2014-2015 University of South Florida Application Thread

BU Medical Sciences
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xffan624 said:
Mine was processed almost beginning of the day of the cycle. I got a secondary invitation on Aug 3. Complete on the 16th. Got my interview for SELECT in January.
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That is very strange. Is that usual? I'm surprised they stay competitive when the other Florida schools are so on top of it.
 
spyderweb said:
I understand, thank you so much for answering me. Do you happen to know any other USF students who were in a similar position that still got an acceptance?
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Not trying to put you down but I will tell you my not successful story... I took my MCAT on September 11 last year, applied anyway, and by the time I got the secondaries in, most people were already getting accepted. I got a 31 on my MCAT, a not so bad score, but my GPA is a little lower than yours. I was rejected and never got an interview, sadly. What I did afterwards: applied to a SMP, got in and now will be attending Georgetown for the 2014-2015 academic year. This year I am trying again, with everything in, trying to finish all secondaries before August and with better credentials because now I have Georgetown under my belt...

Its up to you but sometimes waiting a year will guarantee your entrance... what if you don't get the score you want? You have to chance to sign up again and study harder... That's my input... hope it helps
 
whitecupcake said:
Not trying to put you down but I will tell you my not successful story... I took my MCAT on September 11 last year, applied anyway, and by the time I got the secondaries in, most people were already getting accepted. I got a 31 on my MCAT, a not so bad score, but my GPA is a little lower than yours. I was rejected and never got an interview, sadly. What I did afterwards: applied to a SMP, got in and now will be attending Georgetown for the 2014-2015 academic year. This year I am trying again, with everything in, trying to finish all secondaries before August and with better credentials because now I have Georgetown under my belt...

Its up to you but sometimes waiting a year will guarantee your entrance... what if you don't get the score you want? You have to chance to sign up again and study harder... That's my input... hope it helps
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Only thing is that they don't accept updates until you get an interview there so they won't know your grades or any good updates that could help (like pubs).
 
What do you see as the most likely practice scenario for your future medical career?
a. Please choose the single answer that best describes your career goals:
Private Practice
Academic Medicine
Public Health
Healthcare Administration
Health Policy
Other

Why do you feel you are particularly suited for this practice scenario? What knowledge, skills and attitudes have you developed that have prepared you for this career path?

The USF Morsani College of Medicine’s Scholarly Concentrations program aims to support the educational development of medical students by providing opportunities for academic endeavors in areas of special interest. This program facilitates self-directed learning, enhances interactions between students and fosters relationships between students and faculty. Scholarly concentrations provide a forum where diversity of ideas and perspectives are valued. Each concentration includes elements of course work, practical application and scholarly presentation.
Please review our Scholarly Concentrations website to determine which concentration would be of interest to you and answer the following question.

a. How would the USF Morsani College of Medicine’s Scholarly Concentrations Program help your personal career goals?

Describe a time in your life when you felt you were “at your best." Why did you choose this event, and how does it reflect your potential as a physician?

Who is the best leader you have known in your life? Describe what made her or him so effective and how they made you feel when you were around them.

The University of South Florida, College of Medicine strives to educate a very diverse set of students who bring a variety of strengths and interests to the field of medicine. The definition of diversity is broad and includes (but is not limited to) lifestyle, race/ethnicity, geography, socioeconomic status and distance traveled through life. The definition of strength is also broad and includes (but not limited to) humanism, scholarship, intellectual curiosity, research and leadership. How do you feel your particular experiences, interests, and passions will add to the strength and diversity of the USF class and ultimately to the field of medicine?

Describe your ideas about how the medical profession can best respond to disparities in healthcare.
 
Can anyone clarify Select vs Core programs? I read the gist of both but I dont know if one is more competitive over the other? would it be a disadvantage to my application to say I was interested in both programs?
 
apv said:
Can anyone clarify Select vs Core programs? I read the gist of both but I dont know if one is more competitive over the other? would it be a disadvantage to my application to say I was interested in both programs?
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It's not to your disadvantage if you are actually interested in doing SELECT or are OOS. Most of the time you will be interviewed for one or the other, not both. If you are a Florida resident, understand that doing the SELECT program may increase your debt burden by 25K every 4 years. There may be some scholarship opportunities that reduce cost, but understand that they are not guaranteed. That's why I would caution you applying for the program unless you really are interested in it if you are a Florida resident. SELECT generally is more open to OOS students and lower stat students who have some significant EC's (not particularly bench research but more leadership and clinical). Nontrads are well represented as well, but it seems like USF has a significant non-trad population in both programs.

I think it's a great program, but is it worth an extra 100K in debt? Well, the prevailing opinion on SDN is no program is worth that. Myself, I am Florida resident and I applied without understanding that it was an either/or situation, but I have funding through GI Bill (which covered both programs fully) so it wasn't a huge concern for me to do SELECT.

In general, the first two years, the two programs are integrated and you pretty much treat SELECT like a scholarly concentration like the CORE students have. 3rd year is when you move to Lehigh Valley and do your clinical rotations there. 4th year is more free like most schools and you can pick where you do your rotations and do them in Tampa or Lehigh Valley with electives done wherever you feel like.
 
darkstars said:
Only thing is that they don't accept updates until you get an interview there so they won't know your grades or any good updates that could help (like pubs).
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Might be so, but GT sends a letter to all medical schools I apply explaining how rigorous the program is and then the grades so I still hope for it to make a difference and the fact I applied super early 😉
 
What were the word limits on the essay prompts? The link to the secondary isn't working for me and I've already emailed them but want to get the essays done. Thanks in advance!
 
308629 said:
What were the word limits on the essay prompts? The link to the secondary isn't working for me and I've already emailed them but want to get the essays done. Thanks in advance!
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2000 Character limit
 
do we not get the application fee waived for FAP applicants?
 
Hoping someone can answer this question - if applying to SELECT only, does this question apply, "How would the USF Morsani College of Medicine’s Scholarly Concentrations Program help your personal career goals? " I was under the impression that only the CORE program offers this program?
 
hey for this question " Describe a time in your life when you felt you were “at your best." Why did you choose this event, and how does it reflect your potential as a physician?", would be it a bad idea to talk about an academic achievement?
 
boardwalk girl said:
Hoping someone can answer this question - if applying to SELECT only, does this question apply, "How would the USF Morsani College of Medicine’s Scholarly Concentrations Program help your personal career goals? " I was under the impression that only the CORE program offers this program?
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SELECT students have the option to audit Scholarly Concentrations if they want to. It really should be an optional essay for SELECT only student, I think, but I'm not in admissions.
 
Does it look indecisive if you apply to both CORE and SELECT programs?
 
Just a personal opinion, but I would say no. I'm applying to both because I would prefer SELECT but there are still many appealing aspects of the CORE program that would lead me to choose USF over other schools I'm applying to. Just my two cents though.
 
singads said:
Does it look indecisive if you apply to both CORE and SELECT programs?
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No, but if you are a Florida resident be aware of what I posted earlier in the thread. You may only get an interview for SELECT and you should consider whether you would be willing to attend that program in lieu of CORE. It's the same advice you get about applying to expensive private schools. Don't apply unless you actually want to attend that program because you just might get in.
 
xffan624 said:
No, but if you are a Florida resident be aware of what I posted earlier in the thread. You may only get an interview for SELECT and you should consider whether you would be willing to attend that program in lieu of CORE. It's the same advice you get about applying to expensive private schools. Don't apply unless you actually want to attend that program because you just might get in.
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So they give more preference to OOS students for the CORE program?
 
singads said:
So they give more preference to OOS students for the CORE program?
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No that is certainly not the case. I'm not sure where my post said that. USF is a state school and gives preference to Florida residents overall as they are required to by law. SELECT is a privately funded program within USF and is not constrained by the same state law requirements. SELECT certainly has a greater proportion of persons that are from OOS than the CORE program.
 
Anyone have an opinion on whether or not your decisions for the which scholarly concentration or the which branch of medicine do you see yourself practicing has an impact on how they view you for the SELECT program given its emphasis on educating doctors to implement healthcare change in the US? like if I said I would be interested in the global scholarly concentration instead of public health when applying to the SELECT program would that be a negative because it is somewhat unrelated to the mission of SELECT? if that makes any sense...
 
Anyone know a timeline from complete to II for USF?
 
thf214 said:
Anyone have an opinion on whether or not your decisions for the which scholarly concentration or the which branch of medicine do you see yourself practicing has an impact on how they view you for the SELECT program given its emphasis on educating doctors to implement healthcare change in the US? like if I said I would be interested in the global scholarly concentration instead of public health when applying to the SELECT program would that be a negative because it is somewhat unrelated to the mission of SELECT? if that makes any sense...
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I don't think so. Even as a US physician you'll be seeing patients with different global backgrounds. Maybe try to see where you can make a connection between the concentration and the SELECT program. That's what I did on my app last cycle - I wrote about the global concentration and how it connected to my interest in doing international relief efforts in addition to my career in the US. The slant of my answer was still in line with the goal of SELECT in creating medical leaders. Honestly though, they didn't even bring it up during my interview, so I think if your preference is for SELECT and the rest of your app shows that, you'll be fine 🙂
 
HandsomeRob said:
Anyone know a timeline from complete to II for USF?
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I was complete on 1/3 and received an II on 1/15 last cycle. The interview was 1/27, and I was notified of my final decision on 2/5. It was pretty late in the cycle though so it's quite possible they were speeding up due to a smaller volume of applications.
 
Applying here IS. cGPA 3.5 sGPA 3.33. MCAT 30 (11/9/10). Hope I can get in here, this school looks fantastic..
 
I see that USF took 177 people last year. Any idea on how many of those are CORE and how many are SELECT? I am IS with pretty borderline stats so I am thinking about applying to both but very weary of the extra 100k that comes with SELECT
 
CpnClwVie said:
I see that USF took 177 people last year. Any idea on how many of those are CORE and how many are SELECT? I am IS with pretty borderline stats so I am thinking about applying to both but very weary of the extra 100k that comes with SELECT
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Our class (2017) started as 120 CORE, 57 SELECT. I'm not sure about this year's class. I know there are about 52 SELECT but I'm not sure on the CORE numbers. It's probably close to 120, though because that number is mandated by the state.
 
CpnClwVie said:
I see that USF took 177 people last year. Any idea on how many of those are CORE and how many are SELECT? I am IS with pretty borderline stats so I am thinking about applying to both but very weary of the extra 100k that comes with SELECT
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Another thing to consider is you do your last 2 years will be at Lehigh Valley hospital system in Allentown, PA. You'll only be in Tampa the first two years.
 
xffan624 said:
Our class (2017) started as 120 CORE, 57 SELECT. I'm not sure about this year's class. I know there are about 52 SELECT but I'm not sure on the CORE numbers. It's probably close to 120, though because that number is mandated by the state.
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You're the man, thanks for the help. Will be only applyin CORE then
 
Does anybody know how many, if any, OOS spots are available for the CORE program? I applied to both with SELECT as my preference but I was just wondering.
 
CpnClwVie said:
You're the man, thanks for the help. Will be only applyin CORE then
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Thats what I did, especially as an instate, I have no desire to pay more and go to Pennsylvania. No thanks, I would rather go DO down here in FL for cheaper, than goto to PA where I know literally no one (not that PA isn't nice, its just not a place I ever thought I wanted to go, or knew anyone who lived there).
 
Does anybody know if we have to submit all the Florida Residency documents for the secondary application to be complete? I lost my voter's registration card and had to ask for a replacement card...hopefully it does not take long for me to receive it... 🙁
 
NewTima said:
Does anybody know if we have to submit all the Florida Residency documents for the secondary application to be complete? I lost my voter's registration card and had to ask for a replacement card...hopefully it does not take long for me to receive it... 🙁
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I don't think it's required to have a complete application.
 
If anyone has questions email the admissions office. They got back to me same day on a question I had earlier
 
I was told to email the admissions office to get the FAP waiver from the secondary. I emailed them the screenshot of my email confirmation but didn't hear anything back from the office 🙁. Anyone have successful applied their wavier to the secondary?
 
NewTima said:
Does anybody know if we have to submit all the Florida Residency documents for the secondary application to be complete? I lost my voter's registration card and had to ask for a replacement card...hopefully it does not take long for me to receive it... 🙁
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I thought we needed to submit something on that page to even submit the application? I had a similar problem and I emailed them. They told me to make a note and submit the form and a copy of the things I did have for now, and they'll ask for more later. You might want to just shoot them an email though so they have a heads up about what's going on and don't think you aren't following directions.
 
When I went to check my status, I saw this next to my App Complete section: "Your application is ready! Your application was last viewed on 7/30/2014." Is this kind of like a "hold" status? Or is it just letting me know, in detail, what my application is doing?
 
areserine said:
I thought we needed to submit something on that page to even submit the application? I had a similar problem and I emailed them. They told me to make a note and submit the form and a copy of the things I did have for now, and they'll ask for more later. You might want to just shoot them an email though so they have a heads up about what's going on and don't think you aren't following directions.
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Thank you 🙂 I will!
 
Achjayz said:
When I went to check my status, I saw this next to my App Complete section: "Your application is ready! Your application was last viewed on 7/30/2014." Is this kind of like a "hold" status? Or is it just letting me know, in detail, what my application is doing?
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Don't take anything you read on there too seriously. I don't even think my application changed after I had an interview.
 
Is their website down? I keep trying to log in but it is giving me an error.
 
Anyone applying EDP receive an interview invite yet?
 
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