2013-2014 Washington University in St. Louis Application Thread

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got a phone call from a saint Louis area code at 4am this morning... when I answered the person hung up almost immediately. no idea what that was about but man did it manage to get my hopes up....
 
does anyone know when November interviewees should be hearing back? I was on 11/5, don't want to be anxious waiting for something if today isn't the day
 
chipzandsalsa said:
does anyone know when November interviewees should be hearing back? I was on 11/5, don't want to be anxious waiting for something if today isn't the day
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I was later than you, and was told today was the day for earliest decisions for my group. But realistically, I think if we get accepted it would at earliest be next week/early December looking at last year's thread.
 
Leoz M Jiliums said:
I was later than you, and was told today was the day for earliest decisions for my group. But realistically, I think if we get accepted it would at earliest be next week/early December looking at last year's thread.
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Thanks, Leoz, that's very concrete! If you were told that today is the day for the earliest decisions for your group, hopefully that also means it's the earliest day for those in other (earlier) interview groups. Exciting!
 
GreenMed said:
Thanks, Leoz, that's very concrete! If you were told that today is the day for the earliest decisions for your group, hopefully that also means it's the earliest day for those in other (earlier) interview groups. Exciting!
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I'm not very confident in my prediction, it's just a guess! Here' hoping we all get good news
 
lalax said:
Just got an acceptance letter (didn't get a call)!

I interviewed early October. Good luck everyone!
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Congrats! Was it an e-mail letter or snail mail post office letter?
 
Accepted via status update posted at 1:00a EST, no call. Interviewed early/mid October.
 
Accepted this morning (got a letter in the mail)...interviewed 11/4
 
Congrats to all of you who got accepted! 👍
 
grats guys!

does anyone know how the review process works here? if october interviewees didn't get accepted in this round, are we waitlisted? or are we going to be reviewed again with the November interviewees?
 
histidine said:
grats guys!

does anyone know how the review process works here? if october interviewees didn't get accepted in this round, are we waitlisted? or are we going to be reviewed again with the November interviewees?
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I was wondering the same thing....based on last years thread, it looks like people who aren't accepted can get accepted later, and in March they send out final post-interview decisions (acceptances, waitlists, rejections).

And congrats to everyone who got accepted!
 
CrunchyTeddy said:
Congrats! When did you interview? (If you don't mind sharing) And was your online app status also updated?
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Thanks. I interviewed Oct 8th. And my status did change (I thought it hadn't changed because I kept checking on the "check application status" icon. Instead, the announcement shows up when you click on "Home".
 
Does anyone know if nov 11 interviews were considered for the 1st round of acceptances?
 
someone, please rein in my delusions...i'm considering a hail mary application to wustl...3.5/38
 
saynotostatins said:
someone, please rein in my delusions...i'm considering a hail mary application to wustl...3.5/38
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Haha, you already know what people are going to say in response to this. Worst case scenario, you're out a bit of money and you feel silly for trying. I say go for it. You know you want to!
 
surely said:
Haha, you already know what people are going to say in response to this. Worst case scenario, you're out a bit of money and you feel silly for trying. I say go for it. You know you want to!
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lol..I like u surely.
 
BolloX said:
Wow. I'm surprised at your need to rain on someone's parade. For your information, that mere 3,000-4,000 pool of applicants represents the finest applicants that exist in any given year. That's because most people think it's a waste of time for them even to apply. It's a self-selecting group. So to be among the select group of people who receive an interview from WashU is seriously impressive.

And to assert that they merely cherry-pick high stats among their interviewees is patently incorrect. If you get an interview--at any school--then you are clearly competitive in their eyes and they want to learn more. If they just discarded lower scores among their interviewees, there's no reason to interview them in the first place.
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I didn't mean to discourage that applicant, but that is just how I feel about Washu. It's a great school but they place a huge emphasis on numbers/stats more so than any school in the country. BTW, I interviewed there a few weeks ago.
 
How long is the interview supposed to be? 60 minutes? If so, there seems to be a lot of downtime during the interview day
 
bethasu said:
How long is the interview supposed to be? 60 minutes? If so, there seems to be a lot of downtime during the interview day
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Yes, the interview is about 60 minutes, but it's very conversational and nothing to worry about. My interviewer was one of the nicest people I've ever met, and I believe we had a pretty meaningful conversation. (In general, I like longer interviews more than the typical 30 minute interviews.)
I don't know how long the interviews are if you get 2 interviews.

There is some downtime during the interview day, but the amount of it depends on your individual schedule. I had an hour between my interview and lunch. You can attend a lecture in your downtime or just take a look around the school/hospitals. Unfortunately, you can't attend small groups or labs.
 
bethasu said:
How long is the interview supposed to be? 60 minutes? If so, there seems to be a lot of downtime during the interview day
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Mine was around an hour. My interview group's schedules didn't have too much downtime - everything was pretty front-loaded for us, though, so we ended up finishing the day decently early and checking out a nearby bar.
 
Congrats to those accepted! Must feel awesome!

Though I have to admit I feel somewhat disappointed, since I interviewed early October and no status change.

It was my first interview of the season, so I had no clue what to expect and was ill-prepared. I also feel a lot more keen on WashU than I did on interview day (cause I initially wasn't hot on St. Louis), so I'm really hoping I haven't already tanked my chances.

bethasu said:
How long is the interview supposed to be? 60 minutes? If so, there seems to be a lot of downtime during the interview day
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Yup, my interviewer said they're not supposed go over an hour, though he went for an extra 15 min anyway. I had about an hour downtime before lunch.
 
Congratulations everyone!!!! So exciting!
 
bethasu said:
How long is the interview supposed to be? 60 minutes? If so, there seems to be a lot of downtime during the interview day
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My first interview was around 30-40 minutes, and I had a lot of downtime (~4 hours) before my next interview, which lasted around 50 minutes. It really depends on whether you have two interviews or just one. If you have a single interview you could be done with the day pretty early.
 
lalax said:
My first interview was around 30-40 minutes, and I had a lot of downtime (~4 hours) before my next interview, which lasted around 50 minutes. It really depends on whether you have two interviews or just one. If you have a single interview you could be done with the day pretty early.
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why do some people have one and some people have 2 interviews...?
 
calgirl1234 said:
why do some people have one and some people have 2 interviews...?
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We were told this was for quaility control (to ensure that interviewers' opinions are consistent or something like that).
 
Amygdarya said:
We were told this was for quaility control (to ensure that interviewers' opinions are consistent or something like that).
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This. From what we were told (by current students, if memory serves me), one interview is with a newer interviewer, who has less experience with the interviewing/admissions process, and the other is with an experienced interviewer. They're probably looking for general concordance between the two. On the whole, it seems like a precepting process for interviewers.
 
I
 
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mTORC said:
1. Is the curriculum systems-based? If not, how does it work generally speaking? Couldn't find much help on the website.
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No and yes. Take a look at this schematic on the admissions website first and then ask questions.

mTORC said:
2. Is there any clinical exposure prior to MS3? If not, how does that either help/hurt our prep for the USMLE?
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Yes. You'll do 12 clinical skills sessions in the hospital in M1 that involves doing a history/physical/write-up/presentation with a classmate, 4th year mentor and, every few times, a faculty preceptor. Repeat that M2, with a classmate and only a faculty preceptor, for 5 more times. Then a dedicated patient session for the neuro exam. Sprinkle in a handful of standardized patient encounters through M1 and M2, plus "advanced" physical exam skills (gyn/rectal/breast). In general, clinical skills doesn't contribute directly to your performance on Step 1. It prepares you for clinical clerkships and, more distally if you're concerned about the USMLE, your performance on Step 2 CS.

mTORC said:
3. When people say facilities are "Impressive", what are they referring to? I was very impressed by WashU in general, but I didn't notice anything about specific about the facilities that set them apart (might be because my tour-guides were tired and we didn't see too much on my tour). Obviously the type of research going on there is very cool.
4. Does each med student get their own study carrel or is it shared?
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I don't think they're the key selling point, but here's an attempt to explain: There are two aspects. First is preclinical. The center of preclinical education is the Farrell Teaching and Learning Center. It's relatively new (open 2005). It's pretty. Architecture schools teach about it (four-story atrium and interior facade?). All preclinical students each get their own study carrel (with desk/drawers/locker). This means space to study with friends. This means flexibility to change up your study environment (studying in varied settings improves memory; see classic study here). M1s on one floor, M2s on another. Each floor has a lounge with TV and kitchenette. Each floor has small group classrooms, a set of computers and printers and scanners. It's got art on the walls and a piano. It has four simulation suites and a dozen standardized patient rooms. It still has a whole floor of nothing in case the school decides to expand in the future. The second aspect is clinical: Barnes Jewish Hospital. It has more beds than MGH, than Mayo, than Hopkins. It has the third tallest medically-related building in the western hemisphere. It has nine floors of one building just for radiology (including one of like three PET-MRI machines in the country) (in addition to another several-floor building for radiology research). Total up BJH and Children's and the outpatient center and the Siteman cancer center and research buildings (including a $235mil 11-story interdisciplinary research building opened in 2009), you get 164 acres across 17 city block-equivalents. And it's still expanding/renewing with several demolition/construction projects ongoing (including tearing down the old Jewish hospital). (Also, fast elevators (though busy).) Rest assured this place has no problem with money for facilities even in times of general economic recession.

mTORC said:
5. Is the city driver-friendly? Is there a lot of parking available around school? Is parking expensive?
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It is definitely more driver-friendly than public transportation friendly. There is parking around school. It costs some moderate amount of money I am not familiar with since I don't drive.
 
Thank you Chronicidal. That was really helpful and really answered my questions well! I can't wait for second-look!!
 
So if we interviewed late Oct/early Nov and have yet to hear anything, do we assume we are going to be put into the next batch of applicants they reviewed? I would rather just know not to expect anything than to keep checking my status/mailbox obsessively!!!
 
ikaros said:
So if we interviewed late Oct/early Nov and have yet to hear anything, do we assume we are going to be put into the next batch of applicants they reviewed? I would rather just know not to expect anything than to keep checking my status/mailbox obsessively!!!
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I would suppose so. I don't believe that people who interviewed early November have heard back yet. I am hoping I hear back in the next few days.
 
7502 said:
Has washu given out all iis?
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I have no way of knowing this for sure, but I doubt it: WashU interviews till March and it seems to send IIs really slowly.
 
Amygdarya said:
I have no way of knowing this for sure, but I doubt it: WashU interviews till March and it seems to send IIs really slowly.
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Thanks! Do you know if they are receptive to pre-interview updates or letters of interest?
 
7502 said:
Thanks! Do you know if they are receptive to pre-interview updates or letters of interest?
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I don't know about pre-interview letters, but they encourage post-interview updates and letters of interest. Feel free to make your own conclusions from this 🙂
 
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