2011-2012 University of Illinois Application Thread

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UMed acceptance! Officially attending :)

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Thanks. This should put to rest the idea that the Chicago campus completely fills up in February and that there's no chance of getting in with a late acceptance. Congrats on your admission!

Yeah, I think it is more of a fluctuating acceptance. Chicago spots probably periodically open up throughout the season.
 
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Yeah, I think it is more of a fluctuating acceptance. Chicago spots probably periodically open up throughout the season.

I would think, based on my experience, it really has nothing to do when you apply and nothing to do with spots opening up. I think where you live/grew up is the biggest placement decision. I was accepted in December... ranked Chicago first, Champaign second, and Peoria third: got placed in Rockford (live 40 miles west of Rockford).

At that time there were still many spots open at each site.

Oh... and I mentioned in my secondary and my interview I had no interest in Primary care and preferred my sites because of Research possibilities.. .which made my placement all the more confusing to me.

I'm thinking that they use the "magic 8 ball" approach for placement.
 
I would think, based on my experience, it really has nothing to do when you apply and nothing to do with spots opening up. I think where you live/grew up is the biggest placement decision. I was accepted in December... ranked Chicago first, Champaign second, and Peoria third: got placed in Rockford (live 40 miles west of Rockford).

At that time there were still many spots open at each site.

Oh... and I mentioned in my secondary and my interview I had no interest in Primary care and preferred my sites because of Research possibilities.. .which made my placement all the more confusing to me.

I'm thinking that they use the "magic 8 ball" approach for placement.

Location plays into the decision, but I live like 20 minutes from Chicago, and I was not placed there (I was accepted in December, but I live 1 hour 50 minutes from Rockford and 2 hours and 30 minutes from both Peoria and Urbana). It seems like everyone in the first batch chose Chicago and was given Chicago, so there is a temporal factor. My issue is that they are pretty coercive about the process. Don't get me wrong; I truly appreciate my acceptance, but I can't imagine why they wait until after May 15th to consider campus transfers unless they are worried about filling up the other campuses. I don't know if this is their intention, but it makes it seem like they want you to give up your other acceptances before they give you the bad news that you were not awarded your campus transfer (too bad you didn't go to the other schools you gave up because now you are in a location you dislike for four years). I am also hoping to do neuroscience research throughout medical school, so this has made things super complicated. I am one of those rare cases that has a sick parent (MS hence the reason I am interested in Neuro). I have no idea what to do because being two hours away makes helping out essentially impossible. I don't know whether to take the gamble on UIC or to just go to a location where I will be more comfortable and lament the inability to help my parents.
 
really liked the school and thankful for an acceptance.. but this price tag for OOS is so enormous.. it literally makes it the most expensive medical school in the US... and its highly likely it'll be all loans..

wouldnt that mean you're 400k in debt when you graduate?
 
really liked the school and thankful for an acceptance.. but this price tag for OOS is so enormous.. it literally makes it the most expensive medical school in the US... and its highly likely it'll be all loans..

wouldnt that mean you're 400k in debt when you graduate?
Actually, if you factor in interest it is much more than 400k. Assuming that you undertake a 4 year residency, the bill by the time your 8 years of combined school and residency is finished will be nearly $700k. Remember, as a graduate/professional student you will not qualify for subsidized loans. The majority of your loans will also be GradPlus loans, with an interest rate of 7.8%. The interest on each years loans starts as soon as they're dispersed. So by the end of residency, the nearly 100k you took out your first year balloons to about 160k.
 
well that doesnt sound too promising right now does it...
 
Actually, if you factor in interest it is much more than 400k. Assuming that you undertake a 4 year residency, the bill by the time your 8 years of combined school and residency is finished will be nearly $700k. Remember, as a graduate/professional student you will not qualify for subsidized loans. The majority of your loans will also be GradPlus loans, with an interest rate of 7.8%. The interest on each years loans starts as soon as they're dispersed. So by the end of residency, the nearly 100k you took out your first year balloons to about 160k.

if youre out of state and this is the only school you get into, you might as well reapply. no point whatsoever in going here for OOS.
 
Is there any page for U of I urbana folks looking for roommates? I am going down on Friday to check out a 2 Br, 2 Ba place that runs 575 with water, garbage, recycling, and off-street parking included. There's no gaurantee that I will end up here since I am waiting to get off another school's wait list, but I will probably hold a room in any case
 
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Actually, if you factor in interest it is much more than 400k. Assuming that you undertake a 4 year residency, the bill by the time your 8 years of combined school and residency is finished will be nearly $700k. Remember, as a graduate/professional student you will not qualify for subsidized loans. The majority of your loans will also be GradPlus loans, with an interest rate of 7.8%. The interest on each years loans starts as soon as they're dispersed. So by the end of residency, the nearly 100k you took out your first year balloons to about 160k.

Technically you will start to pay off the loans as a resident, and depending on how austere you are willing to live I imagine you could pay off a fair amount in four years, thus avoiding the huge interest. I'm on a military scholarship (and also IS), but if I weren't, there is a pretty awesome loan forgiveness plan that will forgive most of your government loans after having worked for 10 years in public service. You can do a graduated payment plan such as 10% of whatever you make for 10 years and have all government loans forgiven 4-6 years after residency (assuming your residency is at a nonprofit hospital). To turn down a med school with no other acceptances is foolish when there are ways around loans. 10% of what you make for 10 years is totally doable, and all nonprofit hospitals (a ton of university hospitals are nonprofit) will count as public service. Sounds like a steal to me. You probably would only pay a total of 100,000 off in that period of time( though I haven't done the math as the program is not a possibility for me)
 
Technically you will start to pay off the loans as a resident, and depending on how austere you are willing to live I imagine you could pay off a fair amount in four years, thus avoiding the huge interest. I'm on a military scholarship (and also IS), but if I weren't, there is a pretty awesome loan forgiveness plan that will forgive most of your government loans after having worked for 10 years in public service. You can do a graduated payment plan such as 10% of whatever you make for 10 years and have all government loans forgiven 4-6 years after residency (assuming your residency is at a nonprofit hospital). To turn down a med school with no other acceptances is foolish when there are ways around loans. 10% of what you make for 10 years is totally doable, and all nonprofit hospitals (a ton of university hospitals are nonprofit) will count as public service. Sounds like a steal to me. You probably would only pay a total of 100,000 off in that period of time( though I haven't done the math as the program is not a possibility for me)
I agree with you wholeheartedly. A bird in hand is worth 20 in the bush when it comes to being accepted to medical school, even if it is as expensive as U of Illinois. There are many ways around the loans available. As mentioned you could go the non-profit hospital route, the MSP program, the military scholarship, and the health services corp. Also there is a military reserve program that will pay you 2k a month during residency and the 40k a year in loan forgiveness up to 250k (which is a program I plan on taking advantage of).

You probably won't be able to make much of a dent in your loan during residency, other than to slow down the growth in interest. Residents aren't exactly swimming in money. The interest alone would be around 35k a year based on the approximately 500k your loan would have grown to by the time you're a resident ( and a resident only makes 50k a year before taxes). But if to work the problem, you can usually find a solution.
 
Actually, if you factor in interest it is much more than 400k. Assuming that you undertake a 4 year residency, the bill by the time your 8 years of combined school and residency is finished will be nearly $700k. Remember, as a graduate/professional student you will not qualify for subsidized loans. The majority of your loans will also be GradPlus loans, with an interest rate of 7.8%. The interest on each years loans starts as soon as they're dispersed. So by the end of residency, the nearly 100k you took out your first year balloons to about 160k.

I think you are mistaken as to how students loans are charged. Usually loans are charged interest by the year, not the month (though I'm not positive in this case, so you might want to check). So if you take out 400,000 over the course of 4 years, at 8 percent interest, you'll owe around 500K by the end of 4 years. Now assuming you can throw down the interest payments while you're a resident, that number wont change until you're a practicing independent physician. Then if you figure that you'll specialize (I think most people do with nurse practitioners and PAs taking over the primary care fields), you can expect to make anywhere from 150K-600K a year. You'll be debt free and ballin by your mid 30s as long as you're not stupid with your money. And also keep in mind that this interest rate is subject to change (it's a major campaign issue in congress and the presidency) and Obama is trying to keep it at 3.4 percent. If you got in and didn't take it because of fear of debt, you need to really plan out your financial situation before you finalize that decision. Also keep in mind getting Illinois residency would not be impossible (though you will have to deal with paying taxes to a govt that is TERRIB LE with their money haha)
 
by this logic, if you are OOS, then there is no point in even applying

you have a point. i should have looked at costs before i applied. also, i assumed that IL is like normal states, where you get in state tuition after 1 year.
 
I think you are mistaken as to how students loans are charged. Usually loans are charged interest by the year, not the month (though I'm not positive in this case, so you might want to check). So if you take out 400,000 over the course of 4 years, at 8 percent interest, you'll owe around 500K by the end of 4 years. Now assuming you can throw down the interest payments while you're a resident, that number wont change until you're a practicing independent physician. Then if you figure that you'll specialize (I think most people do with nurse practitioners and PAs taking over the primary care fields), you can expect to make anywhere from 150K-600K a year. You'll be debt free and ballin by your mid 30s as long as you're not stupid with your money. And also keep in mind that this interest rate is subject to change (it's a major campaign issue in congress and the presidency) and Obama is trying to keep it at 3.4 percent. If you got in and didn't take it because of fear of debt, you need to really plan out your financial situation before you finalize that decision. Also keep in mind getting Illinois residency would not be impossible (though you will have to deal with paying taxes to a govt that is TERRIB LE with their money haha)


Obama is trying to keep it at 3.4 percent for SUBSIDIZED Student Loans. I did the math 500k would be about 32k in interest per year while in residency, your not going to be able to pay that on a 50k residents salary. If you borrow maximum cost of attendance youll have to pay $7,500 a month on a 10 year repayment plan to pay it down. A pretty hefty sum. Though if you can make 250K starting as an attending ( a lofty sum starting out) then you can pay it back. it is possible, it just tkaes serious discipline and sacrafice.
 
I made an excel spreadsheet so i thought id share with fellow out of staters, borrowing maximum cost of attendance (95,120,120,95) would mean owing 509k at the end of medical school, and 650k at the end of a 5 year residency, assuming you do a 15% income based repayment option in residency. to pay back the 650K you pay back 7,500 a month.

Still if this is your only acceptance its worth going. Public service loan forgiveness may exist when you get to it and who knows, maybe the federal govt will bail us all out one day.
 
you have a point. i should have looked at costs before i applied. also, i assumed that IL is like normal states, where you get in state tuition after 1 year.

The cost is really too high, especially for OOS and it makes a lot of sense to allow OOS student to transition to IS after the first year. It certainly makes it a difficult situation for many qualified applicants.
 
The cost is really too high, especially for OOS and it makes a lot of sense to allow OOS student to transition to IS after the first year. It certainly makes it a difficult situation for many qualified applicants.

I definitely see your point. I know certain schools do this, and I think it is a considerate measure to ensure that students don't specialize for the soul purpose of eliminating debt. That said...the state is terribly disorganized, and I imagine the school does this to maintain the quality of the medical education. I don't think it is the most idealistic decision, but it is a pragmatic solution.

I was told about the public service loan forgiveness program at another interview, and I did a little research to see how doable it is. It is CERTAINLY doable. You may have to alter the places you consider for work/ residency though. Some of the best hospitals are nonprofit, and some of the best hospitals are for-profit. Mayo is for-profit, while Barnes-Jewish(WashU) is nonprofit. It would not limit your quality of residency, but it may limit the locations you could consider for a strong residency. The only limit is 10 years of continuous work in "public service" organizations, which includes nonprofit hospitals. You can combine this program with a 10% graduated monthly payment on your loans. 10% of what you make during residency, and for 4-6 years after residency is not bad at all. Your loans will be forgiven at the age of 26 WITHOUT any huge sacrifice in quality of life. As I said, I am going military which is more time, but a higher quality of life on average(in my opinion). But this other option is very doable for any OOS who need it. Here is a link if you are interested:

http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/PSF.jsp
 
Do you know if that is an automatic waitlist or if they are going to have one more cut?

I think they'll have one more cut before the waitlist is made, according to what happened last year. Still languishing in 'Decision Pending' land, since Dec.
 
I think they'll have one more cut before the waitlist is made, according to what happened last year. Still languishing in 'Decision Pending' land, since Dec.

Is that a cut only or will they also hand out acceptances?
 
I have been placed on the UPR Track but was really hoping for the Chicago Track. The research opportunities are more plentiful and I love Chicago. I do plan on petitioning for a track change, but if it does not work out, I have thought about giving up my spot and enroll at Chicago Medical School (Rosalind Franklin University). It is not in Chicago, but much closer to the city than Urbana, Peoria or Rockford. I am really not keen on living in a rural area!!!

Can someone give me their thoughts on this to help me in my decision making?
 
I have been placed on the UPR Track but was really hoping for the Chicago Track. The research opportunities are more plentiful and I love Chicago. I do plan on petitioning for a track change, but if it does not work out, I have thought about giving up my spot and enroll at Chicago Medical School (Rosalind Franklin University). It is not in Chicago, but much closer to the city than Urbana, Peoria or Rockford. I am really not keen on living in a rural area!!!

Can someone give me their thoughts on this to help me in my decision making?

RFU is one of the more controversial schools out there. There's definitely a stigma because they were put on probation a few years back by the LCME (2004, if I remember right). When I was applying, I did research and looked into it, and everything I found indicated the probation was due to financial/administration issues, not due to the curriculum. But there is a stigma out there among people who haven't read the LCME report, if that sort of stuff matters to you. IMO, the CMS does a fine job of graduating well-trained physicians.

If curriculum matters to you, look up RFU's match lists and talk to current students about the average board scores there. If avoiding living in "rural" areas is really more important to you than anything else, then your decision is pretty easy. You'll have the opportunity for a good education either way, depending on how much you put into it. But I wouldn't recommend making a decision on location alone, unless you're convinced the two schools you're considering are equal in curricula and opportunities. My 2 cents.
 
I have been placed on the UPR Track but was really hoping for the Chicago Track. The research opportunities are more plentiful and I love Chicago. I do plan on petitioning for a track change, but if it does not work out, I have thought about giving up my spot and enroll at Chicago Medical School (Rosalind Franklin University). It is not in Chicago, but much closer to the city than Urbana, Peoria or Rockford. I am really not keen on living in a rural area!!!

Can someone give me their thoughts on this to help me in my decision making?

Hey I am having the same problem. The main issue is that they do not look at petitions until after May 15th. This amounts to making us choose between UPR and our other acceptances. We can gamble and hope that they give us our campus, but if you are happy with your other acceptance, it seems to be a fairly dangerous risk. I haven't made my decision yet, and I have sent in a campus petition, but the other school has a comparable match list and a better location than UPR. Controversies, while unsettling, are generally bigger on sdn than they are in the real world. In reality, the match lists of schools that aren't top twenty are pretty similar, so make the decision you can live with.
 
I have been placed on the UPR Track but was really hoping for the Chicago Track. The research opportunities are more plentiful and I love Chicago. I do plan on petitioning for a track change, but if it does not work out, I have thought about giving up my spot and enroll at Chicago Medical School (Rosalind Franklin University). It is not in Chicago, but much closer to the city than Urbana, Peoria or Rockford. I am really not keen on living in a rural area!!!

Can someone give me their thoughts on this to help me in my decision making?
Terrible idea. You are choosing to go to a worse school simply to avoid living in Rockford/Peoria...

While Rockford/Peoria may not be Chicago, they still turn out excellent physicians in every field.
 
Hey I am having the same problem. The main issue is that they do not look at petitions until after May 15th. This amounts to making us choose between UPR and our other acceptances. We can gamble and hope that they give us our campus, but if you are happy with your other acceptance, it seems to be a fairly dangerous risk. I haven't made my decision yet, and I have sent in a campus petition, but the other school has a comparable match list and a better location than UPR. Controversies, while unsettling, are generally bigger on sdn than they are in the real world. In reality, the match lists of schools that aren't top twenty are pretty similar, so make the decision you can live with.
North Chicago is not Chicago...no one from CMS touts their location as a plus...
There is an active bias from established physicians against CMS students at the local hospitals where they rotate with UIC students (referring mostly to the Advocate hospitals). Sure, their match list is not really any different than UIC's, but they have to overcome quite a few hurdles to get there.
 
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Can anyone tell me how difficult it would be to get a site assignment change? I was assigned Peoria but want Urbana for the UPR Track. Thanks.

Regarding CMS vs the UPR Track, I do not think location should have a significant factor in your decision. You probably will not have a lot of time to enjoy the city anyways. You should probably take a look at the match list, board scores and curriculum, as mentioned by a previous poster, and base your decision on that.
 
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Can anyone tell me how difficult it would be to get a site assignment change? I was assigned Peoria but want Urbana for the UPR Track. Thanks.

Definitely not nearly as difficult as getting into Chicago, and probably a little harder than switching to Peoria or Rockford because of the small class size. I'd say it probably depends on what your reasons are. All the people I've known who've switched into Urbana have done so for family reasons (e.g. spouse living in Urbana) or research reasons (getting into the MSP program), but that's a small sample size. If you've got a very solid reason like that, I'd say your chances are very, very good. Even if you don't, there's still a chance. But if you're debating which med school to pick based on the campus, I'd just email one of the Urbana Deans and ask firsthand (or Urbana upperclassmen, if you know any). Better to hear it from as high up as possible if it's that huge of a decision.
 
North Chicago is not Chicago...no one from CMS touts their location as a plus...
There is an active bias from established physicians against CMS students at the local hospitals where they rotate with UIC students (referring mostly to the Advocate hospitals). Sure, their match list is not really any different than UIC's, but they have to overcome quite a few hurdles to get there.

Sorry, I should clarify. I am not considering RFU, I am considering NYMC. There are some pretty close parallels as NYMC sometimes gets dumped on as well. Does UIC have a better reputation? Definitely. Is this the best reason to choose a medical school? No. In a survey, residencies considered the reputation of medical school as the 17th most important factor overall. It does make a difference, but I don't think it will make a significant difference unless you are at a top of the top university. For this reason, I think it is worth weighing other factors heavier than reputation. If they think they will be happier on the UPR track than at RFU, then by all means they should go with the UPR track. If they think they will be happier at RFU, then they shouldn't compromise their happiness for reputation. Personally, I think both are solid options as any MD school will prepare you well for medicine. Anecdote=poor evidence, but I know a physician that went to RFU, and he has done very well for himself. I know physicians that went to UIC, and they are doing well too. Personally, I am having a ton of trouble making this decision, so trust me I am not trying to dump on UIC, I am just arguing to make a fully informed unbiased decision. I would love a strong argument for me to choose UIC if you have time to write one before May 15th.
 
Terrible idea. You are choosing to go to a worse school simply to avoid living in Rockford/Peoria...

While Rockford/Peoria may not be Chicago, they still turn out excellent physicians in every field.

Also, I am sure it is possible to go into whatever field with enough elbow grease, but statistically Rockford and Peoria have not produced a Neurosurgeon in the past decade, and since I am leaning towards NS, this is somewhat disconcerting. Statistically speaking, they should produce 1-2 every 2 years or so. A decade with none is a red flag for me personally. (I realize thinking I will still want to do NS after a few years of med school is probably not realistic, but I would like to keep the option open since it is the field that interests me the most.) I see Urbana produces NS pretty regularly, but these tend to be MD/PHD's, so I don't think I could generalize them to the rest of UPR.
 
Obama is trying to keep it at 3.4 percent for SUBSIDIZED Student Loans. I did the math 500k would be about 32k in interest per year while in residency, your not going to be able to pay that on a 50k residents salary. If you borrow maximum cost of attendance youll have to pay $7,500 a month on a 10 year repayment plan to pay it down. A pretty hefty sum. Though if you can make 250K starting as an attending ( a lofty sum starting out) then you can pay it back. it is possible, it just tkaes serious discipline and sacrafice.

Just an FYI -- the graduate subsidized student loan interest rate is fixed at 6.8%.
 
I have been placed on the UPR Track but was really hoping for the Chicago Track. The research opportunities are more plentiful and I love Chicago. I do plan on petitioning for a track change, but if it does not work out, I have thought about giving up my spot and enroll at Chicago Medical School (Rosalind Franklin University). It is not in Chicago, but much closer to the city than Urbana, Peoria or Rockford. I am really not keen on living in a rural area!!!

Can someone give me their thoughts on this to help me in my decision making?

Keep in mind that while those places are in rural areas, they are not really rural towns. I go to school in Champaign and I can say that it has a big city sort of feel. It has a downtown area with bars, and then campustown is pretty fun as well. And as for Peoria and Rockford, they aren't very big but both are within driving/bus distance to big cities (Springfield and Chicago respectively). Also as a reference point I am from a suburb of Chicago so I know what the city is like. While I agree that Chicago is the best place to be, the other campuses aren't so bad that you'll be bored out of your mind. Plus you can always do your M3/M4 clinicals in Chicago
 
Plus you can always do your M3/M4 clinicals in Chicago

Only if you're in Rockford (if you're talking about doing all of your clinical years in Chicago). You can do some clerkships in Chicago if you're in Peoria or Urbana, but they count as away rotations, and you're required to do a certain number of clerkships at your home location. For Rockford students, last time I checked, the Chicago rotations don't count as aways.
 
Hello all! I just wanted to let everyone know that I was granted my site transfer today!!! I'm so excited that I am having difficulty expressing myself properly. Definitely attending...in case anyone was curious here were my reasons for site transfer-

1) family (all of my fam is in the Chicago area)
2) sick parent (could use assistance on getting to and from appointments)
3) research (I'm interested in neuroscience and MS research)

If anyone has any questions feel free to PM!
 
Congratulations! I am so happy for you and your family!!
 
congrats digitalsea! i guess they started looking at them before may 15 after all... i guess this means you're picking UIC over NYMC?
 
congrats digitalsea! i guess they started looking at them before may 15 after all... i guess this means you're picking UIC over NYMC?

Absolutely! SO pumped!!

Thanks for the support; I'm still kind of shocked surprised, and I've had a pretty rough week, so this was amazing news!
 
hey digitalsea, you sent your site placement letter in february right? or was it march? couldn't remember.
 
hey digitalsea, you sent your site placement letter in february right? or was it march? couldn't remember.

I actually sent it in sometime in late April (I wrote my letter back in February, but my computer was stolen, and it took me a while to catch up with my classes to have time to rewrite it. I also wanted to make sure that it covered everything important, so I rewrote it a few times) . I was accepted in December, and I received my site placement in the beginning of January. As I understand it, they base the site transfer on need, and not on when you send the transfer letter. Therefore, you should not be uneasy if you sent yours before me.

I was assigned Chicago - got the letter yesterday! So excited!
Congrats!!! I will see you this fall :)
 
I received an email that notified me that my award letter had been updated. After going to my.uic.edu > finances > award letter, I reviewed it and all was well. But from there, I saw a few tabs toward the top of the page, which led me to some information that I wanted to verify with an SDNer.

I clicked on the 'Registration and Records' tab > Student Records and Transcripts > View Student Information (choose term and submit).

Under curriculum information, it states "Campus: Chicago".

As of now, I am assigned to the UPR track, but I petitioned for Chicago last month. Can someone else that is assigned to UPR verify what it states next to campus? I'm wondering if this means that I am currently assigned to Chicago, but have yet to be notified.

Thanks
 
I was assigned to UPR as well and I also have Chicago listed as the campus. I checked with another friend assigned to UPR, and that was also the case. Patiently waiting for a response to my petition...
 
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