2013-2014 University of Arizona Application Thread

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please just send me my rejection Arizona, I can't handle waiting any longer

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I spoke with the admissions office earlier today and they said final decisions will be sent out by the end of the week. At that time we will know if we're waitlisted or if we've been axed... :(
 
I spoke with the admissions office earlier today and they said final decisions will be sent out by the end of the week. At that time we will know if we're waitlisted or if we've been axed... :(

If its anything like all other correspondence throughout the application cycle, we'll hear from them on Friday afternoon...
 
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I spoke with the admissions office earlier today and they said final decisions will be sent out by the end of the week. At that time we will know if we're waitlisted or if we've been axed... :(
Thanks and best of luck, everyone!
 
Just got the rejection email. OOS & interviewed back in September.

Good luck to everyone else!
 
I don't know what they were looking for this year, but clearly it wasn't me. Rejection email. IS and interviewed in October.

Hope others heard better news =/
 
Alternate listed. I guess that's the best news I could have received at this point. Not gonna get my hopes up though. And the email made it sound like chances are very low.
 
Is the "Alternate List" the same as the wait list?

If so, I'm on it. JUST got the email.
 
Just got the alternate list email but the tone did not inspire much hope...
 
Axed. Tucson native doesn't mean much for those curious. Good luck to everyone on the waitlist. At least they put me out of my misery...but they're crazy if they think this is going to dissuade me!
 
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I wouldn't read too much into the 'tone' of a message of this nature - seems as though they would tend to err on the side of not inspiring hope, for liability-type reasons, ya know?

I'm stoked, it's not a rejection and considering I'm already waist deep into reapplying, this creates some great momentum for next cycle.
 
Alternate listed. I wish we could know our place on the list!
 
Well, its been a good run folks. But it looks like the Old Pueblo doesn't want me back just yet. Best of luck to those of you on the waitlist.
 
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Hi everyone. I'm an MS1, if you have any questions about UACOM let me know!
I am currently trying to decide between this school and Indiana University School of Medicine, what made you decide to go to UACOM?
 
Axed. Tucson native doesn't mean much for those curious. Good luck to everyone on the waitlist. At least they put me out of my misery...but they're crazy if they think this is going to dissuade me!

Also a Tucson native(although out of state now)...also rejected. Interviewed on the first date back in September so it's pretty nice to finally have some dang closure. Maybe for residency


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rejected, OOS but lived in Arizona before. I think I preferred UA Phoenix's quick rejection over this. oh well, tuition here is pretty steep anyways
 
Interviewed in September and got waitlisted. I am a reapplicant as well. Hang in there guys- you made it this far. Just tweek your app and reapply. Grandpa Ernest always said if you throw enough mud at at wall, some will stick...
 
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I am currently trying to decide between this school and Indiana University School of Medicine, what made you decide to go to UACOM?
Hi ms2 here, never posted on this site before but thought I would put my advice in since I wish I would have had this advice when I was applying.

Number one thing I tell people is do your own research on the schools you are planning on going, and that means don't just take what admissions people say to heart, truly learn about the good and bad that don't tell you.

For me I had a few options and I choose UA Tucson which now that I look back wasn't a bad choice but also wasn't the right choice for me. For ms1 and future students I worry for them for a few reasons:
1. The recent loss of faculty and bad replacements. Dr. Cohen teaching cardio is a joke and a nightmare, the loss of Dr. Nolte, and soon losing the best DMH teacher Dr. T. There is no sign of hope for replacing these professors and I think COM is suffering for it drastically.
2. UA keeps making it hush hush and the dean keeps blowing smoke to us about the lawsuits of the UA surgeons. UA doesn't even have a transplant team right now and thankfully I'm not going for surgery since that dept is completely screwed right now. UA use to be written up in news about its cutting edge heart surgery etc now alls that's written about is the destruction of it. look up the recent news articles about all the problems going on that we as ms2 will have to deal with while in rotations. Anyone interested in surgery I would seriously consider your other choices depending on what they are.
3. The recent drop in board scores and pass rate I believe is a good indication that something is wrong with the program. I am curious to see how my class does.

Talking to many faculty that have been with UA for over 20 years talk about this downhill trend and how they have never seen it this bad, it's sad to see it happen and I truly hope things change quickly. I never thought i would say that i believe UA phoenix is by far surpassing us in so many ways, if i could go back in time i probably would have chosen there. Even their application process is more efficient than ours, I'm sure you all have experienced that by now.

Now don't get me wrong I love my classmates, podcasting lectures, weather, and vibe I get from faculty and students so make the choice that is right from you. Do your homework in the school, that I can't stress enough.

Good luck with your choices and I hope this feedback helps in one way or another.
Cheers
 
Hi ms2 here, never posted on this site before but thought I would put my advice in since I wish I would have had this advice when I was applying.

Number one thing I tell people is do your own research on the schools you are planning on going, and that means don't just take what admissions people say to heart, truly learn about the good and bad that don't tell you.

For me I had a few options and I choose UA Tucson which now that I look back wasn't a bad choice but also wasn't the right choice for me. For ms1 and future students I worry for them for a few reasons:
1. The recent loss of faculty and bad replacements. Dr. Cohen teaching cardio is a joke and a nightmare, the loss of Dr. Nolte, and soon losing the best DMH teacher Dr. T. There is no sign of hope for replacing these professors and I think COM is suffering for it drastically.
2. UA keeps making it hush hush and the dean keeps blowing smoke to us about the lawsuits of the UA surgeons. UA doesn't even have a transplant team right now and thankfully I'm not going for surgery since that dept is completely screwed right now. UA use to be written up in news about its cutting edge heart surgery etc now alls that's written about is the destruction of it. look up the recent news articles about all the problems going on that we as ms2 will have to deal with while in rotations. Anyone interested in surgery I would seriously consider your other choices depending on what they are.
3. The recent drop in board scores and pass rate I believe is a good indication that something is wrong with the program. I am curious to see how my class does.

Talking to many faculty that have been with UA for over 20 years talk about this downhill trend and how they have never seen it this bad, it's sad to see it happen and I truly hope things change quickly. I never thought i would say that i believe UA phoenix is by far surpassing us in so many ways, if i could go back in time i probably would have chosen there. Even their application process is more efficient than ours, I'm sure you all have experienced that by now.

Now don't get me wrong I love my classmates, podcasting lectures, weather, and vibe I get from faculty and students so make the choice that is right from you. Do your homework in the school, that I can't stress enough.

Good luck with your choices and I hope this feedback helps in one way or another.
Cheers
Wow thank you so much for this information. I am primarily interested in neurosurgery and did some shadowing with the department this past summer. This definitely makes me wonder how this is going to impact the department. Thanks for your honesty, I really appreciate it.
 
Yeah, I have also heard students complaining about the faculty leaving.

I know there has been some discussion regarding the waitlist, but does anyone have any more insight as to the chances of getting off the waitlist this year? When to expect movement?
 
Per the "ms2" comments above, I am another MS2 who has commented on this forum in the past and feel slightly different than you, fortunately. Hearing your disappointment makes me sad, and I am sorry that you are not happy with your choice. Your comments have raised relevant points for the pre-MS1s, but in a devastating light. I appreciate your willingness to speak about the weaknesses of our school and can also appreciate the topics you bring up, however, it seems like your regret over choosing this school is more slanderous than helpful for upcoming MS1s. To summarize my next excessively long entry: This program is not flawless, but neither is any other program, so do your research for all possibilities . . and above all take SDN contributions, like my own and the one above, with a grain of salt.

To my frustrated classmate (if in fact you are in my class and a self-proclaimed Suns-fan and of male gender):
I appreciate your willingness to "share the bad stuff" with incoming applicants. I think all students who have the privilege of choosing between multiple offers from medical schools in the US should definitely revisit each of their options from all perspectives. . . availability of mentors, academic/psych support, Board prep, cultural fit, geographic fit, financial commitment, curricular organization, and above all in my opinion, how happy/successful/satisfied the students are. I encourage all of you with this opportunity to talk to current students, preferably not in anonymous forum such as this, before writing off a school based on the entry of a one time only, recent SDN member. Part of selecting a school is weighing strengths and weaknesses. The strengths get plastered in all caps most of the time, so don't forget to find the weaknesses (every program will have some) and find that balance. . . Interview day and 2nd look opportunities are great opportunities to do that, as is visiting the campus and just starting conversation with the students (you won't miss us, we look like normal people. . . . being a med student does not cast a glow of gold over you.) Choosing can be difficult, but trust your gut instinct . . be it cost, location, program or ranking.

. ....ok. . .
Now, I would like to address each of your points of dissent. . .

1."No sign of hope of replacing these professors" . ... We have lost two instructors recently to untimely death, Dr Grana and Dr Nolte. This has been very hard for the faculty and students, but as a community we held together and moved forward. The school is not crutched ontheir shoulders. Dr Grana has been replaced by Dr Jolene Hardy and other orthopedic faculty, clenching the clinical perspective in MSK block. With all respect to Dr Nolte, I did not prefer him as an educator and believe that his replacement, Dr Vanderah, is a substantially stronger attribute to the program. Per Dr Tischler, I feel priviledged to have been a student of his and feel sad that he can not live forever, immortalized as the director of DMH, but he has been organizing a long term plan across multiple years to transition the block to new instructors. We have/will be losing some all-stars, but lets look at the instructors that remain. . . In addition to Vanderah and Hardy, we have Dr Amerongen who sets the bar for most incredibly supportive and competent block director. The clinicians in the Renal block stand out in my memory as great patient-centered role models. Dr Bloom, end of sentence. The team of pathologists make path lectures and labs significantly more tolerable with their humor and humanity. . . . I could go on with good and eventually move on to"bad" instructors, but I remind everyone that this is MY OPINION and I would rather not do so anonymously. . . . for every lecture I didn't like, someone else LOVED it. What am I getting at? . . . Everyone preferes different "flavors" (that was a Vanderah reference) and this variety is not unique to our school. Please do not imply that these current changes are unique aspects of AZ academia -- the politics and variation are found in all institutions.
. . . also, (per my suspicion that you are a non-student, scare-monger, SDN strategist. . .) as a 2nd year student you would not have taken classes with Dr Cohen, so I am surprised to hear your dissent against a teacher that you never had? Did you take her undergraduate classes? . . . Couple that with multiple counter opinions that Dr Cohen is very well liked. . .. Maybe we are thinking about different Dr Cohens?

2. "lawsuits of the UA surgeons" . .. The ego-fest that you refer to with the surgery department is definitely important info to be aware of as someone who is interested in surgery. It is an unresolved staffing issue of "who is the boss" of the surgery department. I highly encourage any of you to speak to current surgeons at the U of A or current surgery residents to learn more about how their departments have been affected. I would trust their "predictions" more than the worst case scenario view of a 2nd year (if, again you are one of my classmates who felt it timely to disclose such frustrations days after waitlist spots were issued. . .) . . . To everyone reading this, weighing up their choices: please review this news about the hospital that UofA is affiliated with (and any news linked to any medical school, hospital, town that you may moveto) and investigate further with non-anonymous sources. You should be able to search some combination of Gruessner, Goldschmidt, Transplant, Surgery, UAMC and get the juicy details.. .. If another opinion helps, I am not worried about this issue and I will start my surgery rotation next fall. I am not currently considering surgery. If I was I would be doing my homework and if I became concerned would look to do surgical electives at South Campus, VA or private practice and do as many sub-Is in my 4th year as I could at programs I was intersted in. . .but wait, that is what people do now for any specialty they are interested in. I am pretty sure there are still lots of surgeries happening successfully, and I predict that the hospital will find a robust solution to the H/R issue (as businesses generally do in staff changes such as this).

3. "recent drop in board scores and pass rate" . .. . Please share what data you have on declining Board scores and pass rates. Are you discussing year to year comparisons? multi-year trends? Are you talking about Step1? Step2? . ..Are you sure this is a true statement?. .. Maybe I am naive, but my impression is the school has been trending upward, especially as it increases the learning development staff, pays for more USMLE board resources, and integrates more tie-ins to the curriculum as we aim to pass the national average. My understanding is we still remain below the national average. . . . but we are also not a "gunner school" so that seems expected. High scores occur, as depicted by a friend who scored a 255 heading to Derm. I can't think of any classmates who are trying to sabotage anyone else or clawing their way to the top of our Pass/No-Pass curriculum, further emphasizing our lack of gunners . .. In my opinion, a GREAT thing.

My apologies for this profoundly long post. I have heard of SDNers infiltrating threads as nay-sayers and my gut instinct compelled me to break from Pharm-studies and respond.

Best of luck to those on the wait list!
Keep moving forward to those who are re-applying! I had to retake the MCAT and also reapply, so I empathize whole heartedly. This application process is a soul-draining crap-shoot....success comes with survival!!!!
 
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I'm a UACOM student and we have 2 extra rooms available in my house. Great location, I can roll out of bed and be seated in the lecture hall in under 10 minutes. Quiet, friendly atmosphere, free utilities and Wifi, free bicycle, free home cooked dinner every night. There are dogs and cats on premises. Landlady lives on premise, she prefers to rent to med students and understands our needs. I have lived here for 2 years.

PM me if interested for more info and pictures. If you are here for Second Look you can come by for a visit.
 
[QUOTE="please review this news about the hospital that UofA is affiliated with [/QUOTE]

Just to make sure we are all understanding what truly went on, it was the clinical department that took action, not the hospital. That's the way it had to occur due to by-laws, agreements, etc. Not that it really matters to me, anymore...
 
Just withdrew my acceptance today. Hope it goes to one of you all still in limbo!!
 
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Just withdrew my acceptance today. Hope it goes to one of you all still in limbo!!

Thank you and good luck to you sir!

And also thank you to the MS2s for their constructive inputs. Much appreciated.
 
Anyone know when those on the wait list might start hearing back?
 
Anyone know when those on the wait list might start hearing back?
I don't know about Arizona specifically but the consensus of what I've heard for most schools is that you primarily will hear in mid-May to early June because of people having to declare which school they want to go to by May 15.
 
I am currently trying to decide between this school and Indiana University School of Medicine, what made you decide to go to UACOM?

If you're still trying to decide between these two schools, I'll tell you that I turned down my Indiana acceptance for a few simple reasons: I wasn't going to know which campus I'd be at until too late into the cycle for decision making, I much prefered the block schedule and podcasting system at Arizona (when I interviewed at Indiana, they told us they were working on getting their technology up to snuff, so that may have happened by now), the cost of Arizona was less, and the weather and outdoor activity options in Tucson were much better in my opinion. Because of those differences I didn't do a lot of in-depth research into Indiana, but I've heard people say good things. I certainly have not regretted choosing Arizona.

Because I'm about to finish MS1, I can also comment from recent experience with the "bad replacements" talked about above. First of all, you can't research whether or not your favorite faculty member is going to pass away. Any school you attend is going to have surprises more positive and negative for your specific needs than you'd hoped for, but I doubt those small surprises are really going to affect you very much at any school.

As mentioned above, the replacement for Dr. Nolte was Dr. Vanderah, and he was amazing. Definitely one of the best lecturers at our school. In addition, we were given the podcasts from Dr. Nolte's lectures from last year, but other than for thoroughness there was no reason to watch them. Dr. Vanderah either explained it how Nolte would have or he improved upon his method. They have been teaching in tandem for so many years that I think it was an easy transition for Vanderah to make.

Dr. Hardy replacing Dr. Grana (again, Nolte and Grana both passed away, so there's no way your research into a school could foretell of something like this) could not have inhibited my learning. She was one of my favorite teachers and extremely knowledgeable about the topics she taught in the musculoskeletal block.

Dr. Cohen is a bit on the crazy side. She giggled so much during her lecture that it got in the way, though she did have some pretty good jokes. She taught the material well and I think I learned everything from her that I needed. When I approached here one-on-one she answered my questions sans giggle.

I have liked all of the permanent faculty members I've met or that have lectured, but two of the guest lecturers were lame; one in particular was a physical therapist that the block director basically said would not be coming back next year. They are extremely receptive to our feedback.

Some other curve balls that have been thrown my way: I was excited to attend Arizona because of a research group that was extremely active in my area of interest, but they left to Stanford shortly before I started M1. At first I thought this was a huge downer, but I went to the department and expressed my interest, and two other research groups gave me their speel. I joined up with one of them a week later and it's been much better than what I was planning with the group that left.

Long story short, Arizona is an amazing school. I think that the little things that try to upset me are things that would happen everywhere. The block curriculum is fantastic and makes my stress levels much lower than my buddies' attending elsewhere, the technology is very helpful (podcasts, electronic versions of all documents/lecture notes), and everyone is extremely kind. Add to that the fact that I'm paying $590 for a two bedroom apartment that's a 10 minute bike ride to the school, I can play golf year round, join undergraduate intramural sports, hike 100 different trails, and take a short drive to snowboard/ski, I think I made a pretty good decision.

EDIT: Just remembered that saying 'podcast' is too general. At this school, our podcasts are uploaded to a website a few minutes after lecture ends, and then they are available for download within an hour and a half. They have audio of the lecturer, as well as one video of the lecturer and a second video showing what the class is being shown in the projector. This means that if you skip class you're not missing anything other than socializing with your nerdy classmates. You can watch them on your phone, iPad or laptop.
 
If you're still trying to decide between these two schools, I'll tell you that I turned down my Indiana acceptance for a few simple reasons: I wasn't going to know which campus I'd be at until too late into the cycle for decision making, I much prefered the block schedule and podcasting system at Arizona (when I interviewed at Indiana, they told us they were working on getting their technology up to snuff, so that may have happened by now), the cost of Arizona was less, and the weather and outdoor activity options in Tucson were much better in my opinion. Because of those differences I didn't do a lot of in-depth research into Indiana, but I've heard people say good things. I certainly have not regretted choosing Arizona.

Because I'm about to finish MS1, I can also comment from recent experience with the "bad replacements" talked about above. First of all, you can't research whether or not your favorite faculty member is going to pass away. Any school you attend is going to have surprises more positive and negative for your specific needs than you'd hoped for, but I doubt those small surprises are really going to affect you very much at any school.

As mentioned above, the replacement for Dr. Nolte was Dr. Vanderah, and he was amazing. Definitely one of the best lecturers at our school. In addition, we were given the podcasts from Dr. Nolte's lectures from last year, but other than for thoroughness there was no reason to watch them. Dr. Vanderah either explained it how Nolte would have or he improved upon his method. They have been teaching in tandem for so many years that I think it was an easy transition for Vanderah to make.

Dr. Hardy replacing Dr. Grana (again, Nolte and Grana both passed away, so there's no way your research into a school could foretell of something like this) could not have inhibited my learning. She was one of my favorite teachers and extremely knowledgeable about the topics she taught in the musculoskeletal block.

Dr. Cohen is a bit on the crazy side. She giggled so much during her lecture that it got in the way, though she did have some pretty good jokes. She taught the material well and I think I learned everything from her that I needed. When I approached here one-on-one she answered my questions sans giggle.

I have liked all of the permanent faculty members I've met or that have lectured, but two of the guest lecturers were lame; one in particular was a physical therapist that the block director basically said would not be coming back next year. They are extremely receptive to our feedback.

Some other curve balls that have been thrown my way: I was excited to attend Arizona because of a research group that was extremely active in my area of interest, but they left to Stanford shortly before I started M1. At first I thought this was a huge downer, but I went to the department and expressed my interest, and two other research groups gave me their speel. I joined up with one of them a week later and it's been much better than what I was planning with the group that left.

Long story short, Arizona is an amazing school. I think that the little things that try to upset me are things that would happen everywhere. The block curriculum is fantastic and makes my stress levels much lower than my buddies' attending elsewhere, the technology is very helpful (podcasts, electronic versions of all documents/lecture notes), and everyone is extremely kind. Add to that the fact that I'm paying $590 for a two bedroom apartment that's a 10 minute bike ride to the school, I can play golf year round, join undergraduate intramural sports, hike 100 different trails, and take a short drive to snowboard/ski, I think I made a pretty good decision.

EDIT: Just remembered that saying 'podcast' is too general. At this school, our podcasts are uploaded to a website a few minutes after lecture ends, and then they are available for download within an hour and a half. They have audio of the lecturer, as well as one video of the lecturer and a second video showing what the class is being shown in the projector. This means that if you skip class you're not missing anything other than socializing with your nerdy classmates. You can watch them on your phone, iPad or laptop.

Good to know I am waitlisted at an awesome school... :(
 
At least you got waitlisted! But, I feel your pain...
 
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Hey guys/gals, lurker here.

Since no one has posted an update yet, I'll go ahead and say that I was just accepted off of the wait list on 05/15/14.

Good luck to everyone waiting. I know how stressful it is (2nd time applying), but staying positive helps sooo much!
 
Hey guys/gals, lurker here.

Since no one has posted an update yet, I'll go ahead and say that I was just accepted off of the wait list on 05/15/14.

Good luck to everyone waiting. I know how stressful it is (2nd time applying), but staying positive helps sooo much!

I call shenanigans...
 
Hey guys/gals, lurker here.

Since no one has posted an update yet, I'll go ahead and say that I was just accepted off of the wait list on 05/15/14.

Good luck to everyone waiting. I know how stressful it is (2nd time applying), but staying positive helps sooo much!

How long do they give you to decide? and are you accepting it?

Any one else get an accept off the wait list?
 
Hi all!

I received an acceptance call off the waitlist at around 3:00 pm PST today followed by an acceptance e-mail shortly after! I interviewed back in September, received multiple hold e-mails each month. This is my very first acceptance of the cycle!

I just wanted to encourage everyone to not lose hope! :)
 
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Hi all!

I received an acceptance call off the waitlist at around 3:00 pm PST today followed by an acceptance e-mail shortly after! I interviewed back in September, received multiple hold e-mails each month. This is my very first acceptance of the cycle!

I just wanted to encourage everyone to not lose hope! :)

Congrats!
 
I called admissions today. Wait list movement has begun and will continue until early July. Congrats to those who have already been accepted!
 
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I called admissions today. Wait list movement has begun and will continue until early July. Congrats to those who have already been accepted!

Is the waitlist ranked? There has been talk that they pull from the list to satisfy certain demographics.
 
Not sure. When I got the wait listed email, it said it was ranked internally.
 
How long do they give you to decide? and are you accepting it?

Any one else get an accept off the wait list?

You have 2 weeks to decide. And yes I'm accepting! This is my first choice and my state school, so I'm super excited.

For anyone curious, I interviewed on the first day and have been put on hold since. Also, I believe the wait list is ranked since that's what they've done in the past.
 
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