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deleted261193
got my rejection email today. not too bummed because i already got accepted at a place i'd rather go. but i'm thankful to colorado that they actually rejected me (*cough*unlike nyu*cough*)
2011-2012 University of Colorado Application Thread
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Thanks for the info!
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Rejections on Valentine's Day seem a bit tactless to me. It's not a major holiday or anything, but seriously?!
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Me too, rejected today and that is fine...Colorado is a great school and perhaps I can come again to their application cycle next year, you never know...😉
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They're not the only ones. I think some other schools decided to show no love today. I don't take rejections personally, but it does seem like pretty ironic timing.
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AWWWWWW! I love you too Colorado!!! Oh what was that? You wanted to whisper sweet nothings into my ear? Thanks for the rejection. Hehe. Closure at last indeed.
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It's not only not a major holiday, but rather a non-holiday entirely. As someone who's been waiting to officially close the book on this school for a while, I appreciate getting the notice on Tuesday vs. Wednesday instead of a further delay out of reverence for a fake holiday.
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ditto
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Honestly, I had an adcom at another, more highly-ranked school, who was previously at CU, actually tell me she had no clue what CU was looking for. I doubt any of us could really give you a good synopsis. That said, my list of traits they say they find in their matriculants include:
Agreement b/w paper and interview
Knowledge of the profession (with experience to substantiate it)
Intellectual Curiosity
Maturity & Professionalism
Intellectual Capacity
Communication
Teamwork & Diversity
Some weaknesses mentioned for those who fail out post-interview:
Lack of self-awareness
Poor communication skills
Little insight into own attributes & skills
Nothing beyond what was written on paper already
Overconfident/Underconfident
Weak critical thinking
Weak writing skills
Limited clinical experience (they want 500+ hours)
Limited research experience (most matriculants have significant research background/accomplishments)
Lack of readiness/maturity
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CU is very specific and very open about the criteria they use to evaluate you AFTER you've been selected for an interview.
Interviewers score you on the following (direct from their web site):
1) capacity to think critically;
2) capacity for self-directed reflection and other personal attributes;
3) ability to communicate effectively;
4) capacity for flexibility;
5) personal experience that includes, but is not limited to, overcoming hardship, work history, multilingual and community service; and
6) knowledge of the profession which includes health care experience, research experience, success in prior careers and life experiences.
The entire adcom then ranks you, also looking at:
1) quality of the undergraduate institution;
2) major/degree of difficulty;
3) coursework load;
4) strength of science background in required courses;
5) other academic interests;
6) quality of the AMCAS essay;
7) quality of the Colorado essay; and
8) enthusiasm of the recommenders.
That said, it's much harder to get a handle on what it takes to actually land an interview at CU in the first place. All I can do is elaborate on my own application process...
Last year I was rejected pre-interview. This year I got a fairly early interview and was accepted just two days later. My two applications were virtually identical except for the following things:
1) MCAT score of 31 (up from 29 the previous cycle)
2) 300 hours of clinical volunteering (up from about 200)
3) I rewrote my Colorado essay, focusing on challenges I faced personally (part A) rather than experiences I've had that make me appreciate the challenges of others (part B).
So, what made the difference? In my case, I believe it was raising my MCAT score enough to put myself into the "evaluate further" range for IS students. I've heard CU really wants to see a minimum 30 MCAT. You've obviously met the numbers, so what could it be? Personal statement? Colorado essay? I think CU especially likes candidates who have overcome some kind of hardship. (That's even one of the post-interview criteria they use, see above.)
After my rejection last year, I attended one of CU's info sessions. It was interesting but not really all that informative because they no longer give personalized feedback.
I hope one of your other schools comes through for you but if not, I'd say you still have a great chance at CU next year. Let me know if I can help in any way.
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Sooooo.....now I'm super nervous. I just got rejected by NYU (well, who knows when it occurred since it was only a status update), which leaves me at a grand total of 0 acceptances. I just want to go to CU!!!!
Anybody know of anything I can do? Any hints on the type of chocolate the admissions office might enjoy?
EDIT: In all seriousness, I'm not above groveling.
Anybody know of anything I can do? Any hints on the type of chocolate the admissions office might enjoy?
EDIT: In all seriousness, I'm not above groveling.
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I'm in an unfortunately similar situation. CU is my only shot.
My interviews weren't very good though so I think I'll end up having to reapply.
Yeah I got my rejection on Valentines day also...Guess I have a position on a common misconception: One of your parents being an alumni of a medical school doesn't mean anything lol....Did get accepted to my top choice school though so I'm not the least bit upset 🙂
You can take my seat if I get into CO. I was acceptd to nyu on valentines day and will most likely be going there. These two schools were my top choices. 🙂
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I wish it worked like that...
Incidentally, NYU and CU were also my top choices. I interviewed at CU first (first interview date they offered) and when I was at NYU I thought to myself "this is basically CU in an inhabited area." I don't know why I thought them so alike but I did.
Hopefully I was wrong from an admissions standpoint....
Incidentally, NYU and CU were also my top choices. I interviewed at CU first (first interview date they offered) and when I was at NYU I thought to myself "this is basically CU in an inhabited area." I don't know why I thought them so alike but I did.
Hopefully I was wrong from an admissions standpoint....
Woww weird I interviewed at cu the very first day too (sept. 23rd)....I'm rooting for you to get in, the universe has a weird way of balancing itself out. Also, I know they discourage it, but email in a formal letter of interest directly to the director and dean. It can't possibly hurt you (unless there are errors in it), and you just may receive acknowledgement from them 😉
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Can anyone confirm CU's FAFSA code? Is it 004508?
Maybe I'm missing something but I can't seem to find it anywhere on the website...
Maybe I'm missing something but I can't seem to find it anywhere on the website...
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You sir/madame, made my day. I don't know why really, but your offer of support boosted my spirits. Bad week apparently. Anyway, thanks.
Though I'm not so sure how much I'm going to do something that is discouraged....I don't have a stellar track record with that kind of thing.
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I would caution you not to. Through a contact I have there, I do know of at least one person who was actually rejected after such a letter on the simple grounds that s/he seemed to want to know his/her status "right now" and the admissions staff decided it was best to give him/her a response. Needless to say, the response was not in his/her favor. I have personally tried to stay away from anything that might be misconstrued and I have been communicating pretty regularly with Ms. Patel and, to a lesser degree, Dr. Winn (in a capacity not involving my own application). A mentor who works closely with them advised me to be very cautious during this cycle for the reason above.
I should have worded it differently. "send in a letter of update/interest." For those of us who were invited to interview on Sept. 23rd, the very first day, I see justification in wanting to update an admissions committee with respect to what you are currently doing (if you did in fact follow through with what you stated on your AMCAS as well as new experiences) a solid six months ago. You are NOT writing them to ascertain your decision nor should you be hinting at any form of impatience. Rather, you should provide feedback of your interview experience at CU, your continued volunteer work/research, and finally conclude with the number of interviews you've had, but why your heart is still set on Colorado. I think a letter of "interest" is more effective and sincere if it is written as an "update/interest letter."
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Wow Really? This sounds like me If I do that well on the MCAT. but I am applying the 2012 cycle. Do you have a felony or something.. This is scary.
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deleted261193
i was rejected with similar numbers pre-interview (although im OOS). clean criminal record, fyi haha
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Yeah it is scary. 🙁 I have the same exact stats and interviewed in December, I can't imagine why he/she didn't get an invite! I'm IS too. Makes me nervous about hearing back in a couple weeks...
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As Dr. Winn has said, "The numbers don't really matter that much to me, but you guys keep asking for them, so here they are...." The average interviewee at Colorado has a 34 MCAT and a 3.83 GPA. If you're below that and OOS, you're not really in the "OMG! How did I not get an interview?!" category. If you're below a 30/3.58, even as an IS student, your chances at an interview are probably fairly low (those are approximately the 25th percentile of interviewees as I recall it from last year, although I am not currently looking at my notes from what Ms. Patel has reported). Further, CO looks for a lot outside of the numbers. Their review is very holistic. From what I can gather they are very focused on your journey. Your numbers are secondary as long as they're not low enough to bring anyone on the adcom any doubt. Ms. Patel has said that based on the research literature as long as each sub-score of the MCAT is above a "7" she can at least give you some consideration, since it is really only below the "7" mark that students' success in medical school is likely to be undermined (per the literature). (That said, I'd be fairly surprised if CU has ever actually accepted someone with a "7" in any subsection, although 8s are probably not that rare if everything else is incredible.)
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From what I know of CU, yes....to a degree. They matter but they value other things more.
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I actually thought it was pretty annoying that he kept saying this over and over.... He clearly wants to give the numbers to show that CU is "competitive" who does he think he's kidding?. He can't be honest about it and just move on, so instead he plays it up like numbers don't matter (which they do at CU) then looks cool like he's suave and doesn't care, then he gives them to you anyways...but only because WE want them.
I surely didn't ask for them, I found them online and in a bunch of other places, but he gave them anyways.
Maybe I was the only one who thought it was annoying lol
i have 3.2 gpa & 33 mcat, i have numerous C+s and i am oos.
safe to say i should not be considered a interview spot and actually CU is the only MD school that invited me for an interview out of 30 MD schools i applied, so i totally believe him when he says stat is not everything, even if i don't get accepted i will always consider CU to a higher standard.
safe to say i should not be considered a interview spot and actually CU is the only MD school that invited me for an interview out of 30 MD schools i applied, so i totally believe him when he says stat is not everything, even if i don't get accepted i will always consider CU to a higher standard.
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Here's my thinking on the numbers thing at CU. This is speculation of course, but I base it on everything I've seen and personally experienced through two application cycles.
You DO need to meet a certain baseline MCAT score -- my guess is that it's 30. You also DO need to meet a certain baseline LizzyM score (GPA * 10 + MCAT) -- my guess is that it's about 65. These stats are for in-staters. There's a good chance they use additional criteria for out-of-staters, I don't know. If you meet those "hard" cutoffs, then they will take a closer look at your application, especially your personal statement and Colorado essay.
Once they decide to interview you though, it's true that your numbers really DON'T MATTER AT ALL anymore... your numbers were good enough to land you the interview so at that point they completely put them aside and instead rate you on a rubric of "soft" qualities (see my very detailed post higher up on this page).
I find it interesting that the average interviewee at CU has higher stats (34 MCAT) than the average accepted applicant (32 MCAT). I think that definitely demonstrates that CU is serious when they say they care much more about which PEOPLE they are admitting than the NUMBERS they are admitting.
My first application cycle, I didn't meet their numbers cutoff. This cycle, I raised them enough to warrant a closer look. I landed an interview and rocked it. Both of my interviewers raved about my "very powerful personal statement" (yes, one of them used that phrase). I'm older (much much older!) so I have a wealth of life experience. I had fabulous letters of recommendation. And despite having below average numbers, I was admitted just two days after my interview. That's proof enough for me.
You DO need to meet a certain baseline MCAT score -- my guess is that it's 30. You also DO need to meet a certain baseline LizzyM score (GPA * 10 + MCAT) -- my guess is that it's about 65. These stats are for in-staters. There's a good chance they use additional criteria for out-of-staters, I don't know. If you meet those "hard" cutoffs, then they will take a closer look at your application, especially your personal statement and Colorado essay.
Once they decide to interview you though, it's true that your numbers really DON'T MATTER AT ALL anymore... your numbers were good enough to land you the interview so at that point they completely put them aside and instead rate you on a rubric of "soft" qualities (see my very detailed post higher up on this page).
I find it interesting that the average interviewee at CU has higher stats (34 MCAT) than the average accepted applicant (32 MCAT). I think that definitely demonstrates that CU is serious when they say they care much more about which PEOPLE they are admitting than the NUMBERS they are admitting.
My first application cycle, I didn't meet their numbers cutoff. This cycle, I raised them enough to warrant a closer look. I landed an interview and rocked it. Both of my interviewers raved about my "very powerful personal statement" (yes, one of them used that phrase). I'm older (much much older!) so I have a wealth of life experience. I had fabulous letters of recommendation. And despite having below average numbers, I was admitted just two days after my interview. That's proof enough for me.
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you are awesome, its so great that CU gave the chance to ppl below their avg, b/c only 3 of 8 cal school bothered to send me a sec app, its so awesome that you rocked the interview, i on the other hand stumbled and struggled during both of the interview, they were so nice about it tho, idk i just want the decision day to come already!!!
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I found that interesting as well! Although one caveat is that the average acceptedstudent has a 33, while the average matriculant has a 32, so the difference is a little smaller but the idea still holds true.
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Has anyone talked to Dr. Winn and asked about when the big day might be this year? Last year's big day of decisions was March 9th, so I have a feeling we'll all know something in 2 more weeks! If their last interview day was 2/13, I hope it comes even sooner. I've been waiting to hear something for 5 months now since I interviewed in September. This is going to be a long 2 weeks...
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bump
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More power to anyone who asks! I would imagine 2-3 weeks is probably right.
My guess is March 6th with a wait list position.
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I'm thinking March 7th on the wait list as well. Gotta love our optimism.
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Well Bob (I suppose at this point it is Drew Carey), I think I'll come in under everyone else with March 5 with a rejection.
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No you're not alone. It's not that I necessarily found his routine about numbers disingenuous, but that I found the alternative suggested more than a little patronizing. The idea that from 2 interviews and an application the admissions committee can somehow craft the prefect cohort each year (the one from the previous year being paraded around us most of the day) sounds a little like wishful thinking and a lot like one big placation. Either way you judge us, you're still doing just that.
Not to say I didn't enjoy CU or hope to go there (really hope!). And I liked Dr. Winn. That just grated a little.
EDIT: Looking back (as of a minute ago) I think I should have been a bit more clear: I'm absolutely on board with the idea that one way of judging applicants can be better than another, empirically or otherwise. I just don't think that CU's golden standard of "fit" can be assessed either way and that it is a platitude to suggest that not really looking at numbers can speak to how someone will "fit" better than numbers can.
Sidenote: apparently crtl-z works on these forums. Cool.
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I don't think there's really a cutoff for MCAT score. I have a friend who was accepted two weeks after she interviewed with a 27. Certainly below 30 doesn't help you, but it doesn't totally rule you out either.
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I'm not sure that you can really talk about the MCAT of the average interviewee and the average matriculant. It is my understanding that almost all schools have this differentiation due to the fact that there are some stellar MCAT scores that will get many interviews and acceptances and take a more "prestigious" school. This may not be true for some of the top schools, but it seems like every other school has about a 2-point drop between those two numbers.
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Agreed, which is why I didn't compare the average matriculant, I compared the average accepted candidate. I guess those were only 1 point off though, according to Music2Doc.
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Just to clarify, all schools interview people who are below the average MCAT score. This is because with an average there are people above and below. A slightly extreme example is if someone went to CU with a 38, then to get a 34 average the other person would have to get a 28. If you're instate, anything above a 30 should put you in the running in terms of numbers.
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I pretty much agree with this.
I also thought the "hippy granola" spiel was funny but also a little hokey.
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You guys totally boxed in my day! No worries, I think the 6th is definitely going to be the day of judgment.
Whoever is correct should be accepted. The others will be cast off into wait list limbo for eternity!
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I think everyone here understands this basic mathematical fact.
My point was that CU accepts people with lower average MCATS than they interview. This supports the contention that they are not numbers focused once you get to the interview stage.
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