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Interview invite for 2/15. I'm a reapplicant, 35/3.7. Complete in early August.
So excited!! This is my top choice.
So excited!! This is my top choice.
2011-2012 University of Massachusetts Application Thread
- Thread starter Sammich117
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Re-applicants FTW! Although I really hope that when UMass rejects me this time, I actually get in somewhere else . . .
Oh, stop! Your interview is about a week away, right? Positive energy!!
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In the immortal words of every guest who has ever been on the Maury show:
Y'all donno me! You donno mah laif! I DO WUTTA WANT.
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Hi,
I was just wondering if Umass only interviews reapplicants during the February-March period and not any earlier? thanks.
I was just wondering if Umass only interviews reapplicants during the February-March period and not any earlier? thanks.
I interviewed on 12/7 but haven't heard anything yet (more than a month later). The coordinator said that I could find out "anytime between now and May 15th." This differs greatly from what Karen Lawton told us before the afternoon interviews. She didn't give an exact timeline but said we would find out soon after the interview. In my mind that means by the end of January at the latest.
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The coordinator (Brenda? Is that whom you're talking about?) is right. You may hear nothing until May.
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I received the acceptance close to noon on the 6th.
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I don't think they will send out acceptances again until the first Friday in Feb.. at least that's what the trend from last year and so far this year looks like. Mid Oct, Mid Nov, first Fri of December, first Fri of Jan, first Fri of Feb..etc. I hope I'm wrong but that is how it appears to be going.
Hi everyone, congrads on everyone accepted.
I want to send a post-interview letter of intent. I've seen a lot of information in past threads about post-waitlist letters of intent, but is it appropriate now to send one basically stating "umass is my top choice" right now? (interviewed in October, no word). If so, do I just email the admissions office with the letter attached? I'm not sure how these things work.
Thanks for the help,
I want to send a post-interview letter of intent. I've seen a lot of information in past threads about post-waitlist letters of intent, but is it appropriate now to send one basically stating "umass is my top choice" right now? (interviewed in October, no word). If so, do I just email the admissions office with the letter attached? I'm not sure how these things work.
Thanks for the help,
I'm pretty pissed with UMass for making us wait an undue amount of time to get a yes, no or maybe. At least they could waitlist people they're not sure about and let them know how high they are on the list. I really take issue with their process. They have my primary, secondary, pre-interview questions, and of course interview results... isn't this enough to make a determination within a month? Two months? It hasn't taken any schools nearly this long to get back to me. Two weeks max. Heck I've gotten into other schools. I get the impression that UMass makes people wait just because they can. For non-trad students that have more than just some old IKEA stuff to move to Worcester waiting until May 15th is not an option. UMass will lose good candidates if they keep doing this. People will just have to take their brains elsewhere.
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Join the complaining club, but UMass will do just fine considering how low cost of attendance is.
Precisely. But they will lose top students that receive scholarships to other schools. Plus it's just rude.
Is this holding true this year? Anyone get any (hopefully good) news?
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Those students don't generally withdraw from UMass when they get a scholarship from another school unless they wouldn't have gone to UMass to begin with! Not to mention that if the school waits, they find out who really wants to go and who is going to matriculate at Harvard (Or Penn. Or Duke.) before accepting new people. It definitely sucks to have to wait, but for UMass, this is the best way to get the students they want who also want them.
In any case, this is Massachusetts. We're known for our rudeness. I love rude people.
Well, actually, I prefer the term "crusty," but I think you get my drift.
To add to what tentacles wrote, its possible that the lucky few who get med school scholarships are also the lucky few who get accepted into Umass immediately (ie after one month). Just a thought. In any case, good luck to everyone, before you know it it will be August!
Well, at least I got into another Mass medical school (plus others out of state). But with an entire career of public service, and commitment to primary care for the underserved of the State I'd be pretty upset if I don't get the acceptance to UMass next month. But whatever. Come august i'll be in school either at Umass or one of my other choices, and this will be long forgotten. National Health Service Corps here we come!
when did u intvw?
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Accepted this morning just before noon. First acceptance... very excited! I interviewed on 12/13.
I got the sense from my interview day that the order in which your application decision is made is largely dependent on the timelines of the pair of adcom members who review your application. Seems to square with what seems to be the haphazardly varying turnaround time. Anyway, good luck to everyone else who's waiting!
I got the sense from my interview day that the order in which your application decision is made is largely dependent on the timelines of the pair of adcom members who review your application. Seems to square with what seems to be the haphazardly varying turnaround time. Anyway, good luck to everyone else who's waiting!
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So I guess this isn't holding true? The wait is definitely driving me crazy!!
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Ya I guess not.. total craps shoot. The wait is driving me totally insane.
For those of you like me who are suffering through the months of no contact, I've talked to many med students at umass who didn't hear a word until April when they got their acceptance email. That's not to mention the dynamic waitlist that seems to show a lot of movement all the way up through August.
My friend, who is a 2nd year there currently, said she was accepted first week of Feb. The nice coordinator mentioned that most people find out february/march but also 50% of the class comes in off the waitlist. Im hoping for news next friday...
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I am not positive, but while I was on another interview I talked to a fellow interviewee who said that he knew someone who had interviewed and then been rejected.. so this makes me think that they have already rejected some people post interview. Which is good news I think?
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I don't think they reject until the spring, around the same time when they give out waitlists.
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When did your friend interview?
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A year ago tomorrow, UMass sent out a large (by their standards) number of acceptances if you look on the thread. Here's to hoping for a repeat.
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Yes, please.
She interviewed in early november
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Try blank staring at my inbox for the past 54 minutes.
Was this an email? Would you mind posting when you interviewed?
C
chemistryguy
Accepted today by email. What's up bitchessssss....
Interviewed late september
Interviewed late september
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Hey guys. I'm a current clinical years UMMS student, and long-time SDN member. I created this acct for anonymity, because there are some things I wish I'd known more about before deciding to come to UMMS, so I thought I would share them with you all so that you can make a fully informed choice.
First of all, the positives: the people at UMMS are really nice. Deans and other administrators, faculty, the majority of the clinical staff - noticably warm and welcoming, especially, or so I've been told by a number of visiting students, when compared to other schools. The price is indeed excellent, especially given the low cost of living in Worcester. There is a lot of development going on at UMMS, new construction, pretty buildings - there's a sense of energy, which is cool. There is school support, both administratively and financially, for research, public health, and international work.
Now, the cons. As you probably are aware, there's a massive curriculum redesign in progress. You can hear more about that from current students in MS1 or MS2. It's been a bit of a cluster**** at times, with materials not ready or changes to classes made at the last minute, but I actually don't think the preclinical curriculum matters all that much, and I do think it's getting better. There are a lot of motivated people working on it, and the professors are very dedicated. The medical school preclinical years are very standardized in terms of material to cover, so if you take responsibility early on for staying aware of what you need to be learning for step 1, you can do just fine regardless of what the school does. More than 10 people failed step 1 in the class of 2012, and a large percentage of the class of 2013 delayed taking it. A lot of people also scored very highly - just ignore what Dean Rogoff says (repeatedly!) about step 1 not mattering all that much and go your own way in terms of preparation.
The biggest con, however, has been the clinical years experience. You will have limited chances to talk to MS3 and MS4s during your interviews/second looks, so it's hard to get a feel. And while preclinical weaknesses aren't that big of a deal because you can do your own thing, that's not the case with clinical years. So here they are - I don't know how different these things would be at other schools you are considering, but I didn't even really know to ask about them when I was applying. Just take it as a list of issues to consider.
1. Clinical rotations are scattered all over the state (and beyond), from the Berkshires to Connecticut and Rhode Island. The housing provided in the Berks is extremely ghetto. The driving gets expensive and tiring. The scattered sites make it difficult to provide a standardized experience. One of the inpatient pediatric sites had literally 2 patients while a student was there for his MS3 pediatric rotation this year. That is not a rotation, IMO. The sites have always been a little scattered, but from what I understand it has gotten a lot worse recently because the class size expanded before slots for clinical students had been lined up.
2. The residency programs at UMMS are not very strong. I had absolutely not understood that before starting clinical years. There are a lot of preliminary people who scrambled for spots and got them here. There are a lot of IMG/FMG/DOs. BTW, some of those folks are the best, and I've really enjoyed working with the FMGs/DOs, but the rest of them are visibly struggling compared to the US MD grads we see. And there are two reasons that matters to you as a medical student. First, when your intern/residents are struggling, it's miserable to work with them. They dump more scut, they radiate more anxiety, and the teaching is not as good because they don't have time and/or energy. Second, given the realities of home-field advantage, you'd be better off going to school somewhere you would like to stay. That is not to say, however, that you can't leave. Most people do. Regardless, you'll come to find out that your team makes or breaks a rotation.
3. You will hear a lot about how many people extend for a 5th year, and you will hear it framed as a good thing. Oh, opportunities for research, travel, fellowships! And that's somewhat true. Except that a significant number of people are doing that research because they need to be more competitive for the specialty they want. Or because they had little exposure to fields outside of primary care until it was too late to apply on time. There is a big uproar in the class of 2013 because the cost of a 5th year is going to be raised to ~$8000...which the administration says is still very cheap. Except that a 5th year doesn't cost you the tuition and living expenses for that year, it costs you whatever your salary would have been for that year were you applying on time, so who cares if it was $800 or $8000? It costs you 200k. Which is fine if you are making that choice because you are doing something awesome that year and it's necessary to get you to where you want to go, but if you are doing it because you weren't adequately prepared to apply on time, that's not cool.
So, like I said, some of these things may be the same or worse at other places you are considering. I don't know. But ask about them. I'm not saying don't come to UMass, I'm just saying compare your options carefully.
First of all, the positives: the people at UMMS are really nice. Deans and other administrators, faculty, the majority of the clinical staff - noticably warm and welcoming, especially, or so I've been told by a number of visiting students, when compared to other schools. The price is indeed excellent, especially given the low cost of living in Worcester. There is a lot of development going on at UMMS, new construction, pretty buildings - there's a sense of energy, which is cool. There is school support, both administratively and financially, for research, public health, and international work.
Now, the cons. As you probably are aware, there's a massive curriculum redesign in progress. You can hear more about that from current students in MS1 or MS2. It's been a bit of a cluster**** at times, with materials not ready or changes to classes made at the last minute, but I actually don't think the preclinical curriculum matters all that much, and I do think it's getting better. There are a lot of motivated people working on it, and the professors are very dedicated. The medical school preclinical years are very standardized in terms of material to cover, so if you take responsibility early on for staying aware of what you need to be learning for step 1, you can do just fine regardless of what the school does. More than 10 people failed step 1 in the class of 2012, and a large percentage of the class of 2013 delayed taking it. A lot of people also scored very highly - just ignore what Dean Rogoff says (repeatedly!) about step 1 not mattering all that much and go your own way in terms of preparation.
The biggest con, however, has been the clinical years experience. You will have limited chances to talk to MS3 and MS4s during your interviews/second looks, so it's hard to get a feel. And while preclinical weaknesses aren't that big of a deal because you can do your own thing, that's not the case with clinical years. So here they are - I don't know how different these things would be at other schools you are considering, but I didn't even really know to ask about them when I was applying. Just take it as a list of issues to consider.
1. Clinical rotations are scattered all over the state (and beyond), from the Berkshires to Connecticut and Rhode Island. The housing provided in the Berks is extremely ghetto. The driving gets expensive and tiring. The scattered sites make it difficult to provide a standardized experience. One of the inpatient pediatric sites had literally 2 patients while a student was there for his MS3 pediatric rotation this year. That is not a rotation, IMO. The sites have always been a little scattered, but from what I understand it has gotten a lot worse recently because the class size expanded before slots for clinical students had been lined up.
2. The residency programs at UMMS are not very strong. I had absolutely not understood that before starting clinical years. There are a lot of preliminary people who scrambled for spots and got them here. There are a lot of IMG/FMG/DOs. BTW, some of those folks are the best, and I've really enjoyed working with the FMGs/DOs, but the rest of them are visibly struggling compared to the US MD grads we see. And there are two reasons that matters to you as a medical student. First, when your intern/residents are struggling, it's miserable to work with them. They dump more scut, they radiate more anxiety, and the teaching is not as good because they don't have time and/or energy. Second, given the realities of home-field advantage, you'd be better off going to school somewhere you would like to stay. That is not to say, however, that you can't leave. Most people do. Regardless, you'll come to find out that your team makes or breaks a rotation.
3. You will hear a lot about how many people extend for a 5th year, and you will hear it framed as a good thing. Oh, opportunities for research, travel, fellowships! And that's somewhat true. Except that a significant number of people are doing that research because they need to be more competitive for the specialty they want. Or because they had little exposure to fields outside of primary care until it was too late to apply on time. There is a big uproar in the class of 2013 because the cost of a 5th year is going to be raised to ~$8000...which the administration says is still very cheap. Except that a 5th year doesn't cost you the tuition and living expenses for that year, it costs you whatever your salary would have been for that year were you applying on time, so who cares if it was $800 or $8000? It costs you 200k. Which is fine if you are making that choice because you are doing something awesome that year and it's necessary to get you to where you want to go, but if you are doing it because you weren't adequately prepared to apply on time, that's not cool.
So, like I said, some of these things may be the same or worse at other places you are considering. I don't know. But ask about them. I'm not saying don't come to UMass, I'm just saying compare your options carefully.
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Thanks for your post. It was pretty eye-opening, and it would have been impossible to ask these questions of a faculty member who had any stake in our acceptance.
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No problem. 🙂
Based on some of the pms I've gotten, my post has freaked out some people who don't have other choices (yet), or who idolized UMMS. I only posted because these were issues I didn't even know to ask about when I was applying. I'm absolutely not saying UMMS is a bad school. I promise. Just saying forewarned is forearmed, and the more informed a choice you make, the less potential for regret or disappointment. GOOD LUCK.
Based on some of the pms I've gotten, my post has freaked out some people who don't have other choices (yet), or who idolized UMMS. I only posted because these were issues I didn't even know to ask about when I was applying. I'm absolutely not saying UMMS is a bad school. I promise. Just saying forewarned is forearmed, and the more informed a choice you make, the less potential for regret or disappointment. GOOD LUCK.
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While I certainly appreciate your candor and the many important points you made, some parts of your (mostly negative) post would have been better off in a PM or internal communications with the UMMS administration rather than being unleashed on the internet, despite your "I'm not saying, but I'm saying" protestations. Given that you're apparently the kind of student who doesn't mind going online and trashing his/her own school's reputation, I think most of us considering UMass would want to also hear from your less disgruntled classmates. (Seriously, why devalue your own degree by dissuading the best candidates from coming?) 😕
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