2011-2012 University of Colorado Application Thread

BU Medical Sciences
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cocardguy said:
Someone from the Winn Lab told me. I don't think it is a rumor, the lab member told me he is looking for a new lab to work in because Dr. Winn accepted a job at Stanford.
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omg, are you serious?? its a joke right?:(
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kexy said:
He probably meant that private schools can throw more money/resources at him than Colorado (or any other state school) can afford to.
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Precisely. I'm not implying anything against state schools...I will be attending one. But you all have seen him. Has a 1 in a 1000+ personality and he got you all pumped about attending Colorado. If I had his abilities personality, research and clinicianship-wise, I would probably climb my way to the best place that I could find to make use of those talents. US News #5 for research? You can be certain that Stanford has the resources available to make his dreams come true. AND...they could probably use his personality as a Dean of Admissions to make a stronger plea to the best applicants in the country who had just been accepted to HMS, WashU, UPenn, JHU or UCSF. His personal story is a continual climb against the odds to attain wonderful and amazing things. This seems like it would be a natural step in that progression.
 
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bassvp said:
Precisely. I'm not implying anything against state schools...I will be attending one. But you all have seen him. Has a 1 in a 1000+ personality and he got you all pumped about attending Colorado. If I had his abilities personality, research and clinicianship-wise, I would probably climb my way to the best place that I could find to make use of those talents. US News #5 for research? You can be certain that Stanford has the resources available to make his dreams come true. AND...they could probably use his personality as a Dean of Admissions to make a stronger plea to the best applicants in the country who had just been accepted to HMS, WashU, UPenn, JHU or UCSF. His personal story is a continual climb against the odds to attain wonderful and amazing things. This seems like it would be a natural step in that progression.
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it took stanford less than two weeks to send me rejection letter after i sent them the sec app. If Dr. Winn really thinks fit is important, if he really thinks "fluff" is important in making a good doctor, i don't think he will be too happy with stanford, it mean the school is very number driven, research experience etc driven. the reason i was so shocked about this rumor was b/c of how different the stanford environment is to CU, i really hope this is not true. :(
 
cocardguy said:
Someone from the Winn Lab told me. I don't think it is a rumor, the lab member told me he is looking for a new lab to work in because Dr. Winn accepted a job at Stanford.
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This is rather disappointing if true... :(
 
Interesting rumor about Dr. Winn. I have not yet heard anything along these lines, but this would be unfortunate if it were true. Dr. Winn has been Assoc. Dean of Admissions for about 3 years, IIRC. He has done amazing things at Colorado and I would hate to see him go. What was the time-frame like from what you heard? I wonder if this means Ms. Patel will be acting assoc. dean for part of the cycle. That would be interesting. I get the feeling not a lot would change, though, as Ms Patel's admissions philosophy seems to be quite similar to Dr. Winn's. I would not expect any change in the high quality of CU med school classes on this alone. They have a pretty awesome admissions committee there.


On a side note, anyone hear anything about the proposed CU-Colorado Springs branch campus?!? I'd like to hear more about it. The details online at this point are pretty limited as it is an early work in progress. It would provide an avenue for an increase in class size as well as new rotation opportunities in a smaller (but still definitely metropolitan) area. I wonder if it will be up and running (even at only partial or testing capacity) by the time we graduate....
 
On a side note, anyone hear anything about the proposed CU-Colorado Springs branch campus?
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I've been following it closely, though as you say there's not much news yet. Interesting to ponder the potential increase in class size, though of course as Dr. Krugman pointed out recently, an increase in class size doesn't work well without a corresponding increase in residency positions.
 
LingoLaine said:
I've been following it closely, though as you say there's not much news yet. Interesting to ponder the potential increase in class size, though of course as Dr. Krugman pointed out recently, an increase in class size doesn't work well without a corresponding increase in residency positions.
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Well, it can if all those additional med school slots are filled by people going into primary care. That's one of the reasons there has been funding for several new public med schools lately - people in charge unhappy with the fact that so many primary care residency spots end up being filled by IMGs. Some doctors from new schools in Florida have stated this pretty clearly. But of course, it doesn't help if these additional people aren't wanting to go into primary care.
 
I thought I remember Dr. Winn saying that the C/S campus thing was more on a 5-year timeline rather than something we would experience.
 
Well, it can if all those additional med school slots are filled by people going into primary care.
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Hmmm... I thought the shortage was in primary care residency programs. According to Dr. Krugman (quoted in the Denver Post), "The reason we have a primary-care shortage is not because we have a shortage in medical schools." This comment was made in regards to the possibility of University of Denver opening up a new medical school.

Full article: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_19477872?source=rss
 
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I thought I remember Dr. Winn saying that the C/S campus thing was more on a 5-year timeline rather than something we would experience.
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The branch campus has gained a lot more traction just in the last couple weeks due to the "for lease" status of Memorial Health Systems.

list of articles from the Colorado Springs Gazette:
http://www.gazette.com/search/?q=memorial+health&fistype=site
 
LingoLaine said:
Hmmm... I thought the shortage was in primary care residency programs. According to Dr. Krugman (quoted in the Denver Post), "The reason we have a primary-care shortage is not because we have a shortage in medical schools." This comment was made in regards to the possibility of University of Denver opening up a new medical school.

Full article: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_19477872?source=rss
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That statement is correct, but based on various articles I've read and med school faculty I've spoken to, for a different reason. There are enough primary care residency spots, but medical graduates just don't go to them. And what exacerbates it is even those that do are more likely to end up in an area that already has a good supply of doctors (you know, a nice suburban area), so rural areas still don't have enough primary care physicians.

I'm gonna get flak for this, but more DO schools may be a better solution because DO students may be more likely to go into it with the idea already that they're going to be going into a primary care field (be it by choice or because their residency options are more limited). So it may sound bad, but if we have med schools like that at which there is an impression that the graduates will most likely have to go into primary care, they may be more likely to accept that and go there with the intention of doing FM, Peds, etc. That, and expanding residency programs with good benefits in rural areas. (And I mean really good - most people will take some monetary loss to live in an area they prefer).
 
Submitted recently. Out of state. No chance. Ughh.. I'd love to be in Colorado.
 
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LingoLaine said:
"Leaders of the two existing medical schools, the University of Colorado and Rocky Vista University, said the problem is not graduating more doctors. Instead, they said, leaders need to concentrate on finding primary- care residency programs in the state to continue their training and encourage them to settle here."​


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I'm not sure if you're disagreeing with what I'd said, but I'm still reading this as saying they need to get people in to primary care in the areas that it is needed.

"Many organizations already are trying hard to find doctors, nurses and assistants willing to locate in challenging areas. Payers such as Medicare and Medicaid will have to raise rates to primary-care doctors to make the field more attractive."


I know this is a bit outdated and from another state, but it shares the same point:
http://www.minnesotamedicine.com/PastIssues/PastIssues2006/June2006/PulseOutsourcingJune2006.aspx
"
The face of family medicine is changing in St. Cloud. This year for only the second time, all four slots in the St. Cloud Hospital/Mayo Family Practice Residency Program will be filled by graduates of foreign medical schools.
The St. Cloud program is like many in the United States that are increasingly relying on foreigners who graduate from international medical schools, U.S. citizens who graduate from foreign medical schools, and doctors of osteopathy to fill family residency positions because of a lack of interest among graduates of U.S. medical schools.
The St. Cloud program was launched in 1996, when medical student interest in family medicine was at a high mark. At the time, 73 percent of the 3,167 positions offered nationally were being filled by graduates of U.S. schools. In the 2006 match, U.S. graduates filled 42 percent of the 2,727 spots offered."






Also, see table 1(page 11) of the match results:
http://www.nrmp.org/data/resultsanddata2011.pdf
Family Medicine had 78 unfilled programs. If you discard "preliminary" PGY-1 positions, then the next highest was pathology with only 25.


And from Table 2:


Specialty: Family Medicine

Number of positions: 2,708

Number filled: 2,555

US senior: 1,301

US grad: 90

Osteo: 291

Canadian: 0

5th Pathway: 8

US IMG: 502

Non-US IMG: 363

Unfilled: 153




Clearly there are plenty more spots for US allo grads if they wanted them. Problem is they just aren't going into them.


I really think we need more schools that are STRICTLY primary care. I don't mean schools like UW that focus on primary care, but you could lie about your intentions then make use of the schools high standing to get into a competitive specialty residency. I mean schools that would only allow you to go into primary care specialties. That way, students who enter those schools will already know they are going there to become primary care physicians, and we can have them fill up those residency spots rather than have them trained elsewhere where there is less oversight on the quality of education (I heard a med school dean state in no uncertain terms that most caribbean schools were just extended USMLE prep courses that do a substandard job of training physicians, but just collect their money and do what they need to get the ones that actually graduate into just any residency). To some extent DO schools fill this niche (again, please no one flame me for this. I'm not pissing on DO schools, I'm just being real about the match statistics). But if it were said straight up from the beginning that if you come here you WILL go into primary care, that would make the process much simpler. Plus, then these schools should have much lower tuition (not the case for DO schools), which is psychologically more appealing than higher tuition which you are told will be forgiven.
 
I'm not sure if you're disagreeing with what I'd said, but I'm still reading this as saying they need to get people in to primary care in the areas that it is needed.
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I'm not disagreeing. That article came out today and seemed relevant so I thought I'd share.
 
I think that keeping talented students and their tuition money in-state is preferable to exporting that talent and money to other states/schools. There are more than enough talented students to fill three Colorado medical schools. A DU medical school with strong ties to a solid hospital (say, Swedish - just to throw one out there) would likely increase the number of residency spots across a wide range of specialties. I think it's crazy that CO has only one residency for most specialties. Although it takes awhile to get new residency programs up and running, I think that an institution committed to the effort could do a lot to improve the current situation. Colorado is not getting any smaller or less popular. What's the downside of having another school in CO?
 
As a non-trad, being able to pay off student loan debt is a huge deterrent to a career in primary care, which is a shame. However, for those of you who haven’t heard, there is one state that is getting its act together and I believe it will ultimately work.

I recently interviewed at KU, and I think Kansas has figured out an interesting solution to attracting more grads into primary care. The Kansas Medical Student Loan was set up to encourage more primary care docs to stick around in Kansas and I think it has some legs. The KMSL pays your entire tuition (even OOS), provides you with $2,000/mo while you are in school and then requires you to practice in an underserved community for each year you were funded. There are only four counties in Kansas that are not considered to be underserved so you have a lot of options and many that are still within driving distance to a major metropolitan area (if you still want to live in the city).

The idea of being able to be loan-free after 4 years of practice will be very appealing to many primary care folks, and it is a much better program than anything else I have looked into, including military and USPHS options. The loan does lock you into primary care, at least until you have met your 4-year commitment, but you can also apply for the loan at the end of medical school once you know exactly where you want to be and the payment will be applied retroactively.

It would be amazing if other states could follow along, and if the federal government is serious about addressing an impending primary care shortage they might get on board as well.
 
Does anyone know what the format is for the interviews at CU? An admissions officer told me they consisted of two 45 minute sessions with doctors who only had one's essays. A friend who goes there though said they were switching to the MMI system this year.
 
Does anyone know what the format is for the interviews at CU
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Two 30-minute interviews and the interviewers have everything except your MCAT and GPA, which they are given right afterwards.
 
BillyPilgrim said:
Does anyone know what the format is for the interviews at CU? An admissions officer told me they consisted of two 45 minute sessions with doctors who only had one's essays. A friend who goes there though said they were switching to the MMI system this year.
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I know they were considering switching to MMI this year but I think they decided to stick with two 30 minute interviews for now. My interviewers had my essays and activities section.
 
BluegrassDancin said:
I know they were considering switching to MMI this year but I think they decided to stick with two 30 minute interviews for now. My interviewers had my essays and activities section.
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Awesome. Thanks for the reply. Unexpectedly walking into an MMI would have been rough.
 
Another interesting program that I heard of that is attracting people to primary care is at Texas Tech. They offer a 3 year medical school program and pay for 2 of the 3 years of school. I think they also gave out Ipads to their first year class. You can never go wrong with the Ipad approach.
 
BillyPilgrim said:
Awesome. Thanks for the reply. Unexpectedly walking into an MMI would have been rough.
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Haha yeah unexpectedly walking into an MMI on a day when you're probably already nervous would not be fun. I'm sure CU would tell you your interview format beforehand if it were different. Either way, the best thing about the MMI is that you don't need to prepare at all. I did a couple this year and thought they were really fun.
 
BluegrassDancin said:
Haha yeah unexpectedly walking into an MMI on a day when you're probably already nervous would not be fun. I'm sure CU would tell you your interview format beforehand if it were different. Either way, the best thing about the MMI is that you don't need to prepare at all. I did a couple this year and thought they were really fun.
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I beleive they had a few voluntary MMIs that they did with a few interviewers (that they weren't counting, just for experimental purposes), but I just had 2 standard interviews - 1 faculty, 1 MS2. The faculty one was more conversational while the student had more set questions.
 
Sephiroth said:
I beleive they had a few voluntary MMIs that they did with a few interviewers (that they weren't counting, just for experimental purposes), but I just had 2 standard interviews - 1 faculty, 1 MS2. The faculty one was more conversational while the student had more set questions.
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i had one faculty and ms2, MS2 asked typical questions, but faculty asked all his prepared questions real fast and then went onto asking me some ethical, medicine law related questions, i had a hard time, but they were both so nice, that they really put me at ease.
 
Is there anyone with any idea about when the next round of acceptances might be going out?
 
Anyone know how many acceptances they plan to give out before March? I know the "majority" are given out in March and I heard second-hand that Ms. Patel stated only about 15-20% (which would be about 45-60), but that seems awfully low. Anyone able to confirm?
 
Anyone know how many acceptances they plan to give out before March?
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I'm not at all sure but from last year I think they gave out about 50% before March and the other 50% mid-March.
 
I hope the Ipad comes with some useful medical software pre-installed. Something tells me my late-night Angry Birds/Fruit Ninja addiction will come to a screeching halt in late July.
 
Looking forward to meeting a few of you at the interview day on Monday. I'll be the old lady with red hair.
 
I vote today's interviewees give us the low down after they finish up their visit! :nod:
 
Well, at the very latest, break begins this Friday, so we'll see if anyone on SDN hears anything this week.
 
Dear Santa,

I know it's really cold in Colorado today. But please warm CU's heart and convince them to release some acceptances. :thumbup:

Sincerely,
thewaitiskillingme

P.S. That way, I won't need to ask for a stethoscope for Christmas because the Alumni Association at CU always gives out those sweet Littmann's.
 
For those who have not yet heard, the University of Colorado has received a unanimously positive recommendation by the Task Force on the sale of Memorial Health System, the larger of the two major health systems in Colorado Springs, CO (the second largest metro area in the state). The Task Force unanimously voted to recommend the health system be sold to the University of Colorado. This may have a positive impact on CUSOM development over the next few years.

Here is the notice I received today as a member of the healthcare community:

This morning, the four representatives of the Colorado Springs City Counsel serving on the Memorial Task Force unanimously endorsed the proposal by the University of Colorado Hospital. This follows the unanimous recommendation of the nonvoting members on Friday.

The next step in the process is the Working Group will bring this recommendation to the City Council for discussion on January 9. If the full board approves the recommendation, the City will begin negotiations with the university in terms of a lease for 40 years, which could take up to six months. Then it is expected that the decision would be taken to the community in a special election.

Financial Summary of the University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) proposal:
· $74 million more than the front lease payment, a payment of $5.6 million annually for 40 years, a capital commitment of $1.12 billion during the term of the lease, plus a commitment of U.S. $3 million a year towards the establishment of a branch campus of medicine at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. In addition, UCH offers a profit sharing plan in which the city would have an estimated $2.5 million a year during the term of the lease.
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Now if they would just send that acceptance letter to xxxx My Street Dr., City of Something or Other, CO 8xxxx!
 
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It'll be interesting to see what that looks like. For now I'm still gonna have to sell my house in Colorado Springs. *shrug*
 
bassvp said:
It'll be interesting to see what that looks like. For now I'm still gonna have to sell my house in Colorado Springs. *shrug*
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Where are you moving to? Or you mean in terms of going to CU for school?

The branch campus, I believe, would only be clinical yrs anyway but I think it's great progress considering the ridiculous dearth of physicians we have in Colorado. (Mostly ridiculous because who wouldn't want to live in CO?! Yet El Paso County is classified as "medically underserved"!)

I think it will also do a lot to improve the pre-med programs at both UCCS and CC, since they will have a med school campus right there to work with instead of having to rely upon visits from CUSOM admissions reps.
 
Billiken09 said:
I vote today's interviewees give us the low down after they finish up their visit! :nod:
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Here's the lowdown...acceptances going out this week and then sometime in January. Around 30 people have been accepted. Those that interviewed today will be included in batch this week.
 
Black Knight said:
Here's the lowdown...acceptances going out this week and then sometime in January. Around 30 people have been accepted. Those that interviewed today will be included in batch this week.
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Sounds like that 15% figure is about right then for number of acceptances to be given out before March.
 
Black Knight said:
Here's the lowdown...acceptances going out this week and then sometime in January. Around 30 people have been accepted. Those that interviewed today will be included in batch this week.
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Thanks for the info and good luck!
 
Incredible interview day today! Crossing my fingers and trying to be patient until the end of March! (though what a fabulous Christmas present it would be to hear some good news this week)
 
Hoping for a call this week! Would let me cancel some trips I don't want to go on, but I may have to wait until March to figure it out. 34Q IS 3.99 Finance major. Hopefully my in-stateness will get me in early.
 
Black Knight said:
Here's the lowdown...acceptances going out this week and then sometime in January. Around 30 people have been accepted. Those that interviewed today will be included in batch this week.
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Thank you for the info!!!
 
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