2011-2012 University of Iowa (Carver) Application Thread

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Congrats on interviews everyone! I haven't heard anything yet 🙁
I'm going to be in the states during the month of October for interviews. Do you think it's too early to send an in the area email? My flight is in like three weeks haha...
 
Iowa City's great, I lived here for 6 years. I've heard it be described as Austin is to Texas, if that makes any sense to you.
 
Surprisingly, there are quite a few yes. I've never been to Texas so I didn't know how that comparison would be interpreted, but it seems accurate?

It's surprisingly diverse, I've known people of all sorts there. I went there for high school. From what I could tell, the University of Iowa is kind of a big party school, I remember being irritated with all the college students when I was younger. But at the same time, it's such a large school that you're going to encounter every type. For graduate and medical school, I'm entirely less sure.
 
Im normal MD.

BTW The Admissions office was really friendly. When i called them to schedule nothing but niceness
 
anyone can tell me what oct dates they have open? thnaks
 
anyone can tell me what oct dates they have open? thnaks

I only saw October 3rd. I'm guessing the rest weren't open yet because there were plenty of September ones available.
 
I only saw October 3rd. I'm guessing the rest weren't open yet because there were plenty of September ones available.

Correct. Just call them up if you want a later date. I got one for the 5th this way
 
Invite today!! So excited!

October dates I saw were the 3rd and the 5th.
 
I finally scheduled my interview today. Must have been a wave of invites, because some more dates were available. I scheduled for October 7th, I will try to stay with AKK.
 
Interview tab just appeared in my status site! Haven't even received on email...

Complete 8/8
 
Interview invite today!
OOS complete 7/20

the dates available were for early October.
 
Another invite here. OOS, complete 7/29.

edited to add: Anyone else flying out from the West coast? I just checked ticket prices throughout October and it's nearly twice what I'm paying for my previously scheduled interviews. (Flying into Cedar Rapids, btw.) Any current students or IA residents have tips on the cheapest transportation options? Flying into Midway and driving four hours seems like overkill, but 700$ flights that don't end up in Hawaii or a foreign country make me itch.
 
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Another invite here. OOS, complete 7/29.

edited to add: Anyone else flying out from the West coast? I just checked ticket prices throughout October and it's nearly twice what I'm paying for my previously scheduled interviews. (Flying into Cedar Rapids, btw.) Any current students or IA residents have tips on the cheapest transportation options? Flying into Midway and driving four hours seems like overkill, but 700$ flights that don't end up in Hawaii or a foreign country make me itch.

Way jealous on the interview invite...still waiting over here. I'm in Cali and have a lot of family in IA. Consider flying into Omaha on a cheap Southwest flight and then driving--shorter than from Midway, I'm pretty sure and convenient since Southwest likely flies to a pretty local West Coast airport.
 
Another invite here. OOS, complete 7/29.

edited to add: Anyone else flying out from the West coast? I just checked ticket prices throughout October and it's nearly twice what I'm paying for my previously scheduled interviews. (Flying into Cedar Rapids, btw.) Any current students or IA residents have tips on the cheapest transportation options? Flying into Midway and driving four hours seems like overkill, but 700$ flights that don't end up in Hawaii or a foreign country make me itch.

I found some $300-ish ones on Expedia, but you have to connect in Dallas, Chicago ,or Minneapolis. Also, like MermaidMD said, you can try flying somewhere (flights from Cali to Chicago are really cheap) and drive to Iowa City. It's really expensive to rent cars if you're not over 25 though...
 
I am interviewing on 10/21. If any girls are interviewing on that date, please let me know if you want to share a room at Clairon Hotel. They provide free transportation to/from the airport as well as to MERF, if given enough notice. It is $59/night, and split half way, would cost $30/night. I will be there from 10/20-10/22. :luck: everybody. I am super excited about interviewing out here 😀.
 
Interview Invite today!

3.8+/35+, complete late august
 
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Woohoo, finally complete! Hoping for that interview invite. Good luck, everyone.:luck:
 
Anyone interviewing this Friday? I think it might be the first interview date but I'm not sure...
 
Completed 8/31 and fingers crossed. Caver is definitely in my top 3; the more I read about it, the more i love it. I'm OOS but I have a bro attending UofI at the moment and I hope that somewhat matters.

checking my status like a fiend
 
II 9/14 WOOOOOOOOO!

3.77/34Q OOS

anyone else interviewing on 10/17?
 
been complete since 8/2 with no update from CCM. I'm OOS and a reapplicant....is this bad? I really like Carver college and I hope that I can get an II soon :xf:
 
Hi, guys! Congrats on all the interview invites and good luck to all of you that are waiting! 👍

I'm an MS1 here and I love it 🙂 I'm also on the medical student ambassador program, and would like to remind you all that you can request to be hosted by a student. That can cut down on some accommodation costs. And, as DrShazam mentioned, the Clarion hotel isn't too far away and does offer transportation, too.

Also - I'm not on SDN a lot, but if you have any questions about Iowa/Carver, feel free to pm me and I'll get back to you as soon as I see them.
 
Hello all you eager applicants! I am a current M1 at Iowa, and am from Colorado originally, and I am absolutely loving it here. I had my first practice history taking of a patient today and it was amazing. You should all seriously consider coming here if you get accepted.

I noticed some people discussing flights and where to stay and wanted to suggest a few things...flights into CR are expensive, so consider Des Moines and Moline airports too. Des Moines is about 2 hours away and Moline is about an hour.

If you need a place to stay you can contact the admissions office and they will put you in touch with current M1s and M2s and you can stay in our apartments.

Good luck with the application process everyone, I know that it is super stressful!
 
Hello all you eager applicants! I am a current M1 at Iowa, and am from Colorado originally, and I am absolutely loving it here. I had my first practice history taking of a patient today and it was amazing. You should all seriously consider coming here if you get accepted.

I noticed some people discussing flights and where to stay and wanted to suggest a few things...flights into CR are expensive, so consider Des Moines and Moline airports too. Des Moines is about 2 hours away and Moline is about an hour.

If you need a place to stay you can contact the admissions office and they will put you in touch with current M1s and M2s and you can stay in our apartments.

Good luck with the application process everyone, I know that it is super stressful!

I like the early patient contact. Sounds very exciting, and thanks for the advice. How is Iowa city? I've become accustomed to the nightlife of Vegas lol. Although I don't expect this out there, how is it? Btw, how is housing too? Decent prices?
 
I guess I'm not as neurotic as I thought, I haven't checking my status very often and was pleasantly surprised to find an interview tab today!!!!

I'm so excited. Carver is near my top!!!!!!!!
I was complete 8/25 and my stats are too embarrassing to post. semi-traditional.
 
Well, the interview on the 21st was a good group of people. For those interviewing in the future, do not stress about it because as long as you can articulate why you want to be a doctor, it is very straightforward. October 15th can not get here soon enough!
 
I guess I'm not as neurotic as I thought, I haven't checking my status very often and was pleasantly surprised to find an interview tab today!!!!

I'm so excited. Carver is near my top!!!!!!!!
I was complete 8/25 and my stats are too embarrassing to post. semi-traditional.


If you are getting an interview invitation as an OOS candidate, your stats can't be that embarrassing. Good luck to you on your interview!
 
anyone mind posting on the interview feedback survey! that would be awesome.
 
I like the early patient contact. Sounds very exciting, and thanks for the advice. How is Iowa city? I've become accustomed to the nightlife of Vegas lol. Although I don't expect this out there, how is it? Btw, how is housing too? Decent prices?

Great questions! There actually is a decent night life in Iowa City, they have a ridiculous amount of bars of all shapes and sizes, and since Iowa City is the cultural mecca of Iowa, there are a lot of great food options as well. They will get a lot of comedy acts, theater productions, and musical performances here at the University as well. If you get accepted and decide to come here, be prepared to fall in love with the Hawkeyes 😉. Iowans are super nice people too, by the way, so expect strangers to say hello to you and smile/wave.

The bus systems work really well here, and run into the later night, so if you end up living on campus, you can take a bus for free home from the bars downtown to campus. A lot of my classmates live in apartments that are by the dental building (about 10 minute walk from Carver) and the rest live down by Kinnick (15 minute walk). I decided to live out in Coralville because I wanted a little separation from campus, so I have a 2 bedroom, nice place for $680/month. Coming from Colorado, that seems like a pretty good deal.
 
I am interviewing on 10/21. If any girls are interviewing on that date, please let me know if you want to share a room at Clairon Hotel. They provide free transportation to/from the airport as well as to MERF, if given enough notice. It is $59/night, and split half way, would cost $30/night. I will be there from 10/20-10/22. :luck: everybody. I am super excited about interviewing out here 😀.

This is a great idea, if girls are interviewing this Wednesday and would like to share a room I got one for the hotel on campus, PM me if you are interested in splitting.
 
This is a great idea, if girls are interviewing this Wednesday and would like to share a room I got one for the hotel on campus, PM me if you are interested in splitting.
Oh no! I missed your interview date by a month :laugh:. :luck:
 
Hey guys!

Another current M1 here. I just wanted to second everything that the other students have said. I am from Iowa but went to school in New York and I'm really glad I chose Iowa over some of the other schools I was considering.

To touch on getting to the interview: the Cedar Rapids airport is expensive to get to but unless you have a way of getting from Des Moines or Moline, it might not going to be much cheaper in the long run. Just make sure you look into it. Also, I remember last year, they didn't really advertise that you could request to stay with a med student, but if you call admissions (who are all really nice) they will set you up. It might be harder to do if you're interviewing on a Friday though because our tests are scheduled then.

Additionally, it's not too late to apply, but it's getting close! My app wasn't complete until October last year due to some unforeseen circumstances and I'm still here after interviewing in January. So don't give up if you don't get an interview right away.

Finally, having lived in New York, housing here is VERY reasonably priced. I know this advice is a little premature, but when the time comes to look into getting a lease, check out the med student boards to find roommates and good deals. Since it seems like everyone in Iowa City is a college student people start looking to rent fairly early in the spring.

I think that's it for now, but if you guys have questions, feel free to post or message me.
 
Only a couple more weeks before the first batch of acceptances go out. Anybody have any interesting stories on the interview trail?
 
Can anyone who has interviewed comment on how the CBL is like. I think I can pretty much guess how it's gong to be like but I would appreciate more information. I have my interview next week and I am very nervous about the CBL than the interview...I'm kind of on the quiet side =/
 
CBL was pretty casual and unstructured. Two fourth years led a discussion - we read an intro to a case and went over possible problems, hypotheses, risk factors, etc.
 
Can anyone who has interviewed comment on how the CBL is like. I think I can pretty much guess how it's gong to be like but I would appreciate more information. I have my interview next week and I am very nervous about the CBL than the interview...I'm kind of on the quiet side =/


It's such a relaxed environment. You don't need to worry/prepare for it at all. Just make sure to contribute and volunteer to read passages, that's all there is to it.
 
I'm considering applying here. Any chance an IL resident, with pretty good stats, has at an interview?
 
thank you!

It's such a relaxed environment. You don't need to worry/prepare for it at all. Just make sure to contribute and volunteer to read passages, that's all there is to it.

CBL was pretty casual and unstructured. Two fourth years led a discussion - we read an intro to a case and went over possible problems, hypotheses, risk factors, etc.
 
ugggh...so jealous here. lolol. I guess I have to be patient. This may be a stupid question but is "the status" page the same as the supplemental application portal?
 
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