2011-2012 University of Miami Application Thread

[Bluepanda87]

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I just got my third secondary invitation! I spoke to the admissions dean earlier though about a separate issue, so I know they have it. Probably just working out the bugs of a new system! 😀

 

[Jimmer]

also received my third secondary request.

 

[SEE13]

I'm working on my secondary and I have a quick question.

I didn't really involve myself in any journalism-related activities, but to answer the secondary question about journalism I was thinking I could write about a time where I wrote the program notes for a concert. I did spend quite a bit of time working on them, and learned a lot from the experience.

Does this seem too contrived?

 

[Jimmer]

longest secondary in the history of the planet. and yeah someone earlier said just to enter the information they asked for spaced out. its an odd format.


refering to this earlier post ... "How did everyone enter there pre reqs. It seems odd that they don't want the course title or number."

 

[latrala2300]

I'm working on my secondary and I have a quick question.

I didn't really involve myself in any journalism-related activities, but to answer the secondary question about journalism I was thinking I could write about a time where I wrote the program notes for a concert. I did spend quite a bit of time working on them, and learned a lot from the experience.

Does this seem too contrived?

I was in a similar boat, and left it out because I felt like they'd think I was trying too hard/bsing to make things work.

Best of luck to ya here and at FIU! 😀

 

[JSU]

Does anyone know when the interview season is?

 

[vickpick]

yeah, I left arts and journalism blank.

 

[CaliBalla]

yeah, I left arts and journalism blank.

That makes two of us. Arts & journalism for med school? Pft that's comedy 😛

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

Submitted secondary, sent in LORs, hoping for some love! South Florida resident here!

 

[PHD To MD]

This secondary email is pretty confusing. So we print out the secondary first then answer the questions? Then go back into the secondary and copy and paste the answers in. Then are we allowed to continue and submit or do we HAVE to save and exit and wait 14days to re-enter? Or is that like a time out if you need to save and exit? I guess I am asking to we have to save and exit or can we just finish the app and pay

 

[SEE13]

This secondary email is pretty confusing. So we print out the secondary first then answer the questions? Then go back into the secondary and copy and paste the answers in. Then are we allowed to continue and submit or do we HAVE to save and exit and wait 14days to re-enter? Or is that like a time out if you need to save and exit? I guess I am asking to we have to save and exit or can we just finish the app and pay

You don't need to save and exit, you can just pay and finish the app.

 

[PHD To MD]

You don't need to save and exit, you can just pay and finish the app.

Thanks!

 

[fastEXcaper]

The Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the Company is true.

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

Anyone have an idea on how long the turnaround time is between being complete and an interview invite?

 

[by604]

The Quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the Company is true.

I couldn't have said it better myself 😍 👍 +1

 

[fastEXcaper]

I couldn't have said it better myself 😍 👍 +1

😀😀😀

 

[LNuge]

Initially, reading this thread I thought everyone was being a little over-dramatic about the difficulty of the secondary... but now that I've spent way too many hours on it, and it's only half complete, I understand everyone's frustrations....

 

[xATB]

Initially, reading this thread I thought everyone was being a little over-dramatic about the difficulty of the secondary... but now that I've spent way too many hours on it, and it's only half complete, I understand everyone's frustrations....

it's not bad at all if you just copy and paste from your AMCAS 😀

 

[DunKno]

Initially, reading this thread I thought everyone was being a little over-dramatic about the difficulty of the secondary... but now that I've spent way too many hours on it, and it's only half complete, I understand everyone's frustrations....

Yeah 12 prompts, each with a very generous amount of space given... that must be a new record. Duke's was easier than this

 

[blackandgold1]

OMG HOW DO I PUT SPACES IN BETWEEN MY PARAGRAPHS ON THE SECONDARY APPLICATION?

I'm cutting and pasting from word and it keeps deleting my spaces between paragraphs wahhhhhhhhh

 

[edge of desire]

hmm, you could try <p> (it worked for some other schools)

so i'm confused about the word limit -- earlier in this thread, somoene posted the prompts and they said it was "1500 WORDS" limit but the email says "500 words" for each question...is it just 1500 for the two narratives (which ones are these?) and 500 for the rest?

Also, if you're OOS, does anyone know if they even start interviewing OOS applicants who aren't MD/phd at the same time as In state? I would assume they do b/c Miami is "kind of private" but some schools, for ex, don't even interview OOS ppl until Jan.

Thanks!

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

hmm, you could try <p> (it worked for some other schools)

so i'm confused about the word limit -- earlier in this thread, somoene posted the prompts and they said it was "1500 WORDS" limit but the email says "500 words" for each question...is it just 1500 for the two narratives (which ones are these?) and 500 for the rest?

Also, if you're OOS, does anyone know if they even start interviewing OOS applicants who aren't MD/phd at the same time as In state? I would assume they do b/c Miami is "kind of private" but some schools, for ex, don't even interview OOS ppl until Jan.

Thanks!

APPLICANT NARRATIVES: (All narrative responses should be less than 500 words each).

Hope this helps. I bulleted the chronology questions.

 

[edge of desire]

oh thanks, lol, i think somebody copy/pasted that it said 1500, i was like WHAAAAAAAAAA???

where is your icon from, zeppelin? matthew mccougnahey right?

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

oh thanks, lol, i think somebody copy/pasted that it said 1500, i was like WHAAAAAAAAAA???

where is your icon from, zeppelin? matthew mccougnahey right?

Yeah, 1,500 is a bit ridiculous for anyone to read. Perhaps it was a gunner try to dissuade people from applying lol.

Yes, Matthew McCoughnahey (sp?). This particular picture is from the movie "Dazed and Confused." If you have time in between writing secondaries, I'd give it a watch (you won't be disappointed).

 

[chitown22]

Yeah, 1,500 is a bit ridiculous for anyone to read. Perhaps it was a gunner try to dissuade people from applying lol.

Yes, Matthew McCoughnahey (sp?). This particular picture is from the movie "Dazed and Confused." If you have time in between writing secondaries, I'd give it a watch (you won't be disappointed).

It actually did say 1500 originally and that people normally write about 500. I think they must have changed it to 500 at some point along the way, because who wants to read more than that anyway? I'm pretty sure this is just referring to the first two questions though as the rest of them are more short answer and will be much less than 500 (at least that's how I took it)

 

[Goblue89]

Is anyone including activities that they did before college? Normally I wouldn't consider including things prior to college but I have had a job since I was 15 and want to stress my employment history to the adcom.

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

I did on my primary and on Miami's secondary application. I believe that my first job significantly helped develop my work ethic and I wanted them to know that.

 

[dbo8844]

Okay,

I just called Miami to ask them about the chronology questions and all of these extra questions that are just repeats from the AMCAS. These questions are a summary of your AMCAS. I would not just copy and paste the AMCAS but I would suggest saying the same things you said in your AMCAS. This secondary is long but it is not difficult if you have filled out a few secondaries. I have used some of the answers from other secondaries to fill in some other questions. (such as travel question)

 

[HB1989]

Is there a status page?

 

[tropomyosin]

Not sure if anyone else ran into this but I have several activities that can go under multiple sections of this secondary.
For example, one of my clinical experiences was a volunteer position. Also, my research which I do for credit at my undergraduate institution is clinical in nature and I do get patient contact. Should I list each of these twice?
Obviously on my AMCAS I listed each activity only once and chose a category that I thought best represented the activity. I know it's a no-no to double list hours on AMCAS but I wasn't sure if the same applied to this sitution. Should I double list these two activities?

Thanks in advance.

 

[LNuge]

Not sure if anyone else ran into this but I have several activities that can go under multiple sections of this secondary.
For example, one of my clinical experiences was a volunteer position. Also, my research which I do for credit at my undergraduate institution is clinical in nature and I do get patient contact. Should I list each of these twice?
Obviously on my AMCAS I listed each activity only once and chose a category that I thought best represented the activity. I know it's a no-no to double list hours on AMCAS but I wasn't sure if the same applied to this sitution. Should I double list these two activities?

Thanks in advance.

I did not repeat them. I figured I'd classify them as best as I can. For example, I volunteer at the Children's Hospital, but since this is not "clinical shadowing," I listed it under community service.

I have a question -- I am a Florida Resident, but I currently work at the NIH in Maryland. Should I use my Maryland address so that any correspondence gets sent to me? Or for residency purposes should I use my permanent address in Florida?

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

I did not repeat them. I figured I'd classify them as best as I can. For example, I volunteer at the Children's Hospital, but since this is not "clinical shadowing," I listed it under community service.

I have a question -- I am a Florida Resident, but I currently work at the NIH in Maryland. Should I use my Maryland address so that any correspondence gets sent to me? Or for residency purposes should I use my permanent address in Florida?

I would put your permanent address in Florida to be absolutely safe there is no confusion. If you really need the mail, have it forwarded by the USPS to your Maryland address.

 

[LNuge]

OMG HOW DO I PUT SPACES IN BETWEEN MY PARAGRAPHS ON THE SECONDARY APPLICATION?

I'm cutting and pasting from word and it keeps deleting my spaces between paragraphs wahhhhhhhhh

I copied from Word into Textedit (I think it is Macs version of Notepad). Then I copied and pasted into the secondary and it seemed to retain all of my formatting (spacing and numbering). If it's not working straight from word, I'd try this.

 

[MD Select]

Anyone have an idea on how long the turnaround time is between being complete and an interview invite?

If you finish your secondary in August, you should hear back as early as September (with interview as early as October)...or as late as never. Last year's interviews ended in April, so if you haven't been offered an interview by March, the chances are getting slim.

 

[MD Select]

I was in a similar boat, and left it out because I felt like they'd think I was trying too hard/bsing to make things work.

Best of luck to ya here and at FIU! 😀

They really do mean it when they say to leave blank any that don't apply...I had at least two blank, as I recall, and still got an early acceptance. Best of luck. 🙂

 

[edge of desire]

wow now that i'm writing these for real, 500 words is A LOT...so much writing....zeppelin, thanks for the movie suggestion -- i like matthew mccoughnahey, but i like matt damon's impression of him even better (seen it?)

 

[FattySlug]

So I paid for it does that mean it has been sent? I got an email saying transaction completed but not "secondary submitted." Also there is a send registration email button of the top right corner. What is that for?

 

[Cinclus]

So I paid for it does that mean it has been sent? I got an email saying transaction completed but not "secondary submitted." Also there is a send registration email button of the top right corner. What is that for?

I think so. A day or so after I sent in payment, the school sent an email saying that they'd matched my secondary to my primary, and to please send a picture.

 

[FattySlug]

I think so. A day or so after I sent in payment, the school sent an email saying that they'd matched my secondary to my primary, and to please send a picture.

Thanks. Just got the email today also.

 

[DrShazam]

If any of you do end up having formatting issues in your application, you can call Acteva at (877) 855-8646, and they can edit the responses for you. I got freaked out when my order confirmation came, and there were innumerable formatting errors (questions marks in place of apostrophes and quotation marks) even though I had copy-pasted from TextEditor. However, when I spoke to the representative, he assured me the responses were transmitted to UM in the correct format.

 

[chrissyxf]

Is there a status page?

 

[topherP]

Is there a status page?

Not that I've heard of or found

 

[themetalhawk]

Yeah 12 prompts, each with a very generous amount of space given... that must be a new record. Duke's was easier than this

Ok, I still haven't completed my UM secondary, but THAT is not true. Duke's has legitimately difficult questions!

 

[edge of desire]

so if the Narratives are 500 words, how much are ppl writing for the non-narratives that aren't asking for "a chronology"? for ex: 5) Please discuss a situation where you had to use your leadership skills.

So far I only have 136 words for that one. In regards to this question, I also don't know if it's askign for me to just talk about one of my leadership positions, or if I should discuss a conflict and then how i used my leadership skills to resolve it?

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

so if the Narratives are 500 words, how much are ppl writing for the non-narratives that aren't asking for "a chronology"? for ex: 5) Please discuss a situation where you had to use your leadership skills.

So far I only have 136 words for that one. In regards to this question, I also don't know if it's askign for me to just talk about one of my leadership positions, or if I should discuss a conflict and then how i used my leadership skills to resolve it?

500 words is a limit. Mine were generally 200-400 words.

 

[Bracey]

If any of you do end up having formatting issues in your application, you can call Acteva at (877) 855-8646, and they can edit the responses for you. I got freaked out when my order confirmation came, and there were innumerable formatting errors (questions marks in place of apostrophes and quotation marks) even though I had copy-pasted from TextEditor. However, when I spoke to the representative, he assured me the responses were transmitted to UM in the correct format.

So, if there was a formatting error is it essential that we call, or does Acteva fix it anyway?

 

[LNuge]

so if the Narratives are 500 words, how much are ppl writing for the non-narratives that aren't asking for "a chronology"? for ex: 5) Please discuss a situation where you had to use your leadership skills.

So far I only have 136 words for that one. In regards to this question, I also don't know if it's askign for me to just talk about one of my leadership positions, or if I should discuss a conflict and then how i used my leadership skills to resolve it?

I wrote about a specific conflict... I think that is what they are asking. I wrote close to 500 words for most of the questions, except the journalism and fine arts questions... I think as long as you answer the question, it doesn't matter how many words you have.

 

[JSU]

Submitted at 3am. I hope there aren't any typos but those essays were huge!

 

[minerva3121]

Submitted at 3am. I hope there aren't any typos but those essays were huge!

Miami lets you go back and edit your responses. After submitting you should get an e-mail from [email protected] titled "Accessing Your Order for University of Miami - Miller School of Medicine" and it'll provide a link for you to access your application.

 

[edge of desire]

thanks minerva and zeppelin! always responding to my q's and trying to be helpful 🙂

i guess if we can edit, then what's the point of being super picky before you submit eh?

also, are they High Pass, Pass, Fail?