2013-2014 University of Arizona - Phoenix Application Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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QuantumQuark said:
From what I have seen with this thread "neurotic" SDNers are taking advantage of the fact that you respond to every question that they ask. They either don't bother to look at the very clearly laid out requirements on the website or they ask anyways "just to make sure". I think the UA Phoenix site is probably the most clear site regarding admissions requirements, guidelines, etc.

I appreciate the times when people ask questions that matter and you respond, but most of the questions have obvious answers on the website.
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I asked my question because she has been polite in responding to others and I knew I could get a quick response instead of waiting for an e-mail. Also, online it seems Phoenix only accepts English writing classes "English composition, creative writing, or technical writing." . It doesn't say "Any course offered in the ENG department satisfies our requirement".
 
Dr. Cunningham-

This may sound like an odd question, but how are re-applicants looked upon by the Admissions Committee at UA Phoenix Med?

I applied last year and was waitlisted. Since then, I have added a few more clinical experiences to my CV that I'm hoping not only made my application stronger, but that have also truly made me mature as a person and made me realize why I want to become a physician. I apologize if I am just rambling, but would greatly appreciate any feedback from you.
 
Burla said:
I asked my question because she has been polite in responding to others and I knew I could get a quick response instead of waiting for an e-mail. Also, online it seems Phoenix only accepts English writing classes "English composition, creative writing, or technical writing." . It doesn't say "Any course offered in the ENG department satisfies our requirement".
Click to expand...

Great eye - we will update our site to reflect our intentions. Thank you for the constructive feedback.
 
happyhopefulper said:
Dr. Cunningham-

This may sound like an odd question, but how are re-applicants looked upon by the Admissions Committee at UA Phoenix Med?

I applied last year and was waitlisted. Since then, I have added a few more clinical experiences to my CV that I'm hoping not only made my application stronger, but that have also truly made me mature as a person and made me realize why I want to become a physician. I apologize if I am just rambling, but would greatly appreciate any feedback from you.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you gained experience, figuratively and literally, which is what we hope to learn through your written application. Just about 20% of the entering class were previous applicants, and what made them stand out the next year was one/more of the following:

-applied earlier, invited to interview earlier, when seats were more plentiful to offer

-stronger written application

-when compared to new peer group (applicant pool), stronger applicant than year before

-genuine interview, not "superficial," "told us what you thought we wanted to hear," etc

-updated letters from previous year, didn't just resubmit last year's letters

-kept engaged in clinical experiences, didn't stop all activity after submitting the application last year

It's not a kiss of death to be a reapplicant. It's a kiss of death when you do not invest your time well during the time between and simply submit an old application in a new year.
 
UA Phoenix Med said:
Sounds like you gained experience, figuratively and literally, which is what we hope to learn through your written application. Just about 20% of the entering class were previous applicants, and what made them stand out the next year was one/more of the following:

-applied earlier, invited to interview earlier, when seats were more plentiful to offer

-stronger written application

-when compared to new peer group (applicant pool), stronger applicant than year before

-genuine interview, not "superficial," "told us what you thought we wanted to hear," etc

-updated letters from previous year, didn't just resubmit last year's letters

-kept engaged in clinical experiences, didn't stop all activity after submitting the application last year

It's not a kiss of death to be a reapplicant. It's a kiss of death when you do not invest your time well during the time between and simply submit an old application in a new year.
Click to expand...

That was very informative. Thank you!
 
Thank you, Dr. Cunningham! This was very helpful. One more question, I noticed that you didn't mention retaking/improving MCAT scores. Would you recommend doing that if our score is below the average of your class (es)? Or would it be safe to assume that since we received an interview last year and were waitlisted that our academic credentials are on par with the caliber of students you admit?
 
Dr. Cunningham,

Would "Intro to Computational Molecular Biology" (Upper Division) satisfy the mathematics requirements? I was wondering if this could substitute as research methods or data analysis course since it was mostly data-analysis driven. Please let me know.

Thank you!
 
King646 said:
Dr. Cunningham,

Would "Intro to Computational Molecular Biology" (Upper Division) satisfy the mathematics requirements? I was wondering if this could substitute as research methods or data analysis course since it was mostly data-analysis driven. Please let me know.

Thank you!
Click to expand...

Without a course description, I'm not 100% committed to answer this question. At a glance, I don't believe so but send the course description to our office for more thorough review.
 
Hi all,

4th year UACOM-Phx student here :hello:. Just wanted to say good luck to you guys (and gals)! As I gear up for residency applications, I'm looking back on when I was in your shoes, posting on the equivalent of this thread and it makes me rather nostalgic. Feel free to ask me any questions, PM or via this thread. I'm really excited for you all. It's a stressful, but exciting year.

Best,

PY
 
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Hi Dr. Cunningham,
I have taken Animal Physiology, and thought that it would satisfy the school's physiology requirement. However, my pre-health advisor is saying that I have to complete the "Anatomy and Physiology" sequence. Will the class I took be accepted as a physiology course? (I know it sounds silly)

Thanks
 
amousa said:
Hi Dr. Cunningham,
I have taken Animal Physiology, and thought that it would satisfy the school's physiology requirement. However, my pre-health advisor is saying that I have to complete the "Anatomy and Physiology" sequence. Will the class I took be accepted as a physiology course? (I know it sounds silly)

Thanks
Click to expand...

Yes, Animal is ok; however, A&P is a better course for med school prep, so I'm with your advisor on this one.
 
Verified: 7/30
Secondary Received: 7/30
Complete: 8/2
II: 8/19

First one of the year and will always have a place in my heart <3
 
Yay excited to interview here next month! OOS
 
Dr. Cunningham, I have received an II at Tucson, and will be flying out around September 7th. Would it be out of place to email Phoenix admissions and request they review my application so that I don't have to pay for two flights out there? I'm worried that would come off as rude, but I'm just trying to stay cost efficient. Again, thank you!
 
happyhopefulper said:
Thank you, Dr. Cunningham! This was very helpful. One more question, I noticed that you didn't mention retaking/improving MCAT scores. Would you recommend doing that if our score is below the average of your class (es)? Or would it be safe to assume that since we received an interview last year and were waitlisted that our academic credentials are on par with the caliber of students you admit?
Click to expand...

I have been wondering the same thing. I was in-state, 4.0 GPA, second career student with first career in the medical field (so really great clinical experience). The only factor I had against me was my 26 on the MCAT. Applied quite late (complete in November) and was waitlisted. I did decide to retake the MCAT since mine was rather low, haven't gotten my score back yet, but I am rather worried that if I did the same or worse it will hurt my chances rather then help. In retrospect, it may have been better (and easier) to just apply ASAP rather than hold my application for another MCAT score...

hopefully UA Phx Med will appreciate my added effort...
 
Can someone please tell me what kind of photo the secondary asks for? TIA 🙂
 
Ts1991 said:
Dr. Cunningham, I have received an II at Tucson, and will be flying out around September 7th. Would it be out of place to email Phoenix admissions and request they review my application so that I don't have to pay for two flights out there? I'm worried that would come off as rude, but I'm just trying to stay cost efficient. Again, thank you!
Click to expand...

Although I understand the request and you can certainly ask, taking another medical school decisions into account when rendering decisions is not a common practice.
 
jcdesalv said:
I have been wondering the same thing. I was in-state, 4.0 GPA, second career student with first career in the medical field (so really great clinical experience). The only factor I had against me was my 26 on the MCAT. Applied quite late (complete in November) and was waitlisted. I did decide to retake the MCAT since mine was rather low, haven't gotten my score back yet, but I am rather worried that if I did the same or worse it will hurt my chances rather then help. In retrospect, it may have been better (and easier) to just apply ASAP rather than hold my application for another MCAT score...

hopefully UA Phx Med will appreciate my added effort...
Click to expand...

If you interviewed with a 26, it safe to say this was not the single factor that kept you from receiving an acceptance.

You can always submit an application while waiting to retake exam - we will review the new score as it becomes available.
 
Hello,

I just read that a clinical recommendation is required. Now, my P.I. with whom I've been working with for the past 3 years is an physician but I did not participate in the clinical trials he performed (I actually worked in the physiological section of the lab, working with mice). Would this be sufficient or should I try to get another clinical letter of recommendation? Thank you for your help.
 
Docta Dre said:
Hello,

I just read that a clinical recommendation is required. Now, my P.I. with whom I've been working with for the past 3 years is an physician but I did not participate in the clinical trials he performed (I actually worked in the physiological section of the lab, working with mice). Would this be sufficient or should I try to get another clinical letter of recommendation? Thank you for your help.
Click to expand...

I'd strongly suggest you have a meeting with him when you ask for the letter and guide him to talk about your time in his lab, specifically your work ethic, ability to work in a team, commitment to the goals of the lab. This would be great information for our committee.

This can be said about anyone approaching a letter writer.
 
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UA Phoenix Med said:
Without a course description, I'm not 100% committed to answer this question. At a glance, I don't believe so but send the course description to our office for more thorough review.
Click to expand...

Dr. Cunningham,

I did send the syllabus to the office, but I am still awaiting an answer. I may need to register by next week if my course is not accepted. In the meantime, I was hoping you would be willing to look at the course description from the syllabus below and let me know if it satisfies the mathematical studies requirement.

MBB/MAT 355: Intro to Computational Molecular Biology

Course Description: Due to the large volume of data generated by genome sequencing
and cellular measurements of gene expression changes, computer science and
mathematics have profoundly changed the science of modern biology. Computational
and mathematical methods are now critical to the development of both experimental
and analytical tools in genomics. This course will provide students from all disciplines
with an introduction to some of the basic mathematical and computational tools that
have been developed to analyze, model and understand these biological data. The
mathematical topics will consist of discrete mathematics and probability; however, the
emphasis of the course is on algorithmic techniques applied to problems motivated by
molecular biology and genetics.


Thank you so much for your time and feedback.
 
King646 said:
Dr. Cunningham,

I did send the syllabus to the office, but I am still awaiting an answer. I may need to register by next week if my course is not accepted. In the meantime, I was hoping you would be willing to look at the course description from the syllabus below and let me know if it satisfies the mathematical studies requirement.

MBB/MAT 355: Intro to Computational Molecular Biology

Course Description: Due to the large volume of data generated by genome sequencing
and cellular measurements of gene expression changes, computer science and
mathematics have profoundly changed the science of modern biology. Computational
and mathematical methods are now critical to the development of both experimental
and analytical tools in genomics. This course will provide students from all disciplines
with an introduction to some of the basic mathematical and computational tools that
have been developed to analyze, model and understand these biological data. The
mathematical topics will consist of discrete mathematics and probability; however, the
emphasis of the course is on algorithmic techniques applied to problems motivated by
molecular biology and genetics.


Thank you so much for your time and feedback.
Click to expand...

I believe your email was received Monday after office hours and I'm sure our staff will respond today. Thanks for your patience.
 
Attention! We have just discovered a significant error on the AAMC MSAR. AAMC is working to restore the College of Medicine-Phoenix data for our most recent entering class - it seems our entry is blank for our most recent entering class, tuition info, etc.

Required courses for Phoenix are not the same as our sister campus in Tucson. Each medical school's MSAR describes the required courses accurately, so be certain to know what is required at each medical school when submitting an application. You can always refer to our websites when in doubt, too.

UA College of Medicine-Phoenix phoenixmed.arizona.edu

UA College of Medicine- Tucson medicine.arizona.edu
 
Hi Dr. Cunningham,

I have updated transcripts that include the classes I took over the summer. Can I send these to the school to be put with my file?

Thank you!
 
I was never sent a secondary, I was verified almost two months ago now, but my committee letter of recommendation hasn't been received yet. Is that what's holding my secondary from being sent to me? 🙁 I'm from Phoenix, so this is a disappointing scenario for me. I know I am competitive enough for a secondary, too.
 
Dr. Cunningham-

I am sure you are aware that it is taking AMCAS longer than anticipated to verify applications this cycle. Is that being considered by the admissions committee at UA Phx Med when sending out interview invites and acceptances?
 
AZag13 said:
I was never sent a secondary, I was verified almost two months ago now, but my committee letter of recommendation hasn't been received yet. Is that what's holding my secondary from being sent to me? 🙁 I'm from Phoenix, so this is a disappointing scenario for me. I know I am competitive enough for a secondary, too.
Click to expand...

Check your Spam. I called their office and they sent me a secondary the next day, but I later found the first email in my spam. I use gmail and I've heard of other with yahoo emails that did the same thing. If not, call or email the admissions office.
 
AtlasShrugged21 said:
Check your Spam. I called their office and they sent me a secondary the next day, but I later found the first email in my spam. I use gmail and I've heard of other with yahoo emails that did the same thing. If not, call or email the admissions office.
Click to expand...

I found my secondary email in my spam as well. I also used gmail.
 
happyhopefulper said:
Dr. Cunningham-

I am sure you are aware that it is taking AMCAS longer than anticipated to verify applications this cycle. Is that being considered by the admissions committee at UA Phx Med when sending out interview invites and acceptances?
Click to expand...

This seems to occur every year, unfortunately. You can be working on your supplemental in the meantime - prompts are posted in the thread.

Acceptances are not offered until Oct 15, which is when the application closes, and will continue through late-Jan. Interviews are released through early-Dec.
 
Hey Everybody,

I submitted about a month ago and just logged into my application to check my status. I noticed that the non-science courses I entered under the "Required Courses" tab seem to have disappeared!

Did anyone else have this problem? I hope it's not holding up my application! I definitely entered them when I submitted; no idea where they went.

Thanks for any info.

-Bill R.
 
BillrothI said:
Hey Everybody,

I submitted about a month ago and just logged into my application to check my status. I noticed that the non-science courses I entered under the "Required Courses" tab seem to have disappeared!

Did anyone else have this problem? I hope it's not holding up my application! I definitely entered them when I submitted; no idea where they went.

Thanks for any info.

-Bill R.
Click to expand...

Looks like mine did the same thing... Dr. Cunningham, do you have any insight on this? Should we be worried?
 
I have been complete since July, but was waiting for my MCAT score to be posted in order to apply here.

I added UA to my AMCAS application on August 8th and still have not received a secondary request. Is that a silent rejection?
 
We are aware of this issue and are not holding applications from moving forward due to a software glitch.
 
"Oh frabjous day! Callooh callay!"

II!!! 😀. Feeling very excited and very honored!!! Complete 7/31 🙂
 
8luckycharms said:
"Oh frabjous day! Callooh callay!"

II!!! 😀. Feeling very excited and very honored!!! Complete 7/31 🙂
Click to expand...
Congrats! I am still waiting, I was wait-listed last year so I am hoping to get one soon! =)
 
how long after submitting a secondary do you get an updated on your app?
 
My status in the secondary application portal now shows "Interview: not yet scheduled", but I didn't receive an email, and I can't schedule an II with UA Phoenix. Has this happened to anyone else?

Good luck to everyone applying here!
 
dontdothat317 said:
My status in the secondary application portal now shows "Interview: not yet scheduled", but I didn't receive an email, and I can't schedule an II with UA Phoenix. Has this happened to anyone else?

Good luck to everyone applying here!
Click to expand...

This is an automatic status change that occurs with everyone - if invited to interview, you will receive an email and a new tab will appear on your screen from which you will have dates to choose and other information about the visit to campus.
 
Hi Dr. Cunningham,

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions! I really appreciate it and have found it super helpful during the process! I just wanted to confirm one of the course requirements with you...it says that an upper division course is defined as a "300 level or higher" however my university never offered courses that far up. Anything above 100 was upper division and anything above 200 was graduate. Would my 100 class satisfy as upper division, and would I need to note that in the exception box at the bottom of the course requirement page?

Thanks so much for your advice!
 
nedsybedsy said:
Hi Dr. Cunningham,

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions! I really appreciate it and have found it super helpful during the process! I just wanted to confirm one of the course requirements with you...it says that an upper division course is defined as a "300 level or higher" however my university never offered courses that far up. Anything above 100 was upper division and anything above 200 was graduate. Would my 100 class satisfy as upper division, and would I need to note that in the exception box at the bottom of the course requirement page?

Thanks so much for your advice!
Click to expand...

Hi and glad to help! Please make note of your university course coding system - we do recognize not every university uses the same numbering system.
 
II today!! OOS with pretty average stats, so I couldn't be more excited
 
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