I'm really anxious to get an interview here! I've heard their screening process is extremely variable as to who gets interviews. Any idea on when they're going to start making offers?
2012-2013 Michigan State University Application Thread
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Could you expand on this?
Also, according to last year's thread IIs started at the beginning of September! So hopefully we should be hearing some news soon 😱
I hope we'll hear back soon then!!Could you expand on this?
Also, according to last year's thread IIs started at the beginning of September! So hopefully we should be hearing some news soon 😱
MSUCHM is a school that you can't really place a reason as to why people who receive interviews do; For example, its fairly safe to say if you're an ISS with a 34 and 3.75 (and decent EC's) that you will likely receive an interview to Wayne, the same can not be said for MSU. No one really knows what exactly they look for which sucks for those of us that really want to attend MSUCHM. It's a great school and I can speak from experience that the application process is a crap shoot but I just feel completely lost as to what to I can put on my app that would appeal to this school. I know people who have been accepted with a 24 and people rejected with a 36. I just feel that it is really random :/
I know that, I'm not saying the dates that interviews are given are random, I'm saying their screening process is.
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In that case, what is it you feel MSUCHM would like to see? It's no secret that every school looks for something in particular, what does MSUCHM really look for?
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+1 to this question. I contacted them with this question a few weeks ago, but never got a response 🙁
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My secondary was marked complete on 8/2. Do you think they send the interview invites out in batches or after a specific amount of time? It looks like I'm about 2 weeks behind you.
also, I submitted 7/13
I know the optional essays are optional but if I don't do them, will that look bad upon my application. I am interested in primary care especially for rural/underserved communities but really don't know anything about the different programs they have (I know I can search, but as of now, I am very tired of doing so many secondaries and don't want to do any extra writing if really not needed-running out of time too). Please let me know if anyone of you didn't do the optional essays or your thoughts on this. Thanks
I did not write the optional essays because I am not interested in those programs. My understanding is that this has no bearing on your acceptance to MSU CHM because the website says the optional essays will only be considered for applicants who have already been accepted to MSU CHM.
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Can you elaborate on the "Optional essays". I just completed my summer courses and submitted my AMCAS yesterday.
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It is MMI and one standard interview.
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I don't think that interview invites are random, but I can understand why it may seem that way. I have many friends from high school who applied to CHM with either similar or higher grades/scores than me and didn't receive an interview, or interviewed but weren't accepted.
CHM is big on "fit." Do some research on the core values and mission of CHM to see what I mean by this.
At the end of the day, however, it may be tough to understand why some people are invited to interview at CHM and some aren't. I promise you that the admissions committee has an idea of what type of student they are looking for, even if their decisions seem random.
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Just a note: I know that everyone is very anxious about this process. But PLEASE avoid "putting things on your applications to appeal to MSUCHM," as some of you have mentioned above. You should not be doing this for any school. Your application should be an honest and accurate representation of you as a person. Yes, you should tailor your essays to answer the questions of the specific schools you're applying to, but under no circumstances should you be "trying to put things on your application to appeal to MSUCHM". It will make your interview process that much more stressful, because instead of being yourself (which is what they would like to see), you will be worried about if your answers are fitting a "CHM ideal applicant mold" that you constructed in your head. If you are not someone who they would have interviewed anyway, you will have wasted their time, your time, and most importantly, taken the interview opportunity away from someone who may have been a really great fit for the school. And on the off chance that you are able to snake your way through the interview, you will not be happy at a school like MSUCHM unless you are the type of student who fits their mission statement well (and that goes for any school), which is much more important than you think, especially since right now everyone is just worried about getting in SOMEWHERE. Actually getting to the end result of becoming a physician will be much easier and more enjoyable if you actually like your school and it is a good fit for you, I cannot stress this enough. You will do better if you are at the right school for you.
That being said, MSUCHM is more concerned with who you are as a person rather than what your academics look like on paper. Yes, those are important too, but we have a good amount of people with 26 and 27 MCATs, whose life experiences made them better candidates than people with mid-high 30s on their MCATs. We even have someone who never took physics. We have single mothers, people in their 40s going back for a second career, pregnant people, and people with 4 and 5 kids. We have people who took time off after undergrad, and people who are "traditional students". There are students from big, well known state schools, small liberal arts schools, middle of the ladder schools, and Ivy League schools. I cannot emphasize enough how much they value what you will bring to the table. I can say I never would have expected my closest friend in med school so far to be a 30 year old mother of 4. This is a whole-picture school, and we have a phenomenal, diverse class because of it. I had the choice of 5 schools, and I definitely made the right one. Everyone here is very different--there is no "model applicant" for gaining acceptance, it's really about what you bring to the table as a whole, unique person. To reiterate this point: when I went for admissions advising with MSUCHM, I was told that I was not a competitive applicant, and that I should wait a year to apply after strengthening my application. I applied anyway, and was offered an interview and subsequent acceptance very early in the cycle.
So, don't just blindly apply to 45 different schools and try to fool each of them into thinking that you're the perfect fit for their school, because you think that it will give you the best chance of getting in SOMEWHERE. You may be a great applicant, but there is no way you are a perfect fit for 45 schools. So, save some money and time. Really investigate the schools you're applying to, and see what their missions and values are. Apply to the ones that fit you best as a person, and have academic parameters in your range. Having done the application process twice, both ways, I can definitely say the latter is much more successful. I applied to 12 schools last year, interviewed at 6, got into 5, and got significant scholarships at 3, after having applied to probably upwards of 30 the cycle before, and getting only 1 interview, after which I was waitlisted.
I'll get off my soap box now. Does anyone have any questions other than some variation of "what can I do to look good to MSUCHM"?
That being said, MSUCHM is more concerned with who you are as a person rather than what your academics look like on paper. Yes, those are important too, but we have a good amount of people with 26 and 27 MCATs, whose life experiences made them better candidates than people with mid-high 30s on their MCATs. We even have someone who never took physics. We have single mothers, people in their 40s going back for a second career, pregnant people, and people with 4 and 5 kids. We have people who took time off after undergrad, and people who are "traditional students". There are students from big, well known state schools, small liberal arts schools, middle of the ladder schools, and Ivy League schools. I cannot emphasize enough how much they value what you will bring to the table. I can say I never would have expected my closest friend in med school so far to be a 30 year old mother of 4. This is a whole-picture school, and we have a phenomenal, diverse class because of it. I had the choice of 5 schools, and I definitely made the right one. Everyone here is very different--there is no "model applicant" for gaining acceptance, it's really about what you bring to the table as a whole, unique person. To reiterate this point: when I went for admissions advising with MSUCHM, I was told that I was not a competitive applicant, and that I should wait a year to apply after strengthening my application. I applied anyway, and was offered an interview and subsequent acceptance very early in the cycle.
So, don't just blindly apply to 45 different schools and try to fool each of them into thinking that you're the perfect fit for their school, because you think that it will give you the best chance of getting in SOMEWHERE. You may be a great applicant, but there is no way you are a perfect fit for 45 schools. So, save some money and time. Really investigate the schools you're applying to, and see what their missions and values are. Apply to the ones that fit you best as a person, and have academic parameters in your range. Having done the application process twice, both ways, I can definitely say the latter is much more successful. I applied to 12 schools last year, interviewed at 6, got into 5, and got significant scholarships at 3, after having applied to probably upwards of 30 the cycle before, and getting only 1 interview, after which I was waitlisted.
I'll get off my soap box now. Does anyone have any questions other than some variation of "what can I do to look good to MSUCHM"?
If you're seriously interested in this school, do not give the application a half-winded effort simply because you're "very tired of doing so many secondaries".
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Hi I have a question. Between the time you applied to 30+ schools and the following cycle, what did you do to strengthen your app? Also, you mentioned that MSU encouraged you to wait another year - was this during your second or first time around applying? Thanks for your help.. for some of us, this school truly is a great fit!
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I was told two things made a huge difference in my application: I took the MCAT again, and applied earlier. I had enrolled in a SMP, which I ended up leaving after I was accepted to a few schools because I had the opportunity to do some free globe-trotting. The SMP didn't hold any weight with me getting accepted or rejected from med schools because I didn't have any grades from it yet to show anything. Basically, I just retook the MCAT, applied earlier, and kept doing the extracurriculars/volunteering that I had been doing. I swapped out my undergrad cafeteria job for a menial ER job though. When I re-wrote my essays, I really emphasized fit, which was easy, since I didn't listen to the typical "apply broad" advice for re-applicants, and I was only applying to a few schools that I knew would be good places for me.
This was during my second time applying. After I didn't end up getting off the waitlist I was on, I went to every school I knew I'd be reapplying to, and asked for feedback about my application. MSU's was not to apply...so, even the advisers give bad advice sometimes 😛
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So MSU med school advisors told you not to apply on a given cycle and you applied anyway and got in??
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Further proof that miracles happen! 🙂 What you read on SDN, what you are told by friends/parents/peers/teachers/current med students/pre-med advisors/even medical school admissions staff, is not gospel. One person in the admissions department told me I didn't have a chance, but clearly the rest of the team thought I was made of good stuff.
Other questions? Current students were some of the BEST resources for me when I was applying, so pick our brains 🙂
Sounds like it, I guess that goes to show how much of a "fit" they're accepted applicants are. One second its recommended that they don't apply, the next they're accepted.
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The suggestion not to apply was from an advisor who has nothing to do with the decision process and did not have full access to my application, including my essays, which are vital in showing my fit to the school. The suggestion was largely based on the fact that my intial MCAT was low, to the point where they were unsure if my "fit" would be able to overcome it. My GPA was in the middle, and when I retook the MCAT my score improved five points, giving me "the whole pakage" of what the school was looking for.
Even though this is "just the internet" please be mindful of how bitter an arrogant you could be coming across. I went to at least 2 interviews where the interviewers knew exactly who I was from SDN. They do look at this site. It's possible they know who you are. This could be their first impression, and as an interviewer this cycle, I can tell you that we will not look favorably upon those bashing schools (especially if you start bashing a school at another school's interview--yes it has happened). The med students who post here do so as a courtesy to you applicants. Do not be rude to us. We have been where you are, many of us more than once, and know much more about the intricacies of the process. We know you are nervous and frustrated, but that is no reason the be rude.
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There is absolutely no need to worry about that yet! They have just begun offering interviews, there is ample time to receive one, and I doubt they have even gotten to review your application yet 🙂
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To put your mind at ease, they will infom u if ur put on hold! Happened to me last year 😳
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II for Sept 21... Woooo!
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Hi everyone,
I'm a little confused about the 2 week deadline. I was under the impression that I had 2 weeks to submit my payment for the secondary application, but once the payment is received I have until either Novemeber or December to submit (I can't remember the exact date).
Do I have the right idea? Some of the earlier posts in this thread made it sound like I only have two weeks to submit my whole secondary app.
I'm submitting my secondary very soon, but just wanted to make sure it's not too late! Any info would be much appreciated.
I'm a little confused about the 2 week deadline. I was under the impression that I had 2 weeks to submit my payment for the secondary application, but once the payment is received I have until either Novemeber or December to submit (I can't remember the exact date).
Do I have the right idea? Some of the earlier posts in this thread made it sound like I only have two weeks to submit my whole secondary app.
I'm submitting my secondary very soon, but just wanted to make sure it's not too late! Any info would be much appreciated.
i think i was mildy confused about that at first too but i think they did want the secondary essays complete within two weeks of receiving the supplemental email. maybe you could give them a call and ask for some clarification and/or explain your confusion if it's already been more than two weeks since receiving the supplemental invite.
So I just tried to login and check my status and I got this:
PAGE NOT FOUND
The resource that you attempted to locate was not found. Please check the URL and try again.
My name appears in the upper right corner of the screen so it accepted my login, now I'm wondering if this means I'm rejected but just haven't gotten the email yet? Anyone know if this means anything?
PAGE NOT FOUND
The resource that you attempted to locate was not found. Please check the URL and try again.
My name appears in the upper right corner of the screen so it accepted my login, now I'm wondering if this means I'm rejected but just haven't gotten the email yet? Anyone know if this means anything?
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same as you... either we were rejected at the same time or the site is down for maintenance. we shall know in the morning
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