2014-2015 University of Illinois Application Thread

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gettheleadout

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Space reserved for prompt.

Please PM the essays or lack thereof to me when the secondary is available and I will update this.

Good luck to everyone applying! :luck:

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No replies yet?! I'm applying here. My number one choice! Does anyone know how lenient they are on the behavioral sciences requirement...I've got two classes and am out of school so I can't fulfill all three. I emailed them, but haven't heard back in weeks. Will call, but before then I was just wondering! Good luck!
 
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Number 1 choice for me as well, spending a lot of time on this secondary.
 
Any previous applicants to the MSP program? I got an email about it today from the MCAT service, but I'm intrigued, especially because the PhD doesn't have to be in a lab science.. and it's funded.
 
Any previous applicants to the MSP program? I got an email about it today from the MCAT service, but I'm intrigued, especially because the PhD doesn't have to be in a lab science.. and it's funded.

Came here to see about this. We are getting all the same emails!
 
I'm applying here this cycle. I'm really excited about this school! Are there any current medical students willing to dish out some secondary/interview advice?
 
I'm applying this school but i'm wondering if there's any way to reduce the astronomically high OOS tuition. It's like 70k-100k (factoring in living costs) per year. Is there any way to reduce that cost to reasonable levels? Any ideas?
 
I'm applying this school but i'm wondering if there's any way to reduce the astronomically high OOS tuition. It's like 70k-100k (factoring in living costs) per year. Is there any way to reduce that cost to reasonable levels? Any ideas?
I'm not positive on this considering I'm applying this year, but I think a big part of living costs has to do with what campus you're on. Illinois has a med campus in Rockford, Peoria, and Chicago, as well as Urbana-Champaign (which I believe is just for MD/pHD, but not sure on that). Obviously if you do Chicago living costs will be higher than Rockford or Peoria, but I would only do Rockford if you're going into opening up a general family practice. source: current undergrad at UIUC, and have talked to people going to Illinois for med school.
 
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I'm applying this school but i'm wondering if there's any way to reduce the astronomically high OOS tuition. It's like 70k-100k (factoring in living costs) per year. Is there any way to reduce that cost to reasonable levels? Any ideas?
There's more merit- and need-based aid for medical school than people think, too. I was told there basically isn't any help out there, but anecdotally I'm finding that to be quite untrue. You might not be paying the sticker price on the tuition.
 
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I'm not positive on this considering I'm applying this year, but I think a big part of living costs has to do with what campus you're on. Illinois has a med campus in Rockford, Peoria, and Chicago, as well as Urbana-Champaign (which I believe is just for MD/pHD, but not sure on that). Obviously if you do Chicago living costs will be higher than Rockford or Peoria, but I would only do Rockford if you're going into opening up a general family practice. source: current undergrad at UIUC, and have talked to people going to Illinois for med school.
This is something I've been meaning to bring up in this thread. What have people heard of the differences between campuses?
 
There's more merit- and need-based aid for medical school than people think, too. I was told there basically isn't any help out there, but anecdotally I'm finding that to be quite untrue. You might not be paying the sticker price on the tuition.

Though looking through the financial aid section for UIC, it looks like there's almost no chance of getting a scholarship from this school.
 
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Though looking through the financial aid section for UIC, it looks like there's almost no chance of getting a scholarship from this school.
I have heard this from residents and current students.
 
Though looking through the financial aid section for UIC, it looks like there's almost no chance of getting a scholarship from this school.
True for both IS and OOS (beyond the tuition difference)?
 
Chances of admission?! 36 MCAT (12,12,12) 3.2 sci 3.3 CUM decent extracur, il resident, top 20 undergrad school (in case that matters for my sub par GPA)?
 
Though looking through the financial aid section for UIC, it looks like there's almost no chance of getting a scholarship from this school.

wow that's really scary. so what are your options to deal with such a huge cost? what makes this school unique and worthwhile given its astronomically high OOS tuition? is there any justification for such high tuition? other schools have high OOS tuition but it's just beyond any other cost.
 
wow that's really scary. so what are your options to deal with such a huge cost? what makes this school unique and worthwhile given its astronomically high OOS tuition? is there any justification for such high tuition? other schools have high OOS tuition but it's just beyond any other cost.

These are good questions and I'll answer them in order as well as I can.

1. Loans, drowning in debt because the state grossly mismanaged its funding of the school.
2. Nothing about it is especially "unique" to justify the cost. They just know that there will always be people who will pay it because at the end they confer MD degrees.
3. There is no justification in the sense most people would think. Refer to #2
 
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These are good questions and I'll answer them in order as well as I can.

1. Loans, drowning in debt because the state grossly mismanaged its funding of the school.
2. Nothing about it is especially "unique" to justify the cost. They just know that there will always be people who will pay it because at the end they confer MD degrees.
3. There is no justification in the sense most people would think. Refer to #2

1) Loans are scary as hell. I know doctors who are 20 years down the line from medical school and still have accrued over 200k debt medical school. I don't want to be paying debt for the rest of my life. At least as an undergrad there were pell grants and need-based scholarships :( that left me nearly without debt. It's nuts that opportunities available for those need them aren't there.
2 and 3) You're right and 2 is unfortunately highly effective. More so, I know when it comes down to it I'd do the same and choose an MD school. To avoid derailing this thread and keeping it short (please no MD vs DO business) going DO makes you go through many unnecessary hoops than can be negated by choosing a MD school (6 exams, residency discrimination and thinly veiled bias against DOs, less opportunities in research, and more hoops to jump through to get into certain speciality). It frustrates the hell out of me that this is the case and schools can play off of this. I really wonder where my 100k/year will go.
 
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Anybody received secondary application yet? When do you expect that we'll receive one if AMCAS has been completed the first day. The only thing I received so far is an email confirmation with link to the application status page.
Thanks
 
Anybody received secondary application yet? When do you expect that we'll receive one if AMCAS has been completed the first day. The only thing I received so far is an email confirmation with link to the application status page.
Thanks
From looking at last year's thread, it should be this week.
 
submitted as OOS student. this is going to be super expensive if I get accepted and I'm not really looking forward to that.
 
Hey guys, check your Spam folder if you complete AMCAS early and still waiting on secondary. Mine went into the Spam
 
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mind posting the secondary? thx!

Here you go

1. Describe a situation in which you were really stressed. Tell us how you dealt with it. Please detail your reaction(s), and how it affected you. If this situation, or a similar one, were to happen again, how would you handle it? (DO NOT EXCEED 250 words)

2. Describe a hobby or activity other than something in medicine, in which you have a keen interest. Why? (do not exceed 250)
3. Optional: Describe any advantages and/or complications you encountered during your progression in education. Please include any noteworthy achievements and/or obstacles. (Examples: Acute or chronic illnesses, employment, financial difficulty, managerial role in household, etc.) (Don't exceed 150 words) If you did not experience an advantage and/or complication during your education please indicate 'Not Applicable'
 
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Secondary is not too bad!
 
This is the only school I've seen that requires 3 courses in Behavioral Sciences. Guess that was a waste of $36. Anyone hear of other schools with this requirement too?
 
This is the only school I've seen that requires 3 courses in Behavioral Sciences. Guess that was a waste of $36. Anyone hear of other schools with this requirement too?

Wtf is behavioral science....?
 
This is the only school I've seen that requires 3 courses in Behavioral Sciences. Guess that was a waste of $36. Anyone hear of other schools with this requirement too?

On the Secondary it says you only have to complete those courses prior to matriculation. So theoretically they could accept you and then you could take the needed courses in the Spring 2015 semester.
 
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On the Secondary it says you only have to complete those courses prior to matriculation. So theoretically they could accept you and then you could take the needed courses in the Spring 2015 semester.

Very theoretically, I think.
 
The Extracurricular Activities Tab on the secondary only gives you 12 slots to fill in all your activities. Can I add more if I need to? Should I only list the ones I consider most important?
 
This is from last years thread, Humbob posted this. Hope it helps in the future application process if its on the front page

Below is a sort of flow chart for how the admission process works.

********************************
START

I. Submit Primary.

II. Wait for the email from UIC giving you your login information for the Applicant Status Check site (usually arrives within 2 weeks of submitting your primary): https://mercury.comd.uic.edu/appstat

III. Login, and check your status in the second page. [At the bottom of this post I link to a program I made that makes checking your status as easy as double clicking your mouse.]

---

A. "Application Not Complete" = Secondary not yet complete.

B. "Application in Process" = You are complete. --> Goto C.

C. "Applicant in Process" = Your file is being reviewed, 3 Possible Status Changes:
1. "Select Interview Date" = You are good enough for an interview. --> Goto D.
2. "Application in Process" = You are not good enough to grant an interview yet, but might be later on in the cycle. Check back periodically. --> Go back to B.
3. "Final Decision Made ..." = You are not good enough. --> Goto X.
D. "Select Interview Date" (A grid of dates shows up) = Call and schedule an interview date, after which "Interview Scheduled on ... " shows up. After the interview, Goto F.

F. "Decision Pending" = File pending review at the next adcom meeting (every 3rd Thursday of the month). There are 2 options from here, depending on the month:
1. Before May. --> Goto M.
2. On or After May. --> Goto N.

M. Before May, 2 Possible Status Changes:
1. "Final Decision Made ... " --> Goto S.
2. "Decision Pending" (No Status Change) + "We'll keep reviewing you" Email (a few days later) = You are a good candidate, but not good enough to grant an acceptance yet. UIC will keep reviewing you at every adcom meeting. --> Go back to F.

N. On or After May, 2 Possible Status Changes:
1. "Final Decision Made ... " You are (very likely) rejected. --> Goto X.
2. "Applicant is Waitlisted" = Waitlisted. --> Goto Y.

S. There are 2 additional conditions from here:
1. There is an "Additional Correspondences" Tab in the upper-right corner on your status page AND you get a CBC Email (a few days later) = You are (very likely) accepted. --> Goto Z.
2. There is no "Additional Correspondences" Tab and/or you don't get the CBC Email = Rejection. [Note: This is tricky. The CBC email usually comes a few days after (1-4 is the consensus) the status change. Be patient. Sometimes, the email never comes, which might be because you already had a CBC done due to an acceptance at another school. In some instances, the CBC Email even comes after the snail-mail. If after a week, neither the tab nor the CBC email shows up, it's very likely a rejection. You've probably already received snail-mail by now alerting you to it.] --> Goto X.

X. "Final Decision Made ..." = Rejection ... Wait for a "Thin Letter" via snail-mail.

Y. "Applicant is Waitlisted" = Waitlisted. ... The CBC Email no longer acts as an indicator of an acceptance. If you get accepted off of the waitlist, then Goto Z, else Goto X.

Z. "Final Decision Made ..." + "Additional Correspondences" Tab + CBC Email = (very likely) Acceptance ... Wait for a "Fat Packet" via snail-mail. [Note: Sometimes CBC emails come after the packet. CBC emails also might never arrive if you got an acceptance to another school that also does CBC through AMCAS.]

FINISH

---

*** NOTE: There are no guarantees in the above information, since there is always the chance that UIC changes things up. Just always keep in mind that the above is of what has happened, and not what will happen.


**********************************

I want to add last year there was ONE person (as far as i know the ONLY person) who got the "Additional Correspondences" Tab and was rejected.
 
progress vs process here we go!
 
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How can you tell if they received your letters of recommendation or not?

Also, I have "Your Application has been successfully submitted. Although you may still view your application, no further changes will be allowed."

does that mean I am good to go and just have to wait now?

Thanks!
 
How can you tell if they received your letters of recommendation or not?

Also, I have "Your Application has been successfully submitted. Although you may still view your application, no further changes will be allowed."

does that mean I am good to go and just have to wait now?

Thanks!
You can go to the App Status Page, if they have received and processed your letters then the names of your letter writers will show up. If not there will be blank slots under the LORs heading!
 
3. Optional: Describe any advantages and/or complications you encountered during your progression in education. Please include any noteworthy achievements and/or obstacles. (Examples: Acute or chronic illnesses, employment, financial difficulty, managerial role in household, etc.) (Don't exceed 150 words) If you did not experience an advantage and/or complication during your education please indicate 'Not Applicable'

I'm not exactly sure what this question is trying to get at. I understand the "complications" part, but what do they mean by "advantages"? Does it have to be related to your education? Anyone have any ideas?
 
3. Optional: Describe any advantages and/or complications you encountered during your progression in education. Please include any noteworthy achievements and/or obstacles. (Examples: Acute or chronic illnesses, employment, financial difficulty, managerial role in household, etc.) (Don't exceed 150 words) If you did not experience an advantage and/or complication during your education please indicate 'Not Applicable'

I'm not exactly sure what this question is trying to get at. I understand the "complications" part, but what do they mean by "advantages"? Does it have to be related to your education? Anyone have any ideas?

I think they're implying "disadvantage", judging by how all the examples are disadvantages. I wrote about having to work during school to pay rent.
 
oh ****, i actually talked about an advantage. shiiiiiiiet
 
Is anyone else having trouble accessing the secondary app? I keep getting an error message when I click the emailed link or try to access it through their COM website.
 
Is anyone else having trouble accessing the secondary app? I keep getting an error message when I click the emailed link or try to access it through their COM website.
Same here, glad it isn't just me. Must be a glitch in their system.
 
Just spoke with someone in their admissions office and they said they hope to have the problem resolved by 12:00 p.m.
 
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Hi all! I am a second year vet med student here at the U of I in Urbana/Champaign and I am looking for one more roommate to share a house with 3 vet students.

Here is the info on the house:
Beautiful, modern 3 story home
Completely furnished down to the pots and pans, big screen tv and washer and dryer
Cable, Internet, security system and all utilities included
Very convenient to school and nice quiet area
$550 per month including utilities! Feel free to text me at 863.944.4647 and I'm more than happy to send pics of the house if interested! Thanks!
 
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