2014-2015 University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine Application Thread

Med School Insiders
This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Emailed a week ago that I was rejected, status on website now marked "held for review."
 
Rejected by email today. Most competitive school I applied to, so I'm hoping this isn't the start of a trend...
 
II today (or technically yesterday)!!
Complete 7/7, applied with 4.0/33, IS
Super excited for my first interview invite 🙂
 
Look at all these lightening fast decisions being thrown around.
 
So I called on Monday and got the LOR issue sorted out... I guess they just hadn't downloaded them for whatever reason? When I called the woman who answered made it sound like they had them all along. Pretty big bummer cause I should have been complete ~7/12 but now I guess it's 7/28 because of what happened with my LORs 🙁
 
Temerit said:
So I called on Monday and got the LOR issue sorted out... I guess they just hadn't downloaded them for whatever reason? When I called the woman who answered made it sound like they had them all along. Pretty big bummer cause I should have been complete ~7/12 but now I guess it's 7/28 because of what happened with my LORs 🙁
Click to expand...
It's still so early in the season. Nothing to worry about timing wise.
 
Temerit said:
So I called on Monday and got the LOR issue sorted out... I guess they just hadn't downloaded them for whatever reason? When I called the woman who answered made it sound like they had them all along. Pretty big bummer cause I should have been complete ~7/12 but now I guess it's 7/28 because of what happened with my LORs 🙁
Click to expand...

I am sorry to hear about this - it must be frustrating. It's still early in the cycle, even for a school like Pritzker, and they will see that you submitted the secondary on 7/12. I imagine your app is very strong given the schools that you've applied to, so I wouldn't worry too much.
 
So I got some interesting questions via PM that I wanted to address here in case anyone else had the same questions.

1. Probably one of the most common questions(and thing that gets mentioned all the time during interviews) is Pritzker's relationship with the wider campus and how much you can interact with faculty, etc outside medicine if you have interests in business/social science/etc. Pritzker definitely advertises this heavily.

I want to start off by saying that these resources are probably a little overhyped. A lot of people come in with the idea that they will take advantage of things outside of Pritzker and then don't(me!). In my opinion this is mostly because medical school takes a significant amount of time and not because the resources are not there. I want to highlight a few specific examples of people in my class taking advantage of opportunities across campus. The takeaway being that if you really want to take advantage of resources outside Pritzker, then Pritzker will bend over backwards to ensure you have access to what you want.
  • A couple of my classmates took health policy classes in the Law School and loved it. From what I heard the professor actually tried very hard to recruit medical students into the class because he liked the added perspective and I heard he worked with the medical students to ensure the requirements were not crazy.
  • Institute of Politics is a relatively new organization on campus that brings tons of speakers to campus. Some of my classmates reached out to them and (with the help of our dean) we were able to get tickets for many of the speakers without having to go through the normal process. They also arranged for us to have small group sessions with just medical students and some of the speakers. They also partnered with Pritzker to start a program offering placement in health policy organizations for 1-2 medical students during the summer between M1-M2. From what I heard the IOP is eager to foster a strong relationship with Pritzker since politics and healthcare are such hot button topics right now.
  • One of my classmates came in with the idea of doing an MD/MBA and within a few weeks of starting school he had already met with multiple deans about the plan and had meetings with people about Booth to help him apply/plan, etc. Numerous classmates of mine are doing research that bridges business and medicine for the summer research program.
  • Part of the first year curriculum includes Healthcare Disparities, Social Context of Medicine, and Doctor-Patient Relationship(Ethics) classes. In all these classes we often got the chance to interact with faculty that are not doing traditional biomedical research. These included faculty from the Harris School of Public Policy, faculty doing health care economics research, and tons of ethics faculty. All these faculty were really approachable to medical students.
  • The guy who teaches you the first year cell pathology class is an institution and also lectures in the College on James Joyce and other literature. This leads to a few interesting lectures relating medicine/life to James Joyce. Only at Pritzker.
Those are a few examples that I am aware of. I am sure there are plenty more examples that I don't know. Honestly if you have a non-traditional interest Pritzker seems really eager to help you foster that interest.

2. How should I prepare for an interview?

Be yourself. Why Pritzker?

3. How do you like living in Hyde Park?

Love it. Expected to move to South Loop to get the "City experience." Decided to stay in Hyde Park and will probably stay for 3rd and 4th year. Getting downtown can be a little challenging depending on where in Hyde Park you live but I still go downtown at least once a week, often more. Hyde Park has a nice community feel and a lot of new restaurants have been opening up in the past year. It is the south side of Chicago, which means it is surrounded by some less than savory neighborhoods but I can honestly say I have never felt unsafe, even late at night. I do take precautions like not walking with my headphones in around Hyde Park but eh, nothing I wouldn't do anywhere else in the city.

Sorry for any incoherent rambling above, hopefully that helps provide some perspective into the school. I have loved my past year at Prizker and am immensely happy with my choice of school. That being said, its probably not the perfect school for everyone so definitely let me know if you have questions and I will attempt to provide you with honest/balanced answers(I realize the above may be a little tooooo positive but I swear I am not being paid to sell the school).
 
Tots said:
So I got some interesting questions via PM that I wanted to address here in case anyone else had the same questions.

1. Probably one of the most common questions(and thing that gets mentioned all the time during interviews) is Pritzker's relationship with the wider campus and how much you can interact with faculty, etc outside medicine if you have interests in business/social science/etc. Pritzker definitely advertises this heavily.

I want to start off by saying that these resources are probably a little overhyped. A lot of people come in with the idea that they will take advantage of things outside of Pritzker and then don't(me!). In my opinion this is mostly because medical school takes a significant amount of time and not because the resources are not there. I want to highlight a few specific examples of people in my class taking advantage of opportunities across campus. The takeaway being that if you really want to take advantage of resources outside Pritzker, then Pritzker will bend over backwards to ensure you have access to what you want.

...

That being said, its probably not the perfect school for everyone so definitely let me know if you have questions and I will attempt to provide you with honest/balanced answers(I realize the above may be a little tooooo positive but I swear I am not being paid to sell the school).
Click to expand...

Thanks! The greater u Chicago campus is one of the features I love most about pritzker. I'm curious though, for whom is pritzker not the perfect school? What type of student might be happier elsewhere, and why?
 
Bovary said:
Thanks! The greater u Chicago campus is one of the features I love most about pritzker. I'm curious though, for whom is pritzker not the perfect school? What type of student might be happier elsewhere, and why?
Click to expand...

Haha, ok I knew this question was coming. I don't really have a good answer though since I feel like Pritzker is a good fit for me. Maybe someone else can chime in, I am sure there are people that chose other schools over Pritzker and have completely valid reasons for that.
 
Tots said:
Haha, ok I knew this question was coming. I don't really have a good answer though since I feel like Pritzker is a good fit for me. Maybe someone else can chime in, I am sure there are people that chose other schools over Pritzker and have completely valid reasons for that.
Click to expand...

That's alright, though hopefully someone knows more about why applicants with a ton of offers might go elsewhere.

In general, do you think this is an appropriate interview question? Can I ask "what do you think your institution doesn't do as well as it could" or "Why might an applicant choose a peer institution over yours" or is that type of negativity unwise?
 
Bovary said:
That's alright, though hopefully someone knows more about why applicants with a ton of offers might go elsewhere.

In general, do you think this is an appropriate interview question? Can I ask "what do you think your institution doesn't do as well as it could" or "Why might an applicant choose a peer institution over yours" or is that type of negativity unwise?
Click to expand...

^^Definitely appropriate. I think the first one is more appropriate because you are focusing more on the institution itself and not bringing another into the conversation. You could try to make it a little more positive and ask "What do you think is your institution's strongest asset and what do you think your institution doesn't do as well as it could?"
 
VaNilla1 said:
^^Definitely appropriate. I think the first one is more appropriate because you are focusing more on the institution itself and not bringing another into the conversation. You could try to make it a little more positive and ask "What do you think is your institution's strongest asset and what do you think your institution doesn't do as well as it could?"
Click to expand...

Agree with this.
 
EEK!! II 7/31 Secondary was complete of 7/18

OOS/36 MCAT/ 4.0 GPA /Unique EC/ nontraditional
(Put my stats bcs I always appreciate when others do)

Very excited because this school is one of my top choices. Would absolutely LOVE to go here🙂
 
  • Like
Reactions: FFH
LFF said:
EEK!! II 7/31 Secondary was complete of 7/18

OOS/36 MCAT/ 4.0 GPA /Unique EC/ nontraditional
(Put my stats bcs I always appreciate when others do)

Very excited because this school is one of my top choices. Would absolutely LOVE to go here🙂
Click to expand...
Congrats!!!
 
bweild said:
I am sorry to hear about this - it must be frustrating. It's still early in the cycle, even for a school like Pritzker, and they will see that you submitted the secondary on 7/12. I imagine your app is very strong given the schools that you've applied to, so I wouldn't worry too much.
Click to expand...

Haha I just re-read my post and it sounds so dramatic. Yeah I'm not too worried, looking forward to hearing from Pritzker though 🙂
 
Temerit said:
Haha I just re-read my post and it sounds so dramatic. Yeah I'm not too worried, looking forward to hearing from Pritzker though 🙂
Click to expand...

You seem like a great guy, if you need someone to vouch for you I've got your back!
 
When people say "Status", it's the thing on the top right when you first log in right? Just curious thanks!

Does it say anything either way if you don't get a status change in any direction for a long period?
 
Is anyone else having trouble loggin in today to secondary site?
 
CitrusJ said:
When people say "Status", it's the thing on the top right when you first log in right? Just curious thanks!

Does it say anything either way if you don't get a status change in any direction for a long period?
Click to expand...

Yeah that's it! And I think before my status changed it said Application screening I don't remember for sure if it was this or application complete.
 
.
 
Last edited:
Held for later review MSTP/MD (C: ~7/28)
 
Last edited:
Friendly_female_house said:
If they keep track of how many times of which the applicants check the status, I'd be a winner. Too many to admit.
Click to expand...

Seriously. The portal is the first thing I check in the morning.

Still at the "your app has been forwarded to the admissions committee" status, when people around/after my complete date have already gotten IIs/holds/rejections. I suppose no news is good news, but I'm wondering when I'll receive their verdict. (I understand that most med schools can take months to review apps, but given UChi's reputation for fast-turnarounds, I'm kind of surprised at the lag some people are experiencing). ~all u need 2 do is love me back, chicago~

@No Limits, have you heard anything back? I think you were complete the first day, too!
 
hellanutella said:
Seriously. The portal is the first thing I check in the morning.

Still at the "your app has been forwarded to the admissions committee" status, when people around/after my complete date have already gotten IIs/holds/rejections. I suppose no news is good news, but I'm wondering when I'll receive their verdict. (I understand that most med schools can take months to review apps, but given UChi's reputation for fast-turnarounds, I'm kind of surprised at the lag some people are experiencing). ~all u need 2 do is love me back, chicago~
Click to expand...
There, better now.
 
hellanutella said:
Seriously. The portal is the first thing I check in the morning.

Still at the "your app has been forwarded to the admissions committee" status, when people around/after my complete date have already gotten IIs/holds/rejections. I suppose no news is good news, but I'm wondering when I'll receive their verdict. (I understand that most med schools can take months to review apps, but given UChi's reputation for fast-turnarounds, I'm kind of surprised at the lag some people are experiencing). ~all u need 2 do is love me back, chicago~

@No Limits, have you heard anything back? I think you were complete the first day, too!
Click to expand...
Not a thing, hopefully we will here back soon though.
 
Emeryx09 said:
Is it odd that all of my other schools received my school's committee letter but Pritzker? They all received the letter around the 28th... Should I contact Prizker, or AMCAS?
Click to expand...
Prizker. Source: same issue now resolved. Prizker has all the letters real time. It's just a matter of transferring them from one system to the one that holds your file, manually. So you can either take the risk to hurry the office, or wait to be polite. 🙂
 
Maybe they will send interviews in a month or so for like October but think it's too early now? I don't know why they wouldn't reject or put on hold by now.

This wait is killing me, I convince myself every time I check it'll change only for the same page to stare me back in the face
 
CitrusJ said:
Maybe they will send interviews in a month or so for like October but think it's too early now? I don't know why they wouldn't reject or put on hold by now.

This wait is killing me, I convince myself every time I check it'll change only for the same page to stare me back in the face
Click to expand...
It doesn't help even when the message for under review is so cheerful and encouraging. "Share all your achievement with us".
 
Emeryx09 said:
Ahhh... thanks for the quick reply! How long has it taken others for the file to be updated? I know it's just paranoia, but I'm afraid they've forgotten about me. >.<
Click to expand...
When I called, the nice lady said they are a little overwhelmed but about a week.
 
One of my top choices here, OOS 3.9/37. ORM, fairly unique ECs. Been complete since 7/24, status still says "Application Complete." This wait is brutal...glad we are in it together at least lol.
 
II! 🙂

Complete 7/12, was never on hold, so it doesn't seem like they're looking at everyone in the order they got them. Good luck everyone! The dates available were still for September, if you're curious.
 
Scarlett218 said:
II! 🙂

Complete 7/12, was never on hold, so it doesn't seem like they're looking at everyone in the order they got them. Good luck everyone! The dates available were still for September, if you're curious.
Click to expand...
Congratulations and thanks for the info!
 
Scarlett218 said:
II! 🙂

Complete 7/12, was never on hold, so it doesn't seem like they're looking at everyone in the order they got them. Good luck everyone! The dates available were still for September, if you're curious.
Click to expand...

Congrats - we look forward to welcoming you (and others) to the campus!
 
Application held for later review...Ugh.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

wysdoc
2024-2025 University of Chicago (Pritzker)
12 13 14 15 16
Replies
778
Views
211K
X0001234
X0001234
wysdoc
2023-2024 University of Chicago (Pritzker)
12 13 14 15 16
Replies
763
Views
216K
Mr.Smile12
Mr.Smile12
chilly_md
2024-2025 CA University of Science and Medicine
9 10 11 12 13
Replies
617
Views
166K
Sphygmomanometer
Sphygmomanometer
wysdoc
2022-2023 University of Chicago (Pritzker)
12 13 14 15 16
Replies
753
Views
205K
snowman888
snowman888
wysdoc
2024-2025 University of Washington
10 11 12 13 14
Replies
680
Views
150K
stew_md
S
Top