2013-2014 University of Utah School of Medicine

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wow the letter requirements for Utah are pretty strict! 😡🙁

if i dont have a letter for their patient exposure requirement, should I even submit?

thanks in advance!
 
futuredoc7576 said:
wow the letter requirements for Utah are pretty strict! 😡🙁

if i dont have a letter for their patient exposure requirement, should I even submit?

thanks in advance!
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I would call their office. I know they are pretty set on their requirements, but there may be an exception for certain circumstances. Their office is super friendly.
 
Interviewed a couple weeks ago. The new health sciences building is pretty nice. They instituted a new curriculum a couple of years ago and raised their average board scores from a 220ish to a 231 (nothing to write home about, but they're moving in the right direction) Lots of great opportunities here, especially in primary care.

When I was there, they said a few students will be notified of acceptance before March. Does anyone know for sure when this is? I want to say last year it was late October, but I'm not entirely positive of that date.
 
WorfoSAUR said:
Interviewed a couple weeks ago. The new health sciences building is pretty nice. They instituted a new curriculum a couple of years ago and raised their average board scores from a 220ish to a 231 (nothing to write home about, but they're moving in the right direction) Lots of great opportunities here, especially in primary care.

When I was there, they said a few students will be notified of acceptance before March. Does anyone know for sure when this is? I want to say last year it was late October, but I'm not entirely positive of that date.
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What changes did they make to their curriculum?
 
The waiting game... I've been avoiding sdn drama and ii stress with school work and a healthy amount of college football. This waiting is starting to wear on me though!!
 
WorfoSAUR said:
Interviewed a couple weeks ago. The new health sciences building is pretty nice. They instituted a new curriculum a couple of years ago and raised their average board scores from a 220ish to a 231 (nothing to write home about, but they're moving in the right direction) Lots of great opportunities here, especially in primary care.

When I was there, they said a few students will be notified of acceptance before March. Does anyone know for sure when this is? I want to say last year it was late October, but I'm not entirely positive of that date.
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I spoke to a second year medical student at my interview and he was accepted in February while others had been accepted earlier. I would think that they would start sending acceptances out to these people in October, but as late as February before they send out the max letters in March.
 
jdfamily said:
I spoke to a second year medical student at my interview and he was accepted in February while others had been accepted earlier. I would think that they would start sending acceptances out to these people in October, but as late as February before they send out the max letters in March.
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Same. one of the MSII students I talked to was accepted in January.
 
sustinamith said:
II today! Also IS. Hoping for some love this year.
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Congrats! This forum is very lonesome. When were you complete with Utah? I am going on 4 weeks now since I submitted, with no word. This is my 2nd year applying and I interviewed at Utah last year so I figure it is coming...
 
runningdude said:
Congrats! This forum is very lonesome. When were you complete with Utah? I am going on 4 weeks now since I submitted, with no word. This is my 2nd year applying and I interviewed at Utah last year so I figure it is coming...
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I was complete August 30. I think it took longer because there was some confusion with one of the required classes. I also interviewed last year. This forum is always too quiet.
 
sustinamith said:
I was complete August 30. I think it took longer because there was some confusion with one of the required classes. I also interviewed last year. This forum is always too quiet.
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Cool, I think Utah is slower at getting Interview Invites out this year. Good luck!
 
II today, instate. Pretty excited about this one. And also very nice to not need to travel for once.
 
Wanted to post to ask about the LOR requirement. So you need 6 letters? I think I read that 1 letter can fulfill two quality requirements? So in that case, will I be okay with submitting 5 letters? Any feedback will be helpful!
 
Medicalhopeful said:
Wanted to post to ask about the LOR requirement. So you need 6 letters? I think I read that 1 letter can fulfill two quality requirements? So in that case, will I be okay with submitting 5 letters? Any feedback will be helpful!
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I used 5 and got an ii so it seems fine. I just made sure that my letter clearly stated the requirements were met for both letters.
 
Any interview stories? I had a friend reschedule his interview after complaining that one of his interviewers was not fair to him. lol not sure how that will look on his final application, but can anybody share their experience this year?
 
GomerPyle said:
Any interview stories? I had a friend reschedule his interview after complaining that one of his interviewers was not fair to him. lol not sure how that will look on his final application, but can anybody share their experience this year?
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Utah is very much interested in ensuring each student has a 'fair' interview. I think they mentioned it two or three times, that if you felt like the interviewer asked inappropriate questions they would consider granting you an additional interview. They just throw out the other one and don't consider it. My friend had a 10 minute interview because the interviewer just wasn't interested in conducting an interview. He went back two or three weeks later to have another one,

I enjoyed interview day. Start out with a short presentation by the dean just about the school, why you should come to Utah, that stuff. Had three total interviews. All of mine were in the morning, but some people had theirs scheduled for after lunch. Had a short tour (led by a admissions member. Really should be a student) followed by lunch in the cafeteria with MS2s.

The interviews were really straightforward. No weird questions. Just standard stuff and all of my interviewers had a list of questions printed out and didn't ask hardly anything beyond the list.

I don't know, what else do you want to know about?
 
WorfoSAUR said:
Utah is very much interested in ensuring each student has a 'fair' interview. I think they mentioned it two or three times, that if you felt like the interviewer asked inappropriate questions they would consider granting you an additional interview. They just throw out the other one and don't consider it. My friend had a 10 minute interview because the interviewer just wasn't interested in conducting an interview. He went back two or three weeks later to have another one,
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My student interviewer did not want to be there (I may have had the same interviewer as your friend--it was an MS4). They were impatient, unfriendly, seemed worn out, and constantly interrupted my responses with the next question. It was a very unpleasant interview and was over within 10 minutes. I just let it go because the interviewer technically didn't cross any lines according to what was very specifically stressed (it was emphasized more than once that it must be in the case of an inappropriate question)... and I kind of felt sorry for him because he seemed so stressed out. Plus, it was my first medical school interview, so I had no way to really gauge it and did not want to take the risk of requesting another one and being turned down since it was within their rules. Now that I have been to several, I realized it was a very poor interview indeed.
 
I had a great experience with my interviews. All of them were conversational and very professional. My favorite interviewer was a 4th year. He was very honest about his experience at the school and was genuinely interested in my future.

Just know that they will ask specific questions about the admissions criteria like shadowing that Utah requires.
 
Interview invite this morning! This is my top choice school! 🙂
 
Hey guys! I am a current MS1 student and would be happy to answer any questions you have to the best of my ability. I was accepted off of the waitlist to the U! Which was great since it was my top choice school and I was planning on moving to Wisconsin for medical school since I had an acceptance at MCW. But in state is great! The tuition itself is great! And the U actually has quite a few scholarships that you can apply for as well. Good luck to you all! Really emphasize things in your application that help you to stand out from others! The University of Utah is a great program! And they are very receptive to student feedback on the program. The administration is wonderful as well! Good luck to you all! I know the wait can be painful, and if you are on the waitlist the wait gets even more painful! But it is worth it! Let me know what I can help you with!
 
Thanks for your post piano1! I appreciate med students who give us pre-meds motivation and words of advice/encouragement. I attended the U's Day of the Dead event last Saturday and I fell absolutely in love with the school! This was my top choice before because of the instate thing, but now it's my top choice for a dozen other reasons as well! Everyone was incredibly friendly and relaxed and I was very impressed by the things Dean Chan told us about some of the U's curricular approaches (small group emphasis, small group test corrections to ensure proper learning, scholarly activities, systems based approach, etc.)
 
Accepted here today. IS. Dr. Chan called with the news. Not sure how many more they are accepting in this early stage but today was the first day.
 
medapp0310 said:
Accepted here today. IS. Dr. Chan called with the news. Not sure how many more they are accepting in this early stage but today was the first day.
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When did you interview? Do you mind sharing your stats? Thanks in advance
 
medapp0310 said:
Accepted here today. IS. Dr. Chan called with the news. Not sure how many more they are accepting in this early stage but today was the first day.
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Congrats! I would also like to know your stats if you are comfortable sharing.
 
medapp0310 said:
Accepted here today. IS. Dr. Chan called with the news. Not sure how many more they are accepting in this early stage but today was the first day.
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I think they invite less than 15 before March. Where's your under grad?
 
WorfoSAUR said:
I think they invite less than 15 before March. Where's your under grad?
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This was posted yesterday on the University of Utah School of Medicine Office of Admission's Facebook page.

"Congratulations to the first five members of the Class of 2018! Early acceptance offers started this past week.

Just a reminder: We have non-binding early acceptances here at UUSOM (meaning that applicants are free to continue to interview at other schools and entertain other offers). Approximately 25% of the class (so with a class of 102 this year, that means 25 or 26 individuals) will be offered an early acceptance.

We will be notifying everyone by April 1, 2014 of where they stand (accepted, alternate, or not accepted list). All allopathic (MD) schools abide by the AAMC traffic rules which stipulate that applicants must be notified by this date. - Dr. Chan"
 
runningdude said:
This was posted yesterday on the University of Utah School of Medicine Office of Admission's Facebook page.

"Congratulations to the first five members of the Class of 2018! Early acceptance offers started this past week.

Just a reminder: We have non-binding early acceptances here at UUSOM (meaning that applicants are free to continue to interview at other schools and entertain other offers). Approximately 25% of the class (so with a class of 102 this year, that means 25 or 26 individuals) will be offered an early acceptance.

We will be notifying everyone by April 1, 2014 of where they stand (accepted, alternate, or not accepted list). All allopathic (MD) schools abide by the AAMC traffic rules which stipulate that applicants must be notified by this date. - Dr. Chan"
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That's what I was told, too.
As for stats I don't really want to post because that seems weird and braggy but I was pretty far "above average" for the 6 categories. Lots of clinical experience and volunteer work. They told me I had really strong recs and interviewed well (even though I thought I didn't. I seriously thought one of my interviewers hated me because he spent the entire time challenging my responses. Just goes to show you have no idea what they're after.)
 
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GomerPyle said:
So if I were to interview in January or February, does that mean I am not eligible for the early acceptance and I am putting myself at a disadvantage?
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75% of the class get accepted in March/April so I would assume that it shouldn't affect your chances if you are an extremely qualified applicant.
 
I remember at my interview they said that grading at Utah was an Honors/Pass/Fail system where honors was assigned in each block independently. Does anyone remember how the cutoffs work? Did they say that blocks had set cutoffs for honors/passing or was it based on a curve where you have to get within a certain standard deviation from the mean?
 
Hey Folks! Can anyone shed some more light on the interviews? Was anyone asked about healthcare reform or any of its nuances? How are current events incorporated in the interview (if at all)? Or is the interview more about what we've listed in our secondaries?
Any feedback would be great!
 
Nmarchib said:
I remember at my interview they said that grading at Utah was an Honors/Pass/Fail system where honors was assigned in each block independently. Does anyone remember how the cutoffs work? Did they say that blocks had set cutoffs for honors/passing or was it based on a curve where you have to get within a certain standard deviation from the mean?
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Hey so I am a MS1 this year. And the University of Utah actually has decided to get rid of Honors for Phase 2. Phase 2 is the second half of first year and full second year. We also only have Pass/Fail for Phase 1 (first half of first year). So there is no Honors until third year. Which I honestly think is great! It has really made our class more cohesive having it only be Pass/Fail. And they have done a lot of research about what they look at for applying to residency and have found that it really doesn't help you to have Honors, but more so hurts you if you don't have Honors and the school has it. THey also decided to drop Honors since most of the schools in the Top 25 have a Pass/Fail only system. Residencies are going to look more at your board scores then anything. It is nice not having to freak out about every little test in medical school and know that we learn the material because we want to be good physicians. It impressed me the amount of research the school did before they dropped Honors to make sure they were helping their students to the best of their ability. Also they were very helpful and held a meeting for first years to discuss why they decided to drop Honors for the first two years. Let me know if you have any other questions!
 
piano1 said:
So there is no Honors until third year. It impressed me the amount of research the school did before they dropped Honors to make sure they were helping their students to the best of their ability.
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That's awesome news, the honors was sort of turning me off from this school which I loved otherwise. Thanks so much!
 
Scheduled interview for Janary 13th. Never been to Utah. Where did you all stay at during the interview? How was your interview?

How was your impression of the school?
 
Accepted! I just got the call! So ecstatic, I loved this school
 
Can any current students confirm for me that Utah is completely doing away with Honors for the class starting this upcoming fall? I seem to be getting conflicting information about this
 
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