2012-2013 Wake Forest University Application Thread

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My student tour guide was really excited about the Case based learning sections yesterday when she was talking about it. She said that on mondays her group (groups are 4-7 people) would get together with a faculty person and are presented a case to discuss. By the end of that section they come up with learning objectives for the case to research during the week. On Fridays the reconvene to discuss what they learned from their research. Sounds like a good way to learn!

Also, if I am remembering correctly, do Wake Forest students have "off" on Thursdays?
 
Also, if I am remembering correctly, do Wake Forest students have "off" on Thursdays?

I do not think so. The schedule they gave us was a pretty full week. maybe the thing on thursday was optional, but there was definitely something there.



does anyone know when the next round of decisions will be?
 
Does anyone know if there is student hosting? There's no mention of it on the website or in the email, but I was hoping there might be students willing to host interviewees for a night. Thanks!
 
They do not have university sponsored student hosting for interviews.
 
I do not think so. The schedule they gave us was a pretty full week. maybe the thing on thursday was optional, but there was definitely something there.



does anyone know when the next round of decisions will be?

End of November or first week of December since Thanksgiving is next week.
 
Also, how do you check your status? I logged in my secondary and don't see much besides my essays...
 
decisions are via email, but sometimes the status page is updated first. i think waitlist/acceptance decisions are done via snail mail as well. there is a separate status page. read all of your emails from them to find the link, or it might be in this thread.
 
I'm OOS and interviewing soon. I was wondering if any other OOS-ers who attend WF can comment on transportation to/from your home state for holidays, family visits, etc. It seems like it's very expensive (and kind of inconvenient) to fly into PTI, and then the school is another 40(?) minute drive from the airport. Transportation to/from home (I live in the Midwest) is the one reservation I have about this school, so how are current OOS students dealing with this?
 
Anyone who has already interviewed have hotel feedback?

Edit: Or are any current students interested in hosting someone in December? 🙂
 
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M1 here. Not OOS, but as far as airports go, PTI is half an hour away from Wake Forest. Other options are RDU (~1.5-2 hours away) and Charlotte (~1.5 hours away).

To respond to the poster above regarding schedule- it's kind of complicated, but I'll do my best. On every day but Thursday, we have 3-4 hours of lecture in the morning. Thursdays are for our Becoming a Physician course, which meets every other week. So depending on when your physical exam and doctor/patient relationship courses are scheduled (the class is split; half have it on tuesdays, half on thursdays), you can potentially have every other thursday off.

If anyone has any more questions about Wake, please feel free to PM me.
 
Anyone who has already interviewed have hotel feedback?

Edit: Or are any current students interested in hosting someone in December? 🙂

I had a great stay at the Hawthorne Inn (owned by Wake Forest). Free breakfast and wireless, and the shuttle to the med center was super convenient in the morning.
 
I had a great stay at the Hawthorne Inn (owned by Wake Forest). Free breakfast and wireless, and the shuttle to the med center was super convenient in the morning.

Great, thank you. Did you take a cab to/from the airport?
 
I had a great stay at the Hawthorne Inn (owned by Wake Forest). Free breakfast and wireless, and the shuttle to the med center was super convenient in the morning.

I stayed at the Hawthorne last year, and I would also recommend it. Nice place, close to Wake and to a Mellow Mushroom. 🙂
 
Great, thank you. Did you take a cab to/from the airport?

Are you over 25? The airport was about 40min from my hotel and it was much less expensive to rent a car than take a cab. I could not find a hotel with a shuttle from the airport.

The school validates parking and there is plenty of it so driving to the campus in the morning isn't a big deal. I noticed the hotels with a shuttle type service that could take me to the medical center were considerably more expensive than my run of the mill hotel. Since I already had the car, I opted for the less expensive hotel off hotels.com.

I would definitely recommend getting a GPS in the rental car. At least for me, the directions from the airport to my hotel were not that straight forward and the GPS was really helpful. Use priceline to book the rental car and make your own bid. It is cheaper that way.

Do not use Hertz in Greenboro airport unless as a last resort. I've rented a lot of cars for interviews and it was by far the most expensive and worst experience. They accidentally charged me and will not pick up their phone and their mailbox is full. I called hertz corporate and even they could not get a hold of them to reverse the mistake.If I wasn't so broke I would just give up on the $30. 🙁
 
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Great, thank you. Did you take a cab to/from the airport?

I actually used the PART system from PTI. Some info about it was on the Wake interview website. I found it convenient and super cheap (~$2), and then I just used the hotel shuttle for the interview. Hawthorne Inn was like a mile from the PART drop-off. You could probably walk, but I took the world's shortest cab ride just so I didn't have to lug my luggage. Cab was under $5 from the drop off point. I think the hotel was like $70 and transit costs were under $10 total, so it worked out well for me. After the interview Wake has a shuttle back to the PART hub so you don't have to worry about taking a cab back. Just another option to be aware of if you're on a tight budget...
 
II complete late August😀

Congrats! Did you get an email? I got an II by status update on Tuesday, and they said on the phone that there would be an email within a few days, but I haven't received it yet.
 
Congrats! Did you get an email? I got an II by status update on Tuesday, and they said on the phone that there would be an email within a few days, but I haven't received it yet.
I received my via email probably about 20 minutes ago. Question. So we have to call and set up our interview time frame? Can we pick any day or do they tell us available dates?
 
I received my via email probably about 20 minutes ago. Question. So we have to call and set up our interview time frame? Can we pick any day or do they tell us available dates?

When I called Tuesday, they were scheduling for January and had basically the whole month open, starting January 2. The lady on the phone listed off some dates and let me choose what day I wanted.
 
I received my via email probably about 20 minutes ago. Question. So we have to call and set up our interview time frame? Can we pick any day or do they tell us available dates?

If I remember correctly you call and they list off dates, typically starting with the earliest available. They do interviews [almost] every day of the week to my understanding, so finding a date that works for you shouldn't be too difficult.
 
are you over 25? The airport was about 40min from my hotel and it was much less expensive to rent a car than take a cab. I could not find a hotel with a shuttle from the airport.

The school validates parking and there is plenty of it so driving to the campus in the morning isn't a big deal. I noticed the hotels with a shuttle type service that could take me to the medical center were considerably more expensive than my run of the mill hotel. Since i already had the car, i opted for the less expensive hotel off hotels.com.

I would definitely recommend getting a gps in the rental car. At least for me, the directions from the airport to my hotel were not that straight forward and the gps was really helpful. Use priceline to book the rental car and make your own bid. It is cheaper that way.

Do not use hertz in greenboro airport unless as a last resort. I've rented a lot of cars for interviews and it was by far the most expensive and worst experience. They accidentally charged me and will not pick up their phone and their mailbox is full. I called hertz corporate and even they could not get a hold of them to reverse the mistake.if i wasn't so broke i would just give up on the $30. 🙁

24 🙁
 
If I remember correctly you call and they list off dates, typically starting with the earliest available. They do interviews [almost] every day of the week to my understanding, so finding a date that works for you shouldn't be too difficult.

Thanks for the info, will give them a call in a few 🙂.
 
Thanks for the info, will give them a call in a few 🙂.

Definitely have your calendar available. And if you're flying there maybe have orbitz or something up on your browser so you can quickly check flight prices!
 

I'm 22 and got a car from Hertz. They will rent a car with an underage free, but I signed up for their gold card or w/e when it was free and it waived the underage fee making it somewhat affordable. I know the poster before me said not to rent from Hertz, but I had no problems and did not think it was more expensive than the other companies. And yeah, the GPS in the car was very helpful even though I had an iPhone because my iPhone had no idea WTF it was doing when trying to get me back to the airport. The GPS took me right back to the lot I needed to go to return the car.
 
Definitely have your calendar available. And if you're flying there maybe have orbitz or something up on your browser so you can quickly check flight prices!
I will probably drive, since I am about 5.5 hours away. I scheduled if for two days after BU interview. Hoping that it's not cutting it close. I did that because it was the last date in November and the next available date is in January. Think I can pull it off, if not will just reschedule for January.
 
I'm 22 and got a car from Hertz. They will rent a car with an underage free, but I signed up for their gold card or w/e when it was free and it waived the underage fee making it somewhat affordable. I know the poster before me said not to rent from Hertz, but I had no problems and did not think it was more expensive than the other companies. And yeah, the GPS in the car was very helpful even though I had an iPhone because my iPhone had no idea WTF it was doing when trying to get me back to the airport. The GPS took me right back to the lot I needed to go to return the car.

Hmm.. Well WF does have directions on how to take a bus to and from the airport. Apparently it would only cost $3.. I don't know how long it takes though.

I will probably drive, since I am about 5.5 hours away. I scheduled if for two days after BU interview. Hoping that it's not cutting it close. I did that because it was the last date in November and the next available date is in January. Think I can pull it off, if not will just reschedule for January.


Ah ok good deal.
 

You can rent a car from Enterprise for only $10 extra each day. They were the best deal for me when I was traveling to all my interviews as a 23/24-year-old last cycle. Some of the other rental places will really rip you off with the under-25 fee.
 
You can rent a car from Enterprise for only $10 extra each day. They were the best deal for me when I was traveling to all my interviews as a 23/24-year-old last cycle. Some of the other rental places will really rip you off with the under-25 fee.

Ok great thank you!

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Hmm.. Well WF does have directions on how to take a bus to and from the airport. Apparently it would only cost $3.. I don't know how long it takes though.

I'm pretty sure it took less than an hour for me to get from the airport to downtown Winston-Salem (<1 mile from the Hawthorne Inn). That said, my buses were timed perfectly so I didn't have to wait for the Winston bus when I arrived at the hub. (There's a PART shuttle that takes you from the airport to a transportation hub in Greensboro, then a PART bus goes from there to another hub in downtown Winston-Salem.) It only makes one other stop so it's pretty much a straight shot. I found it very convenient and cost-effective. Let me know if you have any questions about it.
 
I just got off the phone with Hertz and they charged someone else's rental to my card.

They acknowledge they did that but will still not refund me and say it has to be local greensboro location who has to do it. No one at the local greensboro location is picking up the phone this week. I have tried calling SO MANY times.

I guess I'm just stuck paying for this other person's rental.

Whatever you do, don't use the hertz in Greensboro.

If anyone walks by the Hertz counter in the airport. Tell them to call me!
 
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I have my interview coming up next week and I am still a little confused about the format of the interview. I know it's supposed to be 3 15 minute interviews but is it closed file or open file? The interview feedback page for Wake had mixed responses so any feedback would be great.
 
I have my interview coming up next week and I am still a little confused about the format of the interview. I know it's supposed to be 3 15 minute interviews but is it closed file or open file? The interview feedback page for Wake had mixed responses so any feedback would be great.

It's 3x 20 minute interviews where your interviewers will only have a copy of your personal statement + secondary and maybe a list of your AMCAS activities. Thus, it's sort of blinded.

A note to those flying into GSO - please, please, please just take the PART (assuming you arrive prior to 6 pm). It's $2.40 to get to downtown Winston-Salem, where you will likely be staying.
 
It's 3x 20 minute interviews where your interviewers will only have a copy of your personal statement + secondary and maybe a list of your AMCAS activities. Thus, it's sort of blinded.

A note to those flying into GSO - please, please, please just take the PART (assuming you arrive prior to 6 pm). It's $2.40 to get to downtown Winston-Salem, where you will likely be staying.

Wow I didn't know there were 3 interviews. Is it students/faculty? Or all faculty?

Also, what time should I make my return flight to make it on-time using the PART?
 
Wow I didn't know there were 3 interviews. Is it students/faculty? Or all faculty?

Also, what time should I make my return flight to make it on-time using the PART?

Yessir, three interviews. I believe they should all be faculty but I can't say for sure - they definitely were on my interview date and I doubt Wake would allow students to interview.

Provided your interview is over at 3pm, you should be fine scheduling your flight anytime after 5pm I would say. Bring your luggage to the interview and kindly ask the admissions folks to guide you to the shuttle stop to catch the WFU shuttle to the PART station and then to GSO. GSO is a small airport and should take no time to get to your gate.
 
Yessir, three interviews. I believe they should all be faculty but I can't say for sure - they definitely were on my interview date and I doubt Wake would allow students to interview.

Provided your interview is over at 3pm, you should be fine scheduling your flight anytime after 5pm I would say. Bring your luggage to the interview and kindly ask the admissions folks to guide you to the shuttle stop to catch the WFU shuttle to the PART station and then to GSO. GSO is a small airport and should take no time to get to your gate.

Ah ok thanks. I wasn't sure if I'd have to call to have a shuttle take me from WFU to PART. Is the PART station easy to navigate? Sorry for all the questions! I typically am more nervous about not missing my flight than I am about the actual interview, lol.
 
Ah ok thanks. I wasn't sure if I'd have to call to have a shuttle take me from WFU to PART. Is the PART station easy to navigate? Sorry for all the questions! I typically am more nervous about not missing my flight than I am about the actual interview, lol.

No problem. The admissions folks should be able to help you get the shuttle to take you to the Winston-Salem PART stop. You then take a bus that takes you to the PART "central hub" and then from there, a shuttle will take you to the airport (you may need to request this shuttle when you get to the hub or admissions will help you call one). Total time to get there should be around 1hr 15mins ish. Just ask the locals or bus/shuttle drivers if you have questions - they are all very nice. At most, I think it should take 1hr 45mins if you need to wait for the shuttle/buses.

To get the your interview: When you arrive at the airport, the PART stop is located outside of the baggage claim at the very end of the airport. You will see a sign and a phone number. Call the phone number and the dispatch will send a shuttle to pick you up to bring you to the "central hub". From the central hub, jump on the shuttle to Winston-Salem and it will cost you $2.40 to get to the WS stop. From there, you should be within walking distance or about ~$3 cab ride to the various hotels.

IMO, it sure beats the $60-$100 cab ride to and from the school or the hassle of renting a car.
 
I'm interviewing on Tuesday and am staying at a hotel near the airport and then taking a cab from the airport/hotel to the medical school Tuesday morning (long story why I'm spending the extra money on a cab...) How much time should I allot in the morning to get from the airport to the school?
 
No problem. The admissions folks should be able to help you get the shuttle to take you to the Winston-Salem PART stop. You then take a bus that takes you to the PART "central hub" and then from there, a shuttle will take you to the airport (you may need to request this shuttle when you get to the hub or admissions will help you call one). Total time to get there should be around 1hr 15mins ish. Just ask the locals or bus/shuttle drivers if you have questions - they are all very nice. At most, I think it should take 1hr 45mins if you need to wait for the shuttle/buses.

To get the your interview: When you arrive at the airport, the PART stop is located outside of the baggage claim at the very end of the airport. You will see a sign and a phone number. Call the phone number and the dispatch will send a shuttle to pick you up to bring you to the "central hub". From the central hub, jump on the shuttle to Winston-Salem and it will cost you $2.40 to get to the WS stop. From there, you should be within walking distance or about ~$3 cab ride to the various hotels.

IMO, it sure beats the $60-$100 cab ride to and from the school or the hassle of renting a car.

Perfect, thank you.

I'm interviewing on Tuesday and am staying at a hotel near the airport and then taking a cab from the airport/hotel to the medical school Tuesday morning (long story why I'm spending the extra money on a cab...) How much time should I allot in the morning to get from the airport to the school?

The admissions lady told me it shouldn't take longer than 40 minutes each way.
 
Hi, I have a few questions for a current Wake Forest student! I interviewed in September and loved Wake Forest-- the people, the atmosphere, and the curriculum. I felt like I could really see myself there for 4+ years.

The thing is, I've wanted to go to a med school in a big city because I'm very interested in immigrant health and surgery/emergency medicine (though I'm sure this could change). Winston-Salem did not seem like the most diverse place, and I'm wondering if there are a lot of opportunities to work with immigrants/Spanish speaking population. Also, I was told that Wake Forest is a tertiary care center, so I wouldn't see extreme cases that you'd see at a level I trauma center in a big city. How big of a disadvantage/difference would this be in terms of clinical education?

I am disadvantaged in terms of my socioeconomic background. How generous is Wake Forest with their need-based scholarships? Do most students in need receive some kind of scholarship from the school?

Thanks a bunch in advance!
 
Also, I was told that Wake Forest is a tertiary care center, so I wouldn't see extreme cases that you'd see at a level I trauma center in a big city. How big of a disadvantage/difference would this be in terms of clinical education?

Wake Forest has a level I trauma center, and it also has the only level I pediatric trauma center in North Carolina.

You should not expect to see any more Spanish-speakers in a hospital in Winston-Salem than you see in the surrounding areas.

And in terms of need-based financial aid, is that even a thing for med school? Most everyone can qualify for a loan, and everyone will eventually have the means to pay it back.
 
Hey everyone!

I'm a current M1 at Wake and I'd like to say congrats to everyone who has been accepted! Here's a link to the Class of 2017 Facebook group:

http://www.facebook.com/groups/137778493038114/

The group is managed by current M1s who are willing to answer any questions you may have. It's also a great way to get in touch with your classmates to figure out housing for next year, etc...

To all those awaiting interviews, GOOD LUCK!
 
Hi, I have a few questions for a current Wake Forest student! I interviewed in September and loved Wake Forest-- the people, the atmosphere, and the curriculum. I felt like I could really see myself there for 4+ years.

The thing is, I've wanted to go to a med school in a big city because I'm very interested in immigrant health and surgery/emergency medicine (though I'm sure this could change). Winston-Salem did not seem like the most diverse place, and I'm wondering if there are a lot of opportunities to work with immigrants/Spanish speaking population. Also, I was told that Wake Forest is a tertiary care center, so I wouldn't see extreme cases that you'd see at a level I trauma center in a big city. How big of a disadvantage/difference would this be in terms of clinical education?

I am disadvantaged in terms of my socioeconomic background. How generous is Wake Forest with their need-based scholarships? Do most students in need receive some kind of scholarship from the school?

Thanks a bunch in advance!

See above about WF being a level I trauma center and the only level I pediatric trauma center in NC. Also, WF Baptist Hospital serves a very large geographic area, so the more complicated cases that can't be treated at community hospitals get sent to Wake Forest.

As for working with immigrants/Spanish speakers, bear in mind that NC has a fairly large immigrant population. You will definitely encounter Spanish-speaking patients in the hospital. Also, if community/family medicine interests you, check out this link:

http://www.wakehealth.edu/Research/Family-Medicine/Occupational-and-Environmental-Health.htm

Finally, as for scholarships, I'm not sure how generous Wake is. Are you a NC resident by any chance? If so, there might be some additional options available to you.
 
Does anyone know how to get in contact with the school about staying with a student host? After car rental and other miscellaneous expenses, i'll have about $40 to my name 😀, so i'd prefer not to sleep in my car unless I really have to.
 
Does anyone know how to get in contact with the school about staying with a student host? After car rental and other miscellaneous expenses, i'll have about $40 to my name 😀, so i'd prefer not to sleep in my car unless I really have to.

They don't have a student hosting program.
 
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