2012-2013 University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Application Thread

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Hello everyone!

And so, the time is upon us once again! Well, for me anyways...

Here's a little about me. This is my third time applying to UAMS. First year: rejected. Second year: alternate list but eventually not accepted. Hopefully third time's a charm! My main weakness is my MCAT score, but I retook it a third time and should get the results within a week. My practice scores were higher than before, so I'm hoping for the best. :xf:

Anyways, good luck to everyone!
 
So I finally joined SDN after a year of creeping. Kind of a big day for me. So does anyone have any advice about the PMAC interview? I'm so nervous.
 
The advice I got from some UAMS students was pretty interesting.

Do some mock interviews with some doctors or faculty from your college if possible.

Have answers ready to the obvious questions: Why medicine? What are you most interested in within the field? If you changed majors/careers, why?

I hear they like to ask about legislature regarding healthcare as well. I would definitely know a bit about Obamacare and how it will affect both physicians and patients.

Other than that, try to dictate the direction of the conversation. If you like a subject, leave an answer hanging to encourage the group to ask more about it.

I also know that they may very well ask for your MCAT score. Be ready to talk about that - some students got that question, some didn't.

General interview questions are fair game, so be ready. An excellent bit for starting a conversation is simply "Tell us something about yourself." I'm personally hoping to use this to push the conversation in a direction I am confident and prepared in.

I'm pretty much nervous as hell, too. I practice answering questions when I'm in the shower or driving somewhere (solo.. friends and family get weirded out when you start having conversations by yourself). I just have to relax and remember that I truly think I am a candidate they would want in their program, and that if that is the case, they need to hear what I have to say without my being affected by nerves.. easier said than done!

Good luck!
 
Does anyone out there know of other schools which accept a Speech class in place of English? I know UAMS does.
 
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Bamfu said:
The advice I got from some UAMS students was pretty interesting.

Do some mock interviews with some doctors or faculty from your college if possible.

Have answers ready to the obvious questions: Why medicine? What are you most interested in within the field? If you changed majors/careers, why?

I hear they like to ask about legislature regarding healthcare as well. I would definitely know a bit about Obamacare and how it will affect both physicians and patients.

Other than that, try to dictate the direction of the conversation. If you like a subject, leave an answer hanging to encourage the group to ask more about it.

I also know that they may very well ask for your MCAT score. Be ready to talk about that - some students got that question, some didn't.


General interview questions are fair game, so be ready. An excellent bit for starting a conversation is simply "Tell us something about yourself." I'm personally hoping to use this to push the conversation in a direction I am confident and prepared in.

I'm pretty much nervous as hell, too. I practice answering questions when I'm in the shower or driving somewhere (solo.. friends and family get weirded out when you start having conversations by yourself). I just have to relax and remember that I truly think I am a candidate they would want in their program, and that if that is the case, they need to hear what I have to say without my being affected by nerves.. easier said than done!

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks so much! My pmac is September 11th, kind of an iffy day.
 
Bamfu said:
The advice I got from some UAMS students was pretty interesting.

Do some mock interviews with some doctors or faculty from your college if possible.

Have answers ready to the obvious questions: Why medicine? What are you most interested in within the field? If you changed majors/careers, why?

I hear they like to ask about legislature regarding healthcare as well. I would definitely know a bit about Obamacare and how it will affect both physicians and patients.

Other than that, try to dictate the direction of the conversation. If you like a subject, leave an answer hanging to encourage the group to ask more about it.

I also know that they may very well ask for your MCAT score. Be ready to talk about that - some students got that question, some didn't.

General interview questions are fair game, so be ready. An excellent bit for starting a conversation is simply "Tell us something about yourself." I'm personally hoping to use this to push the conversation in a direction I am confident and prepared in.

I'm pretty much nervous as hell, too. I practice answering questions when I'm in the shower or driving somewhere (solo.. friends and family get weirded out when you start having conversations by yourself). I just have to relax and remember that I truly think I am a candidate they would want in their program, and that if that is the case, they need to hear what I have to say without my being affected by nerves.. easier said than done!

Good luck!
Click to expand...

Amazingly helpful. Thanks! Mind me asking when your interview is?

We're going to be talking about health care reform in my Health Systems Admin class this week. I wanted to do cartwheels when I heard that.
 
My interview is October 6. Haven't yet received the email to tell me anything more yet.
 
Love this school!
Applied OOS so I guess I won't be hearing about that January interview for some time 🙁
 
Interesting. Small number I assume then.
 
It's usually around 100-120 with about 25-30 being accepted. I guess the class sizes are increasing this year, so those numbers may bump up a little.
 
MilkmanAl said:
It's usually around 100-120 with about 25-30 being accepted. I guess the class sizes are increasing this year, so those numbers may bump up a little.
Click to expand...

I just added this school to my processed AMCAS application yesterday. When do they mail out the secondaries, by any chance do you know how many essays it has?
 
MilkmanAl said:
Unless things have changed, it has zero essays. I got my secondary about 2 weeks after applying.
Click to expand...

Thanks! do they send an email or something to let us know that the secondary was mailed?
 
Does anyone know how the December acceptances usually work? Any idea of GPA, MCAT range?
 
Arkstudent said:
Does anyone know how the December acceptances usually work? Any idea of GPA, MCAT range?
Click to expand...

Mr. South actually mentioned this when he spoke at my school. He said they review 15-20 applicants in December, and another 15-20 in January. He didn't mention any ranges, but rather said that the applicants they admit early are usually those that probably have multiple acceptances to other medical schools. 30-40 early acceptances is roughly 20%. The 90th percentiles at UAMS are 34 and 4.0, so I would guess that people they review probably land between 32-33 and 3.8-4.0. Of course, these are just estimates.
 
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Bamfu said:
My interview is October 6. Haven't yet received the email to tell me anything more yet.
Click to expand...

Same Here, haven't recieved an email or letter as well. I personally went and submitted my secondary, and scheduled the interview for Oct. 6th. The lady told me that they will mail something approx. 3 weeks before the interview date to tell about the interview date, place, time etc etc.
But I think I messed up something on the secondary, and that is why there is a delay. When they ask for the voter registration number, I gave my driver's license, since when I went to register at DMV the lady told me that was the case. But when the voter registration mail came in the number was completely different. I dunno whats up with teh delay!

Hoping to hear from them soon.
 
I was just wondering if there is anyone out there that can tell me about how to get in some mock interviews before the actually interview before the oct. 6th date???

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks,
 
mua said:
I was just wondering if there is anyone out there that can tell me about how to get in some mock interviews before the actually interview before the oct. 6th date???

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks,
Click to expand...

A lot of universities have career centers that offer mock interviews. At my undergrad university, there are several career advisors and you can have an unlimited number of interviews so you can really get practice. I had several mock interviews already and it has helped me tremendously. Just a little advice if you do use these services: some advisors are unfamiliar with medical school interviews, so tell them it is NOT for a job (i.e. no resume is required) and they should ask you medical school-specific questions like "Why medicine".
 
Is it worth applying here OOS with a GPA between 3.74-3.78 and a 32R MCAT?
 
I would say it's worth trying. That score is above the average acceptance score. App fee here is only $100 iirc.

If you've got decent shadowing/volunteer experience and you're worried about your other apps, I'd do it.
 
jqueb29 said:
Is it worth applying here OOS with a GPA between 3.74-3.78 and a 32R MCAT?
Click to expand...

It's worth applying. Those numbers are probably worth an invite to interview as long as the rest of your application is solid, and UAMS is big on fit (they really want people staying in Arkansas to practice) so I'd go ahead and apply and if you score an interview you could be in pretty good shape.

-Matt
 
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This might be a dumb question, but when the app says to fill out page 2 OR 3 if applying for the freshman class of 2013,2014, or 2015, that doesn't mean graduating class, right? Because then we'd be applying for 2017.
 
Bamfu said:
My interview is October 6. Haven't yet received the email to tell me anything more yet.
Click to expand...

Buttermellow said:
This might be a dumb question, but when the app says to fill out page 2 OR 3 if applying for the freshman class of 2013,2014, or 2015, that doesn't mean graduating class, right? Because then we'd be applying for 2017.
Click to expand...

freshmen class of 2013, 14, 15 means that you are going to be a freshmen in 2013-2014-or 15

But as far as I remember, the first page is for students that are in this years application cycle, while the second page is for those that will be applying for later starts or something...I might be wrong,
Therefore call Ms. Dupuy, she is just so nice, and explains everything very nicely.
 
I think as of right now you have to option to take the 2013 pre-matriculation requirements or you can go with the 2015 requirements. Kinda like they plan on changing them anyways, so if you complete the 2015 (which are more extensive), you can disregard the 2013 requirements.

And also, yeah, Mrs. Dupuy might be the nicest lady on the planet. She is incredible. She is definitely not one to be afraid of - she is a huuuuuge help!
 
Anyone else out there interviewing this coming Saturday?

I feel like I should be more nervous than I am, but I've had so much going on with grad school these past couple of weeks that I really haven't had time to think about being nervous. Honestly probably a good thing for me.
 
Hi! I will be attending the interview this Saturday. I would say that I am more excited than nervous.
 
HSUReddie said:
Anyone else out there interviewing this coming Saturday?

I feel like I should be more nervous than I am, but I've had so much going on with grad school these past couple of weeks that I really haven't had time to think about being nervous. Honestly probably a good thing for me.
Click to expand...

PG0009 said:
Hi! I will be attending the interview this Saturday. I would say that I am more excited than nervous.
Click to expand...

interviewing this saturday as well.... first medical school innterview... kindof scared about some of the questions... If anyone wants to practice on friday or something, I am totally down for it...
 
mua said:
interviewing this saturday as well.... first medical school innterview... kindof scared about some of the questions... If anyone wants to practice on friday or something, I am totally down for it...
Click to expand...

You'll be fine! I will see you all this Saturday at the interviews and I'll give a tour to some of you. If you have concerns/questions about the interview before Saturday morning, feel free to get ahold of me (PM me or something) and I'm happy to go through some things with you.

-Matt
 
anxiously waiting in my hotel room! I'll be there tom as well. is everyone interviewing tom at 11:30? Kinda nervous, but feel prepared, this is my second time interviewing here so hopefully I shine this time. Best o Luck to everyone else.
 
And now the wait to possibly February begins. :lame:

Anyone else surprised at how good they feel about their interview? I've heard both ends of the spectrum so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I couldn't have asked for better interviewers. I'm hoping I got the right impression. I usually get overly excited and enthusiastic when I first meet someone and get to talking so I hope they didn't mind that. 😀

I definitely feel relieved it went well (to my knowledge) though. I had sort of a meh-MCAT so I needed the pick-me-up.
 
I was surprised at how simple the interview was. I had been preparing pretty hard for it with off-the-wall questions, but I felt like they asked around ~5-6 basic questions. The rest was just a big conversation (which was great).

It was a great experience.
 
May be stupid to ask, but worth applying for an OOSer with a 27 MCAT and 3.5 GPA?
 
type12 said:
May be stupid to ask, but worth applying for an OOSer with a 27 MCAT and 3.5 GPA?
Click to expand...

How strong are your ties to the state? Because I have a good friend who lives right across the border in Texas, went to undergrad in Arkansas, had a 30 on the MCAT, and was wait-listed, and was accepted off the wait-list at the end of the spring.
 
HSUReddie said:
How strong are your ties to the state? Because I have a good friend who lives right across the border in Texas, went to undergrad in Arkansas, had a 30 on the MCAT, and was wait-listed, and was accepted off the wait-list at the end of the spring.
Click to expand...
No ties whatsoever. I know, "I'll go to the school that accepts me" is not going to fly, haha.

Well, one less set of fees to pay...
 
The secondary app email was hilarious. I want to meet this Linda DuPuy.

Does anyone know of any other schools with similar non-rolling admissions like Arkansas?
 
type12 said:
No ties whatsoever. I know, "I'll go to the school that accepts me" is not going to fly, haha.

Well, one less set of fees to pay...
Click to expand...

You don't need strong ties to apply, it's just one of the things they consider. Most of the OOS students in my class had no ties to AR overall. Just know about the school, enough about Arkansas to at least pretend you may one day want to practice there regardless of where you actually want to practice, and be a likable person in your interview. OOS is competitive of course, but it's not as if only people with strong ties are accepted.

-Matt
 
MJM09 said:
You don't need strong ties to apply, it's just one of the things they consider. Most of the OOS students in my class had no ties to AR overall. Just know about the school, enough about Arkansas to at least pretend you may one day want to practice there regardless of where you actually want to practice, and be a likable person in your interview. OOS is competitive of course, but it's not as if only people with strong ties are accepted.

-Matt
Click to expand...

Oops.... Well, I suppose I was speaking of one isolated incidence.
 
HSUReddie said:
Oops.... Well, I suppose I was speaking of one isolated incidence.
Click to expand...

It is good to have strong ties, you're certainly right about that, but it isn't the end-all/be-all for OOS admissions at UAMS like it is at a lot of other public med schools like the other poster may have thought. UAMS considers it, I am sure they prefer it (they want good doctors to practice in Arkansas), but most of the OOS admitted students each year aren't close-ties candidates from what I've seen. Good scores and GPA are key to getting invited to interview, or if those are just average, a good "story" (something really unique or special about the student, or an exceptional CV) has also earned people invites to interview. The other thing you brought up that's pretty important is that a lot of the OOS applicants that are eventually accepted and attend here are wait-listed first. So if you get a wait-list and have decided UAMS is where you'd like to go, keep your fingers crossed because there will be a good group of the wait-listers getting in eventually.

-Matt
 
I'm a current UAMS M1 student who wandered back over here out of boredom and gross anatomy avoidance. I've also been involved in an interview day earlier this month, and may get in on some more. If any of you applicants have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them.
 
this thread is dead when do we find out acceptance?
 
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