2013-2014 University of Massachusetts Application Thread

[Pose]

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Not to scare you, but I also had an afternoon interview, and got out a little after 5:00.

 

[hplssrmantcxox]

Not to scare you, but I also had an afternoon interview, and got out a little after 5:00.

I also had an afternoon interview and got out a little after 5pm. I do believe though I had to arrive by 11 am and not 9 am.

 

[MedWonk]

Not to scare you, but I also had an afternoon interview, and got out a little after 5:00.

I also had an afternoon interview and got out a little after 5pm. I do believe though I had to arrive by 11 am and not 9 am.

Seriously? What did you guys do to keep you there so long? Or rather, I wonder how they structured the day differently?

 

[hplssrmantcxox]

Seriously? What did you guys do to keep you there so long? Or rather, I wonder how they structured the day differently?

I remember after check-in, we did the school/curriculum/financial aid presentation + lunch (lunch is AMAZING by the way. so good. I was super excited lol.), and then a student-led tour in smaller groups. Half the groups ended up sitting in for a lecture for second years for a little over an hour. I felt bad, we were kind of disrupting their class and the professor didn't look so happy to see us all in suits strolling in randomly in the middle of her lecture for like 10-15 minutes because the groups finished their tours at different times.) I'm pretty sure they dropped us off to sit in the lecture to give us a way to kill time before our turn for the MMI circuit. The kids who didn't sit in the lecture were in the MMI circuit before us and did not have to sit in a lecture after.

 

[MedWonk]

I remember after check-in, we did the school/curriculum/financial aid presentation + lunch (lunch is AMAZING by the way. so good. I was super excited lol.), and then a student-led tour in smaller groups. Half the groups ended up sitting in for a lecture for second years. I felt bad, we were kind of disrupting their class and the professor didn't look so happy to see us all in suits strolling in randomly in the middle of her lecture for like 10-15 minutes because the groups finished their tours at different times.) I'm pretty sure they dropped us off to sit in the lecture to give us a way to kill time before our turn for the MMI circuit. The kids who didn't sit in the lecture were in the MMI circuit before us and did not have to sit in a lecture.

I didn't sit in lecture. I had the tour after lunch, which was a little rushed as they didn't want us to be late for the actual interview, then we got back to the conference room where we initially checked in/had the presentations, and they had us do the MMI. After the MMI, the assistant dean gave a short talk, asked for some feedback on the MMI and interview day in general and then let us go. I don't remember if there was another group after us for the MMI that day.

 

[Pose]

I also started at 11am and not 9am, so that's a good point I forgot to make.

I checked in, went to the presentation + lunch, a pretty long tour by an MS2, a full lecture, some waiting, and then the MMI circuit.

 

[MedWonk]

I also started at 11am and not 9am, so that's a good point I forgot to make.

I checked in, went to the presentation + lunch, a pretty long tour by an MS2, a full lecture, some waiting, and then the MMI circuit.

I think they short-changed my group on the tour/lecture, which is why we got out earlier. Sounds like everyone else got a full tour+got to sit in on a good portion of a lecture.

 

[crook.rook]

2 questions for current students:
1) Are there assigned lockers for the medical students? If so, how large are they?
2) Does the gym have a shower / locker room?

I will be living roughly 1.5 miles away from campus and I hope to run to/from as often as I can. This way I can kill two birds with one stone, transportation and daily exercise.

 

[Itsame]

2 questions for current students:
1) Are there assigned lockers for the medical students? If so, how large are they?
2) Does the gym have a shower / locker room?

I will be living roughly 1.5 miles away from campus and I hope to run to/from as often as I can. This way I can kill two birds with one stone, transportation and daily exercise.

Yep, all students get a locker in the locker rooms near the student lounge. Size can be either half length, or full length depending on luck of the draw. There are showers in the locker room.

There are also 'daily' unassigned lockers (1/2 length) in the gym, which has a set of showers as well.

 

[Itsame]

I think they short-changed my group on the tour/lecture, which is why we got out earlier. Sounds like everyone else got a full tour+got to sit in on a good portion of a lecture.

Most interview days have 2 groups - one that interviews before lunch/tour (and can leave immediately after the tour) and one that interviews after lunch/tour.

Occasionally, there are bigger days where there are three interview groups, in which case the 3rd (latest) group is invited to sit in on a class to kill time (the class thing is not part of the normal tour day, otherwise it'd be a really long day!)

 

[MedWonk]

My only hesitation with this school, is that it felt that it was geared at a younger age group. I am not in my early 20s, and all the students I met during my visit were extremely bright, motivated, nice...but young.

I've had 10 interviews and this is the only school that I've felt that way. I didn't feel like I would be treated like an adult learner there, and this was a priority at other places that I've interviewed.

Really? I had the opposite impression here. I felt like there were other schools I was at that were a bit "younger" in feel.

 

[oshkoro]

My only hesitation with this school, is that it felt that it was geared at a younger age group. I am not in my early 20s, and all the students I met during my visit were extremely bright, motivated, nice...but young.

I've had 10 interviews and this is the only school that I've felt that way. I didn't feel like I would be treated like an adult learner there, and this was a priority at other places that I've interviewed.

I've noticed that my "gut feeling" for schools is highly dependent on who I happened to meet while I was there, and who you interact with may not be a good sample of the student body as a whole. That being said, I agree with MedWonk, I got the impression that UMass was very non-trad friendly, more so than most other schools I interviewed at. There are definitely schools that have a very young student population (ahem, Harvard) but I don't think UMass is one of them.

 

[Bruits]

Our student body is fairly diverse in terms of age... I think the average age of the incoming class was 24, which is typical of most med schools. We have married students, parents, career-changers, etc. I don't know which students you saw during the interview day, but during mine last year it was all younger girls girls, so maybe that's why you got that vibe.

 

[User1234]

Pre-interview rejection today via email. Complete sometime 8/2013.

 

[JmsD]

Has anyone who interviewed mid-November or later heard anything back yet?

 

[NorthernMav]

Pre-interview rejection today. Complete mid-September. Boooo Umass, Boo!

 

[jtp270]

Question for anyone who has been accepted already: what was your overall impression of your performance on the MMI? I interviewed on 1/9 and felt like I did moderately okay, but definitely didn't perform as well as I wanted to. Just curious if anyone who has been accepted felt the same way, and if maybe there is some forgiveness in the MMI evaluation.

 

[roundza]

definitely felt the same way. there were a few where I felt totally confident and others where I either ran out of time at the moment i realized i'd been on the "wrong track." It's really hard to self-evaluate but I definitely was about 50% confident upon leaving.

 

[jtp270]

definitely felt the same way. there were a few where I felt totally confident and others where I either ran out of time at the moment i realized i'd been on the "wrong track." It's really hard to self-evaluate but I definitely was about 50% confident upon leaving.

Thanks, glad I wasn't the only one. Now the waiting game...

Have you heard back?

 

[Duff84]

Thanks, glad I wasn't the only one. Now the waiting game...

Have you heard back?

Certainly not alone. I felt good about most of them but there were a couple I didn't feel great about but hopefully I did well all-in-all. Just trying not to beat myself up over it. I don't think anyone comes out of there feeling they nailed every station.

Also yeah I interviewed in October and silence...

Hope it's good news for us soon!

 

[McMeowerson]

Thanks, glad I wasn't the only one. Now the waiting game...

Have you heard back?

I felt the same way about my MMI and I've been waiting since the beginning of September.

This is cruel and unusual punishment.

 

[MedWonk]

Certainly not alone. I felt good about most of them but there were a couple I didn't feel great about but hopefully I did well all-in-all. Just trying not to beat myself up over it. I don't think anyone comes out of there feeling they nailed every station.

Also yeah I interviewed in October and silence...

Hope it's good news for us soon!

I think that' how most people feel. I felt like I crushed two stations, did well but not spectacular at four and then there were two that were tough/awkward. I think for most/all interviewers there is always going to be one or two stations that you kind of flop on.

 

[roundza]

Thanks, glad I wasn't the only one. Now the waiting game...

Have you heard back?

Yea I got in! It was a big surprise for me to hear back this early. I think most people are going to get news around April, which seems to have been the trend here over the last few years. Silence at this point is far from a silent rejection!

 

[jtp270]

Yea I got in! It was a big surprise for me to hear back this early. I think most people are going to get news around April, which seems to have been the trend here over the last few years. Silence at this point is far from a silent rejection![/quote
Congrats! Must feel great to know already.

 

[crook.rook]

When will there be a facebook group for the class of 2018? Are the groups typically created by the school's admission committee?

 

[Duff84]

When will there be a facebook group for the class of 2018? Are the groups typically created by the school's admission committee?

After they admit some more of us please?

 

[crook.rook]

I guess we will just have to wait on the facebook group then.

What is available in terms of research opportunities for MD students (especially a student that has ZERO prior research experience)? I know there is a Clinical Transitional Research Pathway (CTRP), but I am not positive on what it is or how it fits into the curriculum. Can CTRP align with the Capstone Scholarship & Discovery course if a student is interested in research?

Also, can the Capstone Scholarship & Discovery project be research oriented, even if a student has no research background?

 

[Duff84]

Apologies for the not-helpful post. I've seen in other threads that usually some enthusiastic accepted pre-med has just started the group themselves. I'm not a high-level facebook user so not sure how to go about it but I don't think admissions has any hand in it usually, though I could be mistaken.

 

[hplssrmantcxox]

I think that' how most people feel. I felt like I crushed two stations, did well but not spectacular at four and then there were two that were tough/awkward. I think for most/all interviewers there is always going to be one or two stations that you kind of flop on.

I felt EXACTLY the same way... I have no idea what to think about how I did for this MMI lol. I aced my other MMI at another school the other day, and after I could only think about how I wish I had done this well at Umass's MMI haha.

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

Does UMass use CertiPhi? Got an email today for the background check, and hoping it's a harbinger of good news!

 

[MedWonk]

Does UMass use CertiPhi? Got an email today for the background check, and hoping it's a harbinger of good news!

Yes. And it has no bearing on your UMass decision. Some schools have only accepted students undergo a background check, some include waitlisted students, others include all interviewed students. It has no bearing on a school's decision. Chillax, bro.

 

[mrusiku]

Interviewing this week... my only MMI of the year, kind of nervous 😕

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

Yes. And it has no bearing on your UMass decision. Some schools have only accepted students undergo a background check, some include waitlisted students, others include all interviewed students. It has no bearing on a school's decision. Chillax, bro.

Ooph! Buzz kill.
FWIW, the email implied more than "all interviewed students"
The email stated: You have received this email because you have been waitlisted or conditionally accepted by one or more of the medical schools participating in the AAMC-facilitated program for performing criminal background checks on conditionally accepted applicants and waiting list applicants.

 

[abar]

Got rejected from UMass the other day. No interview invite. 39 MCAT, 4.0 GPA, experience working in the pharmaceutical industry as a management consultant.

Weird world.

 

[MedWonk]

Ooph! Buzz kill.
FWIW, the email implied more than "all interviewed students"
The email stated: You have received this email because you have been waitlisted or conditionally accepted by one or more of the medical schools participating in the AAMC-facilitated program for performing criminal background checks on conditionally accepted applicants and waiting list applicants.

Yeah, I would take that with a grain of salt. Just take heart that it means you're still under consideration somewhere.

 

[masaraksh]

Got rejected from UMass the other day. No interview invite. 39 MCAT, 4.0 GPA, experience working in the pharmaceutical industry as a management consultant.

Weird world.

****

I guess I know what's coming. 4.0/37Q

 

[food2]

Does anyone know when the committee might meet again and send out acceptances? I want the wait to be over! haha, here's hoping for some good news!

 

[letmein222]

just got an II here! my first one of this whole process so I am INSANELY happy!!!!

 

[MedWonk]

Does anyone know when the committee might meet again and send out acceptances? I want the wait to be over! haha, here's hoping for some good news!

Me too, brosef. Me too.

 

[surely]

How much time should I expect to spend outdoors during my interview day? The temperature forecasted for tomorrow is in the single digits. :/

 

[OneTwoThreeFour]

How much time should I expect to spend outdoors during my interview day? The temperature forecasted for tomorrow is in the single digits. :/

I didn't go outside at all. There's a glass hallway connecting the buildings

 

[surely]

I didn't go outside at all. There's a glass hallway connecting the buildings

Ahhh, that's a relief - Thank you!!

 

[MedWonk]

How much time should I expect to spend outdoors during my interview day? The temperature forecasted for tomorrow is in the single digits. :/

None. Except for maybe the walk from the parking garage to the building were the interview is held.

 

[MedWonk]

I didn't go outside at all. There's a glass hallway connecting the buildings

Yeah, this too.

 

[roundza]

This is a question for current students:

When is the best time to search for apartments in Worcester? Also, where do most people live? I'd really like to be within walking distance to school.

Thanks a bunch! Good luck on interviews and hearing back, everybody!

 

[McMeowerson]

My heart drops when I see a post in this thread on Friday mornings

 

[roundza]

🙁 sigh. sorry this process is such a pain.

 

[Bruits]

Saw a bunch of interviewees yesterday while I was in the gym : ) GL all still waiting, I know it sucks.

 

[DubZteR]

Interviewing this week... my only MMI of the year, kind of nervous 😕

Don't sweat it. Just remember you can realistically screw up on two stations and still get in. For mmis, having a framework is key! Gluck

 

[funknewbious]

This is a question for current students:

When is the best time to search for apartments in Worcester? Also, where do most people live? I'd really like to be within walking distance to school.

Thanks a bunch! Good luck on interviews and hearing back, everybody!

I'm checking out several places today around the Shrewsbury/Northborough area since I have some wedding planning things to do in Worcester. I'll definitely share my findings with everyone.