2013-2014 Wake Forest Application Thread

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
How long did people have this status: "Your application is being reviewed. When the review is complete, you will be notified if there is a status change" before getting an II or the status about interviews occurring September-March (or whatever it says)?

i don't think mine ever said that. all i have is it saying my application is complete. i don't know if that means they've reviewed it, or if they just have everything. not going to start worrying though.
 
Anyone know if there are student hosts for interviews? I can't seem to find anything about it.
 
Last edited:
Same. I got the primary verification email on Friday afternoon and just got the secondary invite a couple minutest ago.

Exact same thing happened to me. I put off writing these thinking I might be rejected before the secondary. Are you writing all three essays?
 
II today, complete July 25, very average stats oos! Good luck everyone.
 
Verified 7/30
Seconday received 8/12 - OOS, 32-11,11,10, 3.2 cGPA, 3.45 sGPA, 3.85 post-bacc GPA (56 credits), very strong ECs and LORs, non-trad applicant.

Also, for those wondering, I'm planning on completing all three required essays. One of my hobbies (I'm a competitive powerlifter) fits one of the core competencies perfectly, so I'll be writing about that. It's not mentioned anywhere else in my essays/application, so I figured it'd be good essay fodder.

Good luck.
 
Last edited:
Are we allowed to send more than the two individual LORs? I already sent 4 through amcas..
 
Got a question about LOR requirements. I'm a graduate student, but the majority of my letters are from my undergraduate. Even though I'm a graduate student, can I still choose the option of sending letters from my undergrad?
 
Got a question about LOR requirements. I'm a graduate student, but the majority of my letters are from my undergraduate. Even though I'm a graduate student, can I still choose the option of sending letters from my undergrad?


I'm also a grad student. I sent in 2 undergrad letters and 1 grad letter and got an II, so maybe as long as you have 1 graduate letter it's fine?
 
Last edited:
I'm also a grad student. I sent in 2 undergrad letters and 1 grad letter and got an II, so maybe as long as you have 1 graduate letter it's fine?

I thought we were only supposed to send 2 letters? I have 2 graduate, but also a good undergrad one I'd like to include...
 
I thought we were only supposed to send 2 letters? I have 2 graduate, but also a good undergrad one I'd like to include...
2 are required for WF, but 3 is the standard throughout most schools. I just sent 3 recs out to all the schools as like a default. I think 2 is more like a minimum, but at the same time you probably shouldn't send them more than 3 or 4 since they only asked for 2.
 
2 are required for WF, but 3 is the standard throughout most schools. I just sent 3 recs out to all the schools as like a default. I think 2 is more like a minimum, but at the same time you probably shouldn't send them more than 3 or 4 since they only asked for 2.

what if we have a letter packet? i sent them a letter packet with like 5
 
In case anyone was wondering, I called about student hosts and they said "There is no active list of student hosts at this time" and she couldn't comment on if there would be one. Looks like we are on our own!
 
In case anyone was wondering, I called about student hosts and they said "There is no active list of student hosts at this time" and she couldn't comment on if there would be one. Looks like we are on our own!

The student hosting program here at Wake was discontinued a few years back because of a lack of interest and the difficulty of working out all the logistics. However, a few days ago an email was floating around about potential interest to get it started again. I don't think that anything has been worked out to this point, but I know there are some first years that are willing to host interviewees. If you are unable to work out other plans to spend the night in Winston-Salem then I can try to get you in touch with some people who could help, though it would be completely unofficial.
 
has anyone who was complete in the last week or two heard anything about II?
 
For those getting interviews, did you do all 3 essays? beginning to think maybe it looks bad to only do 2, maybe it looks like we're doing bare minimum?


and can someone comment on how research-oriented wake forest is? what's the split between research/clinic?

thanks 🙂
 
For those getting interviews, did you do all 3 essays? beginning to think maybe it looks bad to only do 2, maybe it looks like we're doing bare minimum?


and can someone comment on how research-oriented wake forest is? what's the split between research/clinic?

thanks 🙂

If you have nothing of substance to add for a third essay, then don't write one.

In my opinion, Wake offers a good balance between being research or clinically oriented. It's impossible to assign a number to the split because each student's experience will be unique. If you want to get involved with research there will be opportunities from the beginning of first year, and if you don't like research at all you don't have to do any.
 
For those getting interviews, did you do all 3 essays? beginning to think maybe it looks bad to only do 2, maybe it looks like we're doing bare minimum?


and can someone comment on how research-oriented wake forest is? what's the split between research/clinic?

thanks 🙂

I only did 2 essays.
 
Got a secondary question for you guys.

I am choosing to answer the setbacks questions by saying how I dealt with getting rejected from medical school (i'm a reapplicant).

For two of the optional essays (what have you done since completing your BS and what have you done to improve your application as a reapplicant) are very similar. What makes things worse is that those two are pretty much the same thing as my setbacks question (of course, the setbacks one is worded more eloquently).

Is it weird that I am essentially talking about the same thing for three of my Wake Forest essays?
 
Anyone know the ratio of WF's secondaries sent out to interviews granted?
 
Anyone know the ratio of WF's secondaries sent out to interviews granted?

Look earlier in the thread, it is there somewhere (pg 2 or 3?). I don't remember the exact numbers.
 
Look earlier in the thread, it is there somewhere (pg 2 or 3?). I don't remember the exact numbers.

Thanks. I looked and found:

7400 primary apps
2450 secondaries
540 interviews
225 acceptances
120 matriculated
 
Thanks. I looked and found:

7400 primary apps
2450 secondaries
540 interviews
225 acceptances
120 matriculated

The drop off from primary to secondary is surprising to me. Is that common at other schools?
 
I think WF is known to screen heavily pre-secondary

That explains it. I didn't know WF screened so I was scratching my head at all those who I thought must have neglected to return a secondary.
 
I'm also a grad student. I sent in 2 undergrad letters and 1 grad letter and got an II, so maybe as long as you have 1 graduate letter it's fine?

Congrats! When did you submit your secondary? Also, did anyone else receive a "complete" email after submitting the secondary?
 
Good news everyone! One of my classmates has spearheaded the effort to get the student hosting program back up and running, and he's just announced that it was a success. The program has the dean's blessing, and I think everyone that has been extended an interview invite should receive an email asking if they're interested in a student host.
 
Congrats! When did you submit your secondary? Also, did anyone else receive a "complete" email after submitting the secondary?
I can't remember the exact date of completion but it was probably 7/16 ish since that's when I got the secondary. Also, I don't think I got a complete email, just the status on the webpage. Then they emailed me a few weeks later about the interview.
 
Good news everyone! One of my classmates has spearheaded the effort to get the student hosting program back up and running, and he's just announced that it was a success. The program has the dean's blessing, and I think everyone that has been extended an interview invite should receive an email asking if they're interested in a student host.

lol, definitely read the first line as Professor Farnsworth. But that's good to hear, still hoping for an II for here
 
Just received secondary this morning. Primary verified on 8/21.
 
I'll be here on Tuesday, 9/3. Who will I have the honor of making awkward, nervous small talk with between interviews?
 
The due date is soft - they won't automatically reject you for returning the secondary a bit later.

Phew, this is a relief. I accidentally missed the deadline by like 1 or 2 days but I submitted it anyway hoping for some mercy.
 
Secondary Received!
I know people are getting IIs but it felt good to post something after lurking around for a while 🙂
 
Dumb question but, where do we go to check our app status? The link to the secondary only shows me my essay answers.
 
Contrary to what the MSAR says, Wake Forest does offer video lectures. I don't know about you all, but that was a sticking point that had me a bit concerned about this school, so I was pretty relieved when my student tour guide cleared that up. Anyone know how to submit corrections to the MSAR?
 
Contrary to what the MSAR says, Wake Forest does offer video lectures. I don't know about you all, but that was a sticking point that had me a bit concerned about this school, so I was pretty relieved when my student tour guide cleared that up. Anyone know how to submit corrections to the MSAR?

How did the interview day go? Any thoughts after seeing the school in person?
 
Just added this school to my primary
 
How did the interview day go? Any thoughts after seeing the school in person?

It went well! I don't think this is an interview to be nervous for. It's a little bit like speed dating, in the sense that you don't spend much time with each of your 3 interviewers, but I think they got a decently complete picture of who I am and how I communicate. The interviewers are blind to your GPA and MCAT, but have read your essays. I'd say about half of the questions were things like "What got you into medicine," while the other half were specific to my background as an applicant.

The school is located in the medical center campus, which is enormous and labyrinthian. Maybe this is a normal thing for many medical schools, but it was nice to feel like I was in the thick of it, surrounded by healthcare professionals and patients. I like the way that atmosphere plays into the idea of "This isn't undergrad anymore - You are now a professional. Act like it." Then again, I'm a non-trad, so I might have an overdeveloped appreciation of maturity.

It sounds like they care a lot about student development and student well-being, and I appreciate the collaborative aspect to the medical class. It's hard to articulate a school's culture exactly, but I'll say that Wake Forest's culture is a definite asset.

There's a big emphasis on training students to be competent, comfortable physical examiners using standardized patients (actors) prior to exposing students to patients. There are entire weeks dedicated to exposure to private practice out in the community.

The students I spoke with also stressed how open and approachable the faculty are -
Professors as well as physicians. Lots of opportunities to network and develop strong relationships with mentors who care about your success. Again, maybe this is true everywhere, but the doctors there just love teaching and students feel like they're getting a great value out of their time.

Housing is dirt cheap, and surprisingly, the average loan debt (including undergrad) for Wake students is lower than the national average for students attending state schools. Oh, and there's an Emergency Medicine rotation that is evidently on the rare-r side.

I'm sure I forgot other high points of the day, but that's what comes to mind right now. Are you interviewing in the near future?
 
Top