2014-2015 University of Central Florida Application Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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@RE
REL said:
Pretty close, but not exactly. Yes UCF uses an A, B, C, F grading system for most of the core modules, but also uses P/F, and H/P/F for other courses and electives. Key point is that the grading is criterion-based and not reference-based (bell curve). Criterion-based means that there is no competition for the top grades and all can obtain the top grade IF they meet the pre-determined reference points. No bell curve = you and another are not competing for the "A." It also benefits residency programs in they can see how strong your "P" was; helpful since many strong candidates for residencies "look alike." Finally it helps a student to determine whether they are performing at their level of acceptability --- it helps you strive for excellence --- though you are again not taking anyone else's grade away since there is no bell curve.

Two things to consider; or questions to ask:
1. If a program says they have a pass/fail system, ask them to define what that means. Many programs use a pass/fail grading system. You probably assume this means they use P or F grades. According to a fairly recent study this would be true for about 20% of the nation's MD programs. There are four other grading systems used in US MD programs and they are all a degree of pass/fail such as H/P/F or H/HP/P/F (which is really A/B/C/F), etc. Crazily enough each of the five grading systems equal about 20% in the US MD schools. There does not seem to be one dominant grading system in US MD schools so this alludes to the fact that there are different philosophies for the use of grades. There is a study that says pass/fail may nominally limit stress and competition for grades which also infers it's comparison to the widely used reference-based (bell curve) grading system. Obviously this is not a problem in criterion-based schools.
2. More importantly, ask that same program whether they calculate a class rank. Most programs do, although many wont tell you that they do. Since many programs are keeping score with a class rank calculation in the background, there is still some form of grade competition.

I hope that this helps.
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Hi REL

Is it alright if I PM you?
 
exitonly29 said:
On the portal it says interview invitations will be done by Friday or earlier. Do the AORTA folks have a chance still or is that over?
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The committee draws from the AORTA - Eligible for Interview Selection group, so if you are in that group, there is still a chance, albeit slim.
 
Hi, everyone! Long time lurker here. I interviewed earlier in February and I absolutely loved the school. At first, I was nervous about having to interview in the morning -- before hearing more about the school -- but, afterwards, it gave me a chance to really take in my surroundings and learn about the school without the interview stress. I'm just posting here now because I'm nervous about hearing back next week.. Wishing the best of luck to everyone!
 
Got a call from Laurel early this week and will be interviewing on March 6th. 🙂
 
Do we not have access to the secondary application essays anymore? I would like to review my responses. I'm pretty sure I know what I wrote, but I still would like to know what I exactly wrote..

Also Rel, what are the percentage of students who get institutional scholarships and institutional grants? Thanks.
 
peterpan7 said:
Do we not have access to the secondary application essays anymore? I would like to review my responses. I'm pretty sure I know what I wrote, but I still would like to know what I exactly wrote..

Also Rel, what are the percentage of students who get institutional scholarships and institutional grants? Thanks.
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So far every student that we have matriculated has received some form of institutional grant/scholarship. This will likely continue but it is based in part on the ability of our Development Office and their success in obtaining community scholarship funding etc. As for access to your supplemental essay please email the admissions office and we can give you access.
 
So is March 6 definitely the last interview day? Is it safe to assume that if you have not received an II yet, you're pretty much out of luck? 🙁
 
Yes. I'm certain March 6th is the last interview day. Sorry.
 
Rel,

can a OOS qualify for in-state tuition in his/her second year, if he/she buys property in Fl and pays property tax before matriculating in his/her first year?
I have read a lot OOS at Baylor COM do that. (Yes, I know Baylor is a private school, but they do have in-state and out-of-state tuitions).
 
peterpan7 said:
Rel,

can a OOS qualify for in-state tuition in his/her second year, if he/she buys property in Fl and pays property tax before matriculating in his/her first year?
I have read a lot OOS at Baylor COM do that. (Yes, I know Baylor is a private school, but they do have in-state and out-of-state tuitions).
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No, the statute is very clear. One must be living in the state and have the driver's license/vehicle reg/voters reg (DL +1) that are at least one year old prior to matriculation to be a Florida resident for tuition purposes. You can become a Florida resident after one year but your tuition will not change until you have completed that degree program (MS/BS/MD, etc). Being a state statute this should be applied consisently across all academic programs in the state. About 7 years ago this was an often abused statute but the legislature emphasized that this would not be ignored any longer. The annual state review teams are specifically looking for these violations. If they are found the school is warned and the student owes back money. They will not receive back financial aid to cover it. Marrying an already established state resident is about the only way, owning land etc will not qualify you.
 
Got the email today confirming that there are no more interview slots. 🙁 Didn't even get a shot. Gotta say, this is very depressing.
 
REL said:
So far every student that we have matriculated has received some form of institutional grant/scholarship. This will likely continue but it is based in part on the ability of our Development Office and their success in obtaining community scholarship funding etc. As for access to your supplemental essay please email the admissions office and we can give you access.
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If every matriculated students received some form of institutional grant/scholarship, then on average how much grant/scholarship funds did an entering medical student receive and was it for all four years? The ONLY thing holding me back from UCF COM is the high OOS tuition compared to IS tuition of my home state.
 
peterpan7 said:
If every matriculated students received some form of institutional grant/scholarship, then on average how much grant/scholarship funds did an entering medical student receive and was it for all four years? The ONLY thing holding me back from UCF COM is the high OOS tuition compared to IS tuition of my home state.
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As noted on interview day all have received 4-year offers for grant/scholarship funding to date and that is expected to continue. There is a scholarship committee that determine type and amount. Considering that our tuition and fees are likely still about the least expensive in the state there is not only a savings there, but also the amount awarded. Several schools offer scholarship money but do not include the fees which can be substantially different. From what I have seen it appears that in-state offers average about $5k per year but range from about $3-15k, non-Florida are about $15k per year but can range from $12-20k. Cost is basically a second tier consideration when considering medical programs, so many other things count a lot more in the decision-making process. In general a difference of $10k or less per year is not a big difference in the final payback over the term of the loans, a difference of $15 or more becomes something that you may want to consider.
 
REL said:
As noted on interview day all have received 4-year offers for grant/scholarship funding to date and that is expected to continue. There is a scholarship committee that determine type and amount. Considering that our tuition and fees are likely still about the least expensive in the state there is not only a savings there, but also the amount awarded. Several schools offer scholarship money but do not include the fees which can be substantially different. From what I have seen it appears that in-state offers average about $5k per year but range from about $3-15k, non-Florida are about $15k per year but can range from $12-20k. Cost is basically a second tier consideration when considering medical programs, so many other things count a lot more in the decision-making process. In general a difference of $10k or less per year is not a big difference in the final payback over the term of the loans, a difference of $15 or more becomes something that you may want to consider.
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@REL , from what I have seen in last year's thread, students that had already been accepted received their financial aid award letters via email in the first week of April. Do you expect award letters to be sent out around the same time this year?
 
@REL - I have been in the "top half of the top third" for several months. Has the waitlist moved at all? I was really hoping to get an acceptance in time to be invited to your second look!
 
Esmerelda said:
@REL - I have been in the "top half of the top third" for several months. Has the waitlist moved at all? I was really hoping to get an acceptance in time to be invited to your second look!
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Maybe there will be a status update soon...they mentioned something about every 4-6 weeks, which seems to match up to the next couple of weeks, since the last update was on 1/24? But I'm just speculating here!
 
Esmerelda said:
@REL - I have been in the "top half of the top third" for several months. Has the waitlist moved at all? I was really hoping to get an acceptance in time to be invited to your second look!
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You have to be close.....there is some movement off the top each week, but also those interviewing may also be placed above based on score. There is a general upward trend so hang in there.
 
azngujuonfire said:
@REL , from what I have seen in last year's thread, students that had already been accepted received their financial aid award letters via email in the first week of April. Do you expect award letters to be sent out around the same time this year?
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I suspect that financial info may be available as early as mid-March this year....that is a different office and it is based on those accepted having a critical mass of FAFSA information in for the scholarship committee to meet.
 
ImpulsiveTraveler said:
Maybe there will be a status update soon...they mentioned something about every 4-6 weeks, which seems to match up to the next couple of weeks, since the last update was on 1/24? But I'm just speculating here!
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Next status likely out by the end of the first week in March.
 
Esmerelda said:
@REL - I have been in the "top half of the top third" for several months. Has the waitlist moved at all? I was really hoping to get an acceptance in time to be invited to your second look!
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Let us know of your interest via email and we will consider adding you if not admitted in time. It is all based on responses of those admitted. We have often had an extra seat or two available that go to very high waitlisters who want to be here.
 
does anyone know when the second look day is?
 
@REL is tomorrow the last committee meeting for the year since March 6th was the last interview date? If so will the waitlist be finalized after that until May 1st or will there still be movement?
 
asi466 said:
@REL is tomorrow the last committee meeting for the year since March 6th was the last interview date? If so will the waitlist be finalized after that until May 1st or will there still be movement?
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No last meeting is March 24, after they select for admissions it will become a wait list on March 25.
 
Does anyone currently know how full the class is currently/ how much the not yet accepted list will move by March 25? Trying to gauge if I'll be able to go to second look.
 
3 committee meeting left and iirc then 7 people get accepted every meeting... That means 21 more spots, however this doesn't mean that all 21 are off the wait list as new interviewees can still be admitted! Good logic?
 
Justanotherucfhopeful said:
3 committee meeting left and iirc then 7 people get accepted every meeting... That means 21 more spots, however this doesn't mean that all 21 are off the wait list as new interviewees can still be admitted! Good logic?
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How do you know this?
 
A little bit of information, logic and guesswork! REL has mentioned in the past that the committee meets weekly on Tuesdays, and from my interview date I recall him saying that about 7-8 people get accepted each time (not sure on the exact number). Committee dates would be the 10th (today), 17th, and 24th (last committee date)... And the math goes from there... REL also indicated on interview date that new interviewees are placed on the list as well depending on how well they scored! So new interviewees who have just gotten ranked and the top people on the wait list have a chance to get an acceptance call every Wednesday! This is the upward trend that REL seems to be talking about as the top people get accepted and everyone else moves up a couple spots on the list! I could be completely wrong and they accept all of us tomorrow afternoon! But I'm pretty sure that's just wishful thinking 🙂
 
Justanotherucfhopeful said:
A little bit of information, logic and guesswork! REL has mentioned in the past that the committee meets weekly on Tuesdays, and from my interview date I recall him saying that about 7-8 people get accepted each time (not sure on the exact number). Committee dates would be the 10th (today), 17th, and 24th (last committee date)... And the math goes from there... REL also indicated on interview date that new interviewees are placed on the list as well depending on how well they scored! So new interviewees who have just gotten ranked and the top people on the wait list have a chance to get an acceptance call every Wednesday! This is the upward trend that REL seems to be talking about as the top people get accepted and everyone else moves up a couple spots on the list! I could be completely wrong and they accept all of us tomorrow afternoon! But I'm pretty sure that's just wishful thinking 🙂
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Haha I was just wondering where you got your number seven from cause I thought It varied, but thank you🙂 good luck to you!
 
Waitlist updates were sent out earlier today. Any of you guys move up on the waitlist a third or from the bottom of a third to the upper half of it at all? My position on the WL has been the same for the past 2 updates, is that way for you too?
 
Kemosabe said:
Waitlist updates were sent out earlier today. Any of you guys move up on the waitlist a third or from the bottom of a third to the upper half of it at all? My position on the WL has been the same for the past 2 updates, is that way for you too?
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I've been on the upper half of the upper one third since December...patience is a virtue..or so they say....🙂
 
I moved from the bottom half of the top third to the top half of the top third, so there is movement.
 
didn't move from bottom half of middle third since december 🙁 I am on the fence!
 
Hey @REL,

I understand my interview group is supposed to hear back this Wed. I know this might sound neurotic, but I was just wondering what time of the day do you anticipate the calls would go out?

I have work that afternoon so I'm just curious...

Thanks!
 
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