2014-2015 University of Iowa (Carver) Application Thread

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Also no email, but II tab!! Scheduled my interview for 9/19
 
Congrats to all of you with II!!! When were you complete?
 
Congrats! You are going to be rolling in invites in no time! The waiting game is tough you just have to trust it will work out!
Thank you for your encouraging words 🙂 I know patience is a virtue in this game, but it's so hard to remember when my "Med School Apps" email inbox hasn't shown anything new in weeks. Thanks again! 🙂
 
II! OOS, got email. Woo!! @researchismymiddlename - thought you might wanna know since we just talked about this 😉

OMG!!!! Congratulations! You have to let me know when you interview! I'm interviewing on 9/22. I can give you an Iowa City/Coralville tour outside of the medical school 😉 I am irrationally excited, I know, but a fellow poet is rare in these arenas!
 
OMG!!!! Congratulations! You have to let me know when you interview! I'm interviewing on 9/22. I can give you an Iowa City/Coralville tour outside of the medical school 😉 I am irrationally excited, I know, but a fellow poet is rare in these arenas!

Ahh darn, I'm not until October! But do you live in the area? Any tips for the cheapest way to get in and out of Iowa City..?

I'm really excited too!!!! Yay science and poetry!!! 🙂
 
II a few hours ago via email, OOS! My second II. You have no idea how badly I needed this; I was feeling super-dejected this morning.

Congratulations!!! I know some days can get tough but patience is your friend, grace is your sanity and hope is your lifeline 🙂 I'm waiting for more II's too! But I trust they will come when they come 😍 I and others here on sdn have your back and are cheering you on! Peace.
 
Ahh darn, I'm not until October! But do you live in the area? Any tips for the cheapest way to get in and out of Iowa City..?

I'm really excited too!!!! Yay science and poetry!!! 🙂

I live in Iowa City. The closest airport is in Cedar Rapids, its like 25 mins away. Sometimes the flights from Chicago get cancelled since the airport is small, in which case the airlines rebook the flights for Moline, IL, which is 1hr 10 mins away. I experienced this myself yesterday flying in from Pittsburgh yesterday. It's happened to me twice in the 2 dozen or so times I flown into Cedar Rapids, so it's not a common occurrence for sure.

I don't know where they recommend staying, but does Iowa have a student host program? I didn't get any info in the e-mail I got Monday, but I don't know if it's because I am IS.

When are you interviewing in October? I am out of town on the 21st-23rd, but I can probably save you the trouble of getting a cab and drive you myself if you are ok with that 🙂 I can't wait to welcome you to our warm, charming state--where Midwestern hospitality is a given :highfive:

Note: if you go with a cab the regular fare is like 60-90 dollars depending on the route (I got hoodwinked once into paying way more than I should have had to pay), but if you pre-call certain companies that have good fares (I can recommend some), it's 35 bucks.
 
I live in Iowa City. The closest airport is in Cedar Rapids, its like 25 mins away. Sometimes the flights from Chicago get cancelled since the airport is small, in which case the airlines rebook the flights for Moline, IL, which is 1hr 10 mins away. I experienced this myself yesterday flying in from Pittsburgh yesterday. It's happened to me twice in the 2 dozen or so times I flown into Cedar Rapids, so it's not a common occurrence for sure.

I don't know where they recommend staying, but does Iowa have a student host program? I didn't get any info in the e-mail I got Monday, but I don't know if it's because I am IS.

When are you interviewing in October? I am out of town on the 21st-23rd, but I can probably save you the trouble of getting a cab and drive you myself if you are ok with that 🙂 I can't wait to welcome you to our warm, charming state--where Midwestern hospitality is a given :highfive:

Note: if you go with a cab the regular fare is like 60-90 dollars depending on the route (I got hoodwinked once into paying way more than I should have had to pay), but if you pre-call certain companies that have good fares (I can recommend some), it's 35 bucks.

I'll PM you!! 🙂
 
II! OOS, received the email just now! Complete 8/22!
Envious and anxious. My parents met and married in Iowa City and I was born there. . .I hope that my application is just so dazzling that the reviewers are paralyzed with awe. 🙂 And yet. . .I somehow doubt that that is the case.
 
Ahh darn, I'm not until October! But do you live in the area? Any tips for the cheapest way to get in and out of Iowa City..?

I'm really excited too!!!! Yay science and poetry!!! 🙂

There is no really cheap way to get into Iowa City. The nearest airport is in Cedar Rapids; the second nearest is in Moline, Illinois (about an hour away.) Most flights take you into O'Hare and then you board a puddle jumper for which the tickets are typically way overpriced. The transportation problem is probably the major drawback to Iowa City. . .even in recruiting faculty. (Well, the weather is not so great, either. Really cold in winter; generally hot and humid in summer. The cornfields help keep the air moist--you can often see the haze over the fields after the corn gets knee-high.) It's a great place to live, though. My parents joke that even the waitstaff in restaurants have master's degrees at the very least. Broadway shows and cultural events do come through--mostly during the week, between weekend gigs in bigger cities. Really low crime rate and a good atmosphere. As for the poetry. . .yes, both the Writers' Workshop and the International Writers' Workshop keep the literary scene lively. If you like it, hope that you get in!
 
In most contexts, that would be horrific.
In Iowa City, it seems to be a choice. It is such a great place to live that people stay around even if underemployed. My mother used to have long literary/philosophy discussions with the people at her regular eating haunts (mostly a place called The Mill) and remembers those times fondly. I guess liking the community and the other folks living there counts for something.
 
In most contexts, that would be horrific.

In Iowa City, it seems to be a choice. It is such a great place to live that people stay around even if underemployed. My mother used to have long literary/philosophy discussions with the people at her regular eating haunts (mostly a place called The Mill) and remembers those times fondly. I guess liking the community and the other folks living there counts for something.

I second Bengali's point completely. It's not that we have stagerring unemployment rates, but in Iowa City people choose to be educated and there is generally a relatively high level of education here.

On a second note, to people not interested in hopping on to a "puddlehopper" (love that word!) a lot of folks usually take a greyhound or megabus from Chicago to Iowa City, although I've never done it myself because I'm lazy and it requires prior planning and coordination of scheules while keeping a large margin because flight delays can occur 😀

For an interview, I myself won't trust it and suggest coming into Cedar Rapids... but that's just me
 
Hi guys!
I'm an M2 at CCOM. For those of you flying to interviews here, Cedar Rapids is definitely the easiest option. You can get a shuttle from there to IC here: http://www.crshuttle.com/ They do one-way or round-trip and charge based on mileage. I've only used it once but it was reasonably priced and on-time. Besides Moline, there is also Des Moines. It's just under two hours away, but it was actually my cheapest option when I flew in for my interview, even when I added on a rental car. Just another option to check out for price comparison. Also, if you are under 25, you can avoid paying an underage driver fee on rental cars by signing up for USAA (free!). I did this and saved on several rentals during interview season. Good luck!
 
Envious and anxious. My parents met and married in Iowa City and I was born there. . .I hope that my application is just so dazzling that the reviewers are paralyzed with awe. 🙂 And yet. . .I somehow doubt that that is the case.

You just have to remain positive and be patient. Iowa is my first interview and I found out pretty quickly. I don't think that will be the case with the other schools I applied to.
 
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IS applicant. II scheduled for 9/22. This will be my first interview. I'm pretty nervous about it at the moment. Hopefully, the more I prepare, the less nervous I'll be on interview day. It will also be pretty cool knowing some of you will be there, as well. Good luck all!
 
IS applicant. II scheduled for 9/22. This will be my first interview. I'm pretty nervous about it at the moment. Hopefully, the more I prepare, the less nervous I'll be on interview day. It will also be pretty cool knowing some of you will be there, as well. Good luck all!
Did you get an II on Labor Day?
 
I am applying here and just received the secondary today!

AMCAS submitted June 19th
Verified July 9th
Received application acknowledgement from Iowa on July 2nd
Received secondary on July 17th

Hope it helps! Good Luck! They have a low screen according to MSAR. GPA 3.0 Mcat (residents: 6V, 7PS/BS; non-residents: 6V, 8PS/BS)

FWIW, I had less than a 3.0 GPA so was ecstatic to get an OOS 2ndary!
 
Interviewing on the 24th of September. Anyone else on the forum going to be there that day?
 
Hey everyone! I'm an M2 here and just wanted to drop in to say good luck! I'll try to keep checking this page every so often, but feel free to PM me with any specific questions about the school or iowa city in general. For some background, I'm OOS and from a big city in the Midwest. I know life in iowa city makes a lot of potential applicants hesitant, and I was definitely one of them. That being said, I've grown to love the small but very academic feel of the city and it is nice to see some IC love on here already from some current residents. I really can't say enough great things about the school, hospital, and the people that work there, but you all already know that which is why you are applying 😉

Also, I'd like to second what someone else already mentioned that we do have prospective student housing available. The students that do it are pretty great and you can usually get a nice tour of the IC area if you ask nicely. If you need details for that, again just PM me.

Anyways, good luck everyone and I hope to see you all in your interview suits soon!
 
markyb03 Why did you choose Iowa? What about the school attracted you the most?
 
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