2013-2014 University of Colorado Application Thread

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CT doc said:
Here is a tiny bit of info. I was at second look day and estimated about 120 of us --- although attendance was not mandatory. They asked how many were still considering other schools and it seemed to be about 15 sets of hands raised. They did not say anything about the wait-list.
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How was second look day?
 
I'm not sure which of my classmates created the account (CU2016) to post above, but it was most certainly not a troll. The information is 100% accurate, and I agree with the post wholeheartedly. I'm still very happy to be at CU, but those are all valid points to consider if you have other options.
 
LingoLaine said:
I'm not sure which of my classmates created the account (CU2016) to post above, but it was most certainly not a troll. The information is 100% accurate, and I agree with the post wholeheartedly. I'm still very happy to be at CU, but those are all valid points to consider if you have other options.
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Thanks for reaffirming. CU is still my top choice, but now I'm slightly worried that I won't get a well-rounded clinical experience at CU. Is this the case? Will I still have a good shot at making it into a competitive residency if that is what I decide on 3rd and 4th year? (At this point I'm kind of hoping CU doesn't accept me--it will make my decision very easy!)
 
Alright I thought the timing was suspect but in light of the sizable backlash and reasonable responses, I would like to recant my previous statement. This application process has eaten away at my humanity and left me a shell of a man...
Apologies to CU2016 and any other SDNers I offended.
 
Steeze said:
Account created on tuesday, first post today, and its a critique of the school conveniently days after the waitlist is posted…

Your trolling is obvious and you should feel bad about it.
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Haha, I’ve never been called a troll before... I really am trying to be helpful, but my comments were mainly directed at those accepted to multiple schools. Yes, the waitlist likely came out recently, but this is also the time that many students are making their final decisions on which schools to attend. My criticism stems from feeling a bit oversold by CU during my admissions cycle and I wanted to make prospective students aware of some of CU's limitations prior to their final decisions. I realized afterward that my comments could have come off a bit insensitive to those who are still trying to get in or to those who have been waitlisted. My heart goes out to all of you going through this terribly frustrating process, but if you want it bad enough it will work out in the end. Anyways, my offer stands for whoever might be interested in meeting up/getting questions answered.
 
That is really interesting/disappointing information. At second look day, the med students, (mostly MS1's) raved over and over and over and over about the awesome faculty. They also told us the small group problem based learning was 8 students in each group and not 16 students in a group. I understand that they have got to recruit students. Hopefully, some of these problems are being addressed.
 
CT doc said:
That is really interesting/disappointing information. At second look day, the med students, (mostly MS1's) raved over and over and over and over about the awesome faculty. They also told us the small group problem based learning was 8 students in each group and not 16 students in a group. I understand that they have got to recruit students. Hopefully, some of these problems are being addressed.
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PBL groups are capped at 8 students, I was referring to the small group sessions that go along with the various blocks. PBL sessions are on average once every other week (after you finish anatomy), whereas the other small groups are held up to a few times each week depending on the block. I wish that all groups were this size, because PBL does produce some helpful conversation.
 
JMANN said:
Thanks for reaffirming. CU is still my top choice, but now I'm slightly worried that I won't get a well-rounded clinical experience at CU. Is this the case? Will I still have a good shot at making it into a competitive residency if that is what I decide on 3rd and 4th year? (At this point I'm kind of hoping CU doesn't accept me--it will make my decision very easy!)
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Dude I hear you 100%!!!! I've been saying the same thing for the last three weeks! I checked the match list at another school that accepted and it's pretty good, slightly better than CUs, but I want to be closer to home! :'(
 
JMANN said:
Thanks for reaffirming. CU is still my top choice, but now I'm slightly worried that I won't get a well-rounded clinical experience at CU. Is this the case? Will I still have a good shot at making it into a competitive residency if that is what I decide on 3rd and 4th year? (At this point I'm kind of hoping CU doesn't accept me--it will make my decision very easy!)
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lol i think you and i will be classmates next year in NY lol
 
JMANN said:
Haha! What are the odds? NY must have a thing for Colorado kids. Honestly, I don't have any gripes with living in the Lower Hudson Valley and potentially the city!
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Lol I'm a California kid 🙂
 
While I doubt seeing (or hearing of) much movement on the wait-list until the AAMC "deadline" for multiple acceptances, I hope acceptance hoarders start making decisions (or at least narrowing them down) soon. That said, I have a spot in AZ I can open up, should some specific movement happen in CO ; )
 
Just thought I'd chime in… Current MS1 here.
PBL groups are capped at 8 students. Other small groups (the number of these can vary depending on the block… We had lots for Blood and lymph and lots now for CV/pulm/renal, almost none for M2M in the fall) are generally around 12 I would say. These are used to reinforce material presented in lecture and are generally presented in a case format. So far, they have been tremendously helpful. Yes, the funding is rough, but honestly I applied to CU and 18 other medical schools where I would have either been out of state or paying private school tuition. I'm not saying the school is perfect but the faculty, for the most part, have been awesome! Dr. Carry and the entire anatomy crew were just spectacular. I feel like I should hug them every time I see them on campus. And I'm not 100% sure of the situation but we have had classes taught by Dr. Boyer all semester. Rumor has it he will remain the pathology professor for CUSOM despite some shifting in the pathology department (unconfirmed-I'm not sure, but that's what I've heard). Dr. Boyer was even there for Second Look Day for the mock PBL case! I was pretty impressed. I think a cursory look at the match lists from the last few years will confirm that students are able to match into competitive specialties. And believe it or not, a lot of people I know actually are interested in primary care and that's one of the reasons they chose CU (not a bad thing in my opinion). If primary care isn't your cup of tea, I don't think CU will hold you back from competitive specialties.

I agree that this admissions process has been a bit crazy and I feel for everyone in limbo. That being said, lets not bash the school. It's a great place with a warm, supportive environment (for REAL, not like a bunch of other schools I interviewed at where, despite what the students claimed, the cutthroat atmosphere was palpable). CU is a great school and it is worth the wait in my opinion.👍
 
Regarding the multiple instructors per block, other universities do this as well. I spent a year taking graduate molecular, cell biology and physiology classes at another university, and this practice was very common in those classes. Naturally our class wondered why, as it did indeed make it difficult to learn with the sometimes vastly different teaching styles. That school's rationale was that they would have lecturers who specialized in the particular topic of the day, so as to "get the most up-to-date and expert" information for every lecture. So I agree, the method is less than ideal for my learning style, but CU is not alone in this practice.
 
Has anyone received a letter regarding their wait list status since the initial batch came out last week? Haven't received anything here yet (Washington state), and would like to get some other form of communication and more info besides the online portal…but seeing how this cycle has gone so far, that might be asking for too much haha.
 
SweetDee04 said:
Has anyone received a letter regarding their wait list status since the initial batch came out last week? Haven't received anything here yet (Washington state), and would like to get some other form of communication and more info besides the online portal…but seeing how this cycle has gone so far, that might be asking for too much haha.
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I just got mine yesterday and it was post marked on the 28th
 
Are you sure your address is current? I had to have mine resent cause of that.
 
For those wondering, I just received the financial aid info 🙂.
 
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Do you think there is actually no numerical rank for the wait list, or is that just something they say?
 
Fabio Lanzoni said:
Is this the same portal?
https://portal.prod.cu.edu/UCDFedAuthLogin.html
I have a login that works for my link, but the same set of password/username doesn't work for your link
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I believe there are two different portals-- one for prospective students and the other for current students. I actually saw my financial aid info through your link--- the link I posted came from the email that the financial aid office sent me. I haven't been able to log into that portal either.
 
I believe that cu has determined I have an estimated need of 0.

How do they come up with this? 20k family contribution??? (My mother only makes 40k before tax and I got siblings in undergrad right now as OOS) Are they using undergrad numbers or something?
 
moisne said:
I believe that cu has determined I have an estimated need of 0.

How do they come up with this? 20k family contribution??? (My mother only makes 40k before tax and I got siblings in undergrad right now as OOS) Are they using undergrad numbers or something?
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My financial aid info on the portal says that I need to be admitted to a degree seeking program before I can receive financial aid. I took a course on the downtown campus last semester so it still lists me as a "non-degree seeking graduate."

I think that you and I might have a similar issue; the admissions office hasn't informed the financial aid office of our acceptance to the medical school yet, and so they aren't processing our financial aid correctly. Did you get an award email or did you just check your status via the portal? I have been trying to get into contact with admissions to sort this all out (which we all know is basically impossible), but I am not taking what I see on the portal as my actual status until I get an answer from admissions or I receive my packet via email.
 
moisne said:
I believe that cu has determined I have an estimated need of 0.

How do they come up with this? 20k family contribution??? (My mother only makes 40k before tax and I got siblings in undergrad right now as OOS) Are they using undergrad numbers or something?
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Mine says estimated need of 59k but I'm OOS and family contribution of zero. I feel like these estimates are all wrong?
 
nellbot2000 said:
My financial aid info on the portal says that I need to be admitted to a degree seeking program before I can receive financial aid. I took a course on the downtown campus last semester so it still lists me as a "non-degree seeking graduate."

I think that you and I might have a similar issue; the admissions office hasn't informed the financial aid office of our acceptance to the medical school yet, and so they aren't processing our financial aid correctly. Did you get an award email or did you just check your status via the portal? I have been trying to get into contact with admissions to sort this all out (which we all know is basically impossible), but I am not taking what I see on the portal as my actual status until I get an answer from admissions or I receive my packet via email.
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That must be it.

What does awards include? Just loans or also grants/scholarships?
 
After finally getting financial aid offers and all that jazz, I've decided to withdraw from UC Denver. I simply can't justify the OS attendance costs. I wish I could have done it sooner but it was a very difficult decision! I hope one of you guys takes my spot at this amazing school.
 
Anyone else still waiting on financial aid? I'm OOS and accepted in late Jan
 
I believe another wave of financial aid packets will come out this week.
 
Has anyone receive news about branch designation?
 
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Received financial aid award info today--I was accepted in late March. By the way, the award e-mail says to use the "current students" portal to view the award, but that didn't work. After calling the financial aid office, they told me to use the prospective student portal (http://www.ucdenver.edu/myucdenver) and that worked for me. Click the 'Finances' tab and then the 'Student Center' link.
 
Can any current students comment on whether the $10,000 financial-based scholarship is guaranteed for 4 years? I am OOS and I have it but I can't commit to the school if it's not renewable. Thanks!

@LingoLaine ?
 
Can any current students comment on whether the $10,000 financial-based scholarship is guaranteed for 4 years?
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Sorry, I have no idea.
 
blu77 said:
Yes, I received one of the distinguished student scholarships for incoming students, as well as a need based scholarship. :happy:
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Congratulations! The scholarship/grant combo should really make a dent in your cost of attendance.

I ended up declining my acceptance a few hours ago. CU offered me a pretty generous, last-minute scholarship but it was a bit too late and not enough to make up for the OOS tuition.

I'm a little saddened by having to turn them down. I really liked the school and I'm sure that those of you that will be attending in the fall will receive top-notch training. Best of luck to all of you, especially those on the wait list.
 
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