2014-2015 Northwestern University Application Thread

BU Medical Sciences
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gettheleadout

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Each essay is limited to 250 words

Essay 1: Given the distinctive educational philosophy and curriculum at FSM, describe how your personal characteristics and learning style would fit the institution.

Essay 2: Describe the coping skills (not problem solving skills) you use when confronted with difficult situations

Essay 3: Describe your career plans and goals. Be as specific as your current thinking will allow.

Essay 4: (if applicable): If you have (or expect to have) a year or more between college graduation and Medical school matriculation, describe your activities and/or plans.

Essay 5 (on the diversity page): If you wish, use this space to provide more detail about your selections [note: this is about your racial background, sexual identity, and social background] above and how you would bring diversity to the Northwestern community.

Good luck to everyone applying! :luck:
 
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On the waitlist right now, will be reapplying. Secondary came out 8/8 last year so get ready for a wait.
 
Also applying here. I'm willing to take on the cold weather for an acceptance lol.
 
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I'm a current student at Feinberg. Let me know if you have any questions, and good luck to you all!
 
Applying here! Totally a reach school. For kicks and giggles. :laugh:
 
One of my top/reach choices! Good luck to everyone applying!
 
turayza said:
What has been your favorite part about attending Feinberg?
Click to expand...

Probably the people! My classmates have been really amazing. Everyone is really friendly and eager to be helpful to one another, which is awesome in med school which is already stressful as it is. It's a diverse bunch where people are entering med school from all directions with different talents and experiences. My interactions with upperclassmen have been great too b/c they are always really excited to offer guidance and tips on just about anything. Whatever help I needed from the financial aid services, administrative staff, faculty etc I was able to receive as well.

Other things... the location in downtown Chicago right by the lakefront is really amazing!! Whatever your interests are in life. 🙂 Lots of amazing restaurants. I love the new curriculum, despite being in the first guinea pig class to experience it; let me know if there are any specific questions about that. In particular I loved having small groups and really early clinical exposure. I also feel that I've had opportunities to work with a variety of patient population especially when combined with the many many free clinics in Chicago.

The biggest downside I can think of is the cost of living in downtown Chicago.


PS - i apologize for the delayed response! in the future, I could probably respond faster through a message since I don't check this forum regularly 🙂

PPS - nope, didn't interview at UChicago
 
Good luck to everyone applying! I an incoming Northwestern student and I would be happy to answer questions too. I won't know much about being an actual student until August but I can answer questions about the application process, interviews, etc.
 
chicagostudent said:
Probably the people! My classmates have been really amazing. Everyone is really friendly and eager to be helpful to one another, which is awesome in med school which is already stressful as it is. It's a diverse bunch where people are entering med school from all directions with different talents and experiences. My interactions with upperclassmen have been great too b/c they are always really excited to offer guidance and tips on just about anything. Whatever help I needed from the financial aid services, administrative staff, faculty etc I was able to receive as well.

Other things... the location in downtown Chicago right by the lakefront is really amazing!! Whatever your interests are in life. 🙂 Lots of amazing restaurants. I love the new curriculum, despite being in the first guinea pig class to experience it; let me know if there are any specific questions about that. In particular I loved having small groups and really early clinical exposure. I also feel that I've had opportunities to work with a variety of patient population especially when combined with the many many free clinics in Chicago.

The biggest downside I can think of is the cost of living in downtown Chicago.
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Wow, sounds like an absolutely wonderful environment. Thank you!
There aren't many details on the new curriculum online--looks more like general goals. What do you do in small groups? (Is it just students, or with faculty guidance?) Does it replace some of the lectures?
What does early clinical exposure look like? (since you haven't learned much yet...hahah)
 
turayza said:
Wow, sounds like an absolutely wonderful environment. Thank you!
There aren't many details on the new curriculum online--looks more like general goals. What do you do in small groups? (Is it just students, or with faculty guidance?) Does it replace some of the lectures?
What does early clinical exposure look like? (since you haven't learned much yet...hahah)
Click to expand...

Biggest structural changes for the new curriculum I can think of right now...:
- shortened M1/M2 pre-clinical curriculum (i.e. "Phase 1") to lengthen M3 year before having to apply to residency programs. The idea is that you get to try more electives for career exploration purposes before having to decide what field of medicine to pursue. This is really nice. Despite having 2 x 2-week vacations during M3 year (in addition to 2 weeks winter break), I'll be done with required clerkships by end of March. I won't have to get residency apps ready till ~Sept, which gives me a few months to try out whatever 🙂 This also gives you the opportunity to spend extra time studying for boards in addition to the ~6 weeks they give you by default if you wish (or take a longer recovery vacation post-boards).

- FSM has had the organ-based curriculum for a while, but now the normal and abnormal stuff are combined. For e.g., you learn biochem, genetics, normal physio, histo, pathology, pathophys, etc for one organ system and then move onto another organ system. FSM then has these integrative weeks called "SAM" scattered in Phase 1 to tie things together (e.g. after learning cardiovascular, renal, and pulm --> have 1 week where you work through clinical cases that integrates all of those organ systems); this is to avoid feeling like you learn about the organ systems in isolation.

Small group - most are faculty led. PBL is one example of this, where you work through patient case scenarios in a group of 7-9 students + 1 faculty. There are also small groups for science lectures in some organ units, small groups for health and society classes (community/public health issues), ethics, biostats, etc. Most mornings are spent for lectures (max 4hr) and most afternoons are small groups, anatomy, and clinical activities. Small groups don't replace any lecture material from what I remember - they are either reviews, discussions, or applying knowledge.

Clinical activity - throughout M1/M2 year, you will spend one afternoon per week in ECMH/IP and one afternoon the following week in the CEC (you alternate). CEC is where you get to practice a specific clinical skill (which you just learned earlier that week in a lecture format) with amazing standardized patients who act like real patients and give you feedback on how you did. This includes various parts of a patient interview, various physical exam skills, etc. ECMH/IP is where you are out in the real clinic with an assigned preceptor. Every students get to see real patients and do stuff for at least part of the patient visit - for e.g., that week in school you learn how to do the cardiac exam during your cardiovascular unit - most preceptors will be on board with you practicing the heart exam on the patients you get to see that day... or you just see and do whatever you feel comfortable doing and whatever the preceptor lets you do. I really loved having hands-on pt interaction this early on because much of these clinical skills just take time and practice to master.

I hope that answers your Qs! Let me know if I can help with anything else!
 
I love this school! Shadowed over the summer last year at Feinberg, know a ton of people that went here. It sounds awesome!
 
Not my reason for applying, of course, but my parents met at Northwestern on a blind date. They naturally would be thrilled if I went here. 😉

But seriously, this is a amazing medical school. Fingers crossed. Applying IS!
 
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Brother is attending Northwestern for his PhD ... would be a dream to attend this school.
 
Applying here this cycle! Thanks chicagostudent for the information about the new curriculum.
 
Just got a letter asking me to apply from the diversity committee. Said they would waive the fee. Wasmt originally going to apply because I thought it was out of reach, but now that its free, its def back on the list.

Stats: ugpa 3.4, sgpa 3.4, grad GPA 3.6
Northwestern alum from undergrad☺☺☺
MCAT 31
Underrepresented minority
1000+ hours of clinical research and several publications

Any thoughts?
 
llamasarefuzzy said:
Just got a letter asking me to apply from the diversity committee. Said they would waive the fee. Wasmt originally going to apply because I thought it was out of reach, but now that its free, its def back on the list.

Stats: ugpa 3.4, sgpa 3.4, grad GPA 3.6
Northwestern alum from undergrad☺☺☺
MCAT 31
Underrepresented minority
1000+ hours of clinical research and several publications

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...


Well, your stats might not be high on their list, but they asked you to apply and waived the fee! Plus sounds like you have some awesome EC's. I would definitely go for it!
 
llamasarefuzzy said:
Just got a letter asking me to apply from the diversity committee. Said they would waive the fee. Wasmt originally going to apply because I thought it was out of reach, but now that its free, its def back on the list.

Stats: ugpa 3.4, sgpa 3.4, grad GPA 3.6
Northwestern alum from undergrad☺☺☺
MCAT 31
Underrepresented minority
1000+ hours of clinical research and several publications

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

I've gotten one of those from several schools and i'd be very wary about applying bc of them. they're automated emails/letters sent to anyone URM or economically disadvantaged applicants, so they really arent that much of a reason to justify applying and I've done my research on those on this forum who go those and there's really no correlation between getting those letters and acceptance.
 
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I just added this school and am wondering how the whole submitting letters for this school works? They say they do not want anything but the committee letter or three required letters until invited for an interview. If we were selected for an interview how would we add our other letters considering AMCAS does not allow you to change the letter assignments once you submit them?
 
sahmoc said:
I just added this school and am wondering how the whole submitting letters for this school works? They say they do not want anything but the committee letter or three required letters until invited for an interview. If we were selected for an interview how would we add our other letters considering AMCAS does not allow you to change the letter assignments once you submit them?
Click to expand...
You can add letters you just can't remove them
 
mrh125 said:
I've gotten one of those from several schools and i'd be very wary about applying bc of them. they're automated emails/letters sent to anyone URM or economically disadvantaged applicants, so they really arent that much of a reason to justify applying and I've done my research on those on this forum who go those and there's really no correlation between getting those letters and acceptance.
Click to expand...

I just got this too and them waiving the secondary makes me feel like they're more serious than other schools that just tell you to apply...
 
To the person who got his application waived... how did you do that?! I am applying as a disadvantaged student (grew up in a poor area in Peru).. and cant afford to apply to many schools.... who should i contact?
 
gsaldana10 said:
To the person who got his application waived... how did you do that?! I am applying as a disadvantaged student (grew up in a poor area in Peru).. and cant afford to apply to many schools.... who should i contact?
Click to expand...

Did you apply for FAP? It's specifically for people who are financially disadvantaged and almost all secondary fees are waived along with 15 schools on the primary. If you truly can't afford the application process you should look into it. It does take a significant time for them to verify your qualifying, so most people do it long before the application cycle begins, as it is not retroactive.
 
sahmoc said:
Did you apply for FAP? It's specifically for people who are financially disadvantaged and almost all secondary fees are waived along with 15 schools on the primary. If you truly can't afford the application process you should look into it. It does take a significant time for them to verify your qualifying, so most people do it long before the application cycle begins, as it is not retroactive.
Click to expand...

Oh man... no one told me about this.. my advisor told me to go into amcas and apply like everyone else... im a screwed... i have no money to add any other school and im just applying to 5 🙁
 
gsaldana10 said:
Oh man... no one told me about this.. my advisor told me to go into amcas and apply like everyone else... im a screwed... i have no money to add any other school and im just applying to 5 🙁
Click to expand...

You can still apply and once approved you can add more schools. it will be a little later than ideal, but better than not being able to add any more at all.
 
sahmoc said:
You can still apply and once approved you can add more schools. it will be a little later than ideal, but better than not being able to add any more at all.
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i will definitely look into that thanks for the info
 
Is secondary topics out yet? Anyone mind to share? Thank yah
 
Applying here...no secondary yet. Was getting pretty nervous until now. Curious why they send theirs out so late!
 
Overanxious said:
Applying here...no secondary yet. Was getting pretty nervous until now. Curious why they send theirs out so late!
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I have a theory that is completely unfounded in actual fact/research, but it sounds plausible to me... I think that Northwestern probably makes in on many primary lists. It's a well-known, very solid school. But it's not quite as out-of-reach as harvard/stanford/yale, so many applicants probably feel that it makes a very solid "tier 1" school, and add it to their list.

By holding out on secondaries, Northwestern is ensuring that only serious applicants complete their process. If you look around MDapps, you'll notice that many people express the feeling of "being burned out from secondaries, so I didn't get to xyz school." I think Northwestern is hoping that, by taking longer to send out secondaries, they can weed out the not-so-serious applicants. On the same token, by the time we get the secondary, it'll be the only one on our computers -- the only thing for us to worry about. So if we are, in fact, serious about completing those essays, we can devote our undivided attention to it.

Again, that's just my personal thoughts on the matter. If anyone more knowledgeable has better ideas, feel free to tell me just how much of an idiot I am 😛

Sidenote: this is my theory about why Wayne State also withholds secondaries for so long, although admittedly Wayne State isn't quite on the same statistical/numeric tier as Northwestern (although a very good school in its own right).
 
Keep an eye in your spam folder... last year the NW secondary came out early/mid-august. The spam thing wasn't just me either there was an email going around UofC pre-med community that NW secondary was going straight to spam. I didn't even notice until I got the heads-up email and found the secondary in my spam.

Good luck everyone!
 
wolverine2015grad said:
I have a theory that is completely unfounded in actual fact/research, but it sounds plausible to me... I think that Northwestern probably makes in on many primary lists. It's a well-known, very solid school. But it's not quite as out-of-reach as harvard/stanford/yale, so many applicants probably feel that it makes a very solid "tier 1" school, and add it to their list.

By holding out on secondaries, Northwestern is ensuring that only serious applicants complete their process. If you look around MDapps, you'll notice that many people express the feeling of "being burned out from secondaries, so I didn't get to xyz school." I think Northwestern is hoping that, by taking longer to send out secondaries, they can weed out the not-so-serious applicants. On the same token, by the time we get the secondary, it'll be the only one on our computers -- the only thing for us to worry about. So if we are, in fact, serious about completing those essays, we can devote our undivided attention to it.

Again, that's just my personal thoughts on the matter. If anyone more knowledgeable has better ideas, feel free to tell me just how much of an idiot I am 😛

Sidenote: this is my theory about why Wayne State also withholds secondaries for so long, although admittedly Wayne State isn't quite on the same statistical/numeric tier as Northwestern (although a very good school in its own right).
Click to expand...
"Northwestern University: Didn't complete secondary. Prompts were too long and were sent to me so late that I was already burnt out. Last secondary I received."
Direct quote from an MDapps, you may be on to something 😉
 
Applying here! Still waiting for the secondary 🙄
 
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