2013-2014 University of Colorado Application Thread

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I think I'm most upset at the blatant lack of professionalism, coming from a program that claims such high standards and expectations from its applicants.

For example: If we happened to 'attempt' to turn in a secondary late, or miss a letter of recommendation, or any of the hoops we jump through just go get an interview, we would likely have been entirely removed from review whatsoever - EVEN if we did send a correspondence ahead of time discussing a perhaps very viable reason. But here, we get nothing, hear nothing, get no response, and we're expected to just be okay with it. Patience is a virtue; I argue that having professionalism and empathy for the stress that we are under is equal, if not more important. Where is the accountability on their end?

I hear you. I too find it incredible that a school involved in a field which so prizes traits such as professionalism, courtesy and respect would have such disregard for potential students. It definitely sets a bad example. If I had any inkling that this was a cultural norm of the entire institution (rather than just the admissions department) I would seriously reconsider whether I would want to attend. However, from the students I know who do attend, it sounds like in general they are treated incredibly respectfully by both instructors and the administration.
 
I hear you. I too find it incredible that a school involved in a field which so prizes traits such as professionalism, courtesy and respect would have such disregard for potential students. It definitely sets a bad example. If I had any inkling that this was a cultural norm of the entire institution (rather than just the admissions department) I would seriously reconsider whether I would want to attend. However, from the students I know who do attend, it sounds like in general they are treated incredibly respectfully by both instructors and the administration.

This has been CUs MO for the last three years in regards to making decisions. I'm not in the pool this year, but when in interviewed 2 cycles ago the same thing happened. It's frustrating, but stay strong!!!

Good luck to everyone 🙂
 
Lol the April fool's shenanigans going on here on sdn got me for a good while...I'm secretly hoping CU is pulling jokes on us too and I can be more forgiving of the silence 🙁
 
Just wait for someone to post an April Fool's Day "I got accepted" :laugh:
 
you know what's even better? I got that email saying they were missing a preference sheet. So I filled it out and emailed them. No confirmation email. I called, left a message, no return call. It's kinda disappointing, but w/e, I assume they got it and it's all fine. So way status not lost...
 
was just on their website searching for an updated timeline (no luck there) and came across an announcement that revisit weekend is in mid-april (http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/medicalschool/education/Admissions/apply/Pages/FAQ.aspx). can anyone confirm this? i can't help but think that doesn't bode well for me since it's been crickets from them for months. but then the rationalist in me (or, you know, the optimist clinging to a glimmer of hope) feels like their concept of time isn't exactly on point
 
Second look day is April 25th, and for those who had indicated interest in the Springs branch there is a tour type thing in Colorado Springs on the 24th.
 
Second look day is April 25th, and for those who had indicated interest in the Springs branch there is a tour type thing in Colorado Springs on the 24th.

But if we haven't been accepted, nor even ever receive a wait list letter, how will we know if we get to go to second look whatsoever? Oh the humanity!
 
Just a thought...this whole process has put me into a very introspective mood...

I would suspect that there are a lot of folks like me...seeing as they expect so much of pre med students...a lot of us are very well organized...we have had plans since forever on getting into medical school...we have worked hard and put a lot of blood and sweat into making this work...and of course that is what we are all headed into as a doctor...and now this eternal limbo that feels like it will never end...it is especially hard for us to just sit with so little control over our future...

Maybe there is another way to think about all of this...yes it is terrible to be waiting...TERRIBLE...
but one day we will be giving people a diagnosis where their life hangs in a limbo...they can't plan or really expect much of their future...
we may have to say to them, look we are evaluating the case, we are not sure...and even when we reach that decision...it could still be very difficult to give them any real certainties...
but at least in some small way...we can understand how limbo feels after so much difficulty...we can understand just a little bit more about what it might be like for them...
for me at least, I know that vague...things will work out soooome day...makes me go a little crazy...I like to plan and organize...
but there is always something to be learned
 
I think I'm most upset at the blatant lack of professionalism, coming from a program that claims such high standards and expectations from its applicants.

For example: If we happened to 'attempt' to turn in a secondary late, or miss a letter of recommendation, or any of the hoops we jump through just go get an interview, we would likely have been entirely removed from review whatsoever - EVEN if we did send a correspondence ahead of time discussing a perhaps very viable reason. But here, we get nothing, hear nothing, get no response, and we're expected to just be okay with it. Patience is a virtue; I argue that having professionalism and empathy for the stress that we are under is equal, if not more important. Where is the accountability on their end?

SUbThix.jpg


You need to remember something... this school (along with ALL other medical schools) owes you absolutely nothing. In fact, i don't think that any one applicant is really a blip on their radar screen. Think about it, it's so competitive to get into med school that for every one of us (as applicants) they can easily get someone else to replace us. So why don't you just wait like the rest of us and stop feeling so entitled, at least we got interviews here, there are plenty of people who didn't. Oh, and stop being so upset about their "blatant lack of professionalism." Again... they don't owe you anything.
 
Noted. I think you're right about the fact that one single applicant really doesn't mean much to them, and you're right they don't owe us anything. I need to continually remind myself that - I appreciate the discourse that these (and other) forums allow for exchange of opinions like this; and I appreciate you for calling me out on it (honestly, i really do).

That being said, I'd argue that I know they don't "owe" us anything, I (and clearly others here) are simply working/venting through strong feelings because the professional courtesy of informing applicants of their status by the date they told us they would was not upheld. We all know they weren't required to do anything at all of the sort, and professionalism is not an iron-clad agreement. Unfortunately, us being treated as "blips on a radar" and not as humans is really the key issue here for me personally. So from a personal standpoint, I can indeed be upset at the professionalism aspect, because no, they technically didn't do anything wrong, but neither did that girl in high school who said she'd call and never did and I'm still pissed at her 😉. We'll all keep on keepin' on, good luck in your cycle as well!

🙂

I can see that not being treated as humans is really the issue here for you. it's totally frustrating... but this, after all, is a game of numbers (side note, omg I'm so excited for game of thrones this Sunday!). I've always had this feeling that 99% of applicants are just "numbers/blips on radar screens" to med schools (until we are actual students, then they will do whatever they can to keep us enrolled).

And uh... have you ever told that HS girl you are still pissed at her? Maybe once you are in your first year of med school you can Facebook her and tell her how much she's going to miss out on... :laugh:

Good luck to you too!
 
You're right, they don't owe us anything. But we can (and I very well may) take my money elsewhere because after all we are potential customers. I don't think any of us are demanding to know our status right this minute, but it is disappointing they aren't courteous enough to acknowledge the process is taking longer than anticipated.

So ... take your money elsewhere then. I am.
 
Just got this email....

The date March 31st appears in a variety of webpages. The date as it relates to AMCAS is the date Medical School must have admitted the total number of seats in the Class of 2018. It is not the final decision date on specific applications. If at this time you have not heard from the University of Colorado, School of Medicine, your application is still up for consideration.

The next date you may hear is May 15th.On May 15th applicants can hold only one accept on that date. Students may remain on “wait lists”.

In the near future (2 weeks) we hope to have additional admits, as well as, a formal waitlist.

Please be patient, I am certain it is difficult to wait, but we are as anxious to seat the incoming Class of 2018 as you are!!

Good Luck to you and congratulations for making it this far,


This isn't the most favorable email, but I guess it's not the worst case scenario. Does anyone know if they mean that the March 31st deadline refers to offering acceptances to the 160 or so that is their class size? I know med schools usually send out around 300 or so, so I'm wondering if this means they've sent out their 300, or they've sent out 160. Any ideas?
 
Does anyone know if they mean that the March 31st deadline refers to offering acceptances to the 160 or so that is their class size? I know med schools usually send out around 300 or so, so I'm wondering if this means they've sent out their 300, or they've sent out 160. Any ideas?

I think it's 160 based on the explanation I've heard from other admissions offices. There have probably been some acceptances who have informed CU they're going elsewhere, so maybe the med school has offered ~200 spots thus far?
 
I'm also confused as I thought CU had only sent out around 100 acceptances (as per SDN it seems no one received an acceptance after the morning of March 27). I know SDN doesn't represent all applicants but one would figure that we would hear of more acceptances if CU filled the remaining 80 or so seats (not taking into account the over-acceptance numbers).
 
I think it's 160 based on the explanation I've heard from other admissions offices. There have probably been some acceptances who have informed CU they're going elsewhere, so maybe the med school has offered ~200 spots thus far?

Hopefully this is the case.

Here is how I'm interpreting the email:

"We don't have any more information, so here's a bunch of words that will hopefully convince you to give us more time. In the meantime, feel free to see your local doctor for a Xanax prescription."

I'm off to get my benzo now!!!!! >.<
 
Does anybody know the meaning of a formal waitlist? Does Colorado allow us to know our rank on the waitlist?
 
Does anybody know the meaning of a formal waitlist? Does Colorado allow us to know our rank on the waitlist?

Applicants are not notified of their ranking on the waitlist. The official position is that the applicants are not really ranked, and that admissions will accept students based on what they feel fits their class.

Some of the admissions staff are brand new this year. Not having been through the medical school application process before, I'm sure that this process hasn't been what they expected. Let's try to be patient.
 
Are waitlistees invited to second look day? Or only accepted students?

Also is there any approximation on how many people are waitlisted? I am wondering the chances if 50-80 are accepted off the waitlist each year as previous posts have said...

Final question...is the 300 number mentioned above including those accepted off the waitlist? Or is it 300 acceptances then the waitlist acceptances...
 
Are waitlistees invited to second look day? Or only accepted students?

Also is there any approximation on how many people are waitlisted? I am wondering the chances if 50-80 are accepted off the waitlist each year as previous posts have said....

Last year, I was not invited to second look day as a wait-lister.

At one of the pre-application info meetings last summer/fall, I asked Dr. Grenardo about wait list numbers, and he said that last year's wait list had ~300 people, of which ~80 people were accepted. He also said they issued 240 total acceptances to fill the class of 160 (pre- and post-waitlist). Read into that what you will. Remember that the class is bigger this year.

Good luck to all who wait.
 
Great thanks for the info...yes I know to be careful relying too much on previous numbers but the ball park is useful 🙂
 
Hey everyone,

I am wishing you all the best! Are there any international students that have been accepted? I was accepted, but my only way to finance medical school will be through private loans. I also applied to the scholarships. Does anyone know when we will hear back?

Can alumni or anyone who had to take out private loans please share their experience? Thank you!
 
Finally decided to make an account. I have been checking this thread almost everyday and wanna thank you guys for the great info and some laughs during these times of uncertainty! 😉

I am IS applicant who interviewed on 2/7 and it has been complete silence since then and my status still says "2/10/2014 Thank you for interviewing. Applicants will be advised of final decisions no later than March 31st." And I, too, received the email explaining the "Notification by March 31st". I think that March 31st is a significant date because the day after, April 1st, is the date when all acceptances held by all applicants are revealed to the admission staff according to traffic rules. After April 1st the admissions committee gets an additional piece of information about applicants, which helps to determine their likelihood to matriculate if offered acceptances. Just my 2 cents.

Don't know if any of you guys are tracking the number of members of the class of 2018 FB group. It peaked at 126, then dropped to 125 and now it is at 120. While I think it is not up-to-date in terms of adding newly accepted students, it seems like people who are not gonna be attending have been promptly checking themselves out of the group.

I agree that all this waiting is very annoying but sadly I have learned to live with it. Frankly I'd rather have this glimmer of hope to hold on to than to be rejected and completely hopeless. Hang in there guys!
 
Can those of us who were accepted after the scholarship deadline date still apply for it? (and if so, what is this scholarship?)
 
Can those of us who were accepted after the scholarship deadline date still apply for it? (and if so, what is this scholarship?)

On the accepted students page (http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/c.../AcceptedStudents/Pages/AcceptedStudents.aspx), there is a link to all of the scholarships at the top left. I am not sure if people who are accepted after the due date are still able to apply. Personally I think they should be, but I would contact the scholarship coordinator.
 
Why not! 35O MCAT, 3.5 GPA. In state, applied super late. Non-traditional.
 
Soo as far as we are all aware, Colorado hasn't sent any post-interview rejections or waitlists yet, correct?
 
Darn. Not really a fan of the odds of good news at this point. Would be nice for those of us waiting still to at least know if we even have a shot...

me neither friend, BUT we just gotta wait it out homie. just gotta keep on keeping on.
 
Although the odds are getting lower...I do think that we still have a shot! I would suspect that there will still be spots approximately until they start sending out the wait list...which I haven't heard of any wait list yet! Hopefully we are at less than a week...
and just to note, I did the calculations based on the numbers given to me before and the numbers on the CU website...
after ALL acceptances were given (including those accepted off the waitlist) last year CU accepted about 40% of those that were interviewed...those odds aren't so bad...its just the wait that it takes to get there assuming that people were accepted off the wait list all the way to the beginning of August...
 
Hmm interesting... Definitely a better way to look at it! Oh well... guess we will know when we know...
 
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