2011-2012 University of Illinois Application Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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UtahMD said:
I have been complete since September with "Applicant in Process" & NO news, still no interview invite. Does anyone know if they send out pre-interview rejections or are they just stringing me along for a "silent" rejection?
Thanks.
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They do give preinterview rejections. I find it odd whenever someone says they have been applicant in process when normally people start as application in process. There is a pattern where application in process->applicant in process->interview about 2 weeks later. It seems that you are good; the bad sign is when applicant in process->application in process. This means hold, but it seems some people get rejections after this change. Bottom-line: your status means you are still in the game! Oddly enough, the office denies that these status changes mean anything, but time and time again these patterns emerge. It's like they are deceiving us or something. Or perhaps the system is so complicated only neurotic sdners get it! 😀
 
who does this school think they are to charge 72k for out of state?
 
Digitalsea - sounds like you've got some very legitimate family reasons for wanting to be in the city. I'd file it soon if I were you. I can't remember if they accept petitions on a rolling basis or not, but if they do, there are going to be more Chicago spots available sooner rather than later. Let us know how the petition goes!

edge of desire said:
Is there someone on here that is a current student (VisionaryTics, Snoopy, etc.) that can tell me more about UIC's finaid? You can PM me if you don't want to disclose your own personal info. I mainly want to get an idea of how real students are paying, how much they will pay at the end (I know the avg debt at grad is like $150K, but what is that with interest? and is that only federal loans or also UIC loans?)

...For some reason, i'm just having trouble wrapping my head around this, I guess b/c I always assumed that I'd get some grant aid... (and obviously more loans but I never thought it would be all loans...). SO, I want to know: does UIC give out institutional loans as well or is it all federal loans? I work right now, but I make a modest amount and obviously don't have much savings -- does that mean they'll probably give me MORE loans than say, someone who make 100K a year? But even if they give me lots of loans, I can take only part of it/however much I actually think I need (b/c schools always overestimate on how much housing will actually cost) right?

Lastly, I just went on an interview at another school that said they REQUIRE parental info (but not on FAFSA, on a separate site that's private -- apparently 1/3 of med schools use this site that i'm blanking out on now), regardless of your independent/dependent student status. They said this was for "consideration of grants and scholarships." Am I to assume that at these other schools that ask for parental info, I might get a better finaid package? I probably wont' qualify for scholarships there though either, b/c I'm not a minority and my family isn't dirt poor. I'm sorry if i seem kind of dumb on this topic...it's just that I heard that (for example) "UChicago gives out a lot of money" -- is it mainly private schools and the elite ones that give out a lot of grant aid?
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Scholarships/grants really vary from school to school. I haven't compared UIC to other schools, but IL is a broke state and UIC is a state school. Private schools have been hit a lot less, generally, which is why their packages haven't changed as much.

Scholarships/grants are rare enough here that my advice would be to plan assuming you'll be financing all your education through federal loans. You're allowed up to take up to ~$40k per year as Direct/Stafford unsubsidized loans (no more subsidized loans starting next year). Interest is 6.8%. If you need money after that, most rely on the GradPLUS loan (higher interest). Many students who are supporting families have to take out loans in great excess of tuition; the leftover is put in your bank account to use as you wish. I've asked around and I don't currently know of any current students getting scholarships. There's obviously other institutions that will give out loans, but the vast majority of students rely entirely on federal loans.

Peoria students have free federal housing available (med students qualify as 0 income) which helps out quite a few students every year (usually the majority of the class). Other than that, the financial picture is basically the same across the campuses.

As far as calculating loan repayment, the AAMC has a fantastic calculator. I'm not positive, but it looks like pre-meds should be able to use the calculator part in a trial: https://www.aamc.org/services/first/medloans/
 
I've been Applicant in Process since December 13 with no status change. Is that bad?! I know there was a trend of receiving and II roughly 2 weeks after the status change, but that doesn't seem to be the case with me...
 
einstein1990 said:
I've been Applicant in Process since December 13 with no status change. Is that bad?! I know there was a trend of receiving and II roughly 2 weeks after the status change, but that doesn't seem to be the case with me...
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It may also be because of the delay caused by the holidays.
 
is there a difference between "application in process" and "application IS in process" ???
 
I've heard that they don't look at the appeal letters until after May 15th, which kind of makes sense (more spots should definitely open up after people decide once and for all where they're going). At least the people I know who transferred were informed after May 15th.
 
premed67783 said:
+1 👍
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Yeah I cannot imagine things from an oos perspective. That said, it kind of makes sense given that Illinois has some of the worst finances in the country. They are probably in a position where they can't afford to lower the tuition. I don't think they feel the program is of greater value. Knowing Illinois and our politicians, the school probably has to charge that much to make up for the lack of state funding. My guess is that the school decided to admit more oos for a higher price in order to compensate.

Snoopy, I do hope that they consider my reasons legitimate. Thanks for the support! I love the avatar by the way.
 
So I have been applicant in process from the point my application was complete (August 31st..) Any hopes for us? I mean I think its a waste of time on both the students' and the university's side to keep a student hanging only to reject in the end..why not just go like invite for an interview or not invite for an interview? that too in a certain time frame?
sorry if it seems that i am venting, but i actually am. it is a result of about 5 months of waiting at some places..
 
Interview Invite received today on 1/11/12! Only problem is that I'm working in Boston right now, need to figure out when I can take time off to come for the Interview.
 
This school is getting frustrating because I went there for undergrad looking for a leg up into their medical school but everyone I talk to now is saying that they are taking a majority out of state students because they can charge 72K a year, which is way more then they will get from taking in state students! Anyone care to confirm this?
 
mbosman said:
This school is getting frustrating because I went there for undergrad looking for a leg up into their medical school but everyone I talk to now is saying that they are taking a majority out of state students because they can charge 72K a year, which is way more then they will get from taking in state students! Anyone care to confirm this?
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not true. according to US News, they interview ~40% of in-state applicants, and only ~7% of out-of-state applicants. they also accept a higher percentage of in-state interviewees.
 
When I interviewed they said that their class is ~20% OOS. So out of about 300 people in the class, around 60 of them are out of state. Not even close to a majority. While they are not as in-state selective as some state schools, it is still much easier to get into Illinois as an in-state student.
 
alexfoleyc said:
When did you submit your secondary? I submitted mine about 5 months ago and still I am under "application is in process." Losing hope. 🙁
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Yeah I submitted mine 8/22. However, they needed a letter from the head of my grad program, which I didn't get until about 9/20. So I'm assuming I wasn't complete until then.
 
Just got switched to applicant in process!! God I hope the rumors about getting the interview 2 weeks later is true.....
 
mbosman said:
This school is getting frustrating because I went there for undergrad looking for a leg up into their medical school but everyone I talk to now is saying that they are taking a majority out of state students because they can charge 72K a year, which is way more then they will get from taking in state students! Anyone care to confirm this?
Click to expand...

They specifically told us that they're going to keep IS/OOS matriculant levels steady or even increase in-state matriculants.
 
phnerd1105 said:
Yeah I submitted mine 8/22. However, they needed a letter from the head of my grad program, which I didn't get until about 9/20. So I'm assuming I wasn't complete until then.
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This is good news! You can hear about an interview invite within a week and a half! Congrats!
 
I submitted in July, was complete in August, and switched to Applicant in Process in November and I still haven't received an interview invite. I hope there's still a chance..
 
I have an interview in Chicago in two weeks. Can anyone share what types of questions that their interviewers asked? Did they know your application well? Thanks!
 
meekchick2001 said:
I have an interview in Chicago in two weeks. Can anyone share what types of questions that their interviewers asked? Did they know your application well? Thanks!
Click to expand...

No, they don't know your application well. UIC will recruit a few randos to do the interview. I believe my interviewers were an M2 (who gets about 2 hours notice that they'll be interviewing), a practicing anesthesiologist who did the interview between cases, and a research professor emeritus. Not much in the way of a dedicated interview staff.

But YOU should know your application well. Sell yourself on what you bring to an already diverse and well-rounded student body. Be aware that you can have anything thrown at you because the interviewers are completely random.
 
FutureOncDoc said:
I submitted in July, was complete in August, and switched to Applicant in Process in November and I still haven't received an interview invite. I hope there's still a chance..
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They haven't switched you back to application inprocess, so they are probably still reviewing your file. At least your status does not indicate a hold!
 
Just withdrew my app post-interview. Good luck, guys (and girls)!!
 
I have an interview at the Rockford campus in the upcoming week. I was hoping to get advice as to how the panel interview was, the difficulty of the questions, and whether there were many ethical dilemma questions. any additional info would be really appreciated as well!
 
imymemine said:
its not exclusively for URMs. i was offered one.
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+1, I was also offered the scholarship that covers the difference between OOS and IS, and I am not URM. I did mark disadvantaged on AMCAS.
 
For the RMED interview at Rockford, is there a specific itinerary for the interview day including lunch and a tour or do you simply show up for your interview and leave?
 
Does anyone know if UIC accepts update / letters of interest? I have been waiting FOREVER and was thinking about sending something over to help my chance of an interview. At this point i'll do anything to help my chances.
 
Hola everyone, is there another adcom meeting tomorrow?? :xf: Been waiting since Dec 8th, anyone else in the same boat?
 
I just got an interview two days ago. For the people who are anxiously waiting, there is hope!
 
Mackhouse said:
Hola everyone, is there another adcom meeting tomorrow?? :xf: Been waiting since Dec 8th, anyone else in the same boat?
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Yes, there is another adcom final review meeting tomorrow, where they make a final decision on applicants who have been interviewed already. I checked my application status page around 9pm the day they were supposed to review my file, and it said that they had made a final decision on my application. At the top right corner, it said "Additional Correspondence". From what everyone on sdn has been saying, it appears to be that if you see "additional correspondence", you should expect a big packet in the mail 🙂

best of luck!
 
Does anyone know where we send official transcripts from last semester? Do we just mail in the transcript or is there some cover letter we are supposed to include?
 
We're supposed to send transcripts?

I interview in Chicago Tuesday... 😵
 
For those who care, I have been "Applicant in Process" for a long time and it just changed to "Application is in Process" - Can't be good.
 
I received an interview invite today after being stuck in "in progress" limbo for some time.
My stats are IS, 3.9 cGPA, 3.85 sGPA, 28N.

Stay motivated, I've been complete for months and this is the first peep from UoI.

Good luck.
 
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