as received after a week or so, I would give them a call. If it's only been a couple of days, be patient.
 
NickNaylor said:
Keep in mind that LORs are processed manually. If they still haven't been marked as received after a week or so, I would give them a call. If it's only been a couple of days, be patient.
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Yea, I'm going to give it until after the holiday. No use in rushing it.
 
Verified 6/3 and still waiting for the secondary too. Thinking of e-mailing them after the holiday. And I do have 7 other secondaries to work on meanwhile.
 
Submitted AMCAS 7/1 (won't be verified for a few more weeks) but got secondary today. Must be some dedicated people over there to be working on 4th of July 🙂
 
i'm having a hard time writing the "how do you fit our mission statement" essay. the mission statement is all "innovative" "exceptional" "promising" "scholarship".

how do you say how you fit that without sounding like a snob? blah.
 
capn jazz said:
i'm having a hard time writing the "how do you fit our mission statement" essay. the mission statement is all "innovative" "exceptional" "promising" "scholarship".

how do you say how you fit that without sounding like a snob? blah.
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Haha, if you're worried about sounding snobbish, you could always lean more toward the "promising" than the "exceptional" - that is, be humble about your accomplishments and stress what you are capable of doing/becoming because of your past experiences. Easier said than done though, right?
 
For the "How do you fit our mission statement" question, I addressed key words in the mission statement, namely "interdisciplinary scholarship," "diversity," and "leadership for betterment of humanity," and talked about how my experiences/interests relate to each and therefore make me a good fit. Do you guys think this would be a good approach?
 
soccerboy90 said:
For the "How do you fit our mission statement" question, I addressed key words in the mission statement, namely "interdisciplinary scholarship," "diversity," and "leadership for betterment of humanity," and talked about how my experiences/interests relate to each and therefore make me a good fit. Do you guys think this would be a good approach?
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👍 yes.
 
cyanide said:
👍 yes.
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For the letters of recommendation, they say they'd like two people who can speak to our ability to handle a rigorous science curriculum. I have a letter from a science class, 1 from non-science, and 2 from basic science research professors. Do you think this would meet expectations?
 
I lost the website where you can check your status... Can anyone post the link for it? Thanks!

Edit: Never mind, found it. And had a nice invitation to interview sitting there!!! 🙂 Still haven't received a single email from UChicago though. I really need to call them and figure out this situation.
 
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rxnfiend said:
I lost the website where you can check your status... Can anyone post the link for it? Thanks!

Edit: Never mind, found it. And had a nice invitation to interview sitting there!!! 🙂 Still haven't received a single email from UChicago though. I really need to call them and figure out this situation.
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Congrats!
 
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