2014-2015 University of Kansas Application Thread

[docksan]

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Snail mail.

And either one of you should call if you're worried.

 

[captainsaucyy]

Would these decision letters apply to people who interview in late October too?? I remember them saying ADCOM were meeting on Tuesdays, right?

Most Likely not, We're talking about the first round of interviews, October 7th, 8th, and 9th in KC I believe. and we *should* hear back from today to Saturday. HYPE.

 

[kansas2texas]

Would these decision letters apply to people who interview in late October too?? I remember them saying ADCOM were meeting on Tuesdays, right?

Probably not. Early October still has not heard. They might have met on Tuesday to talk about ya'll but it is HIGHLY unlikely they made it through all of you and have you in the system.

 

[baxt1412]

called in and spoke with a member in the pre-med department that had regularly spoke on my UG campus.

i was complete on 10/9 and she said to expect an email within 2-3 weeks if that helps anyone else out.

I am a "Kansas tie" resident, meaning I went to UG in Kansas but am not a KS resident. So I'm kind of in between KS resident and OOS in terms of classification.

Hope this helps anyone else who is waiting to give a rough timeline estimate.

 

[thenEnd]

for those that interviewed in KC, aprox. how many people were there also interviewing on your day?

just curious

 

[kspremed123]

30ish, give or take.

 

[j306c954]

So I know admissions are rolling, but when I called the admissions office I was told that it really isn't THAT detrimental if you submit your application a little later than others (contrary to what I have seen on SDN), especially if you have Kansas ties. Some of my friends currently at KU Med told me that too. Anyone know the validity of this claim?

 

[docksan]

It's true.

 

[j306c954]

Anyone else applying with a REALLY strong application and GPA but a low MCAT? :\

 

[baxt1412]

Anyone else applying with a REALLY strong application and GPA but a low MCAT? :\

I don't think its super duper strong but a pretty decent app if it was a better mcat.
3.7 with KS ties, letter from a member of another school's adcom (MD letter) and hundreds of shadowing and volunteering hours, 24 mcat

 

[docksan]

No letter today. Bet it actually goes out today.

 

[j306c954]

I don't think its super duper strong but a pretty decent app if it was a better mcat.
3.7 with KS ties, letter from a member of another school's adcom (MD letter) and hundreds of shadowing and volunteering hours, 24 mcat

I'm in the same boat as you with the MCAT almost (23). 3.9 GPA, one of my letters from a ku med departmental director, honors thesis, tons of research experience, over 1000 volunteer hours (I've been a counselor at the national suicide prevention line for 3 1/2 years), shadowing, KS ties, etc...

So ya, everything just fine and dandy besides the MCAT haha

 

[Professor-X]

I have a question regarding the secondary application. The application says, "Required fields are marked with an asterisk.*" Only two of the essays are marked as such. Does that mean that only those two essays are required? Did anyone not do all the essays? If so, did you get an interview? I am asking because I have three secondaries due by November 15, so there is no way I can complete all the essays for KU School of Medicine and still complete the other secondaries. I know it is less than idea to not complete the essay, but I take care of my sick mom full time and work, so it's just not realistic to finish them all. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

 

[baxt1412]

I have a question regarding the secondary application. The application says, "Required fields are marked with an asterisk.*" Only two of the essays are marked as such. Does that mean that only those two essays are required? Did anyone not do all the essays? If so, did you get an interview? I am asking because I have three secondaries due by November 15, so there is no way I can complete all the essays for KU School of Medicine and still complete the other secondaries. I know it is less than idea to not complete the essay, but I take care of my sick mom full time and work, so it's just not realistic to finish them all. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

I would do them all. They really shouldn't take more than an hour unless you are super obsessed with writing Nobel worthy essays which isn't necessary at all.

 

[j306c954]

I have a question regarding the secondary application. The application says, "Required fields are marked with an asterisk.*" Only two of the essays are marked as such. Does that mean that only those two essays are required? Did anyone not do all the essays? If so, did you get an interview? I am asking because I have three secondaries due by November 15, so there is no way I can complete all the essays for KU School of Medicine and still complete the other secondaries. I know it is less than idea to not complete the essay, but I take care of my sick mom full time and work, so it's just not realistic to finish them all. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

I'm going to go ahead and make a STRONG assumption that they are all required, unless they specify the question is only for re-applicants or something. I just sat down and hammered them all out last night (got 2 hours of sleep haha).

 

[j306c954]

I have a question regarding the secondary application. The application says, "Required fields are marked with an asterisk.*" Only two of the essays are marked as such. Does that mean that only those two essays are required? Did anyone not do all the essays? If so, did you get an interview? I am asking because I have three secondaries due by November 15, so there is no way I can complete all the essays for KU School of Medicine and still complete the other secondaries. I know it is less than idea to not complete the essay, but I take care of my sick mom full time and work, so it's just not realistic to finish them all. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

In the instructions, it says, "This page contains a type of online interview. Provide relatively brief (1000 character maximum) answers to the questions. Questions 17 and 18 are required."

So I guess you don't have to? But not quite sure you will get offered an interview if you don't fill them out...the essay questions are like an online interview. So imagine going to an actual interview and just sitting there in silence, probably wouldn't get the job :\ I would at least write something.

 

[St. Pauli Girl]

No letter for me either yet and I interviewed on October 8th. When will it get here? sheesh lol

 

[captainsaucyy]

I'm in the same boat as you with the MCAT almost (23). 3.9 GPA, one of my letters from a ku med departmental director, honors thesis, tons of research experience, over 1000 volunteer hours (I've been a counselor at the national suicide prevention line for 3 1/2 years), shadowing, KS ties, etc...

So ya, everything just fine and dandy besides the MCAT haha

Honestly, they do not even interview Kansas residents with below a 24 MCAT, so honestly, i would save my money if i were you. Just being real..

 

[j306c954]

Honestly, they do not even interview Kansas residents with below a 24 MCAT, so honestly, i would save my money if i were you. Just being real..

Then how come I know people that got interviewed and accepted with 23? And if you check MSAR, the lowest accepted is 22. While I will not get an automatic interview, there is still a chance of getting one.

Thanks for the advice though, "honestly" 😉

 

[docksan]

Honestly, they do not even interview Kansas residents with below a 24 MCAT, so honestly, i would save my money if i were you. Just being real..

This is simply not true.

 

[j306c954]

This is simply not true.

They are just trying to get rid of the competition 😉

 

[captainsaucyy]

They are just trying to get rid of the competition 😉

Whoa There, that's just my two cents. Take it with a grain of salt. I personally do not know any applicants last year who had 23- who got interviews, and this year they're probably interviewing around the 28 mark or so right now so i'm speaking from their experience. Instead they rocked the test over the summer and are in a really good place now. Obviously there are outliers; I know a few in the Scholars in Rural Health program who do not need scores even near the rest of us to stay accepted.

 

[Zelda840]

Oh how I wish KU would give me a chance! 29 mcat, 3.88 gpa, OOS

 

[docksan]

Whoa There, that's just my two cents. Take it with a grain of salt. I personally do not know any applicants last year who had 23- who got interviews, and this year they're probably interviewing around the 28 mark or so right now so i'm speaking from their experience. Instead they rocked the test over the summer and are in a really good place now. Obviously there are outliers; I know a few in the Scholars in Rural Health program who do not need scores even near the rest of us to stay accepted.

I know quite a few.

And you're wrong about most everything, so if your two cents is to pay people not to spend their time and effort applying keep it in your pocket, please.

It's unnecessary and rude.

 

[Zelda840]

*backs slowly out of thread*

 

[j306c954]

Whoa There, that's just my two cents. Take it with a grain of salt. I personally do not know any applicants last year who had 23- who got interviews, and this year they're probably interviewing around the 28 mark or so right now so i'm speaking from their experience. Instead they rocked the test over the summer and are in a really good place now. Obviously there are outliers; I know a few in the Scholars in Rural Health program who do not need scores even near the rest of us to stay accepted.

...your two cents is just incorrect. You stated that those with below a 24 do not [as in never] receive an interview, which is false. That is all.

Just because you do not know anyone personally does not mean that it is impossible. I would use the MSAR resource for that information, it is very helpful.

 

[j306c954]

Oh how I wish KU would give me a chance! 29 mcat, 3.88 gpa, OOS

Those are pretty good stats though 🙂 As long as you also have good EC's I think you have a fair chance!

 

[j306c954]

Also, don't quote me on this because I don't remember where I saw it (not in a forum though), but I read that KU Med is one of the schools that does not place as heavy of an emphasis on one particular aspect of an application (such as the MCAT), and does a really good job at looking at applications as a whole. I'm not trying to reassure myself, just something I saw once.

 

[GenericKUStudent]

No letter for me either yet and I interviewed on October 8th. When will it get here? sheesh lol

Yeah! I interviewed Oct. 7th and still nothing. It has officially been a month of silence. :/

 

[docksan]

Also, don't quote me on this because I don't remember where I saw it (not in a forum though), but I read that KU Med is one of the schools that does not place as heavy of an emphasis on one particular aspect of an application (such as the MCAT), and does a really good job at looking at applications as a whole. I'm not trying to reassure myself, just something I saw once.

I knew a student last year who had an MCAT of 21 and got interviewed.

 

[j306c954]

I knew a student last year who had an MCAT of 21 and got interviewed.

I just worry because I got my supplemental app in so late...I'm in-state though

 

[thenEnd]

Oh how I wish KU would give me a chance! 29 mcat, 3.88 gpa, OOS

similar stats but IS

this was surprisingly active for a Friday night

 

[baxt1412]

similar stats but IS

this was surprisingly active for a Friday night

I guess we are all foreveralone.jpg or maybe just me haha.

 

[docksan]

similar stats but IS

this was surprisingly active for a Friday night

Anticipation anxiety.

 

[docksan]

On Hold!

 

[Vuska]

Hey, docksan. Did your letter also say something like status pending? Or did it say waitlist?

I am so confused about this letter, because it was not mentioned during the interview at all.

 

[docksan]

We wait until March to find out, so that we get a 50/50 chance of yes/no.

 

[Member4545]

Is KU open to post-interview letters of intent?

 

[JayDocKU]

Honestly, they do not even interview Kansas residents with below a 24 MCAT, so honestly, i would save my money if i were you. Just being real..

As an upperclassman, I can attest that there are many students at KU Med with lower than a 24 MCAT score. One student in my class is IS and has lower than a 20. If the admissions committee sees something special in your application, you have a shot. The student I talked about above came from rural Kansas. I've noticed a trend, though I can't verify, that rural students have an easier time with admission with sub-par MCAT scores. As KU knows, MCAT scores do not predict the type of doctor one will be. Grades during the first two years of med school predict performance on STEP 1. Personality, empathy, etc are better predictors (determined from ones personal statement and interview) than the MCAT of how good of a clinician one will be. If your goal is to be a doctor, don't listen to the cynics. Strive for what you want. KU Med rewards persistence.

 

[GenericKUStudent]

Is KU open to post-interview letters of intent?

I would just E-mail Sandy about it. I don't remember what she said on interview day about it (if she did mention anything).

 

[docksan]

It's not required but it does keep your application open if you update it.

 

[thenEnd]

would you all mind posting your stats?

 

[docksan]

28/3.3

 

[kspremed123]

.

 

[kja4kc]

IS 30/3.7 Straight up rejected.

 

[baxt1412]

IS 30/3.7 Straight up rejected.

Wow... Sorry didn't check the other posts, pre or post interview?

Any red flags or obvious interview issues? Possible bad letters?

 

[kja4kc]

Wow... Sorry didn't check the other posts, pre or post interview?

Any red flags or obvious interview issues? Possible bad letters?

Post-interview. All my letters were good, none that were amazing. Good EC's and come from a disadvantaged background as well. Honestly, I am baffled. I cannot think of anything that would have warranted a rejection.

 

[docksan]

It was probably the interview then. Schedule a follow up with Dean McCurdy.

 

[kja4kc]

The thing is my first interview went great and was very conversational and relaxed. My second interview was ok but was not horrible. So I do not think it was the interview either.

 

[docksan]

If you want, you're welcome to PM me the details.