2014-2015 University of Utah Application Thread

Discover Your Odds of Getting into Medical School
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hirschman said:
Hey Amad, when you said the U is your bottom choice academically, is that compared to MCW as well? I think I remember you saying you got accepted there. I'm not trying to pick a fight at all, just curious. I got an interview there but didn't attend, but I've heard good things about it!! But in your opinion is it really an academically superior school to the U? If MCW wasn't one of your acceptances I apologize, I could have remembered wrong. Again, this isn't meant to be malicious, just curious!
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My opinion is MCW is superior to Utah, but not by much. Everyone will have a different view. I was accepted to MCW but will be withdrawing.
 
medlife crisis said:
Their selection process is apparently very effective. They were obviously able to screen out applicants that were not interested in their program, and would have likely been a poor fit. I think you are incorrect, and frankly condescending, to presume that you were both rejected because of your high MCAT scores. The admissions committee simply did not feel you were what they were looking for in an applicant (ie your reportedly superior MCAT scores did not offset the shortcomings in your interview or application). And Amad, I think you're placing far too much emphasis on school rankings. Regardless of how bitter and resentful you feel, Utah is a great program. You got rejected. It's a competitive process, that happens. Maintain your dignity and don't lash out and insult the school, and by implication, the students who are currently waitlisted, accepted, or recently rejected.
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How am I lashing out and insulting the school? Saying they accept low stats? The averages are posted on their site......
 
amad01 said:
My opinion is MCW is superior to Utah, but not by much. Everyone will have a different view. I was accepted to MCW but will be withdrawing.
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Where are you matriculating ?
 
"The only thing that was attractive to me about Utah was the 17k tuition"
"I would've been very happy at Utah as it was my bottom choice academically"
"durr you can be good doctor with low mcat durr"
"they do accept a handful of well-qualified applicants"
"You end up with a class of 3.5 gpa and 29 mcat who competed for the most hours at the maliheh clinic or soup kitchen"

I'm not trying to start an argument with you, but maybe if you re-read a few of your comments, you can see how this would be received negatively by those matriculating and hoping to matriculate into the school. You could have received your rejection gracefully, and congratulated those who were accepted, instead of trying to devalue the major accomplishments of others who were accepted into this medical school. Utah has a history of producing renowned physicians and has state of the art facilities, including the Huntsman Cancer Institute, Primary Children's Hospital, and the Moran Eye Center.
 
zhopv10 said:
Hey guys, congrats to those accepted and my condolences to those who were rejected, it's a rough process, don't let it get you too down! I'll just say a quick blurb about the WL as I was accepted off of it last year. There are a few people (I know personally of 4 I believe there were more that were accepted off the WL). That may sound like a small amount but it is my understanding that the WL is kept fairly short at the U due to its high retention rate so IMO chances are still well within the range of possible for those on it.

As for those accepted, feel free to ask me anything about preparations, life at the school, or anything else.
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When did you find out that you were moved off of the alternate list and accepted?
 
falafel58 said:
When did you find out that you were moved off of the alternate list and accepted?
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I was called off the WL sometime around may 10th or something. It was right around the deadline of when you have to choose the one school you were accepted at (not including WL) which is generally when you see the most movement.
 
willie15 said:
  1. Originally posted by Doc34 http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/wait-list-vs-alternate-list.111311/
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Well I have learned something. Thanks @willie15 !!

koruca said:
Oh wow. Thanks for the clarification. My gut feeling tells me that it is a pretty slim to none chance that the waitlist will see much movement, though. Do you concur?
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I wouldn't say that our chances are necessarily slim (though being wait listed last year didn't help me out)- it seems as though there is at least a little bit of movement off of the list, as can be seen in last year's forum. Besides, at least we still have a fighting chance to get in! I'd say we can be cautiously optimistic. Do you have any acceptances anywhere?
 
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OperaBoy said:
You guyzzzz! This morning I was stalking the people on the FB page and I ACCIDENTALLY hit the "join group" button! I was mortified! Rejected as well. Chicago here we come!
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Bahaha, I can't tell you how many times I almost accidentally did that!
 
medlife crisis said:
Their selection process is apparently very effective. They were obviously able to screen out applicants that were not interested in their program, and would have likely been a poor fit. I think you are incorrect, and frankly condescending, to presume that you were both rejected because of your high MCAT scores. The admissions committee simply did not feel you were what they were looking for in an applicant (ie your reportedly superior MCAT scores did not offset the shortcomings in your interview or application). And Amad, I think you're placing far too much emphasis on school rankings. Regardless of how bitter and resentful you feel, Utah is a great program. You got rejected. It's a competitive process, that happens. Maintain your dignity and don't lash out and insult the school, and by implication, the students who are currently waitlisted, accepted, or recently rejected.
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wtf u going on about. high mcat scores mean higher likelihood of getting into med school, how about you do ur research before going full illiterate on the forums. save urself some dignity before insulting the entire premats and yourself
 
OperaBoy said:
You guyzzzz! This morning I was stalking the people on the FB page and I ACCIDENTALLY hit the "join group" button! I was mortified! Rejected as well. Chicago here we come!
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chi town is where its at congratz bro
 
thenedshcool said:
wtf u going on about. high mcat scores mean higher likelihood of getting into med school, how about you do ur research before going full illiterate on the forums. save urself some dignity before insulting the entire premats and yourself
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There is so much irony in this post. I won't even comment further than telling you to go back and reread the previous posts.
 
medlife crisis said:
.
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"The only thing that was attractive to me about Utah was the 17k tuition"
I don't see how this offends you?... If Utah was 50k I wouldn't have even applied.
"I would've been very happy at Utah as it was my bottom choice academically"
It was my bottom choice... but the 17k tuition would've been a no brainer financially... why is this bad? I'm sorry I liked other schools more?
"durr you can be good doctor with low mcat durr"
mcat score doesn't dictate the type of doctor you will be... this defends the school if anything. But there's a reason top schools recruit highly academically qualified students, ESPECIALLY top research institutions, which is what Utah has potential to be, which makes me wonder why they don't simply pursue it? I'm sure they have their reasons though... I still don't see why or how this would offend anybody.
"they do accept a handful of well-qualified applicants"
..... ? Academically speaking... many are well-qualified in other areas. I can see how you may interpret this poorly out of context.
"You end up with a class of 3.5 gpa and 29 mcat who competed for the most hours at the maliheh clinic or soup kitchen"
This is almost exactly Utah's averages....
I'm not trying to start an argument with you, but maybe if you re-read a few of your comments, you can see how this would be received negatively by those matriculating and hoping to matriculate into the school.
I in no way intended to offend, as I stated in the post, but I can see how someone looking to take offense could do so.
You could have received your rejection gracefully, and congratulated those who were accepted, instead of trying to devalue the major accomplishments of others who were accepted into this medical school.
I did congratulate....
Utah has a history of producing renowned physicians and has state of the art facilities, including the Huntsman Cancer Institute, Primary Children's Hospital, and the Moran Eye Center.
And I said that they are a good school. I don't disagree with any of that. This was the whole point of my post! Why does such a great school with such potential accept such low stats? It is my opinion that accepting higher caliber students academically would help Utah progress into a higher caliber school. If you do not agree that is fine. You are choosing to take offense when none was intended. Shows you can't discuss anything without people getting offended and upset, even when you are talking about simple facts such as average gpa/mcat. I definitely didn't expect that post to blow up and piss everyone off. Either way, doesn't matter. Good luck to everyone wherever they attend! :luck::=|:-):👍
 
amad01 said:
"The only thing that was attractive to me about Utah was the 17k tuition"
I don't see how this offends you?... If Utah was 50k I wouldn't have even applied.
"I would've been very happy at Utah as it was my bottom choice academically"
It was my bottom choice... but the 17k tuition would've been a no brainer financially... why is this bad? I'm sorry I liked other schools more?
"durr you can be good doctor with low mcat durr"
mcat score doesn't dictate the type of doctor you will be... this defends the school if anything. But there's a reason top schools recruit highly academically qualified students, ESPECIALLY top research institutions, which is what Utah has potential to be, which makes me wonder why they don't simply pursue it? I'm sure they have their reasons though... I still don't see why or how this would offend anybody.
"they do accept a handful of well-qualified applicants"
..... ? Academically speaking... many are well-qualified in other areas. I can see how you may interpret this poorly out of context.
"You end up with a class of 3.5 gpa and 29 mcat who competed for the most hours at the maliheh clinic or soup kitchen"
This is almost exactly Utah's averages....
I'm not trying to start an argument with you, but maybe if you re-read a few of your comments, you can see how this would be received negatively by those matriculating and hoping to matriculate into the school.
I in no way intended to offend, as I stated in the post, but I can see how someone looking to take offense could do so.
You could have received your rejection gracefully, and congratulated those who were accepted, instead of trying to devalue the major accomplishments of others who were accepted into this medical school.
I did congratulate....
Utah has a history of producing renowned physicians and has state of the art facilities, including the Huntsman Cancer Institute, Primary Children's Hospital, and the Moran Eye Center.
And I said that they are a good school. I don't disagree with any of that. This was the whole point of my post! Why does such a great school with such potential accept such low stats? It is my opinion that accepting higher caliber students academically would help Utah progress into a higher caliber school. If you do not agree that is fine. You are choosing to take offense when none was intended. Shows you can't discuss anything without people getting offended and upset, even when you are talking about simple facts such as average gpa/mcat. I definitely didn't expect that post to blow up and piss everyone off. Either way, doesn't matter. Good luck to everyone wherever they attend! :luck::=|:-):👍
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Consider purchasing a journal for the next time that you have 'non offensive' thoughts that you can't seem to contain
 
medlife crisis said:
Consider purchasing a journal for the next time that you have 'non offensive' thoughts that you can't seem to contain
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Haha what's funny is you are personally attacking me when I have done nothing but discussed published data on a school's stats. Have fun.
 
Amad- Best of luck to you in your future pursuits!

Ned- Once again, I have no idea how to respond to that

Let's revert things back to making this a helpful and uplifting forum
 
posts of amad01 and other folks are really interesting and informative, Good luck everyone!
 
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Utah is a good school and they usually have a good match list. That said, their last board scores were not that great last time. I think it was like a point above the average but honestly who cares? At the end of the day board scores don't determine the success of a medical student, their residency matches do.
 
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I was also rejected but I don't think this is the time for hurt egos or rationalization about why Utah made a bad decision about my application. Just be happy that "the school that you didn't want to go to" rejected you because you would have been there for 4 years of your life.
 
The University of Utah is an excellent program and one that I would be honored to be a part of. My fingers will be crossed over the next couple of months! :luck:
 
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amad01 said:
rejected earlier today. No worries, wasn't meant to be. The only thing that was attractive to me about Utah was the 17k tuition from the tuition benefit. I am sure in the long run I will look back and be glad things turned out the way they did, as I don't think I would've been very happy at Utah as it was my bottom choice academically. Time to start sellin' my stuff and packin up to move! I actually didn't expect to feel this good, but the closure brings peace to a rather wild roller coaster of an application season.

Slightly bitter rant full of my opinions: I feel Utah has potential, especially in its research capabilities, to move upward in the field of medicine and become a contender amongst the mid-uppermid tier schools. However, as long as they continue to select students with such low GPA/MCAT, they will remain a mid-lower tier institution. Looking at the top 20-30 even 40 schools, you see an upward trend of GPA/MCAT as they are indicators of not only academic success in medical school, but are attractive to outside funding organizations. Don't get me wrong, Utah is a good school and they do accept a handful of well-qualified applicants in terms of GPA/MCAT (and I already know that many say, "but durr you can be good doctor with low mcat durr" but funding from various organizations comes from outside sources (such as NIH funding) to schools based on certain metrics. This is how TOP schools get to the TOP) Better school, higher 'ranking', more money, better facilities, better faculty attraction power, etc etc.

It seems to me they are trying to be like Mayo Clinic in their attempt to "holistically" score applicants, especially by adding arbitrary requirements to hours of volunteering and shadowing and leadership and random experiences (who else does these stupid hour requirements anyways?). While such an holistic approach works for Mayo Clinic, a private worldclass powerhouse who receives apps from the entire country to fill their class of <50 mother teresa superstars, it doesn't work so well on the state level that is confined to 80%+ in-state acceptances. You end up with a class of 3.5 gpa and 29 mcat who competed for the most hours at the maliheh clinic or soup kitchen or whoever is most "diverse" in a state that is 85+% white. While all schools view applicants as a whole, I feel Utah goes a little too far and values box check volunteering/experiences over a track record of academic success, which IMO is far more important. Looking back, perhaps I spent too much time studying instead of adding on random hours volunteering? I was above average in everything except the yearly volunteering area, as I decided not to double-dip. My advice to future Utah-hopeful applicants would be not to stress as much about the mcat, get a 29, and just pump your app full of experiences I suppose. Either way, I probably wouldn't have matriculated even if accepted but it's always good to feel loved from your state school! Just my opinions, not trying to offend or cause commotion. Congrats to all accepted! And to those still waiting I hope the best for you.:luck::=|:-):
Click to expand...

I think you are discounting the human element of practicing medicine and being a healer. I would wager that someone with countless hours volunteering in a homeless shelter can relate better to patients than someone who didn't care to ditch the books and connect with people. You may be at the top of your class academically but there is a lot more to being a physician than that. Utah recognizes that, even when other "top" schools don't.
 
happygirl14 said:
I think you are discounting the human element of practicing medicine and being a healer. I would wager that someone with countless hours volunteering in a homeless shelter can relate better to patients than someone who didn't care to ditch the books and connect with people. You may be at the top of your class academically but there is a lot more to being a physician than that. Utah recognizes that, even when other "top" schools don't.
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well said !
 
Oos. Alternate list as well...

Any idea how many people are on the list for oos?
 
Let me add some salt to this conversation. I'm one of the "with non-stellar MCAT/GPA" applicants that got accepted. BUT I also got accepted at Wake Forest, Colorado, Vanderbilt and 5 DO schools (and I turned down 7 interviews)!!! I've decided to stay here and that's all I have to say...
 
kayt09 said:
Oos. Alternate list as well...

Any idea how many people are on the list for oos?
Click to expand...

Hey, I'm curious about this too! We should get a count going....at least two of us!
 
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IdahoanHopeful said:
Does anybody know when we will be able to view our class schedule?
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Not for quite awhile, probably in the summer/August time line, anything in particular you are wanting to know? I can give you generalities, or/and send you our syllabus, it will be 'somewhat' similar to yours
 
Well there's a silver lining to all of this forum discord- last year our goal was to get the forum to become a 20 page forum: thanks to the bantering, I think we may get there this year! Good work everyone!
 
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Patkay52 said:
Let me add some salt to this conversation. I'm one of the "with non-stellar MCAT/GPA" applicants that got accepted. BUT I also got accepted at Wake Forest, Colorado, Vanderbilt and 5 DO schools (and I turned down 7 interviews)!!! I've decided to stay here and that's all I have to say...
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Feel free to not answer if you so desire but are you by any chance ethnically diverse?
 
I'm sorry that I offended you Leslie Knope. I look forward to being classmates with you.
 
Hey guys, I was wondering if it is possible to obtain feedback from the school? I interviewed back in December and was rejected. I emailed and called them and it seems like they only refer you back to your premedical advisors. I really want to know what exactly I can improve on.
 
boxxer03 said:
Hey guys, I was wondering if it is possible to obtain feedback from the school? I interviewed back in December and was rejected. I emailed and called them and it seems like they only refer you back to your premedical advisors. I really want to know what exactly I can improve on.
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If you go to your premed advisor, they can request the feedback. They don't give it to you individually
 
boxxer03 said:
Hey guys, I was wondering if it is possible to obtain feedback from the school? I interviewed back in December and was rejected. I emailed and called them and it seems like they only refer you back to your premedical advisors. I really want to know what exactly I can improve on.
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I would add that in my experience, the feedback was both specific and extensive. Dr Chan personally broke down every facet of my application and interview, and gave very specific feedback on what needed to improve. This was all relayed through my advisor, who then gave suggestions of how to make necessary improvements. Its a great system of feedback. I would definitely recommend reaching out for reapplication advice.
 
Can anyone from Salt Lake City share what might be the best areas to live in and rent an apartment near the UofU SoM?
 
I can't really speak to the other areas but my wife and I live in sugarhouse and we love it. Great access to the freeways, food, fun, etc.
 
I would look to rent in Sugar House, the Avenues, or 9th and 9th. Basically anything north of 80 and east of State St is going to be in the best proximity. It will get pricier the farther east you go.
 
Can you give me an idea of what the commuting options are for each of those areas? Is there a university shuttle? Or will I have to buy a bus pass? Light rail? Thanks!
 
UTA (busses, trax, frontrunner etc) pass is given to you as a student. From my area of south sugar house it's about 45ish minute commute via bus, about 15 min via car. Parking is horrible though so unless I'm mountain biking like today I take the bus lol
 
JackieChanFan said:
Can you give me an idea of what the commuting options are for each of those areas? Is there a university shuttle? Or will I have to buy a bus pass? Light rail? Thanks!
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Medical Towers are a GREAT option, pricey, but literally a 2 minute walk from the HSEB, where you will spend ALL your time. There is free shuttle/train/front runner/trax as a student with your student ID, but even a 30 min commute adds up very quickly when you think about time spent traveling over a week/month/year. The wait list is long, but acting now will greatly increase your chances in getting in
 
It appears that this year, applicants with multiple acceptances have to decide on one by April 30 (instead of May 15 like previous years).

from https://www.aamc.org/students/apply...0672/trafficrulesforapplicants-2015amcas.html -
"8. In fairness to other applicants, if you have decided before April 30 not to attend a medical school or program that has offered you an acceptance, promptly withdraw your application from that school(s) or program(s) by written correspondence or the method preferred.
9. If you receive an offer of acceptance from more than one school or program, choose the school at which you will enroll by April 30. Then, promptly withdraw your application, by written correspondence, from all other schools or programs that have offered you an acceptance."

Am I understanding that correctly? That should speed up the waitlist movement a bit at every school I would think.
 
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Celeste13 said:
It appears that this year, applicants with multiple acceptances have to decide on one by April 30 (instead of May 15 like previous years).

from https://www.aamc.org/students/apply...0672/trafficrulesforapplicants-2015amcas.html -
"8. In fairness to other applicants, if you have decided before April 30 not to attend a medical school or program that has offered you an acceptance, promptly withdraw your application from that school(s) or program(s) by written correspondence or the method preferred.
9. If you receive an offer of acceptance from more than one school or program, choose the school at which you will enroll by April 30. Then, promptly withdraw your application, by written correspondence, from all other schools or programs that have offered you an acceptance."

Am I understanding that correctly? That should speed up the waitlist movement a bit at every school I would think.
Click to expand...

You understand correctly. This year, April 30th is the last day to hold multiple acceptances. This is the first year this is the case.
 
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