NOTHING. Almost 5 months post-interview now. Really?? REALLY?? 
2012-2013 University of Massachusetts Application Thread
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Have any undergrad UMass students/alumni heard anything? The incoming class is usually like 20% UMass grads, but nobody I know has heard anything post-interview 😕 maybe they are trying to move away from so many UMass students. I just can't help but I am bracing for disappointment at this point.
I know you don't believe it (because I was in the same position last year!), but don't give up hope yet. We have people in our class this year who interviewed in September and didn't hear a peep until they got in in April/May/June. It sucks that UMass can be so slow but you shouldn't assume the worst quite yet! I know for a fact that they have not given out even 1 full class' worth of acceptances yet (125). That doesn't happen until about April, I believe...so that means only a very few people have heard back yet. Keep your fingers crossed 🙂
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I'm fortunate to have been considered at UMass and other MA schools like Tufts. Cost is a key consideration for me. Both are obviously tremendous schools.
UMass is about 8,000 tuition + 10-12,000 "fees" = $20,000/yr
Tufts is about 55,000 tuition and a few hundred in fees... BUT, per the financial aid website, the majority of those who get aid get either 1/4 or 1/2 tuition.
So it's conceivable that it would become Umass 20,0000 (unclear what aid they give, and I'm not currently interested in primary care so wouldn't necessarily qualify for the 'learning contract') vs Tufts 28,000. Anyone else in a similar position? Am I missing something? It just seems like the 'fees' at UMass (which are probably exempt from aid) make the actual cost of attendance much closer to the other schools than I initially thought.
Good luck to all those waiting to hear!!! 🙂
UMass is about 8,000 tuition + 10-12,000 "fees" = $20,000/yr
Tufts is about 55,000 tuition and a few hundred in fees... BUT, per the financial aid website, the majority of those who get aid get either 1/4 or 1/2 tuition.
So it's conceivable that it would become Umass 20,0000 (unclear what aid they give, and I'm not currently interested in primary care so wouldn't necessarily qualify for the 'learning contract') vs Tufts 28,000. Anyone else in a similar position? Am I missing something? It just seems like the 'fees' at UMass (which are probably exempt from aid) make the actual cost of attendance much closer to the other schools than I initially thought.
Good luck to all those waiting to hear!!! 🙂
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According to my MSAR, the average indebtedness at Tufts was around 200K, and at UMass 100K... maybe some of Tuft's class gets merit scholarships, but I don't think the majority do. But yeah the tuition for UMass is severely overrated, after 'fees' it's closer to 20K which is in line with most state schools.
Still waiting over here for news...
Still waiting over here for news...
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I have a couple of points that might help you make this decision.
1) The Learning Contract: everyone is eligible for the learning contract. It's about $6,000/year of an interest-free loan from the school. When you graduate, you either start paying it back with service (either primary care in MA or any specialty in an "underserved" area in MA), or you start paying it back with interest. So that's money you don't have to pay up-front and you don't have to earn interest on while you're in school. You never know what specialty you'll end up in so I think the vast majority of students do take it. Also keep in mind that OB/GYN and Peds also count as primary care (I think there are others too but I don't remember off the top of my head).
2) The cost of living in Boston v. Worcester: you're looking just at tuition and fees, which may end up being pretty similar. But rent is about twice as much per month near Tufts as it is near UMass, and in general living in Boston is more expensive. I lived there for a long time before I came to UMass so I know it's definitely worth it! But it's worth considering when you think about cost of attendance.
3) Fees are ABSOLUTELY considered part of your cost of attendance, as are all of your living expenses. This is the universal "cost of attendance" number from MSAR. UMass is very generous with the allowance for living expenses that you can take out Stafford loans for, so if you're like me and you're on your own for paying for school, you'll be able to afford to pay rent, have a car, buy groceries, etc with low-interest federal loans (as opposed to private loans). There is a limit to how much you can take out every year in Stafford loans, so I believe at Tufts you'd have to take out additional private loans (or find private money, which means wealthy family) to pay for your life.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
Edited to add: UMass surprisingly does give out scholarships! I got a few for several thousand for the year and I absolutely wasn't expecting that. It's not much, but Tufts gave me zip, if that gives you any more food for thought.
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Sure!
a) obviously the price is amazing. AND umass gave me more financial aid than the private schools i was accepted to, which is not what i expected.
b) the student body is so much cooler than i expected. we're all a little nerdy of course, but people here do a lot of different things (sports, music, non-profit work, different careers, travel, family, etc) and it makes the class a really great mix of interesting, nice, smart people. i also thought that since umass has a residency requirement, everyone would be pretty similar, but there's a surprising amount of diversity, especially because the md/phd program takes 10-15 students who aren't necessarily from mass. we also just have a wide range of age, life experience, career experience, college majors, and so on. a lot of this is probably true to some degree at all medical schools but students at umass seem uniquely happy and enthusiastic about school and extracurricular activities. there is also a GREAT partnership between the second year and first year students--lots of support, mentoring, and socializing. there's a big work hard/play hard mentality here!
c) faculty seem to really care about us learning. there are tough professors but ultimately we end up with mostly affection for the people who lead our courses because they obviously love teaching and love seeing us learn and develop as students.
d) the school is constantly seeking feedback from students on so many things: the curriculum, the library hours (and temperature?!), food served in the hospital cafeteria, specific concerns about how courses are laid out and run, etc. not only do they seek our feedback...they actually implement change quickly! i like that a lot because it makes me feel like a respected adult rather than a middle school student.
e) worcester is not the fanciest looking city, but i actually really enjoy it here. there are a lot of great restaurants (surprisingly, a lot of vegetarian places too), enough fun bars and clubs, and it's easy to access a lot of outdoor activities. people in my class definitely take advantage of what worcester has to offer--at least now, while we have time in first year 🙂
f) there are 2 other graduate schools on campus and something like 10 colleges in worcester, so there are a surprising number of young educated people around who aren't in the medical school. it's nice to have a mix of friends who do different things.
does that help? is there anything specifically i can give more detailed responses to?
Remember that the MD/PhD program operates totally separately from the MD admissions program. There will be acceptances through June so don't worry yet. I would think April will be a heavy month for receiving acceptances, but that's just conjecture.
Also, since you asked about my acceptance--I interviewed in December and heard back in late April. I sent a letter of interest in February or so and they said they'd add it to my file. They certainly won't think negatively of one so I wouldn't hesitate to do it!
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Someone posted a few pages back about some pretty valid complaints in the 3rd/4th year rotations. Can you comment on that? You are anonymous here (I think?) so please don't hold back, this is important stuff to know.
edit: link http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showpost.php?p=13566930&postcount=173
Also, are people working in the new research building open yet? Or are things still mostly being moved?
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Is your friend a MA resident? Has anyone else heard from MD/PhD yet?
😳🙁
I interviewed with UMass Worcester on Jan 29th.
I also have not heard anything back, but they did say they try to have acceptances out by March 15th so students have a month to fill out the FASFA. They did say the weight list students could be longer than that.
I sent a letter of intent shortly after I interviewed, and my PI also sent in an additional recommendation. I've been anxiously waiting, so I had two other previous faculty write me additional letters of recommendation this last week, in the hopes of increasing my chances.
Anyone heard back yet that is still waiting to here from UMass?
I interviewed with UMass Worcester on Jan 29th.
I also have not heard anything back, but they did say they try to have acceptances out by March 15th so students have a month to fill out the FASFA. They did say the weight list students could be longer than that.
I sent a letter of intent shortly after I interviewed, and my PI also sent in an additional recommendation. I've been anxiously waiting, so I had two other previous faculty write me additional letters of recommendation this last week, in the hopes of increasing my chances.
Anyone heard back yet that is still waiting to here from UMass?
😳🙁
I interviewed with UMass Worcester on Jan 29th.
I also have not heard anything back, but they did say they try to have acceptances out by March 15th so students have a month to fill out the FASFA. They did say the weight list students could be longer than that.
I sent a letter of intent shortly after I interviewed, and my PI also sent in an additional recommendation. I've been anxiously waiting, so I had two other previous faculty write me additional letters of recommendation this last week, in the hopes of increasing my chances.
Anyone heard back yet that is still waiting to here from UMass?
Nope, haven't heard anything at all. Don't know anyone who has heard, either.
I interviewed in the fall.
😕
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Thanks for the facebook page info, cookie. I was perusing through the members and noticed that there were a couple who had also accepted facebook acceptances from other med schools, so this may not be a final tally, as some of these students may end up shifting to another school before all is said in done.
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Do you have to buy a laptop through UMass?
Yes, there's a requirement to purchase a laptop that fills all of the tech needs of the school/courses. There were two options, a Dell and a Mac, though I don't recall the exact models.
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Well I mean can i purchase a laptop that is equal/better than the requirements outside of Umass? It seems like they're forcing you to buy through their system
From the conversation I had with a student on my interview day, I think you can only go for the school-approved comps. Also, this seems to be supported by the website:
http://www.umassmed.edu/accepted_students.aspx
The School of Medicine sponsors a custom Student Laptop Program to provide a reliable portal to all digital resources and support student learning. All matriculated students are required to participate in the program.
Laptop Models:
· Dell—Microsoft Windows with Intel Core i5-2520M (2.50GHz, 3M cache) processor.
· Apple MacBook Pro with 2.3 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 processor
Cost: Models and cost for students will be released in the spring of 2013.
Distribution Date: TBD
Did anyone else hear that they try to get a good deal of acceptances out by the 15th? On my interview day they did not really give a time frame when one would hear back.
😳🙁
I interviewed with UMass Worcester on Jan 29th.
I also have not heard anything back, but they did say they try to have acceptances out by March 15th so students have a month to fill out the FASFA. They did say the weight list students could be longer than that.
I sent a letter of intent shortly after I interviewed, and my PI also sent in an additional recommendation. I've been anxiously waiting, so I had two other previous faculty write me additional letters of recommendation this last week, in the hopes of increasing my chances.
Anyone heard back yet that is still waiting to here from UMass?
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That is so dumb...
Just confirming that yes, you must buy a laptop through the school. I didn't mind too much because it means I have a "work" laptop and a "personal" laptop, but some people definitely sold the laptop the school made them buy and just use their personal laptop for school.
Last year the prices ranged from about $1,300-$2,000 depending on whether you chose a Dell or an Apple and how big you wanted your screen.
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I definitely don't recall hearing a set time frame for acceptances. I remember thinking they were being intentionally vague during the interview presentation.
Considering the UMass website states that financial aid deadlines are different for people who are accepted after March 18th, I'm pretty sure people are still accepted after March 18th.
source: http://www.umassmed.edu/uploadedFiles/App Process Inst Aid 13-14 REVISED TMS.pdf
when's the next news coming out?
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Hi all, I interviewed in October and was just admitted 3 weeks ago...so keep faith!!
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Empty inbox... no surprise there.
I am almost rooting to see if I can get to 6 months post interview lol just a few more weeks to go
I am almost rooting to see if I can get to 6 months post interview lol just a few more weeks to go
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Congrats!
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Congrats! If you don't mind me asking, what were your stats? Also, did you send an update letter?
C
chemistryguy
For those people deciding between umass and other schools, the match list came out today. This years umass class matched extremely well with an usually large amount going into very competitive specialties (dermatology, plastic surgery, emergency medicine), and of course lots going into primary care. I think only a couple people out of the 125 person class didn't match anywhere.
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Saw you were a reapp, congrats!
edit: if anybody gets hold of the match list, post it please. Read online that 7 people matched into derm :O
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Congratulations to those of you who've been accepted!! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions about UMass.
Don't forget to join the facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/338565609593290/
And we'll see you at Second Look, I hope!
Don't forget to join the facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/338565609593290/
And we'll see you at Second Look, I hope!
Did you call admissions and they told you that many applicants will not hear till may? thanks.
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wow
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Unfortunately that is how it works at UMMS. I went through it last year and it was extremely brutal. And now I'm going through it all over again this year. It shouldn't be a surprise though - just look at the threads from previous years. I know this isn't much of a consolation - knowing you might have to wait doesn't make waiting suck any less.
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I know UMass sends out acceptances later than the average school, but at what point in time should we assume UMass has sent out an entire class' worth of acceptances (leaving the rest of us unofficially on the wait list at best)? April? May? Or was that time point March 15th?
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