2012-2013 Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences Application Thread

[theherowedeserv]

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I'm on a bit of a fact finding mission for my college's pre-med advising committe (and for reference for myself, since USUHS is one of my top choice schools) and I was wondering if anyone would be able to provide me any information on what the secondary question(s) are like for USUHS.

anything you can share will be really helpful, thanks!

they asked you: to tell the admission committee your specific interest in USUHS for your medical education and to explain your motivation for military medicine and something about your experience or familiarity with the military services. Be creative and concise in your comments.

 

[stareatthesky]

they asked you: to tell the admission committee your specific interest in USUHS for your medical education and to explain your motivation for military medicine and something about your experience or familiarity with the military services. Be creative and concise in your comments.

thanks so much!

 

[cinamin]

recently waitlisted... PM me if you want details.. I am nervous about the WL movement!

 

[finalandreo]

Thanks for the response guys! Super Helpful! I absolutely do not mind traveling/moving, in fact its one of the reasons I applied. I want to travel and be an MD so USU seemed the way to go. I'm leaning very heavily toward USU at this point. My one concern still (and this may be stupid) is that the training I get in the military (especially for emergency med) won't translate to the civ world well when/if I get out of the military.

Thoughts?

Nonsense. Yeah, you'l have to learn a new bureaucracy, but you'll be bringing a different perspective to the medical team. How many times do we hear of doctors missing **** because it was some oddball from the backwoods disease? Guess what! That's what you'll see in the AOR! You'll be valuable in the civilian sector because you'll think a bit differently than your peers.

 

[finalandreo]

recently waitlisted... PM me if you want details.. I am nervous about the WL movement!

Relax. Are you locked into a branch of service? If not, then you'll get off the waitlist. My problem is that I have service commitment with the Air Force still, so I have to wait for an Air Force slot. FML lol Not entirely bad though. I love the Air Force.

 

[cinamin]

can any current students talk about the waiver process... for allergies?


🙁

 

[askamsky51]

So I have a remedial to do (excess protein in urine. Which is funny because 99% chance it's due to stress, dehydration and working out 2x daily). I'm getting very anxious because raven smith told me about it like a week ago but I still haven't received the paperwork. Dodmets website says something about problems sending out remidials but it's been way too long.

 

[wesmeister246]

So I have a remedial to do (excess protein in urine. Which is funny because 99% chance it's due to stress, dehydration and working out 2x daily). I'm getting very anxious because raven smith told me about it like a week ago but I still haven't received the paperwork. Dodmets website says something about problems sending out remidials but it's been way too long.

You don't actually have to wait for the remedial letters, I never did, just call Concorde, the DODMERB contractor, and have them assign you a physician, you can see the address online and Concorde will fax all the necessary paperwork to the physician's office. Fast and easy. The thing is you have to follow up on the paperwork every single day, my last remedial took 2 weeks to complete cause the providers kept forgetting to fax the results even after I reminded them everyday

 

[askamsky51]

Good to know. I'll do that. To those of you who got remedials for weight. Did that show up on the dodmets web site? I know I'm slightly over but only see my hay fever and protein on the site for remedials.

 

[theherowedeserv]

my dodmerb was qualified and i emailed raven smith. i never got a reply. do they know i'm qualified physically? or should i email her again.

thanks

 

[premed159]

You don't have to be at weight at the time of the physical exam?

 

[cinamin]

I think if you're not at weight, then you have time to 'fix it'... but IMO it prolongs the whole process.. I think later down the road you would get BF% checks or something.

 

[cinamin]

my dodmerb was qualified and i emailed raven smith. i never got a reply. do they know i'm qualified physically? or should i email her again.

thanks

I don't think you need to... they see everything on their end in the system.

 

[nalah]

Does anyone have any idea how big the wait list and alternate list are? It would suck if all of the spots AND most of the waitlist spots are taken lol

 

[Shah Boy]

my dodmerb was qualified and i emailed raven smith. i never got a reply. do they know i'm qualified physically? or should i email her again.

thanks

I would say call her, because you still need to get that official unconditional acceptance. She seems to be easier to get ahold of if you just call her than email.

 

[Shah Boy]

Hey guys! I'm sorry if this is a repeat question (I tried searching the forum but didn't see it).

I was wondering if anyone took the shuttle from the metro to the campus that they offer per their website? Unfortunately there were no student hosts available so I can't go in with one of them.

Hey, I took the shuttle when I left the school after my interview. It was pretty easy, but I'm not entirely sure where exactly it picks up/drops off at the metro stop.

 

[cinamin]

I would say call her, because you still need to get that official unconditional acceptance. She seems to be easier to get ahold of if you just call her than email.

i don't think they are accepted yet..

 

[SDSU EB]

Good to know. I'll do that. To those of you who got remedials for weight. Did that show up on the dodmets web site? I know I'm slightly over but only see my hay fever and protein on the site for remedials.

No, it does not show up on DODMERB because they don't check the BMI standards anymore. Raven is supposed to call/correspond with anyone who didn't qual, but best to call in and see if you need to get the measurements done.

The body fat measures are usually pretty good, I'm at max accession weight, but come in 4-5 percentage points below max body fat percentage, depends on your body type: Goal have a thin waist and a thick neck.

You don't have to be at weight at the time of the physical exam?

You do, you will be placed on the Height/weight list by Raven until it's resolved, either by losing weight or meeting the body fat % measurement requirements. Unconditional does NOT get sent out until you resolve height/weight AFAIK

 

[ASU11]

Any other September interviewees still waiting for decisions?

 

[cinamin]

Does anyone have any idea how big the wait list and alternate list are? It would suck if all of the spots AND most of the waitlist spots are taken lol

i would love to know this as well. i tried to find out how many people are currently on the WL but i was not given an answer.. more like "mehhhh" couldn't really say kind of thing.

 

[nalah]

i would love to know this as well. i tried to find out how many people are currently on the WL but i was not given an answer.. more like "mehhhh" couldn't really say kind of thing.

Well thanks for trying anyways! hopefully there's still room for all of us 🙂

 

[premed159]

You do, you will be placed on the Height/weight list by Raven until it's resolved, either by losing weight or meeting the body fat % measurement requirements. Unconditional does NOT get sent out until you resolve height/weight AFAIK

Oh but we could get conditional acceptance until height/weight is resolved?

 

[SDSU EB]

Oh but we could get conditional acceptance until height/weight is resolved?

Yes, they will extend conditional acceptance prior to that, conditional is made without regard to DODMERB, Height/Weight, or background checks.

 

[cinamin]

this thread is super quiet... Any acceptances within the past 2 weeks?

 

[Chem Hopeful]

this thread is super quiet... Any acceptances within the past 2 weeks?

Interviewed yesterday, and this place was amazing! 😀 I am so excited to hear back…in March or April. >.>

 

[RACPITT68]

Interviewed yesterday, and this place was amazing! 😀 I am so excited to hear back…in March or April. >.>

Me too. Who were you?

 

[Deanwvu]

Me too. Who were you?

Rachel??

Send me a PM. I'm curious how your day went--I left pretty early (my interviews were at 1:00 and 1:45).

 

[RACPITT68]

Does anyone know why there are discrepancies in the weight/height requirements in different documents on the website?

For example, in the following document, the women's navy height 58 inches max weight is 139 lbs.
http://www.usuhs.mil/adm/catalog/AdmissionRequirements.pdf

But in this document the same height/gender is 124 lbs.
http://www.usuhs.edu/adm/SOMexcerpt.pdf

So which one is accurate?

 

[Shah Boy]

Does anyone know why there are discrepancies in the weight/height requirements in different documents on the website?

For example, in the following document, the women's navy height 58 inches max weight is 139 lbs.
http://www.usuhs.mil/adm/catalog/AdmissionRequirements.pdf

But in this document the same height/gender is 124 lbs.
http://www.usuhs.edu/adm/SOMexcerpt.pdf

So which one is accurate?

USUHS could use different standards, or those pages may be out of date, but the first link is closer to what is in Navy regs. (check out: OPNAVINST 6110.1J)
Or come to think of it, the PRT weight standards could be different from the ones for admission....

 

[RACPITT68]

USUHS could use different standards, or those pages may be out of date, but the first link is closer to what is in Navy regs. (check out: OPNAVINST 6110.1J)
Or come to think of it, the PRT weight standards could be different from the ones for admission....

I'm just wondering which one I need to be below to pass my physical. I don't want to get DQ'd because of something as insignificant as weight.

 

[McGeekster]

I hate to throw another number out there, but looking at the Guidance from Navy OPNAVINST 6110.1J (11 July 2011) it looks like 131 for the 4' 10" female. It could be that USUHS has a different standard, but once you graduate you would be under the same standard as the rest of the Navy.
It is interesting that neither of those numbers correspond with what the Navy has put out. The army female height/weight numbers are off as well based off of AR 600-9.

 

[cinamin]

I think what you need to google is "Initial Accessions for Army male/female" and then make sure to look at your AGE group - e.g. ages 21-27 have a couple more lbs than ages 21 and under.

Also make sure you are looking at the initial accessions... the weight/height requirements are stricter if you are entering the military versus continuing.

Also USU goes by the Army standards (strictest out of all 3) even if you are going Navy or AF.

 

[RACPITT68]

Also USU goes by the Army standards (strictest out of all 3) even if you are going Navy or AF.

Wait, really? Where do they say that?

Also, I emailed the commissioning coordinator to get her input, and I should hear back on Monday. I'll update with what she says then.

 

[cinamin]

Wait, really? Where do they say that?

Also, I emailed the commissioning coordinator to get her input, and I should hear back on Monday. I'll update with what she says then.

I did a few searches and came across it somewhere on one of their forms or somewhere on their website. But yes let us know what she says.. ! Thanks.

 

[theherowedeserv]

I dont think they would be still interviewing if there weren't still spots.

 

[EGL33]

The service specific standards apply per service, no specific for USUHS alone

 

[nalah]

I checked my status a few days ago on Dodmets and it said "remedials requested" and now it says "qualified". Has this happened to anyone else?

 

[RACPITT68]

I dont think they would be still interviewing if there weren't still spots.

According to the deans we spoke with on Thursday (the last interview slot), all the spots are full for each branch. There are approximately 15-30 people on branch specific waitlists for each branch. But the waitlist is merit based, not date based, so those who interviewed later in the cycle are not automatically put at the bottom of the list. They're put into a place in the pile where the admissions staff believe they're most desirable.

Just because someone is on the waitlist though, isn't a killer. They have an approximately 45% turn down rate for those they offer acceptance to, and anyone who hasn't finished a physical exam by a certain date is automatically removed from the waitlist. The list is constantly changing, and I think, overall, they said you have about a 25% chance of being accepted off the waitlist.

 

[cinamin]

According to the deans we spoke with on Thursday (the last interview slot), all the spots are full for each branch. There are approximately 15-30 people on branch specific waitlists for each branch. But the waitlist is merit based, not date based, so those who interviewed later in the cycle are not automatically put at the bottom of the list. They're put into a place in the pile where the admissions staff believe they're most desirable.

Just because someone is on the waitlist though, isn't a killer. They have an approximately 45% turn down rate for those they offer acceptance to, and anyone who hasn't finished a physical exam by a certain date is automatically removed from the waitlist. The list is constantly changing, and I think, overall, they said you have about a 25% chance of being accepted off the waitlist.

Right now there are 15-30 people on each WL or that's how many will be on each WL when this is all said and done? I was under the impression that chances of coming off the WL are better than 25% 🙁

Also I heard the declination rate is 30% from Dr. Saguil. It's strange how diff numbers and percentages are tossed around

 

[cinamin]

I checked my status a few days ago on Dodmets and it said "remedials requested" and now it says "qualified". Has this happened to anyone else?

Yes but I did a remedial - did you not do one?

 

[cinamin]

The service specific standards apply per service, no specific for USUHS alone

according to a USU document, they require everyone to go by one standard. best to check with ms. smith though

edit: here is the doc I found, looks like it was for incoming 2012 people (last yr). read the bottom of page 3 or 4 where it says everyone goes by the Army standard

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&...yjAQh8&sig=AHIEtbSooHRe_6KDUj9gdA1frvg6epZpCA

 

[RACPITT68]

according to a USU document, they require everyone to go by one standard. best to check with ms. smith though

edit: here is the doc I found, looks like it was for incoming 2012 people (last yr). read the bottom of page 3 or 4 where it says everyone goes by the Army standard

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&...yjAQh8&sig=AHIEtbSooHRe_6KDUj9gdA1frvg6epZpCA

Is this the quote you're talking about?

"Applicants exceeding the maximum allowable weight will be qualified or disqualified based upon their percentage of body fat, which will be calculated in accordance with current Army Regulations."

I assumed this meant they would just calculate your body fat based on how the army calculates body fat (for women: waist + hips - neck compared to height chart). It doesn't necessarily mean you need to meet army standards for weight or body fat, just that they would use that method to calculate it. At least, that was how I interpreted that quote.

 

[RACPITT68]

Right now there are 15-30 people on each WL or that's how many will be on each WL when this is all said and done? I was under the impression that chances of coming off the WL are better than 25% 🙁

Also I heard the declination rate is 30% from Dr. Saguil. It's strange how diff numbers and percentages are tossed around

I was quoted last year's turn down rate as exactly 43%. They obviously don't know what this year's will be yet, so maybe 30% is an estimate based on what they've had so far?

I interviewed on the last day. They told us 15-30 people per branch total before our interview. There were 24 of us, so divide 24/3, and that adds about 8 people to each WL (assuming we split ourselves evenly. I don't know if that's the case. I saw a LOT of interested AF candidates). But some of us could get rejected, put on hold, withdraw applications, or not do physicals. So let's assume it adds 6 people per branch. The branches would have about 21-36 people per branch.

 

[theherowedeserv]

When i interviewed in January they said that 1/3 of the class comes from the waitlist. Also, when I interviewed they said there were mostly full, but still had spots open.

 

[cinamin]

Is this the quote you're talking about?

"Applicants exceeding the maximum allowable weight will be qualified or disqualified based upon their percentage of body fat, which will be calculated in accordance with current Army Regulations."

I assumed this meant they would just calculate your body fat based on how the army calculates body fat (for women: waist + hips - neck compared to height chart). It doesn't necessarily mean you need to meet army standards for weight or body fat, just that they would use that method to calculate it. At least, that was how I interpreted that quote.

hmm i see i see. I guess it's just hard to know since some waitlisters can be offered spots in other branches so... ? e.g. if you are on the AF wl, get an army spot, then they would have to re-check your height/weight whereas if you just make sure everyone is qualified for army, then this avoids that problem... idk.. i thought i heard/read this somewhere else too but that's the only doc I could find right off the bat. the odd thing is that table in that doc is for ppl aged 21 and under... compared to other tables on the web

 

[nalah]

Yes but I did a remedial - did you not do one?

No it was within a matter of hours that the status changed, nothing done on my end at all. I noticed it changed when I went to look for more info on the remedial. odd.

Also, I think the 30% turn down rate may be an average rate, I heard that on my interview day as well.

 

[cinamin]

No it was within a matter of hours that the status changed, nothing done on my end at all. I noticed it changed when I went to look for more info on the remedial. odd.

Also, I think the 30% turn down rate may be an average rate, I heard that on my interview day as well.

hmm maybe call dodmerb just to be sure there isn't a glitch in the computer or something..that is kind of odd

 

[cinamin]

I was quoted last year's turn down rate as exactly 43%. They obviously don't know what this year's will be yet, so maybe 30% is an estimate based on what they've had so far?

I interviewed on the last day. They told us 15-30 people per branch total before our interview. There were 24 of us, so divide 24/3, and that adds about 8 people to each WL (assuming we split ourselves evenly. I don't know if that's the case. I saw a LOT of interested AF candidates). But some of us could get rejected, put on hold, withdraw applications, or not do physicals. So let's assume it adds 6 people per branch. The branches would have about 21-36 people per branch.

Hmm.. there will be more people on the WL per branch by May. They still have to review all the interviewees before you... likely they are reviewing people from early Jan at the moment... So that's like... a lot of interview dates.. I would say the WL will be more like 50-65 per branch? sigh.

 

[RACPITT68]

hmm i see i see. I guess it's just hard to know since some waitlisters can be offered spots in other branches so... ? e.g. if you are on the AF wl, get an army spot, then they would have to re-check your height/weight whereas if you just make sure everyone is qualified for army, then this avoids that problem... idk.. i thought i heard/read this somewhere else too but that's the only doc I could find right off the bat. the odd thing is that table in that doc is for ppl aged 21 and under... compared to other tables on the web

From what Dr. Saguil told us, you're only on the WL for one branch. That's it. You're locked into it from WL point on.

 

[RACPITT68]

Hmm.. there will be more people on the WL per branch by May. They still have to review all the interviewees before you... likely they are reviewing people from early Jan at the moment... So that's like... a lot of interview dates.. I would say the WL will be more like 50-65 per branch? sigh.

You're right. I didn't think of it like that. I assumed they'd be caught up.