2013-2014 University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine

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Got the survey email today. Is the consensus that it's good news? I won't be able to check my mailbox until I go back to school
 
I also got the survey email today. All it means is that a decision has been sent. It doesn't allude to anything positive or negative.
 
Survey email today.. Fingers crossed.

Poseidon388 said:
Just received an II. Any advice? Impressions? Qualms?
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Have fun. Everyone there is awesome and welcoming.
 
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Accepted! Christmas came early:D
 
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When did you guys interview? I interviewed Dec. 2, so should I be hearing back soon?
 
Accepted today as well! I interviewed Dec. 9th.

I'm holding another acceptance currently, but I'm 99% sure this is where I will matriculate!
 
superbatxs said:
When did you guys interview? I interviewed Dec. 2, so should I be hearing back soon?
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I interviewed on Dec 9 as well. Hopefully you hear something soon. The committee met this past Friday so a decision should be on the way unless your interviewer was unable to make it to the meeting. If that's the case, they might have to vote on you for the next meeting. Good luck man!
 
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I am a reapplicant that interviewed in Nashville on December 2nd. I was wondering if my decision would be mailed to me before the end of the year, especially since some people have already received their acceptance letters. I emailed the admissions office earlier this afternoon, and this is the response that I received.

The Admissions Committee made a final decision with regard to your application at the Admissions Committee meeting Friday, December 20. Your letter will be signed Monday, January 6.

Any opinions on this guys? Is this good, bad, or neutral?
 
ccantr10 said:
I am a reapplicant that interviewed in Nashville on December 2nd. I was wondering if my decision would be mailed to me before the end of the year, especially since some people have already received their acceptance letters. I emailed the admissions office earlier this afternoon, and this is the response that I received.

The Admissions Committee made a final decision with regard to your application at the Admissions Committee meeting Friday, December 20. Your letter will be signed Monday, January 6.

Any opinions on this guys? Is this good, bad, or neutral?
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It's neutral. Unfortunately, you won't get your letter and find out the decision until after it's signed. :(
 
I interviewed on November 27. I received the email from Diane saying that the survey had been sent last Sunday. I am out of town and have gotten all my mail forwarded to my current address, but it is taking longer for the mail to get here. I have yet to receive anything in the mail from UT. However, today I received an email from Diane with instructions on setting up a NET ID. The PDF attached to the email is tilted "new student email" but the actual file says "if you have been accepted". Has anyone else gotten this and can anyone tell me what this means?

Thanks
 
Out of curiosity, are there still lots of seats up for grabs at this point of the cycle? With how far along in the year UT starts interviewing, I get the feeling that this interview might not be so late as it seems, but I'm not sure.
 
Is there any time frame from when you all turned in your II to when you were invited to interview/ heard anything?

I was complete, II & all, on October 3.

3.9/32/in-state - I was hoping to at least make it to the interview stage!
 
Calm down guys. There are still plenty of seats and plenty more interviews to come.
 
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Guero said:
Calm down guys. There are still plenty of seats and plenty more interviews to come.
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Lol I love how people are so anxious. I could use some calm right now as well. My application was discussed Dec. 20. My letter will be sent this Monday.
 
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Interview invite today!! Super excited because this is my top choice school! ugpa 3.4, ggpa 3.8, 30 mcat
 
So this was your third cycle? Did they cite a reason in their letter?
 
Patriot2kusa said:
So this was your third cycle? Did they cite a reason in their letter?
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No, but I sent an email to the admissions office asking for their opinion on how I can strengthen my application for the next cycle.
 
That sucks, I'm sorry. I can't imagine going through another application cycle. You interviewed fairly early in the cycle, too. If you don't mind me asking, who were your interviewers?
 
Patriot2kusa said:
That sucks, I'm sorry. I can't imagine going through another application cycle. You interviewed fairly early in the cycle, too. If you don't mind me asking, who were your interviewers?
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Reapplicants are interviewed by only one person, not the usual two. I live in middle Tennessee, so I requested that I be interviewed in Nashville for this cycle (I've been to Memphis twice). The man that interviewed me was named James Farris. I met with him at medical examiner's office in Nashville. I really enjoyed talking with him. Of all the interviews that I have had, UT or elsewhere, I felt that I related with him best. But you know what? One of the things that I've learned the past three cycles is that you can't rely on your impressions on how likely you are to be accepted or placed high on the waitlist. The only impression that matters is the one made upon the Admissions Committee when they look at your application, and I have not a clue as to how I can mold my application to look more favorably to them. While my stats at first glance are not atrocious (GPA: 3.58, MCAT: 31O), I made some very bad grades during my last semester of undergrad that pulled down my GPA from a respectable 3.72. (I could have graduated the semester before. There was this thing. PM if you want the whole sob story). That's a mistake that would send a shiver down my spine if I was on an Admissions Committee. I've taken some post-bacc classes and received straight As in them, and I just wrote a $3000 check so that I can take more this spring. My MCAT score is due to expire next cycle for consideration by UT (I took it in July of 2010), so I'm thinking about retaking it to become eligible for other schools again. I know that medicine is the field for me; my academic experiences, work experiences (I have an EMT license and have worked in a doctor's office for ~ 2 years), and volunteering experiences have convinced me of that. Convincing other people? Who the hell knows? Good luck to you and everybody else this cycle!
 
This admissions process blows my mind.
 
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Hey guys, I understand how you feel. I was wait listed very highly last year. But I have been rejected this year even though my mcat has improved significantly. I've done everything that Dr. Strother has told me to do. He said my scores were fine and that I should continue with clinical experience, which I did.

I was very shocked during interview day. My interviewer asked me questions that were extremely difficult. I know a few doctors and one of them is on the admissions committee at the university of Chicago (pritzer). Even he acknowledged that the questions were unusual and difficult. I've been going over the usmle step 3 book to go over ethics (though the scenarios that were presented to me are not even covered in the book).

Anyways, I understand the job of the interviewer is not necessarily to look for the right answer but how you respond to the questions with a calm and confident tone. Perhaps my fault is that I could've prepared for the interview better.

Also, I will ask Dr. Strother what happened exactly. He is extremely nice.
 
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superbatxs said:
However, one thing I find highly unacceptable is the racism and bias I experienced with my interviewer. I am considering not applying to this school next year (which was my top choice for med school). I have another interview coming up at another school. Hopefully I won't be as unlucky with my interviewer.
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Might I ask who interviewed you? If the racism and bias are true, I'd report it to someone.
 
I'll discuss it with admissions. I don't feel comfortable giving out names here.

Edit: Nevermind I'm too scared lol. I'm sorry for bringing it up.
 
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superbatxs said:
I'll discuss it with admissions. I don't feel comfortable giving out names here.
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This is just to echo what superbatxs said and give my experience of the interview (I think we might have had the same interviewer). My first interview with a med student and conversations with Dr. Strother were really enjoyable, but I was really unhappy with the way my second interview was conducted.

The first question I was asked was why I had so little community service. I'll admit that it isn't the strongest part of my application, but is by no means insignificant even by SDN standards. It also plays a large part of my path to medicine in my personal statement and despite my "lack of community service" I was still invited to interview...It came across that right off the bat my interviewer was trying to belittle me.

Like superbatxs I was given a series of hypothetical questions. Most of them I was ok with. However, one of them took almost 10 minutes for the interviewer to explain (could have been done in 1 minute). When I tried to answer it, he kept telling me I was giving wrong answers. There was no discussion, he only kept repeating that those answers were wrong. This went on and on for another 10 minutes. It only ended because we had run out of time. I got one of the answers right eventually, but never got the second response right (I was giving good plausible answers, but the question was extremely broad and he was looking for 2 specific things). Because he never commented on my answer, only told me it was wrong, I wasn't able to express anything about myself and it seemed like a huge waste of time. I'm decently versed on interview ethic questions and know for a fact that these situations are presented in PBLs at other schools. It makes me wonder how I would have come across if I had known both answers and gave them immediately. Even if I did this, I feel that I was only being assessed on my knowledge and not my personality (the knowledge part will come with med school, especially related to these questions).

Anyway, just thought I'd share my story. I still like UT but I think my hold list was because of this interview. I expressed my views in the survey so hopefully things will change. Like superbatxs I won't name anyone.

EDIT: despite my avatar, I am not a minority so I don't believe race played a role
 
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I think I had the same interviewer. Very uncomfortable ethical questions which were always a no-win situation because he disagreed with everything I said, and I distinctly remember being told I had "no community service" after I had just explained my community service. The interviewer even asked me religion (I'm not a minority, so I think it must have been something I said that segued into that question, but with all the other stuff I dealt with in the interview, I didn't want to get confrontational). I left the interview feeling awful; I felt like I had even raised my voice at the interviewer... but I ended up being accepted, so I don't know.
 
Surgeonvivor said:
I think I had the same interviewer. Very uncomfortable ethical questions which were always a no-win situation because he disagreed with everything I said, and I distinctly remember being told I had "no community service" after I had just explained my community service. The interviewer even asked me religion (I'm not a minority, so I think it must have been something I said that segued into that question, but with all the other stuff I dealt with in the interview, I didn't want to get confrontational). I left the interview feeling awful; I felt like I had even raised my voice at the interviewer... but I ended up being accepted, so I don't know.
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Good to hear that someone else dealt with it and got accepted. Makes me feel better, congrats!
 
got my survey email at 4:00 PM today. kinda freaking out.
 
I finished my secondary in early November and I still haven't heard anything back yet. Is something wrong with this? I'm kind of freaking out. No emails since they confirmed that they received the secondary. Uh oh. Help!!!!
 
I think they are still fairly early in the interview process... I wouldn't freak out until March rolls around. If you'd like a status update, you can email Dean Strother, and he's usually very open about where your application stands. Super nice guy. Also, I thought that secondaries were due in September, no?
 
Patriot2kusa said:
I think they are still fairly early in the interview process... I wouldn't freak out until March rolls around. If you'd like a status update, you can email Dean Strother, and he's usually very open about where your application stands. Super nice guy. Also, I thought that secondaries were due in September, no?
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Secondaries are due as soon as you get them. If you didn't submit until October, there's no way you'd get a secondary in September.

And Eazybreezy, just email Diane Harris or Dean Strother for an update.
 
I also meant Oct 3 as the submitted date for the secondary. Oh I can email them for an update? Is this not frowned upon? Thanks for all the help. This actually calmed my nerves a little hahaha also what would I say in that email? Super formal or just straight up ask? Gahhh this waiting is killing me
 
FormerPhysicist said:
No survey for me (yet). This wait is driving me crazy.
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From what I understand, you get your survey email the week after they discuss your application. I would email Ms. Harris to see when the committee discussed your application, and you should get the survey a week after (They have to sign it or something?). They apparently discussed my application January 10th even though I interviewed Dec. 4th. Sorry bud, but it's definitely a long wait. Hope this helps!
 
Does anyone know how they go about doing scholarships? Someone said that they call the top 10% of their applicants (apparantly they rank us that are admitted based on our interviews?) and then are interviewed again in March for scholarships. If anyone knows this for sure please inform me, thanks. Also congrats to all the recently admitted. Join the FB group!
 
Blizzard18 said:
Does anyone know how they go about doing scholarships? Someone said that they call the top 10% of their applicants (apparantly they rank us that are admitted based on our interviews?) and then are interviewed again in March for scholarships. If anyone knows this for sure please inform me, thanks. Also congrats to all the recently admitted. Join the FB group!
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There's info on their website re: the specifics of the scholarship process. But basically, they rank you based on your academic record and MCAT scores. The top 15 admitted students are invited to interview for 10 substantial scholarships.

However, there are about 20 or 30 additional scholarships for which you don't need to apply. They're awarded based on various criteria. You'll be notified by Diane Harris and will need to sign an acceptance letter. I was in this group. I was literally notified two days before the May 15th deadline to hold one acceptance. I'm pretty sure some of these, especially mine, are used as recruitment scholarships.

And for those of you accepted, the fb page is searchable as "UTHSC College of Medicine Class of 2018." Feel free to request to join once you're accepted! We're growing everyday. :)
 
Awh, ok. Well dang, I for sure wont be in that 10%. But I guess that's fine lol. Thanks for the info!
 
Rejected today, not even waitlisted. The only recommendation they had for me was "more hands-on clinical experience", even though my job for the past 3 years has been exactly that. I'm pretty sure it was because I bombed one of my interviews, as I had an experience similar to those described earlier in this thread. Oh well. Off to (expensive) SMP land next year.
 
Sorry to hear that. :( Are you a first-time applicant? When did you interview?
 
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