2014-2015 University of North Dakota Application Thread

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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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applying OOS with strong connections to the state
 
Secondary received today. Here are the questions:

NOTE: 1600 characters per numbered section

1. Residency History: List each permanent residence starting with your place of birth

2. What do you consider to be your hometown? Explain.

3. Given the purpose of the school, please justify why you should be accepted for admission. INMED students, please explain how you fulfill the purpose of the Indians into Medicine Program.

4. Describe how your experiences (health care or social care) will help you develop into a compassionate physician.

5. Describe how familiar you are with life in a rural and/or Native American community.

6. Describe how you have contributed to your family or community.

7. What are your career plans in the event that you are not admitted to medical school:
This Year?
Ever?

8. If needed, update the information in your AMCAS application (i.e., grades in recent courses, alterations in your proposed coursework or graduation, additions to extracurricular activities, unreported legal infractions, etc.).

9. Describe your connection to the state of North Dakota. WICHE, INMED and Minnesota applicants, describe your connections to your respective communities and/or to North Dakota.

10. UNDSMHS REAPPLICANTS ONLY: When was your previous application, and, subsequently, what steps have you taken to strengthen your candidacy? Note any relevant academic, employment, clinical, and personal experience.
 
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Whats everyone writing about for #3? The purpose is "The primary purpose of the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences is to educate physicians and other health professionals and to enhance the quality of life in North Dakota. Other purposes include the discovery of knowledge that benefits the people of this state and enhances the quality of their lives."

What do you say besides "I want to be a doctor in North Dakota"
 
Hey all, I'm an MS1 at UNDSMHS and we're just starting off orientation this week. Student Doctor was an asset to me in my path to medicine and I have been getting questions from friends so I figured I'd pay it back by helping answer any general questions you may have. Be mindful that I'm relatively new to the program and specific questions about the lifestyle here aren't my forte, but the application process (both at UND and other schools) is still very fresh in my mind.

ndafife said:
Whats everyone writing about for #3? The purpose is "The primary purpose of the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences is to educate physicians and other health professionals and to enhance the quality of life in North Dakota. Other purposes include the discovery of knowledge that benefits the people of this state and enhances the quality of their lives."

What do you say besides "I want to be a doctor in North Dakota"
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That is the point of the prompt. UNDSMHS's main focus is to produce North Dakotan healthcare professionals. So why do you want to do that? How can they be confident you are going to fulfill the mission of the school? Beyond that, what makes you an asset to the UNDSMHS program and eventually North Dakota's populace (research, service, etc)?

Secondaries are (for the most part) very personal. There are no right/wrong answers. Hopefully that is helpful for your brainstorming.
 
kayayteeyeee said:
Does anyone know when they send out invites?
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Interview invites for UNDSMHS tend to be given out in late November or early December and the interviews take place mid-December and early January. There are a few exceptions.

UNDSMHS is 100% non-rolling admissions, as far as I am aware.
 
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Added UNDSMHS today. OOS-INMED applicant. Now to wait patiently until mid December to hear about interview invites.
 
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Hey there, I am a UND app. It is the only school I am applying to. I live in Bismarck. I have been a dietitian specializing in diabetes mgmt for a long time. MCAT was completed 3 weeks ago, still no score, and app all completed, secondaries too. The waiting is awful!
 
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NoDakDok said:
Interesting, you are the first person I have heard of to receive an interview before mid-November.

Good luck!
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I thought this was odd too. I just checked the school website and it looks like they changed some things in admissions this year.
 
WillburCobb said:
I thought this was odd too. I just checked the school website and it looks like they changed some things in admissions this year.
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Seems so. I am quite sure that this

Secondary applications are sent to all applicants via e-mail and are expected to be returned within two weeks to ensure timely consideration
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was not in the previous description. I could be wrong. To my knowledge they didn't even look at applications until all of them were submitted in the past, but that was hearsay.

Either way, this

All interviews will be completed before acceptances are offered. E-mails are sent out after the final interview weekend. It is not possible to let applicants know until the interviews are completed.
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would lead me to believe that submission date is still rather irrelevant to the selection process, since it does not seem like many have received interviews yet. More importantly, everyone interviews before they do the selection that ultimately determines the class composition.

Maybe this is a cause-effect relationship of the increasing class size, or simply an efficiency change to the system that most schools are using.
 
NoDakDok said:
I am quite sure that this was not in the previous description.
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It was on the previous page and in old pamphlets they had.

NoDakDok said:
To my knowledge they didn't even look at applications until all of them were submitted in the past, but that was hearsay.
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That's what they used to do, I confirmed this with both Dr. Splichal and Judy DeMers when they were the Dean of Admissions and Student Affairs. This is what I noticed that was different - "Admissions Committee members complete a thorough review of all completed applications that meet residency requirements on a rolling basis beginning in early October. Applicants will be notified during that time if they will be invited for an on-campus interview or not."

It then says "Interviews are held on specific Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays in the months of December and January." So I would think all that is different is that they're notifying applicants a little earlier than in the past. Interview dates and when acceptance decisions are made haven't appear to change.
 
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WillburCobb said:
It was on the previous page and in old pamphlets they had.
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Ah, okay. I didn't even think of looking in the FAQ section. As for the review beginning in October, I still figure they're just trying to better manage the number of applications UND now receives having switched to AMCAS. Last I recall they were receiving in the 300 applications range, and they received 1700 last cycle, 359 of which were in-state.

So it doesn't sound like the selection criteria has changed, they're just making it more efficient. With that said, I would still consider it 'true non-rolling' unless they actually start giving out most of their interviews before the November 1st secondary deadline.

Edit: Sidenote, the FAQ lists that the 2019 class will stay at 78 students, so they're not increasing it again quite yet. I wonder if they're waiting for the new medical school.
 
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The earliest date I was offered was December 13th, so I think they are keeping that process around the same (everyone interviews then they make decisions).

Secondaries also came out much earlier this year (July 10th) vs last year (August 20th)
 
Submitted my II on October 8 and have not heard a word. I think being in state is making me even more nervous since this is the school I'm thinking I have the best chance at...I think I'd rather write more essays than wait!!
 
Submitted your II? Does that mean you responded to the Interview Invite with what days/times work for you? Because that was a 3 day turnaround for me. Or are you mistakenly using II for secondary?
 
Can you tell this is my first time on the site? :D
 
Congrats to those who have received interview invites!

ndafife said:
Submitted your II? Does that mean you responded to the Interview Invite with what days/times work for you? Because that was a 3 day turnaround for me. Or are you mistakenly using II for secondary?
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II is used interchangeably for Secondary and Interview Invite on SDN. You just have to use the context in order to decipher what they mean.

Seems like the AdCom is definitely changing things a bit this year. I would not freak out if you have not received an II yet. I would bet those who have received IIs are just those who they know will be invited regardless of future submissions (e.g. a LizzyM of 76 with strong ties to the state). I would assume the rest will come soon after all secondaries have been submitted.

For those of you interviewing the week of the 15th, don't be put off if we are a little tired or a little stressed! That week happens to line up with our block exams for Block II/VI. Promise we are usually very upbeat :)

Good luck in your interviews and let me know if you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them.
 
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Looking at old threads and it seems like the interviews were mostly the second and third week of December...will there be more this year? I have one already scheduled the second week and the third week I'm graduating (yay), so I'm hoping if I get one it'll fit in somewhere!
 
engidoc said:
Looking at old threads and it seems like the interviews were mostly the second and third week of December...will there be more this year? I have one already scheduled the second week and the third week I'm graduating (yay), so I'm hoping if I get one it'll fit in somewhere!
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I believe there are usually three weeks of interviewing for general applicants. Two are in December and one in early January. Decisions for all general applicants are then given in mid-January. If you have interview date conflicts you can address them with Student Affairs & Admissions. They should be more than happy to accommodate you. You get this information in the initial interview invite.

Congrats on graduation!
 
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engidoc said:
Looking at old threads and it seems like the interviews were mostly the second and third week of December...will there be more this year? I have one already scheduled the second week and the third week I'm graduating (yay), so I'm hoping if I get one it'll fit in somewhere!
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They also do interviews at the end of the first non-holiday weekend of January. Acceptance/wait list decisions are made immediately following those interviews. I know there were a few non-INMED students who interviewed with the INMED students at the end of January last year, but that was an anomaly and I'm not sure of the circumstances regarding those interviews.

Edit - ...and @NoDakDok beat me to it.
 
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They give an option for an interview at 7 pm. And say to expect two hours...is there much else to it? I'm assuming there's a tour as well? Curious what time I should plan to be in Grand Forks. It seems strange that they would do interviews as late as 8 pm and want you there in the morning as well.
 
engidoc said:
They give an option for an interview at 7 pm. And say to expect two hours...is there much else to it? I'm assuming there's a tour as well? Curious what time I should plan to be in Grand Forks. It seems strange that they would do interviews as late as 8 pm and want you there in the morning as well.
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Assuming they haven't changed anything, you will meet in a room with a handful of other applicants and a couple medical students. There you will have some snacks/drinks, get your picture taken, and be given a name tag. After that you will watch a short video (maybe 15 minutes) and then be called into your interview. Your interview will be up to 45 minutes, but is variant in time depending on applicant. After that there is an optional tour, where the medical students can show you around the medical school if you want. Most people just leave. You could certainly be in and out in an hour.

They interview from dawn 'til dusk. They do all their interviews in just three weeks. It's an expedited, dissimilar process compared to other medical schools so that's why they have odd interview time options.
 
Received my Interview Invite today! Very excited!
 
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nvm
 
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did anyone interview this past weekend? How did it go?
 
Interviewed here on the 18th. Very relaxed; they truly want to get to know you better, and the questions reflect that. Very much a stress free experience, and my interviewers were extraordinarily nice.
 
ACCEPTED!!!! Best Christmas present ever :)

Interviewed on the 18th at 3:30, and the letter was marked on the 22nd, so it was quite the turn around!!

Good luck to everyone else, and Merry Christmas!!
 
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Hey guys, I am a junior in college, and currently has 3.75 GPA, and some volunteering and shadowing experiences in medical/non medical field. I haven't taken my MCAT yet, but will take it really soon. If i get 28-32 on MCAT, what are the chances of me getting into a medical school? I heard that 3.75 is not good enough to get into medical school? Any suggestions?
 
Dr.Wink said:
ACCEPTED!!!! Best Christmas present ever :)

Interviewed on the 18th at 3:30, and the letter was marked on the 22nd, so it was quite the turn around!!

Good luck to everyone else, and Merry Christmas!!
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Surprising. I was told in my interview they wouldnt send anything out until the end of January/early February... But Congrats nonetheless
 
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ndafife said:
Surprising. I was told in my interview they wouldnt send anything out until the end of January/early February... But Congrats nonetheless
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This is what I was told as well, you can imagine my surprise! Talk about deer in the headlights!

With that being said, I'm not complaining haha.
 
Dr.Wink said:
Has anybody else heard back at all?
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Yes, I was accepted the 24th as well! I was surprised to hear back so soon, especially since I'm OOS! Super excited though!!
 
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Draj1022 said:
Hey guys, I am a junior in college, and currently has 3.75 GPA, and some volunteering and shadowing experiences in medical/non medical field. I haven't taken my MCAT yet, but will take it really soon. If i get 28-32 on MCAT, what are the chances of me getting into a medical school? I heard that 3.75 is not good enough to get into medical school? Any suggestions?
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A 3.7 is about the national average for accepted GPAs for medical school, so whomever is telling you it's not good enough to get into medical school is delusional.

Your post is more suited for the What Are My Chances forums, so I would suggest you post a more detailed thread there with your application if you want a more realistic "chancing." If you're looking at UND and you're in state, a 3.75 and 28-32 on the MCAT is certainly good enough, the rest comes down to subjective measures (e.g. ECs, letters, interviews, etc).

If the sources I've seen are correct, the c/o 2018 had an average of a 3.7 GPA and a 29 MCAT. Plenty above and below those numbers. This is a pretty typical average for UNDSMHS and coincides with past MSAR data.
 
Anyone else starting to get a little antsy? I definitely thought notifications would have started going out last week...
 
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I believe the last of the interviews were this past weekend along with the INMED students. I'm INMED and they told us they would notify us pretty quick with decisions.
 
Received an ACCEPTANCE email this morning. Very happy! (INMED student)
 
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