2012-2013 University of North Dakota Application Thread

[DokDakotaDok]

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I thought I saw that as a requirement last time I checked.

Now that I read it again, it just sounds suggested.

I do not know if it would be advantageous enough to send a medical professional letter when it would likely not be as strong.

Edit: Page 2, we're really moving up in the world, haha.

 

[kalbrecht17]

judging by what it says it could mean 2 things.

1. it means someone medically related (ie volunteering in hospital, med job, etc.) or another job
2. it is strictly someone medically related

i really don't get why they added the sentence after describing another person who can send an additional letter though. unless they're just saying its ok to use a dr. but they could easily fit the criteria for the other letter type so i just don't really understand what they're going for. oh well. i already sent mine in haha

 

[DokDakotaDok]

judging by what it says it could mean 2 things.

1. it means someone medically related (ie volunteering in hospital, med job, etc.) or another job
2. it is strictly someone medically related

i really don't get why they added the sentence after describing another person who can send an additional letter though. unless they're just saying its ok to use a dr. but they could easily fit the criteria for the other letter type so i just don't really understand what they're going for. oh well. i already sent mine in haha

It's a bit convoluted. Maybe I will speak with admissions once I receive the secondary. I [currently] don't have any medically-related letters because no other schools require it and I had better outlets for representing my personality and goals. I've always felt that most medical field personnel really do not know much about their students. For example, volunteer coordinators rarely see volunteers. Doctors just have the student follow them around. Job supervisors don't actually work alongside the CNA... etc.

 

[kalbrecht17]

It's a bit convoluted. Maybe I will speak with admissions once I receive the secondary. I [currently] don't have any medically-related letters because no other schools require it and I had better outlets for representing my personality and goals. I've always felt that most medical field personnel really do not know much about their students. For example, volunteer coordinators rarely see volunteers. Doctors just have the student follow them around. Job supervisors don't actually work alongside the CNA... etc.

I hear ya on that one. I was lucky enough to work in a clinic where I worked with both the doctors and the head nurse (who wrote my letter) so this one wasn't a problem for me. it'll be interesting to see what they say.

 

[DokDakotaDok]

I hear ya on that one. I was lucky enough to work in a clinic where I worked with both the doctors and the head nurse (who wrote my letter) so this one wasn't a problem for me. it'll be interesting to see what they say.

I, too, worked extensively with some people that would write me great letters. Unfortunately, that was years ago. But I will bend to their wishes since I'd really like a shot here.

I will see what they say. It looks like you're in the clear though.

 

[rotkeps]

EDIT: Research PI's also count for the letter, according to the admissions staff.

 

[PreMedOrDead]

EDIT: Research PI's also count for the letter, according to the admissions staff.

For the medical activity letter?

Wut? 😕

 

[rotkeps]

For the medical activity letter?

Wut? 😕

My thoughts exactly. That's what I was told by the admissions committee in early June. Feel free to contact them and verify this though.

 

[PreMedOrDead]

My thoughts exactly. That's what I was told by the admissions committee in early June. Feel free to contact them and verify this though.

I had my cat write me a letter, does that count?
She was at the vet once if that matters...

 

[tehrevenant3]

Whoa, just got the secondary for this school. No ties to the state (CA resident), so I'm very surprised. I thought they screened out OOS applicants?

 

[PreMedOrDead]

Whoa, just got the secondary for this school. No ties to the state (CA resident), so I'm very surprised. I thought they screened out OOS applicants?

Wait, if you knew that, why'd you apply?

 

[betheltim]

Must... Get... Secondary...

 

[DokDakotaDok]

Must... Get... Secondary...

I am in the same boat, but totally okay with it.

I would not even worry about it, they do not even look at these things until November. As far as I know, I do not believe there is any advantage to getting them in before that date.

 

[tehrevenant3]

Wait, if you knew that, why'd you apply?

I actually didn't know when I applied. Figured it out when I came to this forum. MSAR lists it as an OOS friendly school.

 

[PreMedOrDead]

I actually didn't know when I applied. Figured it out when I came to this forum. MSAR lists it as an OOS friendly school.

Yeah MSAR is misleading in that respect, what a shame. But to be honest, there could be a bit a change this year due to the whole AMCAS thing. However, I would expect them to stay strong to their North Dakota root requirements, so if you don't have any it may not be worth the secondary fee. I thought they screened out people without state ties as well, but apparently not. There is a 'point system' for interviews in one of the earlier posts in this thread.



Anyways, when were you verified? Since you got a secondary and all.

 

[tehrevenant3]

Yeah MSAR is misleading in that respect, what a shame. But to be honest, there could be a bit a change this year due to the whole AMCAS thing. However, I would expect them to stay strong to their North Dakota root requirements, so if you don't have any it may not be worth the secondary fee. I thought they screened out people without state ties as well, but apparently not. There is a 'point system' for interviews in one of the earlier posts in this thread.



Anyways, when were you verified? Since you got a secondary and all.

I'll have to think about it. I was verified 7/17.

 

[PreMedOrDead]

I'll have to think about it. I was verified 7/17.

Thanks for the info!

After me 🙄 wonder when I'll get mine.

But I wish you the best of luck if you do!

 

[thelight02]

Just got my secondary today too. I was verified in June.

 

[betheltim]

Secondary: received! 👍

 

[DokDakotaDok]

Secondary: received! 👍

I hope you get an interview here, bud 👍

 

[betheltim]

I hope you get an interview here, bud 👍

Haha, thanks for the vote of confidence! I know you've probably said this elsewhere, but... Are you ND resident?

I wouldn't mind going to UND--I know their mission is ND residents and rural medicine, but I really do feel called to the Midwest, so I think UND falls into that general direction.

Like I've said, two of my good friends go here and love it. I know I have an outside chance being a Minnesota resident, but hey, I wouldn't mind going here! 👍

(Although I am a Gopher, and would be disowned by many people back home...)

 

[kalbrecht17]

Haha, thanks for the vote of confidence! I know you've probably said this elsewhere, but... Are you ND resident?

I wouldn't mind going to UND--I know their mission is ND residents and rural medicine, but I really do feel called to the Midwest, so I think UND falls into that general direction.

Like I've said, two of my good friends go here and love it. I know I have an outside chance being a Minnesota resident, but hey, I wouldn't mind going here! 👍

(Although I am a Gopher, and would be disowned by many people back home...)

stay true to the gopher roots even if you do end up there. i know i have during undergrad. I'm the one kid in the entire student section wearing gophs gear during hockey games. and man its great when we light them up 😀

 

[betheltim]

stay true to the gopher roots even if you do end up there. i know i have during undergrad. I'm the one kid in the entire student section wearing gophs gear during hockey games. and man its great when we light them up 😀

You're alive! 👍👍👍

Although I would definitely still feel like a Gopher, I don't think I'd have the courage to sit in the student section up there... For that matter, I wouldn't be purchasing season tickets.

 

[DokDakotaDok]

Sioux ya ya!

 

[betheltim]

"Describe how you have contributed to your family or community."

"...Describe your connections to your respective communities and/or North Dakota."

These sound suspiciously similar to me...

 

[DokDakotaDok]

"Describe how you have contributed to your family or community."

"...Describe your connections to your respective communities and/or North Dakota."

These sound suspiciously similar to me...

I think the entire secondary is obsessively redundant:

.1. What do you consider to be your hometown? Explain. .
.4. Describe how familiar you are with life in a rural and/or Native American community.
..5. Describe how you have contributed to your family or community.
..8. Describe your connection to the state of North Dakota. WICHE, INMED and Minnesota applicants, describe your connections to your respective communities and/or to North Dakota.

..Now, attempt to answer these questions without severely overlapping material if you were a long-term resident of a rural Native American community in North Dakota.
..Note that this is the 'target group' of UND's medical program..

 

[kalbrecht17]

I think the entire secondary is obsessively redundant:

.1. What do you consider to be your hometown? Explain. .
.4. Describe how familiar you are with life in a rural and/or Native American community.
..5. Describe how you have contributed to your family or community.
..8. Describe your connection to the state of North Dakota. WICHE, INMED and Minnesota applicants, describe your connections to your respective communities and/or to North Dakota.

..Now, attempt to answer these questions without severely overlapping material if you were a long-term resident of a rural Native American community in North Dakota.
..Note that this is the 'target group' of UND's medical program..

glad i'm not the only one who found the secondary to be quite annoying

 

[DokDakotaDok]

glad i'm not the only one who found the secondary to be quite annoying

How about the lack of online payment option? 🙄

I was just glad to be done, though. I like the school but that secondary was kind of a hassle. The character counts were way off, questions were redundant, and it has a troublesome payment option.

This is their first year with AMCAS though, so I'll give them some slack on that front.

Here's the pertinent information from the PDF, for those applying:

7) A $50.00 non-refundable application fee must be received in the Admissions Office before your
application can be considered. A check or money order made out to University of North Dakota
must reach us before November 1. Please mail to:

University of North Dakota
Secretary, Committee on Admissions
UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Room 2912
50l North Columbia Road, Stop 9037
Grand Forks, ND 58202-9037

8) Recommendations should include two letters from instructors/faculty (a single Committee letter
or a letter packet if provided by your school) AND one letter from a job supervisor or someone
that you have interacted with in a medically related activity/job. Recommendations should be
sought from persons who know you well and can give a frank and thorough assessment of your
personality, industry, reliability, and motivation. All letters of recommendation are considered
confidential and may not be viewed by an applicant. Letters should be submitted through the
AMCAS service. If the U.S. postal service is used, those letters must be mailed to the address
above and must reach the office on or before the listed deadline of November 1.

9) In mid-November, we will begin to schedule interviews. The Admissions Committee conducts
interviews the middle two weekends in December and the first non-holiday weekend in January.
If you need to request a specific interview date from these three weekends, let us know. If you
are selected for an interview, we will try, to the extent possible, to consider your preference. Acceptances
are given on January 15th.

 

[Voevoda]

Just completed my secondary. Minnesota resident.

 

[Liberty1990]

I attend UND and they've definitely started AMCAS. Also as far as the residency requirements that were talked about earlier, N Dakotans make up 80-90% of the class and there's something like 7-8 spots given to people from MN with ties to the area. Obviously there are occasionally some people from OOS (not MN or surrounding states) but it takes very strong statistics to get in as you don't score many points on their interview selection criteria if you aren't from the area or have strong ties to it.

Do you know how much of the class is not from the North Dakota and surrounding states? I am from New York and trying to decide whether I should submit my secondary.

 

[DokDakotaDok]

Do you know how much of the class is not from the North Dakota and surrounding states? I am from New York and trying to decide whether I should submit my secondary.

I don't know the actual numbers, so he may know better.

If you're looking for a quick and fast response:
UND selects North Dakota, NW Minnesota, INMED, and WICHE applicants. There is an attachment I posted earlier which will give you an idea of your shot. Non-ND/Midwest/WICHE/INMED applicants probably don't make up more than 5 percent of the class, if that.

 

[tvrb]

The character counts were way off

Can you please explain this?
I just started and I thought they were all 1600 char limit.
Cheers.

 

[DokDakotaDok]

Can you please explain this?
I just started and I thought they were all 1600 char limit.
Cheers.

I wrote mine in word, tried copy pasting it over and the character count was off by up to seventy characters. It seemed to be that paragraph breaks would count as fifteen or so characters and some spaces would count for ten. Maybe it was an isolated issue. Your mileage may vary.

 

[tspx23]

Surprised to not see as much activity as I thought on this thread!

Hopefully I can get going this application has been the most time intensive for me -.-. Not to mention all the questions are identical so I'm having trouble thinking of fresh ideas for each one.

OOS applicant!

 

[kalbrecht17]

Do you know how much of the class is not from the North Dakota and surrounding states? I am from New York and trying to decide whether I should submit my secondary.

very very very few unless you have either ridiculous numbers or strong ties to the state or are native american. i don't mean to discourage you, but the only person i know who has been from a farther away state was from texas with a 40-41 on her mcat and the only reason she came here was to be with her fiance/husband (i believe if i remember correctly)

however if you have a strong desire to end up in nd and truly want to be here, you may be able to sway the committee if you can portray that. yet if you're only applying here because of the lower entrance stats, then your chances don't look good. regardless don't let me or the admissions choices deter you if this is a school you truly want to be at. the committee seems to always take notice when they can tell someone truly wants to be here.

 

[thelight02]

thinking of withdrawing my app here. not interested in grand forks for 4 years...

 

[kalbrecht17]

thinking of withdrawing my app here. not interested in grand forks for 4 years...

a legitimate reasoning. you would most likely only be here for 2 years though. years 3 and 4 take place at alternating sites. its very rare anyone spends all 4 years here.

 

[DokDakotaDok]

thinking of withdrawing my app here. not interested in grand forks for 4 years...

If you're looking for advice, I don't think anyone is going to try and convince you otherwise. They are competing for the same spots, after all. But if you have no intention of going here, might as well spare them the time finding that out.

 

[PreMedOrDead]

Decided to withdraw (not submit) because I've gotten interviews elsewhere and I'm OOS, among other reasons. While ND always gets the bad stereotypes, I've always thought it was beautiful and the medical campus looked great. Best of luck, everyone! Looks like the ball starts rolling next month.

/salute

 

[DokDakotaDok]

Heads up for deadlines, everyone:

Primary Submission Deadline: October 15th, 2012
Secondary Submission Deadline: November 1st, 2012

Good luck!

 

[Cartelguy]

Heads up for deadlines, everyone:

Primary Submission Deadline: October 15th, 2012
Secondary Submission Deadline: November 1st, 2012

Good luck!

On this note, should I have received an email confirming that my secondary application fee was received? ...I sent the check about a month ago and haven't heard back.

 

[WillburCobb]

Do you know how much of the class is not from the North Dakota and surrounding states? I am from New York and trying to decide whether I should submit my secondary.

When the class size was 60-65 it was almost always 50 from ND and the other 10-15 being divided between INMED/MN/WICHE (I think it was something like 10 MN/WICHE and the rest INMED, but I can't remember for sure). Granted there generally would be some deviation in these numbers, albeit very slight. Since they've increased the class size to 70 (or 75? can't remember and too lazy to double check at the moment) I don't know how they've adjusted these ratios, though I think it may be more favorable to ND residents than MN (or OOS). Also, in talking with numerous past and current med students generally only 10-15% of matriculants are first time applicants.

Edit: I do know that occasionally (and this is generally quite rare) some OOS applicants are given more consideration. This is usually due to having an exceptionally high MCAT score (40+) along with evidence of a strong interest in rural medicine, applying to the Ph.D/MD program, or extenuating circumstances such as a spouse being stationed in ND for the military or pursuing graduate or professional education in ND (again often with evidence of interest in rural/primary care).

 

[Undhopeful]

Correct me if I am wrong, but they do send out a secondary to everyone correct?

Also, does anyone know when interview letter are expected...email..postal??

 

[DokDakotaDok]

Not for sure, but I've looked at the old thread. They have screened the primary in the past. If you don't have significant ND ties they may cut you. Otherwise, they're one of the nicest schools stat-wise.

Interviews should go out late this month. Priority for giving interviews starts with those farthest away, since there are a limited number of interview slots available. I believe all the interview invites go out between late November and mid-December. Interviews begin in mid-December and go until early January. The class is then selected in mid-January.

Good luck!

 

[Fess]

So hopefully interview invites will be going out in the next couple weeks??

🙂

 

[kalbrecht17]

So hopefully interview invites will be going out in the next couple weeks??

🙂

My gut says next week!

 

[Fess]

nice!

 

[Undhopeful]

Tomorrow...or next week...

 

[UNDUG]

I do not know details, but I believe interviews are already going out via mail. Do not panic if you have not gotten one, but they should be in full circulation by next week. Good luck, everyone.

 

[Undhopeful]

I do not know details, but I believe interviews are already going out via mail. Do not panic if you have not gotten one, but they should be in full circulation by next week. Good luck, everyone.

Is it invitation by email and rejection by post mail??